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Alternate Continuity: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:377px-Batman_(1943_serial)_poster.jpg|link=Batman|frame|[[The Batman (Film)|And they]] [[Batman (Comic Book)|each]] [[Batman (TV)|have]] [[Batman:
{{quote|'''Queen Serenity''': Remember Fiore?<br />
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Note that this [[Trope]] is specifically about changes in continuity moving from medium to medium, or after a [[Continuity Reboot]]. See also [[The Movie]], [[Ultimate Universe]] (a [[Sub Trope|sub-trope]] of this), [[Canon Immigrant]] and [[Series Franchise]]. When [[Fanfic]] attempts to weld two or more of these into a single story, it's called a [[Patchwork Fic]].
{{examples
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[El Hazard the Magnificent World]]'' was an [[OVA]] series that became ''El-Hazard: Wanderers'' on TV. In the process most of the relationships Makoto had with the women in his life were altered dramatically, with his primary romantic interest shifting from Ifurita to Princess Rune-Venus.
** Later, a second [[OVA]] series based on the first was produced that continued the [[Plot]], but introduced several new characters and a new "ultimate weapon of doom". That success was then followed with a 12-episode TV series which pulled a [[Or Was It a Dream?]]? at the end. A final special was released for the TV series, the required [[Beach Episode]].
* The TV series ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' was turned into a movie, ''Adolescence of Utena'', which attempted to retell the 39-episode story in 100 minutes by filtering it through the hindbrain of [[Salvador Dali]] and lacing it with LSD.
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': It started as a manga. Then it was adapted into an anime. Then it got another manga at the same time the first manga and the anime were being published and aired respectively. Then both manga versions and the anime version got sequels, each one developping its own continuity and in some cases adding more backstory to the characters. Then more manga and anime were made, each one telling the story its way until the last iterations [[Mazinkaiser]] and [[Shin Mazinger]].
* ''[[Rah Xephon]]'' also made the leap to a movie from TV, attempting to cram its extensive and complex storyline into less than 2 hours while at the same time providing new [[Backstory]]. In the process, one character was completely eliminated, and several others rewritten dramatically (including putting one to sleep for most of the [[Film]]).
* A television series of ''[[Ah! My Goddess (Manga)|Ah My Goddess]]'' (which had been made into a 5-episode [[OVA]] in the early-middle 1990s) premiered in Japan in January 2005. The first episode alone makes it clear that it is an [[Alternate Continuity]].
* ''[[Tenchi Muyo]]'' is perhaps the king of [[Alternate Continuity|alternate continuities]], with at least eight different alternate "worlds" (some, such as ''[[Pretty Sammy]]'', have more than one continuity themselves). Oddly enough, the ''Tenchi'' movies are not separate continuities in and of themselves, but dovetail into one or the other of the TV series.
** For bonus fun one of the Pretty Sammy series has a minor character who is a cousin on Nanami and Jinnai from [[El Hazard the Magnificent World|El-Hazard]] linking both [[Meta]]-series together. Mr. Fujisawa from the same series also happens to be the teacher of Tenchi's class in ''[[Tenchi in Tokyo]]''.
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** ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' comes later. The series is in an [[Alternate Continuity]] to the movies (as there are still Immortals alive all over the world). It ''does'' consider the original [[Film]] [[Canon]] in [[Broad Strokes]], but not the [[Sequel]].
** ''[[Highlander III the Sorcerer]]'', released during the series' run, which considers ''only'' the original [[Film]] [[Canon]]. Not ''Highlander 2'' or the TV series.
** ''[[Highlander the Raven]]'', a short-lived [[Spin
** Then a fourth movie ''[[Highlander Endgame]]'' which follows the continuity of the TV series (but [[Retcon|Ret Cons]] the last season of the show) rather than that of the previous [[Film|films]].
** Then a fifth movie called ''[[Highlander the Source (Film)|Highlander the Source]]'' which follows on from ''Endgame''.
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* ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' splits the Terminator franchise by taking the first two movies as backstory and [[Canon Dis Continuity|almost completely ignoring the third]], apart from cannibalizing certain [[Plot]] elements (Sarah's cancer, a female Terminator, Judgment Day not averted). Then a fourth movie came out ''after'' the series, which has nothing to do with it and takes the third movie as [[Canon]].
