History ExcusePlot / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' has a plot that is [[RecycledScript recycled in every game]] with few modifications here and there. Basically, some evil geneticist/corrupt executive wants to cull the Earth of its humans and creates a bunch of zombies to ravage [[SequelEscalation a mansion/city/the world]], prompting a squad of [[SharpDressedMan sharp-dressed agents]] (part of an organization whose [[WhatExactlyIsHisJob full job description is never really elaborated on]]) to hunt them down. Add in [[{{Narm}} hilariously bad voice acting]] and questionable dialogue choices and you get the feeling that the creators cobbled up a premise as hors d'oeuvre to the ACTUAL meat of the series: a fun rail shooter. Then again, when the main purpose of the series is for players to pay an average 200 yen (around $1.7 as of 2018) for a chance at the game, there's really no reason to come up with a good story.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': In stark contrast to the rest of the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, the "story" here is virtually nonexistent. A scant handful of cutscenes at the beginning and the very end are all we get. There's barely even any ''voice acting'' throughout the main game; the majority of the main characters' spoken dialogue is actually found in the optional audio tapes you collect or otherwise obtain throughout the game.

* The UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum game ''VideoGame/{{Arcturus}}'' has 22 in-game pages of plot involving the development and destruction of at least three intergalactic civilizations, with Earth set to be the fourth. It's quite a phenomenal backdrop and story to justify the fact that, underneath it all, the game is actually just [=4x4x4=] TabletopGame/TicTacToe.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} ShootEmUp ''VideoGame/{{Banshee}}'' has a very tongue-in-cheek take on the clichéd scenario of Earth facing an AlienInvasion in the year 1999. The introductory text explains that this Earth belongs to an AlternateUniverse without color television and that the Styx [[YouKilledMyFather killed our hero's father]] "for refusing to invent the microwave oven."

** ''Super Columns'' for the UsefulNotes/GameGear had a plot about getting an amulet back from an evil merchant. You get past her minions by challenging them to the titular game.

** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongJungleBeat'': DK wants to be King of the Jungle, so he tracks down and beats up all the biggest animals he can find, claiming their territory until he eventually meets up with the Cactus King, who had brainwashed the game's bosses. Not that Donkey cares, he just beats the king up to prove he's the baddest Gorilla in all the land. The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoWii Wii]] UpdatedRerelease rectified that last bit by changing the plot from "DK (is a {{Jerkass}} and) pummels everyone to absolute pulps to prove his superiority" to "Some big, weird animals from distant lands have stolen your bananas. Get your bananas back."

* "princess is kidnapped. you must save princess." That's the entire Excuse Plot for ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}'', complete with (lack of) capitalization. This is stolen from the old {{UsefulNotes/MSX}} game ''Crusader''.

* In ''Find Mii'', the little adventure game that comes with the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 3DS}}'s VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza, your main Mii is the ruler of a kingdom. Monsters break into the palace and kidnap him/her. Use Streetpass to recruit heroes and go rescue them. The sequel uses the same plot, aside from adding a prince and princess to the list of royals who need saving.

* Freeware game ''VideoGame/{{PixelShips}}'' justifies the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''VideoGame/{{Defender}}'' gameplay with... nanotech, or something. Jeff Minter's ''Andes Attack'' [[AllThereInTheManual justified similar gameplay]] with good aliens fleeing bad aliens by landing on Earth and living with the ancient people there. One of the aliens got bored, and used a timescoop to collect "a UsefulNotes/Commodore64 and a study Kempston joystick" from the future to play games on. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Unfortunately]], the bad aliens picked up the RF transmissions from this, and attacked Earth. Plot was never important to Llamasoft games.

* The plot to ''{{Rastan}}'' is not only practically irrelevant but inconsistent between versions. In the original UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame, he's winning a bounty a princess placed on a dragon. In the Platform/SegaMasterSystem version, he's out to [[SaveThePrincess rescue her]]. In the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 version, he's defending his land against an EvilSorcerer. The {{Non Linear Sequel}}s don't help sort matters out.

* ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'', in the manual for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Sega 32X]] version, describes a scenario in which Harri, last of the Sentinels of Dragonland, picks up a JetPack from the wreckage of a battle with the evil forces of Valna, wonders WhatDoesThisButtonDo, presses it and is suddenly flying. Almost none of this is referenced in the game itself.

** The intro scene for the original ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros.'' for UsefulNotes/NintendoDS [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRzP__xSXLY has even less storytelling]]. And instead of "explaining" how the items were distributed, it "explains" why Mario wasn't in Super form when the gameplay starts.

* In the opening of ''VideoGame/UrbanYeti'', a silly UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance game, we are told that Yetis surely exist and are among us, therefore they would, like us, want to have a home and family. And so the titular Yeti's journey begins. Get ready to ''Yeti''!

* All your trope are belong to ''VideoGame/ZeroWing''. The opening cutscene of the UsefulNotes/PCEngine version is rather different from that of the infamous UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version.

* The plot to ''{{Rastan}}'' is not only practically irrelevant but inconsistent between versions. In the original UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame, he's winning a bounty a princess placed on a dragon. In the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version, he's out to [[SaveThePrincess rescue her]]. In the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 version, he's defending his land against an EvilSorcerer. The {{Non Linear Sequel}}s don't help sort matters out.

* The ancient Windows puzzle game ''[=Maxwell's Maniac=]'' was based off a genuine physics thought experiment, known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_demon Maxwell's Demon]]; the premise being that a magical being could observe individual molecules and sort them to reverse entropy. This is ubiquitous in shareware games, to the point where it seems like authors compete to come up with the silliest one.

