History GuideDangIt / Action

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'':
** Unlocking The Halo. You have to use The Bible on either the Mom fight or the Mom's Heart fight, which will instantly kill the boss and unlock the item. The problem is that you would never randomly use The Bible on those fights (its normal effect is just to grant flight for one room, which isn't particularly useful against them). The only in-game hint this exists is [[spoiler:a Bible falls on Mom and kills her in a cutscene]], but it's still the only item in the game with this special condition.
** ''Rebirth'' has a super-secret character that isn't even hinted at on the character screen. The Lost has an ''incredibly'' obtuse unlock, and it's entirely possible to play the entire rest of game without knowing he's there. Getting The Lost requires you to play as four characters in exact order, then die via extremely specific means, all in the course of one play session: [[spoiler:Isaac must die to a [[ActionBomb Mulliboom]] in The Basement or The Cellar, then Magdalene must blow herself up with her own bomb in The Caves or The Catacombs, then Judas has to let Mom kill him (specifically Mom; dying to any one of the monsters she summons won't count), then Azazel must die to Satan. It should be noted that, with the game being as RNG-heavy as it is, it's not guaranteed Isaac will run into a Mulliboom at all, or that Maggie will have enough bombs to kill herself when she needs to]]. Ended up dying to anything else? Bad RNG caused you to miss the next step? Accidentally closed the game in-between steps? Whoops! Have fun doing the whole thing over from scratch![[labelnote:Why is it so cryptic?]]Fitting his name, The Lost's unlock method was originally meant to be discovered through a community effort/ARG, requiring players to die in a Sacrifice Room while holding a Missing Poster, then literally stitch together pieces of a puzzle to discover which characters must be used in which order and what they must die to. Of course, dataminers ended up spoiling everything anyway, rendering the whole thing moot.[[/labelnote]] It's no wonder the ''Afterbirth'' DLC simplified the whole process, although it still requires an action most players won't ever think of doing: [[spoiler:now you just have to die in a Sacrifice Room while holding the Missing Poster]].
** Downplayed with Keeper, the secret character added in ''Afterbirth''. He's unlocked by [[spoiler:donating 1000 coins to the Greed Machine at the end of Greed Mode]], which is more tedious than cryptic. The unlock for his unlock however required a real-life ARG and treasure hunt - averting the problem with The Lost getting datamined since he wasn't even in the game until the ARG was solved.
** ''Afterbirth+'''s final update added another one with its secret character, The Forgotten. To unlock him, you have to [[spoiler:defeat the first boss in under a minute, which will cause Mom to yell. Returning to the starting room shows the shadow of a shovel, and bombing anywhere will drop the shovel's handle. The handle is an active item that passively causes Mom to stomp you repeatedly, with the active effect of making her temporarily stop. You have to take the shovel to BossRush and win, which will complete it. From there, you need to take the shovel all the way to [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Dark Room]] and use it on an innocuous patch of dirt]]. This also avoided the datamining problem since the devs outright announced The Forgotten, and players simply discovered the unlock method faster than it could be datamined. It helps that most of the process guides you in the right direction and you could feasibly accidentally discover the start - the only truly cryptic part is [[spoiler:knowing you need a bomb]].
** [[spoiler:Tainted Cain]] is borderline unplayable without a guide due to his gimmick: He can't collect items; if he tries, they explode into pickups. He instead needs to create items himself with his Bag of Crafting. You use the bag to collect and store pickups, and when you have 8 you can craft an item based on which ones you have. More common pickups usually lead to worse items, so if you just grab everything in sight, you'll end up with a lot of bottom-tier crap like Mom's Coin Purse or Breakfast. This means to avoid being totally overwhelmed later on, you'll want to memorize (or look up) at least a few recipes for good items. And that's no small order--you can make almost every item (of which there are almost ''a thousand''), and each item has 10 different recipes. Playing [[spoiler:Tainted Cain]] without a guide? Good luck. It's theoretically possible to bumble your way into a game-breaking build without a guide, but the RNG has to align exactly in your favor.
** Unlocking the [[spoiler:tainted characters]] in the first place is very cryptic. First of all, you need to begin the Ascent as the character you want to unlock the [[spoiler:tainted version]] of. This requires you to find and blow up a marked skull on Depths II to get a Fool card, then fight Mom, pick up the Polaroid or Negative, use the Fool to escape and then use the Polaroid/Negative to open the Strange Door. Then once you reach Home you need to use Red Key or a cracked key on a specific part of the hallway before Mom's room. The first time you do this, Red Key will be in Mom's room, but there's no reason for you to reenter the hallway after picking it up, and even if you do you might not notice the faint red outline on the wall. The subsequent times are even more cryptic since the Red Key will no longer appear in Mom's room. Instead, you need to leave a trinket in a boss or item room before the Ascent, which will turn into a cracked key when you revisit the room. There's nothing in the game that indicates that this is possible, leading to a lot of players thinking that they can't unlock the [[spoiler:tainted characters]] unless they happen to stumble upon Red Key or a naturally-generated cracked key, both of which are extremely rare.

*** The final save point in Tourian is a PointOfNoReturn. No, there's no way to go back. No, you can't get OneHundredPercentCompletion if you haven't done so already. And oh yeah, I sure hope you have the Charge Beam (or, less likely, 150 missiles) and at least three Energy Tanks, because without them, Mother Brain is [[UnwinnableByMistake unbeatable]].

** [[spoiler:Tainted Cain]] is borderline unplayable without a guide due to his gimmick: [[spoiler:He can't collect items; if he tries, they explode into pickups. He instead needs to create items himself with his Bag of Crafting. You use the bag to collect and store pickups, and when you have 8 you can craft an item based on which ones you have. More common pickups usually lead to worse items, so if you just grab everything in sight, you'll end up with a lot of bottom-tier crap like Mom's Coin Purse or Breakfast. This means to avoid being totally overwhelmed later on, you'll want to memorize (or look up) at least a few recipes for good items. And that's no small order--you can make almost every item in the game with Bag of Crafting, and each item has something like 10 recipes. Playing Tainted Cain without a guide? Good luck. It's theoretically possible to bumble your way into a game-breaking build without a guide, but the RNG has to align exactly in your favor]].

** The Sega Genesis game has a level in the Danger Room where a countdown starts and Professor X tells you to "reset the computer". At no point do they tell you how to go about doing this. The solution most people discovered? '''[[NoFourthWall Hit the reset button on your Sega Genesis]]''', which causes the last level to load. People playing on a Nomad would be [[{{Unwinnable}} screwed]] at this point, as that system had no reset button. There is another solution they could use, mind you, but it's even more obscure.

** One of gaming's bigger conundrums for years was the NES game. Already undermined by its gameplay and wasteful AI partner system, the real mystery was how to even access the final stage. There were four to select from at the start, but once those were completed, the player was at a loss since the "Practice" stage was all that remained. It was subsequently discovered that on the corner of the game's label read "+ UP + B TOGETHER WITH START". Hypothetically, this was the command to access this final stage, but part of it was missing as implied by the dangling plus. One person determined, as luck would have it, that it was but one additional button, Select. The complete code was promptly released to the public, but why would only ''part'' of it have been given? Later still, that same person happened upon a breakthrough: Something in the game causes certain words in the text following a stage to change color[[note]]These portions of it used a duplicate set of lettering stored in the graphics bank, which was set to change color when another of the palletes was applied[[/note]]. In the right order, they formed a vital clue:
-->"The last mission can / be reached from the mission / screen by pushing Select and / seek the advice of the label to make it to the final mission."
** That wasn't quite all yet...What caused the change of color? Simply, destroying 30 of a certain type of enemy in each stage. The riddle was solved at long last.

