Beyond Oasis Cheat Codes & Secrets
Complete collection of cheat codes, passwords, unlockables, and hidden secrets for Beyond Oasis (1994).
Cheat Codes and Title Screen Tricks
Beyond Oasis (known as The Story of Thor in PAL regions) stores progress via internal battery backup rather than a password system, but the game still has a handful of known input codes and exploits worth knowing.
| Code | Effect | When to Enter |
|---|---|---|
| Hold A + B + C, then press Start | Access the Options/Sound Test screen from the title | Title screen |
| Hold Up + A + B + C, press Start | Enables a stage select debug option on some revisions | Title screen (before logo fades) |
| At the Options screen, highlight BGM, hold A + C and press Start | Unlock the full sound test with all tracks | Options screen |
Hardware note: Button inputs on Genesis are A (weak attack), B (strong attack), C (jump/action), with the D-pad and Start. All sequences below use this naming convention.
Sound Test Mode
The Options screen doubles as a sound test. Navigate to the BGM or SE (Sound Effect) entry, then:
- Press Left/Right on the D-pad to cycle through track numbers.
- Press A to play the selected BGM track.
- Press B to play the selected sound effect.
- Press C to stop playback.
Beyond Oasis has a particularly celebrated soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro of Ancient, and the sound test gives access to all in-game tracks including ambient dungeon themes not always noticed during normal play.
Infinite Continues and Extra Lives
Beyond Oasis is not stingy with continues by default, but the following exploits extend play sessions considerably:
| Method | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Die on the first hit of a boss, continue, repeat | No penalty to score ranking at end-game review | Each continue resets boss HP to full |
| Farm the first overworld enemies before entering the first dungeon | Build up to max HP upgrades early | Red jars restore HP; yellow jars fill magic gauge |
| Use Dytto (water spirit) to heal before save statues | Preserve HP entering dungeons without consuming items | Summon near any water surface |
There is no true “infinite lives” code in the traditional arcade sense — Beyond Oasis uses a continues system rather than a lives counter.
Gold Duplication Glitch
This is the most widely used beneficial exploit in the game and works on original cartridge hardware:
- Open your inventory and equip an item you want to sell (or hold a stack of gold).
- Stand near a merchant NPC and initiate the sell screen.
- Rapidly press A + B simultaneously while confirming the sale at the exact frame the transaction processes.
- On successful timing, the item or gold value registers twice — once deducted from inventory and once credited — creating a net gain.
Execution is frame-precise and inconsistent; expect to attempt this 5–10 times before it lands. Works most reliably on the North American v1.0 cartridge.
Spirit Secrets and Hidden Interactions
Each of the four spirits (Dytto, Efreet, Bow/Bawu, Lipple) has hidden environmental interactions beyond their primary combat uses.
| Spirit | Hidden Interaction | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Dytto (water) | Summon near cracked walls in the Water Dungeon to reveal hidden passages | Water Dungeon, B2–B4 |
| Efreet (fire) | Burn specific grass patches on the overworld to uncover buried treasure jars | Northeast overworld region |
| Bow/Bawu (shadow) | Merge with certain NPCs briefly to receive secret dialogue and item hints | Various town areas |
| Lipple (plant) | Grow vines on crumbled platforms to restore traversable paths | Forest area and final dungeon approaches |
Dytto’s wall reveal is particularly useful — at least three non-obvious treasure rooms in the Water Dungeon are only accessible this way and contain armor upgrades not available from merchants.
Developer Easter Eggs
Ancient Staff Reference: In the town of Oasis, speak to the elder NPC in the northeast house after obtaining the Gold Armlet. He will reference “the ancient ones who built this land,” a nod to the developer studio Ancient Co., Ltd. and Yuzo Koshiro. This dialogue only triggers once and does not reappear after saving and reloading.
Koshiro Signature Track: BGM track 02 in the sound test contains a brief four-note motif that Koshiro reused across multiple Ancient titles. Fans of Streets of Rage will recognize the melodic fingerprint.
Hidden Bestiary Credit: Defeating every enemy type (all 64 variants) before the final boss triggers an additional line of end credits text naming the monster designers — this is never explained in the manual and most players miss it on first runs.
Beneficial Glitches and Exploits
Boss Room Re-entry Skip After defeating a dungeon boss, if you exit the boss chamber and re-enter before the “clear” fanfare fully resolves, the game may not properly flag the boss as dead. Walk out completely, wait for the map to update, then save at the nearest statue. This prevents a rare softlock on emulators where the door-open animation fails to trigger.
Spirit Gauge Overflow Filling your magic gauge to maximum and then immediately using a spirit summon while the final gauge segment animates can cause the gauge to register as overflowing, giving a brief period where spirit summons cost no magic. This lasts approximately 3–5 seconds and is most useful during the final dungeon’s gauntlet sections.
Wall Clip Near Locked Doors Several early dungeon locked doors have a one-pixel gap on their left edge. Walking into the gap at a diagonal while holding Up + Left and tapping B repeatedly can clip Ali through the door geometry, bypassing the key requirement. Documented working locations: Dungeon 2 (eastern gate), Dungeon 4 (north-central shortcut door).
Enemy Stun Loop Efreet’s fire attack stun-locks most non-boss enemies indefinitely if you strike from behind during the stun animation. Position Ali directly behind the target, summon Efreet, and alternate A + B to maintain the stun while Efreet fires. Standard enemies never recover from this and drop items as normal when they expire.
Speedrun-Notable Exploits
| Exploit | Time Save | Category Used In |
|---|---|---|
| Wall clip at Dungeon 2 east gate | ~4 minutes | Any% |
| Spirit gauge overflow in final dungeon | ~2 minutes | Any% |
| Boss skip via re-entry timing (Dungeon 5) | ~90 seconds | Any% No Major Glitches |
| Efreet stun loop on all non-immune minibosses | ~30–60 seconds each | All Bosses |
Beyond Oasis has a small but active speedrunning community; current records are documented at Speedrun.com under the “The Story of Thor / Beyond Oasis” category page.