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(Pro) Action Replay is a series of cheat devices by Datel for various computers, consoles, and handhelds. Besides cheating, they can be used to explore unused game content or crash games in a variety of amusing ways.

As typical for Datel, various sub-brands have been used at various points in history, such asCheatWare andCodeJunkies.

For some time between the mid '90s and the bankruptcy of InterAct by 2003, North American versions were rebranded asGameShark; after the name was sold to Mad Catz, it was used for non-AR products such as the GameShark SP (Xploder/CodeBreaker based).

In Asia, it used to be distributed by E.M.S. Production under different names, most famously the PS1'sGold Finger (which became a more or less generic name for cheat devices and their codes).

In Japan, although product names tended to be the closer to their Datel originals, theKarat brand was used; eventually, its association withCyber Gadget (who eventually dropped the former brand and, soon after in 2006, their relationship with Datel) became evident through the use ofthe same mascot.

Versions for Computers

• Commodore 64
  • Action Replay
  • Action Replay MK II
  • Action Replay MK III
  • Action Replay MK IV (1988)
  • Action Replay MK V (1989)
  • Action Replay MK VI
• Commodore Amiga
  • Action Replay (A500 cart / A2000 CPU card)
  • Action Replay (A1200 card)
  • Action Replay MK II (A500 cart / A2000 CPU card)
  • Action Replay MK III (A500 cart / A2000 CPU card; 1991)
• PC
  • Action Replay PC (ISA card) for DOS (1994)
  • Action Replay PC for Windows 95/98 (1998)

Versions for Video Game Consoles

Late 8-Bit Era

• Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Pro Action Replay (1992)
• Sega Master System
  • Pro Action Replay
• Star Disk System
  • Pro Action Replay

16-Bit Era

• Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis
  • Action Replay (no trainer, and only supports ROM cheats)
  • Pro Action Replay
  • Pro Action Replay MK2
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Pro Action Replay
  • Pro Action Replay MK2
  • Pro Action Replay MK3

32/64-Bit Era

• Sega Saturn
  • Pro Action Replay
  • Pro Action Replay 4M (with 4MB RAM for special games, and auto-detection of which RAM is needed)
  • Pro Action Replay 4M Plus (same as the 4M, but with manual choice of the needed RAM)
• PlayStation
  • Action Replay (1995, expansion cartridge)
  • Pro Action Replay (1996, expansion cartridge)
  • Action Replay CDX (1997, CD-ROM)
  • Action Replay 2 V2 (2001, as bonus disc with the PS2 "Action Replay 2 V2")
  • Equalizer
  • Equalizer CDX
  • Equalizer Xtreme
• Nintendo 64
  • Action Replay/GameShark
  • Action Replay Professional/GameShark Pro (1999)
  • Equalizer

Sixth-Generation

• Dreamcast
  • Action Replay CDX (2000)
    • Action Replay CDX demo version
  • Equalizer Xtreme
• PlayStation 2 (New revisions of the console blacklist earlier editions of this and other unauthorised software in the mechacon, with various additional reissues being released to circumvent this.)
  • Action Replay 2 (2000)
  • Action Replay 2 V2 (2001)
  • Action Replay MAX (2003)
  • Action Replay MAX EVO (2004)
  • Action Replay MAX EVO (2009)
• Xbox
  • Action Replay (2002)
  • Action Replay MAX
• GameCube
  • Action Replay (2003; later Wii firmware blocks this on consoles running in GameCube mode - specifically, the updated MIOS blocks this, but if you're in a position to rectify that, you don't need to anymore)
  • Action Replay MAX (200X)
  • Action Replay (2006; works on Wii)

Seventh-Generation

• Wii
  • Action Replay Powersaves including 512MB or 1GB SD card (July 2007; pre-made saves only)
  • Action Replay for Wii (2012; a commercial homebrew, self-booting using a variant of Wilbrand/LetterBomb, bundled with a combo SD/USB card)
• Xbox 360
  • Action Replay MAX 360Powersaves (July 2009)

Versions for Handheld Consoles

• Sega Game Gear
  • Pro Action Replay

• Game Boy (Pocket/Color)
  • Pro Action Replay
  • Action Replay Professional (1997)
  • Action Replay Pro (1999, mechanical change to fit GBC better)
  • Action Replay Online (2000)
  • Action Replay Xtreme (2001)
• Game Boy Advance
  • Action Replay GBX (November 2001)
  • Action Replay (2003)
  • Action Replay MAX (2004)
  • Action Replay MAX DUO (March 2005)

• Nintendo DS
  • Action Replay MAX DUO (March 2005; save-based operations only)
  • Action Replay DS (July 2006; brown label)
    • NDS Trainer Toolkit (February 2007) {only available online;Toolkit Manual}
  • Action Replay DS Media Edition (September 2008; only available online)
  • Action Replay DS EZ (February 2009)
• Nintendo DSi
  • Action Replay DSi (October 2009)
  • Action Replay DS (2011; advertised as 3DS compatible; indigo label)

• PlayStation Portable
  • Action Replay MAX including 64MB Memory Stick (August 2005; Powersaves only)
  • Action Replay for PSP including 64MB or 1GB Memory Stick (Powersaves only)
  • Action Replay PSP including 1GB Memory Stick (October 2008)
  • Action Replay PSP Online (December 2009)

• Nintendo 3DS
  • Action Replay Power Saves for 3DS (June 2013; yellow box)
    • Uses a proprietary DRM'd cloud service. Eventually updated to support actual save patches on top of the initial backup/restore and strict Powersaves (pre-hacked saves) functionality.
    • Action Replay Power Saves / PowerSaves Pro / Pro Aku Save for 3DS (2017?; black box, functionally equivalent to the above)
  • Action Replay PowerBase / PowerSaves Plus (combo PowerSaves Pro and PowerSaves for Amiibo with web/mobile UI)

Notes

Nintendo 64

TheNintendo 64 version was sold in North America as theGameShark. Despite the regional differences, it works equally well on NTSC and PAL systems. The hardware is extremely cheap and prone to failure, though.

Some revisions include a parallel port on the back to connect to a PC while the game is running, but for some reason Datel also released Action Replays with nonfunctional parallel ports. Older versions instead had a smart card reader, which was intended for some sort of upgrade system that ultimately went unused.

Action Replay will only boot if the connected cartridge has a *101 or *102 lockout chip. For other lockout chips, a key code must be entered. Most NTSC games have 6102 chips, while most PAL games have 7101 chips.

GameCube

Fortunately, theGameCube version includes region-lock removal. Unfortunately, it also has encrypted codes. Fortunately, the format was cracked, and decryption tools exist.

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