Sonic and Tails hoax
In 2002, the April edition of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly included a "cheat" for the game that would baffle people for years to come. The issue claimed that the Sega characters, Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower were hidden characters in the game. In order to be able to play as them, the player was required to eliminate 20 of the wire-frame characters in the Cruel Melee mode. Then, both would supposedly fight the player at the same time, and if they lost, then they would become playable. The magazine also said that if one completed Classic mode with one of them, then they would be given "a special surprise". To convince readers, they included some screenshots of Sonic and Tails in play.
However, this was revealed to be a hoax shortly after one of the readers discovered the date in one of the photos 'EGM' placed. It was included in the April edition for the sole purpose of being an April Fool's joke, reminiscent of their equally cunning Sheng Long joke for Street Fighter II. There are also several factors that also prove this false, such as Nintendo not joining forces with Sega until after the game was released, as well as the fact that there is a screen that tells the player that they have achieved all of the hidden characters. In addition, these characters were not included in any strategy guide.