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** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Gym Leader Iono of Levincia has what appear to be animatronic Magnemite mounted on her head like GirlishPigtails. Several of her animations show them to be flight-capable; when defeated, she strikes a "dazed" pose, prompting the Magnemite to start circling her in this manner.
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Examples of CirclingBirdies in VideoGames.
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* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'': "Member B" has these after getting flung against the wall by Date following his arrival at the Kumakura office.
* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': Once an enemy has had their [[BodyArmorAsHitPoints armor bar]] depleted, they'll be immediately stunned, signified by a spinning star on their head. Likewise, if Ann gets hit with a heavy attack, she'll get stunned with the same effect until she [[SmashingSurvival gets out of it]].
* ''VideoGame/{{XenoGears}}'': This comes with the confused status effect, with circling stars above the affected party members.
* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'': When a character is stunned, they will stand groggily with stars circling just above their head.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': Whenever WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and Goofy (or any of your other companions, for that matter) are [[NonLethalKO knocked out]], stars circle their heads.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': Unconscious guards are differentiated from dead or [[CatchingSomeZs sleeping]] guards by a little halo of stars merrily orbiting above their heads. As the guard gets closer and closer to waking up, one star at a time will cheerfully ascend heavenward and vanish. A guard with five stars won't be waking up for a while, but a guard with one star could open his eyes any time... (weirdly enough, the [=MGS=] games are usually considered serious. Of course, it does fulfill a gameplay function.)
* ''VideoGame/Onmyoji2016'': When someone is under the Stun effect, they will bend over (and may or may not hold their head as though having a headache) and have stars circling above them.
* ''[[VideoGame/TrailsSeries The Legend of Heroes - Trails]]'': Once a characters has their armor broken or hit with a stun attack, they receive circling birds.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': When sneaking around the Gerudo Fortress, Link can stun Gerudo guards with either his Hookshot or arrows. If arrows are used, then the Gerudo falls down, and has stars circling her head.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'':
*** Auction house patrons see stars (which sound like birds) upon being stunned by Link's bids.
*** Link gets a halo of stars circling around his head [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sScQFV_Y3nE&feature=channel after a Hurricane Spin attack]].
*** Medli is the only one who has actual birds circling her head, since she ''is'', herself, [[BirdPeople a bird]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'': The Links can perform a Hurricane Spin after they power up the Four Sword during the level, and gets a circling crown of stars after performing one. You can also your buddies with various items such as hitting them with a slingshot, running into a wall with the Pegasus boots while another player is nearby or using a ChargedAttack with the magic hammer with a player nearby. All cases harmlessly stun the player. Shadow Link can also stun players with the Magic Hammer and can also be stunned during the various encounters.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' have Link become dizzy if he uses the SpinAttack too many times because the touch screen controls allows you to execute the attack much faster than in most other games. You'll also get dizzy if you roll too many times.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' has lights orbiting Link's head whenever he's knocked down by Blaino, a MiniBoss in Turtle Rock who soon uses the opportunity to uppercut Link back to the dungeon entrance.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has this as a FunnyBackgroundEvent during the ending. [[spoiler:After the memorial tablet of Lorule's Triforce explodes, Ravio gets knocked down and his pet bird Sheerow can be seen flying over him in this manner.]]
* ''VideoGame/FeedingFrenzy'': Little stars spin on top of fishes temporarily paralyzed by jellifishes.
* ''VideoGame/HypeTheTimeQuest'': Defeated foes have spinning stars and circles circling above them while they disappear, while a chirping bird sound effect is heard.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': An actual bird circles the character being attacked by Confusion spell animation followed by question marks at the end of the spell animation.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' uses circling chocobos.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has been using this to show the StatusEffect Confusion since at least ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', although the ones there are bird ''balloons''.
** Circling birdies were part of the Dizzy Punch animation as far back as ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''.
** ''Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver'': In the minigames, the birds are replaced by Psyduck.
** In the Pokéwalker, the player's Pokémon experience this; when knocked out, in the journal, stars circle that Pokémon's head, Blissey for example. For large Pokémon, the stars that circle its head are not in the background, but above the background. Wild Pokémon do not experience this trope; when the HP hits zero, they run away.
** In the Gen V games during the Poke Transfer minigame, circling stars appear if two Pokémon bump into each other by mistake.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' removes the Confusion status in battles, but in Noble Pokémon boss battles, when a Noble Pokémon is open for a Pokémon to be sent out, when possible, stars circle that Noble Pokémon’s head. The circling stars effect also applies to the player’s Pokémon if they are sent out outside of battle with low HP.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' does this for Confusion, but ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'' takes it to the next level; during the intro, the hero hears birds after falling from the sky. In the ''Adventure Squad'' games, this is also used storywise; Elder Slowking gives a tutorial on how the Stacking mechanic works, and he has two of the player’s starting Pokémon use an attack on him, resulting in him being knocked into the air and back onto the ground. The second time Slowking gets back up after collapsing, it is treated as if Slowking was confused with circling birds above his head, as he further explains on how Stacking works. After this, he collapses and this time doesn’t get back up, resulting in a BaitAndSwitch moment in which the game fakes a “The End” situation.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonRumble'' also has this for Confusion, but ''Rumble Rush'' also does this during the Super Bosses; when a Super Boss reaches a certain amount of HP, it will put up a barrier that causes all attack to be unable to drop its HP down. To damage it again, the player must pull a ''Street Fighter EX'' and break its guard. When that happens, the Pokémon that was guarding will see stars, leaving it open for any attack and/or combo of attacks the player throws at it.
* Dizziness in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' was indicated by the character standing groggily with stars, bells, birds, or {{Grim Reaper}}s circling their head.
* In ''VideoGame/BoundByBlades'', most of the bosses will produce swirling stars above their heads after receiving enough damage, as a sign that your attack is working.
* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' (not in the NES [or Virtual Console] version): When Bub/Bob dies, after he spins out, he falls on his back and dizzily sees stars above his head while his eyes circle around (no spirals) before poofing away. It's also in the first ''Puzzle Bobble''[=/=]''Bust-A-Move'' game, in which the sprite animations are based on Bubble Bobble's.
** ''Bubble Symphony'': Bub and Bob still fall backwards upon death (even though they spin out differently; their original spinouts being taken by Coro and Kulu) and their eyes circle around but no stars are visible.
** In ''Puzzle Bobble 4'' / ''Bust-a-Move 4'', when the player loses, Bub/Bob immediately gets dizzy, gains spiral eyes, twirls around, falls forward, and has birds circling above his head. Also the case for Bub in [[RemadeForTheExport the Game Boy Color exclusive]] ''Bust-A-Move Millennium'', and Bob in ''[[AC:[[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace SPACE]]]] Puzzle Bobble''. (Bob the unlockable character cries instead in ''[=BAMM=]''.)
** ''Bubble Bobble Plus'' ([=WiiWare=]): They spin out as fast as in the arcade original and end up lying on their back before they poof away. There are no hovering stars. [[http://gonintendo.com/?p=72242 According to this.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', a player hit with a baseball will be temporarily stunned and treated to a third-person view of their character in a dazed trance, complete with "[[UnsoundEffect BONK!]]" written over their heads with stars circling it.
** There's also the Halloween version (When they get in contact with the ghost in Harverst and one of the Headless Horseless Horsemann abilities), where instead of "BONK!" it's "YIKES!".
* In the Wii ''VideoGame/PunchOut'', when an opponent is stunned, birds circle around their head. Some fighters will instead have something else related to their nationality/gimmick circling their head- for example, Piston Hondo has circling egg sushi.
** Unsurprisingly, as it's basically a knockoff of the ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' series, Glu's Super KO Fighter 2 uses the trope in the same fashion when a fighter is knocked down. The fighter 15 Cent, a parody of 50 Cent, sees circling dollar signs, for example. Your character sees simple stars. The trope actually factors into gameplay, as the fewer circling items above the character's head, the more likely he is to be able to get back up.
* The Game Over screen of ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' has Spike lying flat on his back with stars circling his head.
* Happens in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' to monsters if they get smacked in the head with a blunt weapon enough times, or if they get hit with a flash bomb. Can also happen to the hunters if they get hit with certain attacks, or receive too many hits within a short span of time (In which case the number of stars deonotes how much time is remaining in the stun).
* In the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', such as in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', circling birdies denote being stunned, which can happen to pretty much anyone who suffers enough abuse in a short period of time, or if they get smacked upside the head with a Pow Hammer.
* Any enemy stunned by VideoGame/CommanderKeen's Neural Stunner in ''Keen 4'', ''5'', and ''6'' will see stars around its head -- if you don't, that means the stunning is only temporary. Fortunately, this applies to Keen himself if he gets stunned by his own fire in ''6''.
* The final frame of Mario/Jumpman's death animation in most versions of the original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' includes a plain white halo. It was likely intended as this but limited by hardware.
* In the first two ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' games, Diddy will get a ring of stars over his head if you lose a life while playing as him. In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'', enemies you stun with the peanut popgun/ground pound get an actual birdie circle.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': When Tutankoopa attempts to attack Mario with a spell, it backfires and ends up hitting him instead, stunning him with spinning stars.
** Most of the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games feature this with birds if a character is stunned by something like dangerous areas or hazards on the game board. An example is the minigame Dizzy Rotisserie in ''VideoGame/MarioParty6'', which has all characters be freed from rapidly-spinning cages, remaining dizzy as a result and having stars orbiting their heads. They have to move into the dungeon's exit in 30 seconds or less (the dizziness alters the control scheme, so this is easier said than done), or else the Bowser statues will begin exhaling fire while rotating, roasting whoever remains.
** In ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'', when an enemy or boss that Wario can use a Mad Move on is punched enough (or, in the case of some enemies and bosses, if a specific method is done correctly, such as doing a GroundPound on them), they'll become dazed and birds will circle around their head. Now Wario is able to pick them up and use a Mad Move on them, though he has to do this before the enemy or boss recovers after a certain time. Of course, some bosses are immune to being dazed (such as Dual Dragon, as punching one of its heads enough times would simply leave it open to the other's fire breath attack, and Red Brief J, who cannot be hurt by Wario's punches at all), and Wario can also be dazed if he is hit by a powerful attack that deals a lot of damage, such as a shockwave.
** Boom-Boom in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' and onwards has circling stars in his head.
** In both ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' circling stars appear over Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach and Rosalina (the latter three appear in ''3D World'') if they die.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** Any character [[http://ssbwiki.com/Stun stunned]] by a broken shield or reflector, exploded Deku Nut, Mewtwo's Disable move, Weavile's False Swipe, Wario's Wario Waft, or Luigi's Negative Zone will be rendered immobile and a tweeting sound effect is heard. ButtonMashing may get the player out of the "stunned" effect sooner.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': Stunned characters see circling stars. Additionally, Gogoat sees stars if it crashes into a wall.
* Falling from great heights causes this (and loss of a hit point) in ''VideoGame/TheLostVikings''. If you are in the unfortunate situation of already having only one hit point, the poor viking [[CriticalExistenceFailure hitting the ground will splash to tiny pieces and die.]]
** Also occurs if Eric tries to ram a wall that DOESN'T break on impact.
* Each ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' character has a different circling something when dizzy. Felicia has white cats, for example. Some, like Morrigan, have little versions of themselves.
* Invoked in ''VideoGame/BioShock2''. If you club a splicer while guarding a [[CreepyChild Little Sister]], she comments "Daddy's makin' you see stars 'n' birdies!"
* Stunning in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' causes stars to appear with bird sounds.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'': Whenever Samus uses a melee counter on an enemy, they will be stunned and have stars spin around them.
