History AnachronismStew / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'' is set in 1900s Taiwan... and you fight enemies armed with modern-day riot shields, firearms that doesn't exist until after the Second World War, and {{steampunk}} {{Sentry Gun}}s. Then again the game runs on RuleOfCool.

** Arguably averted in the ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Chronicles of Sorrow]]'' games, which are set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture.

** The Maltese are arguable one of the biggest examples of this trope, as most of their unique units wear outdated armor. Of these, the biggest offender is the Hospitaller, which wears a mail surcoat and tabard straight out of UsefulNotes/TheCrusades while similar units wear only slightly more period-accurate suits of armor. It doesn't end there, for if certain cards or techs are sent, the Hospitaller can end up wearing either a great helm or an even more egregious top hat and pistol (the latter of which did not exist during the timeframe their armor comes from).

** The Samurai wear armours that mix together elements from the Heian to Edo periods pretty haphazardly, and the rigid sections aside from the helmets are depicted as being made of wood. While there is some archaeological evidence of wooden armour being used in the Yayoi period (ca. 300 BC – 250 AD), the lamellae and plates of armour were made of iron and/or rawhide from the Kofun period onward, meaning it's probably safe to say that no historical samurai ever armoured himself with wood.

** The series gets pretty insane with the sheer weirdness of how they reconcile most of SchizoTech, though usually the base level of technology (at least for humanity) is about on par with that of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam''. However, past that bare minimum the mecha range anywhere from uber futuristic to looking like an escapee from a museum, and their fuel sources range anywhere from plain gasoline to fusion engines to outright AppliedPhlebotinum. It also kinda helps that in the case of series with a definite anachronistic touch, like ''Anime/TheBigO'', ''Anime/TurnAGundam'', ''Manga/GiantRobo'', or ''Anime/{{Xabungle}}'', there is generally [[DeusExMachina a good reason]] why such dated looking tech exists in the same universe as the futuristic stuff. To say nothing of series such as ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' (which takes place in the early 1900s) and ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' (which takes place in the ''late 19th century'') .

** The ''Medieval II'' conversion mod ''{{VideoGame/Thera}}'' takes this and makes sweet love to it. You have various civilisations ranging wildly in technology levels: you have the Faustian Reich with their renaissance armies bristling with pikes and muskets, to the stone age Paynal Empire who haven't even invented the wheel. The [[AncientGrome Romuli Empire]] is otherwise the Roman Empire except they can develop musketeer legionnaires wearing full ''lorica'' armour. You can also even hire mercenaries from other civilisations, allowing further anachronisms. An army on the march might soon become a bizarre mix of musketeer companies, cannon batteries and rocket elephants supported by medieval swordsmen and Mesoamerican natives wearing wooden armour and fighting with stone-tipped spears.

** Likewise the Portuguese special units are the Cazadores, a kind of light infantry from the Napoleonic wars, and the Ribauldequin, a multi-barrelled organ gun that went out of fashion by the end of the War of the Roses.
** The Chinese are represented by a mish-mash of units representing the Ming, Manchu and Qing dynasties, over four hundred years of Chinese history.
** It gets worse in ''The War Chiefs'' which at one point has pikemen, musketeers and hussars participating in the Battle of Little Bighorn, a battle which it bears reminding happened in ''1876''.
** One of the latest aditions to the gme is the Mexican civilization. Yes this means you can get both Mexicans ''and'' the Aztec empire coexisting.

** The series gets pretty insane with the sheer weirdness of how they reconcile most of SchizoTech, though usually the base level of technology (at least for humanity) is about on par with that of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam''. However, past that bare minimum the mecha range anywhere from uber futuristic to looking like an escapee from a museum, and their fuel sources range anywhere from plain gasoline to fusion engines to outright AppliedPhlebotinum. It also kinda helps that in the case of series with a definite anachronistic touch, like ''Anime/TheBigO'', ''Anime/TurnAGundam'', ''Manga/GiantRobo'', or ''Anime/{{Xabungle}}'', there is generally [[DeusExMachina a good reason]] why such dated looking tech exists in the same universe as the futuristic stuff.

