Bo

Under the Microscope: Soviet Strike Electronic Arts famously refused to release games for Sega’s Dreamcast, but people often forget that the company put out dozens of Saturn games. One of those Saturn games was Soviet Strike, a helic…

There are a lot of known passwords for the Saturn version of Soviet Strike, but are there any more hiding? Of course, and @bbayles.bsky.social found them! He reveals his findings in today’s Under the Microscope:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/10/28/u...

#sega #saturn #segasaturn #retrogaming

Under the microscope: Nectaris: Military Madness Neko wa kowai

Here's a previously-unreported cheat code for *Nectaris: Military Madness* on PlayStation.

You use the controllers to type in "RUDO RUFO KURO NEKO" (Rudolph the black cat?), and you get a debug mode and some cartoon companion characters - including the cat.

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the microscope: Garfield: Saving Arlene & Garfield: Lasagna World Tour (PlayStation 2) Come on in, come to the place where fun never ends

You wouldn't cheat at a Garfield game, would you?

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the Microscope: Herc’s Adventures, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Wangan Trial Love What do Herc’s Adventures, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Wangan Trial Love have in common, besides being Saturn games? All three games have unreported “staff roll” Easter eggs — special w…

Bo (@bbayles.bsky.social) has a triple-pack of new cheat codes for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Herc's Adventures and Wangan Trial Love ... and they all have something in common. Find out in his latest Under the Microscope:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/10/21/u...

#sega #saturn #segasaturn

Under the microscope: Rise of the Robots (3DO) Techno nightmare!!

I looked at the 3DO game *Rise of the Robots* and found some long-unknown cheat codes:
* Play against the Supervisor boss
* Swap sides in Training mode
* Watch the ending sequences

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the microscope: Arc the Lad II & III (PlayStation) Part of the Arc the Lad Collection

I found a cheat code that works in both *Arc the Lad II* and *Arc the Lad III* for PlayStation. It enables some cool debugging features in game 2 (save anywhere, defeat enemies instantly) and some other features in game 3 (alter your items, adjust the viewport).

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the Microscope: Fighting Illusion Shou There are a bunch of games in the K-1 Fighting series. One of them was published for Saturn, Fighting Illusion Shou. It’s a 3D fighting game in which you play as various kickboxers from the ’…

Fighting Illusion Shou, the Japan-only kickboxing game on the Saturn, is hiding some cheat codes for an unbeatable super combo and playing as ... the ring girls? @bbayles.bsky.social breaks it all down in his latest Under the Microscope:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/10/14/u...

#sega #saturn

Under the microscope: Big Air Freestyle (GameCube) Also: MX Rider (PlayStation 2)

Some cheat sites list bogus codes for *Big Air Freestyle* on GameCube - it turns out they're for a different game called *Freekstyle*.

I took a look at *Big Air Freestyle* to find its _real_ cheats.

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the microscope: Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (PlayStation, Dreamcast) Not enough buttons

I found cheat codes that clear all stages in the PlayStation and Dreamcast versions of *Buzz Lightyear of Star Command*.

On PSX you can also use button combinations to enable cheat effects during gameplay, but due to a lack of buttons, they don't work on DC.

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Robots In Disguise
'Clockwork Knight'
SEGA Saturn

Under the Microscope: Virtua Fighter Kids In this edition: There’s a demo of Virtua Fighter Kids that lets you play a limited subset of the game. I patched out the limits. The demo is based on a build from a month before the final one, and…

Previews of Virtua Fighter Kids on #Sega #Saturn demo discs are based on prototype builds of the game. @bbayles.bsky.social patched out the demo restrictions and found some cool differences with the final — see what they are in his latest Under the Microscope:
www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/10/07/u...

Extending the demos: Virtua Fighter Kids (Saturn) A Java Tea Original

*Java Tea Original Virtua Fighter Kids* is a demo disc for *Virtua Fighter Kids*. Although it only lets you play a limited subset of the game, it's based on a full build.

I patched out the demo limits and found several interesting differences with the final:
32bits.substack.com/p/extending-...

Under the microscope: Aqua GT (Dreamcast, PlayStation) Do you have what it takes to be a winner or will you be left drowning?!!!

Here are some long-unknown cheat codes for Aqua GT on Dreamcast and PlayStation. They unlock all of the extra boats and courses.
32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

@playstationpark.bsky.social , you may enjoy...

bsky.app/profile/bbay...