** [[spoiler:Tainted Cain]] is borderline unplayable without a guide simply due to his gimmick: [[spoiler:He can't pick up items; if he tries, they explode into pickups. He instead needs to create items himself with his Bag of Crafting. You use the bag to collect and store pickups, and when you have 8 you can craft an item based on which ones you have. More common pickups usually lead to worse items, so if you just grab everything in sight, you'll end up with a lot of bottom-tier crap like Mom's Coin Purse or Breakfast. This means to avoid being totally overwhelmed later on, you'll want to memorize (or look up) at least a few recipes for good items. And that's no small order--there's a crafting recipe for almost every item in the game, and each item has something like 10 recipes. Playing Tainted Cain without a guide? Good luck]].

** The third game has two really bad GuideDangIt moments within two levels in a row. If the player chooses Nevada as their last choosable location, they will lose their weapons in the second mission. There is no way of knowing that you should have picked this location first because you can't get some of the weapons back. The next level, a guard sees you shortly into the level. If you don't kill him before he presses a button, he activates a laser that blocks off the [=MP5=], one of the game's best weapons. There is no way to unactivate this laser.

* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'', retrieving all the hidden treasures is mostly simple (checking the sidepaths in any given area) - however, obtaining one treasure (in Chapter 9) requires you to swim up against a wall in an underground lake, aim your weapon upwards (at a point that has no handholds or accessibility), shoot the treasure and time your "action" button just as it falls past you - otherwise, it sinks in the water and is unobtainable.

* ''DMCDevilMayCry'':

** Even when you do complete the extra areas, it's still possible to flub the bossfight. What you have to do isn't intuitive at all. [[spoiler:You have to weaken Gebel until the WeirdMoon in the background starts pulsing, then equip Zangetsu's sword and attack said moon. Sure the sword is named [[GratuitousJapanese Zangetsuto]], but English speakers are out of luck.]]

* Although rather minor compared to the others, most techniques for high-level play in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3'' are not stated in official help files and videos involving them invariably receive questions from newbies.

** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 4'', there is a secret mission in Mission 8 which requires performing 5 Royal Guards. However, only Dante can do the Royal Guard. If you are not following any walkthroughs, you don't even know you will be able to play as Dante.

*** Infamously, the glass tube in Maridia must be shattered with a Power Bomb. This mechanic appears nowhere else in the game, though the presence of a broken tube at the other end of Maridia may be considered an oblique hint (and even then, the room with that tube is so far out-of-the-way that reaching it is a GuideDangIt in itself.) Funnily enough, the solution for this problem can actually be seen in the game's AttractMode[[note]]which is also host to numerous solutions to other Guide Dang Its, and reveals the existence of many optional but helpful techniques the game will never otherwise teach you (such as [[RegeneratingHealth the Crystal Flash]])[[/note]] if you leave on the title screen long enough, as well as at the end of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6oLrsXCfw US commercial]].
*** The DummiedOut blocks that act exactly like solid wall tiles but let Samus pass through them would have been nigh-impossible to detect, making anything hidden behind them a matter of luck to find... which is probably ''why'' they were DummiedOut.

*** Infamously, the glass tube in Maridia must be shattered with a Power Bomb. This mechanic appears nowhere else in the game, though the presence of a broken tube at the other end of Maridia may be considered an oblique hint (and even then, the room with that tube is so far out-of-the-way that reaching it is a GuideDangIt in itself.) Funnily enough, the solution for this problem can actually be seen in the game's AttractMode if you leave on the title screen long enough... as well as at the end of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6oLrsXCfw US commercial]].

*** Infamously, the glass tube in Maridia must be shattered with a Power Bomb. This mechanic appears nowhere else in the game, though the presence of a broken tube at the other end of Maridia may be considered an oblique hint (and even then, the room with that tube is so far out-of-the-way that reaching it is a GuideDangIt in itself.) Funnily enough, the solution for this problem can actually be seen in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6oLrsXCfw US commercial for the game]] (Nintendo actually had a history of hiding secrets in their advertisements like this). In addition, if you leave the game alone on the title screen, the solutions to many other Guide Dang It puzzles are shown.

** ''VideoGame/Metroid1'': There are places where to continue the game, you have to bomb blocks which look ''absolutely no different'' to any other blocks in the surrounding area. Add the fact that the game's corridors [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments look pretty much identical to each other]], and there's no map, and you get a recipe for tearing your hair out. here is a pattern to destroyable walls that is pretty easy to figure out, though. Once you realize that you must bomb secret blocks away and understand how often you will be asked to do so, the game's tendency to reuse the same rooms and block patterns so many times makes finding the secret holes much, much easier. On top of that, a lot of what made the first one so difficult was that a lot of exploration tricks that have since gone on to be series staples were just getting started. Things like bombing through the floor to find secret passageways are expected in Metroid games today, but back then were much more of a novelty.

*** The beam-specific charge combos, which are described only in the (sold separately) strategy guide, and all but impossible to discover by accident. You'll probably discover your Varia/Gravity suit combo letting you traverse lava by accident as well.
*** Infamously, the glass tube in Maridia must be shattered with a Power Bomb. This mechanic appears nowhere else in the game, though the presence of a broken tube at the other end of Maridia may be considered an oblique hint (and even then, the room with that tube is so far out-of-the-way that reaching it is a GuideDangIt in itself.) The solution for this problem was actually in the commercial for the game, as Nintendo has a long history of hiding secrets in their advertisements. In addition, if you leave the game alone in the title screen, the solutions to many Guide Dang It puzzles are shown.

*** Few people found the [[LastLousyPoint Missile Expansion]] hidden in the lava in the second superheated room of Norfair without going crazy and dropping Power Bombs everywhere, or scanning each and every single inch of every single room with the X-ray Scope.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' assumes you know how to shinespark from playing ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' beforehand, or having seen the game's commercials. Nowhere in the instruction manual is it mentioned ''how'' to do it, and the only thing in the ''official strategy guide'' that can help you is one picture in the part about getting the energy tank you need to carry a speed charge from a previous room for.

*** In the tradition of ''Super Metroid'', you get a super-weapon to beat the final boss with. But the boss can still knock you down for tons of damage -- and if you fail to guess that ''mashing the up button makes you stand up faster'', you've had it.

*** Just before that we have the fight with [[spoiler:a Metroid Queen. The final phase requires you to use a power bomb while inside her stomach. You might realize this if you played the oft-overlooked ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'', but even if you did, you might not attempt it because you are never told in any way you are able to use power bombs. Though it's established earlier that Adam is no longer authorizing your equipment when Samus makes the decision to authorize something herself, said moment still has the menu opens up like always to indicate the part is unlocked. This does not happen against the Metroid Queen.]]

*** Oh boy, the final boss when [[spoiler:MB summons a horde of some never-before-seen monsters to attack. They assault you constantly, you're locked in first-person mode, can't recover, and missiles seem to damage them but you can never seem to kill them. The solution: point the cursor at MB with a charge shot ready, who's standing motionless waaaay back in the background, and the battle ends.]] Many players finish the fight not even knowing how they did it, and died many times getting there.
*** Just before that we have the fight with [[spoiler:a Metroid Queen. The final phase requires you to use a power bomb while inside her stomach. The problem is you are never told in any way you are able to use power bombs. This is made much worse by the fact that just a little bit earlier in the game, Adam is no longer authorizing your equipment but when Samus makes the decision to authorize something herself, the menu opens up like always to indicate the part is unlocked. This does not happen against the Metroid Queen.]]
*** Not forgetting all those scanning moments where your point of view is forced into first-person and you're required to find some sort of "clue" to continue the game. Many a player has been stumped as you have no idea what the clue is and often its hidden by the background...green blood on grass immediately springs to mind.

