History Main / MergingTheBranches

** In ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'', Cipher fights five out of eleven elite Belkan squadrons in any given playthrough, with three of them changing per playthrough depending on your KarmaMeter. However, the in-game Assault Records and later lore implies that at the branching points, Cipher faced all three respective squadrons ''at the same time'', meaning he almost single handedly wiped out NINE elite squadrons, not even including Gelb and Espada, who appear regardless of Karma Meter status.

** In ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'', Cipher fights five out of eleven elite Belkan squadrons in any given playthrough, with three of them changing per playthrough depending on your KarmaMeter. However, the in-game Assault Records and later lore implies that at the branching points, Cipher faced all three respective squadrons ''at the same time''.

** A case of this being averted in the finished product, but played straight in earlier development: ''Genealogy'' features "substitute" units, who only show up if a mother in the first generation died or got left unmarried, who replace the children of that mother are usually somewhat inferior to the characters they replace. In ''Thracia'''s story proper, the game seems to run with the idea that the substitutes don't exist; at the very least, the kids belonging to Erinyes, Lachesis, Sylvia, and Bridget all appear or get referenced at some point, and none of the substitutes appear. However, there are several portraits, DummiedOut in the final product, that unmistakeably belong to several substitute characters--specifically, Asaelio and Daisy (replace Bridget's son and daughter), Femina (replaces Erinyes's daughter), and Jeanne (replaces Lachesis's daughter). This suggests that at some point, the intention was to have the substitutes exist in the same timeline as the other units.

** A case of this being averted in the finished product, but played straight in earlier development: ''Genealogy'' features "substitute" units, who only show up if a mother in the first generation died or got left unmarried, who replace the children of that mother are usually somewhat inferior to the characters they replace. In ''Thracia'''s story proper, the game seems to run with the idea that the substitutes don't exist; at the very least, the kids belonging to Erinyes, Lachesis, Sylvia, and Bridget all appear or get referenced at some point, and none of the substitutes appear. However, there are several portraits, DummiedOut in the final product, that unmistakeably belong to several substitute characters--specifically, Asaelio and Daisy (replace Bridget's son and daughter), Femina (replaces Erinyes's daughter), and Jeanne (replaces Lachesis's daughter). This seems to suggest that the substitutes and the standard units exist in the same timeline.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', Lachesis, like all other first-generation females, has two children with whoever marries her. The Midquel, ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'', features both her children as playable characters, but heavily implies they have ''different fathers'', something not possible within the game mechanics of ''Genealogy''. Namely, Beowulf is canonically Delmud's father, and Finn is canonically Nana's. Beowulf's lover conversation with Lachesis in ''Genealogy's'' Chapter 5 implies [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he leaves her so she can be with Finn]], but gameplay-wise he'd still father both her children.

* The ''{{Videogame/Warcraft}}'' series did this for everything up to Warcraft 3. The second game took the first's Orc campaign as canon but with several Human story missions as still having happened instead of their Orc variants. The second game was treated the same way but with the sides reversed by its expansion. The second game's expansion is later treated as two sides of the same story, with the canon result of the final battle combining the endings.

* Every ending of every game in the VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries is canon. This includes ''Infiltrating the Airship'' and ''Fleeing the Complex'', which have very drastically different endings depending on the choices done during those games.[[note]]''Completing the Mission'' is entirely dependent on the endings obtained in both ''Infiltrating the Airship'' and ''Fleeing the Complex''.[[/note]] According to WordOfGod, if one ending were declared the "true ending" then it would undercut the series' ChooseYourOwnAdventure roots.

* Every ending of every game in the VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries is canon. This includes ''Infiltrating the Airship'' and ''Fleeing the Complex'', which have very drastically different endings depending on the choices done during those games.[[note]]''Completing the Mission'' is entirely dependant on the endings obtained in both ''Infiltrating the Airship'' and ''Fleeing the Complex''.[[/note]] According to WordOfGod, if one ending were declared the "true ending" then it would undercut the series' ChooseYourOwnAdventure roots.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', you could meet most of the main cast of the [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} first game,]] who imply that both the main quest and the Snow Queen quest happened, and also that the protagonist was there for both. Since you can't do both plotlines on the same save file, this is rather strange, though dialogue at the end of the Snow Queen quest [[spoiler:implies that the cast are going to go and do the main quest afterwards, which still raises a lot of questions, since St. Hermelin is missing for the entire main quest...]]

