The N64 was first released over 20 years ago by Nintendo and changed gaming for a lot of gamers now old enough to fondly reminisce on the console's success and popularity. Though not as big as competitor Sony’s PS1’s library, the N64 still housed a total of 388 games. Not all of them saw releases in every region, but it was a good amount of games nonetheless. That’s a ton of titles, and you can bet that each and everyone had its fair share of secrets and Easter Egg’s – some of which dedicated players are actually still keeping track of online.
Some of these are easy to find. Others are just bits of trivia that you can get online or in some archive. Whatever it may be, the N64 has its fair share of little secrets hidden away from fans. Be it something about the console itself or a particular Easter Egg in a given game, there are plenty things out there you might and might not know about. But sometimes, these things are better left undiscovered, and we might regret ever stumbling upon them. Be they disturbing, terribly tedious to find or just not worth the effort, these are 15 N64 secrets you wish you never found.
15 Dev Faces – Glover
While the N64 certainly has a multitude of famous titles, it had a relatively small library – especially when compared to its competitor at the time, the PlayStation. But despite this, there are still a handful of great N64 games that flew under the radar, and that don’t get the same attention that some of the console’s more iconic titles do. One of these games is Glover. While the PlayStation port is seen as being god awful, the N64 version is actually a pretty well made little platformer. There’s a pretty underwhelming Easter egg that you can find in the game that replaces pictures of in game characters with those of the game's developers. By pausing the game and pressing C-Down, C-Up, C-Right, C-Right, C-Down, C-Left, C-Right, C-Right, you can activate this totally useless and underwhelming secret.
14 Bond’s GoldenEye Smile – GoldenEye 007
This one isn’t so much a secret as it is a little visual trick some fans noticed several years back. GoldenEye is regarded as a classic, and still has many dedicated and loyal fans to this day that will vouch for it. It does have some things going for it, but it hasn’t really aged all that well. There’s a peculiar little visual hiccup on the game's cover that you might not have noticed before. The way in which Pierce Brosnan’s holding his gun makes it seem as though his knuckles are actually an extension of his face. This leads to you seeing a pretty derpy Bond, and while it isn’t necessarily the greatest secret out there, it certainly is amusing.
13 Flattened Out T-800 – Duke Nukem 3D
It looks as though the Duke Nukem series has drawn its last breath and now joins countless other retro classics as a thing of the past. A modern revival failed to launch the series into the 21st century, and so fans are left looking back to old titles thinking back on good times. One memorable thing about the old Duke Nukem games was the way in which they had players find creative little Easter Eggs around the map. The series has parodied and poked fun at a number of famous games and several notable pieces of pop culture. This one has to be the saddest sights of them all though. It should be familiar to most of you, though it might go over your head if you aren’t a Terminator fan.
12 Ocarina’s Dying Soldier – Ocarina Of Time
Ocarina of Time is one of the most popular games of all-time, and stands as a staple for any N64 owner. The game has so many little interesting secrets and bits of trivia that you can be sure that this won’t be the only time you see the game appear on this list. This one is pretty out in the open but is incredibly easy for you to miss if you were just going about your business. You can run into a dying soldier at some point in the game. The soldier is located in a back alley and gives Link a quick warning before falling silent. Navi then comments that he isn’t moving, heavily implying that the wounded soldier has died.
11 Goetanic - Goemon's Great Adventure
Goemon's Great Adventure is yet another gem in the N64’s library some of you might have forgotten about. Since it’s nowhere near as popular as other titles from that generation like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, for example, it might be something younger fans have never even heard of. It’s a shame, because this game is a pretty fun platformer and really should be remembered as such. However, the game has one kind of “meh” aspect in this mediocre little secret. In Edo, the player has to go into Kenzo’s home in order to receive the chain pipe. There you can find a poster for “Goetanic,” a Titanic parody. Well, the less said about that overrated cry fest the better.
10 Icing On The Quake – Carmageddon
The N64 version of Carmageddon is actually pretty awful. If you got your hands on this as a kid, it’s safe to assume that it was one of your worst experiences with the console. The game was one of the rare titles on the N64 that was heavily focused on violence. There’s actually a pretty discouraging Easter Egg you can come across in the game. In the “Icing on the Quake” mission, on the MagnaChem Ice Station there are a multitude of frozen blocks of ice to be found. Inside those blocks of ice are corpses, but one, in particular, stands out. The body of Quake’s Ranger can be found in one of these. It’s kind of annoying to see such an inferior game take shots.
