You could argue that it’s foolish for developers to put so much effort into creating things so few players will find, but trust us: in the following cases, it’s worth it. Even if you have to fight tooth and nail for a trinket that's - in the grand scheme of things - completely insignificant, something about seeing what others won't makes it all worthwhile. Here's the best of the best you overachievers will get, which will certainly leave you better off than those poor saps saddled with the .

After sampling these slides, you may be asking yourself: where are all the guns? Gaming has its fair share of unlockable, world-melting super weapons too, and we've collected all those in a separate feature, . Between these two features, you're sure to unlock the most potent weapons and abilities gaming has to offer - or blister your thumbs up real good trying.

Suggested by: Sliet

How to unlock it: The title 'Big Boss' isn't something that's handed out lightly in the Metal Gear universe - and this game is no exception. First, you need to finish MGS4 on any difficulty. This will unlock the 'Boss Extreme' difficulty mode, the toughest difficulty mode in the game. You then have to finish MGS4 again on this new difficulty mode, all while fulfilling several additional challenges. These include: finishing the game in less than 5 hours, no kills, no detection, and no using of health items. You basically have to know MGS4 better than your extended family, and have your entire route through it mapped out in advance.

The amazing things you get: Beating MGS4 under these grueling conditions earns you the 'Big Boss' emblem (along with several other lesser emblems). Between them, these accolades unlock several new weapons (The Patriot) and items (Stealth Camo), but by far the most interesting is the . This unusual facemask strikes fear into the hearts of all who gaze upon it. Most enemies will instantly cower and drop all their weapons when they see you approach; others simply faint. Snake laments looking like a demon in the MGS5 trailer, but this is a true demonic visage.

Suggested by: Horusalis

How to unlock it: Obtaining Final Fantasy 7's most powerful summon can be handled in a couple different ways, but each is a hair-ripping challenge. The summon itself is found on Round Island, a donut-shaped spit of land that's impossible to explore without a gold chocobo. Obtaining the gold chocobo is the tricky part, as you must either go through a long and exhaustive chocobo breeding process that's about as much fun as helping a horse give birth, or defeat Ruby Weapon (one of the game's optional super bosses) and exchange the item you receive for a feathered friend. Alternatively, Knights of the Round is also part of the Master Materia set, but you have to defeat a different (and more challenging) super boss to get that.

The amazing thing you get: To be fair, Knights of the Round is a Thirteen ornately armored knights roll up on whatever you're fighting and deliver a barrage of sword slashes, fireballs, and comet strikes. Of course, the coup d'etat is when King Arthur himself takes the field and delivers a screen-shattering final blow. And since damage for each of the 13 hits is calculated individually, this attack easily exceeds the 9999 damage limit of other summons. Safer-Sephiroth's universe-ending Super Nova has got nothing on these overpowered knights of the roundtable.

How to unlock it: Emeralds. You have to collect so many emeralds. First up are the eight classic Chaos Emeralds, which let you transform into Super Sonic. Once you have all those, you then need to collect eight more Super Emeralds to unlock Hyper Sonic. What all this means is that you'll be spending a lot of time in the . These sadistic dexterity challenges find Sonic running along a spherical arena collecting blue orbs while avoiding red ones. Oh sure, those stages start out nice and easy, but the longer you take, the faster it gets, until you're making split-second turns one after the other afraid to blinkbecause the screen ismoving sofastyoucan'tlookawaythesoundof collectingblueorbswill haunt yournightmares.

The amazing thing you get: In the right hands, Hyper Sonic can absolutely destroy Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He moves faster than Sonic (and Super Soinc), flashes between different colors, and has a mid-air dash that can destroy all enemies on the screen. But where things get really interesting is when you collect all eight Super Emeralds as Tails or Knuckles. Tails becomes Super Tails, who's joined by a trio of super-powered birds that automatically attack enemies; while Knuckles becomes Hyper Knuckles, who can clear the screen of foes by slamming into walls.

How to unlock it: Accessing Darksiders 2's most powerful armor set requires you to collect lots and lots of stuff. We're talking Banjo-Kazooie-levels of collectibles here, including (but not limited to) 40 tome pages, 30 relics, and 69 stonebites. Each one of these things is a tiny little item tucked away behind inconspicuous rocks or dark corners in the game's world. Basically, everywhere you'd never look. And a lot of them are in dungeons - dungeons you'll have to replay multiple times if you want to find everything. Darksiders 2 is a fun game, but having to redo the same dungeon multiple times while looking for the apocalyptic equivalent of a needle in a haystack is about as much fun as having to redo your taxes.

