When so many theories exist, we are bound to get some of them correct. However, that is one miracle in a mess of theories that did not turn out to be true. More than that, some of them are just embarrassing. Animal Crossing is actually purgatory? Sit down and drink some coffee because you clearly have not completely woken up yet.
By "wrong" theory, we mean theories that would no way come true. Only when pigs fly will the Lavender Town Syndrome theory be a reality. While the Madden Curse is a funny idea, it’s obviously fictional. If you don’t know what these theories are, then you came to the right place! These super fake theories are going to be listed and explained.
We cannot ignore that some theories came true though. Fan imaginations run so rampant that we sometimes predict twists before they happen. Though when so many off-base theories exist, can we really be so surprised? We create so many that we are bound to eventually get something right. Like did you know the Dragon Age fandom actually predicted the huge twist with Solas actually being an ancient elf just because he was bald?
Speaking of that big twist, of course, there are spoilers on this list. That’s your one and only warning.
21 Way Off: The Madden Curse
Even EA Sports games have theories and this one is rather amusing. “The Madden Curse” refers to a strange phenomenon fans have recognized regarding the NFL Madden games.
They noticed a pattern since 1998 where shortly after starring on Madden game covers; the real-life players would get their own injury in the following NFL season.
This started with Garrison Hearst breaking his ankle. According to Digital Trends, 17 out of 20 of the players who stared on Madden covers have suffered season-ending injuries as soon as the games are out.
20 Way Off: Animal Crossing Is Purgatory
Like a lot of theories, thank Reddit users and Youtube-based essays for this. The purgatory theory has been applied to everything from LOST to the Pokémon TV show and always fails to be true. Animal Crossing is no different. The theory suggests that you are a child who has died and the world is trying to distract you from finding that out. Since you are a child, the world is friendly and full of talking animals. You don’t question anything because you are a kid who is in a sort of dream-like state.
19 True: Solas Is An Ancient Elf
When information of the Dragon Age: Inquisition characters were released, fans ran wild with theories and discussions. Massive hubs of the fans are on Tumblr, and a Tumblr post actually predicted the huge mic-drop twist to one of the game’s characters, Solas.
They saw he was bald and remembered that based on in-game lore, ancient elves were often bald.
With that evidence alone, they suggested that he may be an ancient elf before the game even sat on store shelves. Of course, no one took them seriously until they beat the game.
18 Way Off: Lavender Town Syndrome
Lavender Town has never ceased in popularity since it was released in the Pokémon Red and Blue games. The town was popular for the fact that it was just creepy. Some fans got a little too excited though and created the Lavender Town Syndrome theory. The theory was backed by spikes in suicides in kids in Japan. The theory believed that the unsettling music that played in Lavender Town could make people want to end it. This is possibly one of the creepiest theories out there, but it’s obviously untrue.
17 Way Off: Metal Gear Solid 3 Didn’t Happen
To be honest, Hideo Kojima is known for confusing his fans. He often does this by breaking the 4th wall so much that the 4th wall may as well be made out of toy blocks. Some of his choices for Metal Gear Solid 3 confused fans so much that they thought the entire game was just an in-story simulation.
Since it was a prequel, you could try to create time paradoxes.
Kojima was aware of that so ending Ocelot counted as a Game Over. You’d even get one of the characters to yell that you created a time paradox.
16 True: Link Meets His Past Incarnation
In Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link meets a mysterious skeletal warrior who teaches him combat moves. The mystery skeleton has certain traits and quotes that got fans very excited to the point where they made theories that the skeleton was a past Link incarnation. It turned out that they were right when the Hyrule Historia book of lore came out. From the timelines to the details, the theory-spouting fans got to bathe in a bath of “I told you so.”
15 Way Off: Mass Effect 3 Indoctrination Theory
Mass Effect 3’s ending caused a riot in the gamer community due to all of its plot holes. What better way to fix a bunch of plot holes than with theories?
The Indoctrination Theory became a popular one due to it filling in all the plot holes.
While it was likable, it was obviously not true. The writing was just bad before they fixed it with DLC. The theory stated that Shepard was actually indoctrinated by the reapers for most the 3rd game and in the end, the only correct choice was to destroy or else the reapers won.
14 True: Fawkes Is Male
Remember if you make games that your fans will overanalyze every little detail. This happened in Fallout 3 when fans began to debate if Fawkes was female. This was from reading all of the vault computers and seeing that Fawkes is in the female group of experiments. His voice actor further confused fans by saying Fawkes is female. Then the issue was cleared up when lead designer Emil Pagliarulo said, "No, Fawkes was absolutely a male. This was a mistake. Wes gave an interview and he was mistaken. Trust me, Fawkes is and was male.”
13 Way Off: Mew Is Under A Truck
Legendary Pokémon were far fewer in numbers when this theory came to fruition through internet rumor. Fans thought that by interacting a certain way with a truck near the S.S. Anne. Some rumors said that someone had to have an entire team of Pokémon use the move Strength to move the truck. There was another that said it unearthed a Team Rocket hideout where Mew could be found. The truth was that Mew was nowhere in the game.
