Most Easter eggs are discovered within a few weeks or months of a video game's release.
But once in awhile it takes a little longer to find some of the secret goodies developers
bury within their products.
Let's put saving Hyrule on hold while we explore some Easter eggs that were hidden a little
too well and took a whole lot longer to find.
Halo 3: Happy Birthday Lauren
During Halo 3's creation, one of the developers sneaked in a little message that took years
to find.
In fact, he actually had to reveal the secret himself after seven years, since no one had
found it.
Adrian Perez revealed in 2014 that he hid a secret message in Halo 3's main loading
screen.
The only way to get it was to set your console's clock to December 25 (or play the game during
this actual day) and press in both thumbsticks while the game is loading.
"Happy Birthday Lauren" will appear on the loading screen if done correctly.
As cool as this little gift might be, it hardly makes up for the fact that Lauren shares her
birthday with Christmas.
That's the worst.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Chris Houlihan's room
In 1990, Nintendo Power ran a contest that would allow a fan to get their name included
in an unannounced SNES game, which turned out to be A Link to the Past.
It was revealed in the early 2000s that the winner was a fan named Chris Houlihan.
In order to see his name, you'd have to glitch Link into a secret room full of rupees and
a plaque that featured the lucky fan's name.
But is having your name hidden within an impossible-to-find glitch really that much of a prize?
Maybe Chris would've been better off taking whatever was behind door number two...
Final Fantasy IX: The Nero Brothers Quest
Despite being released in 2000, Final Fantasy 9's final quest was found a whopping 13 years
later.
This quest had players encountering the Nero brothers as they taught Zidane the finer points
of gambling.
What made this secret so difficult to track down was the fact that you had to find them
throughout multiple points in the game in order to continue with the quest's progression.
And after all that work, you would have received a Protect Ring as your reward, a solid, if
not particularly rare item.
Yay?
Batman: Arkham City - Calendar Man's Creepy Message
In Batman: Arkham City, players can visit the villain Calendar Man on different holidays
in the real world to listen to some unique dialogue.
After the Easter egg remained undiscovered for three years, Rocksteady Studios intervened
and revealed how to discover this hidden bit of dialogue.
Here's the trick: if you set the date on your PC or console to December 13, 2004 (the date
Rocksteady Studios was founded), you get a message that references Batman: Arkham Knight,
the next game in the series...which, at the time, hadn't even been announced yet:
"I was there at your beginning, and I will be there at your end."
The irony, of course, is that Calendar Man is obsessed with dates...but he'll never actually
score a date himself.
Just look at him!
Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Seals!
Splinter Cell: Double Agent was released in 2006, but it wasn't until 2010 that players
learned, courtesy of one of the developers, that they could find a secret mission to rescue
baby seals wearing party hats.
They're just these cute little things with names like Pepperoni and were beamed away
after being rescued.
Because apparently they're aliens as well.
Wave Race: Blue Storm - Sarcastic announcer
Wave Race: Blue Storm featured an announcer who would provide color commentary whenever
players performed cool tricks on their jet skis.
In 2009, eight years after its GameCube release, it was discovered that players could input
a code on the audio settings screen in order to activate an alternative announcer...one
who was decidedly more sarcastic.
As you raced, he would say things like:
"Supeeer"
"Greeaatttt"
"Oooo a turbo!"
It was...greeeat.
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!: Bald Bull's tell
Now here's an Easter egg that actually helped players out in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.
The Easter egg involves the fight with Bald Bull...and it wasn't discovered for 22 years.
In 2009, former Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed that there was an easier way to beat
Bald Bull that didn't require you to punch him after his third hop in order to interrupt
his Bull Charge.
All you had to do was look at the background and try to spot an audience member who was
taking a picture with a flash camera.
Once the flash went off, you could deliver a body blow to the Bull to bring him down.
That would've saved NES gamers a lot of misery back in the '80s.
Well, better late than never, right?
After all the retro gamers out there learned about Bald Bull's tell, a similar trick was
found for Piston Honda.
On April 8, 2016, Reddit user and YouTuber midwesternhousewives discovered a visual cue
that can help Little Mac beat Piston Honda with ease.
During your World Circuit rematch, Piston Honda will go for a barrage of hits and will
backstep before charging.
Veteran gamers are well aware that you can counter his delayed charge during this sequence
for a knockout, but you must have precise timing.
Similar to the Bald Bull trick, watch the front of the crowd.
On the left side, a bearded audience member will nod/duck the exact moment you're supposed
to counter-punch Honda.
This standout spectator also does the same thing for Bald Bull's charge during your rematch
with him!
It's crazy to think that another Punch-Out!!
secret was hiding in plain sight until it was discovered 28 years after the game's NES
debut.
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