Shadowrun (Sega Genesis)/Cheats

Chernobyl
This is not really a trick of any kind, but it is easily missed because no part of it is required to beat the game, and you can only find out about it if you spend a long time in the Matrix, hunting around for data more or less at random. The CHERNOBYL side quest consists of five clues in the form of datafiles, and a final run against the federal government. The first part of the quest is putting the clues together. You must enter the networks of the five biggest corps in Seattle -- Ares, Aztechnology, Fuchi, Mitsuhama, and Renraku -- and download datafiles containing communication among the corps that expose a vicious plot to band together and control industry and government. Each file will reveal a little more about the corps' plans, as well as provide a small part of a passcode of some kind. Once you find all the clues, you will know the passcode in its entirety and will be ready to make one final run. If you manage to beat the UCAS system and thwart the corps' attempt to seize power, you will be awarded with 50,000¥ and a congratulatory note from Sega! To get started on this quest, make sure you have a pumped up cyberdeck and a hotshot decker, then jump into the systems and start looking for the info. The exact location of each file will be listed below. You can also consult the Clue List section for the full text and location of each clue.

Ares: (5,5)

Aztechnology: (6,11)

Fuchi: (14,10)

Mitsuhama: (12,7)

Renraku: (8,2)

Search those DSs for the clues. Once you have them all, you'll be able to access the UCAS system via the CHERNOBYL passcode. Note that CHERNOBYL disappears after successful completion of this quest, just in case you wanted to have access to it for a while...

Have Anyone in the Matrix
This one is simple, albeit not very useful. If, for some reason, you want to send someone without a datajack into the Matrix, simply enter the passcode screen with someone who DOES have a datajack, then use C to switch over to the other person before picking your passcode. Voila, now you can watch your shaman with a 2 in Computer get fried by the first ice he comes across. Whee!

Hold More Clips
There is a way to escape the 20 per person clip limit by using the Trade command. That is, a person can hold much more than 20 clips, as long as they are traded to him or her. The ideal strategy would be to trade all the party's clips to one person, then have the other two buy more and keep trading. After your shopping spree, you could then use the Distribute command and end up with all three members carrying way more clips than they're supposed to be able to hold. Unfortunately, many things, including picking up dropped clips from the ground, will send the counter back to 20. Since enemies dropping clips are very common, you probably wouldn't go through your supply before someone accidentally picked up a clip and ruined the plan. In the end, it's just not worth it. For pistols especially, 20 clips at a time is plenty anyway.

The Double Retreat
This is one of the most useful bugs in the game. You can think of it as a Sleaze that not only works 100% of the time, but will also allow you inside the Node, instead of simply bypassing it. The drawback is that in order for it to work, you must be coming from a Node that you've been able to legitimately access by defeating the ice. In other words, you can't use this on back-to-back Nodes. Also, since it involves retreating, you can't use it on the first Node you come to in a system, or after a CPU hop. But, in all other cases, this will allow you inside whatever Node you want. It's especially useful for getting through a Node that has really tough ice that you won't be able to defeat, or if the Node has high-level tar ice and you don't want to risk losing your program and/or tripping the alert. Here's what you do: From inside a Node that you have gained access to legitimately, go to the Node you want to enter. Once there, immediately pause and choose Retreat. You will be taken back to the previous Node and you should be automatically taken inside. Once inside, pause and choose Retreat again. You will instantly be taken to inside the target Node. You will be able to perform all functions and operate the Node as normal, but notice that the Node on the map will remain gray, since you haven't actually defeated the ice. One last thing: if you use this technique to gain access to a CPU, don't freak out when you choose Go To Node and it gives you several choices that don't exist on the map. You will only be shown the whole map when you defeat the ice; therefore, while you have the choice to go to any Node in the system, not all Nodes will appear on the map. So, it'll look like the CPU is trying to send you into empty space, but don't worry, there's really a Node and it will work as normal.

