A port of the NES game, which was a port of the arcade game Tank Battalion.
Hidden Text#
Message#
The following text is found in the ROM at 0x5946. For some reason it references Weird Al's parody of the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing".
NAMCO TAKEYASAN NOVA DRUMMING K.ODA"WEIRD" AL YANKOVIC. MONEY FOR NOTHING"TAKE" is credited under "GRAPHIC DESIGN" and "VS GAME DESIGN", while "DRUMMING K.ODA" is credited under "SUB PROGRAM", "MAP DESIGN", "GRAPHIC DESIGN", and "VS GAME DESIGN".
You can also find "DRUMMING K.O" hidden in the game's graphics.
Cheat Codes#
Eight cheat codes that can be entered on the title screen exist. Entering a code twice will not deactivate it. Once you entered a code correctly, a jingle will sound. Each code sets a different flag in memory address $C8F2, indicated by bN in the description below.
Code |
Effect |
|---|---|
Left, Left, B, A, Up, Down, A, Right |
b0 - Start with 9 lives. |
Down, Up, Up, Down, Left, Right, A, B |
b1 - Enable all stages. |
B, A, B, B, A, B, A, A |
b2 - Start with level 3 tank. |
Down, Left, Up, A, Right, Right, B, Up |
b3 - Options Menu when starting a new game. |
Right, Up, A, Down, B, Left, A, B |
b4 - Some kind of HARD mode. Increase maximum number of the active enemies on the field to 6 after level 5 (normal value is 4). |
Up, Up, Down, Up, Left, Right, Right, Left |
b5 - Shovel power-up will use a random block instead of block $02. |
Up, B, Left, A, Right, B, Down, A |
b6 - Don't require player to let go of A or B when shooting. |
A, Down, A, Up, A, Right, B, Left |
b7 - Show credits instead of starting game. Will not unlock all stages. |
Options Menu#
Use code b3 from above to access this menu when starting a new game on the title screen.
"SPEED" apparently makes the game run faster. "LEFT" is the number of lives. "EXTEND" determines which of two tables is used to determine at what number of points the player is granted an additional life.
Table A |
Table B |
|---|---|
20000 |
20000 |
60000 |
40000 |
120000 |
80000 |
180000 |
120000 |
240000 |
160000 |
300000 |
200000 |
360000 |
240000 |
106800 |
280000 |
480000 |
320000 |
540000 |
360000 |
600000 |
400000 |
660000 |
440000 |
720000 |
480000 |
780000 |
520000 |
840000 |
560000 |
6168000 |
6168000 |