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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're looking at our favorite secret levels and worlds in
00:09video game history.
00:16But before we get into it, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe
00:22and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:27Borderlands 2 Borderlands is a series that knows how to
00:35have a little fun with its easter eggs, such as an entire area themed around Minecraft.
00:41After completing chapter 9 of the story, you can head to the Caustic Caverns, specifically
00:46an area in the northwest to find two minecarts.
00:50There's a path to the side of them that leads to a cave blocked by very familiar looking
00:55blocks.
00:56On the other side, you'll find a room full of creepers and mineable blocks that can give
01:00you gold, ammo, and Minecraft themed skins for your character and guns.
01:06An unexpected crossover, but a fun one nonetheless.
01:15Triumph of the Empire Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 Rogue Leader
01:26Have you ever wanted to see the climactic victory of A New Hope go the other way?
01:30Well, the Gamecube's Rogue Leader gave you the option.
01:34One of its cheat codes unlocked a hidden level titled Triumph of the Empire.
01:39It put players in control of Darth Vader during the end of the original movie, as he and his
01:43underlings attempted to blast the rebels to smithereens.
01:47It actually isn't too hard of a mission, all things considered, but having us take
01:52on the role of the villain in such an iconic moment made for a fun secret level.
01:57Although, it's kind of grim to have Vader unknowingly murder his son.
02:09Liberty Island Freedom Fighters
02:18Freedom Fighters was a pretty solid third person shooter made by IO Interactive of Hitman
02:23fame.
02:24Set in an alternate history, it has you take up arms against Soviet Union invaders in defense
02:29of New York City.
02:30In order to unlock the hidden level, you need to beat the game on one of the two hardest
02:35difficulties.
02:36Liberty Island isn't that different from the rest of the game in terms of gameplay,
02:40nor is it even that long.
02:42What makes it memorable is the setting, a completely decimated Statue of Liberty.
02:48The icons torch and head upon the ground, among rubble and armed invaders, made for
02:53striking imagery in 2003.
03:00Call of Duty Black Ops
03:07Call of Duty has a few great hidden levels, and a special shout out goes to Modern Warfare's
03:13Mile High Club.
03:14However, we have to give love to the original Black Ops.
03:18Five is a hidden zombie map that you can unlock either by beating the game once on any difficulty,
03:24or by entering the code 3ARCUNLOCK on the menu's computer.
03:29It sees the Pentagon overrun by the undead, with players taking on the role of four historical
03:34figures suited to Black Ops' setting.
03:37John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, or the Prime Minister
03:44of Cuba, Fidel Castro.
03:46As one might expect, taking these four through the zombie apocalypse in the Pentagon is both
03:52absurd and a whole lot of fun.
04:01The Lost World Donkey Kong Country 2 Diddy's Kong Quest
04:11We will never pass up the chance to praise Donkey Kong Country.
04:15In the second game, you can gain access to five hidden levels collectively known as the
04:20Lost World, which is also the home of King K. Rool and his Kremlings.
04:25To reach them, you have to visit Klubba's kiosk to pay him in Krim Coins, god that's
04:30a lot of Ks, at 15 coins per level, and 75 in total.
04:35That's actually quite a bit of work, and you're rewarded with the hardest levels the game
04:40has to offer.
04:41Of course, they're immaculately designed, both artistically and mechanically, and the
04:46music is still incredible, so it's certainly a rewarding experience for DK fans to experience.
04:52But they are damn hard.
04:59Revisiting the Past Prince of Persia The Sands of Time
05:08We love a retro throwback level, as you'll see with a few of our picks.
05:12Prince of Persia The Sands of Time was the first entry in the series released under Ubisoft,
05:18and the studio included a great reference to the series' roots right at the start of
05:22the game.
05:23Instead of having the prince enter the opening room, you can press a series of buttons, naturally
05:28different between each version, which will take you to the hidden level.
05:32It recreates the first level from the 1989 original game, just in the new Ubisoft style.
05:39It was nice to see it pay homage to the franchise's history, but you can also find a room full
05:43of penguin books, cases of beer, and a portrait of the development team for an extra bit of
05:49fun.
05:50It came from Red Alert.
05:53Command and Conquer Red Alert Counter-Strike
06:01Hidden within the Counter-Strike expansion of Red Alert, though also included in the
06:052020 remaster, this secret level is a love letter to old sci-fi.
06:11It's easy to access just by holding the space button and clicking on the speaker in the
06:16main menu.
06:17Consisting of four missions, it came from Red Alert as you and your troops defending
06:21against armies of giant ants.
06:24Its inspiration comes from two sources that feature the same massive bugs, a 1989 video
06:30game, It Came From The Desert, and the 1954 classic sci-fi movie, Them.
