Franklin's reading habits tell us a LOT.
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00:00Shared universes are all the rage these days, you can hardly move without seeing that this
00:04film is connected to this one, or all of these superheroes exist within the same timeline
00:09and so on.
00:10But given how ubiquitous the idea has become within popular culture, it's still amazing
00:14just how many shared universes there are that most people don't seem to know about and
00:18trust us when we say that video games are chock full of the things.
00:21I'm Sy for whatculture.com and these are 10 insane hidden connections between video
00:27games.
00:2810.
00:29Kane and Lynch Given that both these titles are set in the
00:32real world and revolve around cold-blooded killers, it shouldn't come as any surprise
00:36that both the Hitman and Kane and Lynch series take place within the same world.
00:39Dating as far back as Hitman Blood Money, the first indication that the scumbag killers
00:44also occupy the same locale as Agent 47 comes in the form of a newspaper article that mentions
00:49that the pair have escaped prison and are on the run, which of course would lead to
00:53the events of the first Kane and Lynch game.
00:55Whilst that could be seen as a throwaway easter egg, the connection is then firmly
00:59established in Hitman Absolution where both Kane and Lynch can be spotted during the firing
01:04range level, with Lynch stood firing a shotgun at a target whilst Kane can be found chilling
01:08over by the jukebox in the bar area.
01:11And if you're so inclined, it's possible for Agent 47 to kill the pair of them, so
01:15if you too had to suffer through either of those games, you can at least feel some level
01:18of catharsis for what you had to endure.
01:219.
01:22Grand Theft Auto Red Dead Redemption
01:24There's always been a modicum of debate as to whether or not the universes of Grand
01:28Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption are one and the same.
01:31It's certainly true that GTA shares the same world as Manhunt and Bully, but the jury
01:35has always been out as to whether the exploits of John Marston are part of GTA's bloody
01:39history.
01:40Well, for those who are wondering, there's one little clue that may confirm this.
01:44More easily noticed when roaming around in first person, several bookshelves littered
01:48throughout Los Santos are home to Red Dead by Jay Marston, a very much on-the-nose reference
01:53to Rockstar's other flagship series.
01:56The existence of this book implies that after the events of Red Dead Redemption, Jack Marston
02:00became a writer, and given that the book is entitled Red Dead, you can assume the story
02:04is based on the exploits of his father, or it might detail what life was like for Jack
02:08after he got his revenge on Edgar Ross.
02:10The only discrepancy between the two worlds is that whilst the Red Dead series uses actual
02:14names of places such as New York, the GTA series has always opted for fictional ones.
02:19Still though, it's an interesting concept.
02:218.
02:22Final Fantasy VII – Final Fantasy X-2
02:24For years, fans have speculated which of the Final Fantasy games are connected, and whilst
02:28there are plenty of shared elements across all of the games, most notably the insanely
02:32adorable chocobos, there are scarce few pieces of hard evidence to suggest that any of the
02:36stories are truly linked.
02:38One such tasty morsel is hidden away in the often-reliant but genuinely quite good Final
02:43Fantasy X-2.
02:45During your sphere-hunting adventure with the Gullwings, you'll frequently speak to
02:48a young Owlbed boy named Shinra.
02:50At first glance, you'd assume that's just a cheeky nod to the evil company that Cloud
02:54and his friends wage war upon, but given his tech-savvy nature and his ruminations on how
02:58far he or future generations could harness the power of the Fire Plane, it's pretty
03:02safe to assume that he has some involvement with the Shinra legacy.
03:06And whilst some may think this is just a throwaway reference, the connection was given further
03:09away in the recent FF7 remake, with a portrait showing an adult wearing Shinra's mask,
03:14surrounded by fellow colleagues and scientists.
03:17Whether or not it's actually him or one of his descendants remains to be seen, but
03:21it's still pretty damn cool nonetheless.
03:237.
03:24SSX Burnout Paradise
03:25There's certainly a world of difference between extreme snowboarding and high-octane
03:29street racing, but like how both of these do exist within the real world, it seems that
03:34they're also closely related within the world of video games.
