History Main / EmbeddedPrecursor

** All the games beginning with ''VideoGame/MarioKartDS'' began to feature 32 tracks. These tracks were divided into four "Nitro" Cups (containing all-new tracks), and four "Retro" cups (containing old tracks from previous ''Mario Kart''s). While there are 16 retro tracks per edition, how many are from each previous edition differs:
*** As the fifth installment in the series, ''DS'' has four tracks each from ''Super Mario Kart'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', and ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash''.
*** ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'' brings back two courses each from ''Super Mario Kart'' and ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', and four each from ''Mario Kart 64'', ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'', and ''Mario Kart DS''. Many of the courses are modified to make use of the new Trick ability.
*** The retro cups in ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'' bring one course from ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', two courses each from ''Super Mario Kart'' and ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'', three from ''Mario Kart 64'', and four each from ''Mario Kart DS'' and ''Mario Kart Wii''. Almost all of the retro courses have been modified in some way to incorporate the new underwater driving and/or hang gliding mechanics.
*** In the base game, ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' has 16 retro tracks: one track each from ''Super Mario Kart'' and ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'', two each from ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'' and ''Mario Kart Wii'', three each from ''Mario Kart DS'' and ''Mario Kart 7'', and four from ''Mario Kart 64'',. As with the retro tracks from ''7'', those in this game feature altered sections that incorporate the game's hang-glider, underwater, and anti-gravity features. The DLC packages add an additional seven retro tracks (one track each from ''Super Mario Kart'', ''Mario Kart Wii'', and ''Mario Kart 7'', and two each from ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit'' and ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'') and nine new ones, all of which are included by default in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]''. The ''Booster Course Pass'' DLC adds an additional ''48'' courses, which include two tracks each from ''Super'' and ''64'', three from ''Double Dash'', four each from ''DS'' and ''7'', five from ''Super Circuit'', eight from ''Wii'', 17 from ''VideoGame/MarioKartTour'', and 3 all new tracks[[note]]Courses ''Ninja Hideaway'', ''Merry Mountain'', and ''Piranha Plant Cove'' all debuted in ''Tour'' prior to launching in the Booster Course Pass despite lacking the label for Tour[[/note]].

* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Super Famicom Wars]]'' has all the maps from the original ''Famicom Wars'' in addition to all the new ones made for the game.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', players collect cards at the end of most levels. In a two-player game, if one player is on the same square in the map as the other player, either player can press a button to enter a fight. This fight is played as a round of a slightly modified version of the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros''. The player can steal cards from the other player to earn 1-[=UPs=], and the winner gets to go to the next level. ''[[CompilationRerelease Super Mario All-Stars]]'' also includes said battle mode as a separate mode on the title screen of ''[=SMB3=]''.

* A minor selling point for ''Franchise/StarWars VideoGame/RogueSquadron III: Rebel Strike'' (it was mentioned on the back of the box) was the fact that an almost complete version (minus the Empire-based bonus missions) of the previous game, ''Rogue Leader'', was available for [[CoOpMultiplayer co-op play]]. The game also includes ports of the Atari arcade games ''Star Wars'', ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Return of the Jedi'', which can be earned through game play and/or by pass code.

* The Xbox version of the remake of ''VideoGame/SpyHunter2001'' included the original ''Spy Hunter1983'' UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame.
* The [=PS3=] version of ''VideoGame/{{Stranglehold}}'' contains a HD remaster of the film ''Film/HardBoiled'', which the game is a sequel to.

* The Xbox version of the remake of ''VideoGame/SpyHunter'' included the original ''Spy Hunter'' UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame.

** In ''VideoGame/PacManWorld 2'', if Pac-Man collects enough arcade tokens throughout the game, the player can unlock various classic Pac-Man games. 10 tokens unlocks ''Pac-Man'', 30 unlocks ''VideoGame/PacAttack'', 100 unlocks ''Pac-Mania'', and 180 unlocks ''Ms. Pac-Man''.

