History Main / DismantledMacGuffin

* Most of the plot (such as it is) in the original Xbox game ''{{Bloodwake}}'' involves you locating and assembling the pieces of the "Shield of Four Souls". Possibly partially averted/subverted in that you find the first piece or two without really knowing what they are, let alone what the assembled thing does.

* ''DevilMayCry'': after having sealed off the underworld, Sparda split the key (an amulet) in half and handed both down to his sons (along with [[AncestralWeapon two swords he owned]]) and made sure only his own blood and the maiden who's blood he sacrificed could re-open it. Down in the deepest pits of hell was the sword he sealed all his power away in (he was frightened of the terrible degree and scale of his own strength). The sword could only be grasped and fully wielded by (yes, you guessed it) either of the two sons he left behind (the ones who owned the two sides of the amulet). Naturally, Dante gained the blade in the end, and when the ultimate evil rose again (''Satan himself''), Dante defeated and re-sealed him, warning, "Give my regards to my son."

* The Cup Of Ankh in HouseOfAnubis. According to Fabian's book on Egyptian mythology, Amneris took the Cup and hid it inside the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Anubis was angered by this and split the Cup into seven pieces, preventing it's use. Rufus later explains that Anubis and Amneris reached an agreement whereby the Cup could be put together once every twenty five years at a certain hour, but only by a member of Amneris's bloodline.

* ''[[{{MarioAndLuigi}} Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time]]'' does this with the Cobalt Star[[spoiler: and crosses it with SealedEvilInACan]].
** Superstar Saga has the Beanstar Cackletta is looking for and Bowser's Inside Story has the Miracle Cure, which is the only thing that can cure the blorbs. They sure do love this trope.

* Three of four games in the ''[[{{Metroid}} Metroid Prime]]'' series rely on some form of Dismantled MacGuffin. ''Prime 2: Echoes'' has no fewer than four sets of DM in one game - three Keys per temple, plus ten more for the final temple.

* Inverted in ''Voltron: Defender of the Universe'': it is the bad guys who originally dismantle Voltron because he/it is too powerful for them, and the pilot is spent trying to get the robot to reassemble.

** "Last of the Time Lords" parodies the trope by revealing Martha's search for the four pieces of an anti-regeneration gun to be just a smokescreen for her real mission. She laughs at the Master for actually buying it.
** Also the Key to Time arc, in which the titular device could stop time throughout the universe once its six parts were transmuted back into their original forms and reassembled.

* In the third season of ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', they broke the [[MineralMacGuffin Zeo Crystal]] into five pieces, and ''threw them into unstable time portals'', so the five pieces were literally scattered throughout space and time. Not such a good idea, as they ended up needing it again less than a year later.

A common way to produce PlotCoupons of the 'GottaCatchEmAll' variety is for the {{Precursors}} to split a powerful MacGuffin that was used to defeat the UltimateEvil into three or more parts and, yes, distribute them across the world on a vague premise of it being "[[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum too dangerous to ever use again]]". Then, when the UltimateEvil raises its head [[ExtyYearsFromNow Exty Years Later]] (and it always does), the heroes must set out to reassemble said MacGuffin. This often carries with it the bonus of allowing the heroes to visit several different adventuring locations (desert, jungle, caves, etc.) and (looking at it a bit more cynically) allows the writers to pad the run-time without actually making the story any more complex.

A common way to produce PlotCoupons of the 'GottaCatchEmAll' variety is for the {{Precursors}} to split a powerful MacGuffin that was used to defeat the UltimateEvil into three or more parts and, yes, distribute them across the world on a vague premise of it being "[[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum too dangerous to ever use again]]". Then, when the UltimateEvil raises its head [[ExtyYearsFromNow Exty Years Later]] (and it always does), the heroes must set out to reassemble said MacGuffin.

* In ''TombRaider'' Lara Croft must find the two halves of [[spoiler: the pyramid of light]] which will allow the user to [[spoiler: time travel]] so that she may [[spoiler: reunite with her dead father]].

* Used often enough in the TombRaider franchise. In the first film, the Triangle of Light is split into two pieces that were "hidden at the ends of the earth" and in ''Legend'' Lara must find the different pieces of Excalibur and reassamble them. The second example is a variation of the trope, as the fragments were not necessarily all from the same version of Excalibur, as it is mentioned that there was more than one such sword.
** The original ''TombRaider'' had the three pieces of the Scion.

* The original ''TombRaider'' had the three pieces of the Scion.
* ''Tomb Raider Legend'' has the Excalibur.

* The time travel code from {{Futurama}}: Bender's Big Score.

** Superstar Saga has the Beanstar Cackletta is looking for and Bowser's Inside Story has the Miracle Cure, which is the onyl thing that can cure the blorbs. They sure do love this trope.

** Superstar Saga has the Beanstar and Bowser's Inside Story has the Miracle Cure. They sure do love this trope.

* ''[[{{MarioAndLuigi}} Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time]]'' does this with the Cobalt Star, and crosses it with SealedEvilInACan.

-->'''[[TheProfessor Professor]]:''' China Dame Sue X, I will leave the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Anti-Zombification Device]] here in your custody. Take good care of it, for the day may come that humanity will again desperately depend on its service...
-->'''Professor:''' I hope that day is of the far future, but the recent events have shown the value of being prepared... [[ZombieApocalypse Zombies]] are forever lurking just beyond the edge of the human mind... There's something else...
-->'''Professor:''' This punchcard is required to set the device up for operation... You did not see me use it when I activated the device earlier because... Uh... Because [[NoFourthWall I did it right in the middle between two panels]]...
-->'''Professor:''' Obviously, I'll also leave that here with y... Leave... It's only logical, so that the device... So I'll leave it... Lea... I'll leav...
-->'''Professor:''' NO!!! ''I'm sorry, but the urge is too strong! I'll separate the punchcard into seven pieces and hide them deep within seven monster-infested dungeons distributed all over the country!!!'' Tell that to any group of people who might come asking for it...
-->'''China Dame Sue X:''' Wh... What? B..But professor...
-->'''Professor:''' But try to be a bit vague and enigmatic about it, ok?

* Occurs a few times in ''KimPossible'', usually in stories involving Lord Monkeyfist. One example is the Tempus Simia in "A Sitch in Time", which is split in three parts. You could also say that the superpowers of Team Go are also treated that way in their first appearance, especially since they all originate from the same meteor.

* Occurs a few times in ''KimPossible'', usually in stories involving Lord Monkeyfist. One example is the Tempus Simia in "A Sitch in Time", which is split in three parts. You could also say that the superpowers of Team Go are also treated that way in their first appearance.

* Occurs a few times in ''KimPossible'', usually in stories involving Lord Monkeyfist. The first one is the Tempus Simia in "A Sitch in Time", which is split in three parts.

* ''{{Nox}}'' had the player reassemble the Staff of Oblivion, a GameBreaker weapon that was story-wise wielded by a single man to defeat an entire army of necromancers. The said man later disassembled the staff to prevent anyone from using it for evil deeds.

*The [[ThePrecursors Xel'naga]] artifacts in Starcraft II count, since they form a [[spoiler: [[LostSuperweapon lost superweapon]]]] when combined.