So I'm sure we all have a number of ones we have heard during our years as gamers. Different stories of things that supposedly were in game that we couldn't really find out at the time. Of course there were ones like Luigi being in Super Mario 64 or Michael Jackson writing some music in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but there were key ones that I grew up questioning. The following are a list, and probably the most well known ones, that I was under the impression, could possibly work if done correctly.
1. Every Adolescent Gamers Wet Dream: Lara Croft Nude
Now let's be honest...how many people have heard about a naked Lara Croft in her early games? I'm not talking about the PC patches that showed us her pixelated goods, I'm talking about the two myths that plagued the minds of many young gamers that would cause Lara Croft to go from her blue tank top and booty shorts to her bosoms and booty minus the shorts. There was a specific button combination that would somehow cause her clothes to disintegrate off her revealing the body of a video game goddess. As many codes as there were in the game, it seemed...somewhat plausible.
There was also another rumor I heard of that there was a secret room in her house that if you were able to get in it, not only had great treasures, but would also allow her to change clothes. During the changing scene, you would then get to see the naked Lara as she began to change into her second set of clothes.
Of course, these both turned out to be completely false and dreams were crushed and faces had tears streaming down their face. I am not at all ashamed to say I did everything I could to see Lara naked. And having seen those PC patches....I was disappointed. This would later play out in similar situations where I dreamt of what certain celebrities would look like naked, think they would appear naked in a movie and be saddened when they weren't. Then someone else finds a way to show them naked and it doesn't quite live up to your expectations. I'm looking at you Scarlett....
2. That Last Ledge in Final Fantasy 7 Should Belong to the Revived Aeris!
There were a lot of problems wrong with Final Fantasy 7. The graphics don't really hold up, Cloud is a pretty awful character, the pacing is pretty poor, and the overall story is pretty "meh". However, it's still one of my favorite RPG's of all time. But despite that, I can not forgive the game for giving me the hope of reviving Aeris. Shortly after the game came out, everyone was clamoring about how to bring Aeris back.
But why did people think she was alive in the first place? Well, many reasons really. The one I always heard the most regarded the very end of the game as you travel down the crater to fight Sephiroth. Right before the last battle, everyone jumps to a piece of rock jutting out from the crater. There is enough spots for everyone and all is filled...except one. Why would there be one extra? Well, of course, it had to be one for the dead character Aeris! Add to the recipe of conspiracy about her ghost character being a hint she can be revived, the load screen with her in front of the Highwind although you don't get it until after she's dead, and her ultimate weapon that can only be attained after her death and you have one delicious piece of secret-content pie.
But no recipe is complete without the knowledge of how to make it! And oh are there a lot of methods to do that. One of the most popular ones is treat Tifa like complete dog shit. Always have Aeris in your party and not Tifa, go on a date with Aeris at the Gold Saucer, and just favor Aeris in general. Apparently if Tifa is in your party after Aeris leaves and you go to save her, Tifa pushes her out of the way in the cut scene and Tifa dies instead. There was also the rumor of having her Level 4 Limit Break would cause her to survive if it was ready to use before she left the party, the Underwater materia would have a special power to revive her along with taking out the time limit against Emerald Weapon, or just fully leveling up the Restore materia would do it.
But nope, Aeris is dead. Unless you have a magical Gameshark to bring her back, she stays dead. I know it's hard to believe considering how easy it was for everyone to fall in love with this sweet character, but there's no coming back and there never was.
3. The Ultimate Pokemon is Stuck Under a Truck
I was one of the many that caught the Pokemon craze when it hit stateside. It all began with that stupid VHS tape that Toys R Us sent me in the mail before the animated show hit the air. But when it came on, I watched every episode and bought every game. I was hooked from the get go. I caught all 150 Pokemon after buying both games then forcing my friend to trade using his Gameboy.