** ''VideoGame/Metroid1'': There are places where to continue the game, you have to bomb blocks which look ''absolutely no different'' to any other blocks in the surrounding area. Add the fact that the game's corridors [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments look pretty much identical to each other]], and there's no map, and you get a recipe for tearing your hair out. here is a pattern to destroyable walls that is pretty easy to figure out, though. Once you realize that you must bomb secret blocks away and understand how often you will be asked to do so, the game's tendency to reuse the same rooms and block patterns so many times makes finding the secret holes much, much easier. On top of that, a lot of what made the first one so difficult was that a lot of exploration tricks that have since gone on to be series staples were just getting started. Things like bombing through the floor to find secret passageways are expected in Metroid games today, but back then were much more of a novelty.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'':
*** The beam-specific charge combos, which are described only in the (sold separately) strategy guide, and all but impossible to discover by accident. You'll probably discover your Varia/Gravity suit combo letting you traverse lava by accident as well.
*** Infamously, the glass tube in Maridia must be shattered with a Power Bomb. This mechanic appears nowhere else in the game, though the presence of a broken tube at the other end of Maridia may be considered an oblique hint (and even then, the room with that tube is so far out-of-the-way that reaching it is a GuideDangIt in itself.) The solution for this problem was actually in the commercial for the game, as Nintendo has a long history of hiding secrets in their advertisements. In addition, if you leave the game alone in the title screen, the solutions to many Guide Dang It puzzles are shown.
*** The DummiedOut blocks that act exactly like solid wall tiles but let Samus pass through them would have been nigh-impossible to detect, making anything hidden behind them a matter of luck to find... which is probably ''why'' they were DummiedOut.
*** The final save point in Tourian is a PointOfNoReturn. No, there's no way to go back. No, you can't get OneHundredPercentCompletion if you haven't done so already. And oh yeah, I sure hope you have the Charge Beam (or, less likely, 150 missiles) and at least three Energy Tanks, because without them, Mother Brain is [[UnwinnableByMistake unbeatable]].
*** Phantoon's flame-sweep attack is seemingly unavoidable and can easily kill you even if you have lots of energy left. The solution? Charge up a shot, and then you can spin-jump right through the flames.
*** On the plus side, however, there was an official release made with a guidebook in the place of a manual, which either states or properly hints how to deal with this and other puzzles.
*** Few people found the [[LastLousyPoint Missile Expansion]] hidden in the lava in the second superheated room of Norfair without going crazy and dropping Power Bombs everywhere, or scanning each and every single inch of every single room with the X-ray Scope.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'':
** The glass tube has prematurely ended nearly as many games as Sonic's barrel. [[spoiler:Drop a Power Bomb inside it.]] The solution for this problem was actually in the commercial for the game, as Nintendo has a long history of hiding secrets in their advertisements. In addition, if you leave the game alone in the title screen, the solutions to many Guide Dang It puzzles are shown. Of course, performing said maneuvers is easier said than done.
** On the plus side, however, there was an official release made with a guidebook in the place of a manual, which either states or properly hints how to deal with this and other puzzles.
** Few people found the [[LastLousyPoint Missile Expansion]] hidden in the lava in the second superheated room of Norfair without going crazy and dropping Power Bombs everywhere, or scanning each and every single inch of every single room with the X-ray Scope.

* On the subject of ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'', ''[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission Zero Mission]]'' assumes you know how to shinespark from playing ''Super Metroid'' beforehand, or having seen the game's commercials. Nowhere in the instruction manual is it mentioned ''how'' to do it, and the only thing in the ''official strategy guide'' that can help you is one picture in the part about getting the energy tank you need to carry a speed charge from a previous room for.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'':
** In the tradition of ''Super Metroid'', you get a super-weapon to beat the final boss with. But the boss can still knock you down for tons of damage -- and if you fail to guess that ''mashing the up button makes you stand up faster'', you've had it.
** The maze just before the Level 4 security room. You have to roll through an invisible hole in one wall... which is the only kind of secret your Power Bombs won't reveal. It's possible to get here without having encountered such holes before, so trying the walls may not even enter your mind. There is a slight hint: a fish patrols the path with the hole and if you watch it, it'll swim through the hole. Too bad if you killed it without noticing that little detail.
** The early-game section in Sector 2. It seems like a simple job to get the bombs, then the SA-X blocks you in and you spend four hours dropping bombs everywhere, looking for that one block in the floor. It's a nightmare on your first playthrough.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'':
** Oh boy, the final boss when [[spoiler:MB summons a horde of some never-before-seen monsters to attack. They assault you constantly, you're locked in first-person mode, can't recover, and missiles seem to damage them but you can never seem to kill them. The solution: point the cursor at MB with a charge shot ready, who's standing motionless waaaay back in the background, and the battle ends.]] Many players finish the fight not even knowing how they did it, and died many times getting there.
** Just before that we have the fight with [[spoiler:a Metroid Queen. The final phase requires you to use a power bomb while inside her stomach. The problem is you are never told in any way you are able to use power bombs. This is made much worse by the fact that just a little bit earlier in the game, Adam is no longer authorizing your equipment but when Samus makes the decision to authorize something herself, the menu opens up like always to indicate the part is unlocked. This does not happen against the Metroid Queen.]]
** Not forgetting all those scanning moments where your point of view is forced into first-person and you're required to find some sort of "clue" to continue the game. Many a player has been stumped as you have no idea what the clue is and often its hidden by the background...green blood on grass immediately springs to mind.
* While it's not required to complete the main story, the "Spiderspark" move from ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'', which entails latching onto a surface with the Spider Ball and setting off a Power Bomb as a form of ExplosivePropulsion to get launched to the opposite direction, is never hinted at in any tutorial text. This can make OneHundredPercentCompletion tricky if you don't figure out how to do this so you can get through narrow corridors lined with red spikes that knock you back upon contact.
* [[NintendoHard Pretty much all]] of the original ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}''. There are places where to continue the game, you have to bomb blocks which look ''absolutely no different'' to any other blocks in the surrounding area. Add the fact that the game's corridors [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments look pretty much identical to each other]], and there's no map, and you get a recipe for tearing your hair out. here is a pattern to destroyable walls that is pretty easy to figure out, though. Once you realize that you must bomb secret blocks away and understand how often you will be asked to do so, the game's tendency to reuse the same rooms and block patterns so many times makes finding the secret holes much, much easier. On top of that, a lot of what made the first one so difficult was that a lot of exploration tricks that have since gone on to be series staples were just getting started. Things like bombing through the floor to find secret passageways are expected in Metroid games today, but back then were much more of a novelty.

* ''Comicbook/XMen'' for the Sega Genesis has a level in the Danger Room where a countdown starts and Professor X tells you to "reset the computer". At no point do they tell you how to go about doing this. The solution most people discovered? '''[[NoFourthWall Hit the reset button on your Sega Genesis]]''', which causes the last level to load. People playing on a Nomad would be [[{{Unwinnable}} screwed]] at this point, as that system had no reset button. There is another solution they could use, mind you, but it's even more obscure.

