History Main / LivingMacguffin

They say [[TheIliad Helen of Troy]] had a face that could launch a thousand ships, well, the Living [=MacGuffin=] has a similar ability to launch [[TheHerosJourney a thousand quests]] in search of them. The Living [=MacGuffin=] isn't an inanimate {{MacGuffin}} made flesh (that's {{MacGuffin Girl}}), or a kidnapped DamselInDistress or [[ThePresidentsDaughter President's Daughter]]; what the Living [=MacGuffin=] ''is'' is a character who is quite free, in little to no danger, desperately sought after and out of the hero's reach. She may be a [[TheDulcineaEffect heart wrenchingly beautiful]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] [[EngagementChallenge whose hand can only be won with]] [[ImpossibleTask miraculous feats]], a long lost (or [[ParentalAbandonment left]]) parent, [[ThickerThanWater sibling]], [[{{Nakama}} close friend]] or LoveInterest, or some variation of TheChosenOne who is needed for some greater purpose. (But remember, if that person serves another purpose later in the story, they're [=~Chekhov's Gunman~=].)

* Towards the end of [[MaddigansQuest Maddigan's Quest]], it's revealed that [[spoiler: Jewel, not the talisman, is what gives Eden his powers.]]

* In ''[=~Yoshi's Island~=] DS'', [[spoiler:seven stars fell and were resting inside the hearts of certain babies. These babies are called star children, and they're said to contain an extraordinary amount of power. Bowser came from the future to take these stars and [[GalacticConqueror take over the universe]]. He was eventually foiled by the Yoshis, and he leaves. The star children turn out to be Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby [[DonkeyKongCountry Donkey Kong]], Baby [[WarioLand Wario]], Baby Bowser, and Baby Yoshi (the latter [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter hatching at the very end of the credits]]).]]

** The backstory of ''[[MajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' turns the fairy Navi into one of these; looking for her is what leads Link into the adventure. It's a twist on the trope because he never actually finds her in the game.

* [[KingsQuest Prince Alexander]] is a sucker for this one. In his first game, he spends half of it trying to find a way to off his BadBoss before BadBoss offs him. The second half of the game comes when the [[AncientKeeper Oracle]] tells him that he's got a twin sister that's soon to meet her end as a HumanSacrifice. In his second game, he's trying to reach the Princess he's fallen for before the GrandVizier pulls a scheme to marry her, kill her, and take the throne for himself. Runs in the family, as that's how his dad went looking for his mom...

* {{Bioshock}} 2 is centered around the quest of the player, a Big Daddy bonded to a Little Sister, to find that Little Sister, who happens to be BigBad Sophia Lamb's daughter and the messianic figure of the religion she founded. [[spoiler:Subverted near the end, when she becomes a Big Sister and helps you fight your way out of the city, and is incredibly powerful.]]

** And to a lesser extent, [[spoiler: Ventus]].

* Zuzu Petals in ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.'' Everyone Ford meets in the first act tells him to find her, and that's his motivation until he does, at which point it becomes clear she's not even involved in what's going on. After that she's more of an EscortMission, albeit one attended begrudgingly.

* Ramona Flowers in the ''ScottPilgrim'' books (YMMV, of course): the protagonist must go through several obstacles to be with her, but we are shown very little about the relationship, or even Ramona Flowers herself, except that [[InformedAbility we are assured of her awesomeness]]

** And to a lesser extent, [[spoiler: Ven]].

[[caption-width:221:All this fuss over little ol' me?]]

** Another long lost mother variation of the living MacGuffin is Mike's mother in My Own Private Idaho, who he never finds.

* The Princesses of Heart in KingdomHearts.
* In the ''Neverwinter Nights'' fan-made module The Bastard of Kosigan, Alex is a mix of this and DamselInDistress. And a ChekhovsGunman at the end. [[spoiler:Annoyingly, despite being one of the coolest characters in the series (as evinced by her XanatosGambit to take over Kosigan by killing the entire ruling family), if you didn't choose to kill her at the end of the second module she dies near the end of the fourth.]]
* Ragna the Bloodedge is treated this way in ''BlazBlue'' ''Calamity Trigger'' since he supposedly wields the Azure Grimoire. In the sequel ''Continuum Shift'' Noel gets this treatment after it's revealed that she is the true wielder of the Azure Grimoire and Ragna's Grimoire is a flawed imitation.

They say [[TheIliad Helen of Troy]] had a face that could launch a thousand ships, well, the Living [=MacGuffin=] has a similar ability to launch [[TheHerosJourney a thousand quests]] in search of them. The Living [=MacGuffin=] isn't an inanimate {{MacGuffin}} made flesh (that's {{MacGuffin Girl}}), or a kidnapped DamselInDistress or [[ThePresidentsDaughter President's Daughter]]; what the Living [=MacGuffin=] ''is'' is a character who is quite free, in little to no danger, desperately sought after and out of the hero's reach. She may be a [[TheDulcineaEffect heart wrenchingly beautiful]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] [[EngagementChallenge whose hand can only be won with]] [[ImpossibleTask miraculous feats]], a long lost (or [[ParentalAbandonment left]]) parent, sibling, [[{{Nakama}} close friend]] or LoveInterest, or some variation of TheChosenOne who is needed for some greater purpose. (But remember, if that person serves another purpose later in the story, they're [=~Chekhov's Gunman~=].)

In terms of traits, they are usually "desirable" or "questable" for any of a hundred reasons. Common ones include: great beauty, great goodness, kindness and loving or being loved by the hero, [[RoyalBlood being royalty]], knowing the answer to an urgent problem, etc. Alternately, they may carry the negative trait of having [[KickTheDog kicked the hero's dog]] at one point, and so they want to find them (or a way close to them) for {{revenge}}.

* Ragna the Bloodedge is treated this way in the ''BlazBlue'' ''Calamity Trigger'' since he supposedly wields the Azure Grimoire. In the sequel ''Continuum Shift'' Noel gets this treatment after it's revealed that she is the true wielder of the Azure Grimoire and Ragna's Grimoire is a flawed imitation.