History UrbanLegendOfZelda / FinalFantasy

** That you can get an alternate ending by beating the entire game in twelve hours. It is true that you can get the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Excalibur II]] by reaching the final ''dungeon'' in twelve hours, but this one stretches credibility, at least in the original release, though it can be done extremely easily using the turbo features in the Steam version. Supposedly, the alternate ending involves a twenty-five year old Eiko killing Garnet and trapping Zidane in a crystal.

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a Platform/{{Playstation}} exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the Platform/Nintendo64. In fact, throughout pretty much the entirety of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, gaming forums were regularly flooded with fake previews, videos, etc. for the Nintendo 64 version of [=FF7=]. This was all despite Square ''repeatedly'' stating that a Nintendo 64 version would've been literally impossible to make, due to the system's cartridge unit. They wouldn't have been able to port the game even if it ''was'' technologically feasible; then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi was so bitter about losing ''Final Fantasy VII'' to the [=PlayStation=] that he banned Square from publishing any game for any Nintendo console for the rest of his tenure (they only were allowed to resume developing for Nintendo hardware during the [=GameCube=] era, long after ''Final Fantasy VII'' had come and gone).

** That you can resurrect [[spoiler:General Leo after Kefka kills him]]. It ''is'' possible, but only through a glitch that wasn't discovered until much later, so many of the rumors surrounding this are still false. Details are in Part 12 of [[http://lparchive.org/Breaking-Final-Fantasy-VI/ this LP.]] The UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance port of ''VI'' caused these rumors to briefly resurface -- the claim was that a newly-added side quest allows you not only to [[spoiler:bring back Leo]], but also to let him permanently join your party. The same was also claimed of [[spoiler:Emperor Gestahl]].

** That Gogo is actually General Leo, Darill/Daryl, Emperor Gestahl, or a send-up of the politician Adlai Stevenson (the rumor including fake quotes from his works). The truth is, he's a homage to an OptionalBoss from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', who may even be the same character. But since ''V'' didn't see an English release until the ''Anthology'' release on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation several years later, the explanation for who Gogo is was lost to English players.

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}} exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. In fact, throughout pretty much the entirety of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, gaming forums were regularly flooded with fake previews, videos, etc. for the Nintendo 64 version of [=FF7=]. This was all despite Square ''repeatedly'' stating that a Nintendo 64 version would've been literally impossible to make, due to the system's cartridge unit. They wouldn't have been able to port the game even if it ''was'' technologically feasible; then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi was so bitter about losing ''Final Fantasy VII'' to the [=PlayStation=] that he banned Square from publishing any game for any Nintendo console for the rest of his tenure (they only were allowed to resume developing for Nintendo hardware during the [=GameCube=] era, long after ''Final Fantasy VII'' had come and gone).

** That the twin characters Palom and Porom are retrievable even after [[spoiler:they commit their HeroicSacrifice and turn to stone]] through a special quest accessible only at that moment. They do get better anyway (without your assistance), but they don't rejoin you (in the original version of the game; some versions ''do'' make them playable in the late game again, but that's separate from this rumor). The game designers didn't help matters by allowing you to attempt to use any item in your inventory on the now-frozen pair, implying that there is something you can do to reverse the process. This rumor would also get intertwined with the very real DevelopersRoom EasterEgg from the Japanese version and a Japanese-only item that removes the "[[TakenForGranite Stone]]" [[StatusEffects status effect]] (in actual fact, using it on the twins will give you a message saying that [[GameplayAndStorySegregation it won't work for plot reasons]]), and thus claimed that the twins can only be cured in the Japanese version. This rumor was most likely initially propogated by a ''troll walkthrough''. [[note]]A walkthrough that contains just enough real information to complete the game, but everything else in there is a lie. One writer of these walkthroughs is known as "Eggnog", whose walkthroughs are often confused with legitimate ones from a very prolific walkthrough writer from the era named "Mynock".[[/note]]

** That there are hidden Espers who grant various absurd and powerful spells if you can find them. They arose out of the presence of two empty spaces in the complete Magicite menu. They're there for a reason, though; one is vacated by the Odin Esper when it evolves into Raiden ([[PermanentlyMissableContent destroying]] the original in the process), and the other is there to let you remove an Esper from a character. But this only encouraged rumors, fueling speculation that you can get Raiden without losing Odin. A popular one involves killing the dragon in the underground castle using [[UselessUsefulSpell Break]]; possessing all the Espers (including Odin and Raiden) is another claimed method to unlock the [[BonusBoss Czar Dragon]] battle. The GBA UpdatedRerelease includes ''four'' new Espers, though.

** That Gogo is actually General Leo, Darill/Daryl, Emperor Gestahl, or a send-up of the politician Adlai Stevenson (the rumor including fake quotes from his works). The truth is, he's a homage to a BonusBoss from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', who may even be the same character. But since ''V'' didn't see an English release until the ''Anthology'' release on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation several years later, the explanation for who Gogo is was lost to English players.

