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strange and funny unused content in video games
Topic Started: Jul 10 2014, 12:10 AM (1,615 Views)
Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

It goes without saying that when a game is being developed, less than 100% of the content made is actually used in the final product. Sometimes an idea doesn't work out and is scrapped, or deadlines come up, or system limitations get in the way. A lot of this content ends up deleted from the game's data altogether, but most games, at least in older systems, are hiding a few interesting nuggets in their code. The Cutting Room Floor is a website/wiki dedicated to uncovering these secrets and cataloging them for all to see. They also document regional differences between European, Japanese, and American versions of games, as well as prototypes and revisions to re-releases or reprintings (for example, the Arabic chanting in the Fire Temple that was removed from revision 1.2 of Ocarina of Time). Occasionally even stuff that's actually in the final product, but well-hidden or little-known, is listed too.

Obviously there's lots of pretty normal stuff that just got removed for one reason or another. In Mega Man 2, at one point there were what appear to be Metool dispensers in Crash Man's stage: Posted Image Super Mario World has fully-coded half-size doors that you must be small Mario to enter: Posted Image (Romhackers make full use of that one.) In the Japanese version of Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter there is a secret character called Norimaro. He has a humorous, but unused, Hyper Combo where he fantasizes about various Capcom characters and then has a nosebleed, which looks like it would have been intended as an anti-air attack:
Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image
Interestingly, he was also almost completely localized for the worldwide release of the game, but Capcom must have cut him late in localization.
In Castlevania Symphony of the Night, it's fairly well known that there were two additional familiars added to the Japan-only Saturn version. Their coding is present even in the US/European Playstation versions though! Furthermore, if you sat down in a chair while you had the Sprite familiar, you were supposed to hear this song sung by the Sprite.


So there's plenty of interesting stuff like that you can find, but what's really amazing are the hidden strings of text found in many games' code. Sometimes this stuff was just thrown in because they needed to pad out the filesize for whatever reason. Sometimes they are comments from developers trying to figure out some kind of error. Sometimes, especially in early games that didn't have credits because companies were afraid their competitors would headhunt their employees, developers would hide their own credits as plain text in the code. And then sometimes, a programmer hides something ridiculous in the code because they thought nobody would ever find it! Let's take a look at some examples:

This is from the arcade version of Donkey Kong, inviting anyone able to find this message to apply as a programmer, as they obviously have some skills:
Quote:
 
CONGRATULATION !
IF YOU ANALYSE
DIFFICULT THIS
PROGRAM,WE WOULD
TEACH YOU.*****
TEL.TOKYO-JAPAN
044(244)2151
EXTENTION 304

SYSTEM DESIGN
IKEGAMI CO. LIM.

Ikegami Company is the group that did the actual programming work for Donkey Kong (and several other Nintendo arcade games) while Nintendo itself primarily handled just the design aspects. They hid their name/logo in some other places in the game code too.

There are silly little messages like this one in NASCAR Arcade:
Quote:
 
I'm tired...
No one help me.
No one don't realize me.
No one love me.
No one save me.
No one hope me.
No one miss me.
Shu Ito
5/28 modified...
This file is needed more size.
So, I must add lazy sentence.

The music file for Combo Racer has a frank message from the composer:
Quote:
 
combo racer music
(c)1989 i.d.ltd
music by barry leitch
the chicken is atlast
dead ya bastards...
i hope you like this
its tuff shit if you
dont. for once ive
written a tune that
i want to listen to
and not all thesecrap
theme pieces that ive
been forced to write
lately. anyway
i'm complaining again
so i'd better go .
au revoir les poulets
--:jackal:--4.12.89

Speaking of European PCs, there are a lot of pretty funny instances of hidden messages addressed to the hacker groups that would crack games and illegally distribute them in games for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad, etc.

Line of Fire:
this one is actually much longer and talks about other random stuff
 
Line Of Fire was written by Richard Aplin for Creative Materials &
U.S. Gold from July-November 1990.

;Dear Cracker,
;To save you time, simply fill in the appropriate lines below..

type "Line Of Fire!
type " Cracked by the utterly amazing and fab _________ of _______!"
type "Hot greets to _____ and _____!!"
type "Lamings and slaggings to _____ of _____ and _____!!!"
type "Call our BBSs on ____-______ and ____-______ for the latest warez!"
type ""
type "I am a sad and immature spotty little twat because _______________."
type "I crack games for free as I have no friends"
type "and am physically repulsive to females because of my chronic _______."
type "I hate my parents because they _____ and make me tidy me room even"
type "when I have been at kindergarten the whole day."
type ""
type "I have played with myself ____ times in the past 24 hours"
type "and have wet dreams about ________ from Neighbours."
type ""
type "The last Kylie Minogue record I brought was ________ and I think"
type "she's lush and fab and ace and wicked because she's _________ and I fancy her."
type ""
type "Press right button for trainer, left for normal. Probably."
Crap_Demo_That_Crashes_Half_The_Time_And_Has_A_Sprite_Starfield_Oooh_How_Original
run Corrupt_loads_of_memory_all_over_the_place
Game

