ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Chronos Cheat Codes

Updated on October 4, 2013
RetroBrothers profile image

Martin is an experienced software developer with a passion for retro machines and gaming.

Cheats for arcade game Chronos

Chronos: A tapestry of time was a budget game for the ZX Spectrum that was released by those budget supremo's, Mastertronic.

It was released in 1987 and was a pretty standard left to right scrolling arcade game - but for a mere £1.99 you really couldn't go far wrong.

In fact, this game proved that there were actually some good budget Spectrum games available, some of which were of better quality than many full priced computer games.

It also contained a good dose of humour and hidden easter eggs, and a lot of fun could be had trying out different phrases in the high score table...

Chronos: A Tapestry Of Time on the ZX Spectrum

The eyes have it in Chronos on the ZX Spectrum...
The eyes have it in Chronos on the ZX Spectrum...

Chronos Gained A Cult ZX Spectrum Following

This game picked up a bit of a cult following due to it's outstanding techno menu music (courtesy of the legendary Tim Follin which really pushed the Spectrum's single channel beeper to the max) which features in our roundup of ZX Spectrum music.

In fact you could be forgiven for thinking that the title music was actually AY Music - but rest assured it is single channel beeper hardware only!

Tim Follin really knew how to get the best out that particular piece of hardware.

But the main reason this arcade game is fondly remembered is due to it's quirky high score table, and hidden extras and easter eggs.

There were many phrases which could be entered into the table which would respond with humorous messages or activate a cheat code within the game.

If you remember any of them or want to know what they were, please read on...

Chronos Cheat Codes

Almost all ZX Spectrum Games (and most games on most retro computers) featured some sort of cheat code - and many games were POKE'd to death to give infinite lives, weapons power-ups, player invincibilty and more .

But Chronos (just like the legendary vector classic Dark Star from Design Design) allowed you to activate cheats from the high score table.

We reckon you should download Chronos for a ZX Spectrum emulator (see Download Spectrum for more details) and give it a go.

Once you've got the game up, play it and get the hang of it (you will find that it's actually quite good), then have some fun with the high score table.

Try typing in some of these words for starters...

  • nemesis
  • design design
  • peter gough
  • mike follin
  • tim follin
  • mark wilson
  • agent x
  • chronos
  • the thug
  • jing it baby

Apart from the above phrases you could also try some 'naughty' words if you feel so inclined.

Doing this was funny when I was fifteen anyway... ;-)

Many of the names in the list are famous Spectrum programmers (such as Tim Follin, Mike Follin and Peter Gough) and other words are the titles of classic shoot em up style games.

Enter these phrases and have some fun...

It's almost as good as the game itself!

Chronos: A Tapestry Of Time

Destroying the obstacles to make it through the tunnel in Chronos
Destroying the obstacles to make it through the tunnel in Chronos

Playable shoot em up action in Chronos

Chronos - It's a bit like Scramble only not quite as good. ZX Spectrum.
Chronos - It's a bit like Scramble only not quite as good. ZX Spectrum.

High score table humour in Chronos

It should be noted that many other games featured high score table shenanigans and humour.

Games from Design Design often had this built into their high score tables, and programmer Peter Gough was known for funny phrases in his games (such as the excellent budget titles Scumball and Gunstar) and high score tables too.

One game sticks in my memory for humour in the high score table: Dark Star (by Design Design) - one which we will have now covered in detail at Dark Star Cheat Codes.

A Tapestry of time scrolls by in Chronos...

The Extra Effort In Chronos

It was always a good thing when programmers had a little bit of fun with a game, and that little bit of extra effort definitely made a game more memorable.

This game would have been lost amongst the midst of other scrolling shmups on the Speccy if it wasn't for the humour that the developers included.

Anyone that ever played this game will always quote you with 'Jing It Baby' - it is just one of those things that sticks in your mind.

For that reason it stands out from the rest of the budget shoot em up crowd and for me is a real cult classic budget title.

The Excellent Title Music In Chronos on the ZX Spectrum

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)