Bonus Dungeon: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"Look, it's the extra dungeon for after you beat the game. Good luck!"''|'''Alice Margatroid''', ''[[Touhou Project|Subterranean Animism]]''}}

 

 

 

Sometimes, the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] will be waiting at the bottom.

 

Since these are usually secret levels, expect the examples to spoil accordingly.

== Action Adventure Games ==

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'' has the Cave of Ordeals, a gauntlet of monsters similar to the ones in The Wind Waker, with monsters ranging from a single one of the weakest monsters in the game, to three of the strongest and fastest monsters at the same time. If you can reach the bottom, you'll find an inexhaustible supply of a potion that fills your health gauge and temporarily boosts your offensive capabilities, making you unstoppable in combat... although if you ''can'' reach the bottom, you likely won't need that kind of advantage, even against the final boss.

*** In fact, you can go back to it afterwards and find the [[Up to Eleven|the difficulty has increased]].

** There's an extra dungeon in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'' in the ported GBA version. Players can't access the dungeon until they completed the multiplayer Four Swords game. Inside the dungeon is 4 areas with very tough puzzles and color swaps of some of the bosses Link fought previously, along with new behavior patterns. Beating all 4 bosses opened the way to fighting 4 clones of Link from the Four Sword, each Link bearing a different color and abilities that mirror Link's. Beating these bosses only got you statistics of your game data, so it's nothing but bragging rights.

** The [[Updated Rerelease]] of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening|The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening]]'' had the Color Dungeon, which was only accessable by playing the game on a Game Boy Color. It included color-based puzzles, such as colored switches and enemies that were only distinguishable by their tunics having to be beat in a certain order. For winning, you got either a Red or Blue Tunic, which put you permanently under the effect of a Piece of Power (increased speed and attacks send enemies flying and do double damage) or a Guardian Acorn (double defense), respectively.

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]'' had the Gerudo's challenge, out in their outpost, which consisted of solving puzzles in different rooms to collect keys. They keys were used in a maze to get the Ice Arrows. While rumors suggested that the cave could be made [[Unwinnable]], the Fortress is ''always'' solvable.

* ''[[Okami]]'' features a particularly evil example. In different areas of the overworld there are 3 caves that are home to (slightly) upgraded versions of a previous giant demon spider boss. Defeating them earns a reward, but you can then return to the same cave later to find a demon gate eerily sitting there. Going through forces you to battle wave after wave of superpowered regular enemies. Even the lowliest of [[Mooks]] can waste you with a couple of hits in these battles (oh yeah, you have to go through 10 of them to get the reward) and have HP that would make some of the late-game bosses jealous. These battles could be considered a refreshing change of pace compared to the general easiness of Okami if not for their sheer sadism.

* ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]] Infinity'' has the [[Serious Business|vidmaster]] levels. These levels are accessed through a secret area on the last level, and basically put you in three of the hardest levels of the series (One from each game), pitted against the hardest form of each enemy. The reward: Bragging rights.

* The first two ''[[Descent]]'' games had several secret levels, where the difficulty jumps from the regular levels' [[Nintendo Hard]] to ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' levels. Level 30 (secret level 3) of ''Descent'' on Insane difficulty is nearly impossible to beat.

* ''[[Medal of Honor]] Underground'' featured a campaign after the main game. Players reprised the role of Jimmy Patterson, hero of the first game, as he stormed the castle of a [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|mad Nazi scientist]]. The castle was replete with...interesting...new enemy types, including attack dogs operating armored vehicles and automatons made from suits of medieval armor. Patterson even constructs his own automaton - a man-sized nutcracker.

 

== Hack and Slash ==

 

== Platform Games ==

== Role-Playing Games ==

* The Ancient Cave in the ''[[Lufia]]'' series has gone from 12 levels, to 100 levels, to 200 throughout the various games on SNES and Gameboy.

** Fanatics' Tower in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]''.

*** Also the Dragon's Den in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]] Advance'', which is much more hardcore than the Fanatic's Tower, and has a ''MUCH'' harder [[Bonus Boss]].

*** There are a ton of these in the original game as well, such as the water tower in Worus Castle (which gave you the Shiva summon), the basement of Castle Bal (for the Odin summon) and several others. Technically, everything after the Pyramid is optional, as you can go straight to the [[Very Definitely Final Dungeon]] as soon as you reclaim the [[Global Airship]] in the third world.

** Deep Dungeon in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]''.

** The Deep Sea Research Facility in ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]''.

** The Omega Ruins in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''.

*** Don't forget the Nabreus Deadlands and Necrohol of Nalbudis. How bad is it? The goddamn [[Everything Trying to Kill You|save/gate crystal tries to kill you.]]

** The Gameboy Advance version of ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'' added four unlockable dungeons containing bosses from the 3rd to 6th games in the series. The PSP added a new dungeon on top of that, called the Labyrinth of Time.

