Posted by Anthony "Agent Antskizz" Calderon on April 1, 2009

Some of the Coolest Video Game Pranks

Categories: Gaming, Random Nerdom | no responses

Ah, April Fools Day … I hate you !! I’ve never understood the point of fooling people on the first of April. I’ve always said that shows like PUNK’D, Candid Camera, and other similar “hidden camera” shows,would never be a good idea to try on me because of one thing – It would more than likely end with no one laughing, me arrested and Ashton Kutcher in the hospital. Sorry… I’m a product of my environment. Now don’t get me wrong, I can take a prank just as good as the next nerd. But most times some of these “jokes” rip a chunk of a persons soul. And no one, I repeat, No one knows how to break a man’s hopes better than the video game industry. For years they’ve gotten fanboys everywhere in an uproar on the first of April just to destroy our happiness by revealing it was a joke…. well I’m not laughing, Mr. video game Industry… I’m hurt. I really, really, reeeaaally wanted to revive Aerith in Final Fantasy VII… You big jerks. (sobs)

# 5 – Metal Gear Creed :

Konami and Ubisoft collaborated in bringing us the “newest chapter” in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The video showed gameplay footage of Solid Snake running through the battlefield wearing Altiar’s robes. It was kinda funny and I’m sure more than a few guys and gals almost broke into tears thinking it was a modern day sequel to Assassin’s Creed. Check it out for yourself here…

# 4 – World of Warcraft: The Molten Core : ss16 Last year, Blizzard announced it’s long awaited return to console gaming with a spin-off of its killer MMORPG. And it was headed straight to… the Atari 2600 ?!? Yeah. The interwebz went nuts when they heard of a console version of their beloved WOW, only to be heartbroken when they found out it was just a really mean joke. The official announcement page had people excited with the promise of “9 different shapes – and maybe colors !!”, as well as an official trailer that showed of the games “Lush 2-D environments” and the ability to “move in up to 8 different directions !!“ Haha… way to make grown men cry Blizzard… check it out here and then go here for some “concept art” HAHA…

# 3 – Valkyrie Wild : The original PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE ( PSM , before they went “official”), which was just about the sickest gaming mag ever ( Chris numbers015b-big Slate, you were genius ) ran the announcement of Valkyrie Wild, the first adults only themed game. Valkyrie Wild was a Tomb Raider Style adventure with a little extra punch – the main character was nude the entire game. I know for a fact, every reader TOTALLY forgot what month it was when they first ran into the story, complete with character art done by Adam Warren and screen shots of the main character and her “goodies” blurred out… man, I loved PSM…

# 2 – Simon Belmont code for TMNT 2 : The now defunct Electronic Gaming Magazine ( EGM ) , the undisputed masters of April fools jokes in the industry ( seriously, check out their track record ), ran an article that claimed that a slightly different version of the Konami Code ( you all know it very well ) would unlock Simon Belmont as a playable character in TMNT 2 for the NES. What made this joke so full of win was that while everyone and their momma knew this code like a preacher knew his work, it was physically impossible to get the code out before the title screen faded. The joke was cleverly executed, as the screen always faded out right at the last button press. You would get right down to press start and BAMM… you just missed it. Yet gamers everywhere still tried it for months after. I can remember people writing in to the various mags asking for hints and tips on how to pull it off and people even claiming they’ve smashed controllers in frustration… and the kicker : the screen shot that was posted with the article, wasn’t even of Simon Belmont… It was Trevor Belmont !!! Truly a classic I would love to see redone on a modern game haha…

# 1 – You Must Defeat Shen Long To Stand A Chance… : shenglong11 This April fools joke is single handedly responsible for making gamers ( including myself ) the Street Fighter II experts they are today. In 1992, again EGM, ran an exclusive article that rocked the gaming world. After accomplishing a prerequisite of all perfects on the 11 fighter roster of opponents, then 9 Draws while fighting Bison, the infamous Shen Long ( Gouken in japan ), Ken and Ryu’s sensei would appear on the screen and knock out Bison, lock the timer at 99 and proceed to kick your ass. This thing was massive. Gamers everywhere waisted quarter after quarter trying their very hardest to unlock the Shotokan Master to no avail. Your boy himself, used to beg the parental units for spare change in an attempt to do the impossible. Claims of Shen Long sightings led to both shenanigan callings and tall tales at arcades everywhere… it was crazy. The article ran with doctored screen shots of Shen Long on Bison’s stage, as well as detailed instructions and even an honorable mention to the reader that sent in the code, a Mr. W.A. Stokins ( waste tokens ) from Fuldigen, HA. ( fooled again, HA !! ). The funny thing is EGM ran a “spot the April fools joke” contest on the very same page of the article, and STILL no one picked up on the prank. It goes to show that gamers wanted to believe so badly that they didn’t even notice the signs right in front of them… The joke was so classic , they even tried it again when Street Fighter III came out. This time doing a full article spread… numbers015e-big

While Capcom will probably never admit it, this joke has been credited to being the inspiration of Akuma into the Street Fighter series ( remember… he came swooping in and knocked out Bison to fight you too ). And even now, 17 years later, Gouken is finally a playable character… and is unlocked in a very similar fashion to what EGM originally reported… even sporting a similar character design. I must say thank you EGM. Because as much as I hate to be fooled, and was dissapointed when this turned out to be false… this joke that you played on the public gave me a goal. It made me try my best to pull off the impossible. It led to the inclusion of some great characters, and it’s the reason I can “cross-over, short, jab then Dragon Punch” with the best of them.