Since interviewing Chuck Tolman for my Virtua Racing video, a super secret loomed over my soul. Tolman told me and Patrick Traynor about a cheat code never released to the public. He gave us a few variations of what the input could be, since memories on things that happened 25 years ago tend to get fuzzy. If done correctly at the “Time Warner Interactive presents” screen, never before seen movies and a “super car” are at your fingertips.
While researching and recording my video, I could not get the code to work after hours of attempts. I threw in the towel, eventually finding the super secret movie hidden in the game disc files. I was able to play it without audio, a live action stop animation of the developers scooting their butts along a sidewalk while holding steering wheels. I also unlocked the “super car” organically thanks to a hint from an old cheat code website. So I left the super secret code alone, assuming the code was incorrectly remembered, having already tasted the fruits of what it would have offered.
But of the 8,000 people who watched my video so far, one person decided to give it another chance. A YouTube user called The Dude became the first person in known history to pull off this elusive cheat.
As it turns out, you have to input the code after the first attract mode plays out. In the first “Time Warner Interactive presents” screen, the logo plays in an FMV that fades out automatically. The second time this screen pops up, it is a simple image instead of an FMV. Starting the cheat code prevents it from fading out. Successfully inputting the code brings you to the move viewer of Tolman legend.
If you watch The Dude’s video, you will see there actually appears to be three secret movies. Two are the developers pretending to be cars, while the third is a bizarre “victory” video. I almost wonder if the third video plays when you get last place in Grand Prix mode. It would appear nobody has seen it, since getting last place in Grand Prix mode would be pretty difficult to do by accident. You can of course use the movie viewer to watch all the other FMVs used in the game, including those lovely track previews.
The super secret code which must be entered on the “Time Warner Interactive presents” screen after the first attract mode is: down 51 times, left, right, left, right, up, right, left, right, left. If successful, it will fade out of the logo and into the movie viewer. The d-pad scrolls through the movies, C plays the selected movie and start will stop a movie from playing. To unlock the F-200 Super Car from the movie viewer, hold X, Y and Z, then press B. This will exit out of the movie viewer and into the game. Go to Practice mode, hover over the F-160 car and press Z. It will turn into the F-200. Having tried out the code myself after this discovery, I can safely say it is relatively easy to pull off and does not need to be done that quickly. It worked on my first try – on the second “Time Warner Interactive presents” screen.
A big thank you to Chuck Tolman, his friend/former co-worker Mike Alexander, and The Dude for bringing this super secret to light. I can finally rest easy.
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