9 Elaborate Video Game Urban Legends Everyone Believed

The hoax: Who would win in a no holds barred clash between Sonic and Mario? Finally, following decades of speculation, fans from both camps could settle the hypothetical argument, all they had to do was pick up the latest version of Nintendo's crossover brawler and perform a 'simple' task in order to unlock Sega's mascot and his two-tailed sidekick.

By racking up 20 plus kills against AI-controlled wireframe opponents in Melee's suitably-named 'Cruel Melee' mode, Sonic and his pal would subsequently challenge the player to a duel, with victory prompting the duo to stick around as permanent roster entries.

Where it came from: EGM, obviously. What other publication would delight in toying with its readers?

You'd think, by 2001, the magazine's past shenanigans with Resident Evil and Street Fighter would have cemented its reputation for tomfoolery, but sadly, some were so enamoured by the prospect of running circles around the rest of Melee's cast that even if there was a chance that the rumour was true, it was worth a shot.

That is until data miners did the dirty work and explicitly proved that neither hog nor fox was present on the roster.