Difference between revisions of "Game Genie (Mega Drive)"

Revision as of 11:40, 2 May 2023

Accessory
Program

Game Genie

Manufacturer: Codemasters

Distributor: Galoob (US), Camerica (Canada), Hornby (UK), Famosa (ES, PT)

Type: Cheat tool

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1992	$59.9559.95^[1]	7357
EU	1992-10^[2]
ES	199x
FR	199x
PT	199x
UK	1992-10^[2]	£44.9544.95^[2]
CA	199x
BR	1993-04		055060

The Mega Drive version of the Game Genie is a specialised cheat cartridge (or "video game enhancer") developed by Codemasters and sold by Galoob that allows the user to manipulate various aspects of games.

Hardware

The Game Genie attaches to the end of a cartridge and is then inserted into the cartridge port of the console for which it was designed.

Upon starting the console, the player may enter a series of characters referred to as a "code" or several such series that reference addresses in the ROM of the cartridge. Each code contains an integer value that is read by the system in place of the data actually present on the cartridge. The Game Genie cannot manipulate RAM, though it can make the console read different values from SRAM.

Because they patch the program code of a game, Game Genie codes are sometimes referred to as patch codes. These codes can have a variety of effects. The most popular codes give the player some form of invulnerability, infinite ammunition, level skipping, or other modifications that allow the player to be more powerful than intended by the developers. In rare cases, codes even unlock hidden game features that developers had scrapped and rendered unreachable in normal play (an example of this is the final Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2).

The Game Genie was usually sold with a small booklet of discovered codes for use with the system. However, these booklets would eventually become inadequate as new codes were discovered and new games were released that were not covered. To address this, an update system was implemented, where subscribers would receive quarterly booklet updates for a fee. In addition, Galoob also ran ads in certain gaming publications (such as GamePro) that featured codes for newer games. Today, these codes and many others discovered by players can be found for free online.

On the Sega Mega Drive, the Game Genie can function as a country converter and bypass the TMSS (TradeMark Security System) since most of these games are only "locked" to their respective regions by the shape of the cartridges and a set of a few bytes in the header of the ROM. In other cases, Game Genie codes can be entered to allow a game to be played on any region console.

Hidden content

Main article: Game Genie (Mega Drive)/Hidden content.

History

Though developed by Codemasters, distribution was handled by Camerica in Canada and Galoob in the United States (and Europe, with the help of third-party distributors). Following the controversy of a Nintendo Entertainment System version of the device - of which Nintendo unsuccessfully tried to block, the Mega Drive (and Game Gear enhancer) were adopted by Sega as officially licensed products.

The Game Genie brand has since been discontinued, however the idea lived on through Action Replay and GameShark hacking devices on newer consoles in the years which followed. Game Genie codes have since become a supported feature in most emulators.

Scrapped successor

A new set of Game Genies called "Game Genie 2" were in the works in 1993 which would store codes and not require codes to be entered each time booting up the system. It was also going to have code searching features similar to the Pro Action Replay. This means it could probably alter RAM as searching for codes that affect ROM would have been more difficult. Due to some Game Genies recently being released it was decided to hold off the release of the new version until at least the following year, but wound up being scrapped instead.

Official code books

In the US, Galoob offered a subscription service in which "code updates" would be sent to Game Genie owners quarterly over the course of a year. Generally these books were released to cover new games, i.e. software released after the Game Genie's launch. This service was not unique to Sega console owners. Later Game Genie releases incorporated the codes from these books into the codebook which shipped with the cartridge.

Manual and Codebook
Manual and Codebook (alternate)
Volume 1, No. 1
Volume 1, No. 2
Volume 1, No. 3
Volume 1, No. 4
Volume 2, No. 1
Volume 2, No. 2
Volume 2, No. 3
Volume 2, No. 4
Volume 3, No. 1
Volume 3, No. 2
Volume 3, No. 3
Volume 3, No. 4

Volume 1, No.1

Volume 1, No.2

Volume 1, No.3

Aquatic Games Starring James Pond
Batman Returns
Chakan
Ecco the Dolphin
Galares
Lightening Force
Menacer
NHLPA Hockey '93
Road Rash 2
Rolo to the Rescue
Simpsons Bart vs. The Space Mutants
Sonic the Hedgehog (More Codes)
Splatterhouse 2
Streets of Rage 2
T2 The Arcade
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyper Stone Heist
World of Illusion
X-Men
Pit-Fighter (Alternate Codes)

Volume 1, No.4

Volume 2, No.1

Aero the Acro-Bat
Disney's Aladdin
Flashback
Gunstar Heroes
Micro Machines
Mortal Kombat
Mutant League Football
Ranger X
Shinobi III
Splatterhouse 3
Street Fighter II Special Championship Edition
Strider Returns
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
TechnoClash

Volume 2, No.2

Volume 2, No.3

Battletoads
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Castlevania Bloodlines
Columns III
Gauntlet IV
Greatest Heavyweights
Mega Turrican
Mutant League Hockey
Spider-Man/X-Men-Arcade's Revenge
Superman
The Ren & Stimpy Show Presents: Stimpy's Invention
Triple Score
World series Baseball

Volume 2, No.4

Volume 3, No.1

Ballz
Battletech
Earthworm Jim
Ecco: The Tides of Time
The Incredible Hulk
Jammit
The Lion King
Maximum Carnage
Mickey Mania: The TImeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
Mortal Kombat II
Outrunners
Shaq-Fu
Sonic & Knuckles
Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers
Taz in Escape from Mars

Volume 3, No.2

Volume 3, No.3

Volume 3, No.4

Game Genie (Mega Drive) codes

A copy of Game Genie Mega Drive codes

Magazine articles

Main article: Game Genie (Mega Drive)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

US TV advert
BR print advert

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #39: "October 1992" (1992-xx-xx)
also published in:

Sega Visions (US) #10: "November/December 1992" (1992-xx-xx)^[3]

Print advert in GamePro (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #133: "December 1992" (1992-11-15)
also published in:

Computer & Video Games (UK) #134: "January 1993" (1992-12-15)^[4]

Print advert in Mega Force (FR) #12: "Décembre 1992" (1992-1x-xx)
also published in:

Mega Force (FR) #13: "Janvier 1993" (199x-xx-xx)^[5]

Print advert in Mega Force (FR) #14: "Février 1993" (1993-0x-xx)
also published in:

Mega Force (FR) #15: "Mars 1993" (1993-0x-xx)^[6]
Mega Force (FR) #19: "Ete 1993" (1993-0x-xx)^[7]
Mega Force (FR) #21: "Octobre 1993" (1993-10-08)^[8]

Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #11: "Marzo 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #21: "Enero 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Sega Force (SE) #1992-02: "2/92" (1992-11-19)

Physical scans

Mega Drive, US (older)

Cart

Mega Drive, US (version 2)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (version 3)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, UK

Cart

Mega Drive, UK (Extra Power)
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, FR
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, ES/PT
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, CA

Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System

Hash

Size

Build Date

Source

Comments

✔

CRC32	5f293e4c
MD5	b5d5ff1147036b06944b4d2cac2dd1e1
SHA-1	ea4b0418d90bc47996f6788ad455391d07cad6cc

32kB

1992-02-19^[9]

Cartridge (US/EU)

Revision 00

✔

CRC32	14dbce4a
MD5	e8af7fe115a75c849f6aab3701e7799b
SHA-1	937e1878ebd104f489e6bdbc410a184f79f1144a