** The constant alteration of the timeline makes EVERYTHING work.
* ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' takes place in a separate universe from the previous fifteen seasons. Which is good, because if it didn't, then we'd have to admit that [[
** When the franchise changed hands, the new showrunners had freely admitted that ''[[Power Rangers RPM|RPM]]'' would be pulled into the main continuity should the need arise, though they ultimately set the season in a different universe, as referenced in the crossover with [[Power Rangers Samurai]].
*** The need WILL arise, when they adapt ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (TV)|Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger]]''.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* When the ''Star Fleet Battles'' game was established in 1979, it was based on the entirety of ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' [[Canon]] that existed at the time, which is to say [[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|the original series]], [[Star Trek the Animated Series (Animation)|the animated series]], and an assortment of [[Fan Fiction]]. As the [[Canon]] expanded and matured over the decades, the result was that SFB, which only had a license for said pre-1979 [[Canon]], came to be an [[Alternate Continuity]] where the movies and [[Spin
* The RPG of ''[[The Dresden Files (Tabletop Game)|The Dresden Files]]'' is '''mostly''' set in the same continuity of the books, but the conceit of the books (that Billy is writing it at Harry's behest to educate muggles about the supernatural) requires that Billy learn things that Dresden wouldn't tell ''anyone'' in the continuity of the books.
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** Possibly re-canonised - Unicron, Primus and the big Thirteen are back in as we know and love them (With some minor changes to specifics).
* ''[[Monster High]]'' has several continuities: the doll's diaries, the cartoon series, and the novel series by Lisi Harrison. The diaries and the webisodes seem to follow the same plot line, and there is some debate over whether the TV specials are part of the same continuity as the webisodes. The novels, meanwhile, follow a completely different story.
* Every ''[[My Little Pony]]'' generation, and the cartoons, take place in an [[Alternate Continuity]] from the others before it. G1 in particular had many [[A Us]] - ''[[My Little Pony Tales]]'', the toys, ''[[My Little Pony and Friends]]'', and the British comics. It's arguable that the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' cartoon takes place in an AU from the toy line.
== Video Games ==
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** And since then, it's spawned two [[Alternate Continuity|alternate continuities]] with ''Lara Croft: Guardian of Light'' and the forthcoming title simply named ''[[Tomb Raider]]''.
** If one takes into account all of the [[Video Game|game]] continuities, the [[The Movie|movie]]-verse and the comic-verse, there are at least six different ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' [[Canon|canons]]. (Whether the [[Game Boy]] titles and the novels are set in the same [[Canon]] as the original six games or not seems to be [[Broken Base|up for debate]].)
* ''Virtua Quest'' is a [[Spin
* Not only do the ''[[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]]'' [[Video Game|games]] themselves have various continuities - the three main ones being the main series RPGs on the [[Game Boy]] and [[Nintendo DS|DS]], the ''Mystery Dungeon'' series, and ''[[Pokémon Ranger]]'' - but even within the continuities it is often unclear how the [[Video Game|games]] are connected. Fans still debate over when ''Pokémon Colosseum'' and ''Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness'' take place, and the glaring gap between the first and second ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' [[Video Game|games]] has everyone stumped.
** Add this to the fact that the same [[Video Game|games]] spawned an [[Anime]] and several [[Manga]] that have each added generously to the [[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]] world's mythology, events, and character interactions, and you have a deceptively complex [[Fandom]] that stumps the uninitiated.
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*** Even Gym Leaders are different if you compare the [[Video Game|games]] with [[Pokémon (Anime)|the anime]] with ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. It's shorter to list the similarities than it is to list the differences.