** ''VideoGame/Doom3'' Collector's Edition for the Xbox included PC-perfect ports of ''Ultimate Doom'', and ''Doom II'', complete with four-player split-screen multiplayer. All copies of its standalone [[ExpansionPack expansion pack]] ''Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil'' also include the first two games, plus the ''Master Levels of Doom 2''.
** There is also ''Doom 3 BFG Edition'', which includes the first two ''Doom'' games. The Xbox 360 and [=PS3=] versions play much the same as their downloaded counterparts, while the PC version uses the original wad files, plays like how it did when it was initially released (sadly with no multiplayer support), and also includes the campaign "No Rest for the Living". Thankfully, you can still extract the wad files and use it in various source ports to make up for the lack of multiplayer, and more.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' features a slightly tweaked version of the original arcade game called ''Luigi Bros.'' (meant to cap off a marketing campaign known as Advertising/TheYearOfLuigi). It's unlocked by beating the game or having a ''VideoGame/NewSuperLuigiU'' [[OldSaveBonus save game on your Wii U.]] [[note]]For the Switch version, the game can only unlocked by beating the game; having ''New Super Luigi U'' save file through ''New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe'' does not unlock it.[[/note]]

* The arcade version of ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution 3rd MIX'' has a hidden "2nd Mix" mode that allows you to play songs from DDR 1st and 2nd Mixes, with the exception of "Strictly Business". And much thankfully, with 3rd Mix's difficulty selection method so you don't have to [[GuideDangIt enter a code]] for Another or Maniac difficulties. In comparison, ''2nd MIX'' gets revisited as a separate mode again in ''Dance Dance Revolution X3 vs. 2nd MIX'', this time as an HD [[VideoGameRemake remaster]] of the original ''2nd MIX''. Subverted, in that ''2nd MIX'' mode includes two brand new boss songs that weren't there in the original version.

* ''VideoGame/Tekken5'' included fully-playable Arcade versions of the first three ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' games. You can also unlock the full version of Namco's old space shooter ''Star Blade'' by finding the spaceship from that game in one of the stages of Devil Within. Usually you get to play the first part of the game when ''Tekken 5'' itself is starting up.

* American UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 copies of ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' include the original ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' on the same Blu-ray disk.

* The [[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Hardened and Prestige Editions]] of ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' include a free redemption code for the UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork port of the first ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''.

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegacyOfDarkness'' allows the player to unlock remixed versions of Reinhart's and Carrie's quest from the previous ''Castlevania'' game for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, complete with cut-scenes and everything, but only after completing the main quest with Cornell. However, since Cornell's portion is technically a MissionPackSequel to the first [=N64=] ''Castlevania'', ''Legacy of Darkness'' as a whole is really more of an UpdatedRerelease of the first game than a sequel.

* ''VideoGame/{{Cotton}} Reboot'' (which despite its title, is a VideoGameRemake) also includes the UsefulNotes/SharpX68000 version of the original game.

* The UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube version of ''Fight Night: Round 2'' includes ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Super Punch-Out!!]]''.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' had this in a sense. It contained both a remake of the first and its sequel, though both were available from the beginning. In turn, its remake ''New Mystery of the Emblem'' contains remakes of the obscure ''BS Fire Emblem: Akaneia Saga'' UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} games as unlockable bonuses.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable version of ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars II: The Original Trilogy'' features the final levels of each episode of ''LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game'' as bonus levels.
* The remake of ''VideoGame/MakaiToushiSaga'' on the UsefulNotes/WonderSwan contains the original Game Boy version, which was released in the US as ''The Final Fantasy Legend''.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} version of ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' features the three NES games in the franchise (although they're based on the updated versions from the ''Ninja Gaiden Trilogy'' compilation for the SNES and not on the actual NES originals). To play them, you need to find their corresponding cartridges and use them with an arcade cabinet in Tairon. If you beat the game after finding the cartridges, you can play them from the main menu. The [[UpdatedRerelease expanded version]], ''Ninja Gaiden Black'', replaces them in favor of the 1988 arcade game.