12 True: Giovanni Has A Son
Fans had the greatest inkling that the leader of Team Rocket had a son out there. Many actually thought the son was the first protagonist, Red. Pokémon Gold and Silver revealed that Giovanni’s son was not Red, but he did have red hair.
It was the rival from the Johto games that turned out to be the lucky son.
Maybe not so lucky though, as it seems he hates Team Rocket and his dad. A lot of fans saw this coming, especially those that read the manga.
11 Way Off: Luigi Didn't Make It Through Luigi's Mansion
There are so many Luigi theories out there. One such theory involved the smallest detail in Luigi’s Mansion. In the Telephone Room, lightning strikes and Luigi’s shadow can be seen suspended off the ground. The theorists believed the silhouette to be Luigi after meeting his end. Sorry to disappoint, but that just the game graphics being a little clunky. All the ghosts when to fan heads and they thought maybe Luigi was gone too. They just needed to calm down since ghosts were not normally explored in Mario until Luigi’s Mansion.
10 True: Michael Jackson Made Sonic The Hedgehog 3's Soundtrack
This theory seemed crazy until it was confirmed. Yes, Michael Jackson provided uncredited musical contributions to 1994’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Before confirmation, fans used comparison videos and they had some good ears! They recognized similarities between Jackson’s published music and Sonic’s Ice Cap Zone theme, end-credits music, and the Carnival Night Zone. Jackon’s involvement was confirmed by three of the six composers for the game. Sega denies it but individuals have confirmed the theory. The real question is why any side would lie?
9 Way Off: Haunted Majora's Mask Game
This theory makes for a good campfire story to scare your fellow gamers. The story of the haunted Majora’s Mask cartridge began on one of 4chan’s paranormal forums. The story goes that someone found a Nintendo 64 cartridge with just “MAJORA” written in sharpie on it.
They play the game and delete a save marked as “BEN.”
However, when they made a new game, some NPC’s still called them “BEN.” That is just one out of many creepy glitches that revealed the cartridge was haunted. Fake, but still an awesome story.
8 True: Super Mario Bros. 3 Was A Stage Performance
This theory was confirmed by Mario creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, himself. It was a rather easy theory to have when the game opens and closes with curtains.
More evidence included that pieces of the levels were bolted to the background and hung down like a purposeful construct.
When Miyamoto was asked about the theory, he confirmed that a stage performance was the idea. He also said he was Bowser Jr’s mom, so maybe we should not always depend on him for the truth.
7 Way Off: BioShock And Dishonored Are In The Same Universe
Both BioShock and Dishonored follow a similar story with similar symbols and environments. This lead some fans to theorized that the two games could take place in the same universe.
This is based on Elizabeth saying there always a man, a city, and a lighthouse in the Bioshock games.
Fans jumped up and said, “Dishonored has those!” However, the theory is fake because Dishonored appears in a universe of its own while BioShock is more based on ours, with Comstock quoting places that actually exist like Washington and people like past presidents.
6 True: Tracer Has A Girlfriend
One of the most popular gaming theory trends is on the preferences of characters. Tracer from Overwatch is one out of a hoard of reveals for the characters. Her identify was confirmed when she kissed her roommate in the comic, Reflections. For further confirmation, IGN released a statement. As in real life, having variety in our characters and their identities and backgrounds helps create a richer and deeper overall fictional universe.”
5 Fake: Tomb Raider Reveal Code
This theory throws shame on all of humanity for their dirty minds. Back in 1996, a rumor started that there was a code that could put Lara Croft in her birthday suit. Of course, that didn’t exist but that didn’t stop people from trying to find that magical code. Fake codes spread throughout the internet. Poor Lara Croft has and always been a gamer fantasy. Now mods exist for PC gamers to possible make this theory a reality.
4 True: Futaba Is Autistic
Many fans began to theorize that Futaba was on the autistic spectrum in Persona 5. This theory was supported by her English voice actor, Erica Lindbeck.
Futaba’s portrayal was applauded by the story not being about Futaba’s autism, but showing how her autism affected her situation.
Some fans still think there is not enough evidence to support this theory, arguing that Futaba is just an awkward introvert. However, the voice actress definitely did her homework when it came to autistic speech patterns and a lot of fans who were on the spectrum saw themselves in Futaba.
3 True: The Zelda Timeline
Fans theorized for a long time that the Zelda games were all connected in some crazy way. These theories were made despite the fact that all the games appeared to not follow a clear timeline. It was just the same characters with different iterations of a story, much like folklore. However, when the Hyrule Historia came out, fans were stunned to see an official timeline to be canon, making the fan theory come true. However, some fans still deny the timelines since they are known to be full of plot holes.
2 Fake: Peach Is Letting Herself Get Taken
Art by: raizy
There is supposedly not enough victim blaming in the real world, so we turned to Peach and are now blaming her for getting taken. Some fans concluded that Peach might, in fact, want to be with Bowser and is allowing herself to get taken.
They have theorized that she is really with Bowser.
It’s a gross theory to start blaming someone who is a victim for being a victim. Fans just prefer to call Peach stupid than to hate on Bowser apparently.