History ChuckCunninghamSyndrome / VideoGames

** Cream herself has been largely absent from the series after ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''. She was never seen or mentioned in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' or ''VideoGame/TeamSonicRacing'' and was also absent (but mentioned) in ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers''.

*** Owl, Kanga, and Eeyore are absent without explanation from the [[WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh Hundred-Acre Wood]] level. Inverted with Gopher, as this was his first appearance in any licensed product since ''Kingdom Hearts II''.

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'', where the face of Tooty, DistressedDamsel of the original ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' and kid sister of Banjo, appears on [[FaceOnAMilkCarton a milk carton]] in {{Cloudcuckooland}}, one of only two appearances of Tooty in the game (the picture of her in Banjo's house from the previous game is still there; in fact it's one of the few things in the house that is not significantly damaged or destroyed). Rare obviously never saw her as anything more than a [[FlatCharacter walking plot device]] for the first game, and thus hand-waved her absence circa ''Nuts and Bolts'', saying she was hauled off by the "Rubbish Video Game Characters Police". However, three other characters stated to be hauled off by said police (namely the Tutorial enemies with the exception of Quarrie) make small cameos in the game. It wouldn't be until ''2019'' that she would make another physical appearance in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', making a cameo alongside other ''Banjo-Kazooie'' characters on the Spiral Mountain stage.

** Toadette was dropped from the series after ''VideoGame/MarioSuperSluggers'' and was absent for six years before finally returning in ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' and making frequent appearances in spinoffs since major role debut in ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker''.

** None of the new characters introduced in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' have ever appeared again in any capacity despite the game spawning many {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s. Partially justified by the game's ambiguous place in the timeline ([[AlternateContinuity or if it even belongs in the timeline at all.]]) However, at least four of them (Cinnamon, Marino, Steel, and Ferham) will appear in the mobile title ''Rockman X-Dive'' as playable characters.

** Lanky Kong from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' hasn't been playable in any games in over a decade until ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongBarrelBlast''.
** Similar to Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong get this treatment. He hasn't got any major physical appearance since ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' (although he appeared as a cameo in the GBA remake of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble''). He is the only Kong in ''Donkey Kong 64'' to not appear in ''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast'' (although his Pineapple Launcher was included).

** Toadette was dropped from the series after ''VideoGame/MarioSuperSluggers'' and was absent for six years before finally returning in ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' and making frequent appearances in spinoffs since.

** Stanley from ''Donkey Kong 3'' also vanished from the series appearing only in some cameos like ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''. It's unclear, but it's said he's also the protagonist from the Game & Watch ''Greenhouse'' and it's also rumored that he is Mario's cousin.

** Except for some cameos and guest star appearances in some spin-off games, Dixie Kong virtually disappeared from the franchise after ''Donkey Kong Land 3'' in 1997. She wouldn't return as a playable character in a mainline Donkey Kong game until ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' in 2014.

** Many characters like Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Fang the Sniper (a.k.a. [[DubNameChange Nack the Weasel]]), Bean the Dynamite, Bark the Polar Bear, Mecha Sonic, Tails Doll, Gemerl, Metal Knuckles, and Mecha Knuckles have been subject to this. Several of these characters got [[TheCameo cameos]] on "Wanted" and "Missing" posters in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''. Mighty and Ray are listed as [[LampshadeHanging "Missing since 1993"]] (even though Mighty was last seen in 1995's ''Knuckles Chaotix''). ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' brought back Mighty and Ray in a 2018 update.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'': Tatanga seems to have ceased to exist. He kidnapped Princess Daisy in ''Super Mario Land'', was revealed to have been reduced to working for Wario in ''Super Mario Land 2'', and was never heard from again. Even in ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' he doesn't return despite Wario wanting to hire people to make games for him and a different alien, Orbulon, appears. He also didn't return in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'', with Bowser instead kidnapping Daisy in the Remix 10 mode.
*** Most characters in the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series just vanished without a trace after the original games they were in. Captain Syrup returned in ''VideoGame/WarioLandShakeIt'', after a ten odd year gap between appearances, but God knows what happened to Rudy the Clown after he returned in ''VideoGame/DrMario 64''...
*** This also seems to have happened to Sarasaland itself, as Mario never ventured there again after ''SML''; the only proof it even exists is Daisy herself, through mentions in her profile bios or text quotes in most ''Mario'' spin-offs.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', Ebonarm is a [[WarGod god of war]] worshiped in the Iliac Bay region and is held in high regard by the Redguards. He is a BlackKnight with an [[BladeBelowTheShoulder ebony sword fused to his right arm]] and is [[TwentyFourHourArmor never seen without his dark ebony armor]]. He is a noted adversary to most Daedric Princes and, despite being a god of war, usually appears on the battlefield to ''prevent'' bloodshed and reconcile the opposing sides. Ebonarm hasn't been mentioned in any form since ''Daggerfall'', however. He has possibly even {{Unperson}}ed in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline Online]]'', where a book from ''Daggerfall'' appears that previously mentioned him, but has all mentions of Ebonarm removed.

** ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' takes place during a world war. Despite this, G.U.N. is mysteriously absent. It's implied in the prequel comics that Shadow and Rouge are working for G.U.N., but the name is never outright mentioned.

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'': Was it due to [[CreatorsPest SNK's hate of him]]? Was it due to fear of a lawsuit by Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}''? Regardless, after ''2002'' SNK went out of their way to pretend that K9999 never existed - replacing him with [[MovesetClone Nameless]] in ''2002'''s UpdatedRerelease, editing him out of images in the gallery of ''XIV'', and making it company policy that even alluding to him was forbidden. This lasted for 20 whole years [[SubvertedTrope before he was finally repackaged and reintroduced]] in ''XV''.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'', after meticulously chronicling Altair and Ezio's rich, complex, influential careers from beginning to end, got ''really'' bad with this.
** Connor: Has one last melancholy conversation with Davy Crockett before leaving to face an uncertain future. The last we hear about him at all is a random comment on an Abstergo Entertainment e-mail which hints that he had a turbulent marriage and suffered a brutal death, but there are no specifics. Later materials retcon this so that he actually had a happy marriage and was a loving dad, but give no details on his ''actual'' fate (''Black Flag'' hangs a nasty lampshade on Connor's popularity by having Abstergo state "we could only get one game out of Connor.")
** Shay: Assassinates Arno's father and reaffirms his loyalty to the Templars. Completely disappears afterward.
** Arno: The main game ends with him gazing at his lover's grave and quietly contemplating the meaning of the Creed; the expansion ends with him watching as Napoleon is arrested. Never mentioned again; no indication that his actions had any real effect on future events.
** Evie: No word on what she does with her newfound influence after completing the Queen's missions, or for that matter what her status in the Brotherhood even is. As Syndicate covers the most recent time period, it's extremely unlikely we'll ever see what legacy she had, if any. (Jacob at least has a tangle with Jack The Ripper and eventually becomes the grandfather of Lydia, who more or less brings the Assassins into the modern era.)
** Even the modern era isn't immune. At the end of 3, Desmond Miles frees Juno...a highly infamous precursor whose bitter eons-old rivalry with Minerva indirectly led to the current crisis...so that she can save the world. She does, but the final scene ''very'' strongly hints that she'll be a serious threat in the near future, if not an outright BigBad. ("You played your part well, Desmond. Now it's time that I played mine!") In the next game, Black Flag, she's trapped in Abstergo Entertainment's computer network and only has one brief appearance near the end, claiming that she needs "more energy" to escape (oh, and her biggest ally dies shortly afterward). In Rogue, her situation has not improved in the slightest, and all she does is send out a bunch of patronizing messages. She's never mentioned or heard from again in the games, [[spoiler:with ''Odyssey'' only momentarily touching on the event of the comics where she died.]]

** Lanky Kong from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' hasn't been playable in any games in over a decade since ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongBarrelBlast''. His last appearance in a game at all is as a Spirit in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
** Similar to Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong get this treatment. He hasn't got any major physical appearance since ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' (although he appeared as a cameo in the GBA remake of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble''), and his latest appearance is in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' as a sticker. He is the only Kong in ''Donkey Kong 64'' to not have a trophy in the third and fourth ''Smash Bros.'' games. However, like Lanky, he also made an appearance as a Spirit in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.

** Since ''Wild World'' was for a system that was much less powerful than the system the last game was on, roughly half of the 318 villagers from the [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing2001 first game(s)]] had to be cut. Even some special characters didn't make a return to ''Wild World''.

*** Since the Acorn Festival was a one-off holiday like many holidays introduced in Wild World, Cornimer has only ever appeared in Wild World. (Though it's possible that he's just Tortimer wearing an acorn mask. Plus, there is a machine modeled after him in a minigame in New Leaf)

** In June 2012, the infamous Big the Cat [[http://youtu.be/l_fL0NRDYjw?t=2h2s was seemmingly retired from the series]]. He was already being slowly phased out of the series by that point anyway -- his only noteworthy appearances after 2003's ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' being in ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' and the first ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing]]'' (and even then, he was removed from the roster in the sequel but made a cameo). He did eventually get a major role in the form of the parodical ''VisualNovel/BigsBigFishingAdventure3TheTrial'', as well as appearing in a few mobile games. He later had another comeback as a playable character in ''VideoGame/TeamSonicRacing'' as well as an appearance in ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers''.

