History Main / ContinueCountdown

* "VideoGame/MickeyMania"'s continue screen has Mickey falling on his back, and holding a lilac, considering you have at last one continue after losing your last life, you are given nine seconds (actually slightly less as it counts with the music's beat, atleast in the Sega Genesis version) continue and [[https://youtu.be/iHOgk1Un0mU?t=12 Mickey jumps right back up]] smiling, as if nothing happened, wait for the timer to expire, and it's game over, the NES bootleg averts this, by having no continues (but you can start with up to 30 lives to compensate)

* ''VideoGame/pop'nmusic'' entries prior to ''fantasia'' allows continuing, which gives you 20 seconds, ''fantasia'' onwards prohibited continuing at all. (Lapistoria however doesn't need this trope, as it doesn't have a [[GameOver]] as well.)

* ''VideoGame/NinjaAssault'' and ''VideoGame/FlashOfTheBlade" do the similar as above, with 20-second countdown after running out of LifeMeter; pressing the start button without inserting coins accelerate it and no prize on guessing what reaching zero does.

* Averted with ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'', as running out of lives brings the player to the progress summary screen. To continue, the player must hit the start button just before the screen changes.

* The ''{{VideoGame/Darius}}'' series, usually shows a normal continue screen where the game asks you to continue before the time reaches zero or else will be GameOver! and a normal game over screen where it shows a simple "GAME OVER" sign in the moment where you died. ''Super Darius II'' (the PC Engine CD-ROM port of ''Darius II'') doesn't follow the series tradition, instead, shows something more traumatizing. Lose your last life and you will be sent to a completely silent continue screen where shows a timebomb-styled countdown and the game keeping saying '''DANGER!''' meaning that something really bad will happen if you don't continue. Probably you expecting the simple "GAME OVER" sign seen in the Arcade original. Well, the GameOver screen shows a huge and full-screen "GAME OVER" made up with flames. Worse, the GameOver screen won't go Away until the player presses a button on the controller. Surely, this will make you no longer want to play this game for a while.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' features a Continue Countdown in some capacity in just about all of its games, usually showing your beaten character off to the side as the clock counts down. The odd ones out being [[VideoGame/StreetFighter1 the first game]] (And to an extent, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII3rdStrike''', ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''' and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha3''), the former which shows a time bomb ticking down. If the player decided not to continue? Boom, while the latter three is instead has the continue screen on the portrait of the character who defeated you.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' features a Continue Countdown in some capacity in just about all of its games, usually showing your beaten character off to the side as the clock counts down. The odd one out being [[VideoGame/StreetFighter1 the first game]], which shows a time bomb ticking down. If the player decided not to continue? Boom.

* ''VideoGame/DeadstormPirates'': When both players have run out of health, the announcer loudly counts down from thirty unless you try again. If you press the shooting button on the controller, he will count faster.

Some games, rather than ending the game immediately after the poor PlayerCharacter bites it, will ask a simple question: "CONTINUE?". Accompanying this will be a time limit that usually starts at 9 seconds, but variations exist. During this time, the player can either do something to get back into the game, or speed the countdown along. Once it hits 0? [[Film/{{Aliens}} Game over, man!]]

* ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobin'': Overlaps with CatastrophicCountdown, as the continue screen features Mr. Freeze staring menacingly ahead as a clock counts down to Gotham's wintry doom.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' features a Continue Countdown in some capacity in just about all of its games, usually showing your beaten character off to the side as the clock counts down. The odd one out being [[VideoGame/StreetFighter1 the first game]], which showed a time bomb ticking down. If the player decided not to continue? Boom.

