Everyone knows Nintendo. Whether you grew up playing Super Mario or love the Nintendo Switch, every gamer at one point or another has either played or heard about the Nintendo brand. Known as the more family-friendly gaming company in regards to the gritty Xbox system or the narrative-driven PlayStation system, Nintendo has delighted children and parents alike for years. Innocent games about barnyard animals and Italian plumbers on a mission to save a Princess and her kingdom have driven the company forward into the twenty-first century. However, not many people may realize that the company has not always been so innocent, and there are some secrets that have remained buried.

Contest winners have gone years without the recognition they so rightly earned. Fan favorite characters have hidden dark and monstrous sides to their personalities. Even pop culture events and criminal cases have influenced the games of Nintendo. Whether you are looking for hidden levels or game tips or you are interested to learn the creepy and stories that Nintendo tried to bury for years, this article is going to show you guys things you never in your wildest dreams (or nightmares) would have expected to find.

So grab your overalls and get ready to summon Pikachu, because today we are going to explore the twenty-five secrets Nintendo never wanted us to find. Some will delight gamers as they explore new regions of their favorite games. Others, however, will most likely ruin childhood memories. You've been warned...

25 Secret GoldenEye

The name's Bond. James Bond. Everyone knows and has seen the long-running British spy thriller series at one point or another in their lifetime. One of Nintendo's most popular titles was definitely GoldenEye, the Nintendo 64 title that put you into the shoes of none other than James Bond, 007. The developers of the game hid a lot of easter eggs, glitches and hidden levels, in the game for players to find, but there was one secret that Nintendo hid for so long that no one discovered it until fifteen years after the game's release. When they developed the game, the developer Rare tried to utilize some of the programs from titles on the British home computer ZX Spectrum, which was launched in 1982. Rather than take it out of the game entirely, the developers just wrote over it with a patch and sent it out anyway.

24 No Recognition

Contests are often given out to allow fans of a particular thing to be able to connect with their cherished entertainment avenue in new and exciting ways. However, in this instance, we are going to see that not all winners are the same. Sometimes companies make mistakes, and contest winners go unrecognized for years and years.

His name was on a plaque in a hidden room

In 1990, Nintendo ran a contest through their Power Magazine in which a fan would get their name featured in an upcoming NES Game. The winner was included in the first Zelda game on the Super Nintendo. However, despite knowing about the contest, no one knew that winner Chris Houlihan had been in the game until the early 2000's. His name was on a plaque in a hidden room that was made so impossible to find in the game that you could only see it by glitching Link's location in the game.

23 Down For The Count

Boss battles really defined many of Nintendo's classic games. Whether it was fighting Bowser or in the early days, Donkey Kong, boss battles were what drove gamers to push through each level of the game. In the classic Nintendo hit, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, there is an opponent named Bald Bull. The game is based on strategy, and the strategy to beat him was to interrupt his infamous Bull Charge by punching him after the third hop. The charge would eliminate you instantly otherwise. However, 22 years after the games release, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata did an interview in which he told the interviewer that players had failed to recognize a much easier way of beating him. In the background of the level, there is a audience member taking pictures. When the camera flash goes off, you can deliver a body blow that will knock Bald Bull out easily

22 The Mario Upside-Down

Someone better call Eleven, because one Mario game features a world unlike any other. No, there is no sign of the Demagorgon or everyone's favorite telepathic pre-teen, but this world does serve as a mirror image of the worlds Mario became known for travelling in his video games. Known as Minus World, the NES pack-in is also known as World -1 in the game's start menu.

But at the end of the level, the world's differ

It's a mirror image of World 7-2, but at the end of the level, the world's differ. The pipe that should lead you out of the level instead sends you back to the beginning. Anyone who has ever played the early Mario games knows that it takes a lot of strategy and time to get to the end of a level, let alone an entire world. This minus world flies in the face of all that hard work. It's a mind trip to say the least.

21 Too Good To Be True

Nintendo fans know that Super Mario Bros 2 was a game made to be a huge challenge. It was meant for those players who had mastered the original game by exploring every nook and corner in that game. The developers knew it would be the gamer's desire to do that again, and so they hid some secrets in the game. However, not all secrets are worth finding.

It won't lead to a new level

If you manage to get past the goal pole in level 3-1, there is a warp zone that players can go through a pipe for but it won't lead to a new level. Instead, it will take you all the way back to the beginning of the entire game! The player goes over the exit at the end of the level by jumping perfectly onto a trampoline.

20 Creepy Stare

Now it's time to get into the creepy territory here. These next few factoids will definitely range on the strange and absurd side of the Nintendo world. Now usually when you are playing a video game, hitting the pause button does just that, pauses the game. It allows players to gather their thoughts, develop a strategy or just take a much needed break. However what happens when you pause a game and not all of the characters in the game follow suit? In Mario 64, players may not have noticed this, but Nintendo hid the fact that when you pause the game, there are some characters that continue blinking at you, glaring into your eyes with a stare only a crazed man would have.

