History CommonKnowledge / VideoGames

* ''Franchise/HarvestMoon'':

* There is a frequently cited quote that the [[MemeticMutation famous line]] from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' about several characters "taking an arrow to the knee" is an old-fashioned slang phrase for getting married. Thus the guards didn't get [[CareerEndingInjury injured]], they simply settled down. The problem is no such slang exists.

** Whenever people bring up ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' (the Japanese version which is also known as The Lost Levels in the overseas release), they mention how Nintendo refused to release the game due to its sheer difficulty. What people tend to forget is that A: Japanese gamers and critics ''also'' had a major bone to pick with the difficulty, and B: Nintendo of America wanted a different Mario game, and believed the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Super Mario Bros|1}}.'' was simply just a copy of the first game, thus people wouldn't want to play the exact same game again with new tweaks. (In fact the staff of Nintendo of America made a list called "Why Atari Failed" which outlined things which they must never do: releasing a tweaked version of an existing game as a new game was one of them. Also there's the myth that the game released as ''Super Mario Brothers 2'' was a randomly chosen game given a graphic facelift. ''Doki Doki Panic'' was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, had many references to previous Mario games, ''and began its life as a sequel to Super Mario Bros.''! It was changed to a licensed game for Fuji TV midway through the development process.

** Link is not an elf. His ''long'' (and that's specifically long, since all Kokiri have pointy ears) pointy ears indicate that he has Hylian ancestry (in the games where he has pointy ears at all).

** A lot of people seem to be under the impression that the multiplayer modes of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords Four Swords]]'' and ''Four Swords Adventures'' require four players (probably [[TitleConfusion because of the title]]). In actuality they can be played with two or three people as well. So you don't have to worry about having to buy four GBA systems and cables if you only really want to play in a two or three player game. And ''Adventures'' can even be played single-player; so can the DSi port of ''Four Swords''.

** Link in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' does not have pink hair. His hair was pink due to issues with getting the palette to work on the Super Nintendo. All official art clearly has him with a dark blond color. On a similar note, many fans think Zelda and Link are consistently blond. This is incorrect as the NES Link is a brunette, the first Zelda was a brunette, and the second Zelda (the Sleeping Zelda) is a redhead. On the other spectrum, the ''Twilight Princess'' Zelda isn't a brunette despite what fans think (she is a dark blonde). It wasn't until ''A Link To The Past'' that blond became a staple.

** Everyone knows that Aerith was IncorruptiblePurePureness while Tifa was a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, but a lot of people forget that tifa was actually quite a ShrinkingViolet and that Aerith once threatened to [[GroinAttack RIP A GUY'S BALLS OFF.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' has the main character, Marche, who is sucked into a fantasy world with his friends and he tries to find a way to return home while his friends don't want to go back. Many fans strongly believe that Marche was being a bully by forcing his friends to go home against their wills, even if it meant that they are miserable again and that his brother, Donned, is confined to a wheelchair again (he can't walk in the real world). In actuality, Marche actually attempts to reason with his friends and brother before he does anything else, but they all ignore him. Donned hires clans to fight Marche and capture him, Ritz eventually fights Marche herself to stop him from changing things back to normal, and Mewt uses all of his power as a prince to get Marche arrested. Ritz and Mewt eventually accept the fact that they can't stay in a fake world to run away from their problems and Donned even apologizes to Marche for going against him and is willing to go back home, even if it means he will be wheelchair bound again.

** A bit of clarification with PokemonSpeak. People say that only the [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} anime]] does this and that the games only have them starting ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. Let us clarify both points. The games actually use PokemonSpeak since the first generation. Yes, even before ''Pokémon Yellow'' where Pikachu got speaking roles (yes, Pikachu saying its name was older than ''X and Y''). When people mention "Pokémon don't speak their names", they usually refer to the cries they make, forgetting the fact that the cries either are hampered by technology (you can actually notice Togepi's cry being similar to its anime talk) or follow the rule where intimidating/cool/adult Pokémon make more beastly groans (while subtly saying their names, see Charizard). People often forget that Pokémon [=NPCs=] exist, and that [[https://i.imgur.com/nSk793K.png talking to them you will realize that they DO speak their names]]. However in the early games (prior to ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''), they translate their speak literally, so when you talk to Jigglypuff, it will say "Pu-pu-ri!" or something similar, as its name in Japanese is Purin. It was in ''Black and White'' where they updated the speak so that talking to the Pokémon will say their English names. Overall, it seems to follow the same pattern as the Japanese anime -- stuff that isn't an animal or has a sound-effect-based name uses its name, while others make more animal-type noises. And don't forget, way back in ''Red and Blue'', when confronting Mewtwo...

