History DamnYouMuscleMemory / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'': When you play as Ms. Chalice in the expansion ''The Delicious Last Course'', some of her controls are different from Cuphead and Mugman's. Namely, pressing jump while in the air will make her ''double''-jump, whereas it'll make the boys parry. ''Her'' parry is her dash, which you would avoid with the boys since that would involve flinging yourself face-first into a projectile. In a BulletHell game where memorizing enemy patterns is key, playing as Chalice for the first time ''will'' result in some frustrating deaths. However, the game does attempt to mitigate this with the chess bosses, which are specifically designed with Chalice's moveset in mind, to help players get used to playing as her.

* This can happen when switching between [[VideoGame/ToontownOnline Toontown Rewritten and Toontown Corporate Clash]], especially with how they tackled gag balancing and quality of life changes from Online. For example, spamming the Sound gag track to breeze through boss fights is the meta in Rewritten, while doing the same in Corporate Clash puts the toons at a disadvantage.

** In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', the rolling long jump is an attack. In ''[[VideoGame/JakIIRenegade Jak II]]'', it is not. Have fun launching yourself headlong into enemies! Want further fun? In the former, R1 is roll. In Jak II, it fires your gun!

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Triangle causes you to guard. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', Triangle puts your party in Rush Mode (an auto-AttackAttackAttack mode). This is even [[SarcasmMode bet]][[YetAnotherStupidDeath ter]] if you're playing P4 on Expert difficulty.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The expansion ''Dragonflight'' added the [[DragonRider Dragon Riding]] feature, which is a bit more complex and requires more control and actions from the player than mere flying mounts, and it is only available on the new continent, the Dragon Isles. Many players who go outside the continent will machinally try to activate the Dragon Riding skills when using a flying mount, only to find out nothing happens. The absolute ''worst'' thing to do is to put the "takeoff" or "accelerate" bind of Dragon Riding on the same key as mount/dismount for the normal flying mounts (for [[FallingDamage obvious]] [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou reasons]]).

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' uses the R button for lift/throw, which had been A in the SNES version of ''A Link to the Past'' , and wastes the L button on the game's fusion function.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''
*** The GBA remake of ''A Link to the Past'' (which is the version GBA owners were most likely to have played) maps lift and throw to R, similar to the ''Minish Cap'' example.
*** Said remake awkwardly has the inventory mapped to the Select button and the save dialog to the Start button -- the inverse of the SNES version. Ironically, this change was probably made to ''avoid'' the trope, as ''Four Swords'', which comes included in the same cartridge, uses Start to bring the menu. The developers probably thought that players would get confused if the menu was mapped to a different button in [=ALttP=]. Of course, it backfired badly, as most people never played FS (as it requires at least another player with a GBA, a Game Link cable and a [=ALttP/FS=] cartridge). People are more likely to have played other Zeldas than FS, especially the other GBA ''Zelda'' game, ''The Minish Cap'', which sets the function to the Start button. However, "Save on Start, items on Select" has since become the standard for handheld Zelda games: Both DS games also use it, as well as ''A Link Between Worlds''.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'':
*** Zelda's Lullaby was "left-up-right-left-up-right" on the N64, the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, and the Wii. For the 3DS version, the song is "X-A-Y-X-A-Y." To put that in terms of the button's positions, the song is now "up-right-left-up-right-left." All the other songs have also changed accordingly.
*** A lesser example comes from Kaepora Gaebora, who is the trope image and practical mascot of "ShallIRepeatThat". Sometimes, he'll ask "Do you want to hear what I said again?", but other times, he asks, "Did you get all that?" - two questions, two completely different answers to avoid the dialogue loop. You're never sure which one he'll ask, but you can be sure that the cursor will default to the one you don't want. Click too many times, and you'll have to listen to what he said all over again. Cue the UnstoppableRage.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames its successors]], when swimming you can mash A to swim faster of press B to dive underwater. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' reversed these buttons.
** You'd better start getting used to moving with the stylus if you've never played the DS games ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks''.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'':
*** Saving was done by playing the Song of Time, which would also send you back to the first day of the three day cycle. In the 3DS version, playing the Song of Time ''doesn't'' save your progress; owl statues now act as fixed save points instead of being a SuspendSave and feather statues were also added as additional save points. The location where you obtain the Stone Mask was also changed in the 3DS remake and the Great Fairies that gave Link double magic and the upgraded Spin Attack swapped places. All the bosses in each temple were also completely redone so that strategies and exploits used from the N64 version no longer work and you'll have to fight the bosses as they were intended. Such changes will trip up veteran players, including those who do speed runs.
*** Like in most Zelda games, you can give people items by assigning the item to a button, and then pressing the button while standing in front of someone. You can alternatively give items to people by assigning the item to a button, and then pressing the button while talking to them, which the game does tell you. What the game doesn't tell you is that you can't do the former with consumable items specifically. Other Zelda games have you do the former specifically, even with consumables, so this difference can throw players off.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', there's one dungeon with a bunch of {{Light And Mirrors Puzzle}}s and two characters who can reflect light off items they carry. The buttons for each character to reflect light are different; pressing Link's button (the same button used for similar puzzles in ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Majora's Mask'') while controlling Medli returns control to Link.
** The Switch remake of ''Link's Awakening'' added in the ability to store fairies in bottles for healing, but they ''don't'' serve as an AutoRevive (something which they do in pretty much every other game in the series), so as not to render the Magic Medicine redundant.

