Cheat code

A cheat code in emulation is typically a short string (Game Genie, Pro Action Replay, or PAR format) that patches a specific memory address to a fixed value at runtime. "Infinite lives" works by overwriting the lives counter on every frame so the game can't decrement it. Modern emulators ship cheat databases keyed by game CRC; loading one applies the appropriate set automatically. Cheats are NOT save states — they don't snapshot anything, they just intercept memory reads/writes.