The Schoolyard Legends Around Secret Game Levels

3 August 2025

Remember those days on the playground during lunch hour where the only currency that truly mattered was who knew the best cheat codes or game secrets? If you were “in the know,” you wore it like a badge of honor. From whispers of unlocking Luigi in Super Mario 64 to finding Mew under that truck in Pokémon Red & Blue, secret game levels were legendary – even if most of them were complete fabrications.

Welcome to the world of schoolyard legends – where fact and fiction blur, and every kid with a friend whose cousin “works at Nintendo” suddenly becomes the authority on hidden levels and secret modes.

Let’s take a nostalgic trip down memory lane (grab your GBA, we’re going in) and dive into some of the most iconic, bizarre, and straight-up mythical secret game levels that had us all trying the weirdest button combinations and elaborate steps.

Why Schoolyard Legends Were So Damn Believable

You might ask, “Why did we believe that spinning three times in front of a tree at midnight would unlock a secret level?” Well, back then, we didn’t have easy access to guides, YouTube walkthroughs, or Reddit. If a friend told you that pressing Up, Down, A, B, Start would unlock a secret dungeon, they might as well have been reading it from the sacred Game Manual of Truth.

We had our own underground lore system, passed around like forbidden knowledge. And honestly? That made games feel so much more magical.

Mew and the Mysterious Truck – Pokémon Red & Blue

Let’s start with the holy grail of Game Boy myths.

In Pokémon Red & Blue, there’s a truck parked near the S.S. Anne. Ordinarily, players couldn’t reach it once the ship left, but with a series of very specific steps and a bit of glitch trickery, it was possible. Rumor had it that if you used Strength near the truck, Mew would appear. Millions tried. Millions failed.

Years later, it turned out – yes – Mew was in the game’s code, but no, not under that truck. Still, the idea of a secret legendary Pokémon hidden in an unassuming parking spot? That’s peak schoolyard storytelling.

Luigi in Super Mario 64 – L Is Real 2401

If you grew up with a Nintendo 64, you’ve probably stared at that blurry stone plaque in the courtyard fountain of Super Mario 64 and tried to decipher its cryptic message.

“L is real 2401.”

Legend had it that Luigi was unlockable if you did something involving all 120 stars... and maybe waiting 24 hours and 1 minute? Look, the math didn’t make sense, but it didn’t matter. Kids across the globe were trying everything: backwards long jumps, jumping into the star fountain, playing the game at exactly 2:40 PM.

For years, players were convinced Nintendo was hiding Luigi in plain sight. Eventually, it turned out Luigi wasn’t available in SM64 — but when Super Mario 3D All-Stars re-released the game with Luigi fully playable in updated versions, it felt like the myth had finally become reality.

Ermac in Mortal Kombat – A Rumor Turns Real

Fighting games in the '90s were ripe for myths. Between the brutal fatalities and secret characters, there was always something people “definitely saw once but could never recreate.”

Enter Ermac.

In Mortal Kombat, a diagnostic screen listed an error code: “ERMACS” — short for “error macros,” nothing more. But kids saw that and decided Ermac must be a hidden red ninja, like Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The rumor exploded, fueled by screenshots from magazines and random glitches that showed red-costumed characters.

The beauty? The developers eventually leaned into the legend and made Ermac a real character in Mortal Kombat 3. That’s the power of a good story — it literally willed a character into existence.

The Haunted Cartridge – Ben Drowned

Though not exactly a product of the playground era, the creepy tale of "Ben Drowned" deserves a mention.

This legend blew up on creepypasta forums around 2010. A college student claims to find a haunted copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, which starts acting all kinds of creepy — twisted character faces, reversed music, and a mysterious save file labeled “BEN.”

The story was told in blog posts, complete with photos and game footage that seemed… off, in the best possible way. It played like an alternate reality game, and even though it wasn’t real, it reignited the same spirit of mystery that we once felt back on the swingset.