03:37Whilst burning rubber and smashing your opponents to pieces in Burnout Paradise, you can hear
03:41several radio broadcasts from one DJ Atomica, a name that may be familiar to those who have
03:46a love for the SSX series, as it's the same DJ that spins the decks during your high-speed
03:51descents down snowy mountains.
03:54Atomica does his usual stick during his setlists, and those who know him from the SSX games
03:57will take a lot of joy in hearing him do his thing, but he even goes so far as to read
04:02out a message for Mac Freely, one of the playable characters in SSX.
04:06Atomica tells Mac that given the recent spate of snow, the riding conditions on the mountains
04:10should be ideal.
04:12Whether or not the snowy mountains from SSX are situated anywhere near the sun-scorched
04:15paradise city is anyone's guess, but it's a neat little detail all the same.
04:206.
04:21Battlefield Bad Company
04:22Mirror's Edge
04:23Despite it being much more futuristic in its presentation, it turns out that the Mirror's
04:27Edge and Battlefield Bad Company series take place around the same time, and share a much
04:31deeper connection than first thought.
04:33Aside from the fact that both games were developed by DICE, there are a couple of small indicators
04:37that can be found throughout the events of the first Mirror's Edge game that tie the
04:40two narratives together.
04:42Most prominently are the radio broadcasts that can be heard during a brief respite in
04:45an elevator, one details how the ongoing conflict against the country of Sardaristan is getting
04:51worse, and the military will be looking into a resolution as soon as possible.
04:55Those that have played Battlefield Bad Company will know that Sardaristan is the antagonistic
04:58force that you must go up against, and the military intervention spoken of in the news
05:02broadcast pertains to the events of that game.
05:05Aside from that, it's also possible to find a bag belonging to one of Mirror's Edge
05:08runners during the campaign of Bad Company, which only serves to strengthen this connection,
05:13but also poses some interesting questions in regards to the runner's presence in Sardaristan.
05:185.
05:19Uncharted The Last of Us
05:20Two of the biggest blockbuster franchises in modern gaming, the Uncharted and Last of
05:25Us series have helped to push the envelope in interactive storytelling, and their subsequent
05:30leaps to the worlds of movies and TV are a testament to that prowess.
05:34But did you know that these two are in fact connected?
05:37During the events of Uncharted 3, Drake's Deception, eagle eyed players can spot a newspaper
05:41resting on the bar of the Pelican Inn.
05:43It seems rather unassuming at first, but the headline on it reads, scientists still struggling
05:47to understand deadly fungus.
05:49This is of course referencing the fungal infection that leads to the outbreak in The Last of
05:53Us, and the fact that it's being reported on in the UK when The Last of Us is set in
05:57Pittsburgh is a big enough indicator that this would be a major event tying both universes
06:02together.
06:03The Naughty Dog shared universe doesn't quite end there though, as during your adventures
06:07as Nathan Drake, you can find the precursor orbs from the Jak and Daxter series, which
06:11begs the question, where was Dark Jak when the virus was running rampant?
06:15He'd have sorted that right out.
06:174.
06:18Fatal Frame – Dead or Alive
06:19It goes without saying that fighting games and horror games exist on the complete opposite
06:23ends of the gaming spectrum.
06:25One genre seeks to empower the player by putting them in the shoes of a highly skilled warrior,
06:29whilst the other looks to strip away all means of defence in the face of immeasurably terrifying
06:33odds.
06:34Which makes the fact that both the Dead or Alive and Fatal Frame series exist within
06:38the same universe that little bit more perplexing.
06:40Admittedly, both series are developed by Koei Tecmo, so a crossover between their own properties
06:45shouldn't seem like such a wild idea.
06:47Hidden in a series of bonus missions that are unlocked when players complete Fatal Frame
06:52Maiden of Blackwater, Dead or Alive mainstay Ayane has her own side story that runs parallel
06:57to the events of the game.