* A character in ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm2'' whose guard has been broken will stand there, dazed and with yellow birds circling over his or her head.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** In one cutscene of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', as Chip explains on how he lost his memory, when he said "And then nothing," he sees stars and tiny versions of himself circling his head (Wii version only, for they are replaced with normal stars in all other versions), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHlyqlwjVtA&feature=related as seen here.]] In another cutscene, Eggman sees stars after a kid throws a rock at Eggman's head, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmFPbp-N3s as seen here.]]
** Any time a character in ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' is knocked onto their back, they briefly see circling stars.
** In ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', Knuckles gets circling... ''something'' orangey-yellow when he starts coming to after being briefly knocked out during a cutscene in Hidden Palace Zone. Due to graphical limitations and the size of the circling objects, they're hard to identify, although they are most likely birds or abstract shapes.
* ''VideoGame/CreatureWorld'' also has Seeing Stars Head Bonk, and Seeing Birds Head Bonk, in which users see stars, or birds when they wear the hat. There is also a hat in which users have hearts in their eyes and hearts circling the user's head.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' games sometime feature this with birds or stars when players or enemies are stunned. In ''Bomberman Blast'', if a player is stunned, the tweeting of birds can be heard from the Wii Remote Speaker.
* ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' has this trope; players and enemies that are dazed get a halo of circling mushrooms. This happens after taking damage by a certain enemy and so on.
* ''VideoGame/{{Toonstruck}}'' features circling stars at one point. And you need to take these as an item.
* ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'': While they're not ''shown'', falling to the bottom of the drained lake for the first time will result in a cutscene of Klaymen being stunned, which is accompanied by typical "birdies" sounds.
* ''VideoGame/EasternExorcist'' have a halo of silver stars popping up whenever you inflict enough hits to stun enemies, which works even on bosses. They'll be disoriented for a few seconds, allowing you to spam a few more hits before they recover.
* In ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', Mickey sees Gremlins after getting slammed in the face while freeing one from a safe. The gremlin then flies over to him, takes a moment to glance between Mickey and the circling versions of himself, then comments on what a good likeness they are.
* ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes'' has this trope with stars, birds, or angels circling a dazed fighter's head. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlk0gVSx28M&feature=related Click on this link to go to the sample combos, in which most fighters were dazed by combos.]])
* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'', in the original trilogy at least, sees stars whenever he's hit. Also, in the ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' Version of ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'', Spyro's friends Sheila, Sgt Byrd, Bentley and Agent 9 also see stars whenever they are hit.
* ''Franchise/SlyCooper'': Whenever you knock out a guard, stars can be seen circling around them.
* Dirk from ''VideoGame/DragonsLair II'' has this trope, but only consists of circling hearts in one death scene... no, ''two'', in Level 3, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3s11LZOFOo&t=12m24s and circling stars in another death scene in this longplay.]]
* Wii Party features numerous ways to inflict this trope (stars with bird sound effects) upon your Miis, as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C-K1rjzgK0&list=UUffBt8Lsi5lpJJ_S7083obA&index=1&feature=plcp this montage]] demonstrates.
** ''VideoGame/WiiPlay'' and ''VideoGame/WiiPlayMotion'' also uses the stars to the duck in Wii Play and the Mii you selected in Wii Play Motion's minigame Cone Zone.
* In ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'', when Kirby is stunned, a bird circles Kirby's head. World 2's boss gets circling stars.
* In ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'', if you defeat Vivi, a bat circles Vivi's head.
* ''VideoGame/PowerInstinct'' has this starting with the first game, but one of the stuns are flying hearts. The second game takes this to the next level with circling objects, such as people, sushi plates, chicks, and fish.
* So you are playing ''VideoGame/FightersHistory'', and you fight an opponent. However, if you hit a weak spot multiple times and when a character is stunned, this game has circling objects that differ from each character, similar to ''Darkstalkers''. Take Liu Feilin for example. When Feilin is stunned, she sees circling fairies. For another example, Liu Yungmie sees circling unicorns when she is stunned.
* Happens often in the ''VideoGame/RavingRabbids'' series after they get hit on the head with an object.
* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderOfCenty'', the first boss, the Big Bad Wolf, attacks by hitting himself on the head with a hammer, causing stars and birds to circle his head. He then uses these objects to damage you.
* In ''VideoGame/SheepDogNWolf'', Ralph gets stars circling over his head when running into a wall. And in one instance, Daffy Duck gets them too.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a character can get "dazed" if a monster hits him from behind, resulting in a 50% reduction to his movement speed for 3-4 seconds. While he's dazed, an animation of swirling stars appears over his head.
* The ending of ''VideoGame/SuperTanookiSkin2D'' has Mario seeing stars.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', stars (or little birds in the remake) circling over a lying character indicate that they are simply stunned rather than killed.
* Music/JustinBieber, Robert Pattinson, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and the other various celebrities featured in the online boxing game "The Brawl" experience the stars version of this trope when they take enough abuse.
* ''Quik the Thunder Rabbit'' has circling birdies when the player character suffers CollisionDamage.
* True to its desert theme, in ''VideoGame/TinyAndBig'' when Tiny gets hit by a boulder thrown by Big without dying (or is stunned for, ahem, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard other reasons]]), a set of small rocks circle around his head.
* ''VideoGame/WiiSports'':
** ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'' has ''Cycling'', a bike sport. One of the features of this sport is that it has a stamina system. If a Mii's stamina runs out, he/she stops in his/her tracks with stars circling his/her head.
** ''Wii Sports Club'' has the ''Boxing'' sport from the original ''VideoGame/WiiSports''. One of the differences, though, is the inclusion of a stun system in which after a Mii's HP goes down to a certain point, he/she is stunned and sees stars, leaving him/her unable to punch, though he/she can still dodge.
* In ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'', you can cause a couple of bosses to get hurt in ways that induce CirclingBirdies And Stars while they're stunned. If the Onii King is in the throes of a tantrum when an Onii has thrown something to him for him to throw, he won't catch it, and be stunned. If you cut a totem pole while the Owl Hag is standing on it, she'll fall and be stunned.
