GameShark cheats
GameShark Cheats
The GameShark (sold as the Action Replay in some regions) is a cheat cartridge that plugs in between a game cartridge and the console. It patches the game's memory in real time, letting you enable infinite lives, unlock items, or change values that the game never intended you to touch.
How it works
A GameShark code is a string of hexadecimal numbers. Each code tells the device to write a specific value to a specific memory address while the game runs. You type codes into the device's menu, choose which to enable, then boot the game through the cheat cartridge.
- Address codes overwrite a value continuously, freezing a stat in place
- One-time codes apply a value once at startup
- Conditional codes activate only when another value matches
Flashcart alternatives
Some flashcarts include their own cheat engines that read code lists from the SD card, so you may not need the original hardware at all. The code format is broadly compatible, though entries are tied to a specific game region.
Cautions
Codes are version-specific. A code written for the North American release may corrupt memory on a PAL or Japanese copy, sometimes freezing the game or scrambling saves. Disable cheats before saving if you want to keep a clean save file. classic Older GameShark units may also need a firmware update to launch newer cartridges.