The amazing thing you get: Darksiders II does reward you handsomely for your troubles, transforming Death into something that should be on an '80s death metal album cover. Each piece of this set provides a massive boost to Death's core stats, save for one: resistance, your Achilles' heel. Perhaps the most controversial aspect are the two purple horns that are included free with the Abyssal Spaulders. I guess all the metal spikes and engraved demon faces didn't make the Pale Rider demonic enough, so what the hell, throw a pair of horns on top of him. Why not?

How to unlock it: No matter what difficulty you choose, Dead Space 2 is a harrowing, frightening journey. Necromorphs pop out of vents, demon babies swarm at you, and seemingly sane folk turn into alien zombies at the drop of a hat. However, at its most difficult setting--Hardcore--you’ll have to fight tougher, more resilient foes with fewer resources than ever. If you manage to survive that ordeal, however, you’ll be rewarded.

The amazing thing you get: A foam finger with powers akin to Unitology’s most powerful god (Did they have a god? We never could quite get a handle on that religion). Similar to the “We’re number one” props you can buy for three bucks at homecoming, but with the power to completely de-limb an enemy in a matter of milliseconds, the “Hand Cannon” is by far game’s best weapon. Plus, in lieu of projectiles and accompanying noises, the Hand Cannon’s psychic super-powers are accentuated by Isaac gruffly exclaiming “Pew! Pew!”

How to unlock it: For many, the toughest part of Square’s debut on the PlayStation platform was managing to remove the accompanying Final Fantasy VII demo disc from the tray. Once that was done, the fortunate fighting game fans looking for something new were treated to Tobal No. 1’s “Quest Mode,” where you progress through dungeons filled with enemies and randomized potions that can be used to power or poison yourself or your enemies. The first three dungeons (which unlock the final three enemies in arcade mode) run under 10 floors each and can be completed in under 15 minutes each. But the final dungeon is a beast, spanning 30 floors and taking over an hour to complete.

The amazing thing you get: If you manage to make it all down to the final level, you’ll unlock a cute little robot named Toriyama Robo, the android alter-ego of famed character artist Akira Toriyama (creator of Dragon Ball, and designer of Chrono Trigger and Tobal’s cast). Lose at any point during the preceding 29 levels, however, and you’ll have to start all over again. BRUTAL.

How to unlock it: If you’re the exploring type in Super Mario World, you’ll find a Star Exit in five of the game’s worlds in Dinosaur Land. Each of those leads to Star World levels that are slightly tougher than the standard stages, but they also introduce different-colored baby Yoshis. These adorable Yoshis have slightly different abilities compared to the garden-variety green dino: the blue one flies, the red one shoots fireballs regardless of what he eats. However, there’s even more after Star World. Beating those levels unlocks Special World, with hard-as-nails levels belied by surfer slang stage names like Tubular and Mondo.

The amazing thing you get: Special World’s insanity includes hellish situations like a level without platforms (that Mario must traverse by remaining in his balloon power-up form the entire time) and a stage that deviously mixes trampolines and Bullet Bill. But completing the run will literally transform Super Mario World. Besides giving the environments a brownish autumn hue, plenty of enemy sprites are drastically (and oddly) altered. How so? Pirahna plants turn into pumpkin heads, Bullet Bills turn into birds, and Koopa Troopas perform the ultimate mindfreak by wearing Mario and Luigi masks. We imagine that this mode is like seeing the world through Mario's eyes while he's tripping balls on peyote.

How to unlock it: There are dozens of masks to unlock in Link’s second Nintendo 64 adventure, and while some (like the one that turns you into a powerful Goron) are easily unlocked, there’s plenty of useless ones that are fairly difficult to acquire. If you can snag every mask in the core campaign--including the one you get for basically stalking a couple for three days straight instead of saving the world, and the one you have to wait to buy mere minutes before the moon crashes into Termina--you’ll earn a final mask that turns the game’s childlike Link into a god.

The amazing thing you get: Remember how fun it was to have the projectile sword attack in the original Legend of Zelda? Remember how disappointed you were when that effect wasn’t translated to 3D in Ocarina of Time? Well, besides turning Young Link into a character straight out of Dragon Ball Z, slipping on the Fierce Deity Mask allows our hero to shoot spectacularly devastating Sword Beams at enemies, overpowering any foe in the game with just a few strikes--even the final boss!

