The Video Game was the last time we got the whole crew together. As well as being penned by both Aykroyd and Ramis, and the incredible level of talent and passion that went into it, yeah, TVG is the third Ghostbusters movie.
One of the many reasons why it deserves a CGI movie adaptation. Some of Peter’s lines are missing, but I’m sure they could get him to record the rest. It’s frustrating that they have this great script to work with but they choose not to.
Strangely, my 3 favorite Egon lines are all from non-canon material. "We eat gods for breakfast" (Ghostbusters VG) "Wow! This place brings back memories. You know, Ray and I got kicked out of here back in 1982 for trying to reanimate the dead." (Extreme Ghostbusters) "We don't steal, your honor, If we needed nerve gas, we'd make it ourselves." (Lost version of mayor's office scene from original film)
I still treat the video game as cannon. It just makes sense for it to be. And there are ways you can look at all the discrepancies that make sense for cannon. For example: Gozer being in its traveler form instead of Stay-puft could be because of how it manifested in Afterlife. In AL it climbed out of a portal instead of popping into existence like in TVG. And the Mini-Pufts could be explained as residual waves of that destructor form being dispersed so that it doesn't have to have a destructor form. In a roundabout way it satisfies the "one destructor form, per-god, per-dimension" rule. Also the news sighting GB2 and the Statue of Liberty as the last time the Ghostbusters caused a large amount of damage could be explained as the damage caused to the streats, the museum, the cop car, the building where the statue fell, and even the statue itself. Hell the only way they could've moved the statue back is by disassembling it, shipping it back, repairing the base, and reassembling it. All of that was something the Ghostbusters directly caused. Gozers appearances, and Central Park turning into a graveyard weren't the fault of the Ghostbusters directly.
I think Phoebe saying "It happened 20 years before we were born" isn't a point against the video game being canon bcus she was probably talking about the video of the Gozer incident that they were watching which was 25 years before Phoebe and Podcast were born
I think they’re leaving the video games canonicity open to interpretation on purpose for all the reasons you mentioned. So they can reference it as a nice call back and avoid having to retcon things if they decide to go with a different story. Also my goodness the game still holds up amazingly!
As much as I enjoyed Afterlife and even Frozen Empire, I would still much prefer the video game to be canon if I had to choose between that and the two new movies. It just worked so incredibly well.
He said it was canon a long time before Afterlife ever came out. At that point he wasn't sure that there would ever be a third GB movie. I really don't think it's canon anymore.
In my opinion (as a new fan btw). Looking at Akroyd's' statement, and the connections explained in this (and other) videos. I believe that the timeline is as follows: Ghostbusters 1, 2, The Video game, Afterlife and Frozen Empire. The real Ghostbusters (tv show) and 2016 are not canon, or even connected in 2016's case.
I believe the best video-game tie-in doesn't make too much of a change that couldn't fit into a possible sequel, in such a way it could plausibly be canon. At least, it should still be a fun experience without sacrificing too much to make it work. I believe the Ghostbusters Video-game fits fairly nicely, if there are a few strands loose, it isn't anything too bad. The first sequel was undetermined if it was still canon till Frozen Empire, so maybe the next film will confirm the Video-game as canon?
I consider it canon for the fact alone that Harold was a active part of it alone and they had Alyssa Milano voicing Shandor heiress😍and after watching the first two movies it makes so much fun playing the game seeing references to the old Movies. And it just supports the new Movies with much more lore to it. Heck perhaps the Rookie The Apprentice maybe could even have been Phoebe´s Father who knows???😂 At least storywise a lot of time has passed since the story of the game so that it could fit. They even where inspired of the Games Ghosts since those new ghosts looking more like the ghosts from the game stylish. The question could be made how could Shandor layed in the coffin casket when he was destroyed in the Game or did I messing with the memories is the Architect that turns into that giant destroyer someone else and not shandor himself haven´t played the game for longer time so not sure but it is sweeter and funnier considering the game being Part 3 since the new ones having just subtitles to it. Hope we will get a lot of more Films coming our ways with hopefully more ghosts that´s the only complain I would have to less ghosts they are hunting and catching. And wasn´t it in talks that they would have global teams hunting for ghosts and what about the lame claim that it would be in the UK what wasn´t true for the latest thought they would be in a haunting house in england???? Hopefully the OG´s will be at least one more time being in a Movie with Rick Moranis finally agree to reappear how cool it would be if he and Janine together again fighting side by side with the Boys and damn it Sigourney Weaver Dannah must be back as well what a joke teasing her in afterlife just for fun dang it bring some funny moments with her and Bill. 🤣😛
I've missed you guys so much. So glad you're back, and on exactly the topics I'd been hoping you'd do vids on. Loved the previous (timeline) one, and that got me thinking about this topic. DARN! I don't wanna wait six more hours!!! Just kidding. Well, I don't, but I'll live with it.
Im still on the fence that just by removing Gozer and the Mandala from the equation, TVG still works perfectly into AL given the established timeline spoken to the side and the time gap letting things not overlap.
Something possibly not worth mentioning is during the final battle Ray says he quit smoking in the 90s. In the game he doesn't smoke but he smokes in the first two movies.
I still consider the game cannon. Now that we have a look inside the pack, some of the mechanics are altered but I still think the events are all there
I've always liked the idea of the GB Videogame being canon, so I'm inclined to go with your thoughts on this. Sadly as much as I love the IDW books, those can't really be canon to the films as there's too much happening after the videogame to line up with what people were saying in Afterlife. A thought I had when you were talking about Shandor moving operations. Maybe he abandoned NY because something else took control of his slime operation. We don't know when Vigo's portrait came to NY, other than it had been in storage. Maybe it arrived during that time, and Vigo latched onto the slime for his own power, thus weakening it for it's intended purpose. By the time we get to the videogame, Vigo is seemingly weakened and trapped inside his painting with no extraordinary abilities outside of talking and sass.