** ''MedievalIITotalWar'' continues this by depicting Scotland as essentially Film/{{Braveheart}}-land, where Highlanders, the backbone unit of a Scottish army, wear blue woad on their faces ([[http://www.woad.org.uk/html/britain.html several centuries too late]]) and wear tartan kilts (several centuries too ''early'').
* The ''VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar'' conversion mod ''{{VideoGame/Thera}}'' takes this and makes sweet love to it. You have various civilisations ranging wildly in technology levels: you have the Faustian Reich with their renaissance armies bristling with pikes and muskets, to the stone age Paynal Empire who haven't even invented the wheel. The [[AncientGrome Romuli Empire]] is otherwise the Roman Empire except they can develop musketeer legionnaires wearing full ''lorica'' armour. You can also even hire mercenaries from other civilisations, allowing further anachronisms. An army on the march might soon become a bizarre mix of musketeer companies, cannon batteries and rocket elephants supported by medieval swordsmen and Mesoamerican natives wearing wooden armour and fighting with stone-tipped spears.

* The normal gameplay in the ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'' series is fairly accurate. However, one anachronism has been introduced for combined RuleOfFunny and RuleOfCool: you can get a car in [[VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII the second game]] by entering the cheat code "how do you turn this on." Try it.
** A car that ''[[RuleOfCool shoots bullets]]'' and can level entire cities. That and tricycle-riding babies with bazookas in the first game.
** The first game also had cheat codes to get astronauts armed with laser guns or ''miniature nukes''.
** The third game had a monster truck that runs ''everything'' over. Yes, even buildings.

** Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} also mentions that aside from the purely sci-fi gadgets like the Tesla Cannon, the spraycan he uses with a zippo lighter as a [[AerosolFlamethrower makeshift flamethrower]] would only be invented a few decades after the game is set. Likewise, the ammo pickups for the completely fictional Napalm Cannon are jerry cans, which (as the name implies) were a German invention from around UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and Caleb's shotgun of choice appears to be a Rossi Overland, a model that wouldn't enter production until 1978.[[note]]Although this one ''might'' be intentional as a reference to ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'', which is set in the same 1920s time frame and gave Creator/SeanConnery's character the same anachronistic shotgun.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', Cereza's mother sang to her "Fly Me To The Moon", even though she lived hundreds of years ago and the song was written in 1954. A

** While TabletopGame/Mahjong was around in China at this time, it's rise to popularity in Japan and the codification of the Riichi ruleset featured in the game were the better part of a century away.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', with its flashback missions set two decades after the first, has a much less anachronistic armory under usual circumstances; however, this can be deliberately invoked by the player after beating the game once, upon which they can, for instance, fight the Angolan Civil War in 1986 with an [=HK416=] and an FNP-45, both developed after 2004. It also ends up having reverse-anachronisms because the flashback arsenal is nearly identical to the previous game's and not restricted to the flashback levels - such as the original model of the M16 available for the mission set during Operation Just Cause in 1989, even though at that point the Army had upgraded to the [=M16A2=] (and would probably be using early models of M16 carbines that existed prior to the adoption of the M4 instead given the short-range urban combat), and then you can go even further and take it into levels set in 2025, where the US military has switched to the [=HK416=] and an upgraded [[RareGuns XM8]].

* ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'', for the most part, does not care about its 1995 setting when determining what craft are available. In the case of the Hornet, at least, it goes for a variant that was actually in service at that point in time, rather than the Super Hornet... but it also includes an even more anachronistic electronic warfare plane ''based'' on the Super Hornet (first flight in 2006), the Eurofighter Typhoon (introduced 2003), the production version of the F-22 (not finalized until 1996), and the F-35C (the Joint Strike Fighter program that led to its prototype didn't start until a year after the game's setting). There are even fictional anachronisms, as the player is able to unlock both the ADF-01 FALKEN from ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' and the X-02 Wyvern from ''VideoGame/{{Ace Combat 04|ShatteredSkies}}'', despite the former having been designed ''because of the outcome'' of the game's plot and the latter not having its first flight until after ''[=AC2=]'' [[AllThereInTheManual according to background material]]. Most of this could possibly be explained, however, by the focus on air power in the ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' setting leading to these aircraft having been developed earlier than in real life - the whole series also indulges quite heavily in RareVehicles, arming entire air forces with hundreds of planes that were one-of-a-kind tech demonstrators or never-produced proposals in the real world.

* It would be easier to list the things that ''aren't'' anachronistic in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]'''s version of the 16th century. It mostly comes up in the costumes (which run on RuleOfCool and RuleOfSexy rather than historical basis or combat utilitarianism), but there are also some {{Steampunk}} and ClockPunk elements here and there -- you have Yoshimitsu the AmbiguouslyHuman ninja with a clockwork prosthetic arm, the big carousel in Hilde's kingdom [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis Wolfkrone]], and Ashlotte from ''IV'' who is a full-fledged automaton. You also have Sophitia, who [[EgyptIsStillAncient dresses like a warrior from ancient Greece and is stated to worship Hephaestus]] in a time where Greece was ruled by the Muslim Ottoman Empire and the Greeks had been Christianised for over one thousand years (and quite insistent on it too).

