History Main / FlipFlopOfGod

* Paul Yan would state several times in interviews for ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'' that the post-Naughty Dog entries did in fact happen, [[CanonDiscontinuity but that they happened (or may've happened) in an alternate timeline(s) that may have some impact on the adventure (they never did)]]. But then in [[https://youtu.be/FwjW10ADGnE?si=7FSgM80mCEgi49e3&t=875 an overlooked GDC 2021 presentation]], he makes a point about the Lani-Loli gag referring to how the post-ND games come ''after'' in its chronological timeline, conflicting with that preconceived notion.
--> '''Paul Yan''': ...like this joke that's kinda acknowledging the fact that it's ignoring some of the other sequels that are coming after this in its chronological timeline.

** [[http://www.capcomdigital.com/blog/2008/09/05/inafunesan_answers_your_questions According to]] Creator/KeijiInafune, ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'' exists parallel to ''VideoGame/MegaMan9''. However, in the ending of ''9'', Rush projects nine images of Wily doing the exact same actions in different games, and one of them unmistakably takes place in the final boss room in the former. Additionally, the game's original ROM refers to ''[=MM&B=] as [[{{Interquel}} "Rock 8.5"]].

* ''VideoGame/MoshiMonsters'': When asked why the game zigzagged NobodyPoops (players could not add bathrooms to the houses, but toilet references still cropped up in the game), the creators sometimes stated that monsters' biology meant that they didn't need to use toilets, but other times said that it was just ArtisticLicense.

** Also there's the question of the turret opera song "Cara Mia" which many see as implying that [[spoiler: Chell is the daughter of Cave Johnson and Caroline]]. Erik Wolpaw has said that the turret song was added without his consent and that in the 'canon' version of ''Portal 2'', Chell is just sent straight to the surface. [=GLaDOS=]'s voice actress Ellen [=McLain=] (who wrote the aforementioned song) has been talking about Chell's parentage as recently as the 2011 [=VGAs=]. With both of them having a degree of creative control of ''Portal'''s storyline, its likely there will never be a concrete answer.

** Just who has a SuperMode has been a weird thing. Since ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', it was accepted that Sonic and Knuckles had Super forms with normal Chaos Emeralds and gain Hyper forms with the Super Emeralds with Tails gaining a Super mode only with the Super Emeralds. However, in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', Tails and Knuckles don't gain Super forms when Sonic turns Super. It was later stated that only male hedgehogs gain Super transformations, but ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' and later ''[[UpdatedRerelease Sonic Origins]]'' explicitly gives Tails, Mighty, Ray and Amy Super modes, only for ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' to go back and say, no, only Sonic gains a transformation, everyone else gains "Super Powers".

** One specific example is the Kazama family tree. Asuka Kazama, debuting in ''VideoGame/Tekken5'', was introduced as Jin's cousin, and there are several instances in ''T6'' where either Jin and Asuka are referred to as cousins or their parents (Jun and Asuka's unnamed father) are stated to be siblings. This was held up to be true up until the ''VideoGame/Tekken7'' era, where Harada [[Website/{{Twitter}} tweeted]] that the relation between Jun and Asuka's father was actually more distant. However, as this is currently the only source contradicting the original claim and nothing in-game corroborates Harada's statement, most fans continue to believe that Jin and Asuka are first cousins. With ''VideoGame/Tekken8'' seeing the return of all the playable Kazamas (and notably serving as [[LongBusTrip Jun's first canonical appearance since the second game]]), it remains to be seen if this matter will be addressed.
* The developers of ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' stated back in May 2014 that version 1.2.4 would be the last update that adds new features to the game. Apparently they changed their mind, as June 2015 saw the release of Version 1.3. And then came version 1.4 in May 2020, which was titled "Journey's End" and marketed as THE final update for Terraria. Fans are, however, still skeptical, and even the dev team has admitted they aren't sure if it's really going to be the final update.

* The original head writer of ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', Creator/ChristopherYost, denied rumors that ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' takes place in the same universe, despite Creator/DisneyXD airing them as part of the same block every Sunday. Creator/JephLoeb, who became the executive producer for ''Spider-Man'' and some episodes from the second season of ''The Avengers'', went on to ''confirm'' those rumors. Viewers have pointed out that if Loeb is to believed, then it would [[WriterConflictsWithCanon open up a mess of contradictions]], such as the differing ages of ComicBook/IronFist and ComicBook/LukeCage in both shows. It was also initially reported that ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' would be set in the same universe as ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. It's since been confirmed by both Loeb and the creators that ''Assemble'' is a sequel to ''Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', albeit with past events only brought up in BroadStrokes, if at all.

