Top Times Developers Trolled Players | MojoPlays
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VOICE OVER: Todd Haberkorn
WRITTEN BY: Jarett Burke
Welcome to MojoPlays! Today we're looking at moments when developers trolled players in games. Sure, as gamers, we were the butt of the joke, but these trollings were so creative that we can't help but applaud the results!
Welcome to MojoPlays! Today we’re looking at moments when developers trolled players in games. Sure, as gamers, we were the butt of the joke, but these trollings were so creative that we can't help but applaud the results!
Crappy Korok Seeds
‘Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)
There’s no doubt that collecting these infernal seeds is worth the effort, seeing as they increase Link’s inventory slots. But did there really have to be 900 of them?! Even if we used a guide, it would still take an inordinate amount of time to accomplish. Time that could be spent doing something useful, like have Link cook up some Hearty Wild Greens! Surely such a feat reaps an equally monuental reward, right? Well, actually, it’s pretty shitty, pun intended. The reward for collecting all 900 seeds is a giant golden turd, and not only that – upon climbing said giant turd – we came to realize that we’ve been collecting little mini turds the whole game! Those Nintendo rascals!
Insanity
“Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem” (2002)
How does one go about setting itself apart from other distinguished survival horror games? In Eternal Darkness' case - it's the sanity meter. Simple premise, unholy execution. As the meter emptied, strange happenings would suddenly occur. Such effects were meant to show that the in-game character was losing it, but of course developer Silicon Knights had to take things one step further. Sometimes the game would pretend to reset to the title screen, even bugs would randomly coming into view. It was a truly freaky, epic troll! “Batman: Arkham Asylum” would later have a stab at this, with the game appearing to freeze and reset, but it was really just developers messing with us.
Message Board Troll
“Super Paper Mario” (2007)
Back in the yesteryear of 2007, social media was still in its infancy, so messages boards were the number one destination for frustrated gamers who needed to vent. The good folks at Nintendo no doubt saw their name and products in many of these online rants, and clearly saw a pattern of people complaining just for the sake of complaining. As such, they decided to take a subtle jab at gamers who unleashed their fury this way. While answering a series of true or false questions when entering Francis’ fortress, one questions asks, “I love going on message boards and complaining about games I’ve never played!” Well played, Nintendo!
Kingdom Hearts II.9
“Kingdom Hearts 3” (2019)
Since Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2006, followed by an untold number of spin offs – fans were starting to wonder if they were ever going to get a true sequel. So when “Kingdom Hearts 3” was FINALLY released over a decade later, diehard followers could finally breathe a huge sigh of relief. Of course, Square Enix wasn’t about to let this moment go by without making a joke at the expense of those who waited so long, and it came in the form of a prologue titled “Kingdom Hearts 2.9." No doubt this title screen caused laughter and anguish in equal measure.
The Ladies Man
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)
CD Projekt Red are crafty, crafty bastards. No doubt they knew that giving gamers the option to romance one of two beautiful women would result in many self-proclaimed Don Juan trying to score with both of them… and damned if they weren’t right. Knowing a bunch of hormonially charged gamers wouldn’t be able to help themselves, they laid the perfect trap. You see, if Geralt attempted to romance both Yennefer and Triss, the game shows promise of a potential threesome – only for it to ultimately end poorly as the While Wolf as he’s chained to the bed and abandoned. And just like that, many a gamer's sexual fantasies were dashed.
Dirty Deeds
“Grand Theft Auto V” (2013)
How many of you started the “Death At Sea” mission, only to give up halfway? It's understandable, after all, navigating the open seas is a lot less fun than causing mayhem in Los Santos. For those that pushed on ahead however, the reward turned out to be...so not worth it. Ten bucks and an autographed picture of Abigail’s ex-lover?! Clearly the devs at Rockstar had a good laugh over this one. While we’d forgive anyone who off’ed Abigail immediately out of frustration, but there is a consolation prize if you can hold your murderous rage. Turns out Abigail drives a REALLY nice car. It would be a shame if someone where to – say – steal it?
Raiden
“Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty” (2001)
Now this is what you call a boss-level troll. The build up to “Metal Gear Solid 2” was huge. The trailer showed Solid Snake bungee jumping off Manhattan Bridge onto a large tanker. All the promo materials featured Snake, his damn face was on the cover art! But noooooo…Hideo Kojima just had to pull a fast one and replace Snake with then-newcomer Raiden. A newcomer we were stuck with for 90 percent of the game. Cutscenes came and went featuring Snake and we all (somehow) hoped we’d get to switch back to him, but it never happened. Yes, the game was awesome, but there's no forgetting the shock and horror we felt when we realised we'd been Kojima'd!
