Old Games within New Games
January 11, 2007 7:28 AM Subscribe
Hidden in the video game Pitfall the Mayan Adventure for the Super Nintendo was the entire Atari 2600 version of the original Pitfall. Are there any other examples in the gaming world of an older version of a game being hidden in a newer version or sequel?
I'm looking for games from any era and on any platform including all consoles and PC.
I'm looking for games from any era and on any platform including all consoles and PC.
The second Maniac Mansion adventure game had the original DOS game hidden inside of it...
posted by stratastar at 7:37 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by stratastar at 7:37 AM on January 11, 2007
There was a 3D version of Pacman (for the PS2, maybe others) that had the original Pacman and Ms. Pacman in it as minigames. I think it was one of the unlockables in your home area, but I'm not sure. How authentic they were, I do not know.
posted by spaceman_spiff at 7:39 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by spaceman_spiff at 7:39 AM on January 11, 2007
Tempest 2000
Excitebike 64
Spyhunter
Found via.
posted by JeremiahBritt at 7:39 AM on January 11, 2007
Excitebike 64
Spyhunter
Found via.
posted by JeremiahBritt at 7:39 AM on January 11, 2007
Nethack has the Rogue level, but I wouldn't call it hidden.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:44 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by cobaltnine at 7:44 AM on January 11, 2007
I think Doom 3 has a playable Doom 1 (or 2?) arcade machine in one of the levels.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:44 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:44 AM on January 11, 2007
This is streching things a bit, but the new Ms Pacman/Galaga arcade cabinets have Pacman hidden in them. Here's how to activate it.
posted by cosmicbandito at 7:44 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by cosmicbandito at 7:44 AM on January 11, 2007
The original Prince of Persia could be unlocked on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
posted by muddgirl at 7:49 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by muddgirl at 7:49 AM on January 11, 2007
Animal Crossing for Nintendo Game Cube has several original 8bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games within it.
The ones I've seen so far:
pinball
tennis
balloon fight
--------
Super Mario Brothers 3 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance has a copy of the original 8bit Mario Brothers in it. This isn't hidden within SMB3, but is available at a menu when you first power-on the cartridge.
posted by Wild_Eep at 7:49 AM on January 11, 2007
The ones I've seen so far:
pinball
tennis
balloon fight
--------
Super Mario Brothers 3 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance has a copy of the original 8bit Mario Brothers in it. This isn't hidden within SMB3, but is available at a menu when you first power-on the cartridge.
posted by Wild_Eep at 7:49 AM on January 11, 2007
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has the original Prince of Persia hidden in it
posted by biscotti at 7:50 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by biscotti at 7:50 AM on January 11, 2007
If you won Metroid Fusion and hooked your GameBoy Advance up to Metroid Prime, the original Metroid would become playable.
posted by revgeorge at 7:51 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by revgeorge at 7:51 AM on January 11, 2007
The original Metroid could be unlocked from the GameCube version Metroid Prime.
posted by knave at 7:52 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by knave at 7:52 AM on January 11, 2007
GameCube Animal Crossing has quite a few NES games hidden inside it. Here's a FAQ.
posted by box at 7:53 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by box at 7:53 AM on January 11, 2007
Super Mario Brothers 3 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance has a copy of the original 8bit Mario Brothers in it. This isn't hidden within SMB3, but is available at a menu when you first power-on the cartridge.
They also had Mario Bros embedded into Super Mario Bros 3 for NES. If two players stood on the same location on the world map and pressed A (or something like that).
posted by knave at 7:54 AM on January 11, 2007
They also had Mario Bros embedded into Super Mario Bros 3 for NES. If two players stood on the same location on the world map and pressed A (or something like that).
posted by knave at 7:54 AM on January 11, 2007
Unfortunately, I don't think Doom 3 had Doom 1 or 2 available as unlockables. There was an arcade machine called Super Turkey Puncher 3d!!!! or something like that and it used the old graphics from Doom.