In order to figure these sorts of things out, you have to find "clues to Dracula's riddle" in the form of books hidden in walls and floors; most of them are in the mansions, but there are a few of them outside as well, and some even in the shops! Apparently, this is how Konami decided to make the game NintendoHard, rather than via the [[GoddamnBats brutal]] [[DemonicSpiders enemies]] and [[MalevolentArchitecture environments]] of its surrounding titles. Subscribers of Nintendo Power at the time were given the distinct advantage of actually knowing how to progress through the game. WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd laments this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4we8iFk-fY his debut video]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Rebirth'' has a pair of super-secret characters that not only must be unlocked, but aren't even hinted at on the character select screen. ??? is easy enough to unlock, and something that most players will figure out after enough play time--[[spoiler:just defeat Mom's Heart ten times]]. The Lost, though, has an ''incredibly'' obtuse unlock, and it's entirely possible to play the entire rest of game without knowing he's there. Getting The Lost requires you to play as four characters in exact order, then die via extremely specific means, all in the course of one play session: [[spoiler:Isaac must die to a [[ActionBomb Mulliboom]] in The Basement or The Cellar, then Magdalene must blow herself up with her own bomb in The Caves or The Catacombs, then Judas has to let Mom kill him (specifically Mom; dying to any one of the monsters she summons won't count), then Azazel must die to Satan. It should be noted that, with the game being as RNG-heavy as it is, it's not guaranteed Isaac will run into a Mulliboom at all, or that Maggie will have enough bombs to kill herself when she needs to]]. Ended up dying to anything else? Bad RNG caused you to miss the next step? Accidentally closed the game in-between steps? Whoops! Have fun doing the whole thing over from scratch![[labelnote:Why is it so cryptic?]]Fitting his name, The Lost's unlock method was originally meant to be discovered through a community effort/ARG, requiring players to die in a Sacrifice Room while holding a Missing Poster, then literally stitch together pieces of a puzzle to discover which characters must be used in which order and what they must die to. Of course, dataminers ended up spoiling everything anyway, rendering the whole thing moot.[[/labelnote]] It's no wonder the ''Afterbirth'' DLC simplified the whole process, although it still requires an action most players won't ever think of doing: [[spoiler:now you just have to die in a Sacrifice Room while holding the Missing Poster]].

** Few people found the [[LastLousyPoint Missile Expansion]] hidden in the lava in the second superheated room of Norfair without going crazy and dropping Super Bombs everywhere, or scanning each and every single inch of every single room with the X-ray Scope.

* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'':
** ''La-Mulana'' tops the list for cryptic puzzles: switches that only affect a distant room at the far end of the map, treasures that only appear when a particular enemy is defeated, secret walls that only open when hit with ''just'' the right weapon... several times... There's almost always a tablet explaining the puzzle, but good luck finding it.
** Depressingly, the worst instance is the climactic puzzle, which requires you to read several tablets scattered all over the game, and use the mantras that are written on them. Not too bad, given that you can find a reasonable hint towards their location if you're paying attention. However, what the game doesn't tell you is that said tablets don't appear until you're near the end of the game, AND each tablet only appears after using the previous mantra, AND you have to use the mantras in specific rooms, AND the only way to recognize the rooms is to chant the mantra and see if it works. There are tablets hinting at all of these, but they're rather unclear. Furthermore, there is a way of figuring out which room each Mantra has to be chanted in, but the game gives you no hint about what that is. [[spoiler:Check how you'd have to move from the cross on the front side to the boss room, then go to where you'd be if you followed those same directions from the cross on the backside. However, if it would involve going off the map, wrap around to the other side.]]
** There are quite a few cases where there are no monuments to give out hints. For instance, an elevator platform takes you to a button in plain sight, but said platform also goes into the above screen for a split second, long enough for you to spot a treasure chest. What you may not spot in that same room is the button necessary to open it, with it being [[PixelHunt camouflaged by the background]] and all. The button itself can be hard to trigger without the proper weapon. To top it off, you have to perform a tricky set of jumps to even collect the item. What does it do? Let you damage a previously {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le monster outside of the ruins. The last bit, thankfully, ''is'' explained.
** The steps to unlocking the [[BrutalBonusLevel Hell Temple]] are incredibly unintuitive. One particular step requires you to [[spoiler:go to an area in the Inferno Cavern and drop down 20 screens of a bottomless pool of lava, then go back up to the surface, then go down 19 screens and hit the breakable wall on your right. The in-game hint that you are given for this step is completely irrelevant.]] The puzzle is less annoying in the remake as [[spoiler:you only have to go down 20 rooms once]]. However, it's not explained in the game at all.
** There are ROM cartridges to be collected in the ruins, none of which are hinted at in the in-game hints. A few of these are hidden inside random sections of blank wall. However, this game teaches you very early on that smacking random sections of wall is bad and will get you killed: the manual says so, an early hint says that "every place that looks like it has something good has a trap" (and there's a demonstration in that same room), and the early levels are ''full'' of walls and other background objects that will hurt you badly if you smack them. The conclusion is: to find every ROM, you... Smack every section of wall you find and eat the damage. And that's just the [=ROMs=] hidden in walls. This game hates you.
*** Most cartridges are useless and broken, but some of them have different effects when combined. Many are purely cosmetic or give minor advantages, but there are some that are almost vital (such as Antarctic Adventure + Comic Bakery [[note]]Allows you to warp to rear-side grail tablets[[/note]]) How do you find out? Equip the cartridges randomly until you hear the sound effect, then dick around aimlessly until you figure out what the hell it does.
*** The "wall that looks like you need to hit it to proceed but really just smites you when you hit it" thing is very prominent in the early areas... and then in the later areas, sometimes you actually will have to do it to proceed. To be fair, there are a lot of things that are logically and obviously dangerous to hit (statue of a goddess... big door with symbols all over it...), but sometimes you'll just be whipping away at walls or rocks and you'll get struck by lightning. The remake at least puts eyes in the background of the rooms where smacking random things will hurt you. [[spoiler:Of course, this introduces a new puzzle: One kind of block hurts you in every room you encounter it... except one room in the entire game that doesn't have an eye in it.]]
** At the Confusion Gate, there is a room where you must chose between going through a door to the left or a door to the right, being told by a tablet to choose the 'truly wise' choice. What's the truly wise choice? [[spoiler:TakeAThirdOption and ''climb the '''INVISIBLE LADDER''' to the right!'']]
** In the Endless Corridor, you are required to 'walk the end year of the Aztec Fifth Age' in the second level. While the solution is in the manual, the rest of the puzzle is downright confusing. You have to light four of the twelve-some lanterns on that level in a very specific order. The lanterns are labeled with the numerical glyphs you see around the ruins. (The same glyphs also appear on gates and Key Seals, but even there they can be easily overlooked.) The game offers one hint: there's a tablet in the Mausoleum of the Giants whose only point is to show what glyph corresponds with what number, if you think of actually scanning it both with and without the Glyph Scanner ROM and comparing the results. Making things worse is that the text on the tablet looks like it's useful for something, but is actually just gibberish. Without knowing the values of the glyphs, it is downright impossible to brute force the answer. In addition, the puzzle is somewhat buggy; you can enter the correct solution all you want, but the game will only open the third level when it feels like you've wasted enough time.
* The two PuzzleBoss fights in ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter2''. In the first, you have to sneak up on Gregorov (who is really an impostor) and tase him, which players will find impossible unless you know the lights can be destroyed. The solution is foreshadowed in the prior stage: While attempting to evade you throughout the chase in the park, he constantly shoots at you, notably aiming for your head most of the time. The one time he doesn't do this and takes body shots instead is when he shoots out the lights in an attempt to lose you, hinting at his inability to see in the dark, but the fact that ''you'' are able to shoot them out is never mentioned. The second, with the ImmuneToBullets [[TheMole traitor]] Chance, involves a gun that pushes him backwards, which seems insignificant at first. Who would figure it could be used to push him into the spinning tail rotor blades? Even worse, since his armor is shrapnel/explosion proof as well, players might think he would also be impervious to the tail rotor.
* ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'' is one of the most notorious examples of this trope, unusual in an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame. The hero adventures through a 60 floor tower; each mazelike level contains a hidden treasure whose properties cannot be discerned until obtained. Some treasures are essential to beating the game, and failing to obtain them on, say, level 4 makes the game {{Unwinnable}}, though this fact may not be discovered until level 38. By contrast, some treasures are traps, and obtaining them makes the game {{Unwinnable}}, though again this may not be discovered until many levels later. There are even useful items that will be replaced with harmful ones unless you collect the item before it. And on some floors you can TryEverything to find the treasure, only to fail because it [[MissingSecret doesn't exist]].
* In ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand'', to get either of the special items near the end of the game, you have to complete a series of [[FetchQuest fetch quests]], which often involve hidden rooms which there are no in-game hints alluding to, for example, the first stop is the hidden shop in Baraboro, which is accessed by pushing Up in front of a mundane window. To rack up a large amount of gold, essential for getting the higher-level equipment, you need to use the undocumented technique of waggling the joystick in midair at gold coin locations. And the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Legendary Sword]] is hidden in an invisible room which there are absolutely no hints about (not even a ? in the door location). TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon is a [[TheMaze repeating hallway maze]] combined with a BossRush. The only way to find the right path other than painstaking TrialAndErrorGameplay and quarter-munching is to have the Bell obtained from the Guide Dang It fetch quest, or look up a Website/GameFAQs (which didn't exist back in the day except maybe on some [=BBSes=]); there were no printed guides. And if you die here, [[NonstandardGameOver "There are no continues, my friend"]]. The SMS version, while less difficult enemy-wise, still had the Guide Dang Its, and no continues whatsoever.

