Introduction

Nearly every game ever made has glitches. Some have a lot, some only have a few. Some are minor, and some are major. There are glitches that allow you to explore areas you're not supposed to be in, and other glitches that might be game-breaking and make it impossible to get any further.

Here are ten glitches I've come across over the years that were just fun to do, and others that surprised me.

MegaMan52's Top 10 Game Glitches 

10.Go out of bounds in Icecap (Sonic Adventure, Dreamcast)

A glitch with one of the loops in the Ice Cap level in Sonic Adventure, which a friend and I found while just playing the game normally. As Sonic runs up a loop in the second section of the level, it's possible for him to go through the wall. If you move the camera through the wall, you can see the level's background. The glitch also works in the GameCube version (Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut). Note: I'm silent and off-screen the entire video; you're seeing one of my friends.

9.Pipe Glitch (Super Mario Land 2, Game Boy)

In Super Mario Land 2, if you enter a level you've already completed, you can enter a pipe, pause the game, and exit the level. If you enter the first level in the Tree Zone after doing this, you'll appear under the ground. You'll need the rabbit ears to fly underneath the ground, then go through a wall. You'll find an unused room hidden underneath the level that is presumably leftover from an early version of the game. Both the glitch and the unused room are still in the fan-made color version (Super Mario Land DX) for the Game Boy Color, since it's just a hack of the original rather than a homebrew redone from scratch.

8.Swim through DK Isles (Donkey Kong 64, N64)

DK64 is a pretty buggy game, though some of its glitches are actually pretty cool. 

This is a glitch that can be done in other levels in the game, but performing the glitch on DK Isles leads to something interesting. If you dive under the water by pressing Z followed by mashing the B button, you can swim through DK Isles. Besides being able to look around inside the island, you can also find a room from K.Rool's ship ("The Flying Krock") that is part of a cutscene shown very late in the game (when you're in Hideout Helm, the game's last level, and he escapes just before you reach his location).

7.Go through Walls (Mega Man 1, NES)

Using the Magnet Beam found in Elecman's stage, it is possible to go through walls in Mega Man 1. This works in several areas in the game. What makes it interesting, though, is that it can be used to get to the mini electricity beams inside the walls in Elecman's stage. These electricity beams can actually hurt Mega Man, even though they're inside walls and you normally can't get to them. This works in most versions of the game, including Rockman Complete Works (PS1) and Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

6.Swim in the Air (Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, GameCube/PS2)

Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly is full of glitches, and is certainly the buggiest Spyro game...yet it was in development for more than two years, and wasn't "rushed" like many thought (there's an interesting documentary about the game on YouTube). One of Spyro's moves is pounding the ground with his horns. If you attempt to pound the ground while you're near water, Spyro might swim in the air. You can swim all over the Dragon Realms (the game's hub), and swim outside of the level. Hunter (Spyro's cheetah friend) can be found on the other side of the castle wall in the Dragon Realms. He appears early in the game and tells you how to glide and hover (a mini tutorial of sorts), then disappears. Turns out that the game just places him behind the castle walls, where you normally can't see him...unless you use this glitch.

While both versions of the game have numerous glitches, the PS2 version has the most (I rented it once and remember seeing glitches that I haven't seen in the GameCube version). I assume this glitch also works in the PS2 version.

5.Glitch Room (Mega Man 1, NES)

Another Mega Man 1 glitch. When you reach Dr. Wily, you can use the Magnet Beam to jump to the upper left corner of the screen. Doing this causes a door/gate to open, leading to a glitched room (which might be the area you run through just before the room with Wily, just with glitched graphics). You then just go back to the room with Wily. This actually still works in Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

4.Canoe Glitch (Super Mario Bros. 3, NES, Japanese version only)

World 3 in Super Mario Bros. 3 has a canoe on the map screen that you can ride to reach various islands. If you use a Warp Whistle while riding the canoe, you'll enter the Warp Zone as usual but the game thinks you're still riding on the canoe. This allows you to move outside of the map. The glitch only works in the Japanese release for the Famicom, as well as bootleg SMB3 NES/Famicom cartridges (which contain the Japanese version).

3.Enter Dr. Wily Stages from other Stages (Mega Man 2, NES)

By far, one of the coolest glitches in video game history. On the other side of the boss rooms in Mega Man 2 are the Dr. Wily stages you go to later in the game. Using Item-1 while in a boss room causes the walls on the right to open, allowing you to access the Dr. Wily stages.