[[folder:Freemium Games]]
* When you die in ''VideoGame/JetpackJoyride'', you get a chance to spend a Final Blast (to give your score a small boost) or a Quick Revive (which revives you). However, you only get a few seconds to make this decision.
* When you get caught in ''VideoGame/SubwaySurfers'', you have a few seconds to decide if you want to spend keys to save your character and keep playing.
* Variants on ''VideoGame/TempleRun'' often have a timer after your character's death during which you can be revived by watching an advertisement (the first time around) or using revival items.
[[/folder]]

* Starting around the mid-[[TheNewTens 2010s]], arcade {{Rhythm Game}}s started allowing players to continue at the end of a song set by inserting a new credit before time runs out, so that they can play another session without having to log out and log back in. One notable take on this is ''VideoGame/{{ONGEKI}}'', where the player is asked to continue after every song. This is because instead of a traditional "play ''x'' songs per credit"[[note]]where ''x'' usually equals 3, 4, or 5[[/note]], the game instead gives the player a set amount of "GP" when using a credit. Playing a song consumes some GP, and if you run out the song select menu timer and want to extend it, doing so will consume a little GP. If the player does not have enough GP to continue and doesn't top up by inserting more coins before time runs out, or if they just choose not to continue, their session ends and their remaining GP is converted to Money, which can be used for other features.

* Starting around the mid-[[TheNewTens 2010s]], arcade RhythmGames started allowing players to continue at the end of a song set by inserting a new credit before time runs out, so that they can play another session without having to log out and log back in. One notable take on this is ''VideoGame/{{ONGEKI}}'', where the player is asked to continue after every song. This is because instead of a traditional "play ''x'' songs per credit"[[note]]where ''x'' usually equals 3, 4, or 5[[/note]], the game instead gives the player a set amount of "GP" when using a credit. Playing a song consumes some GP, and if you run out the song select menu timer and want to extend it, doing so will consume a little GP. If the player does not have enough GP to continue and doesn't top up by inserting more coins before time runs out, or if they just choose not to continue, their session ends and their remaining GP is converted to Money, which can be used for other features.

** ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo1992'', has one of Arle on the ground, flabbergasted she lost. By extension, ''VideoGame/KirbysAvalanche'' has this too, but with Kirby flopped on the ground instead.

* In most cases[[note]]there is a possibility of not gaining enough EXP to keep going in the game, but it's so hard to do it that it's a NonStandardGameOver[[/note]], losing in ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo2'' spits out a "Continue?" screen that counts down from ten and gives you the opportunity to try again before the countdown ends.

* If the player runs out of lives in ''VideoGame/SpeedyGonzalesLosGatosBandidos'' but still have at least one continue, they have 10 seconds to decide whether to continue ("Sure, amigo") or not ("I give up!"). To pressure the player into making a decision, the countdown plays over the shadow of a cat slowly approaching a mouse hanging helplessly off a cage. Considering the LastNoteNightmare when the count hits 0, and the mournful game over screen with Speedy sadly holding his sombrero in front of him in a darkened room, it doesn't take a genius to figure out [[EatenAlive what grim fate awaits the mice Speedy couldn't save]]...
* The Game Over screen for ''VideoGame/SylvesterAndTweetyInCageyCapers'' depicts Sylvester dazed with [[CranialEruption a small lump on his head]] and [[CirclingBirdies stars spinning around it]], standing above the "ThatsAllFolks" tagline. If the player has at least one continue left in their inventory, they are given thirteen seconds to decide whether or not they want to continue the game by pressing the Start button.

* In ''VideoGame/TazManiaSega'', the continue screen depicts Taz in a temple, where the player has twenty seconds to decide whether or not they want to continue the game. If time runs out before the player can send Taz through the door that says "Continue", then the game ends.
* ''VideoGame/RainbowIslands'' has a plain continue screen showing a countdown, provided the player is before the PointOfNoContinues. Home computer versions require pre-inserting credits to play, and skip the countdown if these credits are depleted (or if only one was inserted before the game start.)

[[folder:First Person Shooters]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojGimQGXQp8 Most continue screens]] in the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series give you ten seconds to decide whether you want to continue.