Why Your “Perfect” Stack of Emulator Cheats Keeps Crashing (And How to Fix It Without Losing Your Mind)

You know that moment when a cheat code works beautifully by itself… and then you turn on two more and your game instantly freezes like it just remembered it left the oven on?

Yeah. That’s not you being cursed (probably). That’s your emulator, your code format, or two cheats aggressively fighting over the same chunk of memory like toddlers in a Target toy aisle.

I’ve done the “enable 12 cheats at once because I deserve joy” thing. I’ve also done the “why is my character now a glitchy smear and the audio is screaming” thing. So let’s fix your cheat stack the sane way without random trial and error until 2 a.m.

The quick “stop crashing” checklist (do these first)

If you only read one section, make it this one:

1. Make sure the code format is right (and the character count isn’t off by one annoying little typo).
2. Split multi-line codes into separate entries (seriously this is a big one).
3. Confirm your ROM/version/region matches the code (v1.0 vs v1.1 matters, and yes it’s obnoxious).
4. Test cheats one at a time, then add them gradually (no cheat pile ons).
5. If it still melts down, check emulator specific quirks (RetroArch handler settings, mobile limitations, etc.).
6. Last resort: patch the ROM instead of running live cheats.

Now let’s talk about the “why,” because once you get it, stacking cheats stops feeling like dark magic.

First: your multi-line code is probably being treated like a single chaotic blob

If you pasted something like this into one entry:

01FF3A7C
01FF3A7D
01FF3A7E

…your emulator may try to process it in a way that’s basically “write to multiple addresses at once and hope for the best.”

Sometimes it “works” (for a while). Sometimes it breaks immediately. Sometimes it waits ten minutes and then crashes right when you beat a boss, which is the emotional equivalent of stepping on a LEGO.

Fix: split it into separate cheat entries. I literally name them like:

• Infinite HP (Part 1)
• Infinite HP (Part 2)
• Infinite HP (Part 3)

Is it glamorous? No. Does it keep your game from imploding? Usually, yes.

Next: character count matters more than your feelings

Cheat codes are picky. Like “one extra space and I’m flipping the table” picky.

A few rules that save a lot of headache:

• Only count hex characters: 0-9 and A-F
• Ignore separators like spaces/hyphens/colons (they’re usually just formatting)
• Uppercase/lowercase doesn’t matter (thank goodness)

“What kind of code is this?” (aka: judge it by its shape)

• Hyphens (ex: FA1-B9C-4C1) → usually Game Genie
• 8 hex characters → often GameShark (GB/GBC)
• 12 hex characters → often Codebreaker
• 16 hex characters → often Action Replay/GameShark (GBA)
• Address:Value (ex: 00FF3A7C:63) → raw address style (common in older systems / certain tools)

If your emulator expects one format and you feed it another, it’s not going to politely suggest a correction. It’s going to do nothing… or crash… or do something horrifying to the graphics.

The ROM/version mismatch problem (aka: “this code is correct, just not for your game”)

This one drives people bonkers because it feels unfair: in a GS Chronicles codes list cheat codes are tied to specific ROM versions and regions.

So:

• Pokémon Emerald v1.0 code might not work on v1.1
• US code might not work on JP/EU
• Sometimes even different dumps of the “same” game behave differently

If a code works alone but freaks out when paired, you might be dealing with:

• a slightly off version match plus
• memory conflicts once multiple cheats start writing

Which brings us to…

Why cheats “clash” when you stack them

Think of your game’s memory like a tiny apartment. Every cheat is barging in and rearranging furniture.

The biggest clash culprit: address collisions

If two cheats write to the same address (or nearby addresses), you can get:

• one cheat overwriting another
• the game reading nonsense
• delayed freezes (the worst kind because you start trusting it)

This happens a lot with behavior changing cheats like:

• invincibility
• walk through walls / no clip
• moon jump
• “always on” speed changes

They’re not just giving you more money they’re messing with how the game engine behaves.

RetroArch: pick ONE cheat handler per session

RetroArch is powerful, but it also loves giving you options that can accidentally sabotage you.

In the Cheats menu, there’s usually a Cheat Handler setting:

• Emulator Handled (passes cheats to the core)
• RetroArch Handled (RetroArch writes memory directly)

Don’t mix them in the same session. That’s like having two people “help” cook dinner by both stirring the pot and changing the heat at the same time.

