If you close your eyes and listen closely, you can still hear Rahzel’s voice booming over a distorted breakbeat. "It's Tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time!" For anyone who owned a PlayStation 2, GameCube, or Xbox back in 2001, that soundtrack wasn't just background noise; it was the anthem of the greatest snowboarding game ever made. But let’s be real for a second. While the physics were buttery and the Uber tricks were flashy, the real soul of the experience lived in the SSX Tricky cheat codes.
Back then, we didn't have microtransactions. You didn't pull out a credit card to unlock a neon board or a secret character. You sat on your floor, squinted at a crumpled page from a gaming magazine, and hammered in a sequence of shoulder buttons until the game blooped in approval.
It felt like magic.
Honestly, the "master code" for SSX Tricky is probably burned into the muscle memory of an entire generation. To get anything to work, you had to hold down all the shoulder buttons—L1, L2, R1, and R2 on the PS2 version—at the Options screen. Then you’d tap out a rhythm: Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle. If you did it right, a chime would sound. That sound was the literal key to the kingdom. It unlocked everything. Every track, every rider, every board. Just like that. No grinding through World Circuit mode for twenty hours if you just wanted to hit Garibaldi with your friends on a Friday night.
The Mystery of the Mix Master
SSX Tricky wasn't just about winning races. It was about style. EA Sports BIG—rest in peace to that legendary label—understood that personality was more important than realism. That’s why the cheat codes felt so essential. They weren't just shortcuts; they were invitations to break the game’s reality.
Take the Mallora board, for example. Or the way you could unlock Marty, the teenage prodigy who felt like a hidden tribute to the developers' own nerdier roots. To get him on the PS2, you held those shoulder buttons and tapped Right, Lower, Left, Upper, Right, Lower, Left, Upper. It’s a repetitive pattern, almost like a drum fill.
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There's something deeply nostalgic about that era of gaming. Nowadays, "cheating" is seen as a violation of competitive integrity. But in 2001? It was a feature. Developers hid these things as rewards for the dedicated. Some codes were goofy, like the ones that gave your riders massive heads or tiny bodies. Others were practical. If you were struggling to fill that boost bar, there was a specific input—holding the shoulders and pressing Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex—to give you infinite boost.
Suddenly, you weren't just snowboarding. You were flying.
You could stay in "Tricky" mode indefinitely. The pyrotechnics would never stop. The music would stay at that high-octane peak forever. It changed the tempo of the game from a sports sim to a frantic, arcade masterpiece.
Breaking Down the Region Lock
One thing people often forget is that SSX Tricky cheat codes weren't always universal. If you were playing the PAL version in the UK or Australia, sometimes the timings felt slightly off compared to the NTSC version in the US. And the buttons? Don't even get me started on the GameCube controller. Mapping L1 and R1 to those clicky analog triggers was a nightmare for code entry.
On the Xbox, you’d hold the triggers and the Black and White buttons. Then it was Y, X, Y, X, Y, X, Y, X. It lacked the rhythmic elegance of the DualShock, but it got the job done.
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Why do we still care? Because SSX Tricky represents a peak in "flow state" gaming. When you're zooming down Mercury City Meltdown, dodging traffic and hitting rails that defy the laws of gravity, the last thing you want is a locked gate. The codes allowed players to bypass the "work" and get straight to the "play."
The Master List of Essentials
If you’ve dusted off your old console or you’re running an emulator, here is exactly what you need to remember. Keep in mind, for every single one of these on the PS2, you must be at the Options screen and you must hold L1, L2, R1, and R2 the entire time.
- Unlock Everything: Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle. This is the big one. It saves you days of effort.
- Infinite Boost: Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex. Essential for those who just want to do Uber tricks constantly.
- Mallora Board: Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle, Ex, Circle. (Wait, sounds familiar? Sometimes the game logic overlaps!)
- Unlock Brodi: Left, Left, Right, Right, Up, Down, Up, Down.
It's funny how simple they are. Just directional taps and face buttons. Yet, they felt like entering the Matrix.
The Culture of the Cheat
There's a persistent myth that using codes ruins the longevity of a game. For SSX Tricky, the opposite was true. Because the game was so inherently fun to play, unlocking everything early didn't stop you from playing; it just gave you more toys to play with. You still had to actually land the tricks. A code didn't help you time a triple-backflip-late-method-to-pro-sit-grab. It just gave you the board that made it look cooler.
The "Mimi" code was another fan favorite. Holding the shoulder buttons and hitting Square, Ex, Square, Ex, Square, Ex, Square, Ex would unlock her. She was stylish, fast, and had some of the best animations in the game.
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Most players actually preferred unlocking characters this way because the World Circuit could be punishing. The AI in SSX Tricky didn't play fair. They would shove you off the course, knock you down right before a jump, and catch up to you with "rubber-band" physics that felt genuinely "cheaty" on the game's part. Using a code was just balancing the scales.
Why SSX Tricky Never Truly Died
We haven't seen a game like this in years. The 2012 reboot was too "gritty." It forgot that snowboarding is supposed to be colorful and loud. Tricky was basically a Saturday morning cartoon on ice.
The cheat codes were a part of that identity. They belonged to an era where games were sold as complete packages. You bought the disc, you owned the content. There was no "Season Pass" to get the new tracks. There were just codes.
If you're looking to revisit this classic, don't feel guilty about using them. The developers put them there for a reason. They wanted you to see the neon lights of Tokyo Megaplex and the terrifying drops of Alaska without having to suffer through the lower-tier boards first.
Actionable Tips for the Modern Rider
If you are booting up SSX Tricky today, here is the most efficient way to use these codes to maximize your fun:
- Don't unlock everything immediately. Try to beat the first two tracks, Garibaldi and Snowdream, the old-fashioned way. It helps you learn the physics of the game before things get too fast.
- Use the Infinite Boost code for "Showoff" mode. If you’re trying to set high scores, having a full boost bar allows you to chain Ubers together in a way that is statistically impossible otherwise. It turns the game into a pure rhythm puzzler.
- Check your controller sensitivity. If you're on an emulator, entering the "Master Code" can be tricky because digital inputs sometimes trigger twice. Tap the buttons firmly but quickly.
- Explore the "Big Head" mode. It’s not just a visual gag; it actually makes it slightly easier to see your rider’s orientation during complex spins, which can help with landing.
SSX Tricky remains a masterclass in arcade design. Its codes aren't "hacks"—they're the secret sauce that makes an already great game legendary. Grab your controller, hold those shoulder buttons, and get back to the peak.