History Main / GameWithinAGame

The distinction between this and a minigaming in general is that most minigames depict otherwise "real world" tasks (like chopping wood, [[FishingMinigame fishing]], or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII racing giant birds]]) tailored to the particular setting. Here, the minigame is a self-contained game, usually with no relevance to the surrounding plot (though this is not a requirement).

* In the Xbox 360 game ''[[BanjoKazooie Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts]]'', you can go to Klungo's Arcade and play his masterpiece, "Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh World", an eight-bit {{Self Insert!Fic}} platformer where the ''entire'' control system is a single button. And it [[StylisticSuck regularly crashes]], prompting Klungo to appear and reboot it for you.

* A MythologyGag version shows up in ''[[{{Tron20}} Tron 2.0]]''. In the opening scene, the protagonist is shown playing the {{Tron}} arcade game. Explained in-universe as Flynn making a game based on his adventures down the digital rabbit hole (like much of the game,the same explanation got recycled into ''{{Film/TronLegacy}}'')

* In the Xbox 360 game ''[[BanjoKazooie Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts]]'', you can go to Klungo's Arcade and play his masterpiece, "Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh World", an eight-bit [[SelfInsertFic Self Insert]] platformer where the ''entire'' control system is a single button. And it [[StylisticSuck regularly crashes]], prompting Klungo to appear and reboot it for you.

* ''VideoGame/PacMan 2: The New Adventures'' features an arcade in both the countryside and the city. The arcade contains both the original ''Pac-Man'' and ''Ms. Pac-Man''. The SegaGenesis version of the game replaces ''Ms. Pac-Man'' with a new game called ''[[SpinOffspring Pac-Jr.]]'' (not to be confused with the Bally-Midway produced ''Jr. Pac-Man''). Both ''Ms. Pac-Man'' and ''Pac-Jr.'' require three cartridge pieces in order to play.

* Tin Pin Slammer in VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou

* ''Xenosaga Episode III'' had HAKOX, an arcade game. The player is required to play it for a while at one point of the game for the main story to progress.

* The Xbox360 version of ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' allows the player to play ''QBert''. It's one of the arcade machines at the firehouse.

* The Xbox360 version of ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' allows the player to play ''QBert''. It's one of the arcade machines at the firehouse.

* SeGaGaGa (SGGG) is a Sega Dreamcast RPG about running a game development studio. The RPG portions appear to be games coming to life within the office environment.

%%* ''WarioWare'' lives on this trope.

* Activision's BattleZone [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VxcqB428so 1998]] and Space Invaders [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wQG8-NsGhY 1999]] both imply the original games serve as interfaces within the more modern looking vehicles/space craft.
* ''WarioWare'' lives on this trope.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' had clones of ''VideoGame/{{Tempest}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Defender}}''. You could also play billiards at one of the local bars.

* In Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Event's for the Game Boy Advance, an arcade machine is located in the town of Lake Lachrymose. Playing it gives you the 'Handsome Man' video game, where you turn sad faces into happy faces. A rain cloud always comes along and changes them back though; you cannot win the game and all the happy faces will eventually be sad again.

In VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2 if you shoot off all the mannequin heads in Nuketown 2025, you can play old activision games like Pitfall 2 or Kaboom!

IN "VideoGame//[[CallOfDutyBlackOps2]]" if you shoot off all the mannequin heads in Nuketown 2025, you can play old activision games like Pitfall 2 or Kaboom!

IN "VideoGame//CallOfDutyBlackOps2" if you shoot off all the mannequin heads in Nuketown 2025, you can play old activision games like Pitfall 2 or Kaboom!

IN "VideoGame//CallOfDutyBlackOps2" if you shoot off all the mannequin heads in Nuketown 2025, you can play old activision games like Pitfall 2 or Kaboom!

IN "VideoGame//CallOfDutyBlackOPs2" if you shoot off all the mannequin heads in Nuketown 2025, you can play old activision games like Pitfall 2 or Kaboom!

* The NintendoWii version of ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheStaffOfKings'' has the LucasArts adventure ''IndianaJonesAndTheFateOfAtlantis'' 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]].

* ''VideoGame/RyuGaGotoku'' 5 has ''SoulCalibur'' 2

* ''VideoGame/ProjectGothamRacing 2'' had ''Geometry Wars'' in it.

* The Xbox360 version of ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' allows the player to play ''Q Bert''. It's one of the arcade machines at the firehouse.

* In ''VideoGame/SystemShock'', the [[PlayerCharacter PC]] finds some memory sticks with useful programs ? and games. Just plug one into your interface and play. In ''System Shock 2'', you can hack the game device to get access to all the games.

* ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters'' had three games that could be found (via cartridges hidden in levels in story mode) that could be accessed by pressing the reload button with the Temporal Uplink out.

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