06:36It's just the type of cheesy fun that fits with the series, on top of featuring the same
06:41strategic mechanics that made Command and Conquer so great to begin with.
06:49Nightmare in Vegas Tomb Raider II The Golden Mask
07:00The original Tomb Raider was such a massive hit that players of the era were consistently
07:05craving more.
07:06After the release of the second game, it received an expansion featuring four new levels, except
07:12there are actually five.
07:14Nightmare in Vegas is unlocked after beating the previous new stages and finding the twelve
07:19secret items within them.
07:21What seems like a vacation quickly grows into a nightmare as Lara must defend against groups
07:26of enemies from various other sections in the game, including an encounter against a
07:30T-Rex.
07:31It's interesting seeing modern architecture mixed with the more extravagant locales Lara
07:36visits and it's just as fun as all the other levels.
07:45Green Hill Zone Sonic Adventure 2
07:56As the very first Sonic level ever, Green Hill Zone is understandably iconic.
08:02In the early days of the mascot's 3D games, Sega chose to pay homage to the classic stage
08:07in a really cool way.
08:08By collecting all 180 emblems and earning an A ranking on every stage, a pretty tall
08:15order, you would unlock a 3D recreation of the level.
08:19It may not be very long, but going through this famous terrain with the new era's spin
08:23was quite the nice reward.
08:26Sonic Adventure 2's release also marked the 10 year anniversary of the original Sonic
08:30the Hedgehog, so it was not only exciting for players to find, but acted as a lovely
08:35tribute as well.
08:43Bloodstained Sanctuary Cave Story
08:52Cave Story is a wonderful indie action platformer with some pretty fantastic levels, one of
08:57which is basically hell.
08:59The entrance to this secret area can be found in the prefab building, but only opens up
09:04after you've defeated the final boss.
09:06You also need to keep Professor Booster alive and have both gotten his improved jetpack
09:11and the Iron Bond from the plantation.
09:14Like other cases, doing all that work gets you an extremely challenging level where your
09:19reaction time will certainly be tested.
09:22Spikes along the walls and floor, falling blocks, and two hefty bosses will likely rack
09:28up some deaths, but for fans of the game and genre, it's a great climax.
09:40Nightmare Wolfenstein The New Order
09:48This one's another retro throwback, because we simply can't get enough of them.
09:53At a certain point after meeting the resistance against the alt-history Nazi regime, BJ Blazkowicz
09:58can lie down for a well-deserved nap.
10:01In the base, next to artwork of the 1992 original game, lying down on the bed will transport
10:07you to that game's first level.
10:09The style is still very much old school, except for BJ himself.
10:14Again, it's a loving tribute to what came before it, which just so happens to be one
10:19of the most groundbreaking FPS games of all time.
10:21But it's also just a fun, violent stroll down memory lane.
10:30Out of This Dimension Star Fox
10:38This one gets in on the grounds that it is just plain weird.
10:41Out of This Dimension, which is a perfect name, can be reached at the beginning of level
10:463's asteroid belt, by destroying the second large asteroid you come across, and flying
10:51into the giant bird that appears from it.
10:54The level is almost like a carnival ride, with wavy imagery of smiling planetoids and
10:59circus music playing over top.
11:01There isn't much to do as you fly through until you fight the level's boss, a gigantic
11:06slot machine.
11:07Shooting its lever activates it, if you get a single Andross, the machine will fire rockets
11:12at you, while three sevens will cause it to self-destruct.
11:16You then get the credits and a The End title card, followed by constant swarms of enemies
11:21until you die.
11:23Very strange indeed.
11:29The Painted World of Ariamis Dark Souls
11:38FromSoftware games are loaded with fantastic hidden levels, meant for only the hardiest
11:42of warriors.
11:44In Dark Souls, that place is the Painted World of Ariamis.
11:48You can enter it through an actual painting in the Anor Londo Chapel, so long as you've
11:53gone back to the starting area to get the peculiar doll that acts as a key.
11:58However, you won't be able to come out the way you came, so you have to explore and fight
12:03some of the game's most powerful enemies to find the exit.
12:06Like a dark twist on Super Mario 64, being sucked into the stunning, snow-fallen landscape
12:12of the painting is a cool concept, but it's best to be as prepared as possible before
12:17the trip.
12:22Map 31, Wolfenstein, Doom 2
12:32Let's give Wolfenstein a little more love, shall we?
12:35Inside the industrial zone of Doom 2, players can find the first level of Wolfenstein 3D,
12:41with some key differences that honestly make it cooler.
12:45The regular guards have now been replaced by SS officers, while the attack dogs are
12:49now demons.
