I WAS AN HONEST CHILD, AS I AM AN HONEST ADULT. I NEVER CHEATED ON A TEST AND I NEVER CHEATED ON A GIRLFRIEND…BUT I DID CHEAT ON “CONTRA.” WHO DIDN’T? UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, A, B, A, B, SELECT, START AND SUDDENLY YOU HAD UNLIMITED LIVES. THE CODE WAS A VARIATION OF THE KONAMI CODE, A CHEATING SYSTEM DESIGNED IN 1986 FOR THE NINTENDO GAME “GRADIUS” BUT MADE FAMOUS BY “CONTRA” WHOSE popularity AND DIFFICULTY made THE CODE renowned to an entire generation of GAMERS. WHEN SUPER NINTENDO CAME ONTO THE MARKET IN 1990 AND GRAPHICS SPEEDILY IMPROVED, MY INTEREST IN VIDEO GAMES SPEEDILY DECREASED, LEAVING ME MISSING “CONTRA” AND THE DAYS OF BLOWING INTO CARTRIDGES.