* Creator/{{Sierra}}'s ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series is a mixture of different mythologies and technologies making up different regions of the game world, ranging from the medieval pseudo-Germanic Spielburg to the almost Victorian-era Mordavia, as well as random pop-culture references, x-ray glasses, and junk dealers trying to sell you used World War 1 gas masks.

* It would be easier to list the things that ''aren't'' anachronistic in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'''s version of the 16th century. It mostly comes up in the costumes (which run on RuleOfCool and RuleOfSexy rather than historical basis or combat utilitarianism), but there are also some {{Steampunk}} and ClockPunk elements here and there - you have Yoshimitsu the AmbiguouslyHuman ninja with a clockwork prosthetic arm, the big carousel in Hilde's kingdom Wolfkrone, and Ashlotte from ''IV'' who is a full-fledged automaton. You also have Sophitia, who [[EgyptIsStillAncient dresses like a warrior from ancient Greece and is stated to worship Hephaestus]] in a time where Greece was ruled by the Muslim Ottoman Empire and the Greeks had been Christianised for over one thousand years (and quite insistent on it too).

* {{Creator/Sierra}}'s ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series is a mixture of different mythologies and technologies making up different regions of the game world, ranging from the medieval pseudo-Germanic Spielburg to the almost Victorian-era Mordavia, as well as random pop-culture references, x-ray glasses, and junk dealers trying to sell you used World War 1 gas masks.

* The ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' series takes place in 21st century England, sometime before or just after 2009, as indicated by Layton's birth date in conjunction with his age as of Pandora's Box. Despite this, Layton and Luke dress like they're from the 1900s, their view of London contains buildings built in the early 2000s, London also looks incredibly Victorian and not at all modern, space travel has already happened, and the games showcase [[spoiler: advanced robotics]] and [[spoiler: time travel]].Good luck [[{{Pun}} puzzling]] that one out.

* Consciously done in ''VideoGame/{{Guenevere}}'' to reflect the preexisting Anachronism Stew that is the modern conception of [[Myth/KingArthur Arthurian myth]]. 14th century plate mail coexists with 17th century style alchemy and 1st century Roman soldiers.

* In the VideoGame/EarthBound [[GameMod ROM Hack]] ''VideoGame/EquestriaBound'': While the show ''has'' shown that ponies are more technologically advanced than one might think, they have never shown anything like cars and vans and such in it. As such, with some areas like Onett only getting a rename and some mild aesthetic changes (like renaming the Onett sign to Ponyvile) this results in things like paved road ways and ponies driving around in cars, which has never been in the show itself.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' is ostensibly set in a world in MedievalStasis. It also happens to have boomerangs, telephones, photography, electric switches and motors, rockets, remotely-detonated bombs, crane games, complex mechanisms in a simple clock tower, {{grappling hook pistol}}s, pipelines, hydroelectric power plants, ''Franchise/StarWars''-esque holograms, 17th-18th Century pirates, modern-looking mines (for mining), electromagnets, combination operated safes, sumo, steam-ships, and motorboats. Oh yeah, and ''infrared lasers''. ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'' added trains, steam-powered tanks, turrets, and throwaway jokes about films and electric bills. All this being said, [[SubvertedTrope the Zelda franchise has never been intended to be set in a ye olde setting from the start]]. One of the earliest concepts for the Triforce, the franchise's signature holy triangles, was that they were ''computer chips'', and there were going to be sci-fi aspects intergrated into the story. Link to the Past's original storyline also involved a more literal interpretation of the title, incorporating Link travelling to a futuristic, sci-fi hyrule (artwork left over from this concept is even shown in Hyrule Historia, including Zelda garbed in a sci-fi style outfit). The first few games were simply downgraded to a generic ye olde fantasy setting both because that was the norm for the time, and because made for the easiest open world to implement. The series just stuck with this idea, turning it into a vague medieval setting although remnants of the original intentions remain in everything mentioned above and below.
** Then again, Hyrulean technology from that game almost completely matches that of the 1800s, so it may be the ''least'' anachronistic game in the Zelda series.

* The Ultra-Dimension from ''VideoGame/{{Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory}}'' takes place in 1989, yet there's a character based on [[UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} the first PlayStation]] (released in 1994, five years later) and other one based on [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} the original Xbox]] (released in 2001, ''twelve'' years later).

