Golden Ōzaru is Unlockable
in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3

The rumor that a Golden Ōzaru (“Great Ape”) — from the Dragon Ball GT television series — could be unlocked as a playable character in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (released in Japan as simply “Dragon Ball Z 3”) began in very late October 2004. An image showcasing this character began making its rounds across message boards and other sites, and we all know what happens from there: suddenly, the “rumor” that you can play as a Golden Ōzaru becomes “fact”.

As you can see by hovering your mouse over the above image, the image making the rounds was originally just a preview screen shot from a popular video game news website. Their logo was edited out of the bottom corner, Piccolo was edited away, etc. It is actually a damn fine editing job for the day. Dranet’s 22 October 2004 update showcases a quote from the original artist (“Genki”):

My goal was the fun with this picture, not to believe to people the Golden Ohozaru are in the game.

So there you have it.