** That Dark Matter can do something useful. You can steal it from the final boss in the Japanese version of the game; Americans labored under the rumor that you need to do this to beat the boss and that this requirement was removed from the US version to make it easier. When ''FFIV'' was brought to the US unedited for newer systems, Dark Matter turned out to have no effect after all. The 3D DS remake gave it a purpose by letting players carry it over to NewGamePlus where it lets them access a BonusBoss.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' has a myth about a secret job class. It involves a rock shaped like a human face you encounter by using the submarine; various explanations involved beating the game first or landing a certain number of steps away from it. It ''does'' work, though, in the GBA remake, where you can get three new job classes as soon as you access it and a fourth after beating the game and a difficult BonusBoss.

*** It is possible for {{speedrun}}ners to "save" Aerith via SequenceBreaking. Using a glitch called [[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Yuffie_warping_glitch Yuffie Warping]] which can allow the player to take their extant party (which can include her) to any area in the game including straight to the FinalBoss. Puwexil performs such a glitch at Awesome WebVideo/GamesDoneQuick 2015 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFFtaD9NOUs here]]. This glitch is however is patched in later versions of the game and not present in the PlayStation 1 version of the game.

*** It is possible for {{speedrun}}ners to "save" Aerith via SequenceBreaking. Using a glitch called [[https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Yuffie_warping_glitch Yuffie Warping]] which can allow the player to take their extant party (which can include her) to any area in the game including straight to the FinalBoss. Puwexil performs such a glitch at Awesome WebVideo/GamesDoneQuick 2015 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFFtaD9NOUs here]]. This glitch is however is patched in later versions of the game and not present in the PS1 version of the game.

*** Players who dug through the games files actually found scenes of Aerith in the party after her Death, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vViHqNrd6E as seen here.]]. Or that she has a final limit break which will never be unlocked in a proper playthrough of the game. This fueled the rumors that Aerith could be revived, but it was eventually clarified that these were just artifacts in the game's code. Originally, the idea was to have ''any'' one member of your team get offed at that point, chosen based on Cloud's affinity with them.

*** It is possible for {{speedrun}}ners to "save" Aerith via SequenceBreaking, taking your extant party (which can include her) straight to the FinalBoss. Puwexil performs such a glitch at Awesome WebVideo/GamesDoneQuick 2015 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFFtaD9NOUs here]].

*** A different dragon rumor, though, got a lot more traction: if, by some obscure method, you re-fight the Eight Dragons again in sequence, you can allegedly face off with a superboss called "Czar Dragon". This one has merit to it -- the game's code ''does'' have a Czar Dragon, with its own stats, sprite, and even dialogue; you can also find evidence that the Eight Dragons could once be re-fought. The common myth about getting there (petrifying the Blue Dragon) turned out to be bunk, though. The GBA UpdatedRerelease ''does'' let you re-fight the Eight Dragons, after which you fight Kaiser Dragon, which is pretty much the same thing. [[note]]"Kaiser" and "Czar" are, respectively, the German and Russian variants of the title Caesar, after all. That said the orginal Czar Dragon is still in the data, with Kaiser being a newly created enemy. His sprite however is edited from the Czar Dragon's to add wings.[[/note]]

*** The use of the relatively-useless "Underwater" Materia, which serves no purpose in the original Japanese version and only removes a time limit during an optional boss fight in the other releases. It was said that if the materia AP is maxed (something that in itself takes months of level grinding), you can travel underwater in the area of the Forbidden City where she bites it and bring her back to life. It turns out that maxing the AP of the Materia just sets it back to zero.

*** Players who dug through the games files actually found scenes of Aerith in the party after her Death, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vViHqNrd6E as seen here.]]. Or that she has a final limit break which will never be unlocked in a proper game. This fueled the rumors that Aerith could be revived, but it was eventually clarified that these were just artifacts in the game's code. Originally, the idea was to have ''any'' one member of your team get offed at that point, chosen based on Cloud's affinity with them.

*** Players who dug through the games files actually found scenes of Aerith in the party after her Death, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vViHqNrd6E as seen here.]]. And then there is the fact that you can only unlock her InfinityPlusOneSword in the third disc, long after she has bitten the dust. This fueled the rumors that Aerith could be revived, but it was eventually clarified that these were just artifacts in the game's code. Originally, the idea was to have ''any'' one member of your team get offed at that point, chosen based on Cloud's affinity with them.

