The Nintendo Entertainment System practically revolutionized video games as a whole when it launched in the mid-eighties and some say it was what saved the video game industry as a whole. The NES was no stranger to instant classics, ranging from the popular Super Mario Bros. series to the amazing Final Fantasy franchise, which both still live on in popularity and success today. While games have become far more sophisticated over the past few decades, there is no denying that the NES houses some of the best video games ever made, despite their age.

It's hard to imagine a time when video games existed without the internet, as the world wide web was pretty much nonexistent in the time of the original Nintendo. Games today often don't hold many secrets anymore as tips and tricks are shared online and strategy guides line our game store shelves, yet this was not the case back in the days of the NES. Many NES games were filled with secrets, codes, and easter eggs that most likely went unnoticed by early gamers. Often times, these secrets were only discovered through different video game magazines or by word of mouth, but in many respects, that's what made a video game secret so much more interesting in the eighties and early nineties.

While many video game secrets are well known today and have since then been discovered, the NES still holds many other little secrets that may have gone over your head in your earlier years of gaming. Here are a few awesome secrets that you may have completely missed on the NES.

20 Extended Lost Track

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Super Mario Bros. 2 wasn't exactly the sequel fans of the original Super Mario Bros. were expecting. It featured entirely different gameplay elements, it stripped the game of familiar enemies, and the Mushroom Kingdom Was nowhere to be seen. This is largely because Super Mario Bros. 2 wasn't originally a Mario game at all, but instead was a re-skinned Doki Doki Panic as the original sequel, later making its way to North America as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, was found to be too difficult.

This didn't stop Nintendo from slipping in a small easter egg referencing the original game, however. Upon dropping a potion which reveals a door bringing you to a silhouetted version of the area you are in, you'll probably recognize a familiar song. The original Super Mario Bros. theme song plays in these areas, but what you may not know is that there is a way to extend it into the real world back out the door. If you get a star power up, enter the door, and exit again to the real world right as the star is running out of power and you'll be able to hear the original theme song an extra bit of time in the actual level.

19 It's Even More Dangerous To Go Alone

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The Legend of Zelda is a difficult game all by itself, and is arguably the most difficult game in the series, only being contended by its sequel The Adventures of Link and some terrible spinoffs that probably shouldn't be mentioned. More recent entries in The Legend of Zelda franchise have been extremely forgiving in terms of difficulty, emphasizing difficulty more toward puzzles rather than combat. Yet, for the gaming masochists out there, there is actually a second quest in the game to make the game even harder.

If you can actually manage to beat the game, the second quest opens up to you with a higher difficulty, but you can actually access it right away by naming your save file "Zelda," which many people in the eighties probably did by mistake assuming the main character was actually the titular character of the series. Another interesting fact is that is that Zelda's name is actually hidden in the maps of the first five dungeons, each map representing a letter in her name. Rearranged, you get the name of the Princess of Hyrule herself.

18 The Number You Have Reached Is No Longer In Service

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Punch-Out!! for the NES was released in 1987 and was a unique spin on the sport of boxing. Playing as the protagonist, Little Mac, the player must fight various boxers from across the globe, including the boxing champion Mike Tyson himself. While the game takes place in a realistic universe, unlike other Nintendo properties, various Easter eggs were slipped in from throughout the Nintendo brand.

Most people noticed Nintendo's flagship mascot Mario made it into the game upon booting up the cartridge as he is utilized as the game's referee, however a more subtle Nintendo reference was put in the game as well. The game uses a pass key system to go to different fights in the game, yet one specific pass key is actually Nintendo's old customer service number. Enter "8004222602" and you'll hear a phone's busy signal, referencing Nintendo's old customer service number which was out of service by the game's initial release.

17 Music To My Ears

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Back in the days of the original NES, it wasn't uncommon for developers to program certain cheat codes into games, usually unknown by gamers and only discovered by gaming magazine or by word of mouth. Entering certain button prompts would allow the players to access certain features of the game such as extra lives, continues, a level select, or... sound tests?

