GTA Chinatown Wars PSP Cheats: Health, Weapons and Police
Enter GTA Chinatown Wars PSP cheats during normal gameplay, using the PSP buttons below. You do not type a password into a phone or open an emulator cheat menu. The game reads the sequence itself. These codes cover the original PSP edition; the Nintendo DS and standalone mobile releases use different button names or input methods.
The quickest first check is the health code. Once that works, try the weapon sets, police-level changes or a weather effect. Keep the version distinction in mind even if you play a PSP copy on a phone: the game edition determines the code, not the device holding the screen.
On this page
How to enter a PSP code
Start or load a game, return to ordinary play and press each button in the listed order. Do not pause to enter the combination. In this guide, Cross means the PSP’s bottom face button, often printed as X; Circle, Square and Triangle mean the other face buttons. L and R are the two shoulder buttons. Use the directional pad for Up, Down, Left and Right.
Repeated letters mean separate presses: L, L is two taps, not a held button. Read the entire row before trying it so you do not need to stop halfway. A quiet stretch of street makes a more useful test area than a busy chase. This is practical input advice, not an extra unlock requirement.
If you use a controller, first confirm which physical buttons send the PSP inputs. Our iPhone controller setup guide covers those basic checks. A controller’s printed letters can differ from the PlayStation labels in the table.
Health, armor and wanted-level codes
| Effect | PSP button sequence |
|---|---|
| Restore health and armor | L, L, R, Circle, Circle, Cross, Cross, R |
| Restore armor | L, L, R, Cross, Cross, Circle, Circle, R |
| Increase wanted level | L, L, R, Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle, R |
| Decrease wanted level | R, Triangle, Triangle, Square, Square, R, L, L |
The two recovery codes look almost identical, but swap the order of Circle and Cross. Check the appropriate bar after entering one rather than assuming both rows have the same effect. The wanted-level decrease is a step down, so repeat it if stars remain. These sequences were cross-checked against the original-era PSP listings linked below.
Four weapon sets and explosive pistol rounds
| Effect | PSP button sequence |
|---|---|
| Weapon set 1 | R, Up, Cross, Down, Left, R, Cross, Right |
| Weapon set 2 | R, Up, Circle, Down, Left, R, Circle, Right |
| Weapon set 3 | R, Up, Square, Down, Left, R, Square, Right |
| Weapon set 4 | R, Up, Triangle, Down, Left, R, Triangle, Right |
| Explosive pistol rounds | L, R, Triangle, Square, Circle, Cross, Up, Down |
Each weapon-set row gives a predefined loadout. The number identifies a set; it is not a promise that every weapon in set four is a direct upgrade over set three. After entering a row, cycle through the available weapons and inspect what changed before adding another set.
The explosive-pistol code is a toggle: enter the same sequence again to disable that effect. It is separate from choosing a weapon set. If you are comparing the other handheld GTA games, their inputs belong in the Liberty City Stories PSP cheat guide and Vice City Stories PSP cheat guide; do not transfer sequences between games.
Useful weather codes
| Weather | PSP button sequence |
|---|---|
| Sunny | Up, Down, Left, Right, Circle, Cross, L, R |
| Extra sunny | Up, Down, Left, Right, Cross, Triangle, L, R |
| Cloudy | Up, Down, Left, Right, Triangle, Square, L, R |
| Rainy | Up, Down, Left, Right, Square, Circle, L, R |
These four rows provide an easy way to change the atmosphere while exploring. Their opening directions match, so pay attention to the two face buttons near the end. Read “Square, Circle” for rain carefully; swapping either button is not an alternative spelling of the same sequence.
Save progress before experimenting
The PSP code listing notes that using cheats disables autosave. Make an ordinary in-game save before starting a cheat session and keep that clean point available. Do not assume that a mission completed after a code has automatically been recorded. If you choose to save the altered session, do so deliberately.
An emulator snapshot and the game’s own save are different things. The save states versus in-game saves guide explains why keeping a normal save still matters. This page describes native game inputs, so it does not require or claim support for a separate CWCheat or memory-code feature in EMUspace.
If a code does not work
First check the game title and edition. A DS list contains A and B, while its X is not the same physical face-button position as PSP Cross. A mobile password such as CASHIN belongs to the standalone iOS or Android release; it is not a PSP money code. No PSP money-button sequence is documented in the source lists used here.
Next, confirm that you entered the code during play, tapped every repeated button separately and used the mapped PSP controls. Retry one simple recovery code before changing several settings. Avoid troubleshooting with multiple effects at once: it becomes difficult to tell which input was accepted.
Common questions
Do I need to unlock a cheat menu?
No menu unlock is required for these native button sequences. Enter them during gameplay.
Do PSP codes change when I play on a phone?
The PSP edition still expects PSP inputs. The separately released mobile game has its own password system.
Can I remove every cheat by repeating it?
Do not assume every code is a toggle. Explosive pistol rounds have a documented repeat-to-disable behavior; recovery and weapon-set rows perform their listed action.