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People Are Discovering This GameCube Easter Egg 23 Years Late

The surprisingly well-hidden secret was demonstrated by an employee of a local gaming shop in Kentucky.

38 Comments

The iconic GameCube start-up sound is a fond memory of many gamers' childhoods, but for the last 23 years, the beloved Nintendo console has been harboring a little-known secret: There's an alternate version of the well-known xylophone jingle that plays when the console is turned on, and it sounds absolutely hilarious.

Recently shared online by an employee at Secret Castle Toys--a local game shop based in Owensboro, Kentucky--the secret Easter egg start-up noise has taken the internet by storm, with many gamers wondering how so few knew about it for so long. According to the employee who shared the hidden sound with the world via a TikTok video, all one needs to do to access the Easter egg is hold down the Z button on their controller when booting up the console.

When done correctly, the Easter egg causes the GameCube's familiar xylophone jingle to be replaced by a series of amusing squeaks, similar to the sound of a squeaky dog toy being repeatedly stepped on as the console's animated G-shaped logo unfurls across the screen. The secret start-up sound then ends with an audio clip of a child laughing.

As reported (and tested) by Kotaku, the secret intro sound is indeed legit, and has somehow managed to go mostly undiscovered since the GameCube's launch in 2001. The comments section under the TikTok video is full of viewers wondering how they missed out on this easy-to-activate secret, though some claim they've known about the secret for years.

"Knowing this was my biggest flex back in the day," said one commenter.

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urbanman2004

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Sorry to rain on your parade Gamespot, but your so-called secret has been known for years before the game store employee revealed it. Hold the L for this goofy article 🤣

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Alex4789123

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Edited By Alex4789123

Lol. If you had a Gamecube back in the day you knew about this. Come on Gamespot.

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DaemonPrince666

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Pretty pathetic gamespot. "mostly undiscovered since the GameCube's launch in 2001." Who wrote this article, a 10 year old? How do you not know about this? Just a brief search would reveal it's pretty much common knowledge. I don't know anyone who owned a gamecube who didn't know about this.

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StickEmUp

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I swear… Someday people are going to “discover” that some people used to have car phones. This was pretty common knowledge back in the day, just like most things that people “find out” after a couple decades.

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Jerico615

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Edited By Jerico615

If you do the same thing but with 4 controllers you get a different sound other than the first two

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malachi

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I found this out through the Official Nintendo Magazine back in the day so.....when did people stop reading!?!?!

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GirlUSoCrazy

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Edited By GirlUSoCrazy

I wouldn't call it a "surprisingly well-hidden secret". People knew about it back in the day and you can even see it in this old video: https://youtu.be/ctYQ08gxkqA

You could always find some people who discovered something late so I don't understand the point of this? Are there suddenly a rush of people using OG GameCube hardware that made this significant?

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brxricano

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I used to wake up my gf from naps with this trick lol. Glad to see yall slept on the GC for 2 decades 😂

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TreeChopper88

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Edited By TreeChopper88

@brxricano: Gotta write something, even if its something that goes in a loop, you still gotta write it.

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Zombie8814

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I bought a Game Cube just to play Resident Evil 4. It's the only game I ever played on it. So it was basically used for about 40 hours(played RE:4 twice) and then never used again. The least used console I've ever owned. Second would be the PS4. I probably got about a 100 hours out of that garbage console.

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Ayato_Kamina_1

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@Zombie8814: Game Cube had problems with number of games / exclusives it had for it, but I had a lot of fun with it since it was a multi-player console at a time where most consoles were aimed at 2 players rather than 4.

Calling the PS4 a garbage console is certainly... a take. I mean I had 200+ hours on Bloodborne alone... then you factor in stuff like TLOU remastered (I had missed the PS3 release), GoW... sure there were a few multi-plat games like Witcher 3 I played on it too.

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Zombie8814

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@Ayato_Kamina_1:I had already played TLOU on the PS3. I only played 5 games on my PS4. Which was The Evil Within(often ran at 15fps) DOOM 2016 and The Bioshock trilogy.

I heard Bloodbourne was good, but it's poor performance kept me away. I would like to see Bloodbourne re-released on PC. I'm sure that game would be a lot of fun running at 120+fps.

As for the PS5, I may purchase that console, but I'm waiting for the PS5 Pro to be released.

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RestatBonfire

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@Zombie8814: neither the GC or the PS4 are garbage consoles. Shuddup

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Zombie8814

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Edited By Zombie8814

@restatbonfire: Sorry, fanboy. But they were both garbage consoles. If you want to talk about consoles with tons of good games; that would be the 360 and the PS3.

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RestatBonfire

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@Zombie8814: I bought a PS4 to play Bloodborne still one of the best PS4 games put there

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Tiwill44

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Edited By Tiwill44

Thanks for reminding everyone that we should all collectively pretend TikTok doesn't exist.

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BestDad94

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You’re saying people didn’t know about this?

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IMAHAPYHIPPO

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@bestdad94: Only Kotaku, which isn't surprising, as they're the pariahs of games journalism.

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davidb50100

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Edited By davidb50100

Regarding everyone bragging they knew about it or it's not "new", the article never says it's "new". The word "new" isn't even in the article at all. It says "People are discovering ... 23 years later" .. that does not mean it wasn't discovered earlier.

You might be able to get to the 9th level but can't read.

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mogan

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mogan  Moderator

@davidb50100: But I want to look cool on the internet!

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deactivated-679b72f9bb8a2

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@davidb50100: 👍

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Megabyte4k

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What do you mean, new? I thought everybody knew this?

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BIOKILLER123

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Edited By BIOKILLER123

I knew about this years ago. I love the start up screen of the Gamecube.

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lord2fli

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Edited By lord2fli

I thought this would be something cool, but unlike all the other superstars fishing for karma here, I honestly didn't know the startup sounds could be manipulated.

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illegal_peanut

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Yeah, this was a thing most OG fans knew. Heck, there is even a more hardcore one that only kids with 4 controls (I never had more than 2 growing up) could achieve. That gives this sound if you do it.

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bigdogrfwi

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Edited By bigdogrfwi

Ive known this trick for forever, but didnt know about the 4 controller trick. never tried it lol

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TJSpyke

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This is NOT new, it's been known almost since the system launched. I remember seeing this in Tips & Tricks magazine like a month after the system launched

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typhanus

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I’m confused. This isn’t new, it’s been very well known since probably not long after the console was released

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RawrFizzaruru

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Edited By RawrFizzaruru

This is actually fairly well-known. There's a YouTube video that showcases all of the startups! Glad to know more people are finding out about them, though.

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TJSpyke

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@rawrfizzaruru: it reminds me of all these TikTok videos where the uploader shows something they just discovered and it's something that is very common 😂

It's just a little annoying when you see what used to be a good site acting like it's something newly discovered

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Nintendo316T

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Edited By Nintendo316T

Yeah, this was pretty well known.

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nintendians

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yeah i knew this a few years after the gamecube launched already.

hold "z" button (player 1 only) - squeaky dog chew toy with kid laughing at the end.

hold "z" button (all 4 players) - samurai's theme.

hold "a" button (player 1 only, i think) - access to gamecube's main screen (just like you power up the gamecube console with no disc in it) to change settings and manage memory cards.

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HyBrId_cHiLd

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Really? I remember doing this back when it launched and sure I must have read it in a magazine. There was a third sound also.

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