‘Easter’ Eggs in Video Games

Whether you know it or not you most likely have found an Easter Egg while playing a favorite video game over the years! We are not talking about the colored kind millions of children will be looking for on Sunday either! We don’t mean a literal colored/dyed egg but a secret inside of a video game. In any video game there can be multiple Easter Eggs from hidden messages to inside jokes. Our head video game buyer Tony Meyer has ‘hopped’ over to the blog to share a few examples of some fun ones that you may want to check out for yourself!

SNES – NBA JAM: Tournament Edition

West Philadelphia Born and Raised! How can NBA JAM get any better than it already is? Well it just did, you can play as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air himself – Will Smith! Below is the instructions to add him to any team on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, don’t worry you can also add DJ Jazzy Jeff as his teammate!

To select a special character, highlight the first letter in their initials, then press Start and the first code button at simultaneously. Do the same thing with the second and third letters. A ‘*’ indicates that any button will do. For example, to add the Bulls’ Mascot to your team, the initials are “BNY” and the code is B*Y

Will Smith WIL YB* Jazzy Jeff JAZ YAA

Nintendo GameCube – Super Smash Bros. Melee

Who wants to fight fair when it comes to Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Nintendo GameCube? This is one of the most popular games on the system and tournament games still exist even to this day! But did you know that you can play as the final boss Master Hand? It’s not the easiest to unlcok him and only the most skilled players can pull it off but if you want to give it a try here is how you do it!

First, connect a controller in port three of the GameCube, then go to the character selection screen in the game. Select an opponent and then select your character as ‘Human’. Instead of selecting a character, clear all the names in your list except one (this will be the new option for Master Hand). Now position your cursor on the entry box to select a name, but instead press ‘A’ and ‘B’ at the same time. Continue holding ‘B’ but let go of ‘A’ for a split second and then press ‘A’ again at the exact same time the character selection screen exits. If done correctly the game will take you to the setting location screen where you can now pick any location to play as Master Hand!

NES – Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out is one of the most iconic games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. On your way to fighting Mike Tyson you have to face off with multiple opponents in the ring including the Bald Bull! All of the fighters have a specific pattern to their fighting style and once you learn it, each one is easier to dodge and knock out. 22 years after the game came out Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata revealed that there was an easier way. When fighting Bald Bull watch the crowd in the background, you can see a person in the audience take a picture. When you see the camera flash go off deliver a body blow and you will knock the Bald Bull out for the count!

There are hundreds and hundreds of other video game Easter Eggs that exist from secrets and foreshadowing to inside jokes. Sometimes it is by the developer like Nintendo or Capcom or something a little more obscure. So grab your games, start playing and have your own Easter Egg hunt anytime you want!