History Foreshadowing / VideoGames

*** The opening recap ends with a shot of the chess game that young Eraqus and Xehanort plays showing a white piece (representing Sora) being surrounded by black and gold pieces (representing the Seekers of Darkness). Twelve of the thirteen Seekers circle Sora, while the remaining one is tucked away in the corner. [[spoiler:That piece represents Xigbar, or rather, Luxu, who is not really part of Xehanort's team and does not care whether he wins or not, as he has another plan in mind.]]

*** In ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIIIReMind Re𝄌Mind]]'', Vanitas rebukes Ventus for saying that he is his darkness by saying that he has always been a separate person since the very beginning. [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Union χ]]'' reveals that he's telling the truth; before he merged with Ventus, Vanitas was one of the so-called thirteen "Darknesses", ancient beings whose only goal was, as can be inferred, to envelop the whole world in darkness. One was destroyed a long time ago, four were sealed away, while eight infected humans, including Ventus.]]

** The revelation in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]]'' that [[spoiler:Terra's Heartless is Guardian who follows Ansem and Terra-Xehanort]] has been foreshadowed a couple of times in previous games. When Terra-Xehanort split into "Ansem" and Xemnas, "Ansem" is always referred to as Xehanort's Heartless, implying Terra's heart is elsewhere. In ''Dream Drop Distance'', after Riku defeats "Ansem", the Guardian makes a strange pulling gesture at Riku before vanishing. [[spoiler:He's actually making the same gesture Terra did whenever he drew his Keyblade, implying that he has been reacting to his memories.]]

*** During the End of the World's Hollow Bastion segment, you can see what appears to be a lab with various machinery in it. These are the experiments used by "Ansem" and his four apprentices to rip their own hearts and become Nobodies. These five would form the backbone of Organization XIII, the main antagonist of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'' and ''II''.

*** The final Ansem Report added in ''Final Mix'' (gotten after defeating the aforementioned hooded man) mentions that during the process of making Heartless, Ansem noticed that the shell left behind still animated by itself, which he dubbed a "Nobody". This bit of information will gain ''far'' more context in ''II''.

* Used frequently in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. A piece of scenery in the first game foreshadows the "five betraying apprentices" that form the backbone of Organization XIII, a drawing in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' foreshadows Xion's presence in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'', ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'' foreshadowed ''II'' heavily (it was almost more foreshadowing than actual plot), and in ''II'', Xemnas' irritated reaction to being called Xehanort foreshadowed a major late-game plot twist of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]''.
** In the first game, idling on the title screen will bring up a cinematic composed of scenes from the game with sentences between each. These sentences are Kairi's letter from the end of ''Kingdom Hearts II''.
** The ''Final Mix'' edition of the first game features an optional (but still canon) boss battle with a hooded man who goes on about "shells" and wanting to test Sora's strength. It was only revealed in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' that this man was in fact [[spoiler: Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII and the Nobodies, the shells left behind after a powerful person becomes a Heartless. It turns out that this battle was in fact started so Xemnas could collect a sample of Sora's memories to help his Replica program, which would lead to the creation of Xion. It was also an early test of Sora's power since he was being targeted as a potential member of Master Xehanort's Thirteen Seekers of Darkness.]] Yes, that one optional boss battle was in fact a CrypticBackgroundReference to stuff that wouldn't pay off for an entire ''decade''.
** In the Wonderland chapter of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', the Cheshire Cat warns the heroes, "Try too hard to remember, and your memory might lie to you," a lesson that Alice uses to fool the Queen into thinking that she ordered them to defeat the Trickmaster (since the Queen won't admit she forgot anything). This foreshadows [[spoiler:Sora being fooled into thinking that Namine used to be his friend- in addition to Namine manipulating his memories, Larxene taunting him about how he'd forgotten her sets Sora off and helps reinforce the lie]].
** The ''Final Mix'' version of ''Kingdom Hearts II'' has another canon OptionalBoss in the form of the Lingering Sentiment or Lingering Will. This walking suit of armour makes reference to people called Aqua and Ven, mentions Xehanort and mistakes Sora for the one he "marked". In ''Birth By Sleep'' we learn that [[spoiler: this is all that is left of the keyblade wielder known as Terra who had his body stolen by an elderly keyblade master to become the Xehanort that was the somebody of Ansem and Xemnas. His friends, Aqua and Ven also fought Xehanort. And as for the one he marked? That refers to giving Riku the power to wield a keyblade.]]
** The optional battle against a hooded figure added to the international release and Final Mix versions of ''Birth By Sleep'' is also considered canon by WordOfGod. This figure wears the black coat associated with Organisation XIII and has and ability that revolves around rewinding time. [[spoiler: He is a time traveling younger version of Master Xehanort who has been tasked with gathering a second Organisation XIII made up of Master Xehanort's other incarnations.]]
** Tetsuya Nomura stated that a person having pointed ears and golden eyes was a sign of them spending too much time in the darkness, as a form of EvilMakesYouUgly. We see several people this way - "Ansem", Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saix. The first two are explained as being traits they inherited from their complete Somebody, Terra-Xehanort. Notably, when Xigbar (then Braig) turns up at the climax of ''Birth by Sleep'', he's gotten the golden eyes, pointed ears, and greying hair as opposed to his earlier appearance in the game. But it turns out that Nomura was telling the truth, albeit only {{metaphorically|True}}. [[spoiler: The eyes, ears and hair are actually all traits of ''Xehanort's'' and Xehanort's alone. The reason behind Braig and Saix taking on those traits is because Xehanort was pulling a GrandTheftMe on them so they could become extra incarnations of him for his Seeker of Darkness plot.]]
** The letter 'X' has appeared throughout the entirety of the series, on clothing, items, names and more. [[spoiler: It is revealed to be a major plot point and ArcSymbol in ''Dream Drop Distance''. The 'X' is Master Xehanort's "Recusant's Sigil". Anyone who bears the sigil is marked as a potential host to be used as a vessel of his darkness. It explains why it appears on Sora and Riku's clothing, and also why the Organization's new names as Nobodies had an 'X' added to them.]]
** On a smaller note, a painting in the hotel in Traverse Town in the first game is titled "[[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} Bald Mountain]]". Guess who shows up as the penultimate boss of the game?
** In ''Kingdom Hearts II'', Xigbar makes an off-hand comment about how someone gave him a similar DeathGlare as Sora, and later mentions that Sora isn't half the Keyblade-wielder some unknown others were. Both ended up being references to the then-upcoming ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]''.
** In the secret ending of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded re: coded]]'', [[spoiler: Yen Sid reveals that Master Xehanort will return thanks to the destruction of Xemnas and "Ansem", warns that they may have to face "more than a single one of him". In ''Dream Drop Distance'', Master Xehanort returns and unveils his true plan of gathering thirteen incarnations of himself to start another Keyblade War.]]
** The MindScrew opening of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' ends with Ventus turning into a shooting star that falls down the night sky while child versions of Sora and Riku watch. However, watching closely reveals that Ventus does not in fact fall across the sky; he falls ''[[spoiler:directly into Sora.]]''
** The revelation in ''Dream Drop Distance'' that [[spoiler: Nobodies can grow hearts]] has been foreshadowed pretty heavily since their first appearance. Most obviously by how [[spoiler: Roxas, Axel and Xion seem to show genuine emotion with each other throughout ''Days'' or when Axel notes he is actually enjoying himself in ''Chain of Memories''.]]
** Another one involving what happened to Terra's heart. When Terranort split into "Ansem" and Xemnas, "Ansem" is always referred to as Xehanort's Heartless, implying Terra's heart is elsewhere. The Lingering Will, the Bonus Boss version of Terra from II, is referred to as Terra's spirit or soul inhabiting his armor. Riku notes that "Ansem" reminds him of someone he used to know, but the guardian Ansem controls reached out to Riku at the end of their fight in DDD. [[spoiler:The guardian is a Heartless that contains Terra's heart.]]

* ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'': The first level boss attacks you from a Chemical Waste Service van. The final stage takes place in a chemical plant the terrorists have occupied.

* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Mash notes that Dr. Roman wears a ring under his medical gloves, implying that he may have once been married. However, Roman never brings up if he has a wife and is currently a bachelor. [[spoiler:That's because the ring is actually the tenth ring of Solomon, as Romani is actually the incarnated form of Solomon who willingly give up his gifts to live as a normal human.]]

** At the very beginning of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', a "seemingly random" Dragon attacks Helgen and, if you get close enough to it, you see that the HUD labels it as "Alduin". "Hmm... that name sounds important, I'd better remember that." (Though this example is heavily lessened due to ItWasHisSled.)

** VideoGame/SonicUnleashed: After Eggman's Egg Dragoon is defeated in the Wii / UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version of the game, he angrily declares it's not over and he'll build a Hyper Prototype 2 version of the Dragoon before he sees that Dark Gaia is restored to its former glory. [[VideoGame/SonicGenerations 3 years later]], Eggman builds just that and fights Sonic with it, this time without the Blue Blur in his Werehog form. [[note]]In the console and PC versions of the game, since in the 3DS version, he pilots the Egg Emperor instead.[[/note]]

** [[LadyOfBlackMagic I-no]] absolutely loves being a [[{{Jerkass}} total bitch]] to everyone she meets, ''especially'' Dizzy... but in her dealings with Axl, she softens a bit and reveals a JerkWithAHeartOfGold streak. You may also notice [[spoiler:in a photograph of Axl's lost girlfriend [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/megumi_ggst.png Megumi]] that she has I-no's black hair and even a distinctive BeautyMark on her upper lip in the same place I-no has one. As it turns out, I-no is an older BrokenBird version of Megumi from an AlternateTimeline and she subconsciously harbors a soft spot for her old boyfriend William, even [[PetTheDog ultimately sacrificing herself so Megumi can come forward in time to be reunited with Axl]] when she realizes Axl's true identity.]]

* The ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' opening has the camera zoom in to Kid's pupil, transitioning to [[spoiler:the burning orphanage FMV.]]

** Finding the penultimate Riddler trophy, Batman will punch in coordinates on his scanning device, indicating that thanks to the Riddler prattling on and on about how stupid Batman is, Batman has triangulated his position.

--->'''[[spoiler:Joker]]:''' So how do you keep a secret from the World's Greatest Detective? Well, do you know? It's easy. [[HiddenInPlainSight You stick it right in front of him. Right under his long, pointy nose]]... [[LateToTheRealization and wait.]]

** There's a tone of foreshadowing [[spoiler: to TheReveal that the healthier appearances of Joker were actually Clayface in disguise. All of which the game goes through the moment that Batman himself realizes the truth.]]

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum''

* ''VideoGame/NeverGivesUpHerDead'': The game's opening is Emrys improving a speech using random junk she finds in the closet as visual aids. It's hard to notice on first play, but every item you can use here connects to one of the dimensions you enter over the course of the game.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': Zant alludes to there being a higher power behind him immediately after the third dungeon, stating that he got his power from a god.