Video game plot holes and mysteries are something that has always captivated the minds of gamers. They are basically the backbone of a gamer's curiosity and a great part of what keeps a game alive. As years go by, these curious details are turned into lore and lore is what keeps gamers talking about a game story even when it is no longer a new thing. The beauty about this aspect of gaming is that it is not perfect and from that imperfection, games get some sort of intangible form of replay value. So now that we are into the video game mystery mood, let's see 5 of those unexplained gaming enigmas that still have us scratching our heads.
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| Perhaps this is the past and present of the Shinra Corporation. |
1) Final Fantasy VII
and Final Fantasy X... Connected?
Final Fantasy is one of the most famous JRPG game sagas of
all time and still one of the most acclaimed since the very first game which saved Square Soft from ruin (way before the Square Enix thing) when they
were at the brink of bankruptcy. The saga has spawned 14 original titles and
countless sequels, side stories and related games. The mystery with this franchise is based on a small reference made on one dialogue that opened the debate about if Final
Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X are indeed connected in some way.
The dialogue happens in Final Fantasy X-2. It tells us about "Shinra of the Gullwings" who is an Al-Bhed boy who happens to be a genius and plans to use whatever is left of the Vegnagun to create a new machine that can
siphon energy from the planet. it all seems like the dreams of a child, but the project gets funded which entertains
the possibility that this "Shinra" could be one early predecessor of
president Shinra of Final Fantasy VII, implying that the world of Final Fantasy X and X2 is part of a cleverly made prequel. Based on some expressions made by some Square Enix
developers and writers, little Shinra would have tried to make the mechanism on
Spyra, but failed. Then many generations into the future, when space travel had finally become possible, another Shinra from a later generation would embark on a space journey in which he/she
discovers planet Gaia (Final Fantasy VII) and while living there, restarts the project and this time finds success, creating the very first mako
reactor. This theory is a very long
shot, but it is entertaining to read and discuss.
You can check out the quote from the Square Enix staff HERE.
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| The family guy who is a fan of the magnum gun (among others). |
2) Whatever happened
with Barry Burton? (Resident Evil)
The Resident Evil games were one of the first ones that gave
gamers a horror cinematic experience with its high end graphics (for the time) tense atmosphere and fascinating story. Nowadays, Resident Evil is not so much about
horror as it is about action, but its characters have passed the test of time
and are recognized by even the newest of Resident Evil fans. The mystery with this one is that nobody
knows the whereabouts of one of the fan favorites that used to be a key
character in the first Resident Evil game and that character is Barry Burton.
In the first Resident Evil game, Barry Burton was part of
the bravo team, who enters the mansion searching for answers. There he is
forced to work with Wesker because he threatened to harm his family. After a long way of lies and deception, Barry
almost follows Wesker's plan to fruition, but is saved before that can happen
so he manages to escape the mansion along with the others. After that, it is only known that Barry holds
an investigation in Maine and helps Jill get some information about the Umbrella Corporation, but other than
that Barry is missing in action.
Capcom could be holding Barry off for a later Resident Evil
game. Maybe things got so rough that he went to a secluded place with his
family, who knows? Barry swore he would bring Umbrella down so maybe he was the
whistleblower that prompted the government to take action. His current status is "still
alive" and the B.O.W experiments have not ceased so the mystery goes on.
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| "Wake up and smell the ashes" - G-Man |
3) Who is the G-man?
(Half Life)
Half Life is one of the gems of the first person game genre.
Featuring a superb storyline, high quality visuals (for the time) and a good amount of action in a big
world to explore. The franchise gave gamers a lot of freedom without sacrificing story
elements with earned the franchise a great deal of praise. The mystery on this game series is focused on one mysterious character who is simply called "The G-man". This shady guy has made multiple appearances in the games, even
having a full dialogue sequence in the opening of Half Life 2 as well as parts
where he seems to be just observing what happens to the protagonist Gordon
Freeman, sometimes even stopping time just to give a message and then vanishing afterwards.