Alien Breed:
only one of two separate anti-cracking messages in this game
 
STOP IT =NOW=, OK! You will gain *NOTHING* from breaking this protection,
but I guess you're too [radio edit]ing ignorant, narrow-minded or maybe even too
stupid to understand that. Yeah, so you and your 'leaders' and 'spreaders'
(that's what they like to call themselves, but they're nothing but LEECHES
gaining some kind of fame from the work you do) will have something to
spread around on BBS', ok... But what the hell do they, or you, REALLY get
for all that, huh? Ok credits... So they can download some shit games or
other software, but in a wider perspective? I'll tell you =NOTHING=. It's
pointless. If you don't realize that now, I assure you that in a few years
you will look back at this time and wonder why you did it. I know that
from experience. Go and do something constructive, like studying,
socializing, programming or whatever! Cracking is not constructive. To
you it might seem like a challenge or something you do to get famous, well
OK it is a challenge to crack, and you do get famous if you're good at it.
Famous for a while, a short while. But nobody will care about that five
years from now. You will benefit much more from getting a job, education
or a girlfriend, I'm telling you because I KNOW. I was a cracker once, one
of the best. In a time when you could actually send the originals by mail,
work for a day or two, and then send the cracked version back, and still
have a world-first release. Then the scene consisted by computer freaks
who made it for the fun of it. The scene today is perverted and lead by
ignorant computer-illiterate idiots, only in for the fame and money. They
think they're famous and legendary, but nobody likes or admires them for
sure. I HATE IT! Now I've realized the stupidity of my actions, and I
wish I could undo them. You'll also do just that in a few years too if you
have a conscience, and wish you had done something else. SO DON'T CRACK
IT!
Blood Money:
Quote:
 
Well hello there hackers. I'll warn you now that this game has a LOT of protection,
so it will be a few late nights for you lot. It's a mugs game anyway, you should be
writing games and making loads of money like me (you too could afford a 16V Astra
GTE), but you are obviously lacking in a few brain cells & will put a weeks work
into cracking this for what? SOD ALL, thats what. Well if you do manage to crack
it send me a copy: DAVE JONES, DMA DESIGN, MINTLAW PARK, WEST FERRY, DUNDEE DD5 1RD.
In return you will get sod all as usual. In the meantime I'll be thinking of you
when I'm in Florida, spending some of my dosh.


One of the programmers on Spider-Man (the good one on Playstation) is very upset with a co-worker's coding ability:
Quote:
 
numFrames <= 0 illegal. you're under arrest dipshit
NULL pointer to targetPos
no acceleration specified!
fix this mr. matt duncan
Shit[radio edit]er

Background index error
Negative NumBaddies
Bad script command
This shouldn't be zero. Remove state from table
Hmmm... these aren't equal! Fire Matt immediately
Unknown die state
something's wrong in the state of denmark

mysterio
goldfish
Ken'sCircle
NULL pBody sent to CDamagedSoftSpotEffect
No ribbons?
More 16C palettes used than expected
More 256C palettes used than expected
Tried to create two global fade palettes
Region became unusable
Tried to do two fade ups
Repeated softspot
Too Many Softspots on Mysterio
Now how, I said how in the hell did this happen?
Unknown mysterio xa
Unknown xa response
Unknown state
No mysterio. Fire Matt
softspot
softeyes
Fire Matt after kicking him decidedly in the nutsack

Fire Matt, he [radio edit]ed up the rhino XA. Actually, kick him in the nuts first
Unknown difficulty level!
What in the name of God above?


Not enough slots. Fire Matt
sym_dark
Non symbiote sent to CSimbyEmerge
Bad NodeIndex sent to CSimbyDroplet
Hit env obj!
Not in list
symblob
Bad model in SimbyModels
NULL pSimby sent to Simby_SplattyDeath
sym_gen
What the hell?
Unknown impact web xa
Unable to set up stretch to script point!
Unknown attack method
Unknown step in GetToTarget
Unknown substate!
Shit, base is scaling to zero!
sym_base
Where did slinkribbon go
What where'd slinkribbon go?
Unknown substate
Fire matt
Should never get here.
Demote Matt immediately
Who's been smokin' crack today?
fire matt immediately please
A pleasant message found in The Last Battle:
Quote:
 
[radio edit] YOU

Infamous kusoge Super Monkey Daibouken is already shitty enough, but this hidden message is just the icing on the cake:
It's in Japanese in the game so this is a translation
 
Designer: Kaoru Nakajima
26 years old, born 1960 in Toyokawa City, Aichi Prefecture. ...
I wanna lick your pussy!
I want a perverted miss. I like vagina and the clitoris!
Wonder if he still has a job in the industry . . .