Here's an idea. The video game itself might not be cannon. But some of the events are. The video game is something that exists in the GB universe, but it's a fictional telling of events that occurred in 1991. It's possible the 1991 in reality was less destructive. Hence why nobody remembers it. But for a fictional retelling in a video game you'd want the visuals to be interesting.
I could see it being a retelling by Peter (specifically playing up the "got the girl" angle lmao), if that was an angle they went with I think that would be perfectly fine.
That's the same logic that says The Real Ghostbusters is what actually happened and the first movie is a Hollywood retelling of those events. Which would mean all four movies and the video game are fictionalized media _within_ the cartoon series and therefore canonical with the cartoon.
@@Dargonhumanmakes me hope the new cartoon series they were working on is in the RGB xgb universe and that they explain those two series as well to keep the continuity going
But didn't the Keymaster in GB1 mentionned that Gozer took different forms by the past ? Ray's theory kind of doesn't work because of that. Personally I think Gozer came back as Stay Puft in the video game because it was the most recent form it had taken and also as mentioned in the game, Gozer was weaker so that's probably another reason why.
I still believe The Video game is canon. Also I believe Ecto-1 & Ecto-1A (who also became Ecto-1B, since in the video game. There's an easter egg of the Ecto-1A door being there) are separate cars of the same model
Alot of those feel a little too on the nose to not be direct references. Sure shandor's design is coincidental, but the reference to the library differences for example seem like a pretty clear allusion.
Yeah, thats a big detail. Tho some say that body in the mine was an ecto construct since there was no blood. I say having it be a homonculus makes sense
@@b.lloydreese2030 maybe. But that just feels like stretching for a way to MAKE it fit, instead of it actually being means to fit. And between Shandor and Gozer, you have to do far too much of that in order to make everything fit. Especially if you're going to work on the comics, as well. Personally, I loved afterlife dearly, but my favorite timeline still remains Movie>GB2>Game>IDW comic. The comic even setup the GB multiverse, so I just look at the game, the new movies and even RGB as all being canon....just not in the same timeline.
This is the same universe where the vast population of NYC were fooled into thinking that Stay Puft was a mass hallucination despite city damage. I wouldn't trust civilian perspective on what happened when in the Ghostbusters verse. Meanwhile, the events of the video game beautifully explains why Egon went nuts and isolated himself.
all i can say is thank you for this. i say we mix the games and movies. cut the bad stuff that doesn't make sense and add everything that embellishes the solid good canon.
It is and will always be canon for me, as the context, lore and passion that went into it to broaden the Ghostbusters universe is so rich. To me, there are six movies, it's just the third one you have the pleasure of being part of the team and are along for the ride!
And speaking of videogames, the next logical step is to expand spirits unleashed and let us have our teams working for winston's ghost lab. Would love to see it expanded so i can take my custom busters on more adventures!
It's still VERY possible that the game can still be canon! Afterlife may not have changed the rules of Gozer like we thought. Perhaps the reason Gozer didn't come back as giant Stay Puft was because she really DID die in the game & became an ACTUAL ghost in *Afterlife*, meaning she no longer has to follow the Destructor Form rules. As for Shandor, that's a tough one. But given how much crazy shit he & his cult managed to pull off, who's to say that they didn't dabble in cloning & Shandor possessed his clone body in Summerville after he failed in 1991?
There were some questions I had with GB:Afterlife. Some bigger things didn’t make as much sensez but were answered with GB:The Video Game. Those bigger answers and a lot of smaller points made in this video (thank you!) made me appreciate GB:AL more. The pieces fit. Canon for me!
I like to go with the multiverse canon where everything is canon but in their own universe. In the comics, both the video game and 2016 and RGB are canon but in their own dimensions. They are all real in their own sense to me anyway.
In my mind, it's pretty easy to reconcile the video game against Afterlife (and Frozen Empire). It's a lot more difficult to reconcile the IDW comic run, which is a shame as there was a lot of good stuff there.
I don’t actually think Gozer staying in his traveler form is necessarily a contradiction to the “one Destructor form per dimension” rule. The traveler form, while powerful, is actually less powerful than Stay Puft since it’s substantially smaller. Stay Puft is the size of a kaiju, after all. But Gozer was defeated twice in that form, so he decided the traveler form, while less powerful, was still less limiting than a giant marshmallow man, and so stuck to that form instead. Plus, the fact that there are Stay Puft Minis being spawned does indicate Gozer still has ties to the Stay Puft Destructor form.
I re-installed and started playing it again... forgot how good it was. It’s definitely Ghostbusters 3 for me! Seriously, the cut-scenes alone are better than 90% of the movies coming out of Hollywood today!
I would argue that the game is 'soft' canon while the films are 'hard' canon. Meaning that the events of the game happened in the film's timeline, but not exactly or 100% as the game portrays them.
New movie said the sewer dragon bust was the most damage the GBs had caused to the city since Statue of Liberty in 1989. To me, that was the nail in the coffin for video game canon.
I think that because not everyone plays video games that whether or not the game is canon is up to each fan. there's not really anything that directly links the events of the game to the new movies aside from a few winks and nods like you mentioned, but there's also nothing that overwrites the events of the game either. so it's basically if you're a gamer and want the game to be canon then it is, but those who aren't gamers aren't required to play the game to enjoy the full storyline of the movies.
