In recognition of Easter, and all the Easter eggs that will be dyed, hidden, discovered, and eaten, I present the top ten Easter eggs in video games. In media, Easter eggs are messages, features, or in-jokes intentionally hidden in anything from a crossword puzzle to a motion picture. The first video game Easter egg can be found in the 1979 Atari game Adventure. Since then, they have been covertly hidden away in hundreds of games for consoles and personal computers.
Part of the fun of Easter eggs is stumbling upon them yourself. Therefore, I would recommend that anyone who hasn't played the following games and is interested in experiencing them first-hand read no further. The games are, in alphabetical order: Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Doom 3, Duke Nukem 3D, Epic Mickey, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
You can still turn back.
Last chance!
Ok, without further ado, and in recognition of Easter, the top 10 video game Easter eggs.
10. Doomed Space Marine (Duke Nukem 3D)
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| Doom > Duke Nukem. Just saying. |
Few games are as packed with hidden messages, secret rooms, and inside jokes as Duke Nukem 3D. The best is 3D Realms not-so-subtle jab at competitor id Software, which produces the Doom series. In episode 1, level 3, there is a secret button in the church that once pressed will open up a hallway to a hidden chamber where you'll find the hero of Doom, or at least what's left of him. Upon finding him, Duke declares, "that is one doomed space marine!"
9. Rabbit (Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire)
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| Max makes a cameo in Shadows of the Empire. |
Scattered throughout Shadows of the Empire are challenge points, silver medallions in the shape of the rebel insignia. They are not needed to beat the game, but finding them unlocks some interesting features. Plus bragging rights. In Mos Eisley, there is a deformed challenge point hidden near the front walls of the city. It took me a long, long time to figure out exactly what this challenge point, shaped like a rabbit head, represents. It turns out it's Max from Sam & Max fame. And apparently Max has made many other secret cameos in LucasArts games.
8. Zelda's Room (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
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| Tingle!!! |
There are many rooms, caves, and chambers to explore in Skyloft in Skyward Sword, but one room in the knight academy would just not open its secrets: Zelda's room. Locked doors in video games are super intriguing. Locked doors to the rooms of major Nintendo characters are unbearably intriguing. Luckily for me, I found a secret way in while searching at night for gratitude crystals. Inside Zelda's room, you'll find some very cool things: a heart piece (hidden in her closet), a gratitude crystal, a Tingle doll, and Zelda's diary.
7. 8-bit Mario (Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars)
Role-playing games by tradition have lots and lots of hidden items, secret rooms, and Easter eggs. This is one of the coolest, and a real treat for Mario fans. On one level of Booster's Tower, instead of following the door out of the room, move Mario behind a nearby curtain. When he emerges he has magically transformed from a 16-bit Mario to an old-school 8-bit version of himself. The music and sound effects change too. Check out the video.
6. Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid/Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes)
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| Who doesn't? |
Some critics – including myself – have complained that Metal Gear Solid games are sometimes too clever for their own good. But in the boss battle with Psycho Mantis, clever works. Mantis is meant to be a mind reader, and to that end Kojima and company designed the game so that it would read the memory card in the system. If there was a save file for a Konami game (like Castlevania) on the card, Mantis would "know" that you played it. The same goes for The Twin Snakes, a Gamecube remake of Metal Gear Solid. Somehow Mantis knew that I had played Eternal Darkness and that I liked Zelda.
5. Walt's Apartment (Epic Mickey)
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| The original Disney Vault. |
Epic Mickey is a real labor of love. There are dozens of references, in-jokes, and memorabilia crammed into the game for fans of Mickey and the entire Disney gang, past and present. In fact, Mean Street (the main hub in the game) is very faithfully modeled after Main Street in Disney Land, right down to the fire station that houses Walt Disney's apartment. That's right, Disney kept a private office/apartment in the second floor of the fire department, one of the first buildings built in the park. If you collect enough power sparks, one of the gremlins will open the door to Walt's apartment. Inside are e-tickets and an original Walt Disney sketch.
4. Here lies Erdrick (Final Fantasy)
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| Alas, poor Erdrick! |
Before RPG giants Square and Enix merged in 2003, there was a healthy rivalry between the two companies. This is clear as early as 1990, when the original Final Fantasy debuted in North America. When you arrive in Elfland, go to the top right corner of town. There you'll find three gravestones. The one on the left reads, "Here lies Erdrick 837-866 R.I.P." Erdrick is a character from Enix' Dragon Warrior. In the Japanese version, the grave reads, "Here lies Link."
3. id Software PDA (Doom 3)
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| No human being would stack bricks this way. |
I'm particularly proud of myself for finding this one. On the last level of Doom 3, Excavation Site, right before you face the game's final boss, there is a passageway that goes left. Follow it to a dead end. Under a few protruding bricks you'll find a strange sight: the id logo. Activate it and you'll enter a room with a PDA on a pedestal. Pick up the PDA and download its data, and you'll find messages from id developers thanking their fans and loved ones, and making general commentary on the game.
2. Ice Key (Banjo-Kazooie/Banjo-Tooie)
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| So close, yet so far away... |
You know an Easter egg is good when it spans two games. The infamous ice key can be seen first in Wozza's cave in Banjo-Kazooie, but it sits behind a transparent, unbreakable wall of ice. It just sits there, taunting you. I can't tell you how long I tried to get into that chamber and get that key. Alas, it was not to be. The key is impossible to obtain without cheat codes. It reappeared, however, in Banjo-Tooie. It can be found by smashing open a Banjo-Kazooie game pak, and then used to open the gigantic ice safe in Hailfire Peaks.
1. Yoshi on the Roof (Super Mario 64)
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| Reunited and it feels so good. |
This one has a special place in my heart. Super Mario 64 was probably the first game I ever completed 100%. If you're lucky enough to finish the game and collect all 120 stars, the closed grate on the castle grounds will open to reveal a cannon. Jump in and fire Mario onto the castle roof. There you'll find Mario's old friend Yoshi, who promptly gives Mario 100 lives. The extra lives are superfluous now that all the challenges are complete, but that's not the point. Meeting Yoshi on the roof is one of those special moments in gaming that you'll never forget.
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