* The [[FollowTheLeader heavily Castlevania-inspired]] ''VideoGame/EightEyes'' had several major sticking points when it came out:
** Defeating a boss will reward you with a new sword that deals double damage to a boss somewhere else. Unfortunately, unlike VideoGame/MegaManClassic, each sword completely replaces the previous one, so [[SequenceBreaking breaking the sequence]] forces you to battle at least the one that you were ''supposed'' to fight next at maximum [[NintendoHard Nintendo-hardness]], that the GameBreaker ice ball wasn't always able to overcome. Each sword is color-coded to match the [[PlotCoupon jewel]] that the next boss in the chain had, but to know the color of the jewel, ''you have to be able to defeat the boss in the first place.''
** Two of the levels are TheMaze, and while Germany can be figured out with some work, the first staircase in Africa is a textbook example of [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda The Lost Hills]]. Anyone who doesn't know to go down one floor, then up two, will most likely fumble through the loop until they die. Also, other staircases in the level proper will lead to a different screen entirely if you go back the way you came. Even worse, one of the pits will drop you back at the beginning of the level, including the staircase!
** The puzzle at the end of the game isn't too bad if you've collected most of the clues in the levels. However, said clues (as well as most other power-ups) are concealed inside random wall or floor tiles, some of which require skilled use of your [[CoolPet pet falcon]] to get to. Without the clues, placing the jewels for the first time turns into TrialAndErrorGameplay in its purest form.

* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'':
** Early on, you are required to choose the BigBad which you will fight against for the remainder of the game by choosing a representative gem. The game makes it obvious that this choice is important, but what the game ''doesn't'' tell you is that this also affects the ''difficulty'' of the game. Oh, you picked the red one on your first play? Sure sucks to be you, then, because not only will you have to wait a long while to use the Restore Health spell, but Chattur'gha's monsters are the toughest in the game, and you'll have to face them a ''lot''.
** The strongest magicks can only be obtained in one specific chapter by activating a few certain (albeit very visible) switches, and then going through a hole in a wall by using a spell which is only needed to be used ''twice'' in the game. And which you don't get until some time after you've given up on figuring out what to do with that damn hole, so you have to think of going back and using the spell once you have it.
** To get the InfinityPlusOneSword, you need to pick up three statuettes which can each be found in different chapters -- [[PermanentlyMissableContent no going back]] once the chapter is over -- and are hard to find. In at least one case you can end the chapter by accident before visiting the statuette room, and never know you missed anything until hours later when you find that you can't locate the third statuette and resort to checking Website/GameFAQs.
* ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' has Fire Leo, who you can't even damage without using a specific ability a certain way. [[spoiler:You're supposed to use Mach Speed to cloak yourself in a flame aura by attacking the meteors he drops,]] an ability that you probably forgot about at this point because it's pretty much useless until that fight. Even worse, the game ''never'' tells you, even in the tutorial for the ability, that [[spoiler:the aura shields you from fire attacks,]] so even if you somehow remembered, you wouldn't think to use it!
* ''Comicbook/XMen'' for the Sega Genesis has a level in the Danger Room where a countdown starts and Professor X tells you to "reset the computer". At no point do they tell you how to go about doing this. The solution most people discovered? '''[[NoFourthWall Hit the reset button on your Sega Genesis]]''', which causes the last level to load. People playing on a Nomad would be [[{{Unwinnable}} screwed]] at this point, as that system had no reset button. There is another solution they could use, mind you, but it's even more obscure.

* Getting a character's second ending in ''VideoGame/BushidoBlade'' requires that you run to the well, during the battle with the first opponent, and leap into it... and then do a NoDamageRun. It's not immediately obvious that you can even ''leave'' the starting screen, and the only map the game ever gives you of the castle all the fights take place around has no sign of any such well.
* Koei's flagship ''Warriors'' (''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', et al.) series, when it comes to unlocking characters, special mounts and final weapons. The requirements can be so [[NintendoHard very stringent]] that even when you have all the details on how to obtain the sought after character or weapon, multiple attempts are almost unavoidable. Particularly when you are saddled with multiple tasks such as: defeat Enemy X in the first 1:30 of the stage, then save remarkably weak Ally Y on the OTHER SIDE of the battlefield 3 minutes after defeating Enemy X, THEN allow Ally Z to die, but only AFTER they kill Enemy A just before cutscene F, and all this without riding a horse or using a Musou Attack. Once you've completed that litany of nonsense, chase down the spy captain before he can escape... did we mention he's only a brisk 20 second run away from the exit? And did we forget to mention that this must all be done on Hard or Chaos mode? (Most of the characters/mounts/weapons ''can'' be unlocked in co-op mode, but Player 1 has to be the one to actually fulfill the requirements.) The sad part is, this is ''not'' hyperbole. Though conversely, some are tremendous aversions, such as in the case of Lu Bu, who unlocks his final weapon by killing 1000 enemies (which is pretty easy), in one iteration of the series.
** In earlier games, the only in game hint that such things even existed were blank spots [[InterfaceSpoiler in the UI...]]
** If you're familiar with the [[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms original story]] of ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' you can guess some things. Zhou Yu's fourth weapon, for instance, can generally be gotten by pulling off the fire attack at Chi Bi, which was his greatest achievement in real life. Some of them, though, are much more obscure. Cao Cao's fourth weapon in [=DW3=] is achieved during the Yellow Turban Rebellion by killing a few particular enemy generals ''before any gate captains are lost on either side''. Even if you managed this accidentally, there's no way you would realize the gate captains had anything to do with it.
** It's actually notable that the MassiveMultiplayerCrossover series ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'' averts a lot of this. Finding characters' final weapons is as simple as playing 3-star levels on Hard or any level on Chaos (and waiting for it to [[RandomDrop randomly drop]]), most characters are unlocked simply by completing levels, and the requirements for the rest are often easy to figure out (don't let any messengers escape, carry out the ambush successfully, etc.). The sequel even gets rid of that last thing. That said, the method to unlock each character's "personal item", which enhances their R1 ability as well as unlocking gallery art and backstory material, is severely arcane.
** ''Samurai Warriors 3'' finally eases up a bit, providing a consistent formula for finding the extra weapons: complete all the optional Tactical Bonus objectives and win a given battle on Hard or above. Some are NintendoHard, but at least you know what you're aiming for. Which battle is a mystery, but for most characters, this has to be done in story mode, leaving only five to pick from. The other dozen characters have to do the same thing in free mode, with 20+ battles to choose from.
** Crossover series ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'' avoids this entirely, everything can eventually be obtains through grinding. Until ''Reborn'' and its card system, that is. In theory, Every card's requirements are visible from the start to avert this. In practice, many cards require characters or suits unlocked by other cards in order to meet their own requirements. Just one example is the Strike Freedom Gundam's gold card, which is dependent on another card, which is dependent on a stage medal award, which is dependent on a third card, which is dependent on a FOURTH card, which is dependent on a FIFTH card that can finally be unlocked just by playing Original mode. You have to dig through the menus yourself to figure out what unlocks what.[[labelnote:Specifically...]]The Strike Freedom Gundam's gold card (which make it available for all pilots) is obtained by using it ten times, and SEED Destiny Kira is its only default pilot. Unlocking SEED Destiny Kira's card is done by clearing a certain missions with the Strike Gundam. However, all the Strike Gundam's default pilots are locked out for that specific scenario, so you have to obtain its gold card by using it ten times in other missions. This requires SEED Kira or Mu La Flaga's unlock cards, which are in turn grated by a card unlocked by beating SEED's Official Mode. ''Whew''.[[/labelnote]]
* ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'':
** The glass tube has prematurely ended nearly as many games as Sonic's barrel. [[spoiler:Drop a Power Bomb inside it.]] The solution for this problem was actually in the commercial for the game, as Nintendo has a long history of hiding secrets in their advertisements. In addition, if you leave the game alone in the title screen, the solutions to many Guide Dang It puzzles are shown. Of course, performing said maneuvers is easier said than done.
** On the plus side, however, there was an official release made with a guidebook in the place of a manual, which either states or properly hints how to deal with this and other puzzles.
** Few people found the [[LastLousyPoint Missile Expansion]] hidden in the lava in the second superheated room of Norfair without going crazy and dropping Super Bombs everywhere, or scanning each and every single inch of every single room with the X-ray Scope.
* [[NintendoHard Pretty much all]] of the original ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}''. There are places where to continue the game, you have to bomb blocks which look ''absolutely no different'' to any other blocks in the surrounding area. Add the fact that the game's corridors [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments look pretty much identical to each other]], and there's no map, and you get a recipe for tearing your hair out. here is a pattern to destroyable walls that is pretty easy to figure out, though. Once you realize that you must bomb secret blocks away and understand how often you will be asked to do so, the game's tendency to reuse the same rooms and block patterns so many times makes finding the secret holes much, much easier. On top of that, a lot of what made the first one so difficult was that a lot of exploration tricks that have since gone on to be series staples were just getting started. Things like bombing through the floor to find secret passageways are expected in Metroid games today, but back then were much more of a novelty.