So the Rookie moved to Chicago, Callie lived in Chicago. What if the Rookie is Trevor and Phoebe's father? Yes, Callie calls him a "dirtbag" but what if that is just because they had a bad breakup.
Ghostbusters 2016 and the comics seem to establish the multiverse theory in the property with 2016 being an very extreme universal variant. My head canon is that the video games (as there are two different versions) could exist in a slightly altered universe where events still support a similar outcome resulting in Afterlife and beyond. Even the cartoons kind of support that being the case.
To me; the game’s Semi-Canon. Which I mean that while the game obviously has a lot of connections to Afterlife & Frozen Empire, as well as correct timeline placements for many aspects, there are also just as many plot & logic holes when it comes to figuring out how the backstories of some characters line up. Like how Gozer popping up bin NYC or Graveyard in Central Park not making headlines, which is just plain stupid to ignore entirely. So I think of it like this; The game’s events did happen, but in an alternate timeline where Egon simply didn’t freak out about Gozer’s return & left the Ghostbusters, which led to the events of Afterlife. Egon stayed with the Ghostbusters & simply worked about on his work as always. That simple act changes everything & makes all of this work. Obviously, with timelines & alternate dimensions involved, there are going to be some parallels between both the game & the new movies. But they are not exact. Simply put; you can look at the game as supplemental material for various aspects of the movies, but it’s optional if you just see the movies & nothing else. To me, playing the game, I felt like I was taken for a ride or held by the hand to be WITH the Ghostbusters, not actually be a Ghostbuster. Even they so themselves to not get attached to the Rookie & the main reason why we get all these upgrades is because we were essentially the test dummy. 😂 I would have actually liked it if the Rookie had a speaking role to play around with the rest of the cast. But it’s clear what he’s intended to be as a player insert to be part of the story as it unfolds around them; which makes all the sense in the world considering both Ramis & Aykroyd was developing a script for 3 long before a game was considered a potential way to present it. All & all, the game’s really good & I consider it to be a fun addition to Ghostbusters canon, just not in the main timeline of events; but very close enough to pull some details.
There really should be 3 timeliness: Prime Timeline = Ghostbusters + Ghostbusters 2 + Ghostbusters Afterlife + Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Video Game Timeline = First 2 Ghostbusters films, + Ghostbusters Video Game Alternate Universe Timeline = Ghostbusters 2016 That way they essentially have 3 paths they can take, and borrow from each other if they see fit without excluding anything.
The Game acts pretty much like despite all things, the guys never got closure on the Librarian Ghost (Gray Lady) and so the point of the Library level was to make up for this issue. So therefore, if the game is canon, she was never busted and escaped with all the other ghosts from the containment unit. This would mean that _Frozen Empire_ is also running with this notion. Granted, the game also has the containment unit breached so…🙄 _Ghostbusters II_ despite what people may think about it and the fact they were deleted, acknowledges Slimer as the Ghostbusters’ live in pet while accepting the name from RGB and he’s allowed to free roam the place as “harmless”. The Game comes along to say he’s kept in a container annd is eager to rush back to the Sedgwick whenever freed from it. _Frozen Empire_ keeps more in line with GB2 as well as RGB/EGB, even if the personality doesn’t mesh with anything seen past the original film. _Ghostbusters II_ always seemed like the mood slime was the creation of Vigo as evidenced by the way it directly flows to where Vigo is, serves his will like a physical extension, and is made purely by materializing a particular emotion: negativity or the repolarized stuff made by the guys. I don’t think Shandor could be making his own mood slime given the otherworldliness of it or that Vigo had merely stumbled upon his supply since the moment Vigo is weakened by the slimeblower slime (and Peter and Egon’s proton streams) he explodes and the shell around the museum atomizes with him implying he caused it all. Also, in naming the colors of slime, Slimer is made of green slime as is what the PDS uses (kinda always theorized Slimer was the source for the built-in slime culture 🫤) and it neutralizes Shandor’s black slime. Does that therefore mean the green slime seen on Shandor Island is the same green stuff the Ghostbusters are using or that Slimer is made of or is it just “same color; different slimes”? The thing that decanonizes the Game for me is that _Afterlife_ has Shandor still alive in a preservation chamber but is a ghost in the Game. Before anyone tries to argue that his ghost repossessed his body, one needs to then answer how Shandor’s skull could be one of the cursed artifacts you find in the last level or even how it made its way to Summerville to be reconstructed into Shandor’s body. The more likelihood is Shandor didn’t really die (so not a ghost who could possess Mayor Mulligan) and just did like people think Walt Disney did, i.e. is in suspended animation hidden away somewhere biding his time. When he awoke to finally meet Gozer, it wasn’t impressed with him and just destroyed him in one rip. Plus, Shandor turns into the Architect and is then protoned to death at the end of the Game. Also also, why wouldn’t Egon’s ghost just possess his body and come back the same way Shandor would have had to have done if the Game’s story is supposed to fit with _Afterlife_ where there is a physical body? Crossing the streams in _Afterlife_ doesn’t really prove anything since the simplest answer is that they know that move works on Gozer not necessarily anyone/thing else. And as a side note to that, in _RGB: “Captain Steel Saves the Day”_ they cross the streams because Egon thought why not? It couldn’t hurt to try when they were falling toward the Hudson River from very high up.
This was another well thought out and entertaining video. I love your deep dives into the lore of Ghostbusters. I definitely think the video game is still cannon. As you eloquently pointed out it adds so much to the movies that came after it. I feel the video game is the third part of the original ghostbusters story and the new films are the beginning of the Spengler family's story.