19 Vestigial Mario

Hidden or unused characters are nothing new in video games. Game developers go through so much work and trial and error processes that focus on what characters do and do not work for their game that there is probably a slew of characters you never even knew existed. However, some characters that weren't used make unexpected appearances in games. Whether it's a glitch in the game that brings the image to life or a purposeful look at the game development process, these characters appear in unusual ways. Did you ever wonder if Mario or Baby Mario had a secret brother other than Luigi? Well, in the character models of one of the games, when you select Baby Mario and the character goes off screen, his legs may get left behind, and on top of those legs is the creepy image of a Mario twin that was never born or was hidden away. It's deeply disturbing.

18 Corpse Baby

Something that video games have done sporadically over the years is feature bonus game features in their games much like Blu-Rays or DVDs do with films. Whether it shows concept art or cutscenes, video games like to give gamers an in-depth look at the video game development process. One thing that games have done is give viewers a look at character models. Character models are 3-D game figures in the game itself that allow you to move and study the characters you either play as or play against.

You can take full modeled skeletal figures of your favorite characters

However cool these character models can be, sometimes games can get really strange and macabre about how they display their character models. Things get even creepier when you look at Super Mario Strikers Charged. In the game, you can take full modeled skeletal figures of your favorite characters and see their corpse in a very dark and disturbing light.

17 Mario's Virtual Boy Secret

Not all consoles or devices work for gamers. Sometimes they are defective or aren't as fun and exciting as the game company may have originally thought they'd be. Yet, sometimes game consoles can become much more creepy than anyone could have imagined. They turn our perception of the gaming world and our favorite characters upside down as we see them in a new light. Nintendo fans may remember that there was an unplayable console called Virtual Boy. The console always gave players migraines and was universally unfavorable. One of the games on the long lost system was Mario Clash, and hidden within the game's files is a dark secret. When you achieve the high score in the game, a giant Mario appears with a dark red face, congratulating the player. Then the hidden files emerge and show Mario in his "true" form, a demonic entity from another world. It's a shocking sight!

16 The Strangers

No, not the hit horror film that has scared audiences for years. However, this next item will definitely be as creepy as the film itself. The Nintendo community must remember the Nintendo Game Boy Camera, an accessory for the handheld gaming console. Players could take a picture on the camera, but if you came across an error in the game, you better look out.

It's a terrifying sight to behold

One of three images will appear with a stranger's face and strange markings covering their image, and will be accompanied by the question, "who are you running from?" The creepy instances occurred with errors or by choosing the Run option, and it's a terrifying sight to behold. Who are these people and what makes them think you are running from something? Was it a message from the future, or a scare tactic from a creepy game developer looking to get a few scares?

15 Hidden Voices

Those who advocate for paranormal evidence often turn to strange audio evidence that cannot be explained. Known as EVP, or electronic voice phenomenon, paranormal researchers see this tool as a means of getting messages or evidence of the great beyond recorded for all to hear. While the debate still goes on in this field, these creepy messages can show up in the strangest of places, including video games. Fans expect to find creepy easter eggs in horror games like Resident Evil or Dead Space, but what happens when you hear what sounds like a ghost's voice on a Nintendo game like Jam Sessions on the Nintendo DS? Well if you hit the A6 guitar chord and don't play any notes afterward, you might hear what sounds like a voice whispering "forgive us". Game developers claim it is actually the recording artist in the booth having been recorded saying "tsugi ikimasu," which is Japanese for "next." Still, creepy.

14 Going Down?

In the games Pokémon X & Y, there is a very disturbing easter egg that has left fans baffled. In the game, players can explore Lumiose City and the buildings within. However, if you go to the second floor of one building, you will be treated to the sight of a mysterious ghost girl appearing behind you in the elevator. Your character freezes in terror, but she tells you that you aren't the one and she disappears.

A woman disappeared in a Los Angeles hotel

You encounter a girl who looks a lot like her on the fourth floor, but she won't talk to you because then she won't "hear the elevator." Sadly, a woman disappeared in a Los Angeles hotel and was found deceased in the building's water system on the locked rooftop weeks later. It's likely this ghost on the elevator in the Pokémon game is mirrored after these events.

13 Professor Who?

Returning to that unused character thing where games have to cut out or downplay the role of characters they intended to use originally, this next item will really surprise the longtime Pokémon fans out there. Finding out that your favorite game was nearly a completely different game is a strange thing. It completely changes your perception of the game you've come to know and love. In the game Pokémon red/blue, there is a trainer you can battle only by using either the Ditto glitch at a special stat of 226 or by using the old man glitch with the character in the third, fifth, or seventh slot of the player's name. Although it appears he might have been intended to be fought in the original script of the game, or made as the Champion or a high-ranking trainer in the game, fighting Professor Oak is now only possible with these two glitches.

