Top 15 Unsolved Video Game Mysteries
15. Five Bug-filled Jars The Elder Scrolls V:
Skyrim is a role-playing game which follows the character on a mission to conquer a dragon called Alduin the World-Eater, who just might destroy the world. Players can complete quests, improve skills, or simply travel around the game world. However, in traveling, the player collects around five bug-filled jars with the following insects inside: a butterfly, a bee, a moth, a Torchbug, and a dragonfly. The jars’ lids each have runic symbols on them, and their meaning is one video game mystery that’s been hounding players for years.
Many have tried to decipher them and theories have been floating around as to what the runes could mean. It seems like such a specific task of collecting bugs in jars – jars with runes on them – should have some point. Are the runes instructions? Will they help summon the dragon? The mystery of the five bug-filled jars remains unsolved, no matter how much time gamers waste collecting bugs.
14. W.D. Gaster
Undertale is a role-playing game in which players take on the role of a human child. Having fallen into this isolated world beneath the Earth, called the Underground, the player is on a quest back to the surface, meeting many monsters, whom he can attack or spare along the way. Different choices determine the outcome of the game. One of the most mysterious parts of Undertale is the character of W. D. Gaster. Gaster was the royal scientist who created the CORE, a tech-advanced facility between Hotland and New Home that is the source of magical electricity in the Underground. But no one truly knows what happened to Gaster.
Some of his followers claim “his experiments went wrong”; others say Gaster “fell into his creation”; and still others believe he “shattered across space and time.” The game doesn’t offer any concrete evidence of who Gaster actually is, but some players point to suggestive hints at what might be his purpose. Die hard gamers have data mined game code and gathered NPCs dialogue. In doing so, they’ve come to the conclusion that Gaster was a skeleton scientist who experimented on time and space.
Although Gaster doesn’t even have a recognizable form, he seems to have fallen into one of his inventions, and his essence has expanded across the game’s universe. However, in Waterfall, several assets and rooms provide hints at his appearance. Gaster is believed to appear in Room 269 (room_mysteryman). The figure there has a cracked and disfigured face and is in full black and white. Another mystery about the man is that if you attempt to name yourself Gaster at the beginning of the game, you’ll be booted back to the intro. Game over. There is only one Gaster in Undertale.
13. Rebecca Chambers’ Fate
Not many gamers care too much for Rebecca Chambers, the supporting character in the original 1996 Resident Evil video game and the main character in its 2002 prequel, Resident Evil Zero. But that doesn’t mean they’ll let her vanish off the map without question. After Chambers’ first appearance as an officer in the Special Tactics and Rescue Service police unit in a mansion full of zombies and her second act in the prequel, where she’s separated from her team, only to end up partnering with Billy Coen, an escaped convict, she is nowhere to be found in the other 25 Resident Evil games.
While there have been plenty of other more intriguing characters to fill her role as side-kick and protagonist, the likely story is that Shinji Mikami, Resident Evil creator, simply didn’t like her. However, a Japanese play tells another story. In the play, Biohazard: The Stage, Chambers speaks at a college, as a guest lecturer…but secretly, she’s there to probe claims of bio-terrorism undercover. After verifying the claims are real, she partners again with Chris Redfield to bring justice. Although this may just be a piece of fandom, it’s one theory on Chambers’ fate, which would otherwise remain an unsolved mystery.
12. Mew Under a Truck
One of the greatest mysteries in popular Pokemon lore is based around the beloved character, Mew, from Gameboy’s original Pokemon adventures. The fictional creature, created by Satoshi Tajiri, is tiny and could very well fit beneath the truck. Although why he’d be there in the first place is up for debate. The pink, Psychic-type Mythical Pokemon is known as a secret character. Therefore, myths and rumors and mystery surround Mew. One of them is that Mew is hidden beneath a truck in Vermillion City. This is the point in the game where a player boards the S.S. Anne. Hidden in a corner, a random truck sits all alone. You can only arrive at the truck byway of Surf.
With such an inexplicable truck placed so carelessly in Kanto, and being the only vehicle there, the truck must mean something or do something, some players suggested…or it must be hiding something. Because no meaning was found there and the truck didn’t seem to do anything, whatsoever, some concluded that Mew was hiding beneath it. The Pokemon company didn’t admit anything either way. But they did place a lava cookie underneath the truck in the remakes. Was this to pacify the rumors…or to hide the real mystery of Mew’s presence beneath the truck in the original? That’s for the gaming community to decide.
