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Pirates! Gold
海盗！黄金版
Pirates! Gold is a strategy game developed by MicroProse Software and released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis. Players assume the role of a pirate captain commanding a ship across the Caribbean, managing crew members, trading goods, and engaging in naval combat. The game combines turn-based strategy elements with action sequences during ship-to-ship battles. Gameplay involves navigating the open sea, visiting ports to buy and sell commodities, recruiting crew, and pursuing merchant vessels and rival pirates. Combat uses a side-scrolling perspective where players control cannon fire and ship maneuvers. The experience progresses through multiple campaigns, with goals ranging from accumulating wealth to building a powerful fleet. Resource management—tracking supplies, crew morale, and ship condition—forms a core gameplay mechanic. The game offers substantial replayability through randomized elements and multiple playstyles.
- Developer
- MicroProse Software, Inc.
- Released
- 1993
- Platform
- Mega Drive
- Genre
- Strategy
- Players
- 1P
- Rating
- 4.6 / 5 (2.1K)
- Last updated
Pirates! Gold Controls — Mega Drive Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Pirates! Gold on our in-browser Mega Drive emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | D-Pad Up | Move up |
| ↓ | D-Pad Down | Move down |
| ← | D-Pad Left | Move left |
| → | D-Pad Right | Move right |
| X | A | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | B | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | C | Tertiary action |
| A | X | Quaternary action |
| Q | Y | Fifth button |
| W | Z | Sixth button |
| Enter | Start | Start / Pause |
These bindings cover the 6-button Mega Drive controller. Most older titles only use buttons A/B/C; the extra X/Y/Z buttons matter for Street Fighter II and other 6-button fighters.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Pirates! Gold Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Pirates! Gold on Mega Drive before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Pirates! Gold" Mega Drive longplay 1993
Pirates! Gold Cheat Codes
30 community-curated cheats for Pirates! Gold. Tick any to activate them automatically when you click "Play with cheats" — or copy a code into your own emulator.
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Historical Period Modifier
FFFF19:XXFFFF18:0000 -
Nationality Modifier
FFFFAF:XXFFFFAE:0000 -
Infinite Health While Sword Fighting
FF12FB:24FF12FA:0024 -
Almost No Health For Enemy While Sword Fighting
FF69BF:01FF69BE:0001 -
Max Crew Members
FF01C5:FFFF01C4:00FF -
Cannons Reload Much Faster During Sea Battles
FFFF41:00FFFF40:0000 -
Master code
AACA-AA86 -
Don't get charged in shops (sugar, food, goods).
ALKA-AA2N -
Infinite energy during sword fights.
AMEA-AA96 -
Infinite energy during sword fights, plus your opponent won't gain any energy when he hits you (this makes it much easier to win the fight).
A5EA-AA96 -
Never age (your age and health will never change).
AMYT-AA4J -
Age is always 25 years old (and health is always fine).
FF01E8:0000
Show 18 more cheats Show fewer
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When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With $5000 Gold! (Instead Of Only $2000 Gold)
8VKA-JCC0 -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With $20,000 Gold! (Instead Of Only $2000 Gold)
4BKA-JRC0 -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With $80,000 Gold! (Instead Of Only $2000 Gold)
JBKA-K8C0 -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With 12 Cannons (Instead Of Only 8)
AFKA-J2CY -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With 20 Cannons (Instead Of Only 8)
AFKA-KJCY -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With 30 Crew Members (Instead of 40)
D3KA-JACW -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With 56 Crew Members (Instead Of Only 40)
HBKA-JACW -
When You Choose English Buccaneer As Your Nationality, You Will Start The Game With 250 Crew Members (Instead Of Only 40)
9KKA-JACW -
The Number of Cannons You Have Doesn't Decrease When You Try To Sell Them At Seaside Towns
AJ1A-AA84 -
Don't Lose Any Crew Members When You Have Sword Fights (Although You Can Still Lose The Duel)
AMRA-AA2J -
Enemy Cannons Can Only Shoot At You Once During A Battle
RG6A-C6VA -
Infinite Food
FF01CA:00FF -
Cannons/Food Modifier (On Ship)
FFFE04:0000 -
Always Have Empty Space (On Ship)
FFFE08:0000 -
Have Lots of Money
FF01E0:00FF -
Have Money Maxed Out
FF01E0:00FF+FF01E0:00FF -
Fake No Allies CPU
FF12F4:00FF -
Fake Max Allies P1
FF12F6:00FF
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Pirates! Gold released?
Pirates! Gold was released in 1993 for the Mega Drive.
Who developed Pirates! Gold?
Pirates! Gold was developed by MicroProse Software, Inc., available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Pirates! Gold support?
Pirates! Gold is a single-player Strategy game for the Mega Drive.
What type of game is Pirates! Gold?
Pirates! Gold is a Strategy game for the Mega Drive, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Pirates! Gold for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Pirates! Gold runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Pirates! Gold in the browser?
No. Pirates! Gold streams from a public archive into a browser-side Mega Drive emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Pirates! Gold?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Mega Drive cartridge supported.
Does Pirates! Gold work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Mega Drive emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Pirates! Gold this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Pirates! Gold. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
