10 Video Games You Didn't Know Were Hidden In Other Games

4. Shenmue - Space Harrier & Hang-On

Sega legend Yu Suzuki gave himself a shout-out in his epic Shenmue series, dropping not one but two of his high-profile arcade classics into the in-game arcade for players to enjoy. When you're tired of running around the streets of Japan, a quick trip down to the arcade opened faithful renditions of biking classic Hang-On and zany neo-3D shooter Space Harrier in their entirety. This sort of thing has become commonplace now when it comes to open world adventures - Grand Theft Auto releases in recent years have featured increasingly complex (but fictitious) games hidden in their arcades - but it was still a wonderful distraction within the sometimes dreary reality of the Shenmue experience. Older gamers will remember these hits from the mid-eighties, both of which featured rather extravagant arcade set-ups. Space Harrier had its nausea-inducing rolling cabinet as it was called, one of the earliest examples of an arcade rig which moved with such vigor. The game itself just compounded the delirium, throwing hordes of beastly sprite graphics at you overlaid on a garishly colorful quasi-3D background. The Hang-On arcade machine was renowned for one thing: the realistic (for the time) motorcycle that you hurled into each corner. If we could have worn a biker helmet to complete the look, we would have. But we were children. And helmets are expensive.