The Warriors had an unlockable beat em up game that was very Double Dragon-esque.
You can unlock the original Wolfenstein in the Xbox version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
posted by Diskeater at 7:59 AM on January 11, 2007
The Warriors had an unlockable beat em up game that was very Double Dragon-esque.
You can unlock the original Wolfenstein in the Xbox version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
posted by Diskeater at 7:59 AM on January 11, 2007
You can unlock the arcade version of TNMT in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus.
You can play Outrun, Space Harrior, Hang On, and Afterburner in Shenmue 2 (I don't remember which Shenmue allowed you to play which games but I'm sure you can look it up).
posted by Diskeater at 8:07 AM on January 11, 2007
You can play Outrun, Space Harrior, Hang On, and Afterburner in Shenmue 2 (I don't remember which Shenmue allowed you to play which games but I'm sure you can look it up).
posted by Diskeater at 8:07 AM on January 11, 2007
There are a couple of video games inside CJs house in GTA San Andreas. I seem to remember that you can play asteroids on it.
Can't seem to find a refence for this online though.
posted by triv at 8:13 AM on January 11, 2007
Can't seem to find a refence for this online though.
posted by triv at 8:13 AM on January 11, 2007
In Prey, you can play an arcade game in the bar where you start the game.
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:21 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by cowbellemoo at 8:21 AM on January 11, 2007
The SNES Ninja Gaiden Triology is hidden within the XBOX game.
posted by ducksauce at 8:21 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by ducksauce at 8:21 AM on January 11, 2007
Wario Ware had Dr. Mario(Wario) as an unlockable.
Panzer Dragoon Orta had the original Panzer Dragoon.
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete on the Playstation had a cool unlockable clone of Warlords.
posted by Dr-Baa at 8:25 AM on January 11, 2007
Panzer Dragoon Orta had the original Panzer Dragoon.
Lunar Silver Star Story Complete on the Playstation had a cool unlockable clone of Warlords.
posted by Dr-Baa at 8:25 AM on January 11, 2007
Versions of Escape Velocity after the original have free plugins that let you play the original game in the shinier new engine.
The game is made by Ambrosia, for those who haven't heard of this reasonably obscure Mac software developer.
posted by sindark at 8:26 AM on January 11, 2007
The game is made by Ambrosia, for those who haven't heard of this reasonably obscure Mac software developer.
posted by sindark at 8:26 AM on January 11, 2007
It's probably worthwhile to point out the differences between homages/parodies/etc., as with (if I recall correctly) the games in GTA: San Andreas, and emulated, bit-for-bit versions of old games, as in (I believe) Animal Crossing and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure.
posted by box at 8:31 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by box at 8:31 AM on January 11, 2007
Doom 2 has secret levels that were remakes from Wolf 3d. Not a sequel strictly speaking, but Doom was sort of a sequel to Wolf in spirit.
The Tekken series has always had mini games built in and Tekken 5 includes Tekken 1, 2 and 3 in it's "Arcade History" mode.
posted by utsutsu at 8:40 AM on January 11, 2007
The Tekken series has always had mini games built in and Tekken 5 includes Tekken 1, 2 and 3 in it's "Arcade History" mode.
posted by utsutsu at 8:40 AM on January 11, 2007
This isn't really the same, but in Space Quest 4: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers, the story eventually has you travel back in time to scenes from Space Quest 1, and the graphics are suddenly all shitty and pixelated again.
posted by Robot Johnny at 8:50 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by Robot Johnny at 8:50 AM on January 11, 2007
Day of the Tentacle's predecessor, Maniac Mansion, is playable in-game on Weird Ed Edison's computer.
posted by esd at 9:07 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by esd at 9:07 AM on January 11, 2007
A couple of the later Commander Keen games had a Pong clone called "Paddle War" in the pause menu.
