Hitting shelves back in 1994 in Japan, the PlayStation is already over 20 years old. Most modern gamers grew up with one of these in their living room, and the image must no doubt bring back fond memories. Though the PS2 is what most would consider the most successful of the Sony consoles, the original PlayStation got things started and served as an introduction to the world of video games for many. The console’s successor was announced just five years after its initial release, but it wasn’t discontinued till 2005 and games were still sold until Sony ceased production in 2006.

With a library spawning over 2400 games, there certainly wasn’t a shortage of options for owners to choose from. With over 102 million units shipped it’s probably safe to say that the console did alright for itself. Seeing as there were so many great games available it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that you’ve probably missed some hidden secrets here and there. From the most popular, influential titles to the most obscure and forgotten, here are 20 hidden PlayStation secrets you definitely never found.

20 Secret Message – Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

via vgfacts.com

From one influential survival-horror series to another it seems. The aforementioned Resident Evil series is still around decades after its first release, but the games have certainly changed over time – going from a survival horror type game to something more action based, though RE 7 remedy’s that. Most fans will say that the series hit its peak at Resident Evil 4. But Resident Evil 3 – the last game on the original PlayStation – is another solid entry that people sometimes forget. There’s a visible but obscure secret to be found in the games epilogue menu. If you looked closely at the “Exit” button on the bottom right corner there’s some barely legible text there. It says "I Love You, Shinji Mikami, Return to Menu!" Mikami served as a producer on Nemesis and directed a lot of Capcom’s big name games.

19 Something On Your Mind? – Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night

via youtube.com

Symphony of the Night is regarded by many – fans and critics alike – as the best entry in the Castlevania series. While the new Netflix series might rouse up some interest in the franchise once more, it looks – for now at least – to be dead in the water. There’s a confessional booth in the Royal Chapel area that the player can actually interact with. If the player sits on the left-hand side Alucard sits, leans over and confesses his sins. Sitting on the opposite side causes Alucard to listen to sins or be attacked depending on the color of ghost that approaches. While the ghost who hears Alucard’s sins doesn’t say anything in the North American release, you can find an audio file that in perfect English says, "Come, son. Rest here. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

18 Gone Wild – Silent Hill

via vgjunk.com

We’ve so far discussed a good deal of survival and psychological horror games on this list, and while we have mentioned it, it seems like it’s about time we got onto talking about Silent Hill. Aside from being the game that would kick off the insanely popular survival horror series, the first Silent Hill is considered to be a game-changer for the survival horror genre. Here’s something about the game that’s a little more sensual than it is frightening. In the game’s demo, made available in the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Demo Disc #16, there are a bunch of unused artwork and placeholder files. A placeholder for the options screen is just a bunch of naked Japanese women while a placeholder for the Save/Load screen is of a naked woman lying down on a hospital bed. Saucy.

17 Don’t Mess With Meryl – Metal Gear Solid

via youtube.com

The Metal Gear Solid franchise is one of the most celebrated series in gaming, and with Kojima gone from Konami, seems like its best days are behind it. Most will agree that the first three in the MGS series, along with Peace Walker were probably the best it had to offer. Like most of the games in the series, Metal Gear Solid has some pretty interesting quirks you might’ve missed out on. Hitting Meryl will lead to her retaliating, taking out a bit of the player’s health. If you continue this back and forth long enough, she can actually kill you which will lead to a Game Over screen with her saying “This can’t be!” If the player does this in the caves portion of the game and dogs are around Meryl will have them attack Snake. Should the player hide in a box, the dogs will simply pee on it instead.

16 What Do We Have Here? – Diablo

via imgur.com

The Diablo series is a pretty popular one that has an incredibly loyal fan base. It all started with the original Diablo back in 1996, and things just kind of picked up from there. But let’s focus on the game that started it all for now. Like many other games, there's an interesting tidbit that pops up in Diablo’s boot screen. Should the player recolor a certain area of the screen – it seems as though any color will do – they’ll find some pretty interesting messages. The first being, “Buy War II” while the second one seems to show the developers geeking out over Natalie Portman reading, “Natalie Portman Rocks.” It’s all kind of random and obscure, which makes you think on just how dedicated the fan who first found this was.

15 A Familiar Tune – Final Fantasy IX

via youtube.com

The Final Fantasy series is probably one of the most well known in all of video games, and with numerous spin-off titles, it’d be pretty hard for even the most casual gamer to have not once heard of it. We’ve all played an FF game at one point, and chances are it was one of the more well-known ones like VII or VIII. As good of a game as it is, Final Fantasy IX really doesn’t get as much credit as it should – though some hardcore fans do see it as the best entry in the series. There are a ton of references to older games in the game, but this one might’ve been a little too subtle for some. Inside the Evil Forrest, you can find the Tantalus orchestra playing a tune that’s actually the song played for Rufus’ Welcoming Ceremony in VII.