* Iosa the Invincible from ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' has lights orbiting her head when stunned. She sees less and less as she gets close to recovering.
* This occurs a couple times in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', when an opponent is caught in Wonder Woman's lasso of truth or when Zatanna puts her opponent in a hypnosis stars will circle their heads.
* In one version of ''VideoGame/BattleChess'', Rook takes Knight and Bishop takes Knight both involve head trauma for the knight, complete with "cuckoo" sound effect.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'': Olimar has circling stars after he crash lands.
** In the second Pikmin short movie, "Treasure in a Bottle", the Yellow Pikmin's plan is to use a Bomb Rock to free the Red Pikmin trapped in the bottle. It works at first, but the Red Pikmin falls back into the bottle. When the three Pikmin go to the bottle, the Red Pikmin that was stuck is now dazed and has circling stars around its head.
* In ''VideoGame/ChipChanKick'', stars will circle over stunned enemies while a twittering sound effect plays.
* In a cutscene in ''Rita James and the Race to Shangri La'' a Yeti which gets clonked by a low-hanging stalactite sees light flashes and spirals.
* The Besmirched Noble's Son (with his default name being Sonny in the Switch version) in ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'' finds himself dizzy and circled by some stars after taking a beating from goblins in Easin Hills.
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'':
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingCityFolk'' uses this trope when you go to the city and enter Katrina's Fortune Shop. No matter what you ask her, Katrina will drop an anvil or wash pail on your character's head and your character will hear tweeting birds and see stars for a few seconds.
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld'' onwards has the scorpion and the tarantula who can and '''will''' pursue you if you come near them with your net out, and if you miss or do not get away quickly enough, your character will see stars and then pass out.
* Stunned angels and demons in both ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 games]] have stylistic pentagrams circling above them when they are stunned.
* In ''Videogame/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', when a Nazi guard is knocked out during a fist fight, swastika-shaped stars appear over his head. Even in the German version, which otherwise went with NoSwastikas.
* In the video game version of ''VideoGame/Shrek2'', some enemies and bosses can be dazed, with birds circling above them. This can also happen to teammates who have their HP reach zero in battle.
* In ''LEGOLAND'', this occurs to two different characters when they hit their heads in the intro; JP sees circling bricks and wrenches while Bob sees circling flowers and leaves.
* In ''Farmcraft'' a chicken which gets hit on the head by a falling tractor part sees tiny chickens.
* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', a disoriented character has curved lines circling their head.
* In the ''VideoGame/PaRappaTheRapper'' related game ''VideoGame/UmJammerLammy'', this occurs to Lammy when [[spoiler:she slips on a banana peel before dying and going to Hell.]] This, however, only occurs in the Japan and PAL versions; in the USA version, this trope doesn't happen; instead, [[spoiler:Lammy gets her belt snagged on the shop door and flung back to the previous stages of the game before ending up on an island, causing an ImpactSilhouette.]]
* ''VideoGame/MonsterBoyAndTheCursedKingdom'' shows orbiting birds for the "stunned" status effect (usually inflicted on enemies via GroundPound, but a few enemies can also stun the player character).
* Creatures from the ''VideoGame/{{Creatures}}'' game series can fall unconscious and have stars circling on top of their head. If you don't try to help it, the creature will die.
* In ''VideoGame/TelepathRPG'', when you beat Cerzak in battle, rather than fading away in purple like everyone else, he'll fall over with stars circling over his head until you win the battle, this is the only time in the series that a character does not die when out of HP.
* The teacher from ''[[VideoGame/TheClassroomTrilogy The Classroom 1]]'' has circling stars when hit by a grenade launched into the classroom.
* In ''VideoGame/TheBugsBunnyBirthdayBlowout'', Bugs sees stars whenever he gets hit, which prevents him from using his hammer for a few seconds.
* In ''VideoGame/DinkSmallwood'' mod ''Lost Forest Romp'' Dink sees birds after being given a drink containing powdered slayer claw.
* ''{{VideoGame/Whiplash}}'': The enemies will have stars floating around their heads when they are stunned.
* ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' uses two circling stars to indicate that a character has been stunned.
* The first ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo'' has instances where Chibi Robo can become dazed, either through spinning on the control stick enough times or being bonked by a washpan after charging, in which case Chibi Robo sees pixelated birds. In the latter case, Telly Vision will count how many times the washpan has been dropped.
** Also in the first game, one instance in which Telly's attempt at singing "Teriyaki Blues" can get interrupted is when sitting down to watch Telly sing. In this case, right before Telly can even sing, the same washpan falls down and bonks Telly, causing him to see pixelated birds and look around. After this, he leaves, but not before giving Chibi Robo some Happy Points for his time.
* ''VideoGame/MrBeanAroundTheWorld'': Most of the time, when Mrs. Wicket catches Mr. Bean, she hits him on the head with a ruler, causing him to see stars.
* It had little effect on gameplay, but any head-on car crash in ''VideoGame/RoadRash'' would leave your biker struggling with twinkling stars as they got back to their feet.
* In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', the way to defeat the Marauder is to wait for its eyes to flash green, then shoot it, which stuns it and leaves it open to further attack. While stunned, circling stars appear around its head along with a sound effect. The same applies to the FinalBoss of the DLC expansion "The Ancient Gods: Part 2".
* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' games, both Mega Man and enemies will have birds circle around their heads when [[InterfaceScrew confused]] by an attack.
* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' averts this by simply showing the character standing groggily after being stunned for taking too much punishment.
* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple: The Clash of Ragnarok's Eight Fists''[[note]]Japanese title: ''Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi: Gekitou! Ragnarok Hachi Kengou''[[/note]], characters will have little stars circling above their heads when hit by an attack that [[RewardingVandalism breaks]] an environmental object, provided they stand close enough to that object.
* The icon for the Stunned status effect in ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'' is represented by circling stars.
* Duo, the owl mascot for ''VideoGame/DuoLingo'' gets flashing stars in some of the game animations when he is dizzied, such as the completion screen when he gets spun around by Vikram.
