9 Video Game Secrets Hidden In New Game Plus
Why stop at the end credits?
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00:00 Now, there are plenty of things that completionists need to cross off
00:02 to really ensure they've gotten their fill from a video game,
00:05 but sometimes you can do everything right
00:08 and you still just need to go boot the whole game up again
00:10 to see everything there is to see.
00:12 While there are new game plus modes that just involve you going through
00:16 the motions all over again, perhaps with a nice little bar for a level bump.
00:20 We're here to talk about the new game plus offerings
00:22 that make things a little more exciting.
00:24 Maybe there's a new enemy to encounter, a great new piece of gear to pick up
00:28 or a mechanic that changes the game.
00:30 Whatever the case, here are a bunch of secrets to be found
00:33 only by those dedicated enough to let the credits roll on a game
00:37 and then jump right back in.
00:39 I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are nine video game secrets hidden in new game plus.
00:43 Number nine, the truth behind the lost civilization, Heaven's Vault.
00:48 Inkle's 2019 adventure game, Heaven's Vault, might have passed you by
00:53 as it was kind of a sleeper hit, but it's got this really cool sci-fi
00:57 archaeological vibe and it's really unique format carries through
01:00 into its new game plus.
01:01 Even if you're a diligent completionist, there's only so much
01:05 you'll have been able to put together while seeking the truth
01:07 behind a lost ancient civilization in your first run.
01:11 You can still get a great ending, but many of the game's discoveries
01:14 will remain unsolved for you.
01:16 While other games use their new game plus modes to give you a boost in combat
01:20 or retain your gold, Heaven's Vault lets you carry over your library
01:24 of translated words in the ancient script.
01:26 Now, puzzling out these translations and their implications for the game's lore
01:30 and how they inform the culture you're investigating is a game long journey
01:34 that you won't be able to finish up your first time around.
01:37 The mechanic of interpreting these phrases by using your best guess
01:41 and nailing down the translation is one of the game's best features.
01:44 So finding out you can dive back in right where you left off
01:48 and learn the rest of the backstory and the culture's true history
01:51 in a second or third run is really satisfying.
01:54 There's also a ton of branching paths here and the game will adapt to your choices.
01:59 So there's lots of reasons to dive back in.
02:01 Number eight, Magic Sunglasses, Fez.
02:04 Indie platformer Fez and its creator Phil Fish made quite the splash
02:08 on the gaming scene when it arrived in 2012.
02:11 You're thrown into a 2D world which you can rotate to line up platforms
02:15 and solve puzzles.
02:17 The game was beloved for its art style, nostalgia eliciting design,
02:21 emphasis on discovery and engaging gameplay mechanics.
02:24 But all that doesn't end when the credits roll, because there's a treat
02:28 for players who are willing to go through it all again.
02:30 The new Game+ mode gives players a pair of sunglasses
02:33 which lets you see the world in first person.
02:36 Basically, this means instead of seeing everything in 2D,
02:39 you can see in 3D, allowing you to check out the floors and ceilings,
02:43 find hidden areas and solve new puzzles.
02:45 If that secret isn't exciting enough for you to dive back in,
02:49 you also get the ability to fly in New Game+.
02:52 That's pretty cool.
02:53 Number seven, the sweetest revenge, Chrono Trigger.
02:56 Not many games do New Game+ quite like the Chrono series,
03:00 perhaps excepting our number one entry, but we'll get to that later.
03:03 That's because Chrono Trigger was the first game to coin the term New Game+.
03:07 The classic JRPG lets you keep your level, stats, learn text and top tier gear.
03:13 The game also has a whole lot of different endings you can unlock.
03:16 But even with that, it's still not the coolest secret hidden in New Game+.
03:20 The game has you face off against the final boss at the beginning
03:23 when you're too weak to face off against him.
03:25 Not so in New Game+, though, where there's a chance
03:28 you will be capable of taking him out, which is about as cool
03:32 as it sounds like it would be.