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'':

* In the Last Story mode of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' the plot appears to consider a number of events canon, such as the President being evacuated to the GUN Fortress, Eggman claiming Shadow to be an Android, and the majority of the cast traveling to the Black Comet. These are all plot points that cannot happen in a single playthrough of regular Story Mode's branching paths, implying that regular story mode is always just "what if" scenarios that merely represent Shadow's real journey, regardless of your chosen path.
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%% It should, however, be noted that Word Of God claims the "True Hero" path is canon. Make of that what you will.
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* In the Last Story mode of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' the plot appears to consider a number of events canon, such as the President being evacuated to the GUN Fortress, Eggman claiming Shadow to be an Android, and the majority of the cast travelling to the Black Comet. These are all plot points that cannot happen in a single playthrough of regular Story Mode's branching paths, implying that regular story mode is always just "what if" scenarios that merely represent Shadow's real journey, regardless of your chosen path.

** In the PSP UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', players could choose between either Elizabeth or Theodore as the Velvet Room assistant, so their appearances are mutually exclusive. In ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'', both Elizabeth and Theodore appear and have plot significance, and in ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', the two of them also appear, with the protagonist familiar with ''both'' of them, indicating that canonically both served as assistants.

* ''Videogame/DivinityFallenHeroes'' is a follow-up to ''Videogame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' and features all six of the Origin Characters and Malady alive, thus ignoring the fact that in ''[=OS2=]'' any of the Origin characters you don't recruit will be killed.

* ''Videogame/DivinityFallenHeroes'' is a follow-up to ''Videogame/DivinityOriginalSin2'' and features all six of the Origin Characters and Malady alive, thus ignoring the fact that in ''2'' any of the Origin characters you don't recruit will be killed.

** ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar'' uses a combination of the three possible but mutually exclusive endings of the first game.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series: ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has seven mutually exclusive endings. However, later works starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', reveal that all of the endings happened due a CosmicRetcon[=/=]TimeCrash known as the "Warp in the West". However, [[BroadStrokes none occurred to the same extent they would have individually]]. For example, instead of one political power dominating the region, the dozens of city states merged into four with all still under the banner of the Empire. Mannimarco successfully [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended to godhood]], but in a rather minor station,[[note]]Some texts even claim that he was later restored to mortality[[/note]] while also [[LiteralSplitPersonalities leaving a "mortal" version behind]] who leads the cult that worships the god version. [[HumongousMecha Numidium]] doesn't go on a Tamriel-destroying rampage, but is rendered forever non-functional through unexplained means[[note]]although it may have something to do with that the one ending to ''not'' have any indications it didn't happen in its entirety -- the Underking ''finally'' dying permanently -- also leads to the Numidium being rendered non-functional (the Underking needed the Numidium's power-source to die)[[/note]]. Nobody in the region actually has any idea how any of this happened; they all woke up one morning in the new status quo with no memory of the previous two days.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' has three potential partners for Trevor Belmont (Grant, Sypha, and Alucard). You can only have one partner at a time, and it's impossible to meet both Sypha and Alucard on the same playthrough. ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' establishes that canonically, all four of them fought Dracula together.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series: ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has seven mutually exclusive endings. However, later works starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', reveal that all of the endings happened due a CosmicRetcon[=/=]TimeCrash known as the "Warp in the West". However, [[BroadStrokes none occurred to the same extent they would have individually]]. For example, instead of one political power dominating the region, the dozens of city states merged into four with all still under the banner of the Empire. Mannimarco successfully [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended to godhood]], but in a rather minor station,[[note]]Some texts even claim that he was later restored to mortality[[/note]] while also [[LiteralSplitPersonalities leaving a "mortal" version behind]] who leads the cult that worships the god version. [[HumongousMecha Numidium]] doesn't go on a Tamriel-destroying rampage, but is rendered forever non-functional through unexplained means[[note]]although it may have something to do with that the one ending to ''not'' have any indications it didn't happen in its entirety -- the Underking ''finally'' dying permanently -- also leads to the Numidium being rendered non-functional (the Underking needed the Numidium's power-source to die)[[/note]].