Heatman's stage has the first Dr. Wily stage, Airman's stage has the second Dr. Wily stage...

...Woodman's stage has the third Dr. Wily stage...

...Bubbleman's stage has the fourth Dr. Wily stage, Quickman's stage has the fifth Dr. Wily stage, and Flashman's stage has the sixth Dr. Wily stage.

But there's more to it. On the other side of Crashman's room is the games opening. No joke, that's the building from the game's opening (on the right of the screen) just with the graphics from Crashman's stage. The black "bar" on the bottom is where the text displays in the opening.

Source: The Mechanical Maniacs (https://themechanicalmaniacs.com/articles/mmcmysteries.php)

Metalman's stage is more interesting. The screen on the other side of his room is a weird glitched room. This is followed by what appears to be leftover data from Mega Man 1, including a "tunnel" and boss room that appears to be from Cutman's stage (middle) and most of the first Dr. Wily stage (right). The game often freezes when glitching to the other side of Metalman's room, but sometimes it doesn't and Metalman will follow you. Check out the Mechanical Maniacs (link above), they have maps showing what's on the other side of the boss rooms in Mega Man 2.

There are other cool things to be found. If you access Dr. Wily stage 1 from Heatman's stage, you can get to the dragon boss but only if you're using a Game Genie code that allows Mega Man to jump higher (this is because you normally need the Item-1 platform, which you get after defeating Heatman). Defeating this glitched boss counts as defeating Heatman. It's also possible to get a "door" or "wall" to open (like when entering the stage from Heatman's stage), but this causes the game to freeze.

2.Out of Bounds Glitch (Resident Evil 4, GameCube)

A major glitch in Resident Evil 4 that allows you to go through walls and be in areas you're not supposed to be in. In the farm section in the village (near the beginning of the game), you can not only walk through walls but you can also find items hidden underneath the ground. You can even walk to the area's background/sky box.

During Chapter 3-2, in the castle's sewer section, you can perform this glitch and go through the area's walls. Walking or running to a specific spot causes the game to play an unused cutscene that is leftover from an early version of the game. The cutscene doesn't have any audio, but any music playing during gameplay will also play while the cutscene is shown (the cutscene probably would've had its own audio if it was used).

1.The Minus World (Super Mario Bros., NES)

Probably the most well-known glitch in video game history. If you leave one or two blocks at the top beside the end pipe in World 1-2, you can jump through the wall to the Warp Zone. If you enter the left or right pipe before the words "WELCOME TO WARP ZONE!" appear, you'll enter an underwater level known as "the minus world". If you enter the middle pipe, you'll go to World 5-1 instead.

The "minus world" is a water level that is the same as World 7-2. The only differences are that it says "World -1" at the top...

...and the level loops (entering the pipe at the end takes you back to the beginning of the level). Also the world number is invisible, and apparently "World -1" is actually "World 36-1". 

The only thing you can do is wait for the timer to run out, and eventually you'll be taken back to the title screen where you can restart the game from the first level.

This glitch works in most versions/re-releases of the game, since most of them are the exact same game running on Emulators. These include Animal Crossing for GameCube, the Game Boy Advance Classic NES Series edition, Wii Virtual Console, and the Switch's NES App. It also works in the 25th Anniversary edition of the game, because it is also the same (a ROM running on an Emulator) with the only difference being that the question blocks have "25" on them. However, the glitch does not work in Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) or Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Game Boy Color) as those are remakes/ports.

Using a Game Genie, or hacking the game to add a flag pole to the level, allows you to access other minus world levels. These have the layouts of other levels in the game, but with different graphics. Naturally these can't be accessed in re-releases, because you can't use an NES Game Genie with a GameCube, GBA, Wii, or Switch (though you can use the FCE Ultra GX Emulator with a GameCube, which includes Game Genie support).

Honorable Mentions 

Jump on the Ceiling (Mega Man X, SNES)

A classic glitch in Flame Mammoth's stage in Mega Man X. Near the beginning of the stage, you can jump up to the ceiling (hey, just like in Super Mario Bros.!) and run to the next area of the stage. If Chill Penguin has not been defeated, the background will be yellow. If Chill Penguin has been defeated, the background will be slime green instead. Also, notice that glitched Sub Tank inside there.

This glitch also works in Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube.