12 Mario's Investigation

There's one thing that no one ever expects to find in any family-oriented video game: brutal crimes. Especially for the Nintendo brand and the character of Mario, no one ever expects to see an image of a serious crime having been committed. However, in this next example, we see what that looks like exactly. In the Japanese version of Paper Mario, fans may come across a chalk outline of a toad and red stained furniture, indicating a brutal crime has been committed. It shows the outline of what appears to be a Toad, having been hurt so bad that it destroyed them and left behind a disturbing scene to behold. However, in the American version, that is all missing, making it appear Nintendo tried to hide this scene from players in the US. It's always interesting to see the cultural differences between countries translate to video games.

11 Apocalypse Ink

Another serious subject family audiences don't really ever expect to find in the video games they buy their children is the end of the world. Yes, finding a game about ink-based life forms and paint doesn't really translate into the destruction of mankind and the end of all human life on the planet, but that's what this next example does. In the Nintendo franchise Splatoon, there is an easter egg in the form of an artifact known as the Sunken Scrolls, which depicts the extinction of mankind and all land animals as sea levels rose, leaving room for the Inklings to emerge onto land and claim it as their own.

The end of all human life on the planet

What I'm trying to figure out is why we needed such a dark backstory to a game about living Ink and paint? It's such a family fun type of game that it baffles me that we now have to contemplate the end of the world.

10 E.T. Phone Nintendo

Exploring Japanese mythology is no new feature in gaming. However, exploring the darker aspects of Japanese culture and mythology in a family-friendly game about barnyard animals is another thing altogether. Combining pop culture looks at extraterrestrial life and the Japanese culture's views on the end of life and the supernatural, this next example provides some truly terrifying moments you would not expect. In the game Animal Crossing, there is a hidden easter egg that will freak players out. In the original game, players will find a pair of red eyes from what appears to be an alien staring at you from the television at 3:33 am. However in the farming sim Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, a message appears on the tv at 4:44 am that reads "shi" in Japanese, which means four or "deceased." The message repeats over and over, making it a truly terrifying encounter.

9 The Sky Trees

Normally in the world of Nintendo, Mario explores worlds filled with cute little ghosts and giant dinosaur turtle creatures. Yet, in this next example, Mario finds himself in a new world filled with untold danger, and possibly a demonic presence that will shock you. In the game Super Mario Galaxy 2, there is an area called Shiverburn Galaxy filled with lava pits and black holes. On the cliffs of this area is a trio of mysterious figures watching you creepily as you walk. They appear alien, but the file name of these characters is known as HellValleySkyTree. Never before have we explored the worlds of Mario with such a supernatural fervor. Delving into themes of spirituality, it's strange to think about these creatures following Mario on his journey, as if they are expecting his ultimate demise at any time.

8 Fore!

One of Nintendo's most popular consoles in recent years is by far the Nintendo Switch. The handheld device has brought gamers some of the most popular games in recent years, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey. The console became one of Nintendo's biggest success stories within the last couple years, and gamers have been eager to not only get more games for the system to play but are eager to find new and exciting modes and features for the system to be able to do.

No one knows how it's accessed

This has led to some exciting discoveries. Gamers and modders have dug deep into the system's files and one modder found the classic 1984 NES game Golf hidden within the programming. No one knows how it's accessed, but it's found in the game system's NES emulation section, indicating that they intend to release more NES games in the future on the Switch.

7 Lavender Town

Everyone knows the world of Pokémon. Whether you are a fan or not, everyone recognizes the concept of creatures of varying power being captured by trainers, then used in organized and unorganized battles, where the creatures are trained to fight one another. However, has anyone stopped to ask themselves what happens to the creatures that lose in these fights? Do they just disappear or go back into the Poke balls they were housed in? Well, according to this next factoid, the truth is a lot darker. In Pokémon Red, Blue and Green, there is a town called Lavender Town. While there are no gems or interesting landmarks of any kind, the town is known for having ghosts and a Pokémon graveyard. That's a shocking sight to see if you are a Pokémon loving kid playing this game for the first time and think Pokémon just faint off-screen.

6 Totaka's Legacy

A lot of gamers will have no trouble telling you that music can help make or break a video game. Can you imagine games like Halo, Kingdom Hearts, or Mass Effect, without the incredible music to accompany the biggest moments of those franchises? It's a lot like John Williams infamous music score for the original Star Wars. It really does define the legacy and power of that film, just as music does for popular video games. One of the most well-known gaming composers in the world is Kazumi Totaka. The Nintendo composer has worked on games like Mario Paint, Yoshi's Story, and Animals Crossing, since the 90's. His most lasting legacy, however, is one not all players may know about: Totaka's Song. The small track is a hidden song in over twelve games that can only be accessed by completing certain objectives in each of those games.