Across the North American PlayStation lineup I’ve seen a handful of instances where a game will offer both a password system and an option to use the memory card. Way back when I first started this site, it even got me wondering if there were any password purists out there who preferred pen and paper over spending on the pricey peripheral.
Now over a year into this project, I can say there’s one example of this dual support that stands out among the rest: Nanotek Warrior. The high-speed, cyber-styled tube shooter by Tetragon inexplicably requires a cheat code in order to unlock the use of the memory card. The Pro Tip was pointed out to me by Jason Dvorak of Game-Rave and PlayStationLibrary.com fame:
Insert a memory card before starting. Then, pause the game and enter Left, Right, Left, Left, R2, Circle, L1, X. You should hear the power-up sound. Quit the game after completing level 2 or higher. You will see a different password screen with five save slots
It’s a “feature” that neither the back of the box nor the instruction manual even slyly hint at, let alone state outright. But like, why hide it? It really would give this post some closure if I had any idea but all I’ve got are guesses.
Maybe it was going to support the memory card all along but it came together so late in the process that they didn’t want to delay the release for another run through Sony’s QA review. Maybe one of the programmers just threw it together or decided to hide it and see if anyone would notice.
While I have no concrete info at all, it did lead to a serendipitous discovery of a fun relic from days gone by. In looking for mentions of the memory card function in the instruction manual I spotted this little blurb and maybe another reason why they chose to hide the memory card option:
When you get to the end of the last level, you’ll get a secret code. Check out the Virgin web site at www.vie.com to find out more about your secret code. […] Secret codes represent your high score and might just get you into the NanoTek Warrior Hall of Fame on our web site!
To be clear, the secret code that you receive when you finish the game isn’t the same as the password you’d use to continue your progress. There doesn’t appear to be any way to see your secret code after you’ve left the final screen where it’s displayed. And maybe that’s why they didn’t surface the memory card option. Like your final password, a memory card save would only let you start at the game’s final stage. You’d still have to play through that level again to see your secret code and since it’s based on high score it would likely be a different code entirely.
Maybe they felt that if game progress was being saved to the memory card then the secret code should be saved as well. Implementing that would take more time to develop a system and screen to display additional information. That would defeat the purpose of the password save system which was probably their initial choice to save development time in the first place. It seems simple to “just turn on the memory card” but for a team cranking out what would become their final release ever, it may have just been a bridge too far.
But hey, check this out! Archive.org was able to capture that fabled NanoTek Warrior Hall of Fame and all four players who ever submitted their secret codes to it. The capture is dated over a year after the game’s release so anecdotally it would seem that Nanotek Warrior wasn’t much of a hit, or at least not many people read the manual. Still it’s great to see it online after so many years, and perpetual kudos to certified GOAT, James Elkinton, for that Hard Mode high score!