Various Glitches (Action 52, NES)

Action 52 may be a pretty crappy compilation, but it is home to some of the finest glitches of any game.

One example is a glitch in the game "Ooze". If you make it through the second level in "Ooze", the game just freezes.

If you select "Alfredo" (a.k.a., "Alfred N the Fettuc") or "Jigsaw", the games don't even load (except for their title screens).

If you complete the second level in "Billy Bob", you're taken to the fourth level of Cheetahmen...a different game on the cartridge.

In "Manchester", you can fall down the holes and walk through the floor.

In "Cheetahmen" (Action 52's featured game), there's a hidden room with a 1up in level 5 (there's also one in the first level). I *think* this room is supposed to take you to the next level, but instead it takes you to a glitched level that, according to the game, is "level 10", which is almost impossible to complete. A YouTuber actually made it through this glitched level. It has the boss from level 6, and defeating him just takes you back to the title screen. Same thing happens if you make it to level 6 by going all the way through level 5...defeating the boss just takes you back to the title screen.

Action 52 runs differently on different Emulators, and apparently some copies of the game were revised with bug fixes.

Get stuck in Round/Level 7 (Monster Party, NES)

In Monster Party, there's a game-breaking glitch in the seventh level (or round, as the game calls it) that makes it impossible for you to complete the level. After defeating some of the bosses and getting the key, you should immediately proceed to the levels goal. If you defeat another boss after getting the key, you'll lose it and get stuck. You can still explore the level, but you can't move on to the next one.

A prototype of Monster Party (known as Parody World: Monster Party) was found and released in 2014 and does not have this glitch, revealing that it was added to the released version of the game. The released version adds an extra spider boss in the seventh level. Defeating this boss when you already have the key causes you to lose it, making the level impossible to complete. The only things you can do are restart the game from the beginning, or reset the game and enter the password the game gives you after completing the sixth level so that you can restart at the seventh level.

Star Appears instead of Key (Super Mario 64, N64, Japanese version only)

Source: Beta Super Mario 64 video

1996 Japanese release of Super Mario 64

Exclusive to the original Japanese release of Super Mario 64 from 1996 (not the American release or the later Japanese release from 1997 that adds Rumble Pak support), there's a glitch that causes a star to appear above Mario's head instead of the key that you collect after defeating Bowser. When the key appears, run up to it and press Up C to look around. A star appears above Mario's head, instead of a key (he also keeps looking in whatever direction he was facing after you pressed up C to enter the look mode). This might be a leftover from beta versions of the game, as videos and screenshots from 1995/early 1996 show that a star originally appeared after defeating Bowser instead of a key. It's certainly possible, since the Japanese version also uses the bubbles painting for Jolly Roger Bay seen in beta versions instead of the sunken ship painting that's in the American and later Japanese releases of the game.

Source: Beta Super Mario 64 video (1995)

Original Japanese release of Super Mario 64 from 1996 (above), featuring the same bubbles painting as beta versions. Changed to a sunken ship painting in the American release, as well as the later Japanese release from 1997 (below).

Water Color (Pac-Land, Arcade1Up)

Pac-Land in a Super Pac-Man Arcade1Up Machine

Pac-Land in Pac-Man Museum + (Switch)

This is more of an emulation glitch than a glitch with the game itself. Pac-Land, an Arcade game re-released on various consoles in recent years and on various Arcade1Up machines, has black and blue water in Arcade1Up machines. This is not in the original Arcade release from 1984, the Arcade Archives release, or Pac-Man Museum +. It's an emulation glitch present on Arcade1Up machines (or at least some of them) that include the game. It's minor and doesn't really ruin the experience, it's just kind of amusing.

Conclusion

Of course, as someone who's played literally thousands of games in the last three and a half decades, I've come across a lot of other glitches besides these. These are just the really interesting and, in some cases, amusing glitches that I thought deserved to be in a top 10, along with some honorable mentions.

Mega Man 2 Metalman, Woodman, and Bubbleman and Monster Party videos captured from a real, unmodified NES. Super Mario Bros. screenshots captured from a real, unmodified GameCube (played in Animal Crossing). Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly screens and videos captured from a real, unmodified GameCube. Mega Man X screenshots captured from an Intec LCD screen and played in Mega Man X Collection (GameCube). Resident Evil 4 videos captured from a real, unmodified GameCube. Japanese Super Mario 64 screens captured from a real, unmodified N64. 

-MegaMan52