** ''[[Final Fantasy III]]'' had one of these ATTACHED to the [[Very Definitely Final Dungeon]], with a TON of [[Bonus Boss]] characters, each guarding a specific class' [[Infinity+1 Sword]].

*** This is actually easier than the rest of the [[Very Definitely Final Dungeon]], and you're specifically told to go through it, though.

** ''[[Final Fantasy IV]] Advance'' added two new dungeons, one on Mt. Ordeals, containing new equipment due to the fact this version added the ability to switch party members, and the Lunar Ruins, which contains character specific trials.

* The Chicken Level in ''[[Dungeon Siege]]''. Hidden behind a series of riddles and item-gathering quests, this was populated with... well, killer chickens with an extraordinary number of hit points. The level was filled with large amounts of fabulous treasure and hard-to-find items for anyone brave and strong enough to defeat the fowl beasts (pun intended).

* The Cow Level in ''[[Diablo]] II'' (and the ''Hellfire'' expansion for ''[[Diablo]]''), inserted as a response to a rumor from the original ''[[Diablo]]'' that such a place existed. Later, the 1.11 patch introduced an elaborate Pandemonium quest with several bonus dungeons.

* [[Amusement Park of Doom|Neverland]] in [[Resonance of Fate]].

* The Netherworld, Auldburg, Trials of Elore, Jewel Beast's Lair, Purgatory, and Shadow Palace from ''[[Romancing SaGa]]''. You only need to visit one of the first 3 that are mentioned in order to progress the story, You can open up all three before starting the endquests, but {{spoiler|after completing Auldburg or The Netherworld, you cannot access the Trials of Elore.}}

** ''[[Romancing SaGa 2]]'' had several: The Ice/Snow/Sand Ruins as well as a hidden town which allowed an deeper explanation of the game's backstory.

** A similar Pit of 100 Trials is also found in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''.

*** Two of them, in fact, one of which must be completed twice to get everything from it.

* The ''Pokémon'' games have these, starting with Mewtwo's lair, the Cerulean Cave in ''[[Pokémon Red and Blue]]''. They are inaccessable until after you've beaten the game, and at the end lies a powerful legendary Pokemon for the player to catch, making it both a [[Bonus Boss]] and an [[Infinity+1 Sword]].

** ''[[Pokémon Gold and Silver]]''/''Crystal''/''HeartGold''/''SoulSilver'' and ''[[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire|Emerald]]'' possess a different variant. After the bonus dungeon you encounter, rather than a high-level Pokémon, a trainer with ''six'' high-level Pokémon, often the highest in the game. In GSC this is {{spoiler|1=Red, the protagonist of the original games as well as the male choice of protagonist in their [[Video Game Remake|remakes]], ''FireRed''/''LeafGreen'', with a party including a level 80 ''Pikachu'' and 70+ versions of all three original starters, Snorlax...and Espeon, for some reason. HGSS replaces the Espeon with a Lapras. The whole match has continous hail and all of there levels have been buffed up. ''Pikachu'' is level 88 now!}} In Emerald it's {{spoiler|Steven, the mandatory [[Final Boss]] of the first two games of that generation, now cranked up to 11 as a [[Bonus Boss]]. He has a similar team to the previous game (which was bad enough), but now they're all around level 80 rather than 50-60.}} Both fights are bragging rights only and give no real reward (although they are in fact repeatable, making them among the best spots to grind high-level Pokémon).

* Yet another 100 floor dungeon exists in ''[[Beyond Oasis]]''. There are prizes every 10 levels, and if you can make it all the way to the bottom without having to turn back to restock on supplies, your ultimate prize is an indestructible<ref>most weapons break after limited uses, with the exception of your default dagger and a handful of well-hidden weapons</ref> [[Infinity+1 Sword|Omega]] [[Flaming Sword|Sword]].

* Mull's Dungeon in ''[[Atelier Iris]]'' is only accessible after beating the game and contains a [[Bonus Boss]] stronger than the final boss.

* The Chrysler Building in ''[[Parasite Eve]]''.

* The Moria Gallery from ''[[Tales of Phantasia]]''. The later remakes expanded it with even more floors.

** Its sequel has two of them, one of which requires you to be on a second playthrough. Bonus doesn't begin to describe it.

* ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'s'' Memory Dungeon. The graphics are blurry, [[Real Is Brown|it's brown]], and all the sound effects sound far away, like you're hearing them on a camcorder recording the actual video game. In here, you fight the party's memories, and with that, every enemy they've faced in the game. This makes for some weird situations, like [[Stone Wall]] [[White Mage]] vs. {{spoiler|[[Brainwashed and Crazy]] [[White Mage]]}} and [[Grumpy Old Man]] vs. {{spoiler|the other half of his [[Split Personality]].}} Strangely, for a game whose characters lampshade many things such as [[Crack Pairing|CrackPairings]] and [[Dude Looks Like a Lady]], this wasn't remarked about at all.

* The 60-floor bonus dungeon of ''[[Tales of Destiny]]'' is a remake of ''[[The Tower of Druaga]]''. A 10-floor version of the tower is the bonus dungeon in ''[[Tales of the World]]: Narikiri Dungeon 3''.