posted by Partial Law at 9:11 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by Partial Law at 9:11 AM on January 11, 2007
In Kirby's Adventure for the NES, some of the later levels were clones of levels in Kirby's earlier Gameboy game. They were even in black and white and had the original music.
posted by owenkun at 9:18 AM on January 11, 2007
posted by owenkun at 9:18 AM on January 11, 2007
Also, regarding the earlier confusion about DOOM3 having earlier an DOOM game within it:
1. The Xbox collector's edition had a seperate disk with the older DOOM levels
2. There is a DOOM3 mod that lets you play the original DOOM in various screens within the game.
posted by owenkun at 9:22 AM on January 11, 2007
1. The Xbox collector's edition had a seperate disk with the older DOOM levels
2. There is a DOOM3 mod that lets you play the original DOOM in various screens within the game.
posted by owenkun at 9:22 AM on January 11, 2007
The SNES Ninja Gaiden Triology is hidden within the XBOX game.
In Ninja Gaiden Black for XBOX, you can play the original cabinet arcade Ninja Gaiden.
posted by chrisamiller at 9:54 AM on January 11, 2007
In Ninja Gaiden Black for XBOX, you can play the original cabinet arcade Ninja Gaiden.
posted by chrisamiller at 9:54 AM on January 11, 2007
While battling Arcade in the recent Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, you get to play very spot-on minigame versions of Pitfall and Breakout (except with various Marvel heroes substituting for Pitfall Harry and moving the Breakout paddle).
posted by sluggo at 12:06 PM on January 11, 2007
posted by sluggo at 12:06 PM on January 11, 2007
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2005) had playable versions of Metal Gear (1987) and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990) embedded in it.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:58 PM on January 11, 2007
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:58 PM on January 11, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks for all the replies everyone. I had no idea there were so many of these.
posted by Otis at 5:21 AM on January 12, 2007
posted by Otis at 5:21 AM on January 12, 2007
To clarify diskeater's comment earlier... the first Shenmue has Hang On and Space Harrier. They're not hidden at all-- there's an arcade you can walk into and play those games. The game's even set in 1985 so those particular arcade games are even relevant to the setting.
posted by lou at 12:21 PM on January 12, 2007
posted by lou at 12:21 PM on January 12, 2007
Since Maniac Mansion was never actually released on the Mac, the only way to play it was through the easter-egg version in Day of the Tentacle.
posted by blueberry at 12:27 PM on January 12, 2007
posted by blueberry at 12:27 PM on January 12, 2007
Some notes on things already mentioned:
The version of Donkey Kong hidden in DK64 is an emulation of the ARCADE GAME, which is different than any other version Nintendo has released for home use so far (most others are recreations or emulation of the NES game). However, its level order has been hacked up, so it cannot be considered an authentic experience all the same. The game also contains an emulation of Rare's early classic Jetpac.
Super Mario Bros. 3's version of Mario Bros. is actually a two-player minigame inspired by the original, not either a port or emulation of the original (and some of the games that randomly come up in that do not play like Mario Bros.). A version of Mario Bros. that can be played competitively or by one's self is included in the Super Mario Advance series for GBA, and also in Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, but this is a recreation with updated graphics, and anyway it is closer to the NES version in design than the much-harder arcade version.
NES Metroid, in addition to being included in Metriod Prime, is also unlockable in Metroid Zero Mission (and MZM itself is an expanded remake of that game).
Some of the other games mentioned here are not emulations, but are inspired by the older games. The Breakout in Major Havoc is a minor minigame that only lasts a few seconds.
The GBA WarioWare's port of Dr. Mario ("Dr. Wario") has two fewer rows in the bin and some changed graphics. However, one of the Gamecube demo disks they made had a port of Dr Mario that could be transferred to a GBA via link cable.
The Rogue level in Nethack is an homage, but doesn't qualify as an "older version" hidden in the game, since it is just another level of the dungeon, and not a self-contained game.