The programmer for Pachi-Com on Famicom goes on a pretty big tirade, complaining about changes the company made him add to the game and even explaining a way to change it back to how he originally had it. He questions some of Nintendo's system architecture choices. At the end he adds this:
also a translation from Japanese
 
Anyone who happens across this is a pervert! There's another message in the MSX Pachi Com... If you're a pervert, buy it and see! It's in Okinawan dialect, though!
DON'T TELL ANYBODY YOU SAW THIS!!!
by Y.S
And sure enough if you check the MSX version there is another hidden message . . .
Quote:
 
SHLICK SHLICK SPRAY SPRAY
The largest of all hidden developer messages is found in The New Tetris on N64, found and posted online only three days after the game released. It's way too long to post here so click the link to read it. It includes Rants, McRants, Mini-Rants, and several pieces of ASCII art including a pot leaf and the N64 logo.

If you thought some of that was crazy, now we're going into absolutely insane-tier stuff.
First is the programmer working on Sega Smash Pack for Dreamcast, who left instructions on how to make a Sega Genesis emulator in a plaintext file that was explicitly addressed to a popular piracy group at that time. A few days later, that group released a ripped version of the game that you could load any Genesis ROM onto and play as if it were part of the original game itself! Turns out this was the programmer's last game with Sega, and the game was released on the very day Sega announced the Dreamcast was ceasing production, so he decided to leave the fans a little treat on his way out.

Next is Mario Kart Arcade GP. In the game's files this image can be found:
Posted Image
What makes this so bizarre is that this is a photograph taken in Russia during the Beslan school hostage crisis, where over 1000 people, mostly children, were held hostage for three days by a group of militants, ending with the death of more than 300 people. Why the hell is this image in a Mario game????

Front Mission: Gun Hazard is a Japan-only sidescrolling spinoff of the Front Mission strategy rpg series. At the end of the ending credits, a voice sample can be faintly heard. For god only knows what reason, this sample is taken from a threatening phonecall a UK neo-nazi extremist group made. It's very racist and vulgar so I won't repost it here, just click the link above if you want to hear it. Why in god's name would they use this voice sample in their game??

The mother of all hidden messages comes to us via Atlus and their visual novel/adventure game Erika and Satoru's Dream Adventure. This message is actually completely viewable in the final game, but the method to see it is incredibly obscure. First, you must finish the game. The game ends on a photo of the characters and the word "END." If you let the game sit here for 18 minutes, the photo turns black and white. After waiting another 18 minutes, the photo turns sepia. After another 55 minutes the music completely stops. If you press a button combination on both controllers at this point, new music will start. Then pressing another combination of buttons will begin the message, complete with what I assume is a graphic of Hidemushi, the author of this message, posted here in all its glory:
Quote:
 
Mmm, that's a nostalgic song playing. Those were good times. Meanwhile, who the hell are these people with this project? I'm so glad it's over. You think it's nothing but good memories? Hell no! Let's use this space to give out some thanks.

First off, Kaoru Ogura, who ran off with some guy in the middle of the project. Yes, you, you bastard. Don't show up at the office without showering after having sex 6 times the previous night. Next, Tatsuya Ōhashi. Yes, you, you bastard. Don't give me your flippant shit — coming in late on the day we ship the ROM like nothing's amiss. You can give me all the porn you want; I'm not forgetting that one. All that [radio edit]ing weight you put on. No wonder you paid out 18,000 yen and still got nothing but a kiss out of it. Kenji Takano, Namco debugger. You are a part-timer; don't dick around with the project planner. And finally, Kiyoharu Gotō, the biggest thorn to my side in this project. Yes, you, you bastard. Once I get a time machine, I’m sending you back to the Edo period. Go do your riddles over there.

Ahh, that's a load off...wait, no it's not. Kiyoharu Gotō — yes, you, you bastard. Aaaagh, just disappear already.

Come to think of it, some people were helpful to me, too. Mr. Okada, who took all the good stuff. I know all about your abnormal tendencies. Yamagishi, who swore off soaplands until the project was over. Go ahead, knock yourself out now. Iwata, who joined in midway and gave it all he had. Sorry I yelled at you. Keep hanging in there. Fujimura, Udopyu, you probably had it the worst of all. Thanks. I mean it. Gotō's the one to hate here. Also, Takayama, Kudō, Suzuki, Makki, Kaneko, Aihara, Sato (the angel of my heart), Iga. Thanks, everyone.