** That the twin characters Palom and Porom are retrievable even after [[spoiler:they commit their HeroicSacrifice and turn to stone]] through a special quest accessible only at that moment. They do get better anyway (without your assistance), but they don't rejoin you (in the original version of the game; some versions ''do'' make them playable in the late game again, but that's separate from this rumor). The game designers didn't help matters by allowing you to attempt to use any item in your inventory on the now-frozen pair, implying that there is something you can do to reverse the process. This rumor would also get intertwined with the very real DevelopersRoom EasterEgg from the Japanese version and a Japanese-only item that removes the "[[TakenForGranite Stone]]" [[StandardStatusEffects status effect]] (in actual fact, using it on the twins will give you a message saying that [[GameplayAndStorySegregation it won't work for plot reasons]]), and thus claimed that the twins can only be cured in the Japanese version. This rumor was most likely initially propogated by a ''troll walkthrough''. [[note]]A walkthrough that contains just enough real information to complete the game, but everything else in there is a lie. One writer of these walkthroughs is known as "Eggnog", whose walkthroughs are often confused with legitimate ones from a very prolific walkthrough writer from the era named "Mynock".[[/note]]

** That you can recruit a new Imp character, which allows you to avoid setting the Imp condition on an existing character. People pointed to the presence of [[StandardStatusEffects Imp-specific]] equipment, the ability to learn Gau's Rage ability, the Imp Robot joke auction in Jidoor, and a photo (easily faked) of an Imp casting black magic as proof.

*** It is possible for {{speedrun}}ners to "save" Aerith via SequenceBreaking, taking your extant party (which can include her) straight to the FinalBoss. Puwexil performs such a glitch at AwesomeGamesDoneQuick 2015 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFFtaD9NOUs here]].

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}} exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. In fact, throughout pretty much the entirety of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, gaming forums were regularly flooded with fake previews, videos, etc. for the Nintendo 64 version of [=FF7=]. This was all despite Square ''repeatedly'' stating that a Nintendo 64 version would've been literally impossible to make, due to the system's cartridge unit. Plus, at this time Square and Nintendo were on very bad terms, due to the latter company's censorship policies, choice of cartridges rather than [=CD's=] for the [=N64=], etc. Leading Square to not release anything on a Nintendo console until 2003, by which point the [=N64=]/Playstation era of console gaming was long gone.

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}} exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. In fact, throughout pretty much the entirety of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, gaming forums were regularly flooded with fake previews, videos, etc. for the Nintendo 64 version of [=FF7=]. This was all despite Square ''repeatedly'' stating that a Nintendo 64 version would've been literally impossible to make, due to the system's cartridge unit. Not to mention that Square flat out ''dissolved'' their working relationship with Nintendo in late 1996 due to frustration with the company's censorship policies, hardware design choices, etc., leaving the two companies on pretty bitter terms until 2002, when they finally made amends and Square began making games for the UsefulNotes/GameCube and UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance.

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a UsefulNotes/{{Playstation}} exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. In fact, throughout pretty much the entirety of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, gaming forums were regularly flooded with fake previews, videos, etc. for the Nintendo 64 version of [=FF7=]. This was all despite Square ''repeatedly'' stating that a Nintendo 64 version would've been literally impossible to make, due to the system's cartridge unit. Not to mention that Square dissolved their working relationship with Nintendo in late 1996, leaving the two companies on pretty bitter terms until 2002, when they finally made amends and Square began making games for the UsefulNotes/GameCube and UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance.

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a UsefulNotes/Playstation exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64. In fact, throughout pretty much the entirety of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames, gaming forums were regularly flooded with fake previews, videos, etc. for the Nintendo 64 version of [=FF7=]. This was all despite Square ''repeatedly'' stating that a Nintendo 64 version would've been literally impossible to make, due to the system's cartridge unit. Not to mention that Square dissolved their working relationship with Nintendo in late 1996, leaving the two companies on pretty bitter terms until 2002, when they finally made amends and Square began making games for the UsefulNotes/GameCube and UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance.

** Naturally, after it was announced that the game would be a Playstation exclusive, there were persistent rumors among Nintendo loyalists that the game would eventually be ported to the Nintendo 64.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has a popular fan theory that [[FutureMeScaresMe Ultimecia is Rinoa in the future]] and her Griever GF is Squall (somehow). Square Enix debunked the theory in the ''[[WordOfGod Ultimania Guides]]''. It's based mostly on Rinoa's private talk with Squall aboard the Ragnarok in Disc 3 where she [[NotSoDifferent announces Ultimecia's goals as her own]]. While it's intended to be romantic, the way she carries on about making one moment last forever makes it easy to see where the rumor came from:

*** Players who dug through the games files actually found scenes of Aerith in the party after her Death, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vViHqNrd6E as seen here.]] This fueled the rumors that Aerith could be revived, but it was eventually clarified that these were just artifacts in the game's code. Originally, the idea was to have ''any'' one member of your team get offed at that point, chosen based on Cloud's affinity with them. And then there is the fact that you can only unlock her InfinityPlusOneSword in the third disc, long after she has bitten the dust.