10 Video Games That Got History Wrong

4. Genji: Days Of The Blade

Assassin's Creed III
Game Republic

Mere moments after gushing that Genji: Days of the Blade would feature "famous battles which actually took place in ancient Japan" during the game's big E3 2006 reveal, producer Bill Ritch introduced a gameplay footage of a boss battle against a "giant enemy crab."

Believe it or not, feudal Japan was not actually overrun by colossal crustaceans.

Ritch's ludicrous, contradictory comments inevitably sparked one of the year's biggest internet memes, going alongside his enthusiastic descriptions of the game's passé mechanics ("attack its weak point for massive damage".)

Interestingly, Japan is home to very very big crabs, but none on the scale of Genji 2's armour-plated foe. The Japanese spider crab, indigenous predominantly along the archipelago's southern coast, has the largest leg span of any extant arthropod, stretching up to a massive 18 feet from claw to claw. Marine biologists are yet to determine its weak point.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.