Remember Contra for the Nintendo Entertainment System? Created during the era of games that weren’t hard so much because of any particularly challenging gameplay as more for slightly broken control mechanics, Contra was one of those annoyingly punishing titles that frequently had me gnawing on the controller in frustration. Occasionally, I would Rage Quit the game shortly after throwing the controller against the wall, swearing in ways that would make a longshoreman turn red with embarrassment.
When the fabled Konami Code was revealed — Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, and Start — it was like a benediction from above. It was a game changer, in more sense than the usual. Used in many Konami titles, and later in other non-Konami games, in this particular instance, inputting the Code gave you 30 extra lives to play with, virtually a necessity for that game.
The Konami Code is, in fact, so powerful, it’s even been used in the creation of websites. You’ll find a up-to-now complete list of such sites at KonamiCodeSites.com, which you can only access by — how else? — entering the Code right at the landing page, substituting the Enter key for Start.
Among the more popular sites affected are Facebook, Digg, and Google Reader, but there are many to be had, each with their own little Easter Egg to enjoy when the Code is input. Go check them out now, and relive the glorious days of yesteryear! Now, if only I could use this code on my girlfriend …
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