Masterful unlocking?
Secret rooms. Bonus weapons. New characters. Furtively secreted easter eggs. Games reward the more dedicated and completist player with all of these things. Play long enough, play hard enough, search every shady corner and complete every available objective, and you'll often be rewarded with amazing hidden content and items, the like of which can make the more meticulous gamer's heart sing.
The rooftop lives bonanza - Super Mario 64
On a superficial level, Super Mario 64's endgame bonus is actually pretty cool. You 100% complete one of the greatest games ever made, collect every single star tucked away amongst its glorious, dream-like adventure playgrounds of platforming, and finally, by way of a secret, newly unlocked cannon, make your way atop the most iconic castle in all of video games. Truly, you are master of all you survey. And Yoshi is there as well! Actual, 3D Yoshi, for the first time ever. Oh, how you've missed him!
Albert Wesker's secret photography project - Resident Evil 2
So you've found the office and personal desk of head series baddo Albert Wesker. There must be something exciting and/or horrifying in there, surely? So you search the desk. And you get nothing. So you search the desk again. Once more, without a shadow of a doubt, you get nothing.
The flying rat flying machine - Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV's Flying Rats mission is one of the lengthiest, most labourious gaming tasks of this passing generation. 200 pigeons, hidden across a vast city, at all levels and in every awkward nook and cranny you could imagine. Kill the lot of them, and win... something.
The secret boots - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Secret boots? In a Metroidvania game? They must be special indeed. After all, the core mechanic of games like Symphony of the Night is that of collecting new equipment in order to get more awesome at doing awesome stuff. So a secret bit of equipment must be ultra-special. And boots? Why, they go on your feet, making them the literal foundation of everything you do! These things will be a game-changer.
Beedle's compliment card - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Sometimes, it's possible to be too nice. Take Beedle, Wind Waker's amiable shopkeeper, for instance. He's the most friendly of friendly types, and knows that a positive relationship with his customers is valuable beyond the level of personal enrichment. Keep your customers happy, and you make friends and money in equal measure. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite got the balance right.
Little King Zero - Bayonetta
So you've completed Bayonetta. And for some reason, doing that wasn't demanding enough for you. Or perhaps you have a masochistic complex stemming from low self-esteem. For whatever reason, you go back through the game and complete all of the brutally hard Alfheim challenge rooms. You're still just about conscious after that, so you decide to have a crack at the newly unlocked Angel Slayer survival mode, 80% of which operates on Hard mode or above. Somehow, probably through some combination of extreme caffeination and gene therapy, you complete that too.
William Bordin - Urban Reign
The only good thing about a cheap boss is the possibility of unlocking the ability to play as them. William Bordin of PS2 brawler Urban Reign is particularly cheap, subverting Sean Connery's iconic discussion of fight tactics from The Untouchables by bringing a gun to a fist fight. So, an exciting prize to unlock, right? Hes bound to be, given the labourious process required to do so. S-ranks on every level in the game? Egad, what a prestige unlockable he must be.