The first Ninja Gaiden for the NES has a hidden sound test screen, allowing you to play different tracks from the game's 8-bit soundtrack. To access it, you simply had to hold A, B, Left, Down, Select, and press Start at the screen that says "Tecmo Presents 1989." It's a good thing to, because most likely, you'd never hear the game's full soundtrack as the game was brutally difficult. Too bad that code didn't access something useful like invincibility instead.

16 This Dragon Warrior Was No Match For Garland

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Final Fantasy games are typically littered with secrets and it seems like tiny little easter eggs or hidden areas are scattered around every nook and cranny across the series' long run. While the games have gotten progressively bigger as time has passed, even the smaller games in the franchise had their fair share of secrets, and that includes the original Final Fantasy for the NES.

In the town of Elfheim which is located southwest of Cornelia, the game's opening town, their are a few tombstones placed in a small graveyard. Reading one of them will show the text "Here lies Erdrick," which was probably meaningless to most gamers upon the games initial release. Regardless, the name Erdrick comes from another long running RPG that debuted on the NES, Dragon Quest. Later updated versions of the original Final Fantasy changed the name to Link, which is a reference to the Hero of Time from The Legend of Zelda. Strangely enough, Erdrick's gravestone could also be found in the Japanese version of The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. Poor guy just can't get a break.

15 A Trip To The Fairy Fountain

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Most gamers are familiar with the "Fairy Fountain" theme that has become a staple of The Legend of Zelda series starting with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. What most people don't realize is that that theme song originated from Super Mario Bros. 3.

While this isn't really an Easter egg as the song originated from world 3 in Super Mario Bros. 3 and later inspired the "Fairy Fountain" theme in A Link to the Past, the similarities between the two went largely unnoticed for quite some time, but they are essentially the same song. Super Mario Bros. 3's version, however, is more upbeat while The Legend of Zelda's version usually tends to give off a more soothing vibe.

14 Wings To The Stars

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Nintendo had no shortage of useless easter eggs inserted into their games and Mega Man 2 was no exception. Even though the game lacked traditional codes that used button prompts to make the game easier or didn't utilize its tedious password system for means other than keeping a way of keeping track of your game progress, it still kept a few hidden secrets that you may not know about.

One of these secrets appears after selecting a level. Usually, when picking your stage based off the boss's image on the stage select screen, the chosen boss jumps on the screen with a backdrop of stars shooting behind him. Even though this is the regular intro screen to the stage, there is a way to change the backdrop to a pattern of flying birds rather than the stars. To change the stars into birds, simply hold on to the A button when selecting your stage.

13 Taking One For The Team

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Nothing was more annoying in the early days of video game than the concept of life stealing. This was a common feature in many games on the NES. Playing two players, the less seasoned player typically lost their lives at a faster pace than the better player. Annoyingly enough for the better player, many games enabled a way for the second player to steal lives from the player that was still alive, whether the player with lives liked it or not.

Bubble Bobble was one of those many games that enabled this annoying feature, but luckily, it was slightly more hidden than in other games such as Contra where the other player would just hit the A and B button simultaneously to steal a life. In Bubble Bobble, the other player would have to know to pause the game first and then hit select in order to steal a life.

12 Secretly A Multiplayer Game

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Duck Hunt was something of a different breed of game back on the original NES, being one of the first light gun games to make its way to gamers' living rooms utilizing the NES Zapper. While not many games used the NES Zapper, Duck Hunt felt somewhat revolutionary for its time of release. Heck, it didn't even need a sensor hooked up to function, unlike other light gun accessories that are released today. Despite that, Duck Hunt was mostly a solitary experience.

What most owners of the game did not realize upon the game's release was that the game was secretly two players, but not in the way one might expect. Rather than two players aiming the NES Zapper at the screen shooting down as many ducks as possible, the game was made two players by having the second player using the NES controller rather than the Zapper. This allowed the second player to control the duck instead, making Duck Hunt a more competitive experience.

