Premium rate cheat lines

[markpjd]

Hi,

Did anyone ever call those premium cheat lines when they got stuck on a game? I did a few times, in a phone box that is. Think my parents would have killed me if I used the house phone.

[Superman]

No but I remember the late night TV adverts for them. "For all the latest hints, cheats and tips for computer and console games phone dial-a-tip on 0898......"

[Bugala]

Nintendo used to have weekly tips phoneline here in Finland at 8-Bit NES time. I called that line couple of times, and as far as i can recall, they did have some pretty good tips there.
Nothing that Internet couldnt provide nowadays, but on those days when we waited for monthly magazines to come out and see couple of pages of tips, they were good tips.

I can only faintly partially recall two tips. One was for Zelda 2, I think it was in first or second castle, there was some secret location quite close to entrance where you perhaps got extra life or something. I think it was based upon there being wall that you were able to jump through as long as you knew where it was or something...

And then I think there were lots of those, at title screen/beginning of game/at what ever location, push a, b, b, a, left, right, left, right for x to happen.

Most ridiculous thing was that since NES was so popular, it happened that in same week, more than just one kid from class might have called the same line. Now that is clearly kids stupidity. Had we been smarter, only one had called each week, took notes up to paper and shared it with the rest. That way we had got much more tips. But kids are stupid, and Nintendo is richer.