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' is especially anachronistic in regards to its weapons due to it featuring many modern firearms despite being set during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar in the late 1960s, with entire guns and configurations appearing far before they're supposed to. The game implicitly {{handwave}}s it by claiming that all the weapons are 'prototype versions', despite things like the Kiparis and AUG only being developed in 1978, the SPAS-12 only entering production a year later, and worst of all, the inclusion of the FAMAS F1 FELIN (the base weapon was only developed in 1978 and the FELIN variant only came into existence in the late 1990s). Strange in some cases, in that an earlier version of an anachronistic gun, like the S&W Model 39 instead of the ASP or the original RPK instead of the RPK-74, would have existed for some time at points in the game. There are even musical anachronisms, as well; a level set in April 1961 has [[Music/CeliaCruz "Quimbara"]] from a February 1974 album playing over a radio, a later level set in January 1968 has [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival "Fortunate Son"]] from [[Music/WillyAndThePoorBoys November 1969]] playing over another radio, and a third level just a month after set to [[Music/TheRollingStones "Sympathy for the Devil"]], from [[Music/BeggarsBanquet an album]] that not only released that December, but hadn't even begun recording until March. Also, fast-roping is performed throughout the game, a concept that wasn't invented until the Falklands War in 1982.

* ''VideoGame/WesternFront1914'', as the name implies, took place in 1914, during the UsefulNotes/FirstWorldWar... and contains giant robots and laser guns.

** One of the latest aditions to the gme is the Mexican civilization. Yes this means you can get both Mexicans ''and'' ancient Aztecs coexisting.

* Similar to the above, ''Franchise/StarTrek: Fleet Command'', a MobilePhoneGame from the minds that [[FollowTheLeader ripped off]] ''VideoGame/GameOfWarFireAge'', has a bunch of {{Continuity Snarl}}s: characters from all over the franchise are recruitable as crew for your ships. This wouldn't be a problem if the franchise didn't involve an AlternateTimeline started when Creator/JJAbrams decided to {{reboot}} the series. Thus, Cmdr. Spock (the version from the Abrams' Kelvin Timeline, played by Creator/ZacharyQuinto) can and does co-exist with Cmdr. Spock (the version from the Prime Timeline, played by Creator/LeonardNimoy) ''and'' Lt. Spock (from the Prime Timeline prequels ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' and ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'', played by Creator/EthanPeck). All three can serve alongside ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''[='s=] Deanna Troi (Creator/MarinaSirtis), ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''[='s=] Quark (Creator/ArminShimerman) and the ''cartoon character'' Ens. Beckett Mariner (Creator/TawnyNewsome) from the AffectionateParody ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', even though these characters are separated from the Spocks by a 100-year TimeSkip.

* Similar to the above, ''Franchise/StarTrek: Fleet Command'', a MobilePhoneGame from the minds that [[FollowTheLeader ripped off]] ''VideoGame/GameOfWarFireAge'', has a bunch of {{Continuity Snarl}}s: characters from all over the franchise are recruitable as crew for your ships. This wouldn't be a problem if the franchise didn't involve an AlternateTimeline started when Creator/JJAbrams decided to {{reboot}} the series. Thus, Cmdr. Spock (the version from the Abrams' Kelvin Timeline, played by Creator/ZacharyQuinto) can and does co-exist with Cmdr. Spock (the version from the Prime Timeline, played by Creator/LeonardNimoy) ''and'' Lt. Spock (from the Prime Timeline prequels ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' and ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'', played by Creator/EthanPeck). All three can serve alongside ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''[='s=] Deanna Troi (Creator/MarinaSirtis), ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''[='s=] Quark (Creator/ArminShimerman) and the ''cartoon character'' Ens. Beckett Mariner (Creator/TawnyNewsome) from the AffectionateParody ''Series/StarTrekLowerDecks'', even though these characters are separated from the Spocks by a 100-year TimeSkip.

* Similar to the above, ''Franchise/StarTrek: Fleet Command'', a MobilePhoneGame from the minds that [[FollowTheLeader ripped off]] ''VideoGame/GameOfWarFireAge'', has a bunch of {{Continuity Snarl}}s: characters from all over the franchise are recruitable as crew for your ships. This wouldn't be a problem if the franchise didn't involve an AlternateTimeline started when Creator/JJAbrams decided to {{reboot}} the series. Thus, Captain Kirk (the version from the Abrams' Kelvin Timeline, played by Creator/ChrisPine) can and does co-exist with Captain Kirk (the version from the Prime Timeline, played by Creator/WilliamShatner), who can serve alongside ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''[='s=] Deanna Troi (Creator/MarinaSirtis) and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''[='s=] Quark (Creator/ArminShimerman) even though there's a 100-year TimeSkip between them and the Kirks.