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this; a player who plays the game like any other RPG -- specifically, [[spoiler:killing the monsters they come across]] - will lock themselves out of the GoldenEnding. The game's BonusBoss even invokes this in-battle by keeping their attacks randomized in contrast to every other monster, as well as being able to change your SOUL's color (and therefore its mobility) ''mid-turn'' just to trip you into another attack.

** Taken to the extreme by the [=GameCube=]: not only are all of the buttons in different places compared to ''even other Nintendo controllers'', but they are irregularly sized and placed in an irregular arrangement. Y and X are pushed over as jelly bean-shaped top and right buttons, B is a small round button to the bottom left, and A is a large round button in the middle.
*** To make things worse, if you try and play a Super Nintendo game on the Wii Virtual Console with a [=GameCube=] controller, the buttons are the same for each letter, not button placement. The SNES X becomes the GCN X, which makes certain games near insanity to play. Take ''{{VideoGame/Contra}} 3'' for example, where Y shoots, B jumps, and A uses bombs... yeah, just try jumping and shooting with that big bomb button in the way. Or the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series, where Y rolls and runs, B jumps, and the giant button in between them switches characters and gets off animal buddies. The Wii's Virtual Console has no customization options at all, so you better own a Classic Controller or stick to the rare titles (like ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'') that have their own customization options.

* ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon''. It used to be that Square was Charge and Circle was Breath ability. They change it almost every game. In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'', R1 is charge, Square is breath and Circle is Melee combat.
** In ''VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail'', they didn't even give you the nice fancy extra things to take the place of these buttons and give a reason for moving them -- they just ''switched the charge and breath.'' For ''no freakin' reason.''

*** Somewhat lesser known is that if you press down on the D-Pad on ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'', you switch to "tilt" mode where you turn the 3DS to steer. Simple enough but the Trick command is still mapped to the shoulder Jump button - in ''Mario Kart Wii'' you jerked the Wii Remote up to do the same thing. Wheel Users in Wii found their 3DS screens flying off if they do this too much with their more fragile handheld.