Yoko-G, good work. This game is dedicated to your wife's birthday.
After this if you press yet another button combination, a final message to a family member appears.
Quote:
 
Kazumushi, I'm sorry I couldn't come back home much. I love you and always have. Hidemushi


Post any other hidden messages you know about, or any other interesting finds you see on the website!
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Dracobolt
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Incorrigible

This is actually really cool. I was aware that some games had this sort of hidden content, but I'd never bothered to look into it. It's funny what they'll put when they think that no one/only the most dedicated of gamers will see it.

:mercury_djinn: :mercury_djinn: :mercury_djinn:
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Deleted User
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Crash
Jul 10 2014, 12:10 AM
Posted Image
Rofl

Majora's Mask has a ton of really cool unused content. I remember reading through this page a while ago and a lot of it is really neat. I especially like the unused dialogue. lol Honey & Darling...
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Phoenix7
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Odyssey, ya see~ Odyssey, ya see~

Wow @ 'dat Hyper Combo

Mother 3 has some unused content that really fascinates me, especially like how the final boss fight was apparently meant to be even darker, and many of the changes in story and structure, including from the N64 version they were working on. Can be found here, but beware spoilers.
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Super Slash


I like this website a lot, and I find myself using it when I'm bored. You always find the most interesting things on it though, Crash.

The MM and Mother 3 stuff look awesome as well. Will definitely take a look when I have more time.
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ShinyGirafarig
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Giraffes are adorable.

Posted Image
Eagle's motorcycle supposed to be in the Advance Wars 2 gallery.
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

Here's a thing I didn't know about, the Greatest Hits version of Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon adds several new music tracks to the game, for levels that reused music in the original release. I only have the black-label original so I've never heard these songs before. Strangely, the European equivalent of Greatest Hits, the "Platinum" release, does not have the new music despite coming out later.
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

A new discovery: the Gamecube version of Pikmin has a Windows executable file on the disc that allows the game to be played natively on a Windows PC. Keyboard controls are coded in, and many debugging features are accessible.

Of course Gamecube emulation is now good enough (better than N64 emulation even!) that you can probably just pop in your GC disc and emulate the game just fine, so this isn't really a useful way to play the game.
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

Genesis and Mega Drive games were typically region-locked. Mickey Mania displays this screen if you try to play the Japanese version on an American Genesis or European Mega Drive, fairly standard for most of these games:
Posted Image

But if, using an emulator or a hardware modchip, you change the region of your system to Japan after you have reached that screen, this message appears and then the game begins:
Posted Image

SNES version of Bust-A-Move contains this message and reference to Sailor Moon:
Quote:
 
Hey, wait a second; why would you copy this? In the name of the ROM, I will punish you!! If you're reading this, you're a bad person. Oh? You weren't trying to copy it, you say. Well, I'm sorry then. Got it, everyone? You can't go around copying games! Copying games is just for bad old men. So, anyway, thanks to those who bought this game. Best regards!
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Kula Diamond
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atlus tracts

lmao the mickey mania one

best
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King in the North
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Very cool stuff.

The original FFX "beta" is kinda weird. No hidden code or easter egg stuff though, would go into cut/changed content I suppose. Things like Tidus and Yuna with black hair, fully moveable 3D camera, hair and clothes physics, online features...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72vckLXI7x4[/youtube]
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ZFallen
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There's data allowing Tidus to wield the buster sword :3

http://youtu.be/J-1JV6b4Yp4
(Apologies, I'm using my phone)
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ShmittlesThePoe
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Pirate Wavemaster
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
omg, spending time on that site is like spending time on tropes. endless chains of interesting facts.

Donkey Kong Country was a good read.
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

This might be one of the best. Because Game Boy Color game "DynaMike" did not use the full RAM of the cartridge, and the programmer did not blank out that data or put something else there to replace the excess, leftover files from other things he was doing while programming ended up leftover in the final game. Chief among these is some leftover files from a porn website! The game never actually released publically though, so maybe a final check of the code would have prompted a removal. NSFW text details within: https://tcrf.net/DynaMike
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Kula Diamond
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atlus tracts

obby
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King in the North
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Lol. Well. You do what you gotta do.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5JzQudbKsk[/youtube]
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

A few examples of games ripping off Super Mario Bros. sprites and just slightly altering them for their own games: http://tcrfwiki.tumblr.com/post/125847049003/no-relation

I can't remember what game it was, but I read an interview before where someone mentions that they just copied percussion samples from Super Mario Bros. 3 for their own music. I'd bet that if someone went looking they'd find way more examples of copying or slightly altering stuff from Mario games in these early consoles.
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Crash
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Wheey! I've became a human being!! I am very handsam!

M.C. Kids is a McDonald's-branded platformer with the rare distinction of being actually good. There is a secret that was improperly coded and was thus essentially hidden for 24 years, until its recent discovery. After beating three super tough secret levels with all collectibles grabbed, you're supposed to receive unlimited lives, but then Ronald realizes he messed up and didn't actually give you unlimited lives like he said!
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