The Animal Crossing NES ports must be acquired in-game to play them, a few are difficult to acquire without special equipment (GBA and link cable), and a couple (Super Maro Bros. and Zelda) are impossible without a cheat device since Nintendo (in a move that I wish was uncommon with them) never got around to releasing the means of acquiring them.
There is a version of Mortal Kombat (2? 3?) that contains a recreation of Pong. There was an old Namco game (for Playstation? For arcade?) that used Galaxian for a loading screen.
If you count offcial emulation and recreations the number expands greatly: you could then include things like compilations (like Midway Arcade Treasures), Virtual Console, the NES Classics series for GBA, and many others.
posted by JHarris at 12:35 PM on January 12, 2007
The version of Donkey Kong hidden in DK64 is an emulation of the ARCADE GAME, which is different than any other version Nintendo has released for home use so far (most others are recreations or emulation of the NES game). However, its level order has been hacked up, so it cannot be considered an authentic experience all the same. The game also contains an emulation of Rare's early classic Jetpac.
Super Mario Bros. 3's version of Mario Bros. is actually a two-player minigame inspired by the original, not either a port or emulation of the original (and some of the games that randomly come up in that do not play like Mario Bros.). A version of Mario Bros. that can be played competitively or by one's self is included in the Super Mario Advance series for GBA, and also in Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, but this is a recreation with updated graphics, and anyway it is closer to the NES version in design than the much-harder arcade version.
NES Metroid, in addition to being included in Metriod Prime, is also unlockable in Metroid Zero Mission (and MZM itself is an expanded remake of that game).
Some of the other games mentioned here are not emulations, but are inspired by the older games. The Breakout in Major Havoc is a minor minigame that only lasts a few seconds.
The GBA WarioWare's port of Dr. Mario ("Dr. Wario") has two fewer rows in the bin and some changed graphics. However, one of the Gamecube demo disks they made had a port of Dr Mario that could be transferred to a GBA via link cable.
The Rogue level in Nethack is an homage, but doesn't qualify as an "older version" hidden in the game, since it is just another level of the dungeon, and not a self-contained game.
The Animal Crossing NES ports must be acquired in-game to play them, a few are difficult to acquire without special equipment (GBA and link cable), and a couple (Super Maro Bros. and Zelda) are impossible without a cheat device since Nintendo (in a move that I wish was uncommon with them) never got around to releasing the means of acquiring them.
There is a version of Mortal Kombat (2? 3?) that contains a recreation of Pong. There was an old Namco game (for Playstation? For arcade?) that used Galaxian for a loading screen.
If you count offcial emulation and recreations the number expands greatly: you could then include things like compilations (like Midway Arcade Treasures), Virtual Console, the NES Classics series for GBA, and many others.
posted by JHarris at 12:35 PM on January 12, 2007
That Namco game would be Ridge Racer, and it's something the company continued -- the original Pac Man is available in Ridge Racer 5 (loading screen, but also later unlockable).
Beating Quake 4 on the 360 unlocks Quake 1 with its own achievement points (all 0 though).
Tekken 5 has, I believe, "Star Blade" hidden inside it.
posted by mkn at 5:41 PM on January 12, 2007
Beating Quake 4 on the 360 unlocks Quake 1 with its own achievement points (all 0 though).
Tekken 5 has, I believe, "Star Blade" hidden inside it.
posted by mkn at 5:41 PM on January 12, 2007
Space Quest 4 has the Ms. Astro Chicken game, in which Cedric from King's Quest 5 appears.
posted by IndigoRain at 11:05 PM on January 15, 2007
posted by IndigoRain at 11:05 PM on January 15, 2007
Apparently, the first version of the coin-op game NBA Jam had a secret Battlezone-like game in it that you could play without putting in any money. It was removed in later versions.
posted by blueberry at 7:49 AM on January 17, 2007
posted by blueberry at 7:49 AM on January 17, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cosmonaught at 7:32 AM on January 11, 2007