The PCOC that peck was made in charge of in gb3vg is seen in frozen empire as there is a PCOC sticker on a pack and phoebe signed off on it. 1991 - 2024 PCOC
Ghostbusters the video game I believe should still be Canon because it's the last time the band got back together as one unit before the passing of Harold Ramis AKA Egon Spengler.
It'll always be canon to me and probably most ghostbusters fans, because it's the last time we saw Egon and the team together. Plus it's written by Ramis and Aykroyd, so in a way it's higher canon than the new movies.
I like how you managed to thread some things together but I always believe that canon is driven by the creators and it’s clear that GB1, GB2, Afterlife and FE are canon but the game isn’t. I’d love it to be, but there’s too many differences and there no way that the GB’s would wind back improvements in the vehicles, containment unit, packs etc. awesome video though - always love the GB content 👍
As much as I love the game, it really doesn't make sense for it to be canon anymore. Cause if it is canon, are you telling me that after Ivo Shandor KILLING Gozer at the end of the game (yes, he actually KILLS Gozer because they even show Gozer's remains like his skull) Gozer somehow comes back to life yet again in Afterlife? And also, after you defeat Ivo Shandor as the final boss, he still somehow lives only for him to want to bring back Gozer to be his servant again even though he tried to kill Gozer? Nah, that's too much of a stretch and IT MAKES NO SENSE.
I always thought following the Franchising route would have been good for sequels. I thought New Orleans would actually have been perfect for a Ghostbusters spinoff Franchise series. I mean, it is New Orleans lol!
Yes the game is still Canon they even brought of the game to new movies so I don't know why they said it not even Dan Aykroyd said is was the third that's why Bill Murray had no problem doing it so it Canon and they had all of the original actors in it pluse I don't want to see Harold ramis work go in the trash they wouldn't of done it if was going be Canon so it is .
It is to me. I dont care how many fan fictions they make in the afterlife series. Someone needs to get reitman to acknowledge it Its sad, they dont even acknowledge spirits unleashed directly and that takes great pains to tie into the new movies. Wouldve loved seeing cat and eddie. Tho there are slight nods. Its always bothered me.how movie directors largely ignore any material not a film. Like dude, we fans have been consuming you expanded universe material, least you can do is hold yourself to it too
Love the game. I'll always be part of the lore in my book. However.... what's become of the franchise, and the rookie? lol. And whatever other employees/ ghostbusters that worked at those other locations?
We can only assume it takes place shortly after Frozen Empire, since they would have to recapture all the escaped ghosts, so they decide to hire several teams, and also because of the redesign of the containment unit.
Ghostbusters The Video Game is still the best sequel to the original 2 films. It’ll ALWAYS be canon to me.
If the video game is still canon, then Gozer’s actions toward Ivo Shandor in Afterlife suddenly gain a lot more context.
The other context is just she doesn’t care for shandor but the Video Game one is more interesting
Exactly
Seems a real shame to take all that hard work and throw it down the toilet like that but that's humans for ya
@@Keepit10011 uh game is still canon.
I'd really like it to remain canon because it's the last time Harold ramis portrayed Egon
I would to but…. Since they literally filmed half of afterlife in 2019 it might be a choise of all of them.
@TheRealGhostbuster5 but Harold Ramis died in 2014
The Video Game was the last time we got the whole crew together. As well as being penned by both Aykroyd and Ramis, and the incredible level of talent and passion that went into it, yeah, TVG is the third Ghostbusters movie.
One of the many reasons why it deserves a CGI movie adaptation. Some of Peter’s lines are missing, but I’m sure they could get him to record the rest. It’s frustrating that they have this great script to work with but they choose not to.
There is nothing presented in the newer films that contradict the game’s story in any way. The game is still absolutely part 3 of the overall story.
Harold Ramis being present will always make this game canon to me. We got so many good extra Egon lines we’d have never gotten without the game.
Strangely, my 3 favorite Egon lines are all from non-canon material.
"We eat gods for breakfast" (Ghostbusters VG)
"Wow! This place brings back memories. You know, Ray and I got kicked out of here back in 1982 for trying to reanimate the dead." (Extreme Ghostbusters)
"We don't steal, your honor, If we needed nerve gas, we'd make it ourselves." (Lost version of mayor's office scene from original film)
Ray: "we gave this building a bill of cleaning 5 years ago?"
Egon: "New people die everyday, Ray"
What are your favorite Egon lines from the game?
It kind of makes sense why the librarian and slimer are out of the containment unit at the end of Ghostbusters, the video game it exploded again
I still believe GB: VG is cannon
Same
Same
I will always believe the VG to be cannon since it was in my heart it's the 3rd movie
True believer
Well Ghost Corps representatives have said its not.
I still treat the video game as cannon. It just makes sense for it to be. And there are ways you can look at all the discrepancies that make sense for cannon. For example: Gozer being in its traveler form instead of Stay-puft could be because of how it manifested in Afterlife. In AL it climbed out of a portal instead of popping into existence like in TVG. And the Mini-Pufts could be explained as residual waves of that destructor form being dispersed so that it doesn't have to have a destructor form. In a roundabout way it satisfies the "one destructor form, per-god, per-dimension" rule. Also the news sighting GB2 and the Statue of Liberty as the last time the Ghostbusters caused a large amount of damage could be explained as the damage caused to the streats, the museum, the cop car, the building where the statue fell, and even the statue itself. Hell the only way they could've moved the statue back is by disassembling it, shipping it back, repairing the base, and reassembling it. All of that was something the Ghostbusters directly caused. Gozers appearances, and Central Park turning into a graveyard weren't the fault of the Ghostbusters directly.