11. The Mystery of Mount Chiliad
In Grand Theft Auto V, there’s a mystery wrapped inside a riddle designed into a map. At the summit of San Andreas’ Mount Chiliad in the cable car station, a map is posted on the wall with strange and mysterious symbols…symbols which seem to indicate secret objects at various locations on Mount Chiliad. The most mysterious symbol on the map is an eye drawn above it. This has become known in the gaming community as the “Eye of Providence” or the “All-Seeing Eye.” Some believe it’s referring to the Illuminati; others think it symbolizes the sunken remains of the UFO or even one that floats above Mount Chiliad.
The latter theory may be more on the mark, as the symbol appears similar to those symbols that clue players in when they’re at a point where they can find a UFO. However, no player has been able to find a way to reach the floating UFO, so the mysterious symbol has some calling it an “Easter egg”.” Additionally, a red symbol beneath the viewing platform is theorized to be connected to achieving the collection of UFO parts “From Beyond the Stars.” Behind the viewing platform, another drawing says, “Come back when your story is complete.” Once the player reaches 100% completion, if they return to the platform, they’ll find a UFO floating above Mount Chiliad. Those who believe the strange eye symbol above the map is in reference to the Illuminati decipher the phrase, “Come back when your story is complete,” as a statement about the Illuminati’s “New World Order” – their design to conquer the world under a single totalitarian government.
10. Dachoras and Etecoons
In the game Super Metroid, which is often called one of the best video games of all times, the player becomes Samus Aran, an intergalactic bounty hunter on a conquest to planet Zebes, in pursuit of a baby Metroid, which was kidnapped by Ridley, the leader of the Space Pirates. The game is action-packed and adventure-oriented with 2D visuals. The player is encouraged to explore and uncover power-ups which will allow access to other areas. On her mission to collect the Metroid from Mother Brain, Samus comes across dachoras and etecoons, two species of nonviolent creatures on Zebes. The peaceful creatures teach Samus how to shinespark and wall jump.
The mystery lies in how this green ostrich and adorable monkey are able to survive the wild that is planet Zebes, with all of its dangerous predatory creatures and Space Pirates, to boot. Are they just so insignificant that Space Pirates don’t give a rat’s tail about them? Are they inedible, so predators refuse to attack them? Or could they even have some dangerous unknown abilities of their own, so both groups know not to mess with them? Who knows? Not the gaming community… To add to the mystery, as planet Zebes is about to detonate and Samus’ ship takes off before it’s too late, you can see a white dot leaving Zebes. Dachoras and etecoons have escaped! How?
And, if they knew how to fly a spaceship all along, why didn’t they leave the terrible planet a long time ago? Although the creatures don’t make many more appearances in future games, Samus does come across them in the Biologic Space Laboratories research station in Metroid Fusion. She recognizes them, saying: “I've met these intelligent beings before. They seemed to recognize me, as well. How unusual to meet again here.” Unusual…and mysterious, to put it mildly.
9. Luigi’s Face
The following mystery was picked apart on the GameFAQ’s board when user Lord Zero Empire posted a thread about what he found behind a locked door of Super Mario Sunshine. He’d discovered a mysterious book flung onto the floor in the secret room. However, he couldn’t open the book. Of course, gamer theories abounded. Some believed the book held a secret message from Miyamoto, the game’s designer; others said it was a photo album; still others believe it unlocks Luigi in the game or the special Mario trophy in SSB:M.
Wait, there’s more – even more Mario fans theorize that the book holds clues for the following Mario game, while some players suggest the book unlocks a special device for Mario to wear. On the same thread, a user called axdenied imagined he saw a facial imprint on the door. He believes it to be Luigi’s face. Axdenied also posted that he’d entered the locked door via a glitch in the ceiling. This didn’t allow him to open, move, or even pick up the mysterious book, however.
Gamers kept pointing to the following comment made by creator, Shigeru Miyamoto: “What if everything you see is more than what you see - the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things.” This seems to imply that things aren’t in Nintendo games for no reason…and sometimes they’re there for important reasons…and, yet, the reasons for this book remain a mystery. And the mystery grows.
8. The Triforce
Ocarina of Time is an action-adventure game in The Legend of Zelda series for Nintendo. The player is in control of a character called Link whose mission is to seize the Triforce before Ganondorf, the king of the Gerudo tribe, does. The Triforce is a wish-granting relic, and Ganondorf will use it for evil. To stop Ganondorf from achieving his purpose, Link travels through time via dungeon-like settings in order to alert the sages to Ganondorf’s quest. The sages can lock the evil king away for eternity. It all sounds very mysterious. But whether or not the Triforce even exists in the game is the real mystery.