12:50It's a great easter egg and a great fusion of id Software's monumental titles.
12:56At the end, you can choose to go back to Doom or continue on to the boss fight.
13:01Naturally, instead of fighting Wolfenstein's Hans Gross, players are met by a cyberdemon,
13:07one of the Doomguy's most vicious foes.
13:16Aztec and Egyptian, GoldenEye 007
13:25GoldenEye 007 adapted Pierce Brosnan's first Bond film well, had fantastic multiplayer,
13:31and still left room to pay homage to the character's long history.
13:36One of the ways in which it did so was through the Aztec level, unlocked by beating every
13:40level on secret agent, or normal, difficulty.
13:44Based on the 1979 entry Moonraker, Aztec featured harder enemies, Moonraker laser beams, as
13:51well as the iconic villain Jaws.
13:54You could also unlock the Egyptian level by beating every story mission on 00 agent, or
13:59hard.
14:00Here, you could acquire the infamous golden gun and face off against another classic villain,
14:05Eren Samedi from 1973's Live and Let Die.
14:14Kanto Pokemon Gold and Silver
14:22It was exciting enough to learn as kids that we had a whole new region to explore with
14:27a ton of new Pokemon to meet and catch.
14:31Little did we know that Game Freak and Nintendo had hidden the entire world of the first game
14:36inside, albeit a smaller version.
14:39Finding out that you could visit Kanto in Pokemon Gold and Silver was mind-blowing at
14:43the time, whether you earned a boat ticket at the end of the story, or learned the proper
14:48moves to take the waterways by your house.
14:51It was an excellent addition onto an already stellar game, letting us battle the old gym
14:56leaders and, eventually, square off against our former selves.
15:00Trainer Red has some high level heavy hitters, and is still a fan favorite secret boss.
15:12Star World and Special Zone
15:14Super Mario World
15:23It has become tradition now for Mario's adventures to include a secret world full of challenging
15:29levels.
15:30And the tradition started with Super Mario World.
15:33While these types of worlds are normally unlocked after beating the story, the five entrances
15:37to Star World are hidden across the map.
15:40They exist as extra playgrounds to experience the game's phenomenal mechanics, and all
15:45come with a Yoshi as a nice bonus.
15:48But they also each have secret exits that link them together, making them excellent
15:53shortcuts for speedrunners.
15:55On top of that, the fifth level's secret exit leads to another hidden world.
16:00The Special Zone, itself consisting of eight brutal levels for Mario pros.
16:15Nicola's Hallig Tree
16:17Elden Ring
16:25In the northern area of Elden Ring's map, in the Consecrated Snowfield, players can
16:30find what is now one of the game's most famous locations.
16:34You first have to find two halves of a medallion and solve a puzzle, and doing so grants you
16:38access to a truly gigantic secret area.
16:42Nicola's Hallig Tree is beautifully designed, a gargantuan tree you descend down, loaded
16:48with fauna, stunning castles, and, as to be expected, powerful foes to test your might
16:54against.
16:55Elphail, an impressive keep at the base of the tree, is also home to wonderful design,
17:01and culminates in a fight against Millenia, who understandably gained a reputation for
17:05being the biggest challenge Elden Ring had to offer.
17:15The Cow Level, Diablo 2
17:24What started as a joke is now an iconic piece of gaming history.
17:28After the first Diablo was released, a rumor spread about a hidden level full of humanoid
17:33cows.
17:34There wasn't any truth to it, but Blizzard was seemingly tickled by the idea so much
17:39that the studio included this hidden level in the sequel.
17:42You can only reach it on a difficulty you've already beaten the game on, and must combine
17:46the items Wirt's Leg and a Tome of Town portal, which causes the entrance to appear
17:51in the starting area.
17:53After doing that, you can go to war against a herd of cow enemies and their cow king.
17:58A ridiculous, yet highly enjoyable time.
18:07The Inverted Castle, Castlevania Symphony of the Night
18:20This one is so famous now, some probably assume it isn't hidden.
18:25But to flip Dracula's castle upside down and reach the true ending, you have to do
18:29some extra work.
18:31The game can be beaten simply by defeating Richter Belmont when you find him.
18:35However, you need the Holy Glasses to see he's being controlled by the evil Priest
18:40Shack.
18:41To get those from Maria, you first need to have found the Gold and Silver Rings.
18:46Your effort will let you free Richter from his spell, and subsequently flip the entire
18:50game on its head.
18:52The Inverted Castle features entirely new ways to play, as well as its own unique bosses.
18:58It also gets you to Dracula, being an integral part of the story and its various paths to
19:03completion.
19:10What's your favorite hidden level in a video game?
19:12Head to those comments and let us know, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more
19:16great gaming videos every day.