The Famed Konami Code from Contra Works on a New Fisher Price Toy
You need 30 lives to play with this toy, and you're going to burn through every single one.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
No matter how weird and worrying the world gets, we can count on Fisher Price to keep making children's toys that belt out the names of colors, shapes, and numbers. It's a little more surprising, however, when a Fisher Price toy throws in a joke for the grown-ups.
Earlier today, games journalist Chris Scullion shared a video of a Fisher Price controller he bought for his daughter. The toy, which is vaguely based off an Xbox One controller, sports a happy face and is adorned with the candy-colored paint job associated with Fisher Price products. When you press the myriad buttons on the controller's front plate, the controller cheerily rattles off letters, colors, and shapes.
But how do you "win" at this endless game Fisher Price concocted? Same way you win at everything: Insert the Konami code. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start.
Hooray! What a relief. It's one thing to "Get Gud" at a Dark Souls game, but the Fisher Price murder gauntlet is on another planet. I'll just take the skip, thanks. My time is valuable.
In all seriousness, the Konami Code remains one of pop culture's best-hidden secrets. I don't mean the code itself, I mean how it's implemented. Some crafty webpage programmers hide Easter eggs that only activate when you insert the Konami code. For example, typing the code on Bank of Canada's page for its commemorative $10 bill (of all things) rewards you with a chiptune rendition of "O Canada."