Yeah, the NES was basically a cheap vault with a lock you could pick. If you get into its firmware you’ll see the same kind of anti‑tamper logic that hides things behind a layer of obfuscation. Modern OSes just swapped that for more sophisticated cryptography and a lot more layers, but the core idea is still there—guard the secrets and make the guard look as easy to break as a cheap lock. If you’re serious about hunting them, I can point you to the right tools; just don’t get too comfortable, they’re always one patch away.