Craziest Cheat Codes Of All Time

Video game developers have been hiding secrets in their games since the infamous Konami Code in 1988, and even before. While some come in the form of Easter eggs, pop culture references, or unlockables, the cheat code remains the most intriguing way to alter a game, thanks to its air of defiance and exclusivity. Before the age of online multiplayer games, cheat codes were more prominent, even earning their own dedicated sections in gaming magazines. Finding a cheat code before your friends did was a coveted and highly sought after bragging right.

Now that cheating has become more like hacking rather than sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar, codes are few and far between. But for a while, cheat codes were the best way to impress your friends during a couch co-op play session. Some cheat codes, on the other hand, are less useful but are just downright bizarre. Here are the ten craziest cheat codes in games.

Lara Croft has a lot on her plate. She's trying to preserve history, running from thugs who would try to kill her, and busy locking her butler in the freezer. This is why cheat codes come in handy to help with the more overwhelming parts of the game. And while the Tomb Raider franchise is loaded with cheat codes to access all of the game's weapons and to skip to certain levels, other cheat codes exist that are less functional.

One such code is the "exploding Lara Croft" cheat. Originally meant as a punishment for players who entered a cheat code incorrectly, it quickly gained popularity and became its own cheat. This cheat can be accessed a number of ways, depending on which game you have, but each installment promises to add some flavor to your gameplay. Even if that flavor isn't necessarily helpful in furthering the plot or helping the player out at all. But sometimes, we just want to see Lara Croft explode.

When Age of Empires was released in 1997, the real-time strategy game was met with a positive response from veteran and first-time gamers alike. Advancing an ancient civilization through different stages of development and being able to act as a war strategist held an appeal for a wide audience and helped launch the success of the game.

History buffs appreciate the chance to immerse themselves in a historical setting, and enjoy the depiction of various ancient civilizations. This immersion, however, can easily be broken with one simple code: Bigdaddy. This code (not to be confused with the Big Daddies from BioShock) spawns a weaponized black car that the player can use to wipe out their enemies. While Age of Empires isn't necessarily touted as completely historically accurate, this particular cheat comes out of left field. Not only is the black car a bizarre choice for a civilization still figuring out how to use tools, but it also allows the player to shoot a weapon that does 300 damage. Now that is a useful cheat to use against people who still don't know how to make fire.

While Sonic the Hedgehog is probably the title most synonymous with the Sega Genesis, and Arnold Palmer is one of the names most synonymous with professional golf, it isn't necessarily well known that these two giants once merged to create Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf for the Sega Genesis in 1989. This game was about what you'd expect from a golf game made in the '80s. Pixelated greens, top-down views of a dogleg left, and endless frustration for a game that's already hard enough off the screen.

For those players who were looking for a bit more whimsy in their gaming experience, however, there existed a secret mini-game. To access it, all you had to do was hit the ball 100 times on your first hole, a task any amateur golfer and professional gamer would gladly take on. Once you're rewarded with the infamous game over screen and enter a shortened version of the Konami Code, you're taken to a Fantasy Zone-inspired mini-game. What that has to do with golf is a mystery, but it's a nice break from the endless water hazards.

Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed III, released in 2012, featured overhauled graphics, a new game engine, and the incredible scenery and story fans of the game have come to expect. Set in the 1700s before and after the Revolutionary War, players get to experience iconic battles and real-life areas as they were during that time period. While considered historical fiction, many elements of this installment of Assassin's Creed weave historical facts into the narrative and gameplay.

But the fiction aspect is taken to a whole new level with one cheat code in particular. If a player travels to their homestead, hides near the edge of the manor, and whistles, a wild turkey will appear and follow your avatar throughout the zone. The cheat comes into play when you enter the Konami Code with your turkey selected. Once this code is entered, your turkey will become an assassin turkey, complete with an assassin's hood. He may not be the deadliest assassin, but he's sure to be an effective diversion.

One of the most beloved Nintendo 64 games ever, GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter developed by Rare. By showing that shooters could work on a console, the game changed the market forever. Featuring a single-player campaign mode and a multiplayer split screen deathmatch option, GoldenEye was a significant influence for many games that followed in its wake.