Some people say that he could pretty much be a future old
version of Dr. Freeman who goes back in time to help his past self, while
others say that he is just part of the beings from the other dimension that
were connected to our dimension in the Black Mesa experiments. On Half Life 2: Episode Two, the G-man makes a reference that implies that he is not working
alone by implying that the things he does are part of the decisions taken by a group instead
of just been himself. The only thing that is certain is that the G-man seems to
have a special interest in Dr. Freeman and that we will see more of him in Half
Life 3... If there ever is one (we can dream, right?).
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| A teenage girl with some issues yes, but... Killing innocent people? |
4) Is Heather really
killing normal people? (Silent Hill 3)
Silent Hill is often considered the strongest rival of the
Resident Evil franchise. It took everything that was considered wrong in gaming
(bad camera angles, tricky controls, grainy graphics) and made it serve as
features in a solid psychological horror environment. The whole franchise is a big mystery that often involves psychology, occultism and even philosophical thinking. This time the mystery has to do with the sanity of Heather Mason who is the protagonist on Silent Hill 3.
This theory comes from a dialogue cut scene within the game
where Heather talks with Vincent. She is clearly distressed and tells Vincent
about the creatures that she had been fighting with and Vincent suddenly makes a burlesque expression and comes with the
phrase "Monsters? They look like monsters to you?". This sole phrase
gave birth to the theory that questions if Heather was really killing the demons
she saw or if it was all an illusion and she had been killing normal ordinary
people that she saw as demons.
The "Monsters?" part happens after 2:25.
Vincent goes back on his remark by saying it was all a joke, but still
some fans of the franchise see it as if he went back on his comment because of the shocked reaction
that Heather had. Evidence that supports the "Heather killed humans"
theory suggests that the cult that was responsible for what was happening in Silent
Hill is reported to have used hallucinogenic drugs on their members to make
them "see the gods and angels" which could have been administered to
Heather in one way or another. Also the dark powers in Silent Hill have a habit
of making people see and feel things which as bad it could have been by its
own, could be even worse with the use of these drugs and after all, Heather
starts the game in a shopping mall which should be *ahem* full of people. Was she just a scared teenager fighting for her life or a murderer? You be the judge.
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| The evolution of the "Blue Bomber". |
1) The transition
between Mega Man and Mega Man X
Saving the most complex for last, comes Mega Man. Otherwise
known as Rock Man or "the blue bomber", this blue robot has been the
subject of many great and successful games going from the original Mega Man
series to the Mega Man ZX games on the Nintendo DS. Right now there isn't much activity
around Mega Man except for his appearance on a comic book and as a playable
character in the next Super Smash Brothers game, but it is still considered a
fan favorite and a classic. If you are skeptic about the "fan favorite and classic" part of the character's reputation see this crowd reaction.
The great Mystery around the Mega Man series comes in the
transition between the original Mega Man and the Mega Man X series. The thing
is that there is no explanation that can tell us if Mega Man X is in fact an
enhanced version of the original Mega Man or if they are two different robots.
One of the theories suggests that Dr. Light put the original Mega Man in
stasis, made the enhancements and left him there in case a hero was needed in
the future, as his technology was far too advanced for humans to understand at
the time. Other theory suggests that the original Mega Man failed in the end
and was destroyed so Dr. Light dedicated his last years into developing a new
version of Mega Man that could not be defeated so easily.
There are many points of view in this mystery, some of them
including disturbing events like Zero waking up and killing everyone (Dr.
Light, Roll, Mega Man), but been unable to find X who was hidden and sleeping
inside a capsule underground. This is based on mere 2-4 seconds of a video
sequence in one of the Mega Man X games where it presents Zero in a place that looks
like a lab that has been trashed and has several blood stains on the floor. As you can see, this is one mystery that has a lot of possible explanations, but not one of them can be called "the definitive truth"...yet.
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| Mystery is what keeps our curiosity alive and makes life to be fun. |
Wrapping it up
There you have it folks. 5 weird video game mysteries are still causing debate in this day and age and will be there puzzling our minds until some official statement is made (which is very unlikely). From horrific possibilities, to lost characters and massive plot holes, these mysteries found in games are a very interesting and thought provoking thing to talk about and with the few ones that you just read about, we are just scratching the surface.
If you know about any other unsolved game mysteries please share them on the comments section as this kind of conversation is always fascinating.
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