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Secret Level: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
Many games provide secret levels that [[Unlockable Content|aren't necessary to finish the game.]] Sometimes they are based around [[Gimmick Level|gimmicks]] or themes that aren't in the "actual" game. Sometimes they are [[Brutal Bonus Level|much more difficult than the main game's and are essentially a secret challenge]], or they feel like they could fit right in the game and were seemingly left out of the main game simply because there was no way to fit them into the progression (and making them secret was better than leaving them out or [[Dummied Out|dummying them]]).
{{examples|Examples}}▼
Then you get games that have "secret levels" as a major aspect of their design and designed in from the start as a major part of the overall design (generally games heavily based around [[
== [[Action Adventure]] ==▼
* In ''[[Zelda II the Adventure of Link]]'', you can go to Darunia and climb on top of houses. If you go to a roof nearest the top of the screen, you can jump off-screen with the JUMP spell, then (while still off-screen) use the FAIRY spell and fly up. You'll get the animation for falling down a hole and end up in a DIFFERENT town. The villagers all provide game info not found anywhere else in the normal towns. If you exit under the overpass to the right, you'll end up in the middle of the ocean, not being able to move in any direction. If you exit to the left, you'll just end up outside Darunia.▼
== Optional Secret Levels ==
▲=== [[Action Adventure]] ===
▲* In ''[[Zelda II:
* ''[[Tomb Raider]] 3'' has a secret level accessed by finding every (well, technically, all but one, due to an oversight) secret. It appears to have been intended to be a normal level (and showed up in various previews of the game) at first but was cut for some sort of progression reason.
** The ''[[Tomb Raider]] 2'' [[Gaiden Game]] Golden mask also has a (very wacky) secret level accessed by finding all the secrets in the previous levels.
*** ''[[Tomb Raider]]: Anniversary'' has the "style units" gained after finding most of the secrets. Not really a level as it is just an explorable visual demonstration, but it shows off various experimentations with the art-style of the game and locations.
=== [[First
* Pretty much every early 2.5D FPS (and 3D, with ''[[Quake (
** ''[[Doom (
** ''[[Descent]]'' had some secret levels late in the game. They were difficult, but you could be rewarded with a lot of points and some weapons upgrades.
** ''Quake 2'' had three secret levels. The first - Lost Station - has noticeably more enemies than usual but doing it will reward the player with an early Super Shotgun. The second - Sudden Death - is an interesting one: upon entering, you have 30 seconds to grab as much stuff as you can then you're thrown back to the previous level and can't enter again. Oh, and it's entrance is an innocuous waterfall in plain sight but can only accessed via a [[Rocket Jump]]. The third - Comm Satellite - is [[That One Level|set on a space station accessible via a hidden teleporter and as such, has low gravity and only flying enemies]].
* The Aztec and Egyptian levels in ''[[
* The "Panzerknacker Unleashed" missions in ''[[Medal of Honor]] Underground''. They are based on multiplayer maps from the previous game, and they are [[Nintendo Hard|very, very hard]].
* Level 4-0 in ''[[Medal of Honor]]: Allied Assault'' is accessible only through the console, and looks like it was supposed to be part of Mission 3, but was [[Dummied Out]] for progression/pacing reasons. There's also the Bazooka-Med bonus level accessed by earning the medal on Sniper's Last Stand.
=== [[Hack and Slash]] ===
* The secret Cow Level in ''[[Diablo]]'' 2, which was made after various rumours about one in the original Diablo.
* ''[[Diablo III]]'' has [[Sugar Apocalypse|Whimsyshire]], a land that seems ripped straight from [[Care Bears]] with smiling clouds, purple bears and unicorns.
=== [[Platform Game]] ===
* ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'' (in 2, 3 and A Crack in Time) has the Insomniac Museum, where the game's designers stuck a bunch of stuff that "didn't quite make it into the finished game." The handheld entries have the High Impact Games Treehouse, with much the same purpose.
* ''[[
** Episode four had one where you [[Just for Pun|collect 12 Inch Worms to make a giant foot]] which then launches you to a secret temple.
* ''[[Sonic CD]]'' has the [[Dummied Out]] 8th Special Stage. To access it, the player has to enter a code in the title screen to open the secret [[Sound Test]], then enter another code on it.
