Top Ten video game urban legends – my cousin said so Part 2

Here I am again for the second and last part of the top ten video game urban legends.
I know I am late (and I truly apologize) but I am now ready to list the top five legends in my ranking! Just a couple of things before starting off:

1) I would like to thank all those who commented on my very first article. So much love… You made me feel special. Oh and also happy new year everyone!

2) Instead, if you have not read Part 1, you may find the following excerpt helpful:

But now, it is time to move to the top five legends in the ranking. I have already lost too much time because of Christmas holidays and other distractions…

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5. Minecraft (cross-platform 2009) – Herobrine, the white-eyed ghost

Minecraft

As a super fan of Minecraft, I just could not help including the most famous urban legend about this game.

Herobrine was first mentioned in 2010 by a video game streamer who went by the name of Copeland. He talked about an anonymous Minecraft user who had reported coming across another character while they were playing offline. This other character had white eyes and ran away anytime the user tried to follow him in order to get a closer look.

The same anonymous user then noticed some small occurrences in his world he had no explanation for, like tunnels, sand pyramids, and leafless trees. They attributed such occurrences to the creepy, elusive, white-eyed character.

Notch – Minecraft’s creator – hastened to publicly deny the existence of a character named Herobrine in the game, thus stopping the hoax. After some time, though, the same Notch decided to play a prank on Minecraft’s players and included the following remark in some patch notes: “Removed Herobrine”.
Needless to say that not only did he “revive” the hoax, it also went viral and still is today…

I have to admit that I did buy into it for a while… I was much younger and my father remembers my screams of terror, when I made myself believe that I had seen it. Yeah I was beyond scared, but then I luckily realized that even if it had really existed, it would have been just a video game character and could have not harmed me in any way.

4. Street Fighter 2 (Arcade 1991) – the legendary Sheng Long

Street Fighter 2

The following is one of the most famous video game legends ever, and it is safe to say that it is known worldwide.

Let us proceed in an orderly fashion, though.

The name “Sheng Long” comes from a mistranslation of “Shoryuken”, none other than Ryu’s jumping uppercut. It can be found in one of Ryu’s catchphrases upon winning a fight (see the above image).

Because of that, gamers were under the impression that Ryu was talking about a real person rather than the physical attack itself. Street Fighter 2 was so popular that the rumour quickly spread through arcades and group of friends, even prompting some then gaming magazines to write about it.
Sheng Long was now a secret boss character that would appear by meeting some extreme or bizarre conditions.

Obviously, such conditions varied depending on where you were geographically located. Often, they even varied from an arcade to another, lol. My dad clearly remembers the most unlikely stories that circulated as to how to unlock Sheng Long:

A) You have to select Blanka and beat all the characters by using only his electric thunder.

B) You have to choose E. Honda and beat all the characters by using only his hundred hand slap.

(here comes the funniest one)

C) You have to pick M. Bison and play as player 2. Bison is going to wear a green uniform instead of his classic red one. If you beat all the characters, Sheng Long will show up saying he wants your uniform, and a fight will ensue.

Needless to say, nothing of the above is true and nobody has ever seen Sheng Long in Street Fighter 2, because he does not exist. The only thing worth mentioning is the time I wasted trying to beat all the characters using only Blanka’s and Honda’s special attacks. It is literally impossible, lol.

3. PlayStation 2 (Sony 2000) – A gaming weapon of mass destruction

Sony PlayStation 2

Probably, the most absurd gaming hoax, yet you would not believe how many people bought into that.

According to the legend, in the year 2000 Saddam Hussein – the late Iraqi dictator – bought an unknown number of the then brand new PlayStation 2. Was he such a keen gamer? No, he “only” wanted to build a weapon of mass destruction by exploiting the super powerful processor that Sony’s then latest creation contained.

While it is obviously unknown who started such a rumor, it is worth noting that Sony’s advertising campaign was all about PlayStation 2 being the most powerful gaming console ever created.

I am not going to speculate, but such a hoax was definitely well-timed, given that – according to Wikipedia – we are talking about the best-selling video game console of all time…

My dad and his friends often – and hilariously – recall how any storekeeper leveraged the rumor to talk gamers into purchasing a PlayStation 2.

