Puggsy/Hidden content

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Mega Drive version

Anti-piracy

Puggsy infamously uses an anti-piracy measure that relies on the presence of SRAM. Although official retail cartridges do not contain SRAM, the game attempts to write to it anyway in an attempt to detect cartridge copiers (which always contain SRAM). If the write is successful, the game will appear to function normally, except the player can't jump as high as normal. Should the player attempt to play any level after The Cove (or clear Junior Mode), the game will stop and display a message from Traveller's Tales.

Many emulators are known to blindly create SRAM regions for each game, which will trip the check. It is recommended to disable SRAM if the emulator allows it.

"A Hidden Place" passwords

The following content can be accessed by stacking specific letters on top of each other and carrying them through the goal in A Hidden Place. They are listed here in the order the game checks for them:

CHEAT

Stack "CHEAT" and carry them through the goal. This gives Puggsy infinite lives, but turns him (and all things that use his palette line, such as objects and the HUD) green.

HEROS

Stack "HEROS" and carry them through the goal. This will display a demoscene-esque message from the developers. This lasts until the player presses  START .

SHOES

Stack "SHOES" and carry them through the goal. This will give Puggsy a pair of shoes that he will regain after dying.

OTHER

Stack "OTHER" and carry them through the goal. This will display a black screen with swirling streams of particles while the Light House music plays. This animation lasts until the player presses  START .

Alternative Sega logos

Being the first Mega Drive game to be both developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Psygnosis, the rules regarding the use of the introductory Sega logo were not known. In order to avoid potential resubmits to Sega's quality control proceedure, programmer Jon Burton devised a system where different Sega logos could be swapped in and out just by changing a four-digit number in the ROM header:

SEGA GENESIS    
(C)T-1131993.SEP
PUGGSY          
                
      (VER=0112)

The four digit number after "VER" dictates which logo is to be used, defaulting at 0112 ("everything"). The first digit is unused, the second toggles the "licensed by Sega" text (1=on, 0=off), the third determines whether the logo should be animated (1=on, 0=off), and the fourth controls the ™ symbol (2=on, 1=off, with 0 skipping the Sega screen entirely).

These controls were placed in the header so Sega QA could easily change it, however the full 0112 combination was accepted first time.