While GoldenEye contained the normal cheat codes you'd expect to find in any Nintendo 64 game of its time, it also sported an incredibly bizarre one. With the right sequence of inputs, you could add a unique element to your gameplay. This code activated DK Mode, transforming the head of every avatar and NPC in the game into a balloon-like spectacle that destroyed the serious tone of the otherwise dramatic game. If you don't mind having the ambiance ruined a bit, the big head mode does make it easier to shoot your enemies (especially headshots), though that also means those pesky scientists are also easier to accidentally kill.

In the later Wii remake, you could retrieve this fabled cheat by typing in the code 477MYFR13NDS4R3SP13S — "All my friends are spies."

As any '90s kid can tell you, bizarrely themed platformers were all the rage on their Sega and Nintendo consoles. From hedgehogs to worms to a creepy game of hide and seek with Barney, this decade dominated the market on weird. One of the gems found on the Sega Genesis and Nintendo in the '90s was Earthworm Jim. For those gamers unfamiliar with Earthworm Jim, it's about as odd as it sounds: you play as an earthworm named Jim as he tries to rescue Princess-What's-Her-Name. An obvious satire of other platformers and run-and-gun games of the time, Earthworm Jim didn't take itself seriously and didn't shy away from odd art styles and gameplay.

One of the many unique elements of Earthworm Jim was a series of cheat codes players could use to change Jim's head. While on the pause screen, players could type in specific button patterns to give Jim afros, antenna, glasses with a mustache, or even a Donkey Kong head. The latter cheat code is made even better when you realize that it was a thinly veiled jab at Donkey Kong Country, which was released around the same time as Earthworm Jim, effectively stealing some of the game's thunder. It's good to know that game developers aren't afraid to give each other a not-so-subtle side-eye through their work. Or, in this case, an arrow through the head.

If you were a young gamer in the '90s, chances are you had to sneak to an arcade or a friend's house in order to play the overly bloody and coveted fighting game Mortal Kombat. This arcade and console game, released in 1992, featured innovative fighting mechanics and an intriguing narrative, though its most notable and distinct feature was its use of blood.

Over twenty years after the initial release of the first Mortal Kombat game, a brand-new cheat code sequence was discovered, revealing a debug menu that included a secret "hello" from Boon himself, fatality demos, and all character endings, among other things. Boon's love for his creations are only made more obvious by this cheat code debug menu and the fact that he kept quiet about it for twenty years, waiting for someone to find it.

Scott Pilgrim and his group of friends have found a massive cult following over the years. With the popularity of the original graphic novels and the 2010 film adaptation, it's no wonder that the 2010 video game had a successful run. The game managed to bring the unique and quirky feel of the Scott Pilgrim universe to the game, while also adapting to the medium.

In Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, you can play single-player or multiplayer as Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Kim Pine, or Stephen Stills (with other unlockable characters also available). Most of the gameplay will be familiar to fans of the franchise, though one hidden mode in the game brings the bizarre world of Scott Pilgrim to a whole new level. While on the menu screen, if players input a specific cheat code, they gain access to a zombie mode, allowing them to fight off hordes of zombies in the place of the original enemies.

Rare's 1998 platformer Banjo-Kazooie immersed players in a colorful world of golden puzzle pieces, bird and bear combo fighting moves, and a witch doctor who sometimes misses the mark when casting spells. Trying to save Banjo's sister Tooty from the evil and vain Gruntilda, players must traverse cartoon-y but challenging worlds to complete puzzles and move through the evil lair.

Throughout the course of the game, players come into contact with Mumbo Jumbo, a witch doctor who can transform the player into various beings to aid them in their quest to save Tooty. At one point, Mumbo gets his spell wrong and accidentally transforms Banjo and Kazooie into a washing machine. The mistake is brief and quickly rectified, but the developers liked it so much that they put a cheat code into the game to allow players to take on the washing machine form in a more permanent way. Once a player has completed the Bottles' Bonus Challenges, they can type in "Wishy Washy Banjo" in order to get in touch with their more appliance-based side.

There's a lot a player can do in Grand Theft Auto V that they wouldn't do in real life. While most of them are illegal, some are just physically impossible. But even within the game there are limits to what you can and cannot do as your avatar.

That is, until someone figured out a cheat code to let their avatar fly through the air without an airplane. Or at least, a cheat that lets their character glide through the air. But the important thing to keep in mind is that the cheat lets you fly; the cheat doesn't specify anything about landing. Similar to the "Skyfall" cheat code that spawns a character in a free fall without a parachute, this new code also allows your avatar a doomed free fall, but this time, with some added time thanks to the glide animation. If you decide to use this and don't feel like dying, maybe aim for water.