Role-playing games are a blast to play, and the popularity of this genre can be seen in the fact that most mainstream games feature RPG-lite elements to let players enjoy a palpable sense of progression. However, there's always a market for hardcore role-playing games that players love. These titles feature numerous stats that fans must keep track of to ensure that they don't end up stuck with a poor build that is unoptimized to tackle late-game challenges.

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Some of these role-playing games feature secrets that are so well-hidden that most players will have no idea of their existence without a guide or anything else along the same lines. While it's always rewarding to find secrets without relying on any external factor, players should feel no shame in reading up on how to uncover these secrets if 100% completion is the most important thing to them.

1 The Great Hollow And Ash Lake

A Hidden Area Behind Two Illusory Walls

Dark Souls ushered in a new era of gaming, giving birth to a whole new genre and inspiring many titles — both indie and mainstream — to emulate a lot of what made it such a phenomenon. The infamous illusory walls of this game are something many players are familiar with, with everything from valuable items to bonfires hidden behind these fake walls. However, this game took this concept to new heights by adding two areas behind not just one, but two illusory walls.

Players must traverse a giant root leading up to a large tree in Blighttown. The first illusory wall can still be fairly easy to uncover since the Plank Shield is such a poor find that players will be goaded to try and find a secret here. However, after uncovering a chest with the Twin Humanities, not many people would think about hitting the wall behind it. Doing so uncovers the path to the Great Hollow, a location that would've remained hidden for many had it not been for the Dark Souls community that helped everyone find this amazing location.

2 Hidden Dialogue Between Duncan's Wife And Sabin

An Optional Conversation Achieved After A Lot Of Backtracking

The Final Fantasy games are filled to the brim with secrets that are a joy to uncover, and Final Fantasy 6 is no exception. The massive ensemble cast of this series coupled with the inclusion of two worlds makes it clear why so many people consider this title to be their favorite. One of the best party members in this legendary game is Sabin, Edgar's brother who can be found on Mt. Kolts during an encounter with Vargas, the son of Sabin's mentor, Duncan.

Most players would defeat this boss and move on, but players can make a lengthy trek back to South Figaro to uncover the unique dialogue between Sabin and Duncan's wife. She reveals that his mentor is alive and well, which gives Sabin a sense of comfort since he assumed that Vargas had killed his master in a fit of jealousy. Players will eventually have to meet Duncan if they want Sabin to learn his ultimate Blitz technique, although this only happens in the World of Ruin.

3 Archdragon Peak

Nearly Impossible To Find Without A Guide

The third game in the Dark Souls series is a fitting end to the trilogy and goes even further when it comes to adding a secret area that players can find in the game. While the Great Hollow and Ash Lake were pretty hard to find as is, the process to unlock Archdragon Peak is so ridiculously obtuse that most players can't find this area without consulting a guide.

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The first thing that players need to do is obtain the Path of the Dragon gesture from the Consumed King's Garden. Once this is done, players must go all the way back to Irithyll Dungeon, where they must head toward a humanoid statue in a meditative pose. It's here that players must use the Path of the Dragon gesture to be teleported to Archdragon Peak, which houses a boss many people consider to be one of the hardest in the game.

4 Grate Guy's Casino

A Casino That Requires A Very Specific Set Of Steps

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is one of the most beloved Nintendo classics made by Square, featuring everyone's favorite Italian plumber and his friends as they band together to stop the dastardly Smithy Gang. The superboss Culex is certainly one of the most popular secrets in the game that most people are aware of, but there's an area that is more well-hidden in every way.

Grate Guy's Casino is a case in point. To find this area, players had to find Knife Guy in Booster Tower and beat his minigame twelve times in a row to get the Bright Card. Later on, in Bean Valley, there's a place with eight pipes where players have to make the correct choice to initiate a series of encounters that culminate in a fight against a Chomp Chomp. After this fight is done, players must jump three times in a specific spot next to this enemy to uncover a hidden platform that finally leads to this casino.

5 A Side Quest That Remained Undiscovered For 13 Years

Culminates In Players Receiving A Mundane Protect Ring

It takes something really special for a secret to be so well hidden that it takes a whopping thirteen years since a game's release to be uncovered. Such is the case with the Nero Family side quest in Final Fantasy 9, which is so obtuse that most fans will completely forget about its existence. After gaining access to Memoria, the final dungeon, the player must repeatedly trigger an event in this area before heading back to the Theater District in Lindblum, where a member of the Nero family will appear over and over again until all the members of the family are present.

It's a ridiculously long side quest that appears at a moment in the game when players would prefer to reach the end instead of heading outside the dungeon over and over again. To make things worse, the reward for completing this task — a Protect Ring — is nowhere near as impressive as most people would assume.

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