7 Classic Games Devs Sneaked Into PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Releases

Who doesn’t love a game within a game, especially when it’s one of the classics playable in its entirety at no additional cost.

Earlier this week, GAMINGbible covered a frankly wild mod for Fallout 4 that made The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind playable on the in-game Pip-Boy, and it got us thinking about other games within games we’ve seen over the years. Below are seven examples that jump out at us straight away.

7. Sonic The Fighters In Lost Judgement

There’s a bit of personal bias here as the Yakuza series and all of its spin-offs have been phenomenal examples of classic games being hidden inside modern games.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii marked the first time The Ocean Hunter was playable outside of an original arcade cabinet, with the same being said for Emergency Call Ambulance in Yakuza Kiwami 3.

Lost Judgement gave us Sonic The Fighters in its entirety though which, for the uninitiated, is a Sonic The Hedgehog fighting game starring a deep-cut roster of characters. You can find it at the local SEGA Arcades in Kamurocho.

6. The Donkey Kong Arcade Game In Donkey Kong 64

In the Frantic Factory level of Donkey Kong 64, you’ll find an arcade machine that plays the original Donkey Kong game.

While it’s a fun inclusion, it’s also a source of golden bananas, and to 100% the game you’ll need to amass a pretty high score which is no easy feat.

Unfortunately, Donkey Kong 64 isn’t available on modern platforms, but we’re sure it’ll get added to Nintendo Switch Online eventually.

Nintendo

5. Maniac Mansion In Day Of The Tentacle

This is a very famous example of games hidden within games. The graphic adventure game Maniac Mansion was released for the Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System and PC back in 1987.

Years later in 1993, a sequel by the name of Day of the Tentacle was released, which was later remastered for modern platforms in 2016.

In the sequel, if you head over to Weird Ed Edison’s room and interact with his desk, you’ll be able to play Maniac Mansion in its entirety as a fun bonus.

4. TimeSplitters 2 In Homefront: The Revolution

Homefront: The Revolution is a solid first-person shooter that would probably benefit from a remaster, as would the other Homefront games.

What some players might not know though is that TimeSplitters 2 can be played in its entirety from an arcade machine hidden in the level Unlikely Allies.

All three TimeSplitters games are available on modern platforms now so the novelty of this secret has somewhat worn off, but it’s still an excellent inclusion worth a shoutout.

3. Doom And Doom 2 In Doom: Eternal

Given all the memes about how the OG Doom games run on anything, it’d be pretty insulting to not have both of these titles playable in one of the modern games.

Doom: Eternal honours them, however, by making them playable extras at the Fortress of Doom. They’re found in the Slayer’s office on an old monitor.

To play Doom, you’ll need to beat the campaign once on any difficulty, but Doom II can be unlocked at any time with the cheat code FLYNNTAGGART.

2. Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake In Metal Gear Solid: 3 Snake Eater

The Metal Gear timeline is a confusing one to say the least, but Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a great starting point for any newcomer as the first game chronologically.

When the game was re-released as Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, the NES games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake were included as bonuses.

You don’t need to play them to understand the timeline, but they’re worth a go and bridge the gap between Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain and Metal Gear Solid. My head hurts.

Konami

1. Classic Nintendo Games In Animal Crossing (2001) And Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The Animal Crossing games have always been an outlet for some cheeky Nintendo antics, and the best examples are the retro consoles found in the original game. These were later brought back in an update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

In the OG Animal Crossing, you could play an assortment of full-length NES games, with a different selection depending on your region.

These were great additions to your new home but a pain to find, as you’d have to wait and hope Tom Nook’s store would stock them on the day you logged on.

Honourable Mention: Crash Bandicoot In Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

This week, at the time of writing, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, so we had to mention the Crash Bandicoot level from the start of the game.

Technically speaking, it’s not a full game within a game so it can’t be its own entry, but it deserves a shoutout purely for the humour of seeing Nathan Drake play another Naughty Dog video game.