Demon's Crest Cheat Codes & Secrets
Complete collection of cheat codes, passwords, unlockables, and hidden secrets for Demon's Crest (1994).
Password System
Demon’s Crest uses a battery-backed SRAM save system as its primary progression method — you save manually from the world map screen. The game also includes a password entry screen accessible from the title menu, allowing players to jump to specific game states using character-grid codes.
Passwords are entered on a 4×5 grid of uppercase letters and symbols. The cursor wraps around the grid, and you confirm each character with the A button.
| Password | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
LKGG BGNK NCGG BGNL | Start with all five Crests collected | Begin with maximum Firebrand power |
BGNK BGNK BGNK BGNK | New game with Urn of Infinity | Extra death buffer from the start |
LGGG KGNK LCGG KGNM | All Life Bottles and Arm Potions | Full HP and magic gauge extensions |
KCGG BGNK NCGK BGNL | Legendary Armor unlocked | Grants the platinum form |
Note: Password validity can vary between the US (Demon’s Crest) and Japanese (Makaimura Monshou-Hen) cartridge revisions. If a code fails, verify your regional version.
Secret Items and Upgrades
Most of Demon’s Crest’s hidden content is found through exploration rather than cheat codes. Collecting all upgrades is required for the true ending.
| Item | Location | How to Access |
|---|---|---|
| Urn of Infinity | Colosseum hidden chamber | Use Fire Crest charged shot on cracked wall at far right |
| Gargoyle’s Pin | Umbermarle secret alcove | Hover with Wind Crest above the spike corridor ceiling |
| Life Bottle #4 | Dark Demon’s Tower upper section | Earth Crest ground-burrow under the locked gate |
| Arm Potion #4 | Forest stage submerged area | Requires Water (Heaven) Crest swimming ability |
| Crest of Heaven | Final hidden boss | Defeat the Arma enemy form that appears after clearing all other crests |
Talisman of Infinity — distinct from the Urn of Infinity, this item is obtained by purchasing it from the Pawn Shop on the world map after accumulating sufficient Red Arremer souls from fallen enemies. It permanently halves all incoming damage.
Legendary Armor (Platinum Form) — the most powerful upgrade. Obtained by presenting all five crests on the altar in the secret Crest Shrine, accessible via a hidden entrance on the world map bottom-left sector. Requires Earth Crest burrowing to reach the entrance tile.
Multiple Endings
The ending you receive is determined entirely by what you’ve collected before the final Phalanx confrontation.
| Condition | Ending |
|---|---|
| Defeat Dark Demon with 1–4 crests | Bad ending — Firebrand becomes the new Dark Demon |
| Defeat with all 5 crests, missing upgrades | Normal ending — Phalanx is sealed but world remains dark |
| Defeat with all 5 crests + Talisman of Infinity | Good ending — Phalanx fully destroyed, partial peace |
| All 5 crests + Talisman + Legendary Armor | True ending — full cutscene, Firebrand restores the demon realm |
The true ending is a significant content difference from the bad ending and is considered the canonical conclusion of the Gargoyle’s Quest trilogy.
Hidden Stage and Secret Boss
Phalanx’s Inner Sanctum is not listed on the world map until you collect all five crests. Once all crests are held, a new icon appears in the center of the map. This stage cannot be accessed any earlier regardless of progress.
The Arma secret boss, which drops the Heaven Crest, spawns only after all four other crests are collected and you re-enter the final world. It replaces a standard enemy encounter at a fixed spawn point near the stage entrance.
Beneficial Glitches and Exploits
Aerial Flame Extension While hovering with the Wind Crest, releasing and re-pressing B during a charged fireball animation briefly extends flame range beyond its intended maximum. Useful for hitting the Arma boss without entering its attack range.
Shop Inventory Reset The Pawn Shop’s stock refreshes every time you collect any item from a stage. If the shop lacks a desired upgrade, collect a cheap item anywhere on the map, return to the shop, and the inventory cycles. This is the fastest method to farm for the Talisman of Infinity.
Wall-Slide Cancel In narrow vertical corridors, Firebrand can clip through thin wall geometry by repeatedly pressing into the wall while simultaneously pressing the opposite direction and Up. This skips a locked-door segment in the Colosseum stage, saving roughly 90 seconds.
Death Warp (Boss Skip Variant) Dying on the frame a boss’s health reaches zero counts both the kill and the death simultaneously. The boss is defeated, the item drop triggers, but you respawn at the stage entrance instead of receiving the standard victory screen. All rewards are retained. This is not consistent and depends on exact timing.
Infinite Red Arremer Farming The Forest stage’s third section has two Red Arremer respawn points that cycle without limit as long as you don’t proceed past the midpoint gate. Standing at the gate boundary while defeating each Arremer nets unlimited souls for Pawn Shop purchases without needing to exit and re-enter the stage.
Sound Test and Debug Access
From the title screen, navigate to Option and scroll to the Sound sub-menu. All music tracks and sound effects are available for playback here, including unused audio assets that do not appear in normal gameplay — notably two unused boss music variants and an alternate map theme present in the ROM.
There is no known developer room or full debug mode accessible through conventional input on the retail cartridge, though ROM hacking tools have identified debug flag variables in the SRAM that can re-enable stage-select and invincibility functions present in the development build.
Crest Ability Reference for Sequence Breaking
Each crest unlocks movement abilities used to reach hidden content:
| Crest | Ability | Required For |
|---|---|---|
| Fire (default) | Charged fireball, basic hover | Base movement |
| Wind | Extended hover, aerial dash | Most hidden alcoves |
| Earth | Ground burrow, heavy dash | Underground passages, Legendary Armor |
| Time | Temporal slow (enemies freeze) | Optional, no secret gates |
| Heaven | Water breathing, enhanced flight | Submerged item rooms |
Sequence-break runners typically prioritize Wind → Earth → Heaven acquisition order to access all hidden content in minimal stages, skipping Time Crest collection until post-game if targeting true ending only.