Summary
- Retcons can reshape fictional universes and storylines in video games like Saints Row 2 and Metal Gear Solid 5.
- Pokemon games evolved from real-life settings to fantasy worlds, changing player experiences.
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword reshaped the origin stories of the Master Sword and Ganon.
A retcon, or a retroactive continuity, is a device in fiction that allows authors or creators to rewrite history in their fictional universes. They can be good or bad, depending on how they are used, and are typically used in a long-running continuity in order to open up new avenues of storytelling or nuance.
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Naturally, with so many long-running video game series, retcons have been used left, right, and center. Some changed the nature of a character and their role in the world, while others bent the nature of the world itself.
7 The Identity Of The Boss - Saints Row 2
From Silent Gangbanger To Charismatic Leader
Saints Row 2
- Released
- October 14, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Third-Person Shooter
The protagonist in the original Saints Row was essentially a preset character. Male, voiceless, and characterized by their actions. The sequel, Saints Row 2, saw fit to change this up, along with the overall tone, by giving players extensive control over their Boss' visual appearance with some impressive character customization options.
Saints Row 2 begins with The Boss waking up in a prison hospital, having undergone plastic surgery for the horrific burn wounds they endured at the end of the previous game. While this might have explained their new appearance on a surface level, only a retcon could explain their gender swap or entirely new, grafted-on voice and personality.
6 Big Boss Only Lives Twice - Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
A Snake Split Down The Middle
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
With so many twists and turns in the Metal Gear Solid series, it can be hard to tell retcons and revelations apart. From Metal Gear Solid onward, Big Boss consistently became a victim of these retcons. For example, Liquid Snake declares that the genes used to clone himself and Solid Snake were "vintage," and that Big Boss was cloned in his 50s.
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However, in Peace Walker, set a couple of years after he was cloned, Big Boss was in his late 30s. Perhaps the biggest retcon in the Metal Gear series occurred in The Phantom Pain, when it revealed that the player was not controlling Big Boss but his body double, Venom Snake. The ending retcons the final battle that Solid Snake had with "Big Boss" at the end of 1987's Metal Gear.
5 Cyrodiil Unjungled - The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
From Dragon-Rusted Rainforests To A Land Of Knights And Fair Meadows
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Released
- March 20, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The Tamriel as seen in the Elder Scrolls series has changed between every game. What began as a generic fantasy world gradually took on more nuances, more real-world inspired mythology, and philosophical bents until it resembles the fleshed-out fictional setting seen today. The jump between Daggerfall and Morrowind is vast in this regard, with great effort put into crafting thought-provoking creation myths, ostentatious metaphysics, and other sublime lore entries, not to mention the retcon of the "Warp in the West," which combined all of Daggerfall's endings into one.
However, the most controversial change likely took place in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, which saw the much-established center of the continent, Cyrodiil, go from being a continent of two halves (jungle, swamp, and meadows) to a Tolkien-esque and idyllic European-styled land mass. As with many retcons in The Elder Scrolls' past, it was handwaved with "magic," time-fracturing "dragon breaks," and "Talos' mastery of CHIM," but the real answer might be somewhere between "rendering a jungle was too computationally costly" and "Lord of the Rings is popular in the 2000s."
4 Zack's Greater Role In The Story - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7
From A Flashback Character To Hero Of The Flashpoint
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7
- Released
- March 24, 2008
- ESRB
- Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Thanks to its popularity, Final Fantasy 7 evolved beyond a standalone story in the anthology series. In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix re-examined the events that sparked off FF7, Sepheroth's motivations at the Nibel Reactor, and the shenanigans with Cloud's mixed-up memories in particular. In FF7, Zack was simply Cloud's army buddy who got captured and experimented on for years before escaping with Cloud to Midgar.
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After being run down from such an arduous journey, Zack is tragically executed by two of Shinra's thugs. Before passing on, he says his final words to Cloud, giving him his iconic Buster Sword. In Crisis Core, with Zack being the player-empowered protagonist, he seemingly takes down half of Shinra's forces before succumbing to his wounds and giving a more awake and alert Cloud a long soliloquy and a goodbye. These changes echoed out to Remake, which ran with its own continuity.
3 Wesker's Plan All Along - Resident Evil - Code: Veronica
Hiding A Whole Lot Behind The Sunglasses
Resident Evil CODE:Veronica
- Released
- March 28, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
This character isn't the only example of a Resident Evil retcon, but it is the most obvious. Everyone's favorite virus-superpowered eugenicist enthusiast, Albert Wesker, was originally supposed to be the shady (pun intended) team member who got what was coming to him for betraying the group at the end of the original Resident Evil.
However, Resident Evil - Code Veronica established that he had not only survived but was the mastermind behind the events of the first, second, and third games. In subsequent games, with his super strength, super speed, and near invulnerability, he would attempt to submerge the whole world in viral chaos.
2 From The Real World To A Fictional World - Pokemon Red And Blue
From Near Future To Far Fantasy Settings
Pokemon Red
- Released
- February 27, 1996
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, JRPG
The first Pokemon games brought many gamers a kind of experience they had never seen before in a familiar, somewhat contemporary setting. The idea of catching monsters rather than slaying them all was novel, as was having players explore a slightly more technologically advanced mirror of the real world. Pokemon Red and Blue, and the early sequels, Gold and Silver, had players explore the real-life Japanese regions of Kanto and Johto.
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As they advanced through the story, they would find several references to the real world, including a gym leader from the United States of America (Lt. Surge) and Pokemon capable of crossing the Pacific Ocean with kicks (Poliwrath). However, along with many other Poke-recons, the series eschewed real-life locations and countries for fantasy ones. For example, Kalos and Galar are clearly inspired by France and the United Kingdom, respectively, but are overt fictions.
1 The Master Sword And Ganon's Origins - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Forged With Fate And Divine Will
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Released
- November 20, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Originally, the Master Sword was simply a powerful relic, and Ganon was a warlock-turned-demon king with unclear origins. That all changed when Nintendo dropped The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword, which rewrote the foundation of the entire Zelda timeline. The game introduced Demise, an ancient evil sealed away by the goddess Hylia.
After his defeat, Demise cursed Link and Zelda’s bloodlines to be forever hunted by his reincarnated hatred (Ganon). The Master Sword was revealed to be the Goddess Sword reborn, infused with Fi, the Goddess Sword's native spirit, and fated to find Link in his every battle against Demise's successor. This retcon didn’t just add backstory but hardwired destiny into every Zelda game to come.
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