10 Video Games That Got History Wrong
8. Terranigma
After years of being given the short shrift by Japanese developers who simply couldn't be arsed localising their text-heavy RPGs into French, the PAL region was gifted a huge apology at the tail-end of the SNES' lifespan in the form of Quintet's magnificent Terranigma.
Because Enix's American branch shut-down shortly after the game's English release was completed, North America missed out entirely. A spiritual sequel to Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma sees young ne'er do well Ark forced to resurrect the Earth after opening an evil box in a cellar. Along the way, he restores life, and helps guide the world through its cultural, social and economical development.
A chibi retelling of the human race's saga, naturally several significant, super-deformed historical figures crop up. Expies include the likes of Thomas Edison, Henri Matisse and Genghis Khan, and it's also possibly the only JRPG ever to feature economist John Maynard Keynes as an NPC. Besides these people writing their names in the annals courtesy of a spiky-haired default JRPG hero, their accomplishments are represented relatively accurately (at least, as far as the dialogue in a 1994 SNES game permits).
The one problem is that though progress always moves forwards in Terranigma, time stands completely still. Even after Ark has joined Columbus on his voyage to the New World and witnessed the advent of the light bulb, modern medicine and even robots, the wider world remains populated by luddites locked in their eras. Ark could share his knowledge - unlike many JRPG protagonists, he's not mute - but chooses not to. What a rotter.