** Bowser is also commonly believed to kidnapping Princess Peach just because he has a crush on her. While in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' he wants a kiss from Peach for his part in a rescue effort, ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' shows in Bowser's diary that he had feelings for Peach and ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' had him very stoked that he was going to be forced to marry her, he never expresses those feelings anywhere else in the ''Mario'' franchise. At most, Bowser displays ambiguous feelings towards the princess and openly states that kidnapping her is what he does in order to lure Mario into his traps (or, in the instance of the first game, preventing her from using her magic to undo his changes to the Mushroom Kingdom). As of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', it seems the idea of Bowser's VillainousCrush is being brought into the main series. His goal is at least to [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe marry her]], though whether it's politically based or romantically based is unknown.

** Everyone knows that Aerith was IncorruptiblePurePureness while Tifa was a JerkWithAHearOfGold, but a lot of people forget that tifa was actually quite a ShrinkingViolet and that Aerith once threatened to [[GroinAttack RIP A GUY'S BALLS OFF.]]

** Everyone knows that Aerith was [[IncorruptablePurePureness]] while Tifa was a [[JerkWithAHearOfGold]], but a lot of people forget that tifa was actually quite a [[ShrinkingViolet]] and that Aerith onc threatened to [[GroinAttack RIP A GUY'S BALLS OFF.]]

** Some fans firmly classify Zelda games as RPG, while they are actually ActionAdventure (the only one to have any RPG elements at all is ''Zelda II'', which is otherwise a side-scrolling action game). The question of whether the series is an RPG is a common way to [[BrokenBase start arguments]].

** A bit of clarification with PokemonSpeak. People say that only the [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} anime]] does this and that the games only have them starting ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. Let us clarify both points. The games actually use PokemonSpeak since the first generation. Yes, even before ''Pokémon Yellow'' where Pikachu got speaking roles (yes, Pikachu saying its name was older than ''X and Y''). When people mention "Pokémon don't speak their names", they usually refer to the cries they make, forgetting the fact that the cries either are hampered by technology (you can actually notice Togepi's cry being similar to its anime talk) or follow the rule where intimidating/cool/adult Pokémon make more beastly groans (while subtly saying their names, see Charizard). People often forget that Pokémon [=NPCs=] exist, and that [[https://i.imgur.com/nSk793K.png talking to them you will realize that they DO speak their names]]. However in the early games (prior to ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''), they translate their speak literally, so when you talk to Jigglypuff, it will say "Pu-pu-ri!" or something similar, as its name in Japanese is Purin. It was in ''Black and White'' where they updated the speak so that talking to the Pokémon will say their English names. Overall, it seems to follow the same pattern as the Japanese anime -- stuff that isn't an animal or has a sound-effect-based name uses its name, while others make more animal-type noises.
*** And don't forget, way back in ''Red and Blue'', when confronting Mewtwo...

** People often mistake or confuse Marill as a Pika-clone representative of [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]]. The truth is that Pokémon never considers Marill and its line being related to Pikachu at all as it considers Pichu the Pika-clone of said generation (if anything, Marill has more ties to Jigglypuff or Clefairy due to Igglybuff's sudden gender ratio change as it has more similarities to Igglybuff and Cleffa than Pichu). Even in ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', there's a skin for the Battle Menu that features all of the Pika-clones and Marill isn't in there (there's actually a circulating photoshopped version where Marill is placed there for the purposes of trolling people).
*** The source of all of this Pika-clone confusion can be traced back on magazine publications in the US. The infamous "Pikablu" as an original name for Marill used by magazines reporting the Pikachu Short of the [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie first movie]] is the major reason as to why Marill is being related with Pikachu. It is something only the US had and it is still stuck to some people.

* It's an often-held belief among fans that in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', Eirika and Ephriam [[{{Twincest}} get married]] in the Japanese version's WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. While the game ''does'' have an awful lot of IncestSubtext, this is not true in the slightest. It's just a result of fans believing "any paired ending ''must'' be romantic, so the obviously censored it", despite there being several non-romantic paired endings, even in this very game. ([[ParentalSubstitute Duessel and Amelia comes to mind.]])

** Bowser is also commonly believed to kidnapping Princess Peach just because he has a crush on her. While in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' he wants a kiss from Peach for his part in a rescue effort, ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' shows in Bowser's diary that he had feelings for Peach and ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' had him very stoked that he was going to be forced to marry her, he never expresses those feelings anywhere else in the Mario franchise. At most, Bowser displays ambiguous feelings towards the princess and openly states that kidnapping her is what he does in order to lure Mario into his traps (or, in the instance of the first game, preventing her from using her magic to undo his changes to the Mushroom Kingdom).

** Mario is a middle aged man in many gamers eyes. While this was true in early titles - thus why Mario was played by older men in live action adaptations - it has long since changed. Mustaches tend to make people seem [[YoungerThanTheyLook older]] and he is a pudgy fellow but Mario is barely older than Peach. He's implied to be in his twenties according to ''Super Smash Bros Melee'' and seems at max in his mid thirties tops.

** The arcade version of Super Mario Brothers, Vs Super Mario Brothers does not have levels from Super Mario Brothers 2 in it. The arcade game was made first, by many of the same people, and some levels were copied into the console sequel. Therefore Super Mario Brothers 2 has Vs Super Mario Brothers levels in it, not the other way around.