How to unlock it: Snagging an “A” rank at the end of a Resident Evil 2 campaign is no easy feat. In addition to finishing the story in under three hours with three saves or less, you can’t succumb to temptation and use first aid sprays or unlocked weapons that use infinite ammo. Granted, you’ll probably get good enough at the game to do this in the process of playing through the game six times, because you’ll need to do that to unlock the series’ weirdest character.

The amazing thing you get: After all that repetition, you’ll gladly welcome a change of pace, which is exactly what “The Tofu Survivor” provides. You see, in addition to Leon, Claire, and Hunk, a sentient block of bean curd was also witness to the horrors of Raccoon City’s zombie outbreak. Unlike all of the aforementioned human heroes, Tofu has no access to firearms, and must fend off the undead with nothing more than a knife. So your reward for surviving a difficult run through RE2 is an even more difficult run. But this time, you’re food!

How to unlock it: Throughout the course of Vandal Hearts, there are six keys hidden on select battlefields throughout the strategy RPG. Snagging each key is usually no easy feat; in a game where proper troop placement is vital, you’ll usually have to send a soldier out to a remote part of the map to investigate a slight crack in the ground (or in one case, send a flying-type troop to pluck a key out of a lava pool). Your reward for finding each of these? The Trials of Toroah, a series of stages meant to punish your troops with unfair conditions, like traversing a spiral-staircase pyramid as archers rain hell down on you, or a straight path through a gauntlet of the game’s toughest bosses. Your reward for THAT, however, is truly awesome.

The amazing thing you get: Completing the trials gives you the ability to promote the game’s protagonist, Ash, into a Vandalier, which is basically the debug mode of character classes. In addition to some sweet gold armor, Vanadlier-class Ash also has access to every single spell in the game, which includes a high-damage spell that can hit every opponent on the map. So basically, instant victory all the time. Cheap? Yes. But dammit, you earned it.

How to unlock it: After completing the initial run-through in the Wii’s sublime remake of Punch-Out, you’ll enter “Title Defense” mode, where every character--even gaming’s biggest loser, Glass Joe--is exponentially tougher to beat. If you can run through the entire roster a second time, you’ll unlock another new mode called “Last Stand” that mimics the retirement system of the NES original: lose three times, and your career's finished.

The amazing thing you get: If you can stay upright during Last Stand (or more realistically, reset the game before notching a defeat), at some point you’ll randomly encounter the game’s coolest new fighter, Donkey Kong (sorry, Disco Kid). Once you’ve traded blows with Nintendo’s famous gorilla, you’ll be able to pick him for an exhibition match at any time. All you had to do was put your entire game progress on the line!

One minute, you're ringing in the new year; the next, you suddenly realize that the first six months of 2015 have already come and gone. With any luck, you've kept your digital backlog relatively tidy, because there are some seriously standout games from the past half-a-year that demand your attention. Hopefully you weren't planning on getting much sun this summer, because with games like these, you might not be going outside any time soon.

At the end of each month, we look back at the standout games that demand your attention above the rest of the year's releases thus far. That way, you know what to prioritize before you're caught up by all the other amazing . So, without further ado, here's what you should be playing right now to tide you over until next month.

is an absolute marvel of storytelling, making ingenious use of out-of-order video clips to spin out its mystery. Despite the fact that the game’s unique structure means your path to the end won’t match anyone else’s, Her Story is complete and coherent, though its solution is open to interpretation. It’s a detective game that relies on your natural instinct to push its narrative forward, never nudging you in one direction or the other, letting you explore avenues of investigation as they come to you.

Watching FMV clips on a reproduction of a computer from the '90s certainly doesn’t sound terribly exciting, but you’ll be thinking about Her Story for days after you’ve tracked down that last video. You’ll find yourself rolling little details around in your head, mulling over their implications, deciding that you finally know the “truth,” only to realize that another detail makes your assumptions invalid. But then again, does it? One final bit of advice: go in knowing as little as possible, and don’t try to game the system. Be a true detective.

is another biff-pow display of Rocksteady’s exceptional craftsmanship in bringing a classic comic icon to life. Though combat and stealth are again refined and expanded within Batman’s beautifully rain-slick city, the game’s elegant design is reflected not in its individual components, but in how well they connect with one another, like nodes in a web.

