Great Moments in Fanon Dis-continuity

[nokori3byo]

Well, it's been just over a week now since you-know-what came out and caused one of the greatest surges of fan hate in the history of contemporary media. The combination of pre-release hype and a now notoriously obtuse ending has resulted in a kind of perfect (shit)storm of dissatisfaction. My question is: can anyone think of fan outrage of a comparable magnitude and ubiquity?

I know that the endings of Half-life 2 and Halo 2 (both released in 2004), were attended by a lot of befuddlement and outrage, but I was sort of on hiatus from gaming at that point so don't really know how bad it got.

Then there are the obvious examples from the world of film: The Matrix sequels and Star Wars prequels spring to mind.

I thought it might be fun to take a trip down memory lane by asking what other examples you can think of.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Dawn of War: Soulstorm.

Of course, that hasn't stopped it from being the butt of jokes for the series onwards.

 

[Asita]

Highlander 2, anyone? There's a popular saying about the movies within the fandom: "There should only have been one!" Alternatively there's Eragon the movie (While opinions on the book vary, there seems to be a general unspoken agreement that the movie 'never happened'), and then there's Metroid: Other M...

 

[Soviet Heavy]

What's Matrix Reloaded? Revelations? What the hell are you talking about? They only made one Matrix movie.

 

[Veylon]

Metroid: Other M

Highlander 2: The Quickening

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I never watched it myself, but I have heard plenty of talk that the second Dragonheart movie should never have happened.

 

[nokori3byo]

There must also have been a lot of rage over Alien 3, especially after the massive popularity of Aliens. I think it may have been spared fanbase disembowellment by the fact that it came out before the rise of internet culture though.

 

[Asita]

Ever hear of a game called Zelda's Adventure? Or The Legend of Zelda: The Wand of Gamlon? If you haven't, that's because even Nintendo likes to pretend they don't exist.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I seem to recall someone named John Romero claiming he was going to make us his *****. I'm pretty sure that didn't pan out though!

I think if the internet were as big now as it was then, Castlevania 64 would have been crucified with rusty dildos when it was released. I could be wrong though since a ton of people would have directed N64 owners to Symphony of the Night while laughing.

Ever hear of a game called Zelda's Adventure? Or The Legend of Zelda: The Wand of Gamlon? That's because even Nintendo likes to pretend they don't exist.

If the internet was as big then as it was now, the 3 Zelda games and potentially Mario Hotel (Hotel Mario?) would have likely been torched.

On a final note I'm surprised Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts didn't get nearly as much hate as it could have received. Wasn't everyone expecting a Banjo-Threeie and, didn't Rare kind of die after that was released?

 

[AD-Stu]

There must also have been a lot of rage over Alien 3, especially after the massive popularity of Aliens. I think it may have been spared fanbase disembowellment by the fact that it came out before the rise of internet culture though.

...and just to prove they didn't learn their lesson, the same thing happened again with Alien Resurrection

The fourth Indiana Jones movie is another example of "what other movie, dammit there were only three!" syndrome.

In the realm of gaming, going back a ways Ultima IX was panned so comprehensively that even as a huge fan of the series at the time, I could never bring myself to play it.

 

[nokori3byo]

Ever hear of a game called Zelda's Adventure? Or The Legend of Zelda: The Wand of Gamlon? That's because even Nintendo likes to pretend they don't exist.

Yup. They are all perenial entries on worst ever lists. In fairness to that franchise, those games are easier to write off because they were A) made by a different developer, and B) so utterly, bizarrely different from anything else in the series that they don't even really qualify for Evil Kirk status.

I'm still waiting for a "Plumbers Don't Wear Ties" sequel...

 

[FalloutJack]

The Unpleasable Fanbase never seems to quit. Here's one for you...

I don't know what Mortal Kombat games have been like in the years before MK9, but I saw alot of surging hate for Shao Kahn battles, say, for his cheapness...except that this is very much the way he ALWAYS was way back in MK2 when he was first introduced. And unlike the games that followed it, people have always liked MK2, so this for me was kind of insane.

