Market for cartridge games with secrets unlocked?

April 16, 2006 9:35 AM

Videogamefilter: Where can I buy cartridge video games that have the secrets unlocked and saved?

I've got Advance Wars for GBA and play it at work (because there are gaps of activity where we must simply find something to do while waiting, kind of in the sense of a fireman, but just sitting at a computer) and this game really makes the time fly -- but I only have the 3 basic commanding officers. I want to buy or trade for a copy that has all the extra CO's unlocked, because I get too frustrated playing campaign missions (yes, even on the tutorials). Is there someone who can beat it that will unlock them all for me, or some specialty shop that sells unlocked games in general?

I've sold games on eBay before with these types of details in the description, like Golden Sun GBA game with characters on a savegame with level 60+ and all the major items.. But is there perhaps a marketplace for specifically this type of deliberately used product?

posted by vanoakenfold to sports, hobbies, & recreation (5 answers total)

Couldn't you go to Gamestop or some other used games shop? Bring your GBA with you, and ask if you can test out the used games there. Most people don't bother with erasing their games once they're done.
posted by hooray at 9:49 AM on April 16, 2006

I have a GameShark for GBA that has cheat codes for Advance Wars as well as most other games. They're cheap and easy to use, so it might be a one-time purchase alternative to buying multiple used copies of games.
posted by chudmonkey at 9:59 AM on April 16, 2006

It's possible to download save games for cartridges. With the right hardware you can burn it to the actual cart, but I've never done it so can't say more other than it's possible.
posted by Nelson at 12:16 PM on April 16, 2006

I don't think there's much of a market, because there aren't any cartridge-based systems left besides the Game Boy variants. Most consoles save to a memory card, which (usually) can just be copied from person to person.

If you don't want to invest in a GameShark, I would suggest loaning it to a friend who's more of the "gotta unlock everything!" mentality.
posted by Sibrax at 12:17 PM on April 16, 2006

I would second the gameshark option. In addition to getting everything unlocked, you might be able to get some interesting "hidden" options that may or may not be available through normal gameplay. That said, you may also find some glitches that may have some adverse effects on your gameplay experience.

I'm not sure if this is the case anymore, but I do remember when I had a gameshark for the old '64 that there were some pretty cool codes, say, like making Mario's hand swell to to 10x its usual size, for no other reason than because it was funny. There used to be something of a community that was very into finding weird codes to manipulate games - I'd imagine that the same is true today?

At any rate, good luck...
posted by dihutenosa at 12:59 PM on April 16, 2006