Welcome to the 32 Dangerous Cheat Codes, a brand new series that will run daily between November 24 and December 25. Join us as we discuss the hazardous ramifications of some of your favorite cheat codes. Today we're going to get drenched in blood as we talk about one of the most important cheat codes of all time. Mortal Kombat helped the Genesis win a crucial battle, all while forcing Nintendo to accept graphic violence on their system. Why is this a bad thing? Find out in today's episode of the 32 Dangerous Cheat Codes.


I think it's safe to say that Nintendo owned the 1980s. Even though the 8-bit system didn't show up until halfway through the decade, it quickly caught on and the name "Nintendo" became synonymous with all video games. With overwhelming dominance came long-lasting franchises that remain popular to this day, along with a vast array of funky accessories. And they didn't just dominate the console market, but also portable gaming. Their black-and-green Game Boy paved the way for more than a quarter century of handheld gaming.

Of course, the Nintendo Entertainment System wasn't the only game machine on the market at the time. Sega's Master System barely made a dent in the United States, selling only two million units and getting very little coverage in in the old school magazines. But Sega wasn't ready to let this thumping happen a second time, so they decided to take a completely different approach when marketing their 16-bit Genesis.

Instead of just following the leader, Sega took the fight to Nintendo. First it was through aggressive commercials, which was followed by a series of arcade ports you couldn't find anywhere else. But as luck would have it, one of their most effective weapons accidentally fell into Sega's lap.

After seeing the over-the-top gore found in Mortal Kombat, Nintendo decided to take a stand against video game violence. This meant that when Acclaim decided to port the arcade fighting game to the Super NES, major cuts needed to be made in order to get the seal of approval. This involved not only removing all of the blood, but also altering many of the most popular fatalities.

Seeing an opening, Sega decided to go a different direction. Sure, you could play a similar sanitized version, but if you had a special code, you could shove all of the blood and guts back into the one-on-one fighter. Best of all, the code was short, simple and easy to enter. All you had to do was press A, B, A, C, A, B, B at the intro screen and the true Mortal Kombat experience would emerge from Goro's layer.

But forget the business ramifications for a minute; this would be a truly terrifying code in real life. Imagine losing gallons of blood every time somebody punches you in the face. You'd bleed out from even the simplest scrape or paper cut. This might work in the world of Mortal Kombat where everybody has an excess amount of blood to spare, but the human body only has 1.5 gallons, and I want to keep all of that inside of me. So maybe think twice the next time you decide to enter a blood code.