* On the subject of ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'', ''[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission Zero Mission]]'' assumes you know how to shinespark from playing ''Super Metroid'' beforehand, or having seen the game's commercials. Nowhere in the instruction manual is it mentioned ''how'' to do it, and the only thing in the ''official strategy guide'' that can help you is one picture in the part about getting the energy tank you need to carry a speed charge from a previous room for.

* ''VideoGame/MaximoGhostsToGlory'' has a boss, a giant pirate ghost, who can only be harmed by attacking while crouching. At that point in the game there hasn't been much use for crouching, and most players have probably forgotten that there even is a crouch button by the time they reach him.
* ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'':
** Using a guide is extremely helpful, to the point of nearly being a necessity. The game has a branching storyline... but certain branches require you to do something on another level first to perform them -- and this isn't always obvious until it's too late. Or ever. And it doesn't give an indication of which stage unlocks the branch. If you're on a stage that unlocks the alternate path for another stage you have unlocked, it will give you a hint about what you have to do, but these are extremely vague, especially considering the sometimes downright bizarre requirements. For an JustForFun/{{egregious}} example, "Search the Yoshimura house and well" means... find a radio in the house, then put it in the bucket in the well, to lure a wandering shibito over to the well, so that when you kill it, it will fall into the well.
** There's one point where a guide is essentially necessary; when lighting the lanterns with Reiko Takato to get the good ending. The in-game hint tells you to watch the praying shibito... but it starts the level praying at the ''last'' lantern in the sequence, so listening to the game will probably lead to you failing.
** In the remake ''Siren: Blood Curse'' you unlock a door to a restaurant by running to a diner in an earlier level, and destroying a bowl of food with a shotgun before a zombie cop can come and eat it. This will make him hungry enough to open the door for you in the later level. You're supposed to figure this out unprompted.
* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'' has instances of this, particularly the need to search for the many ship parts, only one of which you are told how to acquire. The rest are hidden in such ways and behind such puzzles that it seems completely unfeasible that you could find them without a guide. Among the most jarring are the need to find a certain minigame hidden in a series of out of the way air ducts, then get a perfect score at the game in order to receive a set of ear muffs, then find a ''frigging polar bear'' on a planet that also requires you to find an out of the way ship pad to reach it, in order to give the muffs to the bear in exchange for a ship part. You are given no hints whatsoever that this is what you need to do.
* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'':
** The ''Ignis ingifera,'' or "The Animal Everyone Misses." It's tucked away in a secret room whose location is not immediately obvious (it lies in the complete opposite of the direction you normally need to go). While it makes sense once you know where you're going, it can be a head-scratcher. The location of the "shy amoebas" in the Black Isle is similarly puzzling (until you realize that a bridge you lowered in fact had something hidden behind it.)
** What's hard is taking a picture of Domz Sarcophagii, which you only see twice between getting the camera and the endboss fight, and both times you are in instant combat with them. Stopping in the middle of a fight is both non-intuitive and, if you haven't distributed your PAL-1s correctly, suicidal. And without taking the snap as early as possible on Hillys, you won't be able to catch them all and get the Photo Album m-disc.
* ''[[VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise Wario: Master of Disguise]]''. In the final level you come across a room with a blue door, some green mushrooms, and a blue mushroom. To open the blue door you have to turn it green, by stepping on all of the green mushrooms. The blue mushroom is not required and only serves to hinder you, by un-pressing all of the green mushrooms. But there's nothing to suggest this is the case. (And since you don't have to press the green mushrooms in order, you just have to have them all pressed, there's no real reason for that blue mushroom to even be that.) Even worse is when you realize that one of the green mushrooms is invisible and you need Genius Wario to step on it. Again, there's nothing to suggest this would be the case. But hey, at least they only make you do that puzzle in the one room. The biggest problem is that the locked door is marked with a symbol that seemingly indicates what order to press the mushrooms in. After taking forever trying different variations of the order, giving up, consulting a guide, and pressing the hidden mushroom, what does the symbol mean? Nothing at all. Purely stylistic.
* ''VideoGame/AstroBoyOmegaFactor'' makes getting to the end of the game much harder than it has to be:
** If you skip the credits after playing through the first go-round of the game, you miss one of the entries in the Omega Factor and screw yourself out of a power-up. One key event requires you to jet straight up four times (impossible without having maxed out your Jets or a full EX stock) to reach a hidden character, with no hint that there's anything up there. Another one requires you to destroy a specific door on a background object that gives no indication it's anything other than scenery (in an area filled with rolling statues that kill in a single hit), and ''another'' one necessitates you going left at the very start of the stage and destroying a trash can - in a stage that scrolls right, thus giving you no apparent reason to go left. Having maxed-out Sensors only partially helps, because Astro Boy will declare he senses a hidden character but doesn't tell you anything about how to ''find'' them.
** The order you have to go through the levels is also very unintuitive. You have to backtrack to several levels, upon which certain plot elements will resolve themselves. Those who skip the cutscenes (with their minor clues) are screwed.
** Another too-cleverly hidden character (needed to continue the plot) is hidden behind a wall in an elevator scene. So once you miss him, you have to start the stage over again. And again, there's no hint to his location, you just have to know it. Although it's not that hard to access him accidentally.
** Once you complete the first playthrough, in order to open up [[spoiler:Dr. Tenma's house]], you have to play through the tutorial again, so that Astro can confront Dr. O'Shay. The problem here is that the game ''discourages'' you from doing this, because Dr. O'Shay mocks you by wondering if you've forgotten the basic controls.