9 Ultra 64
This is a little bit of Nintendo trivia some of you might not have known. In the grand scheme of things, it might not be all that important, but it’s pretty interesting nonetheless. While we all know it as the Nintendo 64, Nintendo had another name in mind for their soon to be legendary console in the early stages of its development. Had it been up to them, Nintendo would’ve called it the Ultra 64 – as an homage to a handful of toys they manufactured back in the 60s known as the Ultra Hand. Sadly, Konami held a trademark on the name “Ultra Games” which forced Nintendo to scrap the idea entirely. Still, Nintendo 64 feels so iconic today, we wouldn't have it any other way.
8 The Many Faces Of Mario – Super Mario 64
This is one you’ve all probably seen before, or at least heard of online. While it’s not the most mind blowing Easter Egg out there, it is kind of amusing at times though it can also be incredibly terrifying to the point that you wonder why it was ever put in. In the Shindou Special Edition of Super Mario 64, there’s a neat little exploit that can quickly go from funny to frightening in a matter of seconds. In the introductory screen, the player can press down the Z button multiple times. In doing so, it creates small windows in the background with Mario’s face inside. These frames reflect the current state of the 3D head that’s being manipulated, and it can get pretty spooky.
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6 Skull Kid Impression – Majora's Mask
Going from one great Zelda game to another, this time we’re looking at Majora’s Mask. Like its predecessor, Majora’s Mask is hailed as one of the best games in the franchise and is a favourite of many who had an N64 growing up. It too has a ton of interesting facts and secrets buried beneath its surface, and while it does seem tempting to explore them all let’s limit it to just one for now, and see where that goes. There’s an eerie little Easter Egg that shows a clear impression of Skull Kid in the grass near the South entrance to Clock Town. This is only viewable by using the Astral Observatory Telescope. Those of you who’ve played the game know that Skull Kid is one creepy guy, so the less we see of him the better.
5 Celebrity Cameos – Perfect Dark
Like GoldenEye, Perfect Dark is something of a classic that still maintains a dedicated fan base to this day, decades following its release. The game hasn’t aged all that well, but can still be fun for a nostalgia run and – though outdated – is by no means a bad game by today’s standards. Among the Easter Eggs you can hunt down in the game is one particularly lame one that really doesn’t feel like it’s worth the effort of acknowledgment. The game has a few minor celebrity cameos that are pretty meh. You can find IGN co-founder Matt Casamassina in there. Shigeru Miyamoto gets a pretty underwhelming cameo as well which you probably missed due to how brief it was.
4 Wario’s Mount Rushmore – Pilotwings 64
The immensely popular Pilotwings 64 is a game many will remember fondly from their childhoods. The game offered players a good deal of freedom and addictive gameplay that made it an instant hit from the moment it released. The game has a pretty interesting Easter Egg you might’ve missed when you were a kid. It’s a little tricky to get but not all that long to do. If you take the gyrocopter to the mountains you can find Mount Rushmore – instead this iteration of it has Mario’s head replacing George Washington. If you shoot Mario’s face a few times, it’ll actually turn into Wario’s face. You can consider that a pretty steep downgrade. Uck.
3 Cheese Wedges – Perfect Dark
Alright, so we’re back to Perfect Dark with this one, and it won’t be the last time we visit this game on our list either. Taking its place among one of the most tediously useless Easter Eggs in gaming history, the game features a multitude of Cheese Heads. There is one in each level, which makes them quite a hassle to find – especially since the player has to go to absurd and often times frustrating lengths to retrieve them. What’s more is that the things serve absolutely no purpose at all. If they did something, unlocking a gun or hidden scene or room or whatever it might be worth the effort. But it’s just a ton of work for no reason.
2 Mario Mask – Majora's Mask
Majora’s Mask is thought to be a pretty dark entry in the Zelda series, even though the numerous fan theories surrounding the game’s surprisingly grim nature have their fair share of resolute doubters. Among the strangest Easter Eggs you can find in the game has to be the Mario Mask on the back of the Happy Mask Salesman. There’s no denying that the design is an obvious reference to Nintendo’s famed plumber, but we’ve never seen Mario depicted in such a sombre looking form. It’s kind of strange even if it is just a mask. What makes things weirder is the possibility that the Salesman is based on series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, making it a strangely fitting combination.
1 Perfect Dark’s Dark Secret
This one’s pretty interesting and was only brought to light a few years back due to a documentary that chronicled the development of Perfect Dark. Among the interesting tidbits of info found in the documentary was an interesting feature that was ultimately cut from the final product and it had to do with the Game Boy Camera. The feature would allow you to take pictures of your friends with the camera and then upload them to the game, allowing you to “shoot your friends” in the virtual world. Well, it looks like Rare soon realized what kind of media storm they’d be in if they kept the feature and it was soon after removed from the final product.