14 You Won’t Find That In The Manual – Digimon Rumble Arena

via vgfacts.com

While Pokémon pretty much owned the 90s and a majority of the early 2000s, Digimon certainly gave them a run for their money and though it hasn’t had the same kind of staying power, is still a pretty successful franchise. There were plenty of Digimon games back when the series was at its peak, and we still see some new ones every so often. Rumble Arena is one of the older titles and doesn’t really hold up anymore in terms of gameplay, but is still worth a visit if it was a fixture during your childhood. One bit of info you might’ve not caught on to is that you can actually have a mirror match in versus mode should you hold down shift and choose a Digimon. For some reason it wasn’t in the manual nor is it mentioned in the game itself.

13 Mauri Kunnas – Clock Tower

via vgfacts.com

A forgotten survival-horror series, the Clock Tower games were pretty solid titles that greatly shaped the survival horror genre landscape. When you think of major and influential survival horror titles, your mind immediately goes to Silent Hill and Resident Evil franchises. But the first Clock Tower really opened the door and laid down some of the techniques and tropes that would be reused and perfected in other games in the genre. There’s a pretty obscure reference in the 1996 PS1 port of the game you might’ve missed. A room in the University reads Mauri Kunnas, which seems to be a reference to the Finnish children’s’ book author of the same name.

12 It’s A Secret – Chrono Trigger

via blogspot.com

One of the most influential and well known JRPG’s of all-time, Chrono Trigger is a landmark title that many modern gamers still play through despite its age. One thing that most people know about it is that the game boasts a number of different endings, some of which are pretty amusing. Though the concept of multiple endings seems pretty pedestrian today, it was a pretty impressive feat back when this landed on shelves. Among the most amusing is the Dream Project ending that has you meet the entire development team. It is accessible via new game plus and can be attained by defeating Lavos right off the bat. You’ll then meet the game’s developers at the End of Time and be met with some pretty funny dialogue. Many fans played Chrono Trigger for the first time on PlayStation through the Final Fantasy: Chronicles compliation.

11 Secret Bosses – Dynasty Warriors

via youtube.com

The first in the massive Dynasty Warriors series, the original PlayStation title really kicked things off for Koei Tecmo. The series has spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs, making it one of the more popular franchises in recent memory. Though it might seem a little intimidating for newcomers, the games are fun and worth the investment. The original Dynasty Warriors on the PlayStation wasn’t perfect, but it had its moments. The game had not one but three hidden bosses. Each was unlockable through clearing the game with different groups of characters from the starting roster. Zhuge Liang by clearing the game with all Shu characters. Cao Cao by clearing the game with all Wei characters and Lu Bu through beating it with all Wu characters and Diao Chan.

10 R.I.P. – Dark Seed

via vgfacts.com

Most of you probably never found this next secret, and that’s probably because a good deal of you might’ve never heard of Dark Seed. The psychological horror / point-and-click adventure was initially released in 1992 but didn’t get a PlayStation port till 1995. You’ll come across a few games like this on this list. One’s that have been forgotten by time. Though it was pretty favorably received when it first released, the game just kind of slipped out of people’s minds. There’s a tombstone in the cemetery. If you look at it you’ll see that it reads "G. Threepwood, R.I.P." This is obviously a reference to the Monkey Island hero Guybrush Threepwood. Why the devs put it in there is a mystery.

9 Unlimited Ammo – Rayman 2: The Great Escape

via vgfacts.com

The Rayman games have been around for a long time – obviously. Anything you see on here that you recognize is probably still going in some capacity. Though its popularity’s dwindled a little bit since its heyday, the games are still pretty popular. Rayman 2 is one of the more fondly remembered titles in the series. While it’s an old title, there might be some things about it that surprise you. For example, the game’s final mission “The Crow’s Nest” features a hidden collectible that gives the player unlimited ammo. The player can do this by flying to the highest part in the middle of the chamber while holding down the jump and shoot buttons. Rayman will then pass through, entering a secret tunnel where a glowing blue ball can be found. Collecting this gives you the perk.

8 Kind Of Morbid For A Kids Game - Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures Of Mickey Mouse

via vgfacts.com

Disney is and always has been a big player in the entertainment industry. From film to television and even video games, they have everything locked down. With a fair amount of titles spread throughout each category, it’d be strange if anyone didn’t watch or play a Disney film, show or game. While most people will think of Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts franchise when talking about Disney and video games titles like these were their main representative in the home console market once upon a time. There’s not all that much to say about Mickey Mania. It’s a pretty standard platformer that isn’t really all that remarkable. It does have a little bit of morbid imagery in Level 6 however, where you can see a skeleton wearing a Mickey Mouse hat. Looks like a trip to Disneyland gone wrong.