* Stunned enemies in ''Sorcery School'' have little stars.
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* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'': "Member B" has these after getting flung against the wall by Date following his arrival at the Kumakura office.
* ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'': Once an enemy has had their [[BodyArmorAsHitPoints armor bar]] depleted, they'll be immediately stunned, signified by a spinning star on their head. Likewise, if Ann gets hit with a heavy attack, she'll get stunned with the same effect until she [[SmashingSurvival gets out of it]].
* ''VideoGame/{{XenoGears}}'': This comes with the confused status effect, with circling stars above the affected party members.
* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'': When a character is stunned, they will stand groggily with stars circling just above their head.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': Whenever WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and Goofy (or any of your other companions, for that matter) are [[NonLethalKO knocked out]], stars circle their heads.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': Unconscious guards are differentiated from dead or [[CatchingSomeZs sleeping]] guards by a little halo of stars merrily orbiting above their heads. As the guard gets closer and closer to waking up, one star at a time will cheerfully ascend heavenward and vanish. A guard with five stars won't be waking up for a while, but a guard with one star could open his eyes any time... (weirdly enough, the [=MGS=] games are usually considered serious. Of course, it does fulfill a gameplay function.)
* ''VideoGame/Onmyoji2016'': When someone is under the Stun effect, they will bend over (and may or may not hold their head as though having a headache) and have stars circling above them.
* ''[[VideoGame/TrailsSeries The Legend of Heroes - Trails]]'': Once a characters has their armor broken or hit with a stun attack, they receive circling birds.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'': When sneaking around the Gerudo Fortress, Link can stun Gerudo guards with either his Hookshot or arrows. If arrows are used, then the Gerudo falls down, and has stars circling her head.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'':
*** Auction house patrons see stars (which sound like birds) upon being stunned by Link's bids.
*** Link gets a halo of stars circling around his head [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sScQFV_Y3nE&feature=channel after a Hurricane Spin attack]].
*** Medli is the only one who has actual birds circling her head, since she ''is'', herself, [[BirdPeople a bird]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'': The Links can perform a Hurricane Spin after they power up the Four Sword during the level, and gets a circling crown of stars after performing one. You can also your buddies with various items such as hitting them with a slingshot, running into a wall with the Pegasus boots while another player is nearby or using a ChargedAttack with the magic hammer with a player nearby. All cases harmlessly stun the player. Shadow Link can also stun players with the Magic Hammer and can also be stunned during the various encounters.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' have Link become dizzy if he uses the SpinAttack too many times because the touch screen controls allows you to execute the attack much faster than in most other games. You'll also get dizzy if you roll too many times.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' has lights orbiting Link's head whenever he's knocked down by Blaino, a MiniBoss in Turtle Rock who soon uses the opportunity to uppercut Link back to the dungeon entrance.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has this as a FunnyBackgroundEvent during the ending. [[spoiler:After the memorial tablet of Lorule's Triforce explodes, Ravio gets knocked down and his pet bird Sheerow can be seen flying over him in this manner.]]
* ''VideoGame/FeedingFrenzy'': Little stars spin on top of fishes temporarily paralyzed by jellifishes.
* ''VideoGame/HypeTheTimeQuest'': Defeated foes have spinning stars and circles circling above them while they disappear, while a chirping bird sound effect is heard.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': An actual bird circles the character being attacked by Confusion spell animation followed by question marks at the end of the spell animation.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' uses circling chocobos.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has been using this to show the StatusEffect Confusion since at least ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', although the ones there are bird ''balloons''.
** Circling birdies were part of the Dizzy Punch animation as far back as ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''.
** ''Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver'': In the minigames, the birds are replaced by Psyduck.
** In the Pokéwalker, the player's Pokémon experience this; when knocked out, in the journal, stars circle that Pokémon's head, Blissey for example. For large Pokémon, the stars that circle its head are not in the background, but above the background. Wild Pokémon do not experience this trope; when the HP hits zero, they run away.
** In the Gen V games during the Poke Transfer minigame, circling stars appear if two Pokémon bump into each other by mistake.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' removes the Confusion status in battles, but in Noble Pokémon boss battles, when a Noble Pokémon is open for a Pokémon to be sent out, when possible, stars circle that Noble Pokémon’s head. The circling stars effect also applies to the player’s Pokémon if they are sent out outside of battle with low HP.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' does this for Confusion, but ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'' takes it to the next level; during the intro, the hero hears birds after falling from the sky. In the ''Adventure Squad'' games, this is also used storywise; Elder Slowking gives a tutorial on how the Stacking mechanic works, and he has two of the player’s starting Pokémon use an attack on him, resulting in him being knocked into the air and back onto the ground. The second time Slowking gets back up after collapsing, it is treated as if Slowking was confused with circling birds above his head, as he further explains on how Stacking works. After this, he collapses and this time doesn’t get back up, resulting in a BaitAndSwitch moment in which the game fakes a “The End” situation.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonRumble'' also has this for Confusion, but ''Rumble Rush'' also does this during the Super Bosses; when a Super Boss reaches a certain amount of HP, it will put up a barrier that causes all attack to be unable to drop its HP down. To damage it again, the player must pull a ''Street Fighter EX'' and break its guard. When that happens, the Pokémon that was guarding will see stars, leaving it open for any attack and/or combo of attacks the player throws at it.
* Dizziness in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' was indicated by the character standing groggily with stars, bells, birds, or {{Grim Reaper}}s circling their head.
* In ''VideoGame/BoundByBlades'', most of the bosses will produce swirling stars above their heads after receiving enough damage, as a sign that your attack is working.
* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' (not in the NES [or Virtual Console] version): When Bub/Bob dies, after he spins out, he falls on his back and dizzily sees stars above his head while his eyes circle around (no spirals) before poofing away. It's also in the first ''Puzzle Bobble''[=/=]''Bust-A-Move'' game, in which the sprite animations are based on Bubble Bobble's.