11 Ditching The Armor

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It is pretty common knowledge in today's gaming culture that Metroid's popular star, Samus Aran, is actually a female, yet back in 1986, this was largely unknown as Samus Aran was encased in complete body armor. At the end of the game, Samus takes off her helmet revealing that she is in fact a girl, leading to one of the earliest twists in video game history and one of the first major female leads in a video game.

Despite this late reveal in the game, it was actually possible to take her power suit off entirely at the beginning of the game, if you knew the secret code, that is. On the password screen, simply enter the name Justin Bailey, which was the name of one of the game's many programmers. Do so and you will start the game without Samus's armor.

10 Straight To The Technodrome

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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game wasn't actually the first video game based off of the popular TMNT franchise, but it was the first really good game based off of it. Due to its success, it seemed only natural that the game would get a port for home consoles so kids could battle alongside the turtles crew in the comfort of their own homes without plopping endless quarters into a machine. Named Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (due to there already being a much different prequel on the system already), the game was a faithful port, despite a hit to the graphics and four player action. It even had extra levels not seen in the arcade!

Even though the game was much better than its predecessor, it wasn't near as difficult. Despite this, it was still fun to make multiple playrthroughs of the game. Sick of starting at the first level every time though? Simply press B, A, B, A, Up, Down, B, A, Left, Right, B, A, and then Start at the title screen and you will start the game with extra lives and at whatever level you wish.

9 You're Definitely Going To Need These Extra Lives

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When most people think of the video game developer Rare, classics like Goldeneye 007 and Donkey Kong Country come to mind, but most people forget that Rare was behind the original Nintendo's beloved classic Battletoads. Derived from the popularity of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Battletoads stars three anthropomorphic toads who must battle their way across various levels to defeat the Dark Queen.

Most people who played this game would never see the game's final boss, let alone get past the high speed hover-bike level that you had to beat only a few levels in. The game was notoriously difficult and even more difficult and frustrating with a second player due to friendly fire and being punished for your partner's deaths. Luckily there is a way to take off... well, a little bit of the heat at least. At the title screen, just press A and B at the same time then press start at the title or continue screen. This will give you a few extra lives when you start playing, but sadly, that still probably won't help too much.

8 A Nod To Mario

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Maniac Mansion launched in 1987 from the developer Lucasfilm on both the Commodore 64 and the Apple II, but it received a port over to the NES the following year. Published by Jaleco, the NES version had a number of differences including a more censored environment such as removing curse words or other content that Nintendo might find offensive on their console. Despite the censoring, Nintendo missed a point in the game where it was possible to microwave a hamster and further shipments of the game were cancelled as the title did not follow Nintendo's guidelines.

One difference in the NES version was a nod to the original Super Mario Bros. theme song hidden in the game. If you go into the room with the arcade cabinets and put a coin in the "Meteor Mess" game, you will hear the first few notes of one of the most famous video game themes. Though it only lasts for about a second, the opening riff is noticeable enough just from the first few notes.

7 It's Not Worth The Effort To Get This Secret Ending

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It's kind of an oxymoron talking about video game secrets in a particular title that is encased in mystery altogether. Milon's Secret Castle took place in one giant castle that was riddled in secrets: secret passageways, secret switches, secret shops, secret items... it was hard to imagine anyone actually figuring out how to make their way through this game. Due to seemingly random puzzles and a high difficulty curve, most people didn't make it to the end of Milon's Secret Castle, let alone twice.

Yet developer Hudson didn't stop from making it necessary to beat the game twice in order to receive the game's secret hidden message. Beat the game twice in a row and you'll receive an alternate ending screen stating "This is the end of episode I. See you again!" It's something that isn't worth the effort and it's highly doubtful most people that played Milon's Secret Castle were hoping for a second episode at all.