* Many people think that Rockstar omitted planes from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' out of respect for the events of 9/11, but the real reason for doing so was that the map was simply too small and densely packed for airplane travel to be viable.

** Contrary to popular belief, not a single player character in the series is 10 years old. Not one. At least, it hasn't [[VagueAge been specified]]. The only player character to have their age confirmed is Red, who is said to be ''eleven'' years old as of Generation I (and III). The reason the whole "ten years old" thing has been ingrained in the public consciousness is because of the popularity of the anime, whose main character is 10. [[NotAllowedToGrowUp Eternally]].

** All trainers get Pokedexes.. Except they don't. You're a special case, along with some other select trainers. Along the same lines, not every trainer gets their first Pokemon from the local lab. A few trainers mention that they got their Pokemon from a family member.

** It is common knowledge that Red, the first protagonist, is The SilentProtagonist through and through. In reality Red has been heavily implied to speak, but we never really hear his dialogue. He also smiles in a good majority of the official artwork. It's also common knowledge that he spent three years on top of a mountain. In the games it's never stated he stayed on a mountain all this time. He could have been on his journey, ended up on the mountain training, and you came along. Red being an eternally silent character, however, became AscendedFanon in later works: In both ''FireRed and Leafgreen'' and ''Sun and Moon'', Blue makes snappy comments regarding how silent Red is, and in both ''Black 2 and White 2'' and the aforementoined ''Sun and Moon'' Red only speaks in ellipses.

*** The source of all of this Pika-clone confusion can be traced back on magazine publications in the US. The infamous "Pikablu" as an original name for Marill used by magazines reporting the Pikachu Short of the [[WesternAnimation/PokemonTheFirstMovie first movie]] is the major reason as to why Marill is being related with Pikachu. It is something only the US had and it is still stuck to some people.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', a popular fan theory that popped up after players finished the story is that [[spoiler: The Ultra Beasts attacked and destroyed the universe all of the games before Gen VI are set in.]] In reality, this is only ''vaguely'' implied in the games themselves. The closest thing to confirmation we get is that [[spoiler: Anabel, who came from that universe, has some vague memory of defending her battle tower from some threat before falling through a wormhole. Not only is it not explicitly stated that the Ultra Beasts were this threat, but all that is known for sure is that it attacked the Battle Tower (and by extension, probably the Battle Frontier) of the GBA/DS universe, which is a major step down from what the rumours state.]]

*** A huge one for this is PokemonSpeak. It's been decidedly the exception since day one in the games... and even in the anime, it only reaches the heights most people associate with the franchise in the dub version. In the Japanese version, Pokemon do use PokemonSpeak... but also frequently just use animal noises if it's appropriate to the type of Pokemon they are. Creator/FourKidsEntertainment inexplicably dubbed over almost every instance of this with more PokemonSpeak, and when The Pokemon Company took over, they were stuck with it for consistency.

* Thanks to MemeticMutation, everybody "knows" that in "''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', the cake is a lie. It's not! TheStinger reveals there's really a Black Forest cake somewhere in Aperture. Whether GLaDOS really intended to give it to Chell is another story.

** A large number of fans believe ''every'' Link and Zelda are a reincarnation of the first two from ''Skyward Sword''. This is actually not true. Link from ''Wind Waker'' is a completely different individual, as Link's spirit was removed from the timeline when he went back in time in ''Ocarina of Time''. Thus Link had to prove throughout the game that he was worthy of becoming the new Hero. The "Sleeping Zelda" from ''VideoGame/Zelda2AdventureOfLink'' also does not contain the spirit of [[spoiler:Hylia]]. She is simply the princess who started the tradition of all Hyrulian princess' being named "Zelda", as tribute to her. The one who contains the spirit at that point was the Zelda from the original game, who co-exists with her but doesn't actually appear in the game.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', a popular fan theory that popped up after players finished the story is that [[spoiler: The Ultra Beasts attacked and destroyed the universe all of the games before Gen VI are set in.]] In reality, this is only ''vaguely'' implied in the games themselves. The closest thing to confirmation we get is that [[spoiler: Anabel, who came from that universe, has some vague memory of defending her battle tower from some threath before falling through a wormhole. Not only is it not explicitly stated that the Ultra Beasts were this threath, but all that is known for sure is that it attacked the Battle Tower (and by extension, probably the Battle Frontier) of the GBA/DS universe, which is a major step down from what the rumours state.]]

** Link is not an elf. His ''long'' (and that's specifically long, since all Kokiri have pointy ears) pointy ears indicate that he has Hylian ancestry (in the games where he has pointy ears at all). Depending on the Link in question, he's either a Kokiri (which is the closest the Zelda franchise has to elves) or a human. (To be fair, in the first game he was specifically stated to be an elf, but this was {{retcon}}ned out fairly quickly.)