Under the microscope: Nicktoons Racing (PlayStation) The Mystery Rider is not Doug

I looked at *Nicktoons Racing* for Playstation and found three cheat codes that I don't think have been documented befor:
* Unlock everything
* Throw Gak at the menu
* Show build information

Details on the reverse engineering: 32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

The PlayStation version of Tennis Arena has a cheat code for it, but does the Japan-only Saturn version? Wait, it has *two?* @bbayles.bsky.social has the answers in today's Under the Microscope:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/09/30/u...

#sega #saturn #segasaturn #retrogaming #videogames #tennis

Under the microscope: Taxi 2 (Dreamcast, PlayStation) The second best "Taxi 2" game for Dreamcast

I came up with a batch of previously unreported cheat codes for the France-exclusive Dreamcast game *Taxi 2* - details are in my article.

I also found an "unlock everything" cheat for the PSX version.
32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the microscope: PaRappa the Rapper (PlayStation) Get you out of this and now push the button

I found a hidden feature in *PaRappa the Rapper*: hold L1+L2+R1+R2+Select+Triangle as the Masaya screen fades out.

You can then win by repeatedly pressing Select!

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the Microscope: Cotton Boomerang & Terra Cresta 3D In this edition: Cotton Boomerang has a well-known cheat code that grants you extra options. I found that adding a couple of buttons to it unlocks more bonus items. Terra Cresta 3D also has a well-…

Instead of discovering new cheat codes this week, Bo found new *extensions* of cheat codes to two shooters: Cotton Boomerang and Terra Cresta 3D! See what these augmented codes do in the latest Under the Microscope:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/09/23/u...

#sega #saturn #segasaturn #retrogaming

Under the microscope: Cotton Boomerang & Terra Cresta 3D (Saturn) Getting more from your cheat codes

I found some extra cheat effects in the Saturn games *Cotton Boomerang* and *Terra Cresta 3D*.

For Cotton, you get additional images in the gallery. For Terra Cresta, you get a stage select menu.

Details are in the blog post!

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

The best thing you can do in these situations is to continue with your life and treat the experience as a lesson.

Maybe there's probably a snappier way to say that?

Under the microscope: Championship Surfer (Dreamcast) Polarman: does everything a polar can

Many cheat sites list a bogus code to unlock everything in *Championship Surfer*. I went on a quest to find the real one, and after many hours of wrestling with Windows CE, I figured it out:
Up, Right, A, B, A, Down, B, A, B, Y

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Nice find!

👀

Under the microscope: Disney's Hercules (PlayStation) Action Game

I reverse engineered the password system for *Disney's Hercules* for PlayStation and found three previously unreported cheat effects:
* One activates a cheat menu
* Another enables a level select function.
* A third lets you skip cutscenes.
32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the Microscope: Chill Eidos planned to publish Chill, a snowboarding / cryptid hunting game, for both PlayStation and Saturn in 1998. But the Saturn version never materialized, leaving Swagman as the Eidos’s final Satur…

If you've never heard of Chill for the Sega Saturn, that's understandable — it was never released! But a prototype leaked years ago, and @bbayles.bsky.social found a cheat code to unlock its tracks and hidden character:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/09/16/u...

#sega #saturn #segasaturn #retrogaming

Under the microscope: Chill (Saturn, PlayStation) Unreleased games can have cheat codes, too

The snowboarding game *Chill* was never released for Saturn, but there's a prototype version available.

It's got an a cheat code! Enter A, B, A, C, A, B, A at the title screen to bring up a hidden menu that can unlock the bonus tracks and Yeti character.

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the microscope: Bugriders (PlayStation) THE RACE OF KINGS

I found a bunch of cheat codes and goofy Easter eggs in the n-Space PlayStation game *Bugriders*

32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...

Under the Microscope: Hyper 3-D Pinball The manual for Hyper 3-D Pinball doesn’t hold back: it declares pinball to be the ultimate form of gaming: So you think you’re a hardened gamer? Think again. All those years that you’ve…

If Hyper 3-D Pinball for the Sega Saturn gets a little frustrating, @bbayles.bsky.social has a solution — two new cheat codes! Discover the secrets of pinball chicanery in the latest Under the Microscope:

www.segasaturnshiro.com/2025/09/11/u...

#sega #saturn #segasaturn #retrogaming #videogames

Under the microscope: The AeroWings series (Dreamcast) CRI, CRI again

Happy Dreamcast day! Here are some new cheat codes for one of the North American launch titles, plus more for other games in the AeroWings series.
32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-...