** In the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS version of ''VideoGame/PacNRoll'', Stage 7-1 is actually the original ''VideoGame/PacMan'' arcade game as a playable minigame.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}: Mayan Adventure'' has a hidden copy of the original ''Pitfall'' hidden inside it. So does ''VideoGame/Pitfall3DBeyondTheJungle'', via a password, and ''VideoGame/PitfallTheLostExpedition''. ''The Big Adventure'', a remake of ''The Lost Expedition'', takes it one step further by having ''both'' the original UsefulNotes/Atari2600 ''Pitfall'' games as unlockables.

** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure DX'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube and PC has every single ''Sonic'' UsefulNotes/GameGear game released, from the original 8-bit ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' (acquired by collecting 20 Emblems) to ''VideoGame/SonicBlast'' and ''VideoGame/TailsAdventure'' (acquired by getting all Emblems and completing Mission Mode). Because of this comprehensiveness, this marks the first time Sega officially distributed ''VideoGame/SonicDrift'' and ''VideoGame/TailsSkypatrol'' outside of Japan.
** ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' includes a port of the original 16-bit ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' as a bonus, but only in the console version (since the game is already available separately on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS).

* ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis Razing Storm'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 boasts that it includes the arcade version of ''Time Crisis 4'', which is essentially the same game as its individual release, only with Playstation Move support, and the complete story mode completely absent ([[ScrappyMechanic not that many people minded]]). ''Dead Storm Pirates'' (which isn't a precursor) was also thrown in for good measure.

* ''[[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Tron 2.0: Killer App]]'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance incorporates the old ''VideoGame/{{Tron}}'' UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s by Midway.

* The Commodore 128 turned itself into a UsefulNotes/Commodore64 if you typed "Go 64." The UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum did the same thing (the +2 had a 48K mode, selectable from the startup menu) for the exact same purpose: [[DaddySystem backwards compatibility]]. In the case of the 128, it resulted in the amount of 128 specific software remaining quite low, as many developers preferred to target the wider audience of Commodore 64 users.

** Games from the Platform/SG1000 can be played on the [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Mark III]] natively, as the Mark III was built on the same hardware and contains the SG-1000's BIOS. Internal changes were made when the Mark III was released internationally as the Master System, meaning it lost this compatibility.
** The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis contains all of the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem's hardware within it; it only needs an adaptor cartridge to run Master System games because its carts are a different shape. The Master System's Z80 processor is actually critical to the Genesis, as it handles all of its audio output.
** The UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn was apparently to have an embedded Sega Genesis and 32X in it at one point (judging from the presence of a [=M68K=] CPU), but the idea was scrapped very early in development as a Z80 was not included in the final system and the final product does not have the backwards compatibility.
* UsefulNotes/PlayStation system:
** The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 actually had a MIPS R3000, the processor of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, installed as a co-processor, as a result it had backwards compatibility with [=PS1=] games.
** The Early UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 consoles actually take things up a notch by having both the R4000 and R3000 [=CPUs=], as well as the Emotion Engine, present as co-processors for the Cell CPU (the R3000 was repurposed as an I/O co-processor with the option of taking over when a [=PS1=] game is inserted, while the R4000 was present solely for [[DaddySystem backwards compatibility]]. Sadly, later [=PS3=] models dropped the R4000 to cut costs.
** The UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita has most of the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable's hardware consolidated onto a system-on-a-chip, which is how it is backwards compatible with PSP games.

