Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock is a classic for a reason, bringing hours of rocking fun to players worldwide. But sometimes, you just want to skip the grind and unlock everything the game has to offer. That’s where cheats come in handy! Whether you’re looking to access all songs, play with unique guitars, or simply make the game easier or more visually interesting, Guitar Hero 3 has a cheat code for you. This guide will provide you with a comprehensive list of cheat codes and unlockables to enhance your Guitar Hero 3 experience on any console.
Guitar Hero 3 Cheat Codes for Gameplay and Visuals
To activate these cheats in Guitar Hero 3, navigate from the main menu to Options -> Cheats -> Enter New Cheat. You’ll need to input the codes by strumming the guitar controller while holding down the colored fret buttons as indicated. Parentheses in the codes mean those buttons should be held down simultaneously while strumming once.
Here’s a breakdown of the cheat codes to modify your gameplay and visuals:
| Effect | Cheat Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Air Guitar | (YB) (GY) (GY) (RB) (RB) (RY) (RY) (YB) (GY) (GY) (RB) (RB) (RY) (RY) (GY) (GY) (RY) (RY) |
Removes the guitar from the display for a pure fretboard experience. |
| Easy Expert | (GR) (GY) (YB) (RB) (BO) (YO) (RY) (RB) |
Widens the timing window for notes, making Expert difficulty more forgiving. Cannot be used in Career Mode. |
| Hyperspeed | OBOYOBOY |
Increases the speed of the note track. Press green while highlighted to cycle through 5 levels of speed. Level 5 is extremely fast! |
| Large Gems | G R G Y G B G O G B G Y G R G GR RY GR YB GR BO GR YB GR RY GR GY |
Makes the notes on the fretboard larger and easier to see. |
| No Fail | (GR) B (GR) (GY) B (GY) (RY) O (RY) (GY) Y (GY) (GR) |
Prevents you from failing a song, even if you miss notes. Does not work in Career Mode. |
| Performance Mode | (RY) (RB) (RO) (RB) (RY) (GB) (RY) (RB) |
Removes the crowd, score, and other visual distractions for a cleaner display. |
| Precision Mode | (GR) (GR) (GR) (RY) (RY) (RB) (RB) (YB) (YO) (YO) (GR) (GR) (GR) (RY) (RY) (RB) (RB) (YB) (YO) (YO) |
Increases the accuracy required for hitting notes, making the game more challenging. |
| Unlock All Songs | (YO) (RB) (RO) (GB) (RY) (YO) (RY) (RB) (GY) (GY) (YB) (YB) (YO) (YO) (YB)YR(RY)RYO |
Unlocks all songs in Quickplay mode. This cheat cannot be disabled once activated. |
| Unlock Everything | (GR_BO) (GRYB_) (GRY_O) (G_BYO) (GRYB_) (_RYBO) (GRYB_) (G_YBO) (GRYB_) (GRY_O) (GRY_O) (GRYB_) (GRY_O) |
Unlocks all songs, characters, guitars, and cheats. Uses 4-note chords and has no sound when entering. |
Most of these cheats can be toggled on or off directly from the cheat menu by pressing the green button when the cheat is highlighted, except for “Unlock All Songs” which is permanent.
Unlockable Guitars in Guitar Hero 3
Beyond cheat codes, Guitar Hero 3 offers a variety of unique guitars that can be unlocked by completing specific challenges in Career Mode. These guitars are purely cosmetic but add a cool visual flair to your performance.
| Unlockable Guitar | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| “Bat” Guitar | 5-Star every song on Easy difficulty in Career Mode. |
| “Beach Life” Bass | Complete Co-Op Career Mode on Hard difficulty. |
| “Distant Visitor” Guitar | Complete Career Mode on Expert difficulty. |
| “El Jefe” Guitar | 5-Star every song on Expert difficulty in Career Mode. |
| “Jolly Roger” Guitar | 5-Star every song on Medium difficulty in Career Mode. |
| “Moon Shot” Guitar | Complete Career Mode on Easy difficulty. |
| “Nemisis 13” Guitar | Complete Co-Op Career Mode on Any Difficulty. |
| “Neversoft Skateboard” Guitar | 5-star Co-Op Career Mode on Expert difficulty. |
| “PendulAxe’ Bass | Complete Co-Op Career Mode on Expert difficulty. |
| “Rojimbo” Guitar | Complete Career Mode on Hard difficulty. |
| “Saint George” Guitar | Complete Career Mode on Medium difficulty. |
| “Tiki” Guitar | 5-Star every song on Hard difficulty in Career Mode. |
Unlockable Characters: Slash, Tom Morello, and Lou
Guitar Hero 3 features iconic guitarists as unlockable characters. You can play as these legends after defeating them in boss battles within the Career Mode and purchasing them from the in-game unlock shop using your earned cash.
| Unlockable Character | How to Unlock | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lou | Beat Lou in the final boss battle and purchase from the unlock shop. | $15,000 |
| Slash | Beat Slash in the boss battle and purchase from the unlock shop. | $10,000 |
| Tom Morello | Beat Tom Morello in the boss battle and purchase from the unlock shop. | $10,000 |
Easy Mode for Lou Battle Cheat
Struggling with the final boss, Lou, on Expert difficulty? There’s a clever trick to temporarily switch Lou to Easy mode while keeping your own note chart on Expert!
- Start the Lou battle on Expert.
- Play until the first riff.
- Strum without holding any frets until you fail.
- At the “Game Over” screen, go to “Tutorial”.
- Select the “Guitar Battle” tutorial and play through it until you see “Lesson Complete”.
- As soon as the next fretboard appears, pause the game and exit.
- This returns you to the lesson menu. Press the red button to go back to the song list.
- The Lou battle should be highlighted. Select it.
Now, Lou’s note chart and player difficulty will be set to Easy, making the final battle significantly easier while you still play on Expert notes!
Unlock “Through the Fire and Flames”
“Through the Fire and Flames” by DragonForce is an infamous and incredibly challenging song in Guitar Hero 3. To unlock this epic track for all difficulties in the bonus song list, you must defeat Lou in the final guitar battle on any difficulty level.
Conclusion
Guitar Hero 3 cheats and unlockables offer a fantastic way to customize your gameplay experience. Whether you want to unlock everything instantly, fine-tune the difficulty, or just add some visual flair, these codes and unlockable items provide hours of extra fun. So, grab your guitar controller, enter these cheats, and rock on!