I think Phoebe saying "It happened 20 years before we were born" isn't a point against the video game being canon bcus she was probably talking about the video of the Gozer incident that they were watching which was 25 years before Phoebe and Podcast were born
She could also be rounding for the sake of getting to her point quickly. That's how I took it.
I mean Ivo Shandor was in Afterlife and he played a significant role in the game. If that doesn’t make the game canon, I don’t know what will.
Dan akroyd decides canon to me
I think they’re leaving the video games canonicity open to interpretation on purpose for all the reasons you mentioned.
So they can reference it as a nice call back and avoid having to retcon things if they decide to go with a different story.
Also my goodness the game still holds up amazingly!
Not having the video game as part of canon is kind of disrespectful at this point.
In what way?
@@eggs5302 It's seen as part of the lore. Denying it happens is a slap in the face of making people think it was canon when it was released.
It makes sense that the video game is still canon though.
As much as I enjoyed Afterlife and even Frozen Empire, I would still much prefer the video game to be canon if I had to choose between that and the two new movies. It just worked so incredibly well.
Yet it is not.
@@derekbailey7049 but you have no idea in the video game has Easter eggs provided us evidence and theories.
@@davidsneary8681wtf are you talking about? I do have "an idea" and have played the game. Ghost Corps confirmed it's not canon.
@@derekbailey7049 i know the video game is not Canon yet but i know that.
So stoked to see Channeling Spirits with new videos! Keep up the fantastic work!
If Dan Aykroyd says it's canon, then it's canon.
He said it was canon a long time before Afterlife ever came out. At that point he wasn't sure that there would ever be a third GB movie. I really don't think it's canon anymore.
Talk to Dan now and you'll get a different answer.
@@derekbailey7049How so it's still canon.
@NohjAnec It is sti canon the game was made for 3 so it is 3 after life is 4.
@redemptionjack4657 it's not. Ghost Corps confirmed it.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the third Ghostbusters film.
In my opinion (as a new fan btw). Looking at Akroyd's' statement, and the connections explained in this (and other) videos. I believe that the timeline is as follows:
Ghostbusters 1, 2, The Video game, Afterlife and Frozen Empire. The real Ghostbusters (tv show) and 2016 are not canon, or even connected in 2016's case.
Really the only way we can get confirmation if the game is still canon is to simply Ask Dan Ackroyd.
Get him on an interview on this channel
I believe the best video-game tie-in doesn't make too much of a change that couldn't fit into a possible sequel, in such a way it could plausibly be canon. At least, it should still be a fun experience without sacrificing too much to make it work. I believe the Ghostbusters Video-game fits fairly nicely, if there are a few strands loose, it isn't anything too bad. The first sequel was undetermined if it was still canon till Frozen Empire, so maybe the next film will confirm the Video-game as canon?
I consider it canon for the fact alone that Harold was a active part of it alone and they had Alyssa Milano voicing Shandor heiress😍and after watching the first two movies it makes so much fun playing the game seeing references to the old Movies. And it just supports the new Movies with much more lore to it.
Heck perhaps the Rookie The Apprentice maybe could even have been Phoebe´s Father who knows???😂 At least storywise a lot of time has passed since the story of the game so that it could fit. They even where inspired of the Games Ghosts since those new ghosts looking more like the ghosts from the game stylish.
The question could be made how could Shandor layed in the coffin casket when he was destroyed in the Game or did I messing with the memories is the Architect that turns into that giant destroyer someone else and not shandor himself haven´t played the game for longer time so not sure but it is sweeter and funnier considering the game being Part 3 since the new ones having just subtitles to it.
Hope we will get a lot of more Films coming our ways with hopefully more ghosts that´s the only complain I would have to less ghosts they are hunting and catching. And wasn´t it in talks that they would have global teams hunting for ghosts and what about the lame claim that it would be in the UK what wasn´t true for the latest thought they would be in a haunting house in england????
Hopefully the OG´s will be at least one more time being in a Movie with Rick Moranis finally agree to reappear how cool it would be if he and Janine together again fighting side by side with the Boys and damn it Sigourney Weaver Dannah must be back as well what a joke teasing her in afterlife just for fun dang it bring some funny moments with her and Bill.
🤣😛
I've missed you guys so much. So glad you're back, and on exactly the topics I'd been hoping you'd do vids on. Loved the previous (timeline) one, and that got me thinking about this topic. DARN! I don't wanna wait six more hours!!! Just kidding. Well, I don't, but I'll live with it.
Im still on the fence that just by removing Gozer and the Mandala from the equation, TVG still works perfectly into AL given the established timeline spoken to the side and the time gap letting things not overlap.
06:22 - That is some next level genius editing
Something possibly not worth mentioning is during the final battle Ray says he quit smoking in the 90s. In the game he doesn't smoke but he smokes in the first two movies.
Yeah I caught that too
I still consider the game cannon. Now that we have a look inside the pack, some of the mechanics are altered but I still think the events are all there
I've always liked the idea of the GB Videogame being canon, so I'm inclined to go with your thoughts on this.
Sadly as much as I love the IDW books, those can't really be canon to the films as there's too much happening after the videogame to line up with what people were saying in Afterlife.
A thought I had when you were talking about Shandor moving operations. Maybe he abandoned NY because something else took control of his slime operation. We don't know when Vigo's portrait came to NY, other than it had been in storage. Maybe it arrived during that time, and Vigo latched onto the slime for his own power, thus weakening it for it's intended purpose. By the time we get to the videogame, Vigo is seemingly weakened and trapped inside his painting with no extraordinary abilities outside of talking and sass.
Here's an idea.
The video game itself might not be cannon. But some of the events are.
