If These Bugs Are Wrong, I Don't Want to Be Right
10 classic glitches that improved games
2/16/2009 6:38 PM | 28 Comments | Page 2 of 5
GoldenEye 007 (N64): Director's Cut Scenes
The bug: Switch the control setting to a two-controller mode, such as "Domino," that puts the fire button on Controller No. 2. Finish a mission. When the cut scene plays, the game neglects to lock out input from the second controller, so you'll be able to fire the last gun you had equipped, wreaking havoc on the scripted action.
It's a feature because: It's sweet revenge for every boring cut scene you've ever had to sit through. From
Duck Hunt's chuckling dog to the Final Fantasy series' ponderous interludes, gamers have yearned to mess around in the cinematic bits that gum up our interactive fun.
GoldenEye 007 scratches that itch, courtesy of some exotic control configurations.
The results of this glitch depend on the scene. Your gunfire may harmlessly ricochet off the wall, or you might take out a Bond girl. The most satisfying use of the glitch, by far, is at the end of the Egyptian level, when Baron Samedi from "Live and Let Die" rises from the dead and laughs in your face -- just in time to get popped with a point-blank headshot.
Super Mario Bros. (NES): The Minus World
The bug: Jump backward into a solid wall near the end of World 1-2. If you hit the wall in the right spot, you'll slide through it, ending up in what would normally be a warp zone. Jump down the first pipe to enter a stage that the game designates "-1," hence "Minus" World.
It's a feature because: Maybe the most famous glitch in videogame history, the Minus World introduced a generation of players to the idea that they could explore realms beyond what the programmers intended. At the time, there was a palpable sense of scandal when you dove into that bizarro level, a "We're not supposed to be here!" excitement. It was like you had just uncovered Shigeru Miyamoto's crawl-space
Playboy stash.
Those annoying Nipponphiles who always think "the Japanese version is better" are correct in this case. On the NES, the Minus World is an endless but otherwise standard underwater level. On the Famicom, though, that malfunctioning warp pipe takes you to a hallucinatory bastardization of World 1-3 where princesses are plentiful and Mario swims through the air.