Though the Batmobile’s roaring arrogance has made it a controversial addition to the Arkham series, there’s no question about how integral it is to Batman’s latest patrol. Conceptually, it’s meant to be a way to move quickly in a much wider slice of dour ol’ Gotham, and its visual appearance is, of course, inspired by Batman’s history of driving - as The Riddler calls them - rocket-powered hearses. But Rocksteady dives in fully and makes sure the vehicle connects to combat, stealth and every part of Batman. The overall game’s polish and continuity can be seen in one motion, with the Batmobile hurtling down an alley and launching Batman into full flight, right through a window and into a savage display of ne’er-do-well punishment. It’s one move, one world and one of the coolest moments of 2015. It’ll get you pumped to track down every last super criminal, including whoever masterminded the dreadful PC port.

In a sea of multiplayer shooters obsessed with grit, gore, or teabagging, stands out like a brightly colored squid catapulting through the air - which is actually a thing that happens regularly in this game. Nintendo's take on team deathmatch puts the focus on marking your squad's territory with a rainbow of ink rather than racking up kills, but it still delivers the thrilling blend of twitch shooting and coordinated tactics that define the genre.

Even if those human-squid hybrid Inklings are dripping with kid-friendly personality, this is the kind of joyous multiplayer experience that anyone of any age can enjoy. There's still weapon progression like you'd expect from Call of Duty or Battlefield, but with ink-filled Super Soaker facsimiles and colossal paint rollers. You won't hear anyone raging on voice-chat (because there isn't any), but the GamePad provides clear cues for what to do next. And while the selection of maps currently feels a bit sparse, the moment-to-moment gameplay is fresh, exciting, and - most importantly - good fun.

As open-world experiences go, takes high fantasy to new heights with its staggeringly massive world and rich, engaging storytelling. The grizzled Geralt of Rivia finds himself in landscapes that are as picturesque as they are treacherous, where otherworldly beasts and crazed cultists lurk in the wilderness. There are unforgettable side-quests and delightful supporting characters to distract you at every turn, but you best remember Geralt's primary goal: finding his adopted daughter (and witcher-in-training) Ciri before some supremely evil people get to her first.

That's not to say that you need to rush through the main story, because taking the time to stop and smell the eviscerated corpses is well worth it. The sword-and-spell-casting combat looks stunning on new-gen, and the deep upgrade system gives you plenty of options to slay your way. There are a few hitches - notably some framerate issues that can hopefully be patched out - but the sheer depth of the overall experience makes The Witcher 3 a triumph among action RPGs. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got to return to a rousing round of the in-game card battler Gwent.

It takes a lot to make a fighting game appeal to the masses. You need slick graphics, excellent presentation, and the kind of depth that'll ensnare those highly skilled players who people want to watch. has got all that, and more. While the Fatality finishers still pack in more gore than you can shake a disembodied limb at, MKX brings a lot of new, refreshing ideas to the table that really make this fighter stand out.

For starters, there's the variations mechanic: every combatant has three unique movesets to choose from before each fight, letting character loyalists mix things up and giving the roster a wildly diverse variety of playstyles. You'll also have a blast playing through the elaborate story mode, which introduces a swath of likeable newcomers while imbuing familiar faces with . The online play still has a few kinks that could be worked out, but fans of the Mortal Kombat series - or fighting games in general - will have one hell of a time with MKX.

Of all the re-releases that have come out this year, .

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is massive, sporting one of the most interesting locales ever designed. Its sprawling swamps and rolling hills - all set on the backs of two titan-sized dead gods and filled with beasts both great and small - are practically begging to be conquered. While its lush, verdant landscapes lose a little luster and detail on the smaller screen, what you trade in graphical quality you gain back in portability. Being able to take an adventure of this magnificent scope with you wherever you go is a technical marvel. Don't miss it.

somehow manages to be diamond tough and lovingly tender at the same time, balancing out its demanding difficulty with a story that'll practically yank your heartstrings right out of your chest. Playing this open-world platformer puts you in a wondrous state of conflict: the tight controls inspire you to run free throughout the lush world, but the sheer depth of the beyond-gorgeous backdrop art makes you want to stand still and gaze at the environment for hours.