The video game is something that exists in the GB universe, but it's a fictional telling of events that occurred in 1991.
It's possible the 1991 in reality was less destructive. Hence why nobody remembers it. But for a fictional retelling in a video game you'd want the visuals to be interesting.
I could see it being a retelling by Peter (specifically playing up the "got the girl" angle lmao), if that was an angle they went with I think that would be perfectly fine.
That's the same logic that says The Real Ghostbusters is what actually happened and the first movie is a Hollywood retelling of those events. Which would mean all four movies and the video game are fictionalized media _within_ the cartoon series and therefore canonical with the cartoon.
@@Dargonhumanmakes me hope the new cartoon series they were working on is in the RGB xgb universe and that they explain those two series as well to keep the continuity going
Thing is Gozer doesnt assume a distructor form in Afterlife just Travaler form. The distructor form lock may still hold true
But didn't the Keymaster in GB1 mentionned that Gozer took different forms by the past ? Ray's theory kind of doesn't work because of that. Personally I think Gozer came back as Stay Puft in the video game because it was the most recent form it had taken and also as mentioned in the game, Gozer was weaker so that's probably another reason why.
@@jimsy3342Gozer did take more destructor forms, in other dimensions
It can still fit as it is so close to GB2 it still fits into that 30 time gap
So is Ghostbusters: The Video Game basically the Schrodinger's Cat of the Ghostbusters franchise where it's both canon and non-canon at the same time?
I still believe The Video game is canon. Also I believe Ecto-1 & Ecto-1A (who also became Ecto-1B, since in the video game. There's an easter egg of the Ecto-1A door being there) are separate cars of the same model
Alot of those feel a little too on the nose to not be direct references. Sure shandor's design is coincidental, but the reference to the library differences for example seem like a pretty clear allusion.
One major problem: in the video game, you find Ivo's skull. In Afterlife, his body is perfectly preserved.
He could have gotten another one.
Yeah, thats a big detail. Tho some say that body in the mine was an ecto construct since there was no blood.
I say having it be a homonculus makes sense
@@b.lloydreese2030 maybe. But that just feels like stretching for a way to MAKE it fit, instead of it actually being means to fit. And between Shandor and Gozer, you have to do far too much of that in order to make everything fit. Especially if you're going to work on the comics, as well.
Personally, I loved afterlife dearly, but my favorite timeline still remains Movie>GB2>Game>IDW comic.
The comic even setup the GB multiverse, so I just look at the game, the new movies and even RGB as all being canon....just not in the same timeline.
The video game is canon. Too many callbacks to say it's not.
What do you mean?
Nope. Ghost Corps confirmed it's not.
Yes Ghostbusters The Video Game is Canon they can't just retcon this game because Harold Ramis and the entire original cast is in it
What about the movie Casper, is that cannon? It has a brief cameo by Ray Stantz.
Yes they said it was
I highly doubt that was canon. the timeline, the location, and how out of character Ray was, definitely couldn't be and shouldn't be canon
This is the same universe where the vast population of NYC were fooled into thinking that Stay Puft was a mass hallucination despite city damage. I wouldn't trust civilian perspective on what happened when in the Ghostbusters verse.
Meanwhile, the events of the video game beautifully explains why Egon went nuts and isolated himself.
all i can say is thank you for this. i say we mix the games and movies. cut the bad stuff that doesn't make sense and add everything that embellishes the solid good canon.
There was no bad stuff in the game
@b.lloydreese2030 correct. Hey read my comment again but read ALL of the words.
I havent gotten a notification for this channel in for ever
It is and will always be canon for me, as the context, lore and passion that went into it to broaden the Ghostbusters universe is so rich. To me, there are six movies, it's just the third one you have the pleasure of being part of the team and are along for the ride!
And speaking of videogames, the next logical step is to expand spirits unleashed and let us have our teams working for winston's ghost lab. Would love to see it expanded so i can take my custom busters on more adventures!
6:23-6:28
I hate how brilliant that edit is...
WHO YA GONNA CALL?
He-Man
Bruh the children from the birthday party 😂😂😂
I hope the video game is still canon
It's still VERY possible that the game can still be canon! Afterlife may not have changed the rules of Gozer like we thought.
Perhaps the reason Gozer didn't come back as giant Stay Puft was because she really DID die in the game & became an ACTUAL ghost in *Afterlife*, meaning she no longer has to follow the Destructor Form rules. As for Shandor, that's a tough one. But given how much crazy shit he & his cult managed to pull off, who's to say that they didn't dabble in cloning & Shandor possessed his clone body in Summerville after he failed in 1991?
There were some questions I had with GB:Afterlife.
Some bigger things didn’t make as much sensez but were answered with GB:The Video Game. Those bigger answers and a lot of smaller points made in this video (thank you!) made me appreciate GB:AL more. The pieces fit. Canon for me!
I like to go with the multiverse canon where everything is canon but in their own universe. In the comics, both the video game and 2016 and RGB are canon but in their own dimensions. They are all real in their own sense to me anyway.
In my mind, it's pretty easy to reconcile the video game against Afterlife (and Frozen Empire). It's a lot more difficult to reconcile the IDW comic run, which is a shame as there was a lot of good stuff there.
I don’t actually think Gozer staying in his traveler form is necessarily a contradiction to the “one Destructor form per dimension” rule. The traveler form, while powerful, is actually less powerful than Stay Puft since it’s substantially smaller. Stay Puft is the size of a kaiju, after all. But Gozer was defeated twice in that form, so he decided the traveler form, while less powerful, was still less limiting than a giant marshmallow man, and so stuck to that form instead.
