1. Konami Code
The concept of entering a particular, complicated series of commands in a game to unlock a cheat or an Easter egg has been around for a long time. Cheats of this nature existed on the Atari 2600 and even before that, but they were not commonplace. But when Konami included the code in their 1988 classic Contra for the NES, a legend was born and games changed forever. If the Konami code which gamers everywhere know as up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start is entered on the title screen of Contra, players begin the game with 30 lives instead of the usual 3. As Contra is generally seen as a very difficult game, the code is especially helpful in it. The code appears in many Konami games and has been referenced by other developers as well. In Mortal Kombat 3, developed by Midway, entering something very similar to the Konami Code gets you access to a Kool Stuff menu which unlocks several cheats in the game. Now, the sequence of buttons is practically a catch phrase, appearing on t-shirts and freely referenced throughout pop culture. Konami, already one of the greatest developers of the 8-bit era, cemented their status as video game legends with this memorable code. But its still a cheat. The only real way to beat Contra is to accept that youre being thrown to the wolves and go through with three lives. Its still two more than most of us get. So difficult is Contra, though, that many players probably would not even suffer through it if not for the graciousness of the Konami code. Unlike some cheats that unfairly take advantage of flaws in the programming or allow the player to get ahead at someone elses expense, the Konami Code is placed in games purposefully for the enjoyment of everybody. There is no ethical qualm to face such as one might have about driving a tank over a prostitute in Grand Theft Auto or bouncing off Luigis head and knocking him into a pit in New Super Mario Bros. Its just there to make all our lives all 30 of them a little bit easier. Did we miss any classic codes that deserve to be on this essential list? Share your own picks below.