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Sometimes gamers know best! Join us as we count down the most incredible video game fan theories that were eventually proven true or became official canon. From hidden characters to shocking story revelations, these theories had fans buzzing for years before finally being confirmed by developers!
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00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the things
00:11gamers theorized before they were confirmed or became canon about video games.
00:24Number 20, The Arkham Knight's Identity, Batman Arkham Knight. Before the release of the third
00:29Batman Arkham game, fans were speculating a lot about the identity of the titular Arkham Knight.
00:35Just kidding, it was really obvious, right?
00:42Longtime Batman fans immediately noticed the similarities between the Arkham Knight's look
00:47and Red Hood, aka Jason Todd, the second Robin in the trailers for the game. Although Rocksteady
00:53Studios tried to throw fans off the scent by claiming that the Arkham Knight was a new character,
00:58the eventual reveal during the game's finale showed that fans were actually spot on.
01:04You really have no idea. Do your best.
01:09Number 19, Space World Pokémon, Pokémon Gold and Silver.
01:17Fan theories are rife throughout this massive franchise, but one of the more mysterious bits
01:22of lore surrounds an obscure Japanese trade show called Space World. At the 1997 event,
01:28a playable demo of Pokémon Gold and Silver revealed an early build of the game.
01:42Featuring many Pokémon who never made it into the final game, or so the rumors went.
01:47Little footage of the event survived, and the internet wasn't what it was back in 1997. Fans only had
01:54a word of mouth and a few fan drawings of the lost Pokémon to go on for decades. Then, in
01:592018,
02:00a ROM of the incomplete build was released, which confirmed the long-held theories about the Pokémon
02:06and what they looked like.
02:12Number 18, Egg People, Rocket League.
02:21Given that it's a soccer game with rocket-powered cars, you wouldn't think there'd be much to
02:26theorize about Rocket League, right? However, that didn't stop fans from speculating about who,
02:31or what, are driving these cars and who's watching. The audience appears populated by simple egg shapes,
02:37likely due to the difficulty in rendering a realistic audience at the time of the game's release.
02:42However, fans spun this design limitation into lore, claiming that this must mean that the world of
02:48Rocket League is populated by egg people. Fan theories became so prominent that the developers
02:53decided to actually make the idea into a reality. Guess the egg was on their face all along.
03:06Number 17, Post-Apocalyptic Setting, Kirby Series. This bright and bubbly platformer series is another
03:12that feels fairly simple on the surface, without any complications. However, fans noticed something
03:18suspicious in Kirby 64, the Crystal Shards, Earth. When selecting Shiver Star, the world appears to have
03:28the same landmasses as Earth, which led to fans theorizing that Kirby is set in a post-apocalyptic
03:34version of our universe. This theory eventually came true after a fashion, with the release of
03:39Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which is set amid the ruins of a dead civilization, which bears many
03:45landmarks and technology similar to our own. Meaning that it is set after an apocalypse, even if it's not exactly
03:51on Earth.
04:00Number 16, Fighting Ryu and Ken's Master Street Fighter Franchise. In the original localization of Street Fighter 2,
04:07one of Ryu's victory quotes was mistranslated as,
04:11you must defeat Shen Long to stand a chance.
04:17Fans speculated that this Shen Long must be Ryu and Ken's master. A hoax article in Electronic Gaming
04:24Monthly suggested a method of facing this supposed secret boss as a prank. Ultimately though, this rumor
04:30slash practical joke came true not once, not twice, but three times. The article inspired the creation of
04:36Street Fighter 2 Turbo Seeker boss, Akuma. It also led to Ryu and Ken's master, Gouken, eventually appearing in the
04:42series.
04:43Finally, it led to a real character named Shen Long, at long last debuting in Street Fighter 6.
04:56Number 15, Cut Playable Character, Chrono Trigger. Even with its multiple endings and semi-sequel,
05:02this time travel RPG still had players wondering about loose ends and what ifs.
05:13Some fans believe that Chrono Trigger was meant to have an eighth party member. This was ultimately
05:18confirmed when a previously untranslated Japanese player's guide with character designer Akira Toriyama's
05:24character sketches was revealed. One picture features a mustachioed old man with the caption,
05:29the mysterious cut character Sage. While you may not actually get to play as him, he does appear in
05:34the game as Gaspar, the guru of time, who appears at the end of time. Because he was cut early
05:40in
05:40development, his playable sprites weren't even included in the game, so this guide was the first
05:45confirmation of this rumor.
05:55Number 14, The Vault's Secret Purpose, Fallout Franchise. The famous vaults that litter this
06:01post-apocalyptic franchise are so disaster-prone and full of social experiments that fans have long
06:06theorized that there must be some deeper reason behind them. Well, besides supposedly preserving
06:12humanity in the wake of nuclear war,
06:24In 2023, Fallout creator Tim Kaine revealed that his intention behind the vaults was that they were
06:30meant as experiments for the best and brightest of humanity to escape Earth in the event of a nuclear
06:36apocalypse. The cryosleep and social experiments were meant to test the viability of a multi-generational
06:41starship.
