Konami Digital Entertainment has announced its plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Konami Code, which will officially take place on April 25, 2026. The milestone also coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Japanese Family Computer (NES) release of Gradius, the first game to feature the iconic Konami Code.
To commemorate these anniversaries, Konami has released six original soundtracks for digital purchase and streaming on major platforms, including Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify. The soundtracks include:
- Gradius (FC/NES)
- Gradius II (FC/NES)
- Gradius III (SFC/SNES)
- Nemesis (Game Boy)
- Nemesis II (Game Boy)
- Salamander (FC/NES)
Additionally, Konami collaborated with manga artist Shota Hattori to create two short manga pages celebrating Gradius’ 40th anniversary. The company also partnered with Amazon to release exclusive T-shirts via Amazon Merch on Demand, though these appear to be available only in Japan.
Origins of the Konami Code
The Konami Code first debuted with the release of Gradius for the Family Computer (NES) in Japan on April 25, 1986. Entering the sequence “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A” while the game was paused granted players access to nearly all available upgrades.
The code gained wider recognition in the West through the 1988 NES release of Contra, where inputting it on the title screen granted players thirty lives instead of the default three.
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