History Main / LikeRealityUnlessNoted

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' does a variation. The series is set on an alternate Earth, the proper name for which is Strangereal, where the continents and countries are, to say the least, [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/5f0f2800-d775-4c72-84af-948aeb6d7433/scale-to-width-down/800 different.]] History is similar, but often times, events anywhere from Strangreal's 1995 to 2015 have [[FauxSymbolism obvious parallels]] to real history; Belka is blatantly UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and then UsefulNotes/WorldWarII style Germany, for example. Other nations have clearly visible similarities to the cultures and geography they are based on, e.g. characters from Estovakia or Yuktobania are easily mistaken for Russians[=/=]Eastern European nationalities. Many fighter planes featured in the series are real planes (licensed from their real-world manufacturers by the game developers, no less) but with twists; the SU-47 Berkut was built as a proof-of-concept machine. On Strangereal, the Berkut went to mass production and became a high-end fighter jet for several militaries before 1995.
** Also, nuclear weapons are significantly rarer in this universe, given wide scale military conflicts are much more common, without that pesky M.A.D. getting in the way.

* There's some weirdness here with the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series. According to canon sources, our world and the Fallout world split at the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, with the first significant divergences beginning in the late 1950s, resulting in the microtransistor never being created while nuclear power was perfected. Fallout's world became a world of {{Zeerust}}, essentially what America thought 2050 would be like in 1950. Then the bombs dropped. This is just compounded by the fact that the games take place quite a bit AfterTheEnd.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', you can meet an American History fanboy who '''honestly''' believes that the Declaration of Independence was created by the [[FutureImperfect Second Judgemental Congress and sent to King George by airplane.]]
*** Makes sense in that region, there were few intact pre-war books left in the D.C. Ruins, much less history books. Places like [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]] both have more pre-war books available and accurate information on history.

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series can be quite confusing with this. About half of the past events that is referred to in the games actually happened and the other half is made up. The world in Metal Gear is basically one where all those ''really'' crazy and fringe military and scientific experiments with super soldiers, psychic powers, and crazy technology ''actually worked''.

[[folder:WebOriginal]]

* ''Fanfic/ImNobody'': Earth's history up until the discovery of [[Franchise/MassEffect Element Zero]] in the [=22nd=] century is the same as real life Earth, with one crucial difference: the company known as Creator/{{Disney}} does not exist. ''The company.'' The source material they based all their movies on is still around. This becomes ''extremely'' important when the Normandy Crew [[spoiler:becomes stranded on the [[RealAfterAll supposedly fictional]] worlds of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', as they are only partially recognizable by the cast. For example, they have no idea what's going on with ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', they try to figure out if [[WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone Merlin]] is the [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Arthurian one]], and Ashley recognizes [[Film/JohnCarter Barsoom]] by the [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars novel]].]]

** ''Film/PulpFiction'' is a crime thriller with some unspecified but obviously supernatural item in a briefcase which absolutely nobody questions the existence of. What is this mystical item, why does everyone already know what it is, and does this have any larger ramifications in the "Realer Than Real" universe? We'll never know.

* ''{{Film/Bright}}'' is set in an alternate universe where magic is real and [[ThereAreNoGlobalConsequences fantastic creatures like Orcs and Elves exist alongside humans in the modern day]]. There's also mention of [[GreatOffscreenWar a great war 2,000 years ago]] against a Dark Lord who tried to take over the world. But despite all that, its world seems to be fairly similar to our own -- Los Angeles is the setting, and there are passing mentions of the Battle of the Alamo and ''{{WesternAnimation/Shrek}}''.

* ''Literature/DanceOfTheButterfly'' takes place in our world and only slowly begins to show ''differences'' as the story progresses, revealing an underlying, supernatural context that gives an entirely different complexion to the tale.

* Inverted and lampshaded in ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged''. The dialogue includes references to Website/{{Twitter}}, Creator/MNightShyamalan, and other things meaningful to the viewers. However, the weirder elements of the ''DBZ'' world are still present, and the characters appear to be aware that something is "off" about the whole thing. So it's more like "Like ''Dragon Ball'' unless RuleOfFunny Notes It to be Like Reality."

* ''WesternAnimation/UglyAmericans'' is set in a modern version of New York where nonhuman "creatures" ([[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]], [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant apes]], etc.) exist as minorities. Spattered throughout the series are hints of how this has created an AlternateHistory, such as a [[ZombieApocalypse human-zombie war]] having taken place in TheSixties (possibly in a [[ShoutOut nod]] to ''[[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 Night of the Living Dead]]'').

* ''WebComic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' is a dead-on depiction of UsefulNotes/TheRoaringTwenties outside of the one little detail of everyone being [[FunnyAnimal an anthropomorphic cat]].

Many movies deal with, for instance, an attack on the United States government as if it happened in the present day. We can't really have a movie where the [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates actual current elected president]] is killed or kidnapped (the majority of citizens would likely consider it too soon while they are in office), so a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed substitute or an [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent outright fictional one]] will be in place so the story can take place in RealLife with the rest of our current culture intact.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' is set in a world that mirrors Canada in the early 2000s. Other than the giant red panda related elements, the only other major departure from reality is the existence of the BoyBand 4*Town apparently replacing the likes of Music/{{Nsync}}.

* In ''Anathem'', the world presented seems to be a post-apocalyptic Earth. There are lots of mentions of Greek philosophy and mathematics with only the names changed. And there's even a reference to [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Spock]] during an early discussion about the different ways Extramuros (normal people) view Avout (people living in the monastery who only come out once every ten years.)