* Going from ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Freedom Unite'' to any other third person game on the PSP will cause much confusion. The camera is controlled with the D-pad (leading to the infamous [[SomeDexterityRequired "claw grip"]] with the index finger on the D-pad), the shoulders control running and camera reset, and the joystick controls movement. This a setup unique to the one game, and attempting to play ''VideoGame/RenegadeSquadron'' or ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesII'' afterwards is very confusing.
** Going from the ''Monster Hunter Freedom'' games on the PSP to ''Monster Hunter Tri'' on the Wii or backwards can be very frustrating at first. While the actual controls in battle are more or less exactly the same, the confirm (A on Wii, X on PSP) and cancel (B on Wii, Circle on PSP) are shifted around. Also, bringing up the menu (done by pressing the Start button on the PSP) is done on the Wii by hitting the Minus button. The Plus button is another attack button.
** If you've played a game where you fire a gun/bow/whatever on the Wii, you're pretty well used to using the B button for that. Guess what it does in ''Monster Hunter Tri''? It has you roll forward, which has lead to many very dumb deaths.
** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'' brings this back in full force for anyone used to playing on a PSP, 3DS or Switch. The biggest problem veteran players will likely face is hitting [=RB/R1=] for weapon attacks per [=3DS/Switch=] convention by default, instead of [=RT/R2=] that ''World'' expects with the default controls; in fact, hitting [=RB/R1=] makes you ''sheathe your weapon'', which is the last thing you want to happen when trying to block or bring down the Charge Blade's axe form in the middle of a fight!

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', saving was done by playing the Song of Time, which would also send you back to the first day of the three day cycle. In the 3DS version, playing the Song of Time ''doesn't'' save your progress; owl statues now act as fixed save points instead of being a SuspendSave and feather statues were also added as additional save points. The location where you obtain the Stone Mask was also changed in the 3DS remake and the Great Fairies that gave Link double magic and the upgraded Spin Attack swapped places. All the bosses in each temple were also completely redone so that strategies and exploits used from the N64 version no longer work and you'll have to fight the bosses as they were intended. Such changes will trip up veteran players, including those who do speed runs.

** Shift does different things in all three games. In 1, it brings up a menu to select weapons and plasmids. In 2, it makes a melee strike. Fortunately, there's an ability that combines the melee strike and fire, which makes the player sprint in a straight line (and attack any enemy in the way), so it's not too alienating. ''Infinite'' finally maps it to a more conventional Sprint by default.

* Several straight iterations of the [=PlayStation=] 2 and 3 versions of [[UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball football]] games ''VideoGame/FIFASoccer'' and ''WinningEleven'' have had identical default control schemes...EXCEPT that the "shoot" and "cross" buttons are reversed. Cue a patient 20-pass move to get your player through on goal, and then facepalm when he crosses instead of shooting.

* Very confusing for the Gretzky NHL (2005) port on the PSP at least, in which in-game menu navigation uses X for enter and triangle for back, while the system menus (which do pop up in-game when loading or saving stuff) are X and O.

*** Unfortunately, the ability to remap your controls in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'' only works during the regular gameplay. When playing in [[AnotherSideAnotherStory Julius Mode]] your controls cannot be changed. This is annoying when you've played through the original twice with the controls in a particular way, then you decide to play as Julius.

* The ''UsefulNotes/XBox'' controllers have black and white buttons in addition to the standard ABXY face buttons. Many fighting games with six attack buttons were obviously designed with the original (giant) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:XboxOriginalController.jpg Duke]] controllers in mind, where the black and white buttons are above the other face buttons. Meanwhile, on the later Controller S, the buttons were moved to below the other face buttons, beside the right thumbstick.

** ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' remaps some of its controls to make room for a dedicated jump button. Expect veteran Souls players to spend the first couple hours of the game jumping every time they try to interact with items in the environment. The same goes for two-handing a weapon, which now requires you to press Triangle + L1 or R1, making players frantically pressing Triangle wonder why it isn't doing anything.

** ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' remaps some of its controls to make room for a dedicated jump button. Expect veteran Souls players to spend the first couple hours of the game jumping every time they try to interact with items in the environment.

* Not so much in the actual video game of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', but when watching the Machinima ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', the creator is filming with godmode on, so it can be jarring to a person who has their own system of play when he skips medpacks, batteries and even weapons.

* ''VideoGame/{{Dislyte}}'': Increasing accuracy doesn't exactly mean it helps Espers dealing the full damage to Espers whose elements they're weak against (as trying to do so will make the attacker "miss" from dealing a full blow). The stat actually entails to how likely an Esper capable of inflicting status ailments will trigger.

* The pause button is usually the Start button, right? Well, some games have pause on the '''Select''' button, like ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime Turtles in Time]]'' on the SNES and any UsefulNotes/NeoGeo game in home mode (''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' as well).

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''