Arch Rivals is a 1989 basketball game developed and published by Midway for arcades. In the years following, developers Rare and Arc Developments would also release ports for NES, Sega Genesis, and the Game Gear, with only a few differences between these versions.
Overall, Arch Rivals wasn’t a massive success, and contemporary reviews of the game are less than positive. Its gameplay simply hasn’t aged well enough for most to enjoy it, especially when compared to other games of the era, with one particular Sega Genesis glitch causing 95% of shots to go in from anywhere, essentially ruining the gameplay experience on that platform.
Arch Rivals Premise
©Screenshot from Arch Rivals.
For the most part, Arch Rivals plays by similar rules to most basketball games, with all the action taking place from a side-scrolling perspective. Full games are four quarters of four minutes, however, there are only two players on each team, making the action far more hectic than you might expect.
The game also features one extremely special twist. In Arch Rivals, you can actually punch your opponents without punishment as a way of winning the ball. On the court itself, soda cans and candy wrappers are actual hazards you can trip over, and the referee often gets in the way. All of this gives Arch Rivals its own individual identity, allowing it to stand out against other basketball games, despite the gameplay overall not being particularly critically acclaimed.
Arch Rivals Main Characters
©Screenshot from Arch Rivals.
Similar to other basketball games of the time such as All-Pro Basketball, Arch Rivals was not officially licensed by the NBA. As a result, this meant that the game was not allowed to use the real names of NBA teams and players, and had to come up with its own instead. Instead of a full roster of teams, Arch Rivals includes six fictional names instead:
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Denver
- Natural High
- Brawl State
On top of this, the game also features eight players that you can choose to represent you in the game’s hi-scores. Each player comes with their own official description, although this doesn’t seem to affect their in-game performance in any way.
- Blade: “A Crowd Pleaser”
- Hammer: “Rebound King”
- Lewis: “Top Shooter”
- Mohawk: “Tough & Mean”
- Moose: “Real Champ”
- Reggie: “All-American”
- Tyrone: “Defensive Giant”
- Vinnie: “A Great Player”
Arch Rivals Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from Arch Rivals.
Owing to its poor performance overall, Arch Rivals was a one-off attempt at a basketball title. It was a similar story for many unlicensed NBA games at the time. When officially licensed NBA games began being released, anything less was a hard sell for gamers to accept, unless the gameplay was pitch-perfect. In Arch Rivals‘ case, the gameplay was certainly not perfect.
While we never saw another game in the Arch Rivals series after the initial release, it did go on to be included in the collections Midway Arcade Treasures 2, Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition, and Midway Arcade Origins years later.
- Arch Rivals (1989)
Arch Rivals Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from Arch Rivals.
Instead of traditional cheats, you’ll have to use third-party codes in order to cheat in Arch Rivals. This is because there are no cheat codes in the game normally. Each version of the game has its own third-party cheats – some are Game Genie, while others are Pro Action Replay. Don’t worry – we’ll make it clear what cheats you need to use for each version. You can enter these codes in the Cheats section of your chosen emulator.
Arch Rivals Pro Action Replay Cheats (Sega Genesis)
These codes should only be used on the Sega Genesis version of Arch Rivals.
| Cheat Code | Cheat Code Effect |
|---|---|
| FF0098:00?? | Home team score modifier – replace ?? with the desired score. |
| FF0096:00?? | Away team score modifier – replace ?? with the desired score. |
| FF0161:00?? | Time modifier – replace ?? with the desired number of minutes. |
| FF015F:00?? | Time modifier – replace ?? with the desired number of seconds. |
| FF00C2:00?? | Player one body skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00D2:00?? | Player one head skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00CB:00?? | Player one modifier – replace ?? with one of the following: 00 – Tyrone 01 – Vinnie 02 – Hammer 03 – Moose 04 – Lewis 05 – Blade 06 – Mohawk 07 – Reggie 08 – Body with no head |
| FF00A3:00?? | Player one team jersey color modifier – replace ?? with one of the following: 00 – Red 01 – Blue 02 – Orange 03 – Yellow 04 – Green 05 – Purple 06 – Gray 07 – Blue Gray 08 – Green & Black |
| FF00C4:00?? | Player one’s teammates’ body skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00D4:00?? | Player one’s teammates’ head skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00CD:00?? | Player one’s teammates’ modifier – replace ?? with one of the following: 00 – Tyrone 01 – Vinnie 02 – Hammer 03 – Moose 04 – Lewis 05 – Blade 06 – Mohawk 07 – Reggie 08 – Body with no head |
| FF00C6:00?? | Player two body skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00D6:00?? | Player two head skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00CF:00?? | Player two modifier – replace ?? with one of the following: 00 – Tyrone 01 – Vinnie 02 – Hammer 03 – Moose 04 – Lewis 05 – Blade 06 – Mohawk 07 – Reggie 08 – Body with no head |
| FF00A5:00?? | Player two team jersey color modifier – replace ?? with one of the following: 00 – Red 01 – Blue 02 – Orange 03 – Yellow 04 – Green 05 – Purple 06 – Gray 07 – Blue Gray 08 – Green & Black |
| FF00C8:00?? | Player two’s teammates’ body skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00D8:00?? | Player two’s teammates’ head skin color modifier – replace ?? with 80 for white skin tone, and with A0 for black skin tone. |
| FF00D1:00?? | Player two’s teammates’ modifier – replace ?? with one of the following: 00 – Tyrone 01 – Vinnie 02 – Hammer 03 – Moose 04 – Lewis 05 – Blade 06 – Mohawk 07 – Reggie 08 – Body with no head |
Arch Rivals Game Genie Cheats (Game Gear)
These codes should only be used on the Game Gear version of Arch Rivals.
| Cheat Code | Cheat Code Effect |
|---|---|
| 01C-ACF-F7A | One-minute quarters. |
| 03C-ACF-F7A | Three-minute quarters. |
| 07C-ACF-F7A | Seven-minute quarters. |
| 7EF-7DE-3B7 | Makes it so that the away team can’t score. |
| 00F-7DE-3B7 | Makes it so that computer opponents can’t score. |
| 02E-2FE-E6E | The timer moves much faster. |
| 00E-2FE-E6E | Gives you infinite time. |
Arch Rivals Game Genie Cheats (NES)
These codes should only be used on the NES version of Arch Rivals.
| Cheat Code | Cheat Code Effect |
|---|---|
| ZLXLNZGL ZLNLPPGL | Less time in a quarter. |
| ALXLNZGU ALNLPPGU | More time in a quarter. |
| GZVPOZEI | Makes it so that you will never miss a shot. |
| AVNPLAAZ ATVPAPAZ | Makes it so that you will now run faster without the ball. |
| IXVOPAGA IZSPGPGA | Gives all players super speed. |
Arch Rivals Cheat Code FAQ
©Screenshot from Arch Rivals.
How Do I Enter Arch Rival Cheats?
For most people in the modern era, entering Arch Rivals cheats will be done via an emulator, regardless of which version of the game is being played.
To enter these codes, you need to find the Cheats section of your emulator. Depending on the emulator being used, the location of this will be different, but not too difficult to locate. From here, you’ll need to select the right type of cheat, be it Game Genie or Pro Action Replay. Then, it’s as easy as entering the right code for the right platform above!
Does Arch Rivals Have Achievements?
There is just one achievement for the game. If you play Arch Rivals via the Midway Arcade Origins collection on Xbox 360, you can earn the “All-Star” achievement. To earn this achievement, “Score at least 6 consecutive points in Score Attack Mode.”
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Arch Rivals.