It was like:

Customer: “Is it powerful?”

Storekeeper: “Are you kidding me? Saddam Hussein bought 10000 units in order to build a nuclear weapon!”

Well, it speaks for itself, nothing more to add. LOL

2. Sensible World of Soccer (Amiga 1994) – the mysterious bicycle kick

Sensible Word of Soccer ’96/’97

Swos is a masterpiece, period. In his top 10 retro soccer game list, my father ranked it first and I totally agree. The gameplay is simply sublime, but it has got a flaw: you cannot do a bicycle kick!

Well, let us make this clear: my dad and me have never managed to do it, and the same goes for everybody we have played. Even Jon Hare (the creator of Swos) has stated multiple times that he and his team could not implement it, despite willing to. Yet, there are still some wannabe gamers who – after nearly 25 years from its first release – maintain that they regularly perform bicycle kicks, when playing Swos. According to them, people say there is no such a move, because they do not know how to execute it. LOL

Such diehard dreamers are funny today, but back then, rumors were out of control and countless were the unverifiable testimonies. The climax came in the early 2000s, when a low-quality video, featuring a Sensi player scoring a bicycle kick, began to circulate on gaming forums (no social media back then LOL).

The video was accompanied by precise instructions for its execution:

1) First, you need to follow the ball shadow.

2) Next, you have to wait for it to be in front of the designed player.

3) Then, you have to quickly move the joystick down and then up.

4) After, press the fire button and perform a powerful, “unsavable” scissor kick.

5) Finally, enjoy it!!!

Those storytellers’ glory was not meant to last long, anyway. After a few months, the truth came out: that was not Swos, that was Football Glory, a clone with an appalling gameplay, whose graphics similarity with the former was fairly impressive.

What is Football Glory like in brief? Mmm, Well, let us see, its only pro is that you can do a bicycle kick, LOL.

Football Glory

And before revealing the number one on this list, it is appropriate and polite to give you a small warning:

SPOILER ALERT!

1. Final Fantasy 7 (PlayStation 1997) – reviving Aerith

Aerith Gainsborough

Yeah, this is the top one gaming urban legend, not even a question!

Finding a way to revive Aerith has been haunting gamers from all over the world for years, including my father. He adores her, she is his favourite Final Fantasy female character ever! He officially gave up trying to resurrect her not later than a couple of years ago, but still struggles to deal with it. His countless “yet there must be a way”are memorable (love you to pieces daddy, just having a bit of fun).

The sweet Aerith is brutally killed by Sephiroth in the first CD of the game and unfortunately it is impossible to revive her. That is part of the plot. It is sad, but we have to accept it…

No, I am lying, we cannot accept it, Aerith cannot die like that! I do not know of anyone who has accepted this event, but I know many who claim to know how to resurrect her. I tried every solution I found online, but none of them worked, they are all hoaxes. There is no secret object, there is no special magic: there is only a lot time wasted.

For the record, you can revive her through a GameShark code, but we are talking about a cheat cartridge, so what is the point of doing that? In addition, in doing so, Aerith rejoins the party, but she is by no means the same. To begin with, she says other characters’ lines, coming across as very awkward. Secondly, her presence – or better said – her return does not change nor affects the plot, on the contrary the game starts crashing very often. In a word, she is invisible, and so I wonder: Is it worth playing like this? in my humble opinion, It is better to remember her for what she left us until she was a real active character in the game.

END OF SPOILER ALERT!

My first article is over – and this is not a legend, it is true!

I never thought I would write an article for my father’s blog at only 11 years old. I know I have a lot to learn, but I find all that to be extremely fun.

I started brainstorming by myself and I came up with the idea of wanting to talk about something funny… Gaming urban legends have always made me laugh out loud, so I began to write down some of the stories my father and his friends usually tell me. I then added what I knew as a gamer and finally I did research work to check my sources for credibility. Not only will I not forget such an experience, but also I want to repeat it soon, school and sports permitting.

Thank you for your attention, see you soon!

James