History Main / EverythingFades

* ''VideoGame/MinecraftDungeons'': Every killed enemy fades away after a couple of seconds.

** ''Final Fantasy'' has used the fading death trope as a signifier of FinalDeath as, for humans this is always depicted as the character blinking out of existence (see [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyII Scott]] or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Galuf]].)

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' dead bodies only stay on the battlefield and can be resurrected during the timespan of three turns, after which they turn into either treasure chests or crystals and [[FinalDeath die for good]] if they were playable units. Plot-important characters never vanish though, indicated by star sign above their heads; and if the player has Ramza vanish -- it's an instant {{Game Over}}.

* Played completely straight in the video game adaptation of WesternAnimation/Shrek2''. An especially hilarious example occurs in the PC version where a knight's pants fall down when he's defeated and he runs away ''while fading into nothingness.''

* Subverted in ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': Ren slays a dragon threatening a village and simply leaves. This is a way of showing that he and the other two Heroes are still seeing the world as an RPGMechanicsVerse, where this trope would be in effect, and not a living breathing world were RealityEnsues. Since he never disposes of the body it rots out in the open, spreading disease(and also becoming undead) and forcing Naofumi to deal with it.

* The ''VideoGame/FarCry'' games hide this by only making corpses vanish past a certain distance. This can hamper attempts at stealth, where enemies in a checkpoint or on the road will react to the presence of a dead ally and go on the lookout, though ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' and ''[[VideoGame/FarCry4 4]]'' allow you to alleviate this issue somewhat with the Takedown Drag skill to pull a guy into an out-of-the-way alley or bush after stabbing them, or, in ''4'', being able to simply pick up dead bodies and carry them out of the way.

* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' is also noticeable for lacking this effect, even having flies gather over the dead eventually as in Diablo above; if the bodies ever did vanish, there was always an explanation given in-game. However, [=NPCs=] friendly to the player would fail to react at all to the sight of a dead or unconscious ally.

* In ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'', defeated enemies would turn to stone on the ground - in the arcade version. The PC port has a lot less memory available, so has them disappear instead.

* Being based on a game that didn't use this trope much, ''Videogame/{{DRL}}'' also tends to leave a lot of slain enemies laying around, while allowing [[LudicrousGibs explosive damage]] to destroy the bodies. In dealing with [[HealItWithFire Archviles]] or [[HarderThanHard Nightmare difficulty]], destroying the bodies quickly is a good idea. [[spoiler:One of the bonus levels, The Mortuary, uses this concept for maximum effect by having a massive arena utterly littered with dead bodies, the only enemies alive initially being a few Archviles.]]

* Being based on a game that didn't use this trope much, ''Videogame/DoomTheRoguelike'' also tends to leave a lot of slain enemies laying around, while allowing [[LudicrousGibs explosive damage]] to destroy the bodies. In dealing with [[HealItWithFire Archviles]] or [[HarderThanHard Nightmare difficulty]], destroying the bodies quickly is a good idea. [[spoiler:One of the bonus levels, The Mortuary, uses this concept for maximum effect by having a massive arena utterly littered with dead bodies, the only enemies alive initially being a few Archviles.]]

* The exploding-corpse version is used in more recent ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' games. It varies, depending on the game, as well:

* Same thing in ''TheCreed''. Any corpse will only stay on the ground long enough for a few rats to come out of manholes and water drains, devour it in a split second and then scurry off, giving the idea that they are ''extremely'' voracious critters.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' dead bodies only stay on the battlefield and can be resurrected during the timespan of three turns, after which they turn into either treasure chests or crystals and [[FinalDeath die for good]] if they were playable units. Plot-important characters never vanish though, indicated by star sign above their heads; and if the player has [[TheProtagonist Ramza]] vanish -- it's an instant {{Game Over}}.

* The exploding-corpse version is used in more recent ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' games. It varies, depending on the game, as well: In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', the explosions are purple and spirally; in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', they are red, black, and more morbid-looking.

* This was so explicit in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' that when you started a quest, it spawned a body you had to search. If you waited too long, the body disappeared and you couldn't complete the quest. Bodies do, however, tend to linger for a surprising duration, remaining in cases hours, even days, of game time later. Corpses don't vanish when the character is present, however, lending a certain veneer of plausibility to the idea that they were, perhaps, removed by others.
** With ''Oblivion'' the default time frame for a corpse to disappear is 72 hours without the player present (IE: you have to be out of the area with the corpse for 72 hours in a row, coming back resets the timer.) That's in game time, so it's only about an hour or two of consecutive play. Blood on the other hand fades after 30 seconds or so, and arrows shortly after that.
* Similarly, in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', you can "dispose" of an enemy or monster corpse, or leave it lying around. Corpses are disposed of automatically after a set amount of time.

* The exploding-corpse version is used in more recent ''Zelda'' games. It varies, depending on the game, as well: In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', the explosions are purple and spirally; in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', they are red, black, and more morbid-looking.

** In the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' game in the series, enemies would simply vanish when defeated (except for the BigBad Ganon, who turned into a pile of ash). While this is naturally enough explained by the limitations of 8-bit graphics, the animated series based on the game would HandWave the phenomenon by having them not die so much as be teleported back to Ganon's lair, where they were kept in a really big jar.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' fallen enemies explode in a cloud of smoke resembling a skull. ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' echoes this, with a larger, horned skull for bosses [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments and even having bugs turn into little ghosts with antennae if you squash them]].

** In ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead 2'''s Arcade mode, lesser enemies melt into a puddle of icky green soup.

* in ''VideoGame/FightingForce'' this happens to defeated enemies, damaged melee weapons, and items not picked up in time.

* Zig-zagged in the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series. Early games had the enemies as robots, which exploded when destroyed, but the explosion released a tiny animal, which would then jump around towards either the left or the right of the screen until it went off screen where it was gone forever. Yes, even if that meant jumping into lava, or a bottomless pit. Later games allowed you to collect these animals meaning the robot parts disappeared, but the animals stayed, but only the last eight found, any new ones would mean older ones disappear. Later still, the series got rid of the animal powered robots, meaning the robot parts would disappear, either into pieces, or knocked into the horizon if they were boosted into.