My personal rule:

• For older systems, I try Emulator Handled first.
• For trickier stuff (often PS1/N64), RetroArch Handled can behave better.

My “no drama” method for stacking cheats

This takes five extra minutes and saves you the hour long spiral where you restart the emulator 17 times and start questioning your hobbies with a safe cheat testing routine.

1) Make a clean starting point

Use an in game save as your baseline. (Save states are convenient, but they’re messy for cheat testing because they can “preserve” cheat effects even after you turn them off.)

2) Test each cheat solo

• Turn on one cheat
• Play for 2-3 minutes in a spot where you can clearly see the effect
• If it’s stable, turn it off and go back to your clean baseline

3) Add cheats one at a time

• Try Cheat A + Cheat B
• Then add Cheat C
• The moment things break, you know exactly who the problem child is

No guessing. No “maybe it’s the emulator?” panic. Just science.

The order I load cheats (because yes, order can matter)

Not all cheats are equally messy roommates.

If you want the smoothest stacking experience, I go in this general order:

1. Cosmetic/visual cheats first
   Palette swaps, sprite tweaks, fun visual stuff usually low conflict.
2. Resource cheats next
   Max money, infinite ammo, extra lives often safe-ish.
3. Gameplay modifiers after that
   Speed, difficulty tweaks higher chance of interacting.
4. Behavior cheats very carefully
   Invincibility/no clip/moon jump limit yourself and test combos.
5. Level skip/debug codes last
   These can trigger chains of internal changes and crash parties fast.

If you’re stacking “walk through walls” with “skip to final boss” with “always encounter rare enemies”… I mean… I support your chaos. I also support your frequent crashing.

Common problems (and the fix that actually works)

“Nothing happens”

• Check format + character count
• Test that cheat alone
• Confirm ROM version/region

“Immediate crash when I enable it”

Usually:

• wrong code for your ROM version, or
• wrong code type for your emulator/core

Try a different code source or a code that targets a different address.

“It freezes after a few minutes”

Classic cheat conflict. Disable the most recently added cheat first. If the freezing stops, congratulations, you found your troublemaker.

“One cheat cancels the other”

They’re probably writing to the same (or nearby) memory. Often you simply can’t run both. Pick your favorite child.

“Graphics go weird / textures corrupt”

Could be:

• a format issue
• a code hitting graphics memory
• or just the emulator needing a restart

Fully restarting the emulator often clears it.

“I turned it off but the effect is still there”

Yep. Cheats can permanently change a value until the game resets it.

Fix:

• close the emulator completely
• reopen
• load from an in game save (not a save state made while cheats were active)

A few emulator specific gotchas (because nothing can ever be easy)

• My Boy (Android free version): multi-line entry can be a pain. Enter each line as its own cheat and number them.
• RetroArch: downloaded cheat files sometimes bundle multi-line codes together. If a code looks like a block, you may need to split it before loading/using it.
• DeSmuME: if you’re using a cheat database (like usrcheat.dat), make sure it’s in the right path and then enable cheats through the cheat list/database menu.

Also: even if your emulator allows a million cheats, stability usually drops when you’re running a whole buffet at once. If you’re at 10+ active codes and things feel cursed… it might not be “you,” it might just be too much happening at once.

The “I’m done messing around” option: ROM patching

If you’ve:

• fixed formats,
• split multi-line codes,
• matched ROM versions,
• tested methodically…

…and it still crashes?

Then yes, ROM patching can be the grown up solution. Instead of running cheats at runtime, you bake the change into the ROM.

Tradeoffs:

• More stable
• Not toggle-able mid game
• Permanent (so keep a clean backup of your original ROM like your sanity depends on it because it does)

Go build your dream cheat stack (responsibly-ish)

Here’s the truth: stacking cheats isn’t luck. It’s just a bunch of small, boring rules that prevent your emulator from face planting.

Split multi-line codes. Match your ROM. Pick one handler method. Test one at a time. And when a cheat combo doesn’t work, don’t take it personally some codes simply cannot coexist peacefully, like cats in a bathtub.

Now go get your infinite health and max resources running together like you always deserved.