Plus, the fact that there are Stay Puft Minis being spawned does indicate Gozer still has ties to the Stay Puft Destructor form.
It appears the mini-puffs are a result of Gozer shedding or syphoning it's energy form into lesser bits in order to return to it's original form
Such great videos! I absolutely love this channel!!
I re-installed and started playing it again... forgot how good it was. It’s definitely Ghostbusters 3 for me! Seriously, the cut-scenes alone are better than 90% of the movies coming out of Hollywood today!
6:27 that part makes me laugh
I would argue that the game is 'soft' canon while the films are 'hard' canon. Meaning that the events of the game happened in the film's timeline, but not exactly or 100% as the game portrays them.
Fun fact there’s a shot in frozen empire where you can see the gozern codex in the background
This game I still believe it’s canon it’s to good to not be👻🚫
New movie said the sewer dragon bust was the most damage the GBs had caused to the city since Statue of Liberty in 1989. To me, that was the nail in the coffin for video game canon.
I think that because not everyone plays video games that whether or not the game is canon is up to each fan. there's not really anything that directly links the events of the game to the new movies aside from a few winks and nods like you mentioned, but there's also nothing that overwrites the events of the game either. so it's basically if you're a gamer and want the game to be canon then it is, but those who aren't gamers aren't required to play the game to enjoy the full storyline of the movies.
So the Rookie moved to Chicago, Callie lived in Chicago. What if the Rookie is Trevor and Phoebe's father? Yes, Callie calls him a "dirtbag" but what if that is just because they had a bad breakup.
Ghostbusters 2016 and the comics seem to establish the multiverse theory in the property with 2016 being an very extreme universal variant. My head canon is that the video games (as there are two different versions) could exist in a slightly altered universe where events still support a similar outcome resulting in Afterlife and beyond. Even the cartoons kind of support that being the case.
Maybe the Video Game adventure is classified
Obviously the game is canon; the real question is, "Are Afterlife/Frozen Empire canon?" ;P
Yes since there are a couple references to the game in afterlife
canon to the films? unfortunately for some, definitely
To me; the game’s Semi-Canon. Which I mean that while the game obviously has a lot of connections to Afterlife & Frozen Empire, as well as correct timeline placements for many aspects, there are also just as many plot & logic holes when it comes to figuring out how the backstories of some characters line up. Like how Gozer popping up bin NYC or Graveyard in Central Park not making headlines, which is just plain stupid to ignore entirely.
So I think of it like this; The game’s events did happen, but in an alternate timeline where Egon simply didn’t freak out about Gozer’s return & left the Ghostbusters, which led to the events of Afterlife. Egon stayed with the Ghostbusters & simply worked about on his work as always. That simple act changes everything & makes all of this work. Obviously, with timelines & alternate dimensions involved, there are going to be some parallels between both the game & the new movies. But they are not exact. Simply put; you can look at the game as supplemental material for various aspects of the movies, but it’s optional if you just see the movies & nothing else.
To me, playing the game, I felt like I was taken for a ride or held by the hand to be WITH the Ghostbusters, not actually be a Ghostbuster. Even they so themselves to not get attached to the Rookie & the main reason why we get all these upgrades is because we were essentially the test dummy. 😂 I would have actually liked it if the Rookie had a speaking role to play around with the rest of the cast. But it’s clear what he’s intended to be as a player insert to be part of the story as it unfolds around them; which makes all the sense in the world considering both Ramis & Aykroyd was developing a script for 3 long before a game was considered a potential way to present it.
All & all, the game’s really good & I consider it to be a fun addition to Ghostbusters canon, just not in the main timeline of events; but very close enough to pull some details.
There really should be 3 timeliness:
Prime Timeline = Ghostbusters + Ghostbusters 2 + Ghostbusters Afterlife + Ghostbusters Frozen Empire
Video Game Timeline = First 2 Ghostbusters films, + Ghostbusters Video Game
Alternate Universe Timeline = Ghostbusters 2016
That way they essentially have 3 paths they can take, and borrow from each other if they see fit without excluding anything.
The Game acts pretty much like despite all things, the guys never got closure on the Librarian Ghost (Gray Lady) and so the point of the Library level was to make up for this issue. So therefore, if the game is canon, she was never busted and escaped with all the other ghosts from the containment unit. This would mean that _Frozen Empire_ is also running with this notion. Granted, the game also has the containment unit breached so…🙄
_Ghostbusters II_ despite what people may think about it and the fact they were deleted, acknowledges Slimer as the Ghostbusters’ live in pet while accepting the name from RGB and he’s allowed to free roam the place as “harmless”. The Game comes along to say he’s kept in a container annd is eager to rush back to the Sedgwick whenever freed from it. _Frozen Empire_ keeps more in line with GB2 as well as RGB/EGB, even if the personality doesn’t mesh with anything seen past the original film.
_Ghostbusters II_ always seemed like the mood slime was the creation of Vigo as evidenced by the way it directly flows to where Vigo is, serves his will like a physical extension, and is made purely by materializing a particular emotion: negativity or the repolarized stuff made by the guys. I don’t think Shandor could be making his own mood slime given the otherworldliness of it or that Vigo had merely stumbled upon his supply since the moment Vigo is weakened by the slimeblower slime (and Peter and Egon’s proton streams) he explodes and the shell around the museum atomizes with him implying he caused it all.
Also, in naming the colors of slime, Slimer is made of green slime as is what the PDS uses (kinda always theorized Slimer was the source for the built-in slime culture 🫤) and it neutralizes Shandor’s black slime. Does that therefore mean the green slime seen on Shandor Island is the same green stuff the Ghostbusters are using or that Slimer is made of or is it just “same color; different slimes”?