* Giant spoiler warning for [[Ever 17]] to the extent if you know this ahead of time, story is ruined for you. {{spoiler|Subverted. All events of the original four paths actually happen plus some stuff they leave out to avoid ruining the [[Tomato Surprise|climax.]] They're tied together by happening on two different points in the timeline plus an attempted [[Tricked Out Time|fix]] so that the ending would be less bittersweet/downer, depending on the route.}}
* The [[Spin
* ''[[Ghostbusters the Video Game (Video Game)|Ghostbusters the Video Game]]'' considers the two ''[[Ghostbusters (Film)|Ghostbusters]]'' [[Film|films]] as [[Canon]], with several [[Mythology Gag|references even to minor details in those films]]. It does not consider ''[[The Real Ghostbusters (Animation)|The Real Ghostbusters]]'' to be [[Canon|canonical]], as most of the characters are depictions of the actors from the movie that, quite possibly, were specifically designed to look as little like the cartoon as possible while still being the same characters (Egon has dark hair for example). However, it does borrow some ideas from the cartoon, such as the idea that all Ghosts are made of slime/ectoplasm, and they don't keep Slimer as a friend/pet, but they DO keep him in his own cage separate from the main containment facility.
* The ''[[Double Dragon (Video Game)|Double Dragon]]'' games have many plot differences between their original arcade incarnations and their corresponding NES counterparts. However, every game in the series since the SNES-exclusive ''Super Double Dragon'' is stand-alone.
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* ''[[Nie R]]'' is an [[Alternate Continuity]] [[Sequel]] of ''[[Drakengard]]''. While ''Drakengard 2'' happened in the A Ending, where the world is mostly saved, ''Nier'''s world happens after the [[Mind Screw]] E Ending, where Caim and Angelus end up in Tokyo. In fact, according to [[All There in the Manual|backstory]], Caim and Angelus are actually responsible for devastating the world ([[Villain Protagonist|Just like he would've wanted]]).
* ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' was a pretty awesome Wild West sandbox [[Video Game|game]] in its own right, but the creators apparently had a lot more cooked up for John Marston, because then ''[[Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare]]'' came out six months later. Same Wild West setting, but Marston now has to fight zombies in an [[Alternate Continuity]].
* '''[[F-Zero]]'' has its main continuity with ''F-Zero'', ''F-Zero X'' and ''F-Zero GX''. Its [[Alternate Continuity|alternate continuities]] are ''F-Zero: Maximum Velocity'' (which takes place 25 years after the events of the first [[Video Game|game]]) and ''F-Zero: GP Legend'' (which takes place in 2201, as opposed to the 26th century). ''GP Legend'' was received lukewarmly by most fans in the West ''[[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|because of the changes]]'' despite being a clear alternate universe.
* One of the more common explanations for why so little of PC-98 games have shown up since ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]]'' moved to Windows is that they're in a separate continuity. Though the PC-98 games [[Negative Continuity|barely had continuity]]...
* ''[[Tron Two Point Oh (Video Game)|Tron 2.0]]'' was considered the sequel to ''[[Tron (Film)|Tron]]'', until it was rendered non-canon by ''[[Tron Legacy (Film)|Tron Legacy]]''.
* ''[[Bio Shock Infinite (Video Game)|Bio Shock Infinite]]'' takes place in another continuity rather than the main ''[[Bio Shock]]'' setting.
* [[Jeff
* In the first [[Disgaea]], the good ending is considered canon but, the game [[Prinny Can I Really Be the Hero]] is canon from the "normal" ending. You can tell considering that {{spoiler|Prinny Laharl}} shows up as a boss.
* Two versions of the fourth ''[[Ys (Video Game)|Ys]]'' game were produced concurrently, ''Ys IV: Mask of the Sun'' for the [[Super Famicom]] (Falcom's canonical version) and ''Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys'' for the [[PC Engine]] CD. They have the same characters and places but are completely different in terms of plot.
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** And the Armada/discontinued Energon comic.
*** The snarl of continuities is enough to require classification [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Universal_stream within the work itself]. According to the best in-universe sources (the [[Transformers Trans Tech]] continuity, which acts as the de facto hub of the Transformers multiverse) there are at at least 15,962,782 cataloged "universal streams" (read: alternate continuities) known to exist, with 1,176,325 of those having "come to termination". Those are just the ones that they know of- the actual number is undoubtedly much larger than this.
* [[Word of God]] is that the ''[[Madagascar]]'' film and the [[Spin
* [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] has had so many continuities, that in the [[Turtles Forever]] special, they made it where every continuity was actually an [[Alternate Dimension]] in a TMNT [[Multiverse]].
** With one exception: ''[[Ninja Turtles the Next Mutation (TV)|Ninja Turtles the Next Mutation]]''
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