Then the news came out. You know Mewtwo? Well, you know he's a clone right? He's the strongest one in the game...or so you thought. The cute little creature he was cloned from, Mew, is in the game as well! And Mew is much stronger than Mewtwo. Before it was common knowledge that the way to get Mew was to use a Gameshark or have Nintendo give you Mew, there were hints you could find Mew in Vermillion City hidden underneath a truck. It was a long convoluted process, like most things that you think exist, that involved fighting Misti then trading for a Pokemon with cut so you can continue the game without getting on the SS Anne. Then you need to fly to SS Anne, and right before you get on the boat, Surf to the right and there's a small patch of land with a truck on it. If you use Strength on it, the truck should move and BAM there's Mew.
Allegedly, there are actual legit ways to get a Mew in the game without the Gameshark or Nintendo promotion. Again, long convoluted way about fighting two trainers in particular, lots of saving, lots of flying, having specific Pokemon, yada yada yada. Haven't tried it myself, but there are a lot of people out there saying it works. Looks like there is another glitch in the game that isn't Missingno. So while it would seem getting Mew isn't a myth as much as HOW to get Mew being the myth, it's certainly no more ridiculous to think than holding the up arrow and pressing B repeatedly to make an Ultimate Pokeball turn into a Master Ball.
4. Going from Chrono Cross to Chrono Trigger
This map above is the world map to Chrono Cross, the "sequel" to Chrono Trigger. When I originally played Chrono Cross, I had no idea what Chrono Trigger was. Never played it, and I never understood the links Chrono Cross had to it. Since I haven't played it since then, I'm still not entirely sure of everything that links the two games together. But there was one thing on this world map that was supposed to link it in more than just narrative.
Most RPG's have a moment in the game where the world opens up and you can travel anywhere on there. Chrono Cross is no different. But there was one place you could get to that wasn't on the map, and that was the original world of Chrono Trigger. Since the method of getting around the world is using a boat, many sailed these blue oceans getting to new lands. But then, there was a river someone noticed in the top left of the map. It was rumored that either having completed a certain objective in the game or having the correct party members, there would be a way to push through this river rapid allowing the player to break through into a whole new world. The world of Chrono Trigger.
Nobody has been able to do it from what I've seen. and I've tried looking and can't find that video game urban legend anywhere. I'm almost positive that I did not (radical) dream this idea from my brief memory of the game, especially since I had no idea what Chrono Trigger was at the time. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never push through that little river rapid that blocked me from entering that new open world. And it's a shame, because Chrono Cross could have used some more areas for exploration.
5. He Huffed, He Puffed, and He Blew Into His Cartridge
This can't be a myth now can it? I grew up blowing into many of my NES and SNES cartridges, and I'm sure I would have my N64 cartridges had I ever had a N64. And you know what, the games always worked when I blew in them and the console itself. So when I heard that this hurts the games and console more than help it...PURE BLASPHEMY!
But it makes sense right? Little spittle get into the cartridge/console and it causes problems due to corrosion and other chemical reactions and the games shouldn't work after a while. But they always did. If some inner wind doesn't work, we always pulled out a swab and use that, sometimes with rubbing alcohol. God we were stupid. Yet, put an old cartridge in front of me I'll use the same methods. It's burned into my brain of how to solve it now. Who needs those 3rd party cleaners they put out in the 80's and 90's? Not me, and neither did you. Although they were problematic, they always felt easier to fix than when discs started to be used.
And I may as well ask here, if blowing in the cartridge or console didn't work, there was one other method you used right? SLAM! You push that damn cartridge in further and harder each time. Pull it out, slam it. Pull it out, slam it. Occasionally blow into it again, then slam it back in. Always looking at the screen hoping to see the NINTENDO circle logo to show up on the screen. If it wasn't up in one second, you repeat the process until it does. God I miss the good ole days.
There are so many more myths and urban legends on video games to get into. These were the ones that resonated with me because they were a part of my childhood. In a way, it's somewhat disappointing. As stupid and ridiculous as some of these were, it was always fun trying to get these to work. Now....there's nothing like that. Most people are perfectly happy with glitches they find in the game, and as broken as most games are nowadays, there are a ton of glitches that people keep busy with. But these various urban legends are genuinely more fun and bring the kid in me back.