7 Hidden Bath Scenes – Suikoden II

via youtube.com

While Konami looks to be moving further and further away from video games, it’s nice to look back and think on a time when they actually made decent titles. A solid JRPG that some of you might not have heard of till now, Suikoden II was a pretty impressive title. The game is something of a rarity here due to its limited print run which was met with a less than favorable response from consumers that pretty much killed any chances of it getting a reprinting. Still, it was an impressive piece of work with over 100 recruitable characters. There are some funny scenes that are triggered in the castle Bathhouse should the player decorate it with antiques. One of these involves two party members dropping from above for a brief moment before disappearing. Every so often they’ll appear on the opposite genders side, making it all the more enjoyable as they turn a deep red and vanish once again.

6 Mystery Face – Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!

via vgfacts.com

Here’s a pretty well-known series you just don’t hear all that much from anymore. The Spyro series is one that most of us grew up with and for a time, were some of the biggest games you could get on the PlayStation. Though the fan base is pretty committed you might’ve missed this little Easter Egg. The Mystic Marsh level contains coins that can be found in the fountain. These coins have the face of Dan Johnson, an Insomniac employee, engraved on them. Dan made a number of in-game cameos and soon became known for them. This would start a longstanding tradition which would continue well into the Ratchet & Clank series.

5 Office Drama – Spider-Man

via tcrf.net

Now, most of you should probably remember this great title. If not for the gameplay then you certainly remember it due to the iconic orange fog that you had to navigate through. 2000’s Spider-Man might’ve not been a perfect game, but it was a damn fun one and really stood as the standard for what a Spider-Man game should’ve looked like for a while. There are some pretty funny and sometimes vulgar developer comments found in the game’s executable file. While most of it has to do with errors and glitches, a good deal of it involves someone named Matt Duncan and really lays into him at times. Things like “This shouldn't be zero. Remove state from table Hmmm... these aren't equal! Fire Matt immediately” and “No mysterio. Fire Matt. Softspot. Softeyes. Fire Matt after kicking him decidedly in the nutsack”, makes this a pretty memorable find.

4 Friendly Faces Everywhere – Ape Escape

via vgfacts.com

With the latest release in the series coming out in 2011s, PlayStation Move Ape Escape, it’s pretty safe to say that the series seems pretty dead at this point. Though a new game could potentially come out in the near future it looks as though the games just don’t have the same appeal as they once did. If you played the first Ape Escape game you probably missed our next secret unless you were the explorative type. In the Dark Ruins level, you can come across four monkeys throughout. The monkeys are named Stan, Kyle, Cratman, and Kenny. These are all references to the popular television series South Park – though why Cartman is misspelled as Cratman is a bit of an oddity.

3 Is That A JoJo Reference? – Resident Evil 2

vai vgfacts.com

While it seems like it’s only recently begun to pick up steam, Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga has always been a pretty popular series. The fact that the first four parts of the manga have all been animated have really increased its popularity here in the west, and you’ll definitely find more JoJo fans in North America now than you would say twenty years ago. That’s why this Resident Evil 2 secret probably flew over some people’s heads at the time. In the Police station during scenario “A” you find Marvin Branagh resting on a locker. If you squint a little, you’ll see that it says JoJo – which is either a reference to the manga or the Capcom game that dropped the same year as RE 2 did.

2 Leaf Blower – Klonoa: Door To Phantomile

via youtube.com

Some Easter eggs are exciting and are really worth the time and effort you put into finding them. Of course, there are plenty that aren’t worth the work at all. While most fall in either of these category’s there are some that are so low key you probably don’t even catch on to them. Klonoa was a pretty well-received platformer when it came out and kind of serves as a throwback to what video games used to be. There’s a pretty minor Easter Egg in the game you probably never came across. Should you push down both R2 and L2 simultaneously at the menu, the leaves in the background blow away. It’s kind of “meh” but still a cool tidbit of info.

1 Is That…ANOTHER JoJo Reference? – Suikoden

via vgfacts.com

We’ve already discussed its successor, but there’s something in the first Suikoden that probably slipped by you as well. As we’ve previously mentioned, JoJo wasn’t as popular here in North America a couple of decades ago as it was now. So the chances that your average Suikoden player caught this reference are pretty small. The opening scene of the game shows Barbarosa giving Teo his sword "Pluck" – which is actually misspelled as “Prakk” in the English version, making the reference all the more obscure. This is, of course, a nod to the “Luck & Pluck” sword given to Jonathan Joestar in Phantom Blood.