The thing that decanonizes the Game for me is that _Afterlife_ has Shandor still alive in a preservation chamber but is a ghost in the Game. Before anyone tries to argue that his ghost repossessed his body, one needs to then answer how Shandor’s skull could be one of the cursed artifacts you find in the last level or even how it made its way to Summerville to be reconstructed into Shandor’s body. The more likelihood is Shandor didn’t really die (so not a ghost who could possess Mayor Mulligan) and just did like people think Walt Disney did, i.e. is in suspended animation hidden away somewhere biding his time. When he awoke to finally meet Gozer, it wasn’t impressed with him and just destroyed him in one rip. Plus, Shandor turns into the Architect and is then protoned to death at the end of the Game. Also also, why wouldn’t Egon’s ghost just possess his body and come back the same way Shandor would have had to have done if the Game’s story is supposed to fit with _Afterlife_ where there is a physical body?
Crossing the streams in _Afterlife_ doesn’t really prove anything since the simplest answer is that they know that move works on Gozer not necessarily anyone/thing else. And as a side note to that, in _RGB: “Captain Steel Saves the Day”_ they cross the streams because Egon thought why not? It couldn’t hurt to try when they were falling toward the Hudson River from very high up.
The fact that the 2016 film wasn't mentioned at all is hilarious.
This was another well thought out and entertaining video. I love your deep dives into the lore of Ghostbusters. I definitely think the video game is still cannon. As you eloquently pointed out it adds so much to the movies that came after it. I feel the video game is the third part of the original ghostbusters story and the new films are the beginning of the Spengler family's story.
The PCOC that peck was made in charge of in gb3vg is seen in frozen empire as there is a PCOC sticker on a pack and phoebe signed off on it. 1991 - 2024 PCOC
Ghostbusters the video game I believe should still be Canon because it's the last time the band got back together as one unit before the passing of Harold Ramis AKA Egon Spengler.
8:35 that's because they took a picture on the top of the empire state building and added effects to it
9:21 actually Shandor did this when possessed as the mayor
6:23-is the best joke on the Internet I’ve heard this month!!!
It'll always be canon to me and probably most ghostbusters fans, because it's the last time we saw Egon and the team together. Plus it's written by Ramis and Aykroyd, so in a way it's higher canon than the new movies.
Stunning video. Thanks for much to doing these.
I imagine that Ghostbusters has something of a split timeline.
it does
I like how you managed to thread some things together but I always believe that canon is driven by the creators and it’s clear that GB1, GB2, Afterlife and FE are canon but the game isn’t. I’d love it to be, but there’s too many differences and there no way that the GB’s would wind back improvements in the vehicles, containment unit, packs etc. awesome video though - always love the GB content 👍
As much as I love the game, it really doesn't make sense for it to be canon anymore. Cause if it is canon, are you telling me that after Ivo Shandor KILLING Gozer at the end of the game (yes, he actually KILLS Gozer because they even show Gozer's remains like his skull) Gozer somehow comes back to life yet again in Afterlife? And also, after you defeat Ivo Shandor as the final boss, he still somehow lives only for him to want to bring back Gozer to be his servant again even though he tried to kill Gozer? Nah, that's too much of a stretch and IT MAKES NO SENSE.
Apparently theres alot ofstuff in the new one, that is from a mat landis script look it up it sounded awesome
I always thought following the Franchising route would have been good for sequels. I thought New Orleans would actually have been perfect for a Ghostbusters spinoff Franchise series. I mean, it is New Orleans lol!
I say the game IS canon as GBIII. Meaning Afterlife is 4 and Empire is 5.
Excellent analysis. It'll always be canon in my heart.
Yes the game is still Canon they even brought of the game to new movies so I don't know why they said it not even Dan Aykroyd said is was the third that's why Bill Murray had no problem doing it so it Canon and they had all of the original actors in it pluse I don't want to see Harold ramis work go in the trash they wouldn't of done it if was going be Canon so it is .
Yes in my book!
It is to me. I dont care how many fan fictions they make in the afterlife series.
Someone needs to get reitman to acknowledge it
Its sad, they dont even acknowledge spirits unleashed directly and that takes great pains to tie into the new movies. Wouldve loved seeing cat and eddie. Tho there are slight nods.
Its always bothered me.how movie directors largely ignore any material not a film. Like dude, we fans have been consuming you expanded universe material, least you can do is hold yourself to it too
I believe the game does exactly what you said and that spring and tie in a lot of things. I believe it is Canon.
6:22 amazing bit lmaoo
17:25 they're actually marketing toys
I really want the ghostbusters the video game to be cannon
Love the game. I'll always be part of the lore in my book. However.... what's become of the franchise, and the rookie? lol.
And whatever other employees/ ghostbusters that worked at those other locations?
If the games are canon, how come you could find Shandor's skull in Central Park?
6:27 peak humor
The real question, is GhostBusters: Spirits Unleashed cannon?
We can only assume it takes place shortly after Frozen Empire, since they would have to recapture all the escaped ghosts, so they decide to hire several teams, and also because of the redesign of the containment unit.
@@jimsy3342but they say at the end of the game the Spenglers were coming back to New York City
@@Spazy912 Ah yeah... well...bad continuity....I guess. 😬
@@jimsy3342 i guess they just moved them somewhere else
Yes
Yes. Absolutely.
Game still canon for me ❤🎉 a lot of great memories especially in multiplayer
Yes always and forever
I believe it’s Canon. I don’t get why they would try to unconanise someone that fixes Ghostbusters II and acts to the characters & lore.
I believe it to be canon it features the original actors
I will always consider this game canon