For example, everyone used to say you could totally shoot the dog in the NES Duck Hunt. I would try it over and over! But it never worked. I just assumed I was doing something wrong.
I started looking at gaming urban legends online and a big one that comes up a lot is blowing on NES cartridges. Apparently there is no evidence that it works and a lot of evidence that it doesn't do jack shit.
Well, I don't care what fancy "evidence" you nerds produce, I will stand with TEAM BLOWING ON NES CARTRIDGES TOTALLY WORKS until the day that I die.
@GameDadGrant This wasn't something the Angry Video Game Nerd invented?!
/EDIT Well this is weird, GDG and I posted at the same time, but my post shows up last in here, but his post shows up as the last post on the main forum.
I still love rumors about finding the Triforce in Ocarina of Time despite knowing for certain that the game has been datamined so thoroughly that there's absolutely no way it's in there. What if...!?
Hm, I don't recall encountering very many rumors, but I do feel like there was one or two I tried to check out, probably involving Goldeneye 007 or Super Mario 64. Those games had a lot of mysteries back in the day. I'll have to think about it.
@Zero My understanding of the cartridge blowing is that it works in the short term because it warms up and applies conductive moisture to the cartridge contacts, however in the long term it expedites corrosion due to said moisture. So while it may work in the moment, over time it's just going to make things worse. This has also been my own experience with it as well, which is why I don't do it anymore.
Man, I know there were quite a few going around in my circle growing up, but I'm saddened to say that I can't remember any of them specifically right now. It's like my brain deleted the junk info over the decades. Shame, because it's a fun subject.
Maybe some would come back while playing a specific game.
I do remember some kid of my mom's friend completely fabricating the last level of Sonic 1, and then when I got there myself it was nothing at all like he described, and I was like "man, what a bullshitter." Not the same thing, but seriously. What a desperate cry for attention. Pft.
I remember in the early days of the internet, printing out a text document that detailed the steps needed to (Final Fantasy 3/6 SPOILER) resurrect General Leo. It involved fighting in the dinosaur forest for 255 battles and winning a Resurrection item. My brother and I actually tried it and lo and behold, it was a fat waste of time. On the plus side, our characters' levels were all maxed out. Hard lesson learned then--don't trust everything you read on the internet.
I remember getting 100 coins or so during the first Bowser battle in Mario 64 in order to unlock... something. Yeah, that was a collosal waste of time.
This one is true in the Japanese version of the game! Due to a typo in the code, getting 1000 coins in a level gives you -25 lives, and the Bowser fights are the only way to do this without using other exploits.
There was a ridiculous rumor for Ruby and Sapphire. basically there's an NPC in the mossdeep city space center who will tell you how many rocket launches they have had, which is basically code for how many weeks have passed since you started your current playthrough as tracked by the game's internal clock. Supposedly if you talked to him during the 56th week, you'd get to go into space to fight (and possibly catch) Deoxys.
What's fun about this rumor and what sets it apart from the Mew under the truck story is that in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire the Delta episode, which prominently features the Mossdeep space center, ends with you going into space to fight, (and possibly catch) deoxys
