History Main / GameWithinAGame

* ''{{Penumbra}}: Black Plague'' includes a shooter minigame in one of the PC´s.

** The first game has a ''{{Twinbee}} Time Attack'' minigame.

* Tin Pin Slammer in TheWorldEndsWithYou

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* ''RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'' had the Captain Qwark Vid comics, which are a side-scroller similar to ''Game/MegaMan''.

* ''{{Shenmue}}'' had ''SpaceHarrier'' and ''{{Hang-On}}'' in it. ''Shenmue II'' had those two with ''AfterBurner II'' and ''OutRun''.

* ''AnimalCrossing'' had a number of classic NES games ranging from ''SuperMarioBros'' to ''DonkeyKongJr. Math ''

* In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', you can play ''Star Stache Smash'' at the arcade in Little Fungitown. The first time you play that game, it's actually a plot point.

* ''FinalFantasyVII'' has the arcade games found in the [[MinigameZone Gold Saucer]], some of which curiously parallel events that actually happen to your team. For example, there's a motorbike racing game, which uses the exact same graphics as an actual motorbike chase that your team goes through earlier in the game.

* Most Humongous games would have at least one. Occasionally they would even factor into the plot.

This is a SubTrope of MiniGame but isn't the same thing. It's different by being a separate game. Your character in the outer game isn't chopping wood or breeding chocobos; he's just sitting at an arcade machine. May overlap with UnexpectedGameplayChange and BonusStage. Compare to SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer.

* FinalFantasyVII has the arcade games found in the [[MinigameZone Gold Saucer]], some of which curiously parallel events that actually happen to your team. For example, there's a motorbike racing game, which uses the exact same graphics as an actual motorbike chase that your team goes through earlier in the game.

* FinalFantasyVII has the arcade games found in ''the'' GoldenSaucer, some of which curiously parallel events that actually happen to your team. For example, there's a motorbike racing game, which uses the exact same graphics as an actual motorbike chase that your team goes through earlier in the game.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[AnEconomyIsYou You even have to pay the coin.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: You even have to pay the coin.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: You even have to pain a coin.]]

[[quoteright:350:http:[[{{Shenmue //static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shenmue_arcade_outrun_9769.jpg}}]]

* ''TheWarriors'' had a FinalFight or DoubleDragon like beat-em-up Called Armies of the Night

* ''{{Bully}}'' had several with names like "Nut Shots", "Monkey Fling", "Consumo" and "Future Street Race".

* ''VideoGame/SDSnatcher'' requires the player to get 1000 points in "Snatcher Headhunter", a Whack-A-Mole arcade game, to get a PlotCoupon.

* The XBox360 version of ''{{Ghostbusters}}'' allows the player to play ''Q Bert''. It's one of the arcade machines at the firehouse.
* The NintendoWii version of IndianaJones and the Staff of Kings has the Lucas Arts adventure Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis as an (easy) unlockable. Staff of Kings was apparently bad enough and Fate of Atlantis (before it was put on Steam a month or so latter) rare/good enough for someone to make a replacement cover for Staff of Kings that makes the box look like a Wii version of Fate of Atlantis [[http://kotaku.com/5318977/if-you-bought-indy-staff-of-kings-this-might-help see here]].

* In ''{{La-Mulana}}'', by equipping certain ROM combinations with the [=MSX2=], you can play ''[=PR3=]'' and ''Mukimuki SD: Memorial''. These are respectively parodies of the {{MSX}} games ''{{Parodius}}'' (yes, a parody of ''Parodius'') and ''{{Snatcher}}'' (disguised as a DatingSim like ''TokimekiMemorial''). The ''Parodius'' parody must be played at a certain point to progress in Hell Temple.

* The DeusEx mod TheNamelessMod included several minigames, like Tetris and Breakout, that you could play on in-game computers.

(Fun Fact: NamcoBandai actually holds a U.S. patent on using this trope in a LoadingScreen, which explains why their games usually feature fully-realized minigames that resemble some of their classic hits.)

* ''{{Shenmue}}'' had ''SpaceHarrier'' and ''{{Hang-On}}'' in it. ''ShenmueII'' had those two with ''AfterburnerII'' and ''OutRun''.

* ''{{Donkey Kong 64}}'' has two minigames to obtain the Rareware and the Nintendo Coins. Cranky offers you the game "Jetpack" as a example of the good past times in videogames. The other game it´s the original Donkey Kong game, in a Arcade placed in one of the levels.
** Not optional unfortunately, you had to play through both of these nintendo hard games to get into the room that unlocks the final boss fight.

* The ''TokimekiMemorial'' series ''loves'' this trope. The first game has a ''{{Twinbee}} Time Attack'' minigame; ''Tokimeki Memorial Pocket'' has a ''{{Beatmania}}'' minigame; ''Dancing Summer Vacation'' is built around the ''DanceDanceRevolution Tokimeki Mix'' minigame; and several games of the series have original ShootEmUp minigames such as ''Force Gear'', ''Stardust Symphony EX'' and ''Psyth'' (in ''1''), ''Star Crusher'' (in ''Tabidachi no Uta''), ''Space Ring Fighter'' and ''Melting Point'' (in ''2''), and ''Go-Driller'' (in ''Leaping School Festival'').

* ''TokimekiMemorial'' for the PCEngine Turbo CD had hidden within it ''Force Gear'', a short but unique HorizontalScrollingShooter.

* NinjaGaiden for the xbox has an arcade machine that can play the old NinjaGaiden trilogy, if you can find the cartridges, that is.
* KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep contains the Command Board, which takes all of the gameplay and rules of Square Enix's Itadaki Street boardgame videogame series and mixes them with this game's characters and settings.