 

[Kahunaburger]

There must also have been a lot of rage over Alien 3, especially after the massive popularity of Aliens. I think it may have been spared fanbase disembowellment by the fact that it came out before the rise of internet culture though.

Aliens 3? But I thought there were only two Alien movies.

(In other words, you're 100% right haha.)

 

[Trivun]

I'm not going to say any examples here, because personally I hold to the belief that if the creators of a universe make something canon, they (and ONLY they) have the right to decide what is canon and what isn't, and the 'fans' have no right to just declare something 'not canon' because they don't personally like it. Of course, if the creators themselves declare something to be 'discontinuous' because it's so crap or doesn't fit, then that's fine, because it's those guys doing it instead of the whiny fanbase.

Plus, most of the time these complaints are unfounded anyway. The Matrix sequels are great films in their own right, and I personally like them even better than the original. The reason people don't like them is because they can't deal with the philosophical stuff, which I'd argue is already prevalent in the first film anyway (Neo rising from the dead and being declared the messianic 'One', for instance?). And I've recently just replayed Halo 2 (completing the entire series again, on Legendary, in rough chronological order), and I see no reason to get so pissy about the ending. Yes, it's a cliffhanger, so what? The game is great and it's an excellent setup for Halo 3, no reason for anyone to moan.

That's just my opinion on the subject, but still, these are the times when I really do realise that yes, consumers nowadays are a bunch of self-entitled toddlers whininh because they didn't get what they wanted, no matter how awesome what they did get really was.

 

[Wintermoot]

Aim For The Top! Gunbuster2/Diebuster
is set in a alternate universe not the Gunbuster universe
...like anybody on the escapist has seen them.
Han shot first and Star Wars 1-3

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I never watched it myself, but I have heard plenty of talk that the second Dragonheart movie should never have happened.

The FIRST Dragonheart movie should never have happened.

 

[Kyrian007]

I'm not going to say any examples here, because personally I hold to the belief that if the creators of a universe make something canon, they (and ONLY they) have the right to decide what is canon and what isn't, and the 'fans' have no right to just declare something 'not canon' because they don't personally like it. Of course, if the creators themselves declare something to be 'discontinuous' because it's so crap or doesn't fit, then that's fine, because it's those guys doing it instead of the whiny fanbase.

Plus, most of the time these complaints are unfounded anyway. The Matrix sequels are great films in their own right, and I personally like them even better than the original. The reason people don't like them is because they can't deal with the philosophical stuff, which I'd argue is already prevalent in the first film anyway (Neo rising from the dead and being declared the messianic 'One', for instance?). And I've recently just replayed Halo 2 (completing the entire series again, on Legendary, in rough chronological order), and I see no reason to get so pissy about the ending. Yes, it's a cliffhanger, so what? The game is great and it's an excellent setup for Halo 3, no reason for anyone to moan.

That's just my opinion on the subject, but still, these are the times when I really do realise that yes, consumers nowadays are a bunch of self-entitled toddlers whininh because they didn't get what they wanted, no matter how awesome what they did get really was.

This... in spades. Whiny fanboys who couldn't write an acceptable paragraph feeling entitled because they are... consumers. Pretty weak reasoning. I've yet to see an example on this whole thread that can't just be chalked up to whiny fanboy crying.

 

[Bloodtrozorx]

World War II, cartoonish villains, sloppy deus ex machina endings (magic super weapon suddenly wins war, yeah right). Killed off some of the best characters from the first arbitrarily (France) or made them apparently change sides with little motivation (Italy). Convoluted Jewish subplot that didn't do much for the war. Stupid, stupid sequel.

I see what you did there and I applaud you.

Its just fandom, that said I have only one example and it has been mentioned above. Indiana Jones and that goddamned Crystal Skull. Simply terrible.