Well…this is pretty straight forward. Being the week after Easter, I felt this would be the perfect time to list my Top 8 Easter Eggs from gaming. There was a huge amount to choose from, so I’m sure some of your favorites have been left out, for which I do apologize. I could have done a Top 50 for this.
8. Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien – Slenderman is watching you.
With the way this game flows, it’s hard to spot, but many times, if you can spare a glance, you will see the infamous Slenderman lurking in the background. There appears to be no reason for his presence, which actually makes this creepier. While I’ve pointed out Slenderman, he’s only one of many bizarre critters to show up in the background of this game.
7. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – Samus Aran’s crash landing
Another tough one to spot, but if you look closely in Busted Bayou, you can spot Samus’s ship wedged in the trees. This is both a shout to another Nintendo franchise, as well as a reference to the games that put Retro Studios on the map. Here’s hoping it’s also a hint as to what Retro will be working on next.
6. Mega Man X – Street Fighting Man
Included here is a reference to Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise. If you complete Armored Armadillo’s stage 4 times, finishing each time with full health, you’ll find a Dr. Light capsule where the good doctor will give you the Hadouken. Other than the final boss, this move will kill any enemy in one hit.
5. Super Mario RPG – Princess Toadstool’s ???
I’m quite fond of this just because of how unexpected it is. This is Nintendo’s flagship franchise, so stumbling across a very adult reference was very surprising, which only helped to make it that more entertaining and humorous to find.
4. Dead Space – Chapter Title spoiler alert
Throughout Dead Space, you constantly interact with Nicole, the fiance of main character Isaac Clarke. At the end of the game, you discover that Nicole was actually killed before you ever arrived on the Ishimura, meaning you were experiencing hallucinations the entire time. Of course, if you take the first letter of each chapter title, you would have figured this out far sooner as they spell out: NICOLE IS DEAD.
3. Bioshock 2 – Jack’s Arrival
As a Big Daddy, you are free to roam the ocean floor outside of Rapture, something you couldn’t do as Jack in the original. In one such sequence, if you look around, you can spot the wreckage of a plane on the ocean floor. There’s no guarantee that this is the plane that Jack was on in the original, but I think it’s a safe bet to assume it is.
2. Metal Gear Solid – Psycho Mantis knows your gaming library
I’m still debating whether or not this qualifies as an Easter Egg, but it has shown up on other lists I’ve read, so I’m including it here. I played the Gamecube release of this title, but both it and the PS original include this sequence. Psycho Mantis is challenging because he can read your mind, something he proves by reading your memory card and commenting on the saved games you have. He also moves your controller via a rumble feature. I have to mention the fight here too, as changing controller inputs to attack him is simply genius.
1. Batman: Arkham Asylum – The Warden’s Office
No game is ever guaranteed a sequel, but Rocksteady must have known what they had when designing Arkham Asylum. Hidden extremely well is a destructible wall. If you blow it up, you will enter the warden’s office. On the wall in the office are the blueprints for Arkham City. If you found this secret early on (virtually no one did, from what I’ve read), it would just seem like a throwaway section, but with the announcement of Arkham City as the sequel, the meaning of this room became perfectly clear.
Brandon Nicholson is a blogger for TMRzoo.com and the founder of Just Another Video Game Blog and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3 and PS4, Microsoft XBOX One and XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Brandon provides his readers with reviews, previews, release dates and up to date gaming industry news, trailers and rumors.
