StarTropics is a classic 1990s action-adventure game from Nintendo. It was designed for the company’s Nintendo Entertainment System and released exclusively for NES. Unlike many of the platform’s games, StarTropics was solely launched in Western markets, in North America and Europe. It’s certainly in the minority for West-only games, while many more NES titles are only found in Japan. The game was developed by Genyo Takeda, known for the Punch-Out!! series. StarTropics combines exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat in a tropical setting. Without further ado, let’s dive into details about StarTropics and what kind of cheats it offers gamers.
StarTropics Premise
The game follows 15-year-old Mike Jones, who is a high school baseball team captain from Seattle. He travels to the fictional C-Island in the South Seas to visit his archaeologist uncle, Dr. Steven Jones. As he arrives at the mythical land, Mike finds his uncle is missing, which sets him on a quest to find him.
The player-controller protagonist is armed only with a special yo-yo, which he uses to defeat foes. His journey takes him across various islands, facing monsters, navigating labyrinths, and interacting with all sorts of interesting characters, animals, and even alien creatures. The story unfolds with Mike uncovering a deeper mystery involving alien abductions and magical artifacts.
StarTropics is an action-adventure game that shares many similarities with the iconic Legend of Zelda series and others like it. Like Zelda, StarTropics is played from a 2D top-down perspective with similarities with interactions and combat. The gameplay involves exploring various environments, solving puzzles, and beating enemies. However, StarTropics setting in the tropical islands combined with a modern American protagonist, Mike Jones, is a far cry from many NES titles of the time.
StarTropics Characters
In StarTropics, players encounter a truly diverse set of characters. These include everything from Mike’s Uncle Steven, the leaders of the tropical islands, oddly intelligent animals, and evil aliens. As players dive deeper into the lore of StarTropics, the interactions reveal nefarious plots, mysterious artifacts, and challenging puzzles.
- Mike Jones: Mike Jones is the main protagonist of the game and a 15-year-old high school baseball team captain from Seattle. He embarks on an adventure to find his missing uncle.
- Dr. Steven Jones: Mike’s uncle, an archaeologist working on C-Island in the South Seas. His disappearance is why the players assume the role of Mike Jones.
- Chief Coralcola: The leader of the tropical village of Coralcola, where Mike’s uncle resided and where he disappeared from. He provides Mike with a special yo-yo for defense.
- Nav-Com: A robot assistant of Dr. Jones, who aids Mike in his quest by allowing him to use his uncle’s submarine.
- Dr. Jones’s Assistant: The assistant of Mike’s uncle, Dr. Steven Jones. Mike encounters him inside a whale, providing critical information about the disappearance and a special code to help locate Dr. Jones.
- Zoda: The main antagonist of the game and leader of the evil aliens who abducted Dr. Jones. They’ve also stolen all-important magic cubes.
- Mica: The leader of the Argonian children, a group of alien survivors whose planet was destroyed.
- King Hirocon: Mica’s father and the ruler of the Argonians, who sent the children to Earth in the hopes of living in peace and harmony.
Games in the Series
The series is known for its strange yet engaging story and unique setting that combines modern themes with fictional tropics, alien abductions, and more. StarTropics spawned a sequel a few years after the release called Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II. The second game continues Mike’s adventures and happens to also be the last first-party title on the NES. Developers later re-released the original game on various platforms, including the Wii Virtual Console and the NES Classic Edition.
- StarTropics (1990)
- Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II (1994)
StarTropics Cheats
StarTropics doesn’t have a built-in cheat code system, but fortunately, we can provide some help to gamers in the form of glitches, hidden codes, and puzzle tips. We’ve also included the Game Genie codes for those who have access to the system.
Max Health Glitch
Repeatedly collect the big heart located before the Big Rock tunnel every time you continue after dying. This strategy allows you to gain an additional heart each time, eventually leading to maximum health.
Hidden Code
If you are playing without the manual, the Sub-C radio frequency is 747 MHz. At the end of Level 4, when prompted for a password by the robot, enter 747.
Organ Puzzle
The solution to Captain Bell’s organ puzzle is to step on the keys in this sequence: 1st, 3rd, 5th, 4th, 1st, and then 3rd again, numbering the keys from left to right.
Game Genie Codes
| Cheat Code | Description |
| SXETAKVK | Infinite Lives |
| PASTYZLA | 1 life with a new character |
| TASTYZLA | 6 lives with a new character |
| PAUTGILA | 1 life after continue |
| TAUTGILA | 6 lives after continue |
| SZNZGPAX + VZVZLOSV | Infinite Energy |
| PEXXYTIA + PEUZLTIA | 1 star needed to restore energy |
| PEXXYTIE + PEUZLTIE | 9 stars needed to restore energy |
| SUXXPSVS | Infinite Weapons |
| ZUVLZEPP | Gain 50 fire weapons on pick-up |
| ZUSUYETP | Gain 50 bat weapons on pick-up |
| IEUZZNGA | 3 hearts needed to use Shooting-Star |
| AEOZPYTO | 8 hearts needed to use Super-Nova |
StarTropics Cheat Codes FAQ
Is StarTropics available on modern gaming platforms?
While Nintendo released StarTropicsi in 1990 for NES, more modern iterations of the game are now available. Specifically, on the Wii Virtual Console and NES Classic Edition, gamers can get their hands on StarTropics even if they don’t own an NES console.