The hottest Game preservation Substack posts right now

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Rings of Saturn 43 implied HN points 09 Mar 26
  1. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos hides two PlayStation button cheats: Triangle+Select on the main menu swaps "Enter Password" for "Credits", and holding Square then pressing Circle with Credits highlighted turns on an in-game coordinate display.
  2. Croc 2 on PlayStation also has previously undocumented title‑screen codes: one (held R1 + sequence) unlocks a music test in Sound Options, and another (held L1 + sequence) enables the staff credits.
  3. Reverse engineering shows the games detect these cheats by checking controller bitmasks and input sequences to set flag bits, and the feature set differs by platform (the Saturn build lacks the Croc 1 button cheats and the PC build lacks the coordinates HUD).
Rings of Saturn 58 implied HN points 25 Feb 26
  1. Cheat-code websites often get listings wrong or mix up codes between game versions, so their guides aren’t always reliable.
  2. You can reliably discover hidden cheats by entering a unique name, scanning memory for that string, and tracing the game code that checks it to see what unlocks it triggers.
  3. The two Motocross games handle cheats differently: the original uses inverted strings (for example, SMASHER unlocks everything) while the 2001 sequel checks plain text names like DIRTTRAK and ALLEVENT to open tracks and classes.
Rings of Saturn 43 implied HN points 19 Jan 26
  1. Both Saturn Lode Runner games hide easy-to-use name-entry cheats: entering SPECIAL! (or SPECIAL?) and holding L at start opens a bonus stage, and entering a name as " PATRA" then pausing and inputting Up, Up, Down, Down, Right, Left, Right, Left, Y, X, Y, X jumps you to the ending and staff roll.
  2. Lode Runner Extra has extra unique codes too — entering SATURNSUPER then holding R at start loads a different bonus level (the Saturn Super demo disc stage) — and a GODAI@TECHARTS string is present in the code but only partially implemented in The Legend Returns.
  3. The cheats are implemented as ASCII name checks, which made them straightforward to find by reverse engineering, and the NTSC-U PlayStation release includes the SPECIAL! code but not the same credits-skip button sequence.
Rings of Saturn 72 implied HN points 23 Dec 25
  1. Four secret passwords were found that trigger special effects on both PlayStation and Saturn versions, including one that gives nine chances, near-max points, all clear crystals, and access to the final boss and ending.
  2. The notable special passwords are SWSH YUTN MD (nine chances + max-ish points + clears), CHANCEGAX9 (nine chances), S1TENCLEAR (all clear crystals), and ABNA1YABA1 (zero chances).
  3. PlayStation and Saturn use different encoding phrases so most "natural" passwords aren’t compatible across systems; the reverse engineering showed the Saturn check uses a bitwise NOT against a static table and normal passwords are formed by XOR-ing game state with one of four platform-specific phrases.
Rings of Saturn 58 implied HN points 18 Dec 25
  1. Andretti Racing (Saturn and PlayStation) and NASCAR Heat (PlayStation) hide previously undocumented Easter eggs that are activated by entering special player names.
  2. Andretti Racing’s name cheats swap the normal pre-race portrait for hidden pictures — the Saturn build has eight images (including production staff, a family photo, and a cartoon alien) while the PlayStation build contains 33 mostly staff photos.
  3. NASCAR Heat recognizes eight specific aliases to add bonus drivers who are the development staff photoshopped into a DICE racing suit, and those drivers race in a special DICE-branded car.
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Rings of Saturn 29 implied HN points 25 Dec 25
  1. Demo discs can hide extra or disabled game content that becomes playable when a few bytes are changed.
  2. Frame Gride's Pilot Style and Test Operation demos contain extra stages and different visuals, including an Opera House stage that never reached the final release. The demos also limit mech styles and color choices compared to the final game.
  3. Small patches that set stage availability flags and menu limits can unlock those stages and options, showing how reverse-engineering demo discs can recover prototype content and invite further exploration.