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Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Game Genie for Nintendo NES
Game Genie for Nintendo NES is an adapter that changes certain game rules while you play. Insert your own NES cartridge into the accessory and connect the assembly to the console. Then enter letter codes on the startup screen using the normal controller. Depending on the game, these can provide extra lives, different jumps or more energy. The pictured Galoob model has the long plastic handle for the original front-loading NES.
The adapter does not contain a collection of games and does not replace the game cartridge. It changes data that the console reads from the game while playing; the original code on the cartridge is not permanently rewritten. You choose which supported effects to use. A combination that works in one game does not automatically apply to another. Region and cartridge revision can also determine which codes work. The examples below therefore concern the original NES games, not later rereleases.
Switch the NES off before connecting or removing the adapter or cartridge. The connector and mechanism belong to this NES version; this is not a Game Genie for Super Nintendo, Game Boy or Sega. A console, controller, game cartridge and printed codebook are not included unless separately stated in the listing. The product photograph shows the accessory itself. You therefore need a working NES setup and appropriate codes for your own game.
History
Game Genie belongs to the early 1990s, when many console games came on cartridges and players copied codes from booklets. Galoob marketed the accessory under licence from Codemasters. The original manual names that partnership and explains how players can experiment with effects. Instead of buying a new game, an intermediary device changed the conditions in a game you already owned. The NES version provided its own code-entry screen for this purpose.
The product also became known through the dispute between Galoob and Nintendo of America. In a US ruling dated 12 July 1991, the judge described how Game Genie worked only with the original game and made temporary changes. The judge rejected Nintendo's copyright objection in that case. This historical conflict explains why the name often appears in accounts of the relationship between console manufacturers, independent accessory makers and players who wanted to change their own gaming experience.
The code lists grew alongside the game catalogue. Galoob published updates with effects for individual titles; the surviving collection credits publications from 1990 through 1994. The same name appeared on accessories for other systems, but those had their own connectors and codes. Today, this NES model illustrates how players experimented with existing cartridges without downloadable updates. The physical adapter and an accurate, version-specific code list remain two separate parts of that approach.
Nintendo NES Games with Game Genie
Super Mario Bros. revolves around running, precise jumps and reaching the flagpole in time. Underground passages and underwater stages change the rhythm along the way. Galoob's code list includes altered jumps and extra lives for this NES game. These let you practise difficult sections differently or explore familiar levels again. The adapter does not add levels; it changes selected properties within your own cartridge.
Super Mario Bros. 2 lets you choose Mario, Luigi, Toad or the princess, each with distinct movement. You pull vegetables from the ground and throw objects at opponents. The original code list describes effects including longer floating for the princess and changes to lives. These effects relate to the different characters. They apply to this Western NES version, not the Japanese sequel later called The Lost Levels.
Super Mario Bros. 3 links short platform stages with world maps, fortresses and different suits. You choose routes, store items and learn how enemies and moving platforms interact. Galoob included the game in its NES code list, with effects that can change the usual restrictions. The adapter therefore offers a way to experiment with a familiar adventure. The cartridge's region and version still matter when selecting the precise code.
The Legend of Zelda sends Link through Hyrule and dungeons where weapons, keys and secrets open new routes. You seek pieces of the Triforce, combining exploration with combat. Galoob's list includes changes to damage and bombs, for example. Such effects do not find entrances or solve dungeons for you. For a saved adventure, the list also warns that the same previously used codes must be entered again.
Mega Man 2 combines shooting with precise jumps and battles against Dr. Wily's Robot Masters. Your chosen order determines which weapons become available along the way. The game appears in Galoob's original collection of supported NES titles. Appropriate codes change selected game values while routes and attack patterns remain recognisable. You still need to own the actual game and match the codes to the correct cartridge revision.