** ''Bubble Symphony'': Bub and Bob still fall backwards upon death (even though they spin out differently; their original spinouts being taken by Coro and Kulu) and their eyes circle around but no stars are visible.
** In ''Puzzle Bobble 4'' / ''Bust-a-Move 4'', when the player loses, Bub/Bob immediately gets dizzy, gains spiral eyes, twirls around, falls forward, and has birds circling above his head. Also the case for Bub in [[RemadeForTheExport the Game Boy Color exclusive]] ''Bust-A-Move Millennium'', and Bob in ''[[AC:[[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace SPACE]]]] Puzzle Bobble''. (Bob the unlockable character cries instead in ''[=BAMM=]''.)
** ''Bubble Bobble Plus'' ([=WiiWare=]): They spin out as fast as in the arcade original and end up lying on their back before they poof away. There are no hovering stars. [[http://gonintendo.com/?p=72242 According to this.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', a player hit with a baseball will be temporarily stunned and treated to a third-person view of their character in a dazed trance, complete with "[[UnsoundEffect BONK!]]" written over their heads with stars circling it.
** There's also the Halloween version (When they get in contact with the ghost in Harverst and one of the Headless Horseless Horsemann abilities), where instead of "BONK!" it's "YIKES!".
* In the Wii ''VideoGame/PunchOut'', when an opponent is stunned, birds circle around their head. Some fighters will instead have something else related to their nationality/gimmick circling their head- for example, Piston Hondo has circling egg sushi.
** Unsurprisingly, as it's basically a knockoff of the ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' series, Glu's Super KO Fighter 2 uses the trope in the same fashion when a fighter is knocked down. The fighter 15 Cent, a parody of 50 Cent, sees circling dollar signs, for example. Your character sees simple stars. The trope actually factors into gameplay, as the fewer circling items above the character's head, the more likely he is to be able to get back up.
* The Game Over screen of ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' has Spike lying flat on his back with stars circling his head.
* Happens in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' to monsters if they get smacked in the head with a blunt weapon enough times, or if they get hit with a flash bomb. Can also happen to the hunters if they get hit with certain attacks, or receive too many hits within a short span of time (In which case the number of stars deonotes how much time is remaining in the stun).
* In the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', such as in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', circling birdies denote being stunned, which can happen to pretty much anyone who suffers enough abuse in a short period of time, or if they get smacked upside the head with a Pow Hammer.
* Any enemy stunned by VideoGame/CommanderKeen's Neural Stunner in ''Keen 4'', ''5'', and ''6'' will see stars around its head -- if you don't, that means the stunning is only temporary. Fortunately, this applies to Keen himself if he gets stunned by his own fire in ''6''.
* The final frame of Mario/Jumpman's death animation in most versions of the original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' includes a plain white halo. It was likely intended as this but limited by hardware.
* In the first two ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' games, Diddy will get a ring of stars over his head if you lose a life while playing as him. In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'', enemies you stun with the peanut popgun/ground pound get an actual birdie circle.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': When Tutankoopa attempts to attack Mario with a spell, it backfires and ends up hitting him instead, stunning him with spinning stars.
** Most of the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games feature this with birds if a character is stunned by something like dangerous areas or hazards on the game board. An example is the minigame Dizzy Rotisserie in ''VideoGame/MarioParty6'', which has all characters be freed from rapidly-spinning cages, remaining dizzy as a result and having stars orbiting their heads. They have to move into the dungeon's exit in 30 seconds or less (the dizziness alters the control scheme, so this is easier said than done), or else the Bowser statues will begin exhaling fire while rotating, roasting whoever remains.
** In ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'', when an enemy or boss that Wario can use a Mad Move on is punched enough (or, in the case of some enemies and bosses, if a specific method is done correctly, such as doing a GroundPound on them), they'll become dazed and birds will circle around their head. Now Wario is able to pick them up and use a Mad Move on them, though he has to do this before the enemy or boss recovers after a certain time. Of course, some bosses are immune to being dazed (such as Dual Dragon, as punching one of its heads enough times would simply leave it open to the other's fire breath attack, and Red Brief J, who cannot be hurt by Wario's punches at all), and Wario can also be dazed if he is hit by a powerful attack that deals a lot of damage, such as a shockwave.
** Boom-Boom in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' and onwards has circling stars in his head.
** In both ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' circling stars appear over Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach and Rosalina (the latter three appear in ''3D World'') if they die.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** Any character [[http://ssbwiki.com/Stun stunned]] by a broken shield or reflector, exploded Deku Nut, Mewtwo's Disable move, Weavile's False Swipe, Wario's Wario Waft, or Luigi's Negative Zone will be rendered immobile and a tweeting sound effect is heard. ButtonMashing may get the player out of the "stunned" effect sooner.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': Stunned characters see circling stars. Additionally, Gogoat sees stars if it crashes into a wall.
* Falling from great heights causes this (and loss of a hit point) in ''VideoGame/TheLostVikings''. If you are in the unfortunate situation of already having only one hit point, the poor viking [[CriticalExistenceFailure hitting the ground will splash to tiny pieces and die.]]
** Also occurs if Eric tries to ram a wall that DOESN'T break on impact.
* Each ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' character has a different circling something when dizzy. Felicia has white cats, for example. Some, like Morrigan, have little versions of themselves.
* Invoked in ''VideoGame/BioShock2''. If you club a splicer while guarding a [[CreepyChild Little Sister]], she comments "Daddy's makin' you see stars 'n' birdies!"
* Stunning in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' causes stars to appear with bird sounds.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'': Whenever Samus uses a melee counter on an enemy, they will be stunned and have stars spin around them.
* A character in ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm2'' whose guard has been broken will stand there, dazed and with yellow birds circling over his or her head.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** In one cutscene of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', as Chip explains on how he lost his memory, when he said "And then nothing," he sees stars and tiny versions of himself circling his head (Wii version only, for they are replaced with normal stars in all other versions), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHlyqlwjVtA&feature=related as seen here.]] In another cutscene, Eggman sees stars after a kid throws a rock at Eggman's head, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmFPbp-N3s as seen here.]]