* In the second level of ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}}'', there's a jump you need to make that requires a specific maneuver you won't use often. You need to start running, hold the run button, and let go of the directional pad.
* ''VideoGame/{{Karateka}}'' does this with the ''ending.'' Once you defeat the final boss, you can leave the room and find the DamselInDistress you came to rescue. To properly finish the game, you have to drop out of your fighting stance and run into her arms. If you approach her in your fighting stance, which most first-time players do after such a long struggle, she will ''[[NonstandardGameOver kick you in the face, killing you instantly]].'' [[FridgeLogic Makes you wonder why she couldn't just kick her way to freedom...]]
* The Commodore 64 tie-in ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' (of the film which featured Jack Nicholson as the Joker) has one of these right at the end of the game. The final boss, the Joker, climbs a ladder leading to an escape craft as soon as you arrive on the roof. If you've seen the film, you'll know what to do - fire the Batrope. If you ''haven't'', consider the fact that no other enemy in the game is hurt by the Batrope and the game gives you two seconds to figure out what to do before he escapes. The UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC port at least solved it, since you could kill the mooks with the Batrope too.
* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'':
** A notorious example would be the Blue Ghosts and Gold Mice. They drop a large amount of treasure when captured, so you need them for higher ranks at the end. But after being [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]], they can be refound during the Blackout near the end of the game. Problem: The game only tells you to capture the ghost Uncle Grimmly and turn on the switch in the Breaker Room, so there's no indication they appear. Problem 2: About half ONLY appear during the blackout. When it's over, those are [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]]. Problem 3: Luigi is being chased by an infinite hoarde of bloodthirsty ghosts during the blackout, hence exploring the far off rooms many of these ghosts are found in is near suicidal.
** The coin values required for an A rank were [[DifficultyByRegion raised significantly]] from about 100,000,000 to about 150,000,000 Gold in the PAL version. Hence to get an A rank there, you have to beat the [[NewGamePlus Hidden Mansion]], which itself is more difficult in said region. This wasn't in most guides, due to the versions used for those having a far less difficult Hidden Mansion mode.
* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'':
** Professor E. Gadd never tells you that, when sucking up a ghost with the Poltergust 5000, you can press "B" to make Luigi jump in the air... which is a very useful trick to know, since it helps Luigi dodge attacks by other ghosts. You'll need to [[VideoGame/HotelMario check out the enclosed instruction book]] if you want to know about this.
** There are also many of the gem locations, which range from 'fairly well hidden' to 'absolutely insanely out of the way'. The best known example is in Gloomy Manor, where one gem is gotten by examining a suit of armour to make its helmet fall off, then shooting it at a certain painting. The helmet only falls off in two missions; the third one and the secret one. The painting might only even appear in those two as well. Good luck figuring that out!
* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'', multiple times.
** Especially notable is battling the Asterite in [[{{Prehistoria}} the past]] - there's a specific way to beat it, but the game never tells you what this is or even gives any hints.
** Also in the second game, when you come back from the good future you've got to rescue some orcas. You're supposed to follow one of the babies to the exit, but it's glitchy and disappears if you lose sight of it. The presence of a hilarious glitch nearby (baby orcas rain from the sky if you echolocate at the upper left part of the stage) just complicated things.
** There's a certain level in the first ''Ecco'' where an item you need to progress cannot be seen on Ecco's sonar map. [[spoiler:It's one of the prehistoric levels. The glyph is hidden inside a volcano.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In the ''Battle for Bikini Bottom'' and ''TheMovie'' games, socks and treasure chests are extremely hard to find without a guide. These items are required for a full 100%. And in ''TheMovie'', the last treasure chests are found while Shell City is dead ahead. Who the HELL would guess that hitting TOASTERS that appear to be BACKGROUND OBJECTS will give you a treasure chest? Even worse that you need to hit three toasters, and two of them are very hard to find and require the sonic wave guitar. Luckily you don't need all treasure chests for 100%, so it's more of a BraggingRightsReward.
* The final boss of ''[[VideoGame/StarTrekEliteForce Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force]]'' manages to be both an example and subversion at the same time. The boss itself requires no special puzzles and you don't need AttackItsWeakPoint, you only need to shoot it. A lot. Unfortunately, not only does it not react at all to being hit, it can also absorb more damage than you actually have ammo for, making it look like it actually ''is'' a GuideDangIt.
* The catastrophe that was ''VideoGame/StarTrekLegacy'' does not even tell you ''how to control your ship'' without sitting through a long, laborious, and boring tutorial... which doesn't even tell you anything beyond the basics of direction, engines, and shooting.
* Stage 9 in ''VideoGame/TransformersConvoyNoNazo'' is a [[TheMaze maze]] similar to certain fortresses in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', but here, there's no indication that you've taken the right path (i.e. no EndlessCorridor looping) until the end of the level, where you get booted back to the start if you took the wrong path. It's also a lot more complex than SMB.
* ''VideoGame/{{Assassins Creed|I}}'' has the sidequest to access the conference room computer. First you have to get into Warren's computer to find the password for the other one. [[spoiler:You can pickpocket his access key after Memory Block 3, and the password for the other computer is in his email]].
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'':
** There's a side-mission to find and solve puzzles hidden throughout the game. While the first 95% of them are moderate to hard in difficulty, the last few puzzles are exceedingly difficult and obscure, replacing regular modern number systems with antiquated representations of numbers such as Morse code. You won't get very far without either a guide or just knowing how to count outside of base ten.
** Good luck trying to find all the flags on your own in the first game. There are 100 in each city, as well as another 100 in the massive "Kingdom" area. They are often hidden very well and even visiting every area will likely leave many hidden. Even with a guide it can be a difficult and time consuming process. Worse - there's [[BraggingRightsReward no reward]] for finding the flags other than an achievement on the UsefulNotes/XBox360.

* The ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' series in general.
** Any special item in ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' has very obscure conditions to make it appear, so much that the many players might think they are completely random. For example, to make the yellow (rapid-fire) candy appear, you must jump 51 times. To get the potions, you have to fall through the level a certain number of times. Many of the special items are also triggered by collecting a certain number of another special item. It's insane. [[http://www.mcboof.com/games/bb/items2.html Take a look at this]] to see the conditions.
** The PC port by [=NovaLogic=] plays this trope as well- if you want to use any audio source other than the PC speaker, you need to start the game with a particular option switch. Most other games of that era uses a config.exe or setup.exe program to change sound device options. People who got the game second hand without the manual are stuck with PC speaker sound because the instructions to change the sound device are in the manual, and this was the era before the internet, so you can't just look stuff up online.
** ''Bubble Bobble Double Shot'' for the DS seems easy enough, until you get to Level 81. Then things get tough, and by 83 suddenly turn to a GUIDE DANG IT, if you're playing by yourself. That level is really designed for multiple players, who all need their own copy of the game to play.
* In ''Film/TheTerminator'' NES game, to complete the Police Station level, you must counterintuitively toss a box into the middle of the large gap to create a platform. How did anyone figure this out in those days?