03:33 It also opens up new secret endings if you can take him out
03:36 at one of the early opportunities.
03:38 So if you're only going through the game once and losing at that initial hurdle,
03:42 you'd miss a bunch of extra content.
03:44 Being able to body bosses who absolutely destroyed you in your first run
03:48 is also pretty bloody awesome.
03:49 Number six, Runepoint Do-Over, Dishonored 2.
03:53 Dishonored 2 switched things up from the original game by offering you
03:57 two different playable protagonists to choose from.
03:59 Emily Kaldwin or Corvo Otano.
04:02 The game illustrated the same phenomenal stealth gameplay design as the original,
04:06 incorporating exciting side missions and multiple approaches.
04:10 It stands to reason, then, that the New Game+ mode of a game
04:13 that has built a lot of its reputation on letting you play however you want to
04:17 and giving you all these different playstyle opportunities
04:19 would be kind of a slam dunk.
04:22 As you'd expect, you will be able to retain all of your bone charm traits,
04:25 assigned runes and any blueprints you found in your previous run.
04:29 But it gets better.
04:30 You'll be able to re-spend all of your rune points.
04:33 So no matter whether you choose to play as the same character or switch it up,
04:37 you can build your playstyle from scratch with the points you've already earned.
04:41 Not only that, you can mix and match Corvo and Emily's powers
04:44 to create the playstyle of your dreams.
04:46 This is a great way to refine your previous attempted build
04:49 or try something completely different.
04:51 Number five, New Game+ currency.
04:53 Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor Overclocked.
04:56 If there's something we can generalize about, at least when it comes to the JRPGs
05:00 on this list, it's that they love providing alternate endings
05:04 and they really know what they're doing when it comes to a New Game+ mode.
05:08 Genre heavyweight Shin Megami Tensei is no exception to either of these rules,
05:12 as the 2011 remaster, Devil Survivor Overclocked, has a really interesting
05:17 system to offer those who are up for a second run at it.
05:20 Essentially, the tactical role playing game not only plays out
05:23 different events depending on your choices each run
05:26 and offers up multiple endings to those who satisfy the requirements,
05:30 it essentially gives you a New Game+ currency.
05:33 You'll gain it through completing various objectives in the previous run,
05:37 and it can be spent in the New Game+ shop where you trade it in
05:40 for the ability to carry over things like items, demons or ferns.
05:44 You can even use the points to unlock new bosses for the next run.
05:47 So that's pretty cool.
05:49 Number four, Zenkichi from the jump, Persona 5 Strikers.
05:53 While Persona 5 Strikers kind of hurts my little Persona 5
05:57 Royal obsessed heart, since the game pretends the events of Royal didn't happen,
06:01 there's still more than enough to love in Strikers.
06:04 From some excellent new characters to plenty of brand new systems,
06:07 it might still be more of a companion to the main experience,
06:10 but it's still well worth playing.
06:12 That extends through to the New Game+ mode, where you'll not only get
06:16 all the goodies you expect, like retaining your items, money, equipment,
06:20 Persona compendium, bond levels and so on, but there's another special thing
06:24 you'll get early access to, which really makes it worth playing through again.
06:28 This is the bit I kind of have to give you a bit of a spoiler warning.
06:31 So if you don't want to hear about one of the coolest reveals in Strikers,
06:34 I'll meet you over at number three.
06:36 In the original run of the game, you'll spend a lot of time
06:39 with police detective Zenkichi Hasegawa.
06:41 He's an entertaining dude with a lovely backstory, but it's not until
06:45 almost the end of the game after the fifth jail, which is essentially a dungeon,
06:49 that he actually becomes playable.
06:52 It's here that the New Game+ mode absolutely delivers,
06:55 as it lets you play as Zenkichi from the beginning, which is a big deal
06:59 since his persona is pretty damn powerful and also we love him.