** Any time a character in ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' is knocked onto their back, they briefly see circling stars.
** In ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', Knuckles gets circling... ''something'' orangey-yellow when he starts coming to after being briefly knocked out during a cutscene in Hidden Palace Zone. Due to graphical limitations and the size of the circling objects, they're hard to identify, although they are most likely birds or abstract shapes.
* ''VideoGame/CreatureWorld'' also has Seeing Stars Head Bonk, and Seeing Birds Head Bonk, in which users see stars, or birds when they wear the hat. There is also a hat in which users have hearts in their eyes and hearts circling the user's head.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' games sometime feature this with birds or stars when players or enemies are stunned. In ''Bomberman Blast'', if a player is stunned, the tweeting of birds can be heard from the Wii Remote Speaker.
* ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' has this trope; players and enemies that are dazed get a halo of circling mushrooms. This happens after taking damage by a certain enemy and so on.
* ''VideoGame/{{Toonstruck}}'' features circling stars at one point. And you need to take these as an item.
* ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'': While they're not ''shown'', falling to the bottom of the drained lake for the first time will result in a cutscene of Klaymen being stunned, which is accompanied by typical "birdies" sounds.
* ''VideoGame/EasternExorcist'' have a halo of silver stars popping up whenever you inflict enough hits to stun enemies, which works even on bosses. They'll be disoriented for a few seconds, allowing you to spam a few more hits before they recover.
* In ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', Mickey sees Gremlins after getting slammed in the face while freeing one from a safe. The gremlin then flies over to him, takes a moment to glance between Mickey and the circling versions of himself, then comments on what a good likeness they are.
* ''VideoGame/WorldHeroes'' has this trope with stars, birds, or angels circling a dazed fighter's head. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlk0gVSx28M&feature=related Click on this link to go to the sample combos, in which most fighters were dazed by combos.]])
* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'', in the original trilogy at least, sees stars whenever he's hit. Also, in the ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' Version of ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'', Spyro's friends Sheila, Sgt Byrd, Bentley and Agent 9 also see stars whenever they are hit.
* ''Franchise/SlyCooper'': Whenever you knock out a guard, stars can be seen circling around them.
* Dirk from ''VideoGame/DragonsLair II'' has this trope, but only consists of circling hearts in one death scene... no, ''two'', in Level 3, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3s11LZOFOo&t=12m24s and circling stars in another death scene in this longplay.]]
* Wii Party features numerous ways to inflict this trope (stars with bird sound effects) upon your Miis, as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C-K1rjzgK0&list=UUffBt8Lsi5lpJJ_S7083obA&index=1&feature=plcp this montage]] demonstrates.
** ''VideoGame/WiiPlay'' and ''VideoGame/WiiPlayMotion'' also uses the stars to the duck in Wii Play and the Mii you selected in Wii Play Motion's minigame Cone Zone.
* In ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'', when Kirby is stunned, a bird circles Kirby's head. World 2's boss gets circling stars.
* In ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'', if you defeat Vivi, a bat circles Vivi's head.
* ''VideoGame/PowerInstinct'' has this starting with the first game, but one of the stuns are flying hearts. The second game takes this to the next level with circling objects, such as people, sushi plates, chicks, and fish.
* So you are playing ''VideoGame/FightersHistory'', and you fight an opponent. However, if you hit a weak spot multiple times and when a character is stunned, this game has circling objects that differ from each character, similar to ''Darkstalkers''. Take Liu Feilin for example. When Feilin is stunned, she sees circling fairies. For another example, Liu Yungmie sees circling unicorns when she is stunned.
* Happens often in the ''VideoGame/RavingRabbids'' series after they get hit on the head with an object.
* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderOfCenty'', the first boss, the Big Bad Wolf, attacks by hitting himself on the head with a hammer, causing stars and birds to circle his head. He then uses these objects to damage you.
* In ''VideoGame/SheepDogNWolf'', Ralph gets stars circling over his head when running into a wall. And in one instance, Daffy Duck gets them too.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a character can get "dazed" if a monster hits him from behind, resulting in a 50% reduction to his movement speed for 3-4 seconds. While he's dazed, an animation of swirling stars appears over his head.
* The ending of ''VideoGame/SuperTanookiSkin2D'' has Mario seeing stars.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', stars (or little birds in the remake) circling over a lying character indicate that they are simply stunned rather than killed.
* Music/JustinBieber, Robert Pattinson, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and the other various celebrities featured in the online boxing game "The Brawl" experience the stars version of this trope when they take enough abuse.
* ''Quik the Thunder Rabbit'' has circling birdies when the player character suffers CollisionDamage.
* True to its desert theme, in ''VideoGame/TinyAndBig'' when Tiny gets hit by a boulder thrown by Big without dying (or is stunned for, ahem, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard other reasons]]), a set of small rocks circle around his head.
* ''VideoGame/WiiSports'':
** ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'' has ''Cycling'', a bike sport. One of the features of this sport is that it has a stamina system. If a Mii's stamina runs out, he/she stops in his/her tracks with stars circling his/her head.
** ''Wii Sports Club'' has the ''Boxing'' sport from the original ''VideoGame/WiiSports''. One of the differences, though, is the inclusion of a stun system in which after a Mii's HP goes down to a certain point, he/she is stunned and sees stars, leaving him/her unable to punch, though he/she can still dodge.
* In ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'', you can cause a couple of bosses to get hurt in ways that induce CirclingBirdies And Stars while they're stunned. If the Onii King is in the throes of a tantrum when an Onii has thrown something to him for him to throw, he won't catch it, and be stunned. If you cut a totem pole while the Owl Hag is standing on it, she'll fall and be stunned.
* Iosa the Invincible from ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' has lights orbiting her head when stunned. She sees less and less as she gets close to recovering.