** Ms. Pac-Man and just about the entirety of the Pac Family[[note]]which include Pac-Man Jr., Baby Pac-Man, Professor Pac, and the two pets Chomp-Chomp and Sourpuss[[/note]] have been missing for years. [[note]]Ms. Pac-Man's disappearance is mainly due to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers ownership reasons regarding the character.[[/note]] With [[WesternAnimation/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures the reboot]] they might have been retconned out of existence.

** In June 2012, the infamous Big the Cat [[http://youtu.be/l_fL0NRDYjw?t=2h2s was seemmingly retired from the series]]. He was already being slowly phased out of the series by that point anyway -- his only noteworthy appearances after 2003's ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' being in ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' and the first ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing]]'' (and even then, he was removed from the roster in the sequel but made a cameo). He did eventually get a major role in the form of the parodical ''VisualNovel/BigsBigFishingAdventure3TheTrial'', as well as appearing in a few mobile games. He later had another comeback as a playable character in ''VideoGame/TeamSonicRacing''.

** Ms. Pac-Man and just about the entirety of the Pac Family[[note]]which include Pac-Man Jr., Baby Pac-Man, Professor Pac, and the two pets Chomp-Chomp and Sourpuss[[/note]] have been missing for years. With [[WesternAnimation/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures the reboot]] they might have been retconned out of existence.

** The characters Kid Quick and Pizza Pasta have not been seen since the original arcade version of Punch Out. Though Pizza's absence is commonly attributed to his character being a [[NationalStereotypes potentially offensive]] stereotype of [[GratuitousItalian Italian people]], the reason for Kid Quick's absence remains unknown.[[note]]Intrestingly enough, fans have noted the eerily close similarities he and the Wii remake exclusive character, Disco Kid, share with each other. Both are from Brooklyn New York, weigh 210 lbs, and Disco Kid donning a similar hairstyle to Kid Quick during Title Bout. More evidence of this is Doc Louis saying "This kid is quick!" when referring to Disco Kid and even some of Disco Kid's game files being labeled "kidquick." Indicating that he was meant to be Kid Quick at some point in the game's development.[[/note]]

** All the original characters from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' like Geno or Mallow [[ExiledFromContinuity are property of]] Creator/SquareEnix, therefore they simply vanished from all the subsequent Mario games except from a brief cameo of Geno in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Superstar Saga]]'' (and even ''that'' was removed from the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS remake), and his apperances as a Mii Costume in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros4'' and as a Spirit as well in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' had a few of these, all averted in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', which had [[DreamMatchGame every past character]] return.

** Also averted with Big Boss[[spoiler:, specifically, the one fought in ''Metal Gear''. The general consensus was just that the deal with the Big Boss fight in ''Metal Gear 2'' was just a retcon of killing him in ''1'' lazily handwaved as a body double, leaving plenty of plot holes unaddressed. Then ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' rolls around, and the twist turns out to be you ''playing as that body double'', and pretty intricately exploring the implications of Big Boss using other people as unwilling decoys to save his own skin.]]

** Many ''{{Franchise/Sonic|TheHedgehog}}'' characters like Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Fang the Sniper (a.k.a. [[DubNameChange Nack the Weasel]]), Bean the Dynamite, Bark the Polar Bear, Mecha Sonic, Tails Doll, Gemerl, Metal Knuckles, and Mecha Knuckles have been subject to this. Several of these characters got [[TheCameo cameos]] on "Wanted" and "Missing" posters in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''. Mighty and Ray are listed as [[LampshadeHanging "Missing since 1993"]] (even though Mighty was last seen in 1995's ''Knuckles Chaotix''). ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' brought back Mighty and Ray in a 2018 update.

** Mario rescued Daisy in an old Game Boy title and she didn't appear again for years. Now she's a standard of ''Mario'' spin-off games.

** The Koopa Kids (also known as the Baby Bowsers during the N64 era, and Mini Bowsers in the European versions of the later installments) were staple characters in the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' series ever since their debut in the very first installment and one of them even was PromotedToPlayable in ''Mario Party 5'' and ''6''. Starting with ''Mario Party 8'' however, Koopa Kids vanished from the series completely without an explanation. This was most likely done in favor of Bowser Jr., who essentially fulfils the old role the Koopa Kids had ever since his debut in the ''Mario Party'' series in the Nintendo DS installment. Most tellingly, ''Mario Party: The Top 100'' and ''Mario Party Superstars'' have minigames that originally featured the Koopa Kids reworked to replace them with Bowser Jr.

* ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'': The player characters of ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s two single-player campaigns (Agents 4 and 8) receive absolutely no mention or acknowledgement from the rest of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, which is now notably headed by [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo the former Agent 3]] (now called Captain), the player character of the original ''VideoGame/Splatoon1''.

** [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 Wart]] similarly disappeared, though it's worth noting his only two appearances are AllJustADream. (Even that's not an entirely satisfactory explanation, as Bob-ombs returned in the very next game, and various other enemies, including Shy Guys, would later on.)