** Yost had also flip flopped over whether or not ''EMH'' was in direct continuity or not with ''Wolverine & the X-Men'', which he also worked on though not as head writer (which, depending on who you ask, was either Greg Johnson or Craig Kyle, but both of whom were definitely more in control of that series than Yost). Yost initially said that the original intention was for ''W&TXM'' and ''EMH'' to be in the same universe but the idea was discarded when ''W&TXM'' was cancelled. He then turned around and said the two series could still coexist in the same universe if fans wanted them to (Creator/SteveBlum voices ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} in both for whatever that's worth, along with Creator/FredTatasciore as the Hulk).
* ''Franchise/Ben10'': Regarding the Ben 10,000 timeline, the timeline that Ben visited in the [[Recap/Ben10S3E1BenTenThousand Ben 10,000 episode]] of the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 original series]], the franchise's various creative leads have had conflicting ideas on it. Original series story editor [[https://archive.is/e6wq0 Matt Wayne]] and the episode's [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ben10/images/8/8d/Ben_10K_Possible_Future.png/revision/latest?cb=20190502121857 pop-up trivia]] state that it's simply one of Ben's many possible futures; ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]/[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]'' producer [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ben10/images/c/c5/OS_Ben_10K_Didn%27t_Remember.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20200312101058 Dwayne McDuffie]] stated that it was never ''our'' Ben's timeline; ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'' art director [[https://archive.is/0bL2p Derrick J. Wyatt]] stated that it ''is'' our Ben's timeline; and franchise co-creator [[https://twitter.com/rouleau1/status/1313012996101165056 Duncan Rouleau]] just plain isn't sure.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Aside from the infamous WhereTheHellIsSpringfield, Matt Groening has switched back and forth on the vague ending of "The Last Temptation of Homer", sometimes implying that Homer did have sex with co-worker Mindy (imagining she was Marge), and stating on other occasions that Homer never cheated on Marge (and never would).

** Creator/{{Sega}} employees and the games go back and forth on whether Classic Sonic is Modern's Sonic younger self from the past (as per ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'') or is from another dimension (as per ''VideoGame/SonicForces''). And in the latter, they can't decide whether it's truly [[AlternateUniverse another dimension]] or [[AlternateTimeline a split timeline]]. Further muddying the waters is the fact that in all cases, Modern Sonic is treated as having experienced Classic Sonic's adventures in the past (or at least [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 the]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 classic]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD core]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles games]]).
** LooseCanon is to blame for a lot of these consistencies; Ken Eva of Sega Europe stated around the time of ''Forces'' that ''Sonic'' canon is in a state of flux, meaning it's liable to change as Sega sees fit. Notably, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmzc8L8zTBk supplemental material]] for ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' threw out the [[FanDislikedExplanation widely disliked]] and [[WriterConflictsWithCanon canon-conflicting]] claim that [[WorldOfFunnyAnimals Sonic's world]] and the human world were separate despite this being the case for ''Forces'', instead making the separation a figurative one: the "human world" consists of the larger continents and human-populated societies, whereas the "non-human world" is the various smaller islands scattered about the planet.
** Just who has a SuperMode has been a weird thing. Since ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', it was accepted that Sonic and Knuckles had Super forms with normal Chaos Emeralds and gains Hyper forms with the Super Emeralds with Tails gaining a Super mode with only the Super Emeralds. However, in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', Tails and Knuckles don't gain Super forms when Sonic turns Super. It was later stated that only male hedgehogs gain Super transformations, but ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' and later ''[[UpdatedRerelease Sonic Origins]]'' explicitly gives Tails, Mighty, Ray and Amy Super modes only for ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' to go back and say, no, only Sonic gains a transformation, everyone else gains "Super Powers".

* ''Franchise/Ben10'': Regarding the Ben 10,000 timeline, the timeline that Ben visited in the [[Recap/Ben10S3E1BenTenThousand Ben 10,000 episode]] of the original series, the franchise's various creative leads have had conflicting ideas on it. Original series story editor [[https://archive.is/e6wq0 Matt Wayne]] and the episode's [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ben10/images/8/8d/Ben_10K_Possible_Future.png/revision/latest?cb=20190502121857 pop-up trivia]] state that it's simply one of Ben's many possible futures; ''Alien Force/Ultimate Alien'' producer [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/ben10/images/c/c5/OS_Ben_10K_Didn%27t_Remember.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20200312101058 Dwayne McDuffie]] stated that it was never ''our'' Ben's timeline; ''Omniverse'' art director [[https://archive.is/0bL2p Derrick J. Wyatt]] stated that it ''is'' our Ben's timeline; and franchise co-creator [[https://twitter.com/rouleau1/status/1313012996101165056 Duncan Rouleau]] just plain isn't sure.

* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': The creators have been a bit back-and-forth over whether Neopets in plots grow hair or if they're wearing wigs.

Different from {{Retcon}}, because retcons are changes to something that happens in the story, instead of the Word of God. WriterConflictsWithCanon is when WordOfGod and parts of the story itself are at odds. Also different from a [[SwordAndSandal flip-flop]] ''worn'' by an [[CrystalDragonJesus in-universe god]], or a [[LotusEaterMachine god that's]] [[DeusEstMachina made of]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-flop_%28electronics%29 flip-flops.]]