* Monad block in ''[[Persona 3]]''. The game's ultimate boss can be fought on the final floor.

** The original ''[[Grandia (video game)|Grandia]]'' also contained no less than three bonus dungeon; the Castle of Dreams, the Soldiers Grave, and the Tower of Temptation, with the former two being available only for a limited time, and the latter being available to near the end of the game but nigh impossible to actually find. All of them have significantly ramped-up enemy difficulty (but absolutely abysmal experience payout), and all of them contain some of the most useful equipment for that point of the game.

** And ''[[Grandia II]]'' has the Raul Hills labyrinth, which hide the best defensive/recovery mana egg in the game.

* The most recent ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' games have added bonus opportunities as well.

** ''[[Dragon Quest VI]]'' allowed you to defeat the equivalent of ''Satan'', upon which he beats up the normal final boss for you.

** The PSX/DS remake of ''[[Dragon Quest IV]]'' includes a bonus dungeon which expands on the story, even allowing you to redeem the [[Man Behind the Man|(apparent)]] [[Big Bad]], and the former final boss!

* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]: [[Expansion Pack|Tales of the Sword Coast]]'' contains Durlag's Tower, a looming castle crammed full of thoroughly unpleasant enemies - and [[Ludicrous Gibs|very large traps]].

* ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II: [[Expansion Pack|Throne of Bhaal]]'' gives us Watcher's Keep, a five-story dungeon (plus one extra for the boss fight) featuring some of the most complex puzzles and challenging fights in the game, eventually climaxing in a fight with {{spoiler|Demogorgon}}, who is not only, as a good [[Bonus Boss]] should be, the most poweful enemy in the game, but {{spoiler|the most powerful being in the entire [[Forgotten Realms|setting]]!}}

* The [[Updated Rerelease]] of ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' adds Dimensional Vortexes unlocked after the final boss, as well as [[That One Sidequest|the Lost Sanctum]].

** Even the original SNES version of the game had the Black Omen, an optional dungeon (although necessary to access [[New Game+]]) that can, through the magic of [[Time Travel]], be cleared three times for maximum loot.

* ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' loves these. Of particular note is Purity Forest from the original pair of games. You can only bring one Pokémon in, which is brought down to level one. Also, all your items and money not in storage are destroyed. Good luck.

** Similar to Purity Forest is Zero Isle in the second pair, which is divided up into four parts. Zero Isle North simply doesn't give you any EXP, but South, East, and West drop you down to level one at the start, you can't bring items to Zero Isle South or West and can only bring 16 items to Zero Isle East, and Zero Isle West also limits you to just the one Pokemon!

* Probably about a third of ''[[Xenosaga]] 2'' was side-quests and another third Bonus Dungeons.

* ''[[Shiren the Wanderer]]'' has a bunch of extra dungeons you can take on after beating the main game, including the Kitchen God Dungeon (a special dungeon where you start with Bufu's Cleaver, a weapon that can turn enemies you kill with it into meat), the Cave Behind the Scroll (a possibly shorter dungeon where you start with a Trap Armband, which enables you to pick up and place traps and use them against enemies, as well as gain experience for killing them with traps), Fay's Final Puzzle (a 99-floor marathon where even herbs and scrolls that you find will be unidentified), the Tainted Path (''another'' 99-floor dungeon, with very strong monsters and a boss at the end), the Ravine of the Dead (a 50-floor frolick with tougher monsters, ''fake stairs'', and lots of Monster Houses), and the Ceremonial Cave (a 30-floor labyrinth with tough monsters and another boss). The first three of these dungeons don't allow you to bring any items or money, and you can't bring companions into Fay's Final Puzzle.

* An early example in ''[[Sword of Vermilion]]''. Unlike all other dungeons in the game, nobody ever asks you to visit, or even mentions the existence of the dungeon where the [[Infinity+1 Sword|Death Sword]] is found.

* ''[[Phantasy Star IV]]'' had a couple of optional dungeons that contained some nice loot, and in one case a [[Continuity Nod]] to the previous installment.

* The [[Fallout: New Vegas]] DLC ''Lonesome Road'' adds the Long 15 and Dry Wells maps, which you may or may not have {{spoiler|nuked}} previous to their unlocking.

 

== Shoot Em Ups ==

== Turn-Based Strategy ==

* The Hellgate from ''[[Tactics Ogre]]'' was 100 levels deep, and interestingly actually tied into the plot, as the bottom level was where one of the [[Bonus Boss|villains]] in the game had retreated to. Beating him didn't change the main plot of the game, though. In order to get the ultimate "bragging" item in the game, one had to go through the Hellgate twice, as well as get 4 specific weapons from special encounters with recolored monsters.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'': ''The Sacred Stones'' has two of these: the Tower of Valni, and, more fitting, as it is only available toward the end of the main game, the Lagdou Ruins.

 

== Wide Open Sandbox ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Video Game Settings]]