Nintendo said they decided to get rid of the relic altogether, despite the fact that Link is shown seizing hold of the Triforce in an early trailer of the game. Players ignored Nintendo’s antics, believing they were just trying to throw gamers off the Easter egg. The Triforce must be hidden somewhere. A whole website exists, dedicated to finding the Triforce. And some contradict Nintendo, claiming to have found the magic relic. They even provide detailed lists of where and how to find it, yourself. But these supposed methods of finding the Triforce have been debunked. In fact, they’re so ridiculous that they’re likely the result of trolling. But that still doesn’t stop those gamers who are determined to find the likely nonexistent Triforce from marching on in their ceaseless search.
7. Who is Sheng Long?
The popular 90s arcade game, Street Fighter II, pitted brawny street fighters against each other. Those who came out victorious would bound onto the screen to boast of your pitiful defeat. One of the biggest blowhards of the game was Ryu, a martial arts expert, who would always spout off after his victories with the challenge: “You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance.” Most gamers believed Sheng Long to be the ultimate street fighter – a fighter who was accessible only once you’d reached a certain level in your serious street fighting ways. But no matter how many quarters gamers would feed into the slots, no one has ever met Sheng Long.
Perhaps the mysterious top dog street fighter is so foxy that players will never defeat him, because he doesn’t even show up to the fight. Or perhaps Sheng Long, the fighter, doesn’t even exist. Some theorize that Ryu’s popular challenge is simply a mistranslation from the original Japanese. And, actually, the unsolved video game mystery may truly be a simple “lost in translation” mystery. The original Japanese version: “If you cannot overcome the Rising Dragon Punch, you cannot win.” Most likely, the “Rising Dragon Punch” is one of Ryu’s most powerful moves.
6. The Secret Blueprint Room
Batman Arkham Asylum is of course based on the Batman DC comic books. The game’s plot follows the superhero’s attempt to prevent the Joker from completing his plan to take control of Arkham Asylum, where all of Gotham City’s inmates are kept. The Joker intends to trap Batman in the asylum with all of the villains that Batman put behind bars. In the game, Batman must fight his way through the villains using stealth and combat moves, weaponry, and detective skills.
One of the biggest mysteries of the game is the secret blueprint room, which was so well hidden that it took two years for players to discover the thing after the game was released…and that was only after Rocksteady, the game’s developer, previewed the follow-up game. The room holds a blueprint for an asylum the size of a city. The blueprint is said to be the asylum warden Quincy Sharp’s dream asylum, which takes up an entire city sector. This mystery becomes the setting for the sequel, Batman: Arkham City.
5. The Final Fantasy
Connection Final Fantasy has 14 original titles and a number of sequels. But it’s one short dialogue that calls into question the mystery of whether Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X are somehow linked. Final Fantasy VII’s storyline is led by the mercenary, Cloud Strife. Strife becomes a member of an eco-terrorist organization, in order to derail the megacorporation, Shinra, from seizing control of the world and using life on Earth as a source of energy. Cloud and his team end up going after a superhuman named Sephiroth, whose motive is planetary destruction.
As Cloud pursues Sephiroth, friendships with his team develop, particularly with Aerith Gainsborough, the secret holder of world salvation. Final Fantasy X/X-2 is set against the backdrop of Spira, a fantasy world, and follows an adventurous group out to destroy Sin, a destructive monster. Players are in the role of the athlete of blitzball, Tidus, who is avenging the destruction of his hometown of Zanarkand. The dialogue occurs in this world of Spira and mentions “Shinra of the Gullwings.” In Final Fantasy X-2, Shinra is described as an Al-Bhed boy genius who will set out to produce a machine to siphon off the planet’s energy.
This is where the unsolved mystery comes in. Is Shinra related to Final Fantasy VII’s president Shinra? Is FF X actually a prequel to FFVII? Some of the games’ developers and writers have mentioned that Shinra initially failed to build the machine on Spyra. It was only after space travel was invented nearly a century later that a later generation Shinra would be able to set off on the journey across space to planet Gaia, which exists in Final Fantasy VII. Here, he tries to build the mako reactor again – and succeeds. Although this is just a theory, entertaining the idea of some connection between the two games is certainly intriguing.
4. The Eye Super Smash Bros
Melee is a crossover fighting game, featuring all your favorite Mario characters. The unsolved video game mystery of Smash Bros is all in the women’s eyes. If you want to fall in love with Rosalina, you’ll have to look deeply into her one eye, as the other is always hidden by hair. No one knows why her other eye is hidden, but there are of course some theories. Some suggest that Rosalina is so pretty that she must hide her face so the other Smash girls don’t smash it in. Others suggest she may have a kekkei genkai, or a bloodline trait, which is hereditary and enables the development of special techniques based on genetic abilities. However, the screenshots of Rosalina in many of the games project a normal-looking eye, so perhaps this second theory is false.