06:51Number 13, Ermac Is Real, Mortal Kombat series. Street Fighter isn't the only fighting game
06:56series to turn a fan theory character into reality. In the original Mortal Kombat, a selection below
07:02reptile battles reading Ermacs led fans to believe that a character named Ermac could appear. In reality,
07:08it was short for Error Macro to look for errors. Fan rumors persisted though and they were fueled by
07:14yet another EGM hoax that displayed the name supposedly Ermac as a red palette swap ninja. Eventually,
07:21Ermac debuted for real as a secret character in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. And what do you know, he was
07:26a red ninja.
07:33Number 12, Doomguy's Ancestor, Doom and Wolfenstein franchises.
07:37Despite being the poster child for the faceless space marine archetype, Doomguy does have a backstory.
07:43Many fans noticed several easter eggs and similarities between the Doom and Wolfenstein games.
07:55This led fans to theorize that BJ Blazkowicz, protagonist of the Wolfenstein series, is in fact
08:01Doomguy's ancestor. While some might chalk it up to both series originally being made by id Software,
08:06where according to the company's founders, Tom Hall and John Romero, Blazkowicz is indeed several
08:11generations removed from Doomguy. Mowing down evil with increasingly bigger guns is a family affair,
08:17it would seem.
08:24Number 11, E.T. Cartridges Buried in the Desert, E.T. The Extraterrestrial.
08:30The video game tie-in of E.T. The Extraterrestrial is often hailed as one of gaming's biggest disasters.
08:35It's even, somewhat unfairly, blamed for the video game crash of 1983.
08:43After many of its copies went unsold, and Atari was noted for having buried many things in a New
08:48Mexico landfill, rumors suggested that the entire stock of unsold cartridges were actually buried
08:53there. An excavation in 2013 did indeed reveal many copies of E.T., as well as other Atari games
08:59and hardware. Although it remains unconfirmed if all the leftover cartridges are in tuned there,
09:04I mean, it did go really, really deep, this extraterrestrial rumor was both figuratively
09:09and literally bound to Earth.
09:13Number 10, All Bonds Goldeneye 007
09:22All it takes are a couple of ambiguous rumors to spark a theory. Before us kids had the good
09:27old internet, rumor had it that you could play as all of the different Bond actors in GoldenEye's
09:32multiplayer. Connery, Moore, Dalton, and of course Brosnan. However, this was just an April Fool's prank
09:38from, you guessed it, Electronic Gaming Monthly. That is, until Rare came out and said otherwise.
09:43As it turns out, All Bonds Mode was supposed to be in the final version of the game, but
09:48didn't actually make the cut for various reasons. Which explains why using a GameShark
09:52allows you to see images of past Bonds in the character select screen.
10:02Number 9, Secret of Nukes, Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain.
10:07The patients have stabilized, but there's no telling how many will make it.
10:11The warhead we see is ruptured during transport.
10:14No game can escape the curiosity of data miners. When a hidden cutscene was discovered in the game's
10:19files, players were left wondering how in the world to unlock it. The prevailing theory was that the only
10:25way to do so was for all players to surrender their nukes in the online multiplayer mode.
10:29Konami supported this theory and said they've been keeping tabs since the game's release.
10:34But for every last player in the community to surrender their nukes, well, seems unlikely.
10:39Boss, it looks like someone's developed nukes again. I guess maintaining a nuke-free world is
10:45going to be harder than the disarmament ever was.
10:47Number 8, Canadian Shepherd, Mass Effect 3.
10:50Commander, you're not supposed to call me that anymore, James.
10:54Not supposed to salute you either.
10:56We gotta go.
10:57The Defense Committee wants to see you.
10:59Sounds important.
11:00Well, I'll be gosh darned. Shepard's from Canada?
11:03Well, we may not have any direct confirmation from the developers,
11:07but the proof is indeed in the pudding when you observe bits and pieces of the game.
11:11For starters, there's the slight exit, which can be hard to spot, but it is there.
11:15Then there's the fact the prologue takes place in Canada.
11:18Alright, or Shepard can just, you know, come right out and put the nail in the coffin.
11:22I promise you, in a few months we'll be sipping drinks back in Vancouver.
11:27Vancouver?
11:28Not Paris, not Venice.
11:31Vancouver.
11:32Yeah, that dialogue bit just confirms it.
11:35Shepard is from Vancouver.
11:36Tell that to the Defense Committee.
11:38Number 7, The Shinra Company, Final Fantasy VII.
