10 Video Game Glitches That Turned Into Features

The Konami Code is easily one of the most iconic parts of video game history. It sparked the idea of video games having secret cheats that can be activated by a specific sequence of button presses, a concept that at one point became completely synonymous with video game culture in popular media.

The origin of the code was actually an oversight on the developer's part.

The code was created by Kazuhisa Hashimoto as he was working on Gradius. Hashimoto found the stages of the game too difficult to beat, and so to help himself with testing, he created a special sequence which granted him extra lives when activated.

When the game was finally published, it turned out Hashimoto forgot to remove the cheat from the game beforehand. However, the Konami team didn't worry too much, as the code which granted extra lives was too complex for someone to accidentally discover. The thing is, it wasn't complex enough.

As is usually the case with glitches like this, someone eventually caught wind of this accidental feature and the code became widely known. At some point, Konami decided to roll with it and began implementing the code in their other games, including the Contra franchise.