The Vanishing Runner
This is the only bug in the game that can be harmful, or at least annoying, to you. Depending on several factors, some runners that you hire for life will leave after a run, just as though you had hired them for one run only. This kind of sucks, since you paid ten times the amount to get them permanently and will now have to re-hire them. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to determine exactly what factors contribute to this, but I know that it has a strong correlation to what runners are in the party, the order in which you hired the runners, and which spot in the sidebar that each runner uses. All I can tell you is that if you experience this bug, don't just re-hire the runner and try again, because it's almost certain to repeat itself. Instead, try something radical. Dismissing all runners and re-hiring them in a different order almost always works. Hopefully, in a future version, I'll be able to tell you exactly what to do to avoid this bug.

Delete Run Datafiles
For those who live off Matrix runs and selling info, this should help out a little bit. Many people like to take a Matrix job that requires uploading or downloading a file, then after the job is done, stuff their deck full of as many datafiles as they can to make some extra cash on top of what they are being paid for the run. These people will be pleased to hear that, in the cases where they are required to bring Mr. Johnson back a specific file, they can safely delete the file in question without penalty, thereby freeing up an extra spot to store one more datafile in. It's the action of downloading the file from the DS, not of bringing it back, that fulfills the goal of the run (at least in the Genesis' logic). So, if you want to free up some room, delete the file that's for the run. When you return to the Johnson, the transaction will be completed as usual, just as though you still had the file.

Leave a Corp ASAP
On the other hand, for those who live off Corp runs, particularly against Renraku, this one can help a little bit. Those who use Caleb Brightmore know that he often hands down contracts for runs against Renraku. If you've been on some runs there, you should know that a.)Security is everywhere, especially in the very first room on the ground floor; and b.)The first floor has no computer terminal, so if you trip the alarm, you just have to wait it out. These two factors can combine to create some really big headaches for parties that need to leave the building after a run, but keep running into security guards and tripping the alarms. Waiting out an alarm is hard enough, so there's a way to make it at least a tiny bit easier, provided you're not working alone. If an alarm is going off and you need to leave as soon as it stops without risking setting it off again, choose one of your party members to wait by the entrance while the other(s) hide out of the way somewhere. Take control of the person who will stay and wait and move them up against the exit. Then tap up on the D- pad briefly, and the character will turn around, but move into the exit a little bit. Tap down and they will straighten up, but will have taken another step toward the end of the exit. Repeat this process until you have worked the character all the way to the bottom end of the exit. Now take your other party member(s) and head off to a quiet room somewhere to wait out the alarm. Notice that the person in the doorway will not be able to follow you. When the alarm stops, quickly switch to the character that was waiting and you'll instantly exit the building without having to risk the front room again. It may not seem like much, but once you've been pinned on the first floor of Renraku a few times, you'll appreciate the work and time it saves you.

Get a 13 in all Firearms Categories
For what it's worth, you can attain a rating of 13 in each of the firearms attribute categories: Pistols, SMGs, and Shotguns. This is done by taking advantage of the Firearms attribute, which is unique in that it allows each subcategory to skip levels, but only if the subcategory is currently at 0. In other words, if (and only if) your SMGs rating is 0, but your Firearms rating is 4, you will be able to upgrade SMGs straight to 5 without having to first get levels 1,2,3,and 4. Again, you can only do this if you're upgrading from 0. If you wait until your Firearms rating is 12 before upgrading any of its subcategories, you'll be able to make the jump straight to the next level -- 13 -- for all categories that are currently 0. It's up to you to decide if spending the extra Karma (Firearms costs more to upgrade than each of its subcategories) will be worth the extra level, but at any rate, the bug is there if you choose to exploit it.