=== [[Real Time Strategy]] ===
* ''[[
* Similarly, ''[[
=== [[Role
* ''[[Quest 64]]'' has a
* [[Dark Souls]] has The Painted World of Ariamas, the Great Hollow, and the Ash Lake. For the most part, they're difficult to find [[Breather Level
=== [[Shoot
* The [[Sharp
* ''[[Rez]]'' has the Lost Area, unlocked by completing all the normal areas. [[Brutal Bonus Level|It is quite difficult]]. Same for ''[[Child of Eden]]'''s Hope level.
▲Then you get games that have "secret levels" as a major aspect of their design and designed in from the start as a major part of the overall design (generally games heavily based around [[Hundred Percent Completion]]):
==
=== [[Action Adventure]] ===
* ''[[
=== [[Action Game]] ===
* ''[[Rolling Thunder]] 3'' for the Genesis has Rounds A-C (one of them being a [[Nostalgia Level]]) that serves to substitute the two vehicle stages (Round 3 and 6), as well as the Hijack stage (Round 9) while keeping all of their current weapons and ammo.
=== [[First
* The secret levels in ''[[Perfect Dark]]'' are markedly different from those in ''[[
* ''[[Marathon
* ''[[Nitemare 3D]]'' goes straight from level 4 to level 6 if you play it normally. Or, you can simply push a bunch of boxes in front of one of a pair of dumbwaiters (which will otherwise just transport you back and forth) and get in the other to jump to level 5, which is full of gun-wielding human enemies.
=== [[Platform Game]] ===
* ''[[
* ''[[Super Mario Bros.|Super Mario World]]'' also has many, many secret levels and two entire secret worlds.
** ''Super Mario 64'' has various secret levels hidden in the hub area.
** ''Super Mario World 2'' (''[[
** ''[[New Super Mario Bros.]]'' has secret exits that have red flags instead of the standard black flags. Some let [[Sequence Breaking|you skip sizable chunks of the game]].
*** Worlds 4 and 7 are also secret worlds.
** ''[[
** ''[[Super Mario Bros the Lost Levels
*** And Worlds A through D, which in the original FDS version the player accessed by playing through the main game [[New Game
** ''[[Super Mario Land 2:
* Two words: [[Super Mario Galaxy
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]] 2'' and ''3'' have a "secret" world, that allows access to a better ending and certain items you collect are focused around gaining access to these levels.
* ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' has several of these:
** The first game contained to two levels that you needed you to get keys from the Cortex Bonus stages.
** ''Crash 2'' has levels hidden within levels. Some of these are considered parts of the main level [[Guide Dang It|where you really need to know what you're doing]] to find them...
*** ... For instance there's the hidden area within the Unbearable level where you need to [[Leap of Faith|jump into a seemingly bottomless pit]] in order to gain access to a hidden area within the level, which swaps the level theme from a towards the screen chase sequence, to a side scrolling section.
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*** ... Then there are the levels which you need to unlock by finding secret bonuses in other levels, such as standing on a hard to get to platform, or jumping over a long [[Bottomless Pit|hole]], to get back to the polar bear, in order to unlock hidden levels, and alternate paths in other levels.
** ''Crash 3'' does the same once again in accessing hidden levels with alternate routes, but makes you beat time trials to get to them. However, there are still two hidden levels not at all required for 100% completion, but required for the 105% completion. While all of the secret levels in Crash 2 can be found without a guide with enough persistence, Crash 3's secret levels are really obscure. One of them has you driving into a sign on the side of the road in a motorcycle level.
* ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles
* ''[[
* ''[[Eversion]]'''s secret level is unlocked after collecting all 240 gems in the game, and is necessary to get the good ending.
* ''[[Demons Crest]]'' really has no mandatory levels after the very first stage, but the final two need to be unlocked on the world map by jumping into a cyclone in Stage 4.
* ''[[Meat Boy
* In ''[[Mega Man X]]''3, there's a secret level that can only be accessed through specific teleportation capsules, that take you to an abandoned factory where you can fight Vile,
** Then, in Megaman X6, there 's a secret "Nightmare Stage" for every normal level, where you can find secret upgrades and bosses.
=== [[Shoot
* ''[[Tyrian]]'' is absolutely chock-full of secret levels. As a rule, they're accessed by destroying a specific target in a level so that a big glowy sphere appears. When you grab it, you'll move on to the corresponding secret level after finishing the current one. Some of these are tough to get, requiring you to leave certain enemies alone or stay on a certain path. There's even secrets 'within' secret levels, so you can go through a bunch of secret levels in a row before returning to the normal ones.
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[[Category:The Secret Index]]
[[Category:Video Game Settings]]
[[Category:
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