06:58Sadly though, you can't resort to her insane ninja skills to take down ghosts, instead
07:02she must utilise the Spirit Stone flashlight to exorcise the evil spirits.
07:07Even further to this, this wasn't the first instance of Ayane appearing in the series,
07:10as the Xbox release of Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly featured Ayane's trademark purple
07:15outfit as an unlockable extra.
07:183.
07:19Mass Effect – The Sims 3
07:21For the more dedicated players out there, or those who know the cheat codes to make
07:24your sim filthy rich and able to dedicate their lives to whatever they see fit, it's
07:28possible to build a time machine in The Sims 3 Ambitions expansion pack.
07:32This nifty contraption can cause all kinds of mayhem and hijinks, but it's also home
07:36to one of the strangest video game connections imaginable.
07:39After gallivanting through time and space, your sim will return and a text box in the
07:42top right of the screen will clue you in on what they've been up to.
07:46One such tale reads, I appeared accidentally in the middle of a crowd while time travelling
07:50but nobody noticed.
07:51They're all cheering about how some kind of shepherd just saved the galaxy from some
07:54huge ancient machine god threat.
07:56The celebration was definitely cool though.
07:58To some players this is simply a fun little story, but for those in the know, this is
08:02talking about the events of the Mass Effect series, with a large crowd cheering for Commander
08:06Shepard and their valiant efforts against the Reapers.
08:092.
08:10Gone Home – Bioshock 2
08:12Here's a pretty out there one.
08:14During the events of the Bioshock 2 DLC story Minerva's Den, it's possible to find a
08:19computer that contains a fully playable game called Spitfire, a vector graphics arcade
08:23title in the vein of Asteroids.
08:26It certainly provided a fun distraction from the unspeakable horrors of Rapture.
08:30Who knew that many years later the game would pop up again, but in the most unlikely of
08:34places.
08:35Whilst exploring the house in Gone Home, it's possible to find a selection of Super Nintendo
08:39cartridges and amongst them you'll find one for Super Spitfire, an upgraded version
08:44of the original game.
08:45Looking a little bit closer, you'll soon discover that Super Spitfire is published
08:49by CMP Interactive.
08:50CMP are also the initials of one Charles Milton Porter, the character players control during
08:56the events of Minerva's Den.
08:57It's been highly speculated that Charles managed to make it back to the surface after
09:01the events of Minerva's Den and founded a software company.
09:05Inspired by his little distraction with Spitfire, he decided to remake the game for the Super
09:09Nintendo Entertainment System.
09:11It may seem like a pretty weird one, but the dots do connect.
09:141.
09:15Phoenix Wright – Dino Crisis
09:17Over the course of his storied career, Phoenix Wright has dealt with some of the most bats***
09:21insane cases known to man, but never in a million years did we consider the possibility
09:26that someday he may come face to face with a horde of bloodthirsty dinosaurs.
09:30And whilst that sadly never occurred within the Ace Attorney series, it is a possibility
09:34given that the Republic of Borgnia exists within that world, which is confirmed via
09:38the passport of Acme Hicks.
09:40For those of you who aren't Dino Crisis diehards, the Republic of Borgnia is the fictional
09:44island that was besieged by dinosaurs during the events of the original Dino Crisis game,
09:50meaning that Regina's hard-fought battle to survive against the dinosaurs is canon
09:53within the Ace Attorney timeline, as is the franchise's ill-advised journey into space
09:57with the abysmal Dino Crisis 3.
09:59Although my therapist tells me there is no Dino Crisis 3.
10:02If you need any further proof of this connection's legitimacy, look no further than the Ace
10:06Attorney anime, in which we're introduced to a character named Regina, who despite not
10:11being fully confirmed as the same person, bears an unmistakable resemblance to our beloved
10:15horror game heroine.
10:16I think we speak for everyone when we say we look forward to seeing Velociraptors taking
10:20the stand in the next Attorney game.
10:22OBJECTION!
10:23Let us know what you thought of this list in the comments below, and any other video
10:26game connections that you're aware of.
10:28I've been Sy for WokCulture.com, and have a good week!