History Main / IDontKnowMortalKombat

* In the Wiki/TVTropes roleplay ''Roleplay/WeAreOurAvatars'', [[VideoGame/DeadRising Frank West]] [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=i9k31ypluou9s5j9d2w7n23k&page=22184 played a game of]] ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 Superhero Works Vs. Capcom 3]]'' against [[WebAnimation/BowsersKingdom Hal the Koopa]]. He mostly {{button mash|ing}}ed his characters to a draw in that match. He also was surprised that he was in the game and picked fighters Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Frank West.

* Averted in ''{{Series/CSINY}}''. Mac, who was a Marine before he became a cop, never played Call of Duty before but is still good at it.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has an example similar to ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s, with the player's Avatar, a [[TheStrategist gifted tactician]], failing at chess because they try too hard to apply [[NoCasualtiesRun their philosophy for real battles]] unto the game, while their opponent has [[CombatPragmatist no such qualms]]. [[note]] and said player explicitly rebukes the idea that they're a better tactician than the avatar because using chess rules in real combat would simply destroy morale. The resets, lives don't. [[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has an example similar to ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s, with the player's Avatar, a [[TheStrategist gifted tactician]], failing at chess because they try too hard to apply [[NoCasualtiesRun their philosophy for real battles]] unto the game, while their opponent has [[CombatPragmatist no such qualms]].

->''"I've been playing guitar for fourteen years, so it's actually less than I've been playing video games. I had a go on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III'' earlier, and I don't really want to tell you the result I got."''[[note]]He failed on Hard at 2%, which is about ''10 seconds'' into the song.[[/note]]

-->-- '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0dvCPliouc Herman Li,]]''' (on playing "[[ThatOneBoss Through the Fire and Flames]]" on ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III: Legends of Rock''), Music/DragonForce

** There is a clip on G4 from a gaming event where the Music/BarenakedLadies played "One Week" on ''VideoGame/KaraokeRevolution''. One of them cried, "'Lousy'?! I ''wrote'' this song!"

* Zigzagged in one chapter of ''Manga/DetectiveConan''. Ran, who is a very adept karate practitioner, tries her hand and fails an arcade fighting game (that uses arm and leg braces such that your movements are command inputs). Then, drawing on her experience, she beats the AI opponent using real life moves. But then, an avid gamer challenges her and defeats her before she could even react. He flatly tells her that "being a good fighter does not correlate to being good at games." Of course, said gamer happens to be the AssholeVictim-du-jour...

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'''s Ron Swanson, a lifelong hunter, is intrigued by a Big Buck Hunter arcade game at the local roller rink, and is beyond furious that he is initially quite bad at it. it's ultimately subverted when he achieves the high score after a few more gos at it.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirls https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mortal_kombat_973.png]]]]

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' gives a straight and averted example: lead wizard Negi tries and fails at playing a magic-based trading card/arcade game based around the same dodge-and-incant tactics he uses in battle. Oddly, the one who beat him was the demonic-beast/warrior class fighter Kotaro, who just happens to be better than Negi at games (Negi won the fight they had later that day, avoiding the pit-falls he encountered in the game). Negi did, however, do extremely well at the game before Kotaro showed up, so much so that the girls couldn't believe it was his first time playing.

* In ''Manga/YumekuiMerry'', Merry, who is incredibly strong and a brilliant fighter, loses to Yumeji all the time in a fighting game.
* In ''Manga/OnePunchMan'', Hellish Blizzard challenges Saitama to a challenge, where her group and Saitama's group play a fighting game. Saitama gathers [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Demon Cyborg" Genos, "Silverfang" Bang, and King]] to help him out. It turns out that while Saitama has the game and plays at an upper intermediate level, Genos and Bang turn out to be completely useless as they have never played a video game before and are baffled at what's going on onscreen--Bang needed Saitama to remember who he's playing as, whereas Genos accidentally destroyed the controller without realizing it thinking that pushing the buttons harder makes the attacks stronger. Averted with King, however, who demonstrates his world-class skill at the game and promptly defeats everyone in Blizzard's gang all by himself, even the pro gamer.

* In ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion'' when Toja (race lifted Toji) beats Shinji, the latter tries to use his hand-to-hand combat training to defend himself, only to realize that said skills are strictly attuned to him being in the EVA, and gets another punch to the face.
* Played with in the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' fanfic, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9371756/1/Virtual-Reality-Ensues Virtual Reality Ensues,]] in which the girls of Anglerfish Team try to play a video game. Miho and Hana struggle due to being used to real tanks, Mako takes to it quickly as a result of being an InstantExpert and watching Miho and Hana's mistakes, Saori does decently as a result of not having much contradictory experience to overcome, and Yukari does well as a result of having played before.

* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' shows himself to be [[ImprobableAimingSkills impossibly good]] with firearms when dungeon crawling, firing off ridiculously flashy, laser accurate shots with a single hand. In the Tower Confidant, which revolves around him [[IKnowMortalKombat learning new gun skills from a kid who is an expert at a light gun arcade game]], he's absolutely hopeless at the video game.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Corey of ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'' tries his hand at the VideoGame/GuitarHero-esq game Soul Shredder. Even though he's a wiz at real guitars, he finds himself unable to play the game's guitar-controller because the controller has buttons in lieu of strings.

