April 28th, 2007 posted by Gent
The NES had third party cheating devices known as the Game Genie and Pro Action Replay. The cheat file database included with Jnes is composed in a way that allows you to tell the difference between codes for these devices.
Game Genie cheat codes are encoded in a special format and modify the game code or ROM, not the game memory. So when you see [Game Genie] in the Cheat Dialog Note section, you know that the cheat needs to be loaded before the gameplay.
The Pro Action Replay Cheat codes on the other hand modifies the game memory, not the ROM, so they don't need to be injected into the game before the game is loaded. So when you see [Pro-Action-Replay] in the Cheat Dialog Note section, you know that means its a Pro Action Replay Code can just be enabled and used right away.
Access the Cheats Dialog
In order to facilitate enabling cheat codes before and after a game has loaded, there are two ways to access the cheats menu for a specific game.
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Right Mouse click on the games name to open the context menu and select Cheats.
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While a game is loaded go to menu Options ▶ Cheats or just hold down Ctrl and press C on your Keyboard.
The Cheats dialog will now be open where you can navigate the tree and enable or disable cheats. Make sure you read the notes section for each cheat, certain categories only allow one cheat option at a time. Once you have all your codes enabled just close the Cheat dialog by clicking on the Windows close button.
Since Game Genie codes work on the ROM where the program data is stored, it is recommended that you enable or disable the codes before loading the game. If you notice a game genie code you enabled is not working, or a disabled one still active this could be why.
Tree Group Options
Group many cheats together into a tree provides an easy way to find categories such as Infinite, Max, Start On, Have or Have All, Player 1 and Player 2 Cheats. You can tell a group is present by the symbol on the left hand side of the cheat name check box in the Cheat dialog menu.
Just click on the symbol left of the Cheats check box and the tree grouping will then open showing you all the different options inside. You can enable and disable cheats in groups by either double clicking on the cheats name or single clicking on the cheats name check box. Another option is to just click on the cheat tree group symbol to enable all within but be careful! There may be notes stating to use only one code at a time within the group.
There can be multiple tree groupings within the main group (subtree groupings if you like) allowing a neater and better managed cheat dialog that is clutter free. You will often find PAR Extensions inside the tree groupings also but we will address those later on down. To close the tree groupings just click back on the top symbol on left hand side of the cheats name check box and it will collapse to the original main position.
Pro Action Replay Extensions
When a cheat has extensions, also known as modifier codes, it lets you select effect of the cheat from a list of options. For example, in Contra there is a cheat that allows you to select the specific type of weapon you have. You can tell a code has extended values when the text contains an arrow => symbol at the end of the label.
To make a selection just double click on the cheat name, and the Cheat Extension Dialog will then open showing you all the different options you can have.
Click on the value you would prefer, and then click the Ok button to return to the main Cheats dialog. Now back in the main Cheats dialog the item will reflect the option you selected. To disable a Pro Action Replay code you need to uncheck it and close the game to take the cheat out of the memory, just disabling the cheat may not be enough.