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series: ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has seven mutually exclusive endings. However, later works starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', reveal that all of the endings happened due a CosmicRetcon[=/=]TimeCrash known as the "Warp in the West". However, [[BroadStrokes none occurred to the same extent they would have individually]]. For example, instead of one political power dominating the region, the dozens of city states merged into four with all still under the banner of the Empire. Mannimarco successfully [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended to godhood]], but in a rather minor station,[[note]]Some texts even claim that he was later restored to mortality[[/note]] while also [[LiteralSplitPersonalities leaving a "mortal" version behind]] who leads the cult that worships the god version. [[HumongousMecha Numidium]] doesn't go on a Tamriel-destroying rampage, but is rendered forever non-functional through unexplained means.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series: ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' has seven mutually exclusive endings. However, later works starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', reveal that all of the endings happened due a CosmicRetcon[=/=]TimeCrash known as the "Warp in the West". However, [[BroadStrokes none occurred to the same extent they would have individually]]. For example, instead of one political power dominating the region, the dozens of city states merged into four with all still under the banner of the Empire. Mannimarco successfully [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended to godhood]], but in a rather minor station, while also [[LiteralSplitPersonalities leaving a "mortal" version behind]] who leads the cult that worships the god version. [[HumongousMecha Numidium]] doesn't go on a Tamriel-destroying rampage, but is rendered forever non-functional through unexplained means.

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha 3'' not only assumes most if not all of the endings from the second game to be canon, but most of it's own as well. M. Bison/Vega had a ''really'' bad day. [[spoiler: Same to Charlie/Nash, since it's '''his''' SFA 2 ending (where he's betrayed and killed) that is used as [[BackFromTheDead a basis]] [[CameBackWrong for his return]] in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''.]]

** In the PSP UpdatedRerelease of ''Videogame/{{Persona 3}}'', players could choose between either Elizabeth or Theodore as the Velvet Room assistant, so their appearances are mutually-exclusive. In ''Videogame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'', both Elizabeth and Theodore appear and have plot significance, and in ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', the two of them also appear, with the protagonist familiar with ''both'' of them, indicating that canonically both served as assistants.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', Red fights with the [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue original 3 starters]] (Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise) and Pikachu, a team that is only possible without trades if the canonical game is ''Yellow''. However, Blue's lineup is his team from ''Red'' and ''Blue'' minus his starter. Other issues of exactly what Pokémon Red got during his journey are sidestepped by filling out the rest of his team with required encounters (one of the Snorlaxes blocking the way to Fuchsia City) or gifts (an Espeon evolved from an Eevee found at Celadon Mansion in the originals, a Lapras given by a worker at Silph Co. during Team Rocket's takeover in the remakes).

** ''VideoGame/Drakengard3'' itself is an example of this. Supplementary materials reveal that the timeline that leads directly into ''Drakengard'' is a combination of endings A and B; [[spoiler:Zero forms a pact with the flower to save Mikhail from poisoning]] as in ending B, and then [[spoiler:Zero kills One in a duel before being killed by a male clone of One]] as in ending A.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall'' had seven mutually exclusive endings, but ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' revealed that all of them (except for one) took place at the same time [[JustifiedTrope due to a rare cosmic event called]] [[TimeCrash a Dragon Break]] (that particular one -- which is the only one which historians agree on having happened -- is usually called the Warp in the West, on account of happening in the west, and sometimes the Miracle of Peace, on account of having set up a stabler, more peaceful situation in the region). Further, none of the events happened [[BroadStrokes to the same extent]] as they would have if they occurred individually.

* In ''Franchise/FireEmblem: Shadow Dragon'', several characters were only recruitable in gaiden chapters that required several playable characters to die to access them. In ''New Mystery of Emblem'', however, all returning gaiden characters except Nagi are treated as if they joined Marth's army despite the fact that every playable character from the previous game survived to see the sequel.
* In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', Raquesis, like all other first-generation females, has two children with whoever marries her. The Midquel, ''Thracia 776'', features both her children as playable characters, but heavily implies they have ''different fathers'', something not possible within the game mechanics of ''Genealogy''. Namely, Beowulf is canonically Delmud's father, and Finn is canonically Nana's. Beowulf's lover conversation with Raquesis in ''Genealogy's'' Chapter 5 implies [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he leaves her so she can be with Finn]], but gameplay-wise he'd still father both her children.

[[folder:Survival horror]]
* In ''Videogame/{{Resident Evil 1}}'', Barry doesn't appear in Chris' story after the opening scene, and Rebecca doesn't appear in Jill's game at all. According to the sequels, they all made it out of the mansion.