* Creator/PierceBrosnan claims he once played ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' and shot himself in the foot.[[note]]Not literally, of course, since you can't even see your feet during gameplay.[[/note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMf6Rh4iJWY When he played a round]] against Creator/JimmyFallon, it ended very badly for him.

* Randy from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' is a talented guitarist who can't play ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' to save his life, even when it's the same song he apparently knows by heart.

* During the ''Return of Superman'' saga, Superboy mentions at one point that he finally beat the ''Return of Superman'' game... as Steel, because when he tries to play as Superboy he's always dead by level three.

** Before him, the lead guitarist of Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge admitted to being unable to complete "No One Knows" in the original ''Guitar Hero''. [[ThatOneLevel They have nothing to be ashamed of]], but...
** Tom Morello, guitarist for Music/RageAgainstTheMachine, Music/{{Audioslave}} and The Nightwatchman said in a radio interview getting beat by the daughter of producer for ''The Nightwatchman'' album in ''Guitar Hero 2'' led him to get himself added as a boss in ''Guitar Hero 3''.

** There is a video of Music/{{Megadeth}}'s Dave Mustaine screwing up his band's song "Hangar 18" on ''Guitar Hero 2'''s Easy, even though he's been playing it at live shows for 18 years or so. This trope and rhythm games are absolutely made for each other.

** Music/{{Paul|McCartney}} has also admitted to having trouble with the game. He admitted that he once had to tell his grandkids, "Listen, you may beat me at Rock Band, but I made the original records, so shut up."

* One famous low point in Creator/{{Sega}}'s history was when they bragged about how realistic one of their racing games were, showcasing it with their sponsored championship level race car driver. He crashed.

* Creator/PierceBrosnan claims he once played ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' and shot himself in the foot. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMf6Rh4iJWY When he played a round]] against Creator/JimmyFallon, it ended very badly for him.

->''"I've been playing guitar for fourteen years, so it's actually less than I've been playing video games. I had a go on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III'' earlier, and I don't really want to tell you the result I got."''[[note]]He failed on Hard at ''2%''.[[/note]]

->''"I've been playing the guitar for fourteen years, so it's actually less than I've been playing video games. I had a go on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero 3'' earlier, and I don't really want to tell you the result I got."''
-->-- '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0dvCPliouc Herman Li,]]''' (on playing "[[ThatOneBoss Through the Fire and Flames]]" on ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''), Music/DragonForce

* In the ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'' TV-anime, the [[UnwantedHarem Nakama]] eventually recruit two legendary MagicKnight warriors to help them. A while afterward, Sasami is shown thoroughly trouncing the BOTH of them in a Fighting Game. The ending actually expounds that one of them started calling her "Sensei", entering her tutelage to learn [[IKnowMortalKombat Mortal Kombat]]. To be fair, as the other points out: "Well Azaka, we didn't have toys like this in our day."

* Played with in the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' fanfic, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9371756/1/Virtual-Reality-Ensues Virtual Reality Ensues]], in which the girls of Anglerfish Team try to play a video game. Miho and Hana struggle due to being used to real tanks, Mako takes to it quickly as a result of being an InstantExpert and watching Miho and Hana's mistakes, Saori does decently as a result of not having much contradictory experience to overcome, and Yukari does well as a result of having played before.

* ''VideoGame/FZero'': In his F-Zero GX ending, Draq is [[BreakingTheFourthWall playing the game itself]] and crashes before the finish line.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF1eTHrxIyc Here's a match between Shang Tsung and Johnny Cage's actors playing the very characters they have portrayed in the second game]].

* Mike Tyson claimed that he never beat Glass Joe in ''VideoGame/PunchOut''. To say nothing of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfEOHcGFchY fighting himself]].

* From the staff behind the VideoGame/{{BEMANI}} series:

-->-- '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0dvCPliouc Herman Li]]''', (on playing "[[ThatOneBoss Through the Fire and Flames]]" on ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''), Music/DragonForce

->''"I've been playing the guitar for fourteen years, so it's actually less than I've been playing video games. I had a go on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero 3'' earlier, and I don't really want to tell you [[GameOver the result]] [[EpicFail I got]]."''

* In the ''Literature/ModestyBlaise'' series, Modesty is a skilled fighter with a wide variety of weapons, including swords. One of the novels has a scene establishing that she's never been able to get the hang of fencing because she learned real sword-fighting first and it's so ingrained that she can't handle the arbitrary rules and restrictions that were added to make fencing a sport.

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Averted in one commercial, where a group of friends are playing an FPS online but keep ending up totally pwned by an unseen enemy, who always ambushes and slaughters them. It turns out that the enemy is a soldier playing in an army tent in Afghanistan, laughing at how easy it is.
[[/folder]]

* When former astronaut Ed Lu played ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'', his very first rocket crashed in less than 30 seconds. He did eventually manage to make it to space, but never did get into orbit.
** It does deserve to be noted that lasting 30 seconds before crashing is still better than many KSP players can claim.