11:46Among the many connections of the different Final Fantasy story arcs, this was one of the most shocking.
11:52In Final Fantasy X-2, one of the main characters is named Shinra.
11:55Does that name sound familiar to you?
11:57Well, for those of you who haven't played Final Fantasy VII,
12:00The Shinra Company was essentially a manufacturer of Mako energy and easily accessible electricity.
12:07Scenario writer Kasuhige Nojima created the Shinra character, thinking that Shinra would
12:11go on to start the company.
12:13We'll just go ahead and take that as part of the official canon now.
12:16I'm just a kid.
12:19Number 6, Multiple Timelines, The Legend of Zelda series.
12:29This one caused quite a number of headaches among Zelda fans.
12:33For quite some time, we were left in the dark, wondering which games across the series happened
12:38at which point in Link's life.
12:39Is there a possibility that there are multiple links?
12:42Well, answers were given when Dark Horse Comics published Hyrule Historia,
12:46a book written by Shigeru Miyamoto, Aejiya Enuma, and Akira Himakawa.
12:50The chart confirms what had long been the prevailing theory among fans,
12:54that not all of the games take place in a single timeline,
12:58and that the ending of Ocarina of Time had something to do with it.
13:01It's a little complex to explain here, but it's cool to see Nintendo help clarify things.
13:13Number 5, Symmetra is on the Spectrum Overwatch franchise.
13:16From order springs harmony.
13:19Representation is important in video games.
13:21It can allow players to feel a connection with their favorite characters.
13:24It's something they can relate to with common characteristics,
13:27and these details can help more people feel included in the games they play.
13:31Our lovely Indian Architect required a little more investigating though.
13:35Fans had reason to believe that Symmetra was possibly autistic,
13:38and when the comic A Better World was released,
13:41Symmetra said something about being on the Spectrum.
13:43When director Jeff Kaplan confirmed that she was indeed autistic,
13:47he said, quote,
13:48She does a great job representing just how awesome someone with autism can be, end quote.
13:53We must turn them back. Do it online.
13:56Number 4, it was all a play, Super Mario Bros. 3.
14:05The answer to this was a long time coming.
14:08Ever wondered why Super Mario Bros. 3 opens with a curtain?
14:11And why are the platforms hanging from the top of the screen?
14:14It's almost as if everything is a play.
14:17Oooooooo!
14:18Yeah, it's one of the most obvious of theories on this list,
14:20but it kind of felt like an eternity before we got a straight answer from Shigeru Miyamoto.
14:25In 2015, during an interview with Nintendo UK,
14:29Miyamoto was asked if the game was a play the whole time, answering with a simple nod, finally.
14:38Number 3, Giovanni's Son Pokemon Series.
14:47You know, sometimes we don't really care about our rivals that much,
14:51so long as we shut their big mouth in a Pokemon battle.
14:54Yet, there's something oddly intriguing about our rival, Silver, in Pokemon Gold and Silver.
14:59In FireRed and LeafGreen, a Team Rocket scientist will speculate if Red is Giovanni's son,
15:04before correcting himself, and mention Giovanni's son has red hair.
15:08The idea that Silver is Giovanni's son was only solidified when HeartGold and SoulSilver hosted a
15:13promotional event, where Celebi can take the player to a flashback of Giovanni abandoning his son.
15:19What a sorrowful secret.
15:27Number 2, Mary's Body, Silent Hill 2.
15:30You were always so forgetful.
15:33Remember that time in the hotel?
15:39This was as big of a twist as an M. Night Shyamalan movie. How can it be possible to receive
15:44a letter
15:44from your wife when she has been dead for the past three years? Trick question, kids. You can't.
15:49Anyways, Silent Hill 2 was confusing in its multiple endings, especially with the In Water ending.
15:55While most fans believe Mary's body has been in the trunk the whole time, they only got half of the
16:00truth.
16:00Designer Masahiro Ito tweeted out that Mary's body was actually in the back seat of James' car,
16:05not the trunk. You know, you'd think James would notice something like that, right?
16:09I'm alone there now. In our special place. Waiting for you.
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16:421. Sonic Meets MJ, Sonic the Hedgehog 3
16:51Doesn't this music sound familiar? Many gamers in the mid-90s certainly thought so,
16:56as many were led to believe that legendary pop star Michael Jackson might have worked with Sega
17:01on the soundtrack for Sonic 3. Developers of the classic platformer have come out to say MJ did indeed
17:06work on the game, namely the Carnival Night Zone music, but it wasn't for as long as one might
17:11think. The King of Pop was uncredited and left the project due to the sexual abuse allegations
17:16against him. Many of the songs had to be reworked, yet somehow fans were able to identify Jackson's
17:22unique style.
17:30So, is there a true video game rumor we forgot to mention?
17:33Verify your favorite theories down in the comments.
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