The video game community wouldn’t be what it is today without its passionate fans. As a sign of their devotion to a particular title, it isn’t too uncommon for large groups of fans to come together to speculate what a developer’s intentions were with his or her design choices. These wild theories turn out to be fake most of the time. In rare instances, however, developers confirm that fans actually guessed right. Despite the odds, the following odd video game fan theories have all been verified as true.
Crazy Video Game Fan Theories – Michael Jackson Tracks (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
For years, Sonic fans speculated that Michael Jackson—yes, the King of Pop himself—worked on a handful of tracks for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The similarities between some of the game’s melodies and the famous musician’s songs are uncanny, after all. When slowed down and listened to side-by-side, hit titles like “Black and White,” “Who Is It,” and even “Smooth Criminal” all seemingly have chiptune counterparts in the game.
As bizarre as this may sound, a variety of recent reports from developers who worked on Sonic the Hedgehog 3 confirm that the singer did indeed contribute his music to the title, though was uncredited for his work.
The reason why is unknown. Some say that Jackson was unhappy with the console’s audio output, so he preferred to not associate himself with it. Others say that Sega wanted to distance itself from the child molestation controversy that surrounded the musician at the time. Whatever the case, it’s confirmed now that one of the greatest artists of all time worked on a Sonic game.
Crazy Video Game Fan Theories – The Sapphire Weapon (Final Fantasy VII)
In order to stop Sephiroth from destroying the world in Final Fantasy VII, the Lifestream gives birth to five almighty creatures. Three wind up doing the one-winged angel’s work for him, wrecking pretty much everything in sight, while the other two just float away without hurting anyone. The game’s main cast manages to tackle down one of these beasts, the Diamond Weapon, before the Sister Ray blows it to pieces. The cannon goes on to destroy another monster, though this one never fights players directly and remains unnamed throughout the duration of the game.
Given its blue skin, fans were quick to name this creature the Sapphire Weapon, keeping in line with every other Lifestream monster’s name. Square Enix didn’t confirm the official name for the beast until it released its official works for Final Fantasy VII. To this day, it’s unclear whether the developer simply adopted the name from fans or if the creature was dubbed the Sapphire Weapon the entire time. The world may never know.
Crazy Video Game Fan Theories – Hero’s Shade (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
The Hero’s Shade in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a mysterious entity that roams an alternate plain of existence. He teaches Link some useful sword skills that he can later apply to his journey across Hyrule. Despite being so integral to the plot, the Hero’s Shade never reveals his true identity in-game, nor what he used to do in his prior life. This led to a ton of fan speculation, of course.
Fans settled on the idea that the Hero’s Shade is actually a past version of Link, given how much the character knows about swordsmanship and what was known about Zelda‘s chronology at that point in time. The franchise’s first collector’s book, Hyrule Historia, confirmed the theory when it released, revealing that the Hero’s Shade is actually the Link of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. He was allowed to linger in Hyrule after he died, as his only wish was to pass on his skills to a reincarnation of himself in the future.
Crazy Video Game Fan Theories – Blazkowicz and Doomguy Are Related (Wolfenstein RPG)
Developer id Software is responsible for some of the most iconic video game franchises on the market today. The studio is credited as the birthplace of the Wolfenstein and Doom franchises. Given the shared heritage, it wouldn’t be uncommon for each series to include a homage to the other every now and then. Fans had suspected that the two series shared some kind of connection, going so far as to suggest that each game’s main characters are related somehow. Wolfenstein RPG appropriately answered the speculation by the time its credits rolled.
Towards the end of the game, players must fight a boss called the Harbinger of Doom. If they’re successful at defeating the beast, he will tell protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz that he will fight against his descendants in the future. Seeing as how the Harbinger is considered the first Cyberdemon in Wolfenstein‘s lore and the species is a frequent enemy in the Doom series, the boss seems to confirm that Blazkowicz and the main character of the Doom series are related. In essence, “Doomguy” is a descendant of Blazkowicz, thus confirming years of fan suspicion in a single sentence.
Crazy Video Game Fan Theories – Fighting Toys (Super Smash Bros.)
Have you ever wondered why Nintendo’s colorful cast of characters are fighting each other in Super Smash Bros.? Since the series’ inception, fans have scoured each iteration’s side content to determine why a bunch of family-friendly mascots would be duking it out across a vast array of stages from the publisher’s past.
Sleuths concluded that the characters are all merely toys constructed by Master Hand, a recurring boss in the series. What gave them a clue was the series’ very first cutscene involving the villain. In it, a bunch of dolls depicting characters like Mario and Pikachu are thrown on a desk by the hand and suddenly become animated.
Former Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata confirmed that the fighters were all toys in an interview with Time in 2015. He added that, back before the series began, there was a lot of internal debate surrounding whether it would be OK for a character like Mario to be slapping around a little electric mouse. Evidently, the proposition that each participant would just be a doll won over the corporate heads of the company, though the truth wasn’t revealed to fans until much later.
The confirmed fan theories above are proof that developers pay attention to the conversations surrounding their games. Though most discussions don’t really go anywhere, the ones that do help fans become more invested in the titles they love. They even actively contribute to a fictional world’s lore and characters.
The internet makes this interaction that much more realizable, bridging the gap between players and creators. If the current market is any indication, fans could play a more active role in the development of new video game franchises in the future. Although it could just be lucky parallel thinking.
