History Main / LifeMeter

* The 1990 ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan1990'' game for the various home computers at the time has Spider-Man's health represented by a screen-tall picture of him on the right that gradually turns into a skeleton(!) as he loses health.

* The ''VideoGame/StarFox'' games have a life bar for your character and most of the bosses (the general exceptions are some of the Final Bosses, such as Andross [[spoiler:except in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'']] and the Slot Machine in the first game's alternate ending). In ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', Slippy provides the boss life meters and if he isn't around, either due to him being down or Fox being alone to fight Andross, the life meter will not show up.

* The UsefulNotes/{{NES}} {{port|ingDisaster}} of ''Videogame/DragonsLair'' infamously gives you a life bar but almost everything is instant death.

* ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDaggorath'' for the UsefulNotes/ColorComputer had no visual indicator of the player's health, just a heartbeat sound that would quicken as the player got closer to death.

* The ''Madou Monogatari'' [=RPGs=] for the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2, UsefulNotes/GameGear and UsefulNotes/PC98 did the furthest to avert conventional analog or digital representations of the player character's health, which is represented instead by changing facial expressions.

** In the original game, it was a set of triangles, like in Jordan Mechner's previous game ''VideoGame/{{Karateka}}''. Later ports (for Japanese home computers, the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, SNES, UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 and UsefulNotes/SegaCD) changed this to a set of potions, identical in appearance to the games' {{healing potion}}s.
* The original UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}2 version of ''VideoGame/PsychicWorld'', titled ''Psycho World'', had the red H.P. bar intertwining with the green ESP bar to form a double helix. The UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem and UsefulNotes/GameGear ports used normal-shaped bars instead.

* The platform games Creator/{{Rare}} developed for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 has an idiosyncratic, unique life meter each:

* Contest Battles in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' feature one, but it's not limited to the physical state of the trainer's Pokémon. Rather, its their performance and style in battle. After a time limit, whoever has the most points advances to the next round/wins the contest.

* Several DigitalPinballTables [[VideoGame/ZenPinball designed by]] Creator/ZenStudios, feature life meters near the bottom of the table, typically for the main character of the table. All three tables based on Creator/{{Bethesda}} video games (''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', ''[[VideoGame/Fallout4 Fallout]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/DoomZenStudios DOOM]]'') have one placed near the left flipper, as well as their ''[[VideoGame/AlienIsolationZenStudios Alien: Isolation]]'' adaptation and Zen's own original table ''Epic Quest'', which conversely have the meter placed near the right flipper.

* Samus has one in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'', and can die instantly if it is depleted.
* ''Pinball/RevengeFromMars'' uses these during the "Secret Weapon" mode, which is an UnexpectedGameplayChange to a FightingGame.

* Used during the Jedi[=/=]Sith duels of ''Pinball/StarWarsEpisodeI''

** ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskyRevenge'': The quartering is done by unfilling from top to bottom of each HeartSymbol, instead of cutting it in half length and width-wise.

** ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'', ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskyRevenge'', ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'' and ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens''.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' series uses HeartsAreHealth for its life restoring, the life meter, and its {{Heart Container}}s, where 1 {{Hit Point|s}} is a quarter-heart except for when [[VillainEpisode playing]] as [[VillainProtagonist Risky Boots]] in ''[[VideoGame/ShantaeHalfGenieHero Pirate Queen's Quest]]'', where which the player's health is represented by purple ''skulls'' instead of hearts.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}'' has a can of "Bug Juice". Taking damage greys out a fraction of it, and when it becomes depleted, Bug dies and the can "melts". The sequel ''Bug Too!'' had a glass bottle of Bug Juice instead, the amount inside depended on your character's current health.

* The 1990 ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' game for the various home computers at the time has Spider-Man's health represented by a screen-tall picture of him on the right that gradually turns into a skeleton(!) as he loses health.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', Scrolls have an app that shows a person's remaining Aura, and it is used to this effect.

* Contest Battles in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' feature one, but it's not limited to the physical state of the trainer's Pokémon. Rather, its their performance and style in battle. After a time limit, whoever has the most points advances to the next round/wins the contest.

* In ''Animation/HappyHeroes 2: The Battle of Planet Qiyuan'', the participants of the Supermen race are all given devices that show their own personal HP meter; if they deplete it completely, they're out of the race. Scriptwriter S. (actually [[AuthorAvatar series creator Huang Weiming in disguise]]) is unfortunate enough to have a bug drain his whole meter and knock him out of the competition ''before it even starts''.

Gaining more hit points, such as through leveling up or a HeartContainer, may show up on the meter, or it may stay the same size.

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'' has a standard life bar that extends as the player progress (for the first few games in the series). Starting with ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', boss characters would also a life bar displayed. Played with by The Sorrow in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' whose life bar is completely empty since he's a ghost, thus has no life left anyway.