The protagonist Ori is such a cute li'l critter that it's hard to watch the fuzzball die again and again while you struggle to overcome the many deathtraps and spike pits in this treacherous forest. But you'll get over any bruises to your ego, so long as you remember that you're the one responsible for plunking down checkpoints before delving into the trickier bits. The degree of challenge here may rattle anyone without an affinity for hardcore 2D platformers, but Ori's dazzling presentation has a universal, heartfelt appeal.

You’ve probably heard that is really hard. You might've heard it’s really easy. The reality lies somewhere in between. Yes, it sends an army of writhing, fanged, flayed, terrible, tormented beasts your way, beasts only someone bragging about their perceived gamer cred would ever deem a pushover. But it teaches you how to deal with them expertly, their unique attacks and defenses and behaviors, building you up until you look and feel like a great gothic badass. And when you do, you'll have earned it.

In streamlining some of Dark Souls’ complexities (the weight system, magic attacks, a few character skills here and there), Bloodborne gains a rawer sense of immediacy, with vital combat that require relentless attacking sans the comfort blanket of a shield, and unpredictable bosses that force you to develop reflexes alongside your already honed skills of pattern memorization. Oh, and the world. That mystifying, atmospheric, intricately hewn world. Developed for PS4 from the ground-up, the enigmatic Yarnham looks like a beautiful waking nightmare.

If you've yet to succumb to monster hunting fever, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. Plenty of games let you battle vicious beasties and craft fancy gear - but few can develop the kind of player investment and cooperative dedication typical of Monster Hunter. For the uninitiated, is a great way to educate yourself on its gloriously addictive ways. Not just because it's the most beginner-friendly entry in Capcom's hit series - it's also the best Monster Hunter game yet.

Gathering materials and killing harmless herbivores is really just a build-up to something greater: downing fearsome creatures after incredibly demanding battles that require true mastery of your chosen weapon. Series vets are already familiar with MH's captivating gameplay loop of fighting and looting, but the new Charge Blade and Insect Glaive playstyles offer entirely unique ways to test your prowess. If you're looking to start or join a dedicated hunting party - preferably with an expert as your guide - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate offers the kind of adventure that can hook you for hundreds of hours.

Majora's Mask is... well, it's a bit weird. Instead of following the familiar formula that Zelda games have stuck to for years, Majora's Mask asks that you play the same three days over and over again, trying to make the world a little bit brighter each time. It's certainly strange, and more than a little stressful - but taking the time to learn its rhythm opens up one of the most intriguing and creative Legend of Zelda games ever made. Perhaps that's why, 15 years and a 3DS port later, it feels even better than ever.

Much of that feeling is thanks to the improvements found in this portable version of the N64 classic. The updated Bomber's Notebook makes tracking numerous sidequests a painless process, boss design has been retooled to make things teresting, and additional save points help make portable adventuring much more palatable. Plus, New 3DS owners even have some improved camera control with the C-Stick. Whether this is your first time playing through those ominous 72 hours or your hundredth, is a master quest that stands the test of time.

Grim Fandango is, without a doubt, one of the most unique video games ever made. The quest of an undead travel agent as he attempts to atone for his sins is a love letter to film noir greats like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, but it also transcends its influences to be something truly original. And with , you'll finally get to play this lost classic on your PlayStation 4, complete with (some) updated graphics and a fantastic re-recording of the original score.

Grim Fandango is also one of the most uniquely frustrating games ever made, and the Remastered edition only serves to highlight its many game-ruining bugs. Whether it's glitching out a puzzle, clipping you through a wall, or just flat out crashing, Grim Fandango Remastered actually seems buggier now than it did 17 years ago. Make no mistake: Manny's journey is still definitely one worth revisiting - just remember to save your game. Often.

sounds kinda ridiculous at first - it's literally a remastered HD version of a rebuilt SD version of the original Resident Evil. Turns out the joke's on us, though, because that's all we really needed to enjoy the survival horror staple all over again: the HD Remake gives all the main characters and the Spencer Mansion an enticing facelift but keeps the little quirks that make Resident Evil awesome/a total headache/undeniably unique.

You'll still need to manage eight (at most) inventory slots, and you'll still need to keep your distance from downed zombies - or preferably burn them on the spot. The most major change is the new default control scheme, which makes it handle more like a modern fixed-camera game, but you're free to select the old 'tank' controls if you want. With modern conveniences where it needs them and good old weirdness where it doesn't, Resident Evil HD Remake is a near masterpiece… of unlocking.