* Music/YngwieMalmsteen has a very well-known instrumental that has been officially known as both "Arpeggios From Hell" and "Molto Arpeggiosa". The "excerpt" (which is actually the majority of the overall composition) that gained Website/YouTube fame is titled the former, with the overall piece titled the latter.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':

*** While we know that [[SweetPollyOliver Sheik]] [[ItWasHisSled is Princess Zelda using magic to disguise herself]] [[GenderBender as a man]], the extent of the magic spell has many contradictory statements. Sometimes, they say that Zelda uses magic to change her physical body. Other times, it is nothing more than a change of clothes (most JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly, the fluff is at odds between ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Melee]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'' on this). The non-canon but [[WordOfDante official]] manga doesn't help matters.

*** On a related note, the difference between Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon. The Japanese media has always maintained there is a difference, but it wasn't until Gen V before international media did the same, referring to Mythicals as Legendaries beforehand. From a gameplay perspective, the difference is Legendaries can be obtained in-game, while Mythicals need to be obtained from real-life one-of-a-kind events or from some of the spin-offs. Yet, Deoxys is available in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' in the same way Legendaries are despite still being classed as Mythical. And later on, Celebi was given an accessible event in the UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole release of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]''. Storyline-wise, the difference is non-existent, Mythicals and Legendaries are both rare, have many myths surrounding them, and a good chunk of Mythicals are closely aligned to Legendaries[[note]]For example, Legendary Cresselia and Mythical Darkrai make up a duo of Pokémon, while Mythical Keldeo is an apprentice to Legendaries Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion, all of them forming the Swords of Justice[[/note]].

** Outside actual games, Nintendo has twice announced that new hardware would serve as a "third pillar" alongside existing hardware, only to quickly discontinue whatever system it was the obvious successor to. To be fair, these two situations weren't completely the same. While the first case of this was clearly Nintendo hedging their bets -- the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance line was still doing ''incredibly'' well in sales in 2004, so should the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS fail (and [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail everyone assumed it would]]), they wanted an easy out to dismiss the dual-screen device as a weird experiment -- the second was just a bizarre deflection: the UsefulNotes/WiiU was an undeniable flop when the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch was first announced as "Codename NX", making for an obvious bluff. Nintendo didn't even wait for the Switch's release before discontinuing production on the Wii U, as opposed to GBA systems continuing to be sold until the end of the 2000s.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' series has been flip-flopping for ''years'' as to whether or not the title character's signature floating limbs are one-of-a-kind or not. In the original ''Rayman'' game, all characters in Rayman's world had floating limbs, and Rayman himself was nothing special. In [[VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape the sequel]], however, save for his EvilTwin, Rayman was explicitly stated to be one of a kind, because he was created by the fairies who had their own mysterious ideas. Then ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' came along, and said his limblessness was an accident. Until the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita version, which suggested that there'd been [[AdamAndEvePlot at least one other (female) limbless person.]] And then ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' comes along, and the alternate Rayman costumes are strongly implied to be different characters -- including one inspired by the "Tarayazan" character from the first game.

* The original head writer of ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', Creator/ChristopherYost, denied rumors that ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' takes place in the same universe, despite Creator/DisneyXD airing them as part of the same block every Sunday. Creator/JephLoeb, who became the executive producer for ''Spider-Man'' and some episodes from the second season of ''The Avengers'', went on to ''confirm'' those rumors. Viewers have pointed out that if Loeb is to believed, then it would [[WriterConflictsWithCanon open up a mess of contradictions]], such as the differing ages of Comicbook/IronFist and ComicBook/LukeCage in both shows. It was also initially reported that ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' would be set in the same universe as ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. It's since been confirmed by both Loeb and the creators that ''Assemble'' is a sequel to ''Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', albeit with past events only brought up in BroadStrokes, if at all.

** Whether or not Scootaloo will fly. Lauren Faust stated that Scootaloo was initially conceived as being disabled such that she would never fly, then while the show was actually airing claimed that she "hadn't figured it out yet", then stepped down as showrunner. Much later, "Growing Up is Hard to Do" showed Scootaloo as an adult with child-sized wings. Shortly after it first aired, [[DiagnosisOfGod one of the staff]] [[https://www.derpibooru.org/images/2157535 confirmed via twitter]] that that was indeed meant to indicate an actual disability, but included the line "But fans are welcome to interpret things how they like", given that there's another side character in the show (Bulk Biceps) can fly despite having even smaller wings.

** Also, in a behind-the-scenes documentary made duringSseason 1, Jerry Doyle (who played Michael Garibaldi) said that JMS told him that Garibaldi would never get a girl. In the show, Garibaldi ends up reconciling with his old girlfriend Lise in Season 4 and marrying her in Season 5.

** The ending of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' shows the city of Midgar ReclaimedByNature with no signs of human habitation, leading to a lot of arguments over whether this meant humanity had been killed by Meteor. Kazushige Nojima, the game's writer, has claimed that humanity is meant to have survived, and Yusuke Naora, the art director, added to this by saying that he intended to add smoke to the final cutscene to establish that there's ''some'' humans living in and around the city. Conversely, Yoshinori Kitase, the game's director, noted that "In a way, I consider that epilogue to be the true happy ending of ''FFVII''. Well, it's a happy ending even though all the human beings are destroyed." Keep in mind, he said this ''after'' ''Anime/FinalFantasyAdventChildren'' seemingly established humanity was doing just fine in the aftermath.