Rosalina is not the only Mario associate with a weird eye. Daisy, who has a pair of seemingly normal baby blues will surprise you when she blinks a third. Yep, Daisy has a third eye, and it’s visible on Super Smash Bros Melee, particularly if you look closely at the Daisy Trophy. Who knows what it does? Can Daisy see into the future? Does it have special powers? Or did Daisy steal one of Rosalina’s eyes, because she really was too beautiful? Blink once if we’re right, Daisy.
3. The First Easter Egg
Adventure, one of Atari’s first video games, released in 1979-80, is widely credited for developing the first Easter egg. The gamer play involves a square avatar whose exploratory adventure leads him to a magic chalice that he must bring to the golden castle. Bats and dragons are the avatars mortal enemies in the game. The Easter egg is a hidden in-joke by the game’s creators. There’s a secret room in the game, which can only be reached if a player channels a grey dot into the room. If they do, what will they find? Just a message by the game’s maker, taking credit for his work. “Created by Warren Robinett,” the message purportedly says.
While this video game mystery isn’t that “unsolved,” so to speak, there is a theory behind why Robinett felt compelled to credit himself. The programmer is said to have been irritated with Atari for never giving credit where credit is due. So, in a way, the secret room was a big F U to Atari. Some say the Easter eggs were started even before this game. A 1976 Fairchild Channel F console is said to have several hidden messages, while the 1978 pong game, Video Whizball, supposedly also posts the name of the coder when a player completes a difficult sequence of moves at the end of the game. If this is where Easter eggs started, then Robinett and these other coders should be very proud, as their eggs have hatched decades of secret messages, inside jokes, and references all tucked away into video games.
2. Majora’s Mask
This videogame mystery is a little different. It involves a supposedly haunted videogame cartridge discovered by some 4Channer. As the story goes, years ago, a 4Channer posted what many believed to be a tall tale about a haunted N64 cartridge called Majora’s Mask. The cartridge was blank, and this title was written on it with a sharpie. To corroborate his story, the poster uploaded photos and video footage on YouTube of the game. The game appeared to be the fan favorite, Zelda…but with a bit of a twist. The cartridge had a save file entitled “Ben,” but the user decided to start a new game. Despite playing under a different name, the NPCs always called the player Ben. Most 4Channers pointed out that it was probably just a glitch in the cartridge…but the story gets weirder.
The user then destroyed “Ben,” thinking this would help matters. He started a new save file. But the game wasn’t having none of that. It turned on the player, playing backwards music and sending the protagonist’s statue after the player. Yikes. The user decided to restart the game, but the deleted “Ben” file had somehow been restored. Not only that, but a second file, entitled “drowned,” had also appeared. No matter which file the user would play under – “Ben,” “drowned,” or a new game – he would meet the same end. The following words would flash on the screen: “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?” No one knows what happened with this cartridge, but we do know one thing: it certainly must be haunted.
1. How Did the Fallout Fall Out?
It was Saturday, October 23rd, 2077. This is the day the world would end. It was inevitable that the world’s superpowers would finish it all off in a gunfight of nuclear proportions. And Fallout pitted two of these superpowers against each other in the smack down that would incinerate everything in its wake within the span of two hours. China in one corner; America in the other. And between the two, a nuclear arsenal that would break everything down.
This nuclear Armageddon lands Fallout players into the post-nuclear arena of the game. The mystery lies in what led up to the fallout in the first place. Really, why in the world would China and America arrive at this war-mongering point in their relationship? And why would the rest of the world follow by nuking every other country on earth to smithereens? Although Fallout 2 and the Fallout movie do hint at what started it all, there is no empirical evidence or theory about why China and America were at their wits’ end. In Fallout 2, Dick Richardson – America’s yellow-belly president, hidden away in his bunker – blames the whole thing on China. They were the first ones to strike, and of course America couldn’t stand for that. Hence, the fallout ensued.
The Fallout movie, on the other hand, reveals another, more nefarious motive. In the movie, a Vault-Tec executive serves as the brains behind WWIII, inciting nuclear war so that the world will fulfill his prophecy. Further, Fallout 2 calls into question whether or not aliens had anything to do with it, as Mothership Zeta enters the arena. Most people don’t believe this theory. However, even with all these purported motives, many gamers point to a mysterious, buried, “optional” area of Fallout 2 as the key behind the epic fallout.
In this hidden area, the player is faced with ACE, a voice-activated supercomputer, whose main purpose is to treat Brotherhood of Steel soldiers. Those who do not inquire further won’t find the truth. But if a player presses ACE about its emotions and feelings, the supercomputer admits to understanding human loneliness. It further states that the nuclear war may have been launched by mysterious computer intelligences, out of loneliness and boredom. Sad…and super mysterious. This is just a theory, however, and despite four follow-up sequels, the mystery remains muddy.