* The NES ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}}'' games. Eventually, it became clear that Capcom was having difficulty coming up with new excuses for their latest MissionPackSequel. To elaborate more, starting with ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' the plot would almost always be [[spoiler:a new villain trying to TakeOverTheWorld would show up, until it would just turn about to be Dr. Wily again.]] ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan5 5]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan6 6]]'' both did the same exact plot, although ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan7 7]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan8 8]]'' changed it up. ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan9 9]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan10 10]]'' went straight back to the old [[spoiler:"it's something else, but then it turns out to be Wily again"]] formula, where it seemed to openly embrace the idea and played the "twist" [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs.]] Fan games followed suit by either doing likewise, changing it up a little, reversing it outright or not having Wily present at all. The Mega Man Zero series for the Game Boy Advance, on the other hand, averts this trope hard.

* ''VideoGame/AlteredBeast'''s plot can be summarized as "[[Franchise/LooneyTunes Elmer Fudd]] commands you to RiseFromYourGrave and rescue his daughter."

* The plot of the first few ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' games have you play as a security guard trying to ward off SuckECheeses style robots that are trying to kill you throughout your entire shift. Now, this premise raises several questions; firstly, why the hell would ''anyone'' keep coming back to a minimum wage job at a kid's pizza place when they have a probability of being murdered each night? Secondly, it's odd a security guard would even be needed, as you'd think the homicidal animatronics would take care of any intruders themselves. You can keep coming up with many more points... but all in all, it's irrelevant. No one is playing these games for the complex character of the Night Guard. You playing as a security guard is just an excuse to experience a strategic game of protecting yourself against killer robots, along with uncovering the deeper lore regarding the actual story of these games.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Tekken|1}}'' had a very dull story, essentially being a tournament to find the greatest fighter in the world. This has been improved in later games, though, and ''Tekken 6'' has a hugely developed storyline.

* ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'': You are a [[FeaturelessProtagonist space mercenary]] who is hired by an unscrupulous space mining corporation. Apparently, the AI controlling their [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE space]] [[UndergroundLevel mines]] has [[AIIsACrapshoot gone rogue]] and you need to travel to each mine, destroy the robots, destroy the reactor, and [[CollapsingLair get out safely]]. Made even more ridiculous because the [[SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids supposed "mining robots"]] include a [[DemonicSpiders "drilling" bot]] with an under-mounted chain gun and robots that dig with homing missiles. As the game progresses the makers lose all pretense of designing "mining" robots and explain the [[SpikesOfVillainy spike covered]] [[ChargedAttack fusion shooting]] monstrosities as a "top secret military test."

* The plot of the first few ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' games have you play as a security guard trying to ward off SuckECheeses style robots that are trying to kill you throughout your entire shift. Now, this premise raises several questions; firstly, why the hell would ''anyone'' keep coming back to a minimum wage job at a kid's pizza place when they have a probability of being murdered each night? Secondly, it's odd a security guard would even be needed, as you'd think the homicidal animatronics would take care of any intruders themselves. You can keep coming up with many more points... but all in all, it's irrelevant. No one is playing these games for the complex character of the Night Guard. You playing as a security guard is just an excuse to experience a strategic game of protecting yourself against killer robots, along with uncovering the deeper lore regarding the actual story of these games.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' had a very dull story, essentially being a tournament to find the greatest fighter in the world. This has been improved in later games, though, and ''Tekken 6'' has a hugely developed storyline.

** The MSX game, the first two ''VideoGame/NazoPuyo'' games, and ''Champions'' [[NoPlotNoProblem don't bother]].

* ''VideoGame/{{The I of It}}''. The intro goes as following - "Once upon a time there was an I and a t. 'Bah', said the t, and left. 'Where is t?' I was wondering, and started the quest." What's the Great Transcendence? You don't need to know, just do it.

** ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' is another example, in that the plot has hardly anything to do with the gameplay, with said gameplay being 3-5 second micro games, and said story being short random adventures of Wario and friends.
** ''Snapped!'' is actually more excusable than the preceding -- all of the story can be found in the opening.

* The plot of ''VideoGame/MagicalBattleArena'' involves how all magical worlds are connected to a single magical source that lets them exist and how said source is verging on collapse, requiring the BigBad to force several powerful magic-users of different worlds to fight one another so she can select one to act as a BarrierMaiden [[AntiVillain and prevent the destruction of the multiverse]]. This plot only exists to justify why [[{{LightNovel/Slayers}} Lina Inverse]], [[Manga/CardcaptorSakura Sakura Kinimoto]], [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha Takamachi]], and several other {{Magical Girl}}s and female mages [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny are blasting the crap out of one another]].

* The plot of the first few ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' games have you play as a security guard trying to ward off SuckECheeses style robots that are trying to kill you throughout your entire shift. Now, this premise raises several questions; firstly, why the hell would ''anyone'' keep coming back to a minimum job at a kid's pizza place when they have a probability of being murdered each night? Secondly, it's odd a security guard would even be needed, as you'd think the homicidal animatronics would take care of any intruders themselves. You can keep coming up with many more points... but all in all, it's irrelevant. No one is playing these games for the complex character of the Night Guard. You playing as a security guard is just an excuse to experience a strategic game of protecting yourself against killer robots, along with uncovering the deeper lore regarding the actual story of these games.