* This occurs a couple times in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', when an opponent is caught in Wonder Woman's lasso of truth or when Zatanna puts her opponent in a hypnosis stars will circle their heads.
* In one version of ''VideoGame/BattleChess'', Rook takes Knight and Bishop takes Knight both involve head trauma for the knight, complete with "cuckoo" sound effect.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'': Olimar has circling stars after he crash lands.
** In the second Pikmin short movie, "Treasure in a Bottle", the Yellow Pikmin's plan is to use a Bomb Rock to free the Red Pikmin trapped in the bottle. It works at first, but the Red Pikmin falls back into the bottle. When the three Pikmin go to the bottle, the Red Pikmin that was stuck is now dazed and has circling stars around its head.
* In ''VideoGame/ChipChanKick'', stars will circle over stunned enemies while a twittering sound effect plays.
* In a cutscene in ''Rita James and the Race to Shangri La'' a Yeti which gets clonked by a low-hanging stalactite sees light flashes and spirals.
* The Besmirched Noble's Son (with his default name being Sonny in the Switch version) in ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'' finds himself dizzy and circled by some stars after taking a beating from goblins in Easin Hills.
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'':
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingCityFolk'' uses this trope when you go to the city and enter Katrina's Fortune Shop. No matter what you ask her, Katrina will drop an anvil or wash pail on your character's head and your character will hear tweeting birds and see stars for a few seconds.
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingWildWorld'' onwards has the scorpion and the tarantula who can and '''will''' pursue you if you come near them with your net out, and if you miss or do not get away quickly enough, your character will see stars and then pass out.
* Stunned angels and demons in both ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 games]] have stylistic pentagrams circling above them when they are stunned.
* In ''Videogame/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', when a Nazi guard is knocked out during a fist fight, swastika-shaped stars appear over his head. Even in the German version, which otherwise went with NoSwastikas.
* In the video game version of ''VideoGame/Shrek2'', some enemies and bosses can be dazed, with birds circling above them. This can also happen to teammates who have their HP reach zero in battle.
* In ''LEGOLAND'', this occurs to two different characters when they hit their heads in the intro; JP sees circling bricks and wrenches while Bob sees circling flowers and leaves.
* In ''Farmcraft'' a chicken which gets hit on the head by a falling tractor part sees tiny chickens.
* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', a disoriented character has curved lines circling their head.
* In the ''VideoGame/PaRappaTheRapper'' related game ''VideoGame/UmJammerLammy'', this occurs to Lammy when [[spoiler:she slips on a banana peel before dying and going to Hell.]] This, however, only occurs in the Japan and PAL versions; in the USA version, this trope doesn't happen; instead, [[spoiler:Lammy gets her belt snagged on the shop door and flung back to the previous stages of the game before ending up on an island, causing an ImpactSilhouette.]]
* ''VideoGame/MonsterBoyAndTheCursedKingdom'' shows orbiting birds for the "stunned" status effect (usually inflicted on enemies via GroundPound, but a few enemies can also stun the player character).
* Creatures from the ''VideoGame/{{Creatures}}'' game series can fall unconscious and have stars circling on top of their head. If you don't try to help it, the creature will die.
* In ''VideoGame/TelepathRPG'', when you beat Cerzak in battle, rather than fading away in purple like everyone else, he'll fall over with stars circling over his head until you win the battle, this is the only time in the series that a character does not die when out of HP.
* The teacher from ''[[VideoGame/TheClassroomTrilogy The Classroom 1]]'' has circling stars when hit by a grenade launched into the classroom.
* In ''VideoGame/TheBugsBunnyBirthdayBlowout'', Bugs sees stars whenever he gets hit, which prevents him from using his hammer for a few seconds.
* In ''VideoGame/DinkSmallwood'' mod ''Lost Forest Romp'' Dink sees birds after being given a drink containing powdered slayer claw.
* ''{{VideoGame/Whiplash}}'': The enemies will have stars floating around their heads when they are stunned.
* ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' uses two circling stars to indicate that a character has been stunned.
* The first ''VideoGame/ChibiRobo'' has instances where Chibi Robo can become dazed, either through spinning on the control stick enough times or being bonked by a washpan after charging, in which case Chibi Robo sees pixelated birds. In the latter case, Telly Vision will count how many times the washpan has been dropped.
** Also in the first game, one instance in which Telly's attempt at singing "Teriyaki Blues" can get interrupted is when sitting down to watch Telly sing. In this case, right before Telly can even sing, the same washpan falls down and bonks Telly, causing him to see pixelated birds and look around. After this, he leaves, but not before giving Chibi Robo some Happy Points for his time.
* ''VideoGame/MrBeanAroundTheWorld'': Most of the time, when Mrs. Wicket catches Mr. Bean, she hits him on the head with a ruler, causing him to see stars.
* It had little effect on gameplay, but any head-on car crash in ''VideoGame/RoadRash'' would leave your biker struggling with twinkling stars as they got back to their feet.
* In ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'', the way to defeat the Marauder is to wait for its eyes to flash green, then shoot it, which stuns it and leaves it open to further attack. While stunned, circling stars appear around its head along with a sound effect. The same applies to the FinalBoss of the DLC expansion "The Ancient Gods: Part 2".
* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' games, both Mega Man and enemies will have birds circle around their heads when [[InterfaceScrew confused]] by an attack.
* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' averts this by simply showing the character standing groggily after being stunned for taking too much punishment.
* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple: The Clash of Ragnarok's Eight Fists''[[note]]Japanese title: ''Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi: Gekitou! Ragnarok Hachi Kengou''[[/note]], characters will have little stars circling above their heads when hit by an attack that [[RewardingVandalism breaks]] an environmental object, provided they stand close enough to that object.
* The icon for the Stunned status effect in ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'' is represented by circling stars.
* Duo, the owl mascot for ''VideoGame/DuoLingo'' gets flashing stars in some of the game animations when he is dizzied, such as the completion screen when he gets spun around by Vikram.
* Stunned enemies in ''Sorcery School'' have little stars.
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