Sonic & Tails in Super Smash Bros. Melee

Raise your hand if you tried unlocking Sonic or Tails in Melee by beating 20 opponents in Cruel Melee. Yeah, me too.

Before Sonic was actually added in Brawl, schoolyard logic claimed that these two SEGA legends were secret challenges in Melee. The criteria varied — maybe you had to beat 300 targets in Target Test, or finish All-Star mode with every character without taking damage.

Whatever it was, it never worked. But the rumor persisted. And like with Ermac, Sega and Nintendo eventually made the dream real — Sonic crashed the battle in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, finally giving fans what they'd imagined for years.

Bigfoot in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

You can’t talk about secret levels and fake content without shouting out to Bigfoot.

Back when GTA: San Andreas hit the scene, players started swearing they saw Bigfoot while driving through the foggy forests. Grainy screenshots popped up. Stories spread. Some claimed he attacked them. Others said he just watched.

Rockstar insisted Bigfoot wasn’t in the game. That didn’t stop modders from adding him — or believers from spending hours in the woods hoping for a glimpse. Eventually, in GTA V, Rockstar added a nod to the myth by including a Bigfoot Easter egg.

Sheng Long – Street Fighter II’s Faux Final Boss

Let’s rewind to a world before the internet fact-checked everything in 0.3 seconds. In an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), a fake cheat said you could fight a secret character named “Sheng Long” in Street Fighter II if you beat every opponent without taking damage and finished M. Bison with a perfect round.

Thousands tried. No one succeeded.

Why? Because it was an April Fools’ joke. But the story was so believable it became part of the game's mythology. Capcom eventually rewarded fans for their dedication — turning the hoax into the real character Gouken in later entries.

The Konami Code and The Myth of Infinite Secrets

↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A Start

Does that look familiar? That’s the Konami Code, the granddaddy of cheat codes. While this one was very much real (and used in games like Contra), its notoriety gave rise to dozens of rumors.

Some said entering the code in games where it didn’t work would still do something secret. Kids shared tales of using it to get into secret stages, unlock hidden endings, or even trigger alternate story paths.

In a way, the Konami Code became shorthand for “try this, and who knows what might happen.” It was like a gamer’s magic spell.

The Culture of Secret Levels: Why Were We So Obsessed?

So why did these schoolyard myths catch on like wildfire?

- Imagination was king: Kids were natural world-builders. We wanted to believe these games held endless, secret corners.
- Information scarcity: Guides were rare, internet access was limited, and fact-checking was a luxury.
- Power of shared stories: What started as a rumor among three friends could become gospel by the end of recess.
- Games were mysterious by design: Older games had weird glitches, unused assets, and ambiguous messaging. That was enough to set our minds racing.

These myths turned gaming into a community-driven treasure hunt. Solving a rumor — or trying to — was almost more fun than actually unlocking anything.

Modern Gaming and the Death (or Rebirth?) of Secret Levels

Today, most games don't hide secrets the same way. Data miners can tear apart files within hours of a game’s release. Reddit threads debunk myths before they even have time to marinate.

But here’s the thing — people still crave that mystery. It’s why developers now craft ARGs (Alternate Reality Games), hidden lore breadcrumbs (think Destiny or Dark Souls), and obscure Easter eggs in games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Fortnite.

We may not have the same schoolyard network, but the love of the unknown lives on... just now, it’s streamed on Twitch and solved by thousands on Discord at 3AM.

Final Thoughts: There’s Magic in the Myth

The schoolyard legends around secret game levels weren’t just about finding something. They were about believing something was out there — hidden, waiting, just beyond our reach. And maybe with the right code, the right move, or just the right attitude, we’d be the ones to uncover it.

So the next time someone tells you there’s a hidden route in a game, instead of rushing to Google to disprove it, maybe give it a shot. After all, the real secret level? It was the fun we had trying to find it.