Crappy Korok Seeds
‘Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)
There’s no doubt that collecting these infernal seeds is worth the effort, seeing as they increase Link’s inventory slots. But did there really have to be 900 of them?! Even if we used a guide, it would still take an inordinate amount of time to accomplish. Time that could be spent doing something useful, like have Link cook up some Hearty Wild Greens! Surely such a feat reaps an equally monuental reward, right? Well, actually, it’s pretty shitty, pun intended. The reward for collecting all 900 seeds is a giant golden turd, and not only that – upon climbing said giant turd – we came to realize that we’ve been collecting little mini turds the whole game! Those Nintendo rascals!
Insanity
“Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem” (2002)
How does one go about setting itself apart from other distinguished survival horror games? In Eternal Darkness' case - it's the sanity meter. Simple premise, unholy execution. As the meter emptied, strange happenings would suddenly occur. Such effects were meant to show that the in-game character was losing it, but of course developer Silicon Knights had to take things one step further. Sometimes the game would pretend to reset to the title screen, even bugs would randomly coming into view. It was a truly freaky, epic troll! “Batman: Arkham Asylum” would later have a stab at this, with the game appearing to freeze and reset, but it was really just developers messing with us.
Message Board Troll
“Super Paper Mario” (2007)
Back in the yesteryear of 2007, social media was still in its infancy, so messages boards were the number one destination for frustrated gamers who needed to vent. The good folks at Nintendo no doubt saw their name and products in many of these online rants, and clearly saw a pattern of people complaining just for the sake of complaining. As such, they decided to take a subtle jab at gamers who unleashed their fury this way. While answering a series of true or false questions when entering Francis’ fortress, one questions asks, “I love going on message boards and complaining about games I’ve never played!” Well played, Nintendo!
Kingdom Hearts II.9
“Kingdom Hearts 3” (2019)
Since Kingdom Hearts 2 came out in 2006, followed by an untold number of spin offs – fans were starting to wonder if they were ever going to get a true sequel. So when “Kingdom Hearts 3” was FINALLY released over a decade later, diehard followers could finally breathe a huge sigh of relief. Of course, Square Enix wasn’t about to let this moment go by without making a joke at the expense of those who waited so long, and it came in the form of a prologue titled “Kingdom Hearts 2.9." No doubt this title screen caused laughter and anguish in equal measure.
The Ladies Man
“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)
CD Projekt Red are crafty, crafty bastards. No doubt they knew that giving gamers the option to romance one of two beautiful women would result in many self-proclaimed Don Juan trying to score with both of them… and damned if they weren’t right. Knowing a bunch of hormonially charged gamers wouldn’t be able to help themselves, they laid the perfect trap. You see, if Geralt attempted to romance both Yennefer and Triss, the game shows promise of a potential threesome – only for it to ultimately end poorly as the While Wolf as he’s chained to the bed and abandoned. And just like that, many a gamer's sexual fantasies were dashed.
Dirty Deeds
“Grand Theft Auto V” (2013)
How many of you started the “Death At Sea” mission, only to give up halfway? It's understandable, after all, navigating the open seas is a lot less fun than causing mayhem in Los Santos. For those that pushed on ahead however, the reward turned out to be...so not worth it. Ten bucks and an autographed picture of Abigail’s ex-lover?! Clearly the devs at Rockstar had a good laugh over this one. While we’d forgive anyone who off’ed Abigail immediately out of frustration, but there is a consolation prize if you can hold your murderous rage. Turns out Abigail drives a REALLY nice car. It would be a shame if someone where to – say – steal it?
Raiden
“Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty” (2001)
Now this is what you call a boss-level troll. The build up to “Metal Gear Solid 2” was huge. The trailer showed Solid Snake bungee jumping off Manhattan Bridge onto a large tanker. All the promo materials featured Snake, his damn face was on the cover art! But noooooo…Hideo Kojima just had to pull a fast one and replace Snake with then-newcomer Raiden. A newcomer we were stuck with for 90 percent of the game. Cutscenes came and went featuring Snake and we all (somehow) hoped we’d get to switch back to him, but it never happened. Yes, the game was awesome, but there's no forgetting the shock and horror we felt when we realised we'd been Kojima'd!
