Been there, done that, unlocked the T-shirt

Super Mario World (SNES): Is its inverse world the most bizarre secret in a game?

Achievement has been a staple part of games since the beginning. The achievement of getting the highest score, defeating that tricky boss battle, outwitting your rivals or defeating them with pure skill or just simply completing the game itself.  All legitimate motives, you could go as far as to say it’s the sole reason we play videogames in the first place. But sometimes the experience can be a little too short for those playing it and the need to prolong the games lifespan becomes more important. Some lengthen the experience by backtracking or by similar methods but it’s the idea of unlockable content that is becoming more common with games nowadays.

Unlockable content in games is nothing new but the idea of awarding the gamer for bothering to complete the game, or to have at least completed part of it, has become the rule rather than the exception. In theory it makes a game that, for the sake of argument, has a 12 hour lifespan an extra two or three hours. In practice it means that you have to redo levels/matches/races/ fights/puzzles and get a better score/time/discover hidden artifacts or whatever challenge the game throws at you to unlock extra goodies.

But it’s these unlockable goodies that have annoyed me at times and made me wonder why I played the gaming equivalent of overtime. After jumping through numerous hoops (sometimes literally depending on the type of game I’m playing) just to unlock extra costumes, hidden characters, unlimited ammo, hidden endings or the best one yet, concept art, I can’t help but feel shortchanged. I can understand the idea of unlimited ammo, who doesn’t like playing through an action game with a rocket launcher complete with infinite ammo, but extra costumes add nothing to the game (unless visual customization actually plays a part in a game that I’m not yet aware of), and unlocking concept art and hidden endings are pointless since the chances of it being already uploaded on Youtube or a website is very high.

Not all follow this route, some tend to be idiotic and just bizarre. Being able to race as a horse in Ridge Racer (PSX) is definitely one but the most idiotic secret comes in Super Mario World (SNES) where completing all the levels in Star Road unlocks a new world that you can warp to. Excited at what surprises this world may have in store, you quickly warp to sample what other delights Nintendo have in store for you only to be greeted by the exact same world…but in a different color! That’s not all as when you enter the levels themselves, your enemies are Mario lookalikes complete with large paper mache heads (which act in the same way as the koopa shells)

These complaints are coming from someone who has been obsessed with completing a game to its entirety. The last game I’ve completed was Super Mario Galaxy where I beat the Luigi’s purple coins challenge and collected all the stars only to be rewarded with Luigi. LUIGI for god sake! If the only gameplay difference you offer is handling like your footwear are basically two slabs of butter and you have to complete the entire game all over again, you’ll find me pausing the game, turning off the console and walking out of the room to engage in a activity that doesn’t take the piss out of me for dedicating so much of my bloody time!

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