Retain Runners for Bodyguard/Courier Runs
This really isn't a trick that you have to do anything to trigger, it's just a fact that many people might not know, and it can be helpful, so it's worth pointing out. However, since it applies to the two most basic runs, it will probably only benefit those who are just starting out in the game and don't have enough cash or strength to hold their own yet. Here it is: If you hire a runner for short-term (one run only), the runner will only leave when you get to the screen that talks about the Johnson paying you for the run. Since Bodyguard and Courier runs are the only ones where you are paid by the client himself, the screen mentioned before will never come, and you'll get to keep your runner indefinitely, until you finish a "real" run. This can be kind of handy at the beginning of the game -- you may want to hire Ricky for a little extra protection. Just ask about the short term and he'll stick with you until you do a ghoul bounty or some other run in which you need to return to Mr. Johnson for payment. It's a nice way to save a little money.

Demon Buildings
I'm still not sure if this is intentional or not but for now, I'm calling it a bug. While most abandoned buildings will contain ghouls, thugs, and the occasional gargoyle, some buildings' enemy environments are the same as the Salish-Shidhe wilderness -- complete with bandersnatch, wendigo, hell hounds, and even the same random encounters (the hair on the back of your neck rises, AmerIndian boys looking for an arrowhead, etc). Some demon buildings are the far upper-left building in the Puyallup Barrens and the lower-central building in Downtown Seattle.

Cheat menu
At the title screen enter A, B, B, A, C, A, B, Start. As usual, load or start a game as usual. During gameplay open your Pocket Secretary. Move the cursor down to the blank beneath "Save/Load Game". Choose this space and you'll see a cheat screen:

This cheat menu is only accessible once per play. Once you leave it you can't select the blank space again. To use it more than once save, reset, enter the code again, load, and then access the menu once more.
 * Nuyen: This increases your credstick to 250,000¥. Note that it does not actually add 250,000¥ but merely boosts your current balance to this amount. This means if you have more than that already you will actually lose money.
 * Spells: This cheat affects only the character you are currently controlling. If you have a non-magic-user selected the cheat will be wasted. This cheat gives the selected character a full inventory of Level 4 spells. As with most cheats on this menu it disregards the possibility that you may already have more powerful spells. It doesn't matter what you had before, your spell inventory will always be replaced with all Level 4 spells.
 * Test Deck: Similar to the Spells cheat, this will give your deck a full set of programs, all at Level 4, regardless of what you had before. The cheat will also boost your current deck's stats substantially: MPCP will go to 6, Hardening will go to 1, Memory to 200, Storage to 1000, Load/IO Speed to 50, and Response to 1. An added perk is that, unlike most other cheats, this trick won't replace high ratings with lower ones. If your rating in any of the previous categories is higher than the ones from the cheat, they won't be replaced.
 * Pick System: Choose this option and the screen will go blank. Use up and down on the D-pad to select a number, and hit A to choose. You'll be sent into the Matrix system that corresponds with the number you chose (see the ../System list/ section, where each system is listed in the order of its number). Whatever character is selected will be sent into cyberspace, regardless of whether he or she has a datajack. This is yet another way to get anyone you want into the Matrix, besides the method listed above. Because of the way the numbers work they will mess up if you try to go back. For instance once you reach 10 the "1" will get stuck, meaning you'll see it even if you go back to a smaller number. However the position you're on on the list will still work correctly regardless of what is displayed. You can also reach system 0 by pressing A while the screen is in its initial blank state.
 * Heal All: Here's a simple cheat. Picking this will heal all members of your party to 100% physical and mental health.
 * +10 Karma: Will grant all characters in your party an extra 10 Karma. Be aware that there is an upper limit on the amount of Karma you can hold; once you reach about 255 it wraps back to 0.
 * Contacts: Using this cheat will grant you all of the contacts available in the game, with the exception of the three men that you must meet through the area gangs: Henry J. Culver, Agira Tetsumi, and Mr. Faradouchi. If you had contact with some of these guys before you don't now.
 * Walk Fast: This cheat lets you walk about a third faster than is possible normally. While this can be useful it only affects the character you're controlling, meaning you will keep outrunning the others. Also if you go too fast the screen won't scroll fast enough to keep up with you, meaning you'll have to wait for it to catch up.

Game Genie codes
These only work on a new game. You can combine codes but if stat numbers go above the normal maximum they will look messed up (this does not affect gameplay itself however).