07:02 Number three, forget everything you know, Nioh 2.
07:06 Nioh 2 is a really interesting one when it comes to its New Game+ offering,
07:10 because not only do you get to retain your items, gear,
07:13 Kodamas and soul cores in preparation for taking on tougher enemies,
07:17 you're really going to need them.
07:20 That's because Nioh 2 doesn't stop at just giving its enemies
07:23 more damage dealing potential and health in its New Game+ modes.
07:26 It goes a lot deeper.
07:28 To address the elephant in the room first, yes, I did say New Game+ modes,
07:33 as in plural.
07:35 Nioh 2 has four of them, each making a variety of changes to the game world
07:39 to make things significantly more different and difficult for you.
07:42 These range from bosses gaining new attacks to modified enemy movesets,
07:47 new mechanics and switching out regular enemies for DLC enemies
07:51 in main story missions, which is about as tension inducing as it sounds.
07:55 There are also new grace set bonuses enabling you to try out
07:58 entirely new play styles.
08:00 If you can somehow make it all the way through that, you'll also get access
08:03 to the Underground, which is basically a dungeon that consists of 100 floors
08:08 for you to fight your way through.
08:09 Number two, Ancient Cave, Lufia 2, Rise of the Sinistrals.
08:13 Lufia 2 is a 1995 role playing game developed by Neverland for the Super NES.
08:19 If you're doing the maths on this one and realize the game came out
08:22 a little before Chrono Trigger, so it can't technically have a specifically
08:26 titled New Game Plus mode, look, you're right.
08:29 But the game does have a retry mode where you'll run through the game again
08:33 with four times experience and currency.
08:35 If that sounds like a pretty boring thing for me to have put on this list,
08:39 that's because that is not what we're here to talk about.
08:41 Drop back in for the second round of New Game Plus, and the game
08:44 that was Lufia 2 is replaced with an area that you encounter
08:48 in the main game called Ancient Cave.
08:50 This whole third run through of the game just drops you into this dungeon
08:54 that consists of 99 randomly generated floors.
08:57 All you can do is descend, gear up, loot powerful weapons and try to survive.
09:02 By all accounts, the enemy variety and complexity of this area
09:05 actually make it even better than the main game.
09:08 So it's definitely not a New Game Plus mode to turn your nose up at.
09:12 Number one, the endings, Nier Automata.
09:15 There was just no way we were going to get out of this list and not include
09:19 the reigning king of all New Game Plus modes, Nier Automata.
09:23 There's an argument to be made that the New Game Plus modes of Automata
09:26 are so integral to the story that you can't separate them.
09:30 And not to experience them is to not experience the full game at all.
09:33 But given that they are really that important and crucial to the story,
09:37 you can see how it ended up in our number one spot here.
09:40 Each new level of New Game Plus unfolds more of the game's fascinating story,
09:44 satisfyingly weaving everything you've learned together
09:47 into a seriously moving tale you'd be remiss to avoid.
09:51 The second playthrough puts you in the shoes of a brand new character
09:54 experiencing many of the same events, while the third delivers
09:58 entirely new content that you'll experience as a new android A2.
10:02 There are so many branching routes that this game keeps a hold of you
10:06 through multiple runs, even when the content does repeat.
10:09 And with 26 endings to experience, to call the New Game
10:13 Plus modes thorough would be an understatement.
10:15 Almost every secret you're really going to want to know from Nier Automata
10:19 can be found in its subsequent New Game Plus mode ending.
10:22 So do yourself a favor and don't skip them.
10:24 That's the end of our list.
10:26 But do let me know down in that comment section
10:28 if you can think of any other secrets that can be found in video game
10:31 New Game Plus modes.
10:33 As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture.
10:35 Thank you so much for hanging out with me.
10:37 If you like it, come say hi to me on my Twitter account,
10:39 where I'm @JessMcDonald.
10:41 But make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more gaming goodness.