6 Who Is LMD?

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Landon M. Dyer was the programmer for the original port of Donkey Kong for the NES, and took to putting a fun Easter egg in the title, despite it being almost completely impossible to stumble upon and wasn't worth trying to find at all. Strangely enough, this Easter egg wasn't discovered until about 26 years after the port's initial release.

In order to find Landon's initials tucked away in the game, the player had to follow a series of specific actions. To find the initials, the player had to set a new high score with either 37,000, 73,000, or 77,000 points, then kill themselves specifically by falling, and afterwards, set the game's difficulty to 4. Afterwards, wait for the demo screen to run by and once back at the title screen, the initials "LMD" will appear.

5 Wet Cement Is Too Alluring

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It seems that video game developers love to hide their initials in various nooks and crannies of their video games. California Games, released in 1989 for the NES was a sports style video game based off sports that were popular in California such as surfing, biking, or roller skating.

California Games was yet another game that the developers hid their initials in, but thankfully, it is not near as tedious as trying to unlock the initials of "LMD" in the aforementioned Donkey Kong. On the main entry screen, enter either the name "Paul" or "Rachel" and boot up the skating game. If you manage to make it to the end of the level, the initials "PP & RME" would be flashing in the cement, referencing the developers Paul Proctor and Rachel M. Edwards.

4 A Different Word For "Thanks"

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The Super Mario Bros. series is no stranger to various secrets and easter eggs hidden in its games, originating all the way back to the original title. While most people know about the different locations of warp whistles and methods of skipping different worlds in Super Mario Bros. 3, it is entirely possible to bypass each world's final level and skip the Mushroom Kingdom's kings altogether, with the exception of the first world's. This is why many gamers probably didn't realize that the kings had an assortment of "Thank You" messages upon turning them back into human.

After beating each world, Mario will be given a scripted "Thank You" message by the world's king, yet the message is changed completely if Mario is in a different suit, that being the frog suit, Tanooki suit, or Hammer Bros. suit; suits that most players weren't likely to beat a world's final level in. Beating the last level of the world in one of these suits will change the message the king delivers to Mario.

3 Even Warriors Need A Break

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This is a neat little secret that most adventurers probably didn't discover until way after Final Fantasy's initial release and probably wouldn't be found without the help of a gaming magazine or by word of mouth from a friend. Regardless, there is a neat little puzzle game tucked away in Final Fantasy's ship.

This puzzle has made its way into practically every iteration of the original Final Fantasy and each method to unlock it varies slightly from version to version. On the NES version, when in the ship, press A and B together 55 times in order to unlock the game. You'll be given a game where you must arrange 15 tiles in numerical order, leading to different gil and item prizes.

2 A Helpful Hint For A Difficult Boss

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Each fighter Little Mac challenges in Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! for the NES comes with their own set of challenges, each holding a different pattern and series of attacks that the player must memorize in order to beat the opponent. One of the most difficult later matches is Bald Bull, yet surprisingly, there is a way to knock him out in one blow.

A one-hit K.O. was known for a while, but gamers were left in the dark for years not knowing when to execute it. Almost thirty years after the game's initial release, it was discovered that there was a visual cue in the audience as to when to execute this final blow. The bearded spectator on the front row will move when it is time to use the body punch, knocking Bald Bull out, making a once difficult boss rather simple today.

1 Contra Wasn't The Only Game That Used This Code!

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The Konami code is by far, without a doubt, the most popular cheat code in video game history, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone that didn't know the button combination Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. While most people are familiar with the Konami code from the original Contra giving the player thirty lives to start with, there were a slew of other games that used the code as well.

It was fair to bet that if a game had the Konami logo on it during the NES era of gaming, the code was usable. While the Konami code had different effects based on the game, it still made its way into most Konami games regardless. Other titles that used this code included the Gradius series, Life Force, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II and III, and Top Gun: The Second Mission. Other iterations of this code would make its way into Konami games far past the NES' lifetime.