** Subverted with the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem. Like the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, there's evidence based on its hardware that Nintendo initially planned to make the system backwards compatible with NES games, since the CPU is an enhanced 16-bit version of the MOS Technology 6502 processor used in the older console, the PPU contains modes that are compatible with NES graphics, and the controller interface is similar, but ultimately Nintendo didn't go through with it.
** The UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance contains a Zilog Z80 CPU as its sound processor, which is the same CPU used in the Game Boy and Game Boy Color and allows the Advance to have backwards compatibility with those systems.
** The UsefulNotes/NintendoDS has 2 [=CPUs=], one of which is an [=ARM7=] CPU like the Game Boy Advance used, which it uses to run GBA games. The DS' [=ARM7=] runs at 33 [=MHz=] as opposed to the GBA's 16 [=MHz=], which requires the DS' processor to run at half speed when running a GBA game.
** The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS contains the Nintendo DS' hardware for backwards compatibility, including the GBA hardware; however since the [=3DS=] lacks a GBA cartridge slot, the GBA compatibility was only used for 10 downloadable GBA games that were made available to early adopters of the system to who purchased it prior to a price drop.
** The UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} used hardware that was very similar to the [=GameCube's=], only running at faster speeds, which is how it was able to be backwards compatible with its predecessor. The UsefulNotes/WiiU uses a multi-core version of the same CPU, but has a vastly different GPU, and is backwards compatible with Wii games thanks to having a Wii GPU embedded into it. Though it isn't officially compatible with [=GameCube=] games, hackers have gotten them to work on the console.
* A strange example that skips a generation: The UsefulNotes/XboxOne actually has an evolution of all the components found in the original UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} (the AMD CPU is an evolution of the Intel Pentium III found in the Xbox and supported the full ISA, and GPU did not matter given that it was abstracted by means of the [=DirectX=] API), making it more than capable of running original Xbox titles. Software-wise, the system uses a newer version of the [=DirectX=] API compared to its predecessor and the Windows 10-derived kernel is an evolution of the Windows 2000-derived kernel that its predecessor uses. However, compatibility with games of the precursor console took several years to surface on the machine.

* As expected, many of the 9th generation of home consoles are basically evolutions of their 8th generation counterparts, running off the same ISA and having similar hardware. For example, the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5's Zen-2 based CPU and [=RDNA2=] GPU are basically evolutions of the Jaguar CPU and Southern Islands GPU respectively, ditto for the UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS consoles. Aside from some changes to the console's layout, the [=PlayStation=] 5 can natively run [=PlayStation=] 4 games without emulation or virtualization. The same is true for the Xbox Series consoles being able to run UsefulNotes/XboxOne games natively.
* Early versions of [[UsefulNotes/MacOS Mac OS X]] contained a copy of Mac OS 9 that could be run via virtualization to support older software that hadn't been ported to OS X yet.
* UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer:

** [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows 7]] contained a "Windows XP mode" which enabled apps to run exactly as they did on Windows XP, avoiding any and all compatibility issues they may have with 7. This utilized a full blown, virtualized instance of Windows XP, similar to the Classic Environment on early versions of Mac OS X.

** Games from the UsefulNotes/SG1000 can be played on the [[UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem Mark III]] natively, as the Mark III was built on the same hardware and contains the SG-1000's BIOS. Internal changes were made when the Mark III was released internationally as the Master System, meaning it lost this compatibility.

* The Sega Saturn version of ''VideoGame/ElevatorAction Returns'' contains the original game as a bonus.

* ''Contra 4'' for the Nintendo DS features the NES versions of ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' and ''Super C'', but they're only available after completing 4 and 8 stages respectively in Challenge Mode. They play almost exactly like the original NES games, right down to having the same cheat codes, except there's no proper 2-Player mode in either game. Instead, both characters are mapped to the same d-pad, but their firing and jumping buttons are mapped differently (Y and B for Player 1, X and A for Player 2).

* ''Franchise/Tekken5'' included fully-playable Arcade versions of the first three ''Tekken'' games. You can also unlock the full version of Namco's old space shooter ''Star Blade'' by finding the spaceship from that game in one of the stages of Devil Within. Usually you get to play the first part of the game when ''Tekken 5'' itself is starting up.

*** As the fifth installment in the series, ''DS'' has four tracks each from ''Super Mario Kart'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', ''Super Circuit'', and ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash''.

* ''Franchise/{{Tekken}} 5'' included fully-playable Arcade versions of the first three ''Tekken'' games. You can also unlock the full version of Namco's old space shooter ''Star Blade'' by finding the spaceship from that game in one of the stages of Devil Within. Usually you get to play the first part of the game when ''Tekken 5'' itself is starting up.

* The UsefulNotes/PlaystationPortable version of ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars II: The Original Trilogy'' features the final levels of each episode of ''LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game'' as bonus levels.

** The Cook Off and Murky Station heists from ''PAYDAY 2'' are also playable in ''VideoGame/Payday3''. They've been modified from the original game to better fit the mechanics of ''PAYDAY 3''.