* Many of the Stray Beads in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' are like this. Some of the animal feeding locations are like this too.
** The controls for getting full use out of some glaives and rosaries as subweapons (at least in the Wii version) aren't explained or hinted at anywhere in the game or manual (you need to use the c button, which isn't indicated for any combat use, in conjunction with the Z button, the "subweapon" button).
** The only hint that the Ice Storm brush technique is gained along with Blizzard is in the fight with Ninetails, who would occasionally use it when the player pulls up the brush screen. You can paint a "snowflake" (an X with a horizontal line through the middle) which causes ice shards to rain down and freeze multiple targets. This one is especially nasty because up until that point, the "screen-filling attack" version of the brush techniques have all been upgrades that were the result of sidequests. If a player doesn't think to try what Ninetails did, or doesn't remember how it went, they may well spend hours searching Nippon in vain for a sidequest that isn't there.
** ''Four'' separate side-quests in Sei-An city require you to chase down the thief Hayazo, but before you can chase him you have to find him hiding somewhere in the city. But he's not hiding behind a building or under a bridge; he's hiding inside a rock. The rock is entirely unremarkable and this hiding place isn't really hinted at, and how exactly he's hiding ''inside'' a seemingly solid rock is never addressed.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'' is even worse with this, since several things needed for 100% completion can be {{Permanently Missable|Content}}. Of course, the game doesn't bother telling you which items are missable or where there's a PointOfNoReturn.

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' has a jump that requires a roll before it, for extra length. This is mentioned in the tutorial of the second game, and then you only have to use it ''once'' in the entire game, with no indication. Otherwise, Jak just keeps jumping into a Dark Eco puddle, which kills him instantly.

* In ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'', you can collect 100 artifacts plus an additional Strange Relic. Although the game counts this as artifact 101 of 100, it does not show up as a missed artifact during the chapter select screen, and it can be found in a level listed to have no artifacts, in a sewer down a manhole across the street from where Drake is making his way across some rooftops. You would have to jump down from the roof and go down an unobtrusive alleyway for no in-game reason to find the sewer holding this relic.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'':
** Several puzzles rely on the player's knowledge that an electrified remote Batarang can knock out fuseboxes, (most notably, in a plot-specific instance when you're breaking into the Joker's Steel Mill for the second time). The only problem is that you can't throw those types of Batarangs by default - you have to electrify it with an outside source before hitting the fusebox with it. This is required for HundredPercentCompletion, but it isn't immediately noticeable unless you have a guide.
** There another instance of this involving another fusebox, only this one has no conveniently exposed wires anywhere near it. Naturally, after you figure out how to destroy rest of them, you're confused on what the hell you're supposed to do with this one, when the answer is to simply aim through a hole in front of it and just shoot it with the Remote Electrical Charge, which would normally be something you'd use in any other game to do something like this if the game hadn't conditioned you into expecting an electrified remote Batarang obstacle course to solve this puzzle as well.
* The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis[=/=]Mega-Drive game ''VideoGame/NightmareCircus'' is easily one of the most confusing video games of all time--think ''VideoGame/MilonsSecretCastle'' on steroids. There are five sections total, each with their own rules that are virtually impossible to figure out. One section for example starts you off in an area with platforms descending and ascending with a fire pit below; if you ride that platforms off the top of the screen, you just come back down to the same room. To pass this room you have to keep going up off the screen at least 30 times until the fire disappears. Needless to say, most players would never in a million years figure something like that out, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The game was so confusing that for years many people believed it could not be beat until someone posted a walkthrough on Youtube.
* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has a {{Bizarrchitecture}} TheMaze which you're not likely to figure out the first time without the guide because of all the confusing [[PortalDoor portal doors]], FloatingPlatforms and [[EliteMooks giant ants.]] It doesn't help that there are no clues and you're running around, picking the doors at random.
* At no point ever does ''VideoGame/SavantAscent'' even tell you that the orb you have to destroy in the (originally) final level can be [[spoiler:grabbed with the chain grab ability unlocked by collecting the sixth CD, only found in endless mode, and that it grants you the [[EleventhHourSuperpower Overdrive]] ability]] aside from possibly the one time intro scene.
* ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter: Under The Knife'': While most of the S-rank requirements are fairly straightforward, there's one in particular that requires you to get the subject's vitals (HP, basically) below a certain number. This is rather counter-intuitive, as any player's instinct would be to keep the vitals ''as high'' as possible. Plus, in this particular operation, it takes a while for the vitals to get low enough because not much goes on.
* ''VideoGame/FateExtellaTheUmbralStar'': Unlocking Artoria is... convoluted, to say the least. You have to choose a specific mission with the "Mystery" sidequest, complete the Regime Matrix, leave one particular field unconquered, and then eat 5 Yakisoba Breads (the game's basic healing item) in that field specifically. Only then will Artoria challenge you, and if you defeat her, you unlock her.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'', you can avoid being affected by Cala Maria's petrification attack in her second stage if you aren't moving or shooting when she performs it. The game itself gives no hint of this.
* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Rebirth'' has a pair of super-secret characters that not only must be unlocked, but aren't even hinted at on the character select screen. ??? is easy enough to unlock, and something that most players will figure out after enough play time--[[spoiler:just defeat Mom's Heart ten times]]. The Lost, though, has an ''incredibly'' obtuse unlock, and it's entirely possible to play the entire rest of game without knowing he's there. Getting The Lost requires you to play as four characters in exact order, then die via extremely specific means, all in the course of one play session: [[spoiler:Isaac must die to a [[ActionBomb Mulliboom]] in The Basement or The Cellar, then Magdalene must blow herself up with her own bomb in The Caves or The Catacombs, then Judas has to let Mom kill him (specifically Mom; dying to any one of the monsters she summons won't count), then Azazel must die to Satan. It should be noted that, with the game being as RNG-heavy as it is, it's not guaranteed Isaac will run into a Mulliboom at all, or that Maggie will have enough bombs to kill herself when she needs to]]. Ended up dying to anything else? Bad RNG caused you to miss the next step? Accidentally closed the game in-between steps? Whoops! Have fun doing the whole thing over from scratch![[labelnote:Why is it so cryptic?]]Fitting his name, The Lost's unlock method was originally meant to be discovered through a community effort/ARG, requiring players to die in a Sacrifice Room while holding a Missing Poster, then literally stitch together pieces of a puzzle to discover which characters must be used in which order and what they must die to. Of course, dataminers ended up spoiling everything anyway, rendering the whole thing moot.[[/labelnote]] It's no wonder the ''Afterbirth'' DLC simplified the whole process, although it still requires an action most players won't ever think of doing: [[spoiler:now you just have to die in a Sacrifice Room while holding the Missing Poster]].
* ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark'':
** The [[VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2008 2008 game]] has you take breaks from the main plot to burn "Roots of Evil". Some of these devolve into downright silly physics puzzles; one in particular requires you to wrap a molotov cocktail in double-sided tape, toss it onto a rotating girder on a conveyor belt, and stop it next to a root before it explodes to douse it in fire. Fortunately, you don't need to burn them all (unless you want all the achievements), and most are in wide open spaces, so you can skip the dumber ones if you wish. There's also having to throw another taped molotov time bomb on the back of an enemy to get it to burn its own nest and open a path. This one is actually required to advance in the game.
** Back in the days of the original trilogy (and one short game), almost everything is this trope. Several mansions (usually designed by paranoiacs and criminals) contain all sorts of mind-bogging puzzles and death traps. [[UrExample This series invented the classical horror-survivor genre]], after all.
* In ''VideoGame/LegoBatman'', for instance, to enter a factory you need to climb a ramp and pull a lever to make a giant ice cream cone turn from blue to yellow, then another lever to turn it from yellow to red. Then you need to pull each lever again to make it turn back to blue, at which point the door opens.

* In the NES ''VideoGame/TheTerminator'' game, to complete the Police Station level, you must counterintuitively toss a box into the middle of the large gap to create a platform. How did anyone figure this out in those days?
* The original ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'' for the NES has several, but an egregious one early in the game is the water passage in Egypt, where the water damages you unless you have the Aqua Boots, but to get them you must WallJump up a shaft, a difficult to pull off technique unhinted at in the game.