Sword of Vermilion

In Sword of Vermilion, you are the son of Erik V, who must search for the Eight Rings of Good to stop Tsarkon. It's probably most famous today for having been sold with a 106-page hint book, predating Nintendo's inclusion of a Player's Guide with copies of EarthBound.

Test Menu
The test menu was actually mentioned outright in the Hint Book: simply press A + B + C + Start on Controller 2. Selecting Exit goes to the title screen, so make sure to save before entering the code.


 * Input Test: A screen with the controller buttons present. The game is prone to crash on this screen, for some reason.




 * Sound Test: The usual choice of BGM, Effect, BGM2, and D/A. Selecting one brings up a list of sound effects or music.




 * C.R.T. Test: A black screen with four rows of white, red, green and blue gradients, allowing the player to adjust their screen's brightness and contrast to their liking.



Semi-Unused Music


The tune labeled "18. PLAYER DEAD" on the Sound Test is not actually used in that context, as the player is immediately brought back to the last visited church upon death.

However, if the backup RAM gets corrupted somehow (such as through battery-backup failure) and the player tries to load that save, the message "If an error occurs, press button C." will appear. Continuing will play the unused tune along with the sound effect for dying in battle, and the message "Sorry, it didn't work. Please press the Reset button." will appear.