History Main / NonlethalKO

** In the [=PS1's=] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', though, if someone stays knocked out long enough, they [[{{Permadeath}} die permanently]], resulting in a GameOver if it's the main character. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' for the GBA, there are special areas called "Jagds" where the laws of the world are on hold and [[{{Permadeath}} death is permanent.]]
*** However, sometimes an auto-controlled "[[GuestStarPartyMember Guest]]" character will join you in battle. If their HP drops to zero, they'll simply pass out and "dizzy stars" appear above their heads without a death countdown timer.

*** Your own party gains special protection in the form of the Judge, as well. When Luso takes the oath from the Judge, it's explained to him that the Judge's power ensures that those under his protection cannot be slain in combat.

* In the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' franchise most, if not all, characters carry lethal weapons (swords, spears, all manner of bladed weapon really) and ruthlessly hack away at lesser opponents, sending them flying. Nonetheless, your counter at the bottom of the screen is called a "KO counter", and whenever you beat an important character, they always say he was "defeated" or the like and not that you killed him, although there are [[PlotlineDeath exceptions]] to the "no death" aspect. (In some games, as well as the ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' series, there are different cutscenes for a defeated-but-non-generic character depending on whether they're defeated but retreat, or die here. In ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'', this is replaced by separate quotes for the generic officers.)

* VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}} don't die. They simply return to their homeworld after some time. How well they are cared for determines when they leave: the better you care for it, the longer it will take for them go home. The same idea applies to the [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} Eevee]] versions of Tamagotchi: they also don't die, but rather retreat back into their Pokeball and never come back out.

See also TapOnTheHead, OnlyMostlyDead, NobodyCanDie, and {{Permadeath}}. Compare SetSwordsToStun. Though 'fainting' is sometimes used to describe a Non-Lethal KO, this [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant should not be confused with]] {{Fainting}}.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' Battle Royale, nobody sheds a drop of blood at any point. Completely "eliminating" a player causes a teleporter to appear and whisk their body off the island, leaving behind only their items. The "Fly Explosives" Limited-Time Mode outright mentions blasting your opponents "back to the lobby."

* If your patient's vital levels reach zero during an operation in ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter: Under The Knife'', he or she ostensibly doesn't die; another doctor simply takes over and the player character is said to have quit in shame. Near the end game, however, this happens less and when it does it is implied that the other doctor will fail. These scenes also occasionally imply that the main character ''killed himself'' from the shame, instead of just quitting.

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* Generally played straight in ''VideoGame/StreetFighter''. However, if [[BloodKnight Akuma]], [[MadeOfEvil Oni]], or [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Evil Ryu]] finish off their opponents with their {{Dangerous Forbidden Technique}}s, the screen's background will go black instead of the usual orange for finishing off a player with a Super or Ultra, and the words "KO" will be noticeably absent...

* In ''VideoGame/AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAAARecklessDisregardForGravity'', when you hit something, even if you're falling from a height equivalent to several skyscrapers, you'll survive, but with most of your bones broken. Sometimes the game is rather specific in telling you which bones are broken, e.g. "You broke ten of your fingers".

--> That's ingenious. That's... the best GameOver screen I ever saw. For real, I'm actually being dead serious! '''DEAD FUCKIN' SERIOUS'''. That's brilliant, right? "You and your friends are dead. Game Over." It's priceless. Like, I can't believe it! Isn't that a mean thing to say to kids? Nobody ever dies in Nintendo. They're either "defeated" or they... turn into an item and like, float away. But here comes a game, like Friday the 13th, that just cuts the bullshit, shows some balls, comes flat out and says: "You're fuckin' dead... and your friends, too." Beautiful. And what if there was a sequel? It would have to say somethin' even worse. Like, I got it. I got a good idea of what it should say. It should say "'''[[ItsAWonderfulDeath YOU'RE DEAD. YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD. YOUR FAMILY'S DEAD. YOUR FUCKING PETS ARE BEING SKINNED ALIVE.]] [[YourMom YOUR MOM'S A FUCKING WHORE.]] [[PlayerPunch YOU SUCK AT LIFE. THE WORLD HATES YOU. YOU'RE GOING TO HELL. LIVE WITH IT. GAME OVER.]]'''"

--> That's ingenious. That's... the best GameOver screen I ever saw. For real, I'm actually being dead serious! '''DEAD FUCKIN' SERIOUS'''. That's brilliant, right? "You and your friends are dead. Game Over." It's priceless. Like, I can't believe it! Isn't that a mean thing to say to kids? Nobody ever dies in Nintendo. They're either "defeated" or they... turn into an item and like, float away. But here comes a game, like Friday the 13th, that just cuts the bullshit, shows some balls, comes flat out and says: "You're fuckin' dead... and your friends, too." Beautiful. And what if there was a sequel? It would have to say somethin' even worse. Like, I got it. I got a good idea of what it should say. It should say "'''YOU'RE DEAD. YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD. YOUR FAMILY'S DEAD. YOUR FUCKING PETS ARE BEING SKINNED ALIVE. YOUR MOM'S A FUCKING WHORE. YOU SUCK AT LIFE. THE WORLD HATES YOU. YOU'RE GOING TO HELL. LIVE WITH IT. GAME OVER.'''"

** ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' has the same mechanics, but the critical wound is outright called "Bleeding Out", and another soldier can carry the one that's bleeding out and evac to the Skyranger with them to prevent their death. In addition to that, there's an actual Unconscious status where the unit is essentially dead unless revived by a Specialist's proper skills; melee strikes from [[TheMusketeer Stun Lancers]] and [[TheBrute Berserkers]] have a small chance of this that increases the lower the target's health is, anything that has its HP reduced to 0 by a [[SnakePeople Viper]]'s constricting bind will go Unconscious, and most of the special abilities of the [[KingMook Alien Rulers]] from the ''Alien Hunters'' {{downloadable|Content}} add-on have a high chance of sending your troops to la-la land.

** ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' has the "critically wounded" status. A soldier has a small chance to drop unconscious and bleeding out from otherwise lethal damage. You have three turns to save them, either by finishing the mission or stabilizing them with a Medikit; a Support with the Revive skill can instead resuscitate them at 33% of their max health. Either way, the soldier takes a big hit to their [[MoraleMechanic Will]] and needs a long time in the base's medical wing to recover. The chance of critical wounds can be increased for high-rankers with the "Don't Die On Me" upgrade from the Officer Training School in the core game; with the ''Enemy Within'' ExpansionPack, that's replaced with the "Secondary Heart" gene mod – a soldier with it will be critically wounded whenever they take lethal damage, the amount of turns to save them is increased to five, and there's no Will loss from it.

* Bleed out: A [[TimedMission time limit]] on "revive" usage, after which the party member either [[FinalDeath outright dies]] or can no longer participate in the current encounter.

See also TapOnTheHead, OnlyMostlyDead, NobodyCanDie, and FinalDeath. Compare SetSwordsToStun. Though 'fainting' is sometimes used to describe a Non-Lethal KO, this [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant should not be confused with]] {{Fainting}}.

** In the [=PS1's=] ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', though, if someone stays knocked out long enough, they [[FinalDeath die permanently]], resulting in a GameOver if it's the main character. In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' for the GBA, there are special areas called "Jagds" where the laws of the world are on hold and [[FinalDeath death is permanent.]]

* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' characters have both health and endurance; damage affects both, but total health is always substantially higher than total endurance. Characters are "knocked out" when they reach 0 endurance, but endurance recovers automatically when out of combat. Characters are "maimed" when they reach 0 health, and then only [[FinalDeath die outright]] if they are damaged while maimed (though some players may enable an option to skip the maiming step and go right to death).

** Also played straight in Assault. Averted in the SNES game, where your wingmen can [[FinalDeath die for real]].
* Spellcard System rules in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' exist for this explicit purpose. Otherwise, the OneHitKill abilities of most high-level {{youkai}} would instantly end BarrierMaiden Reimu's career; ''a very bad thing'', considering [[DeadMansSwitch she is tied to the existance of the very border that keeps the setting together]]. (She even fights a ghost capable of killing with nothing but thinking about it. ''Imperishable Night'' proves she can do it without other people even noticing she's trying.)

* ''VideoGame/DeadInVinland'', being a survival management sim with RPGElements, has this in effect for battles, but FinalDeath otherwise. However, a character who is reduced to 0 hit points in battle is likely to acquire a nasty StatusEffect injury like "Head Trauma" or "Deadly Wound," and will take serious damage to their [[MultipleLifeBars Injury]] meter, leading to FinalDeath if it hits 100%. (Lesser amounts of damage cause less serious injury if they take the character below 10 HP.)

* In ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper 2'', most creatures fall unconscious when felled in combat, granting a short time window in which an Imp can drag them back to their Lair to recuperate. In that time, they're helpless and can't receive healing magic from the Keeper; if an Imp doesn't come for them, they're worm food. Exceptions include vampires, who reconstitute in their coffins on their own or suffer a FinalDeath if they get killed by a monk; and skeletons, who suffer immediate FinalDeath.
* Even in ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', a game where characters who run out of HP permanently [[FinalDeath are dead for the rest of the game's campaign]] (That is - can never be deployed in combat again for that save file. Ever.) in later games, plot relevant characters who lose all HitPoints are depicted as simply being too heavily wounded to continue fighting. This is presumably so that plot-important [=PCs=] can still take part in conversations outside of battle. That said, they ''do'' die in the epilogue, with their endings stating that they died from their wounds during the war instead of what it normally would. On the other hand, if any of your Lords lose all their HitPoints, they ''will'' die and the game is over.

** Starting with ''New Mystery of the Emblem'', players can follow this trope with their own units. "Casual" mode lets [=KO=]'d characters fight again in the next battle, while "Classic" mode utilizes FinalDeath. The exceptions are Chrom and your player-created Avatar.

* In ''TabletopGame/FlyingCircus'', as brutal as the game's consequences can be, a Player Character cannot die unless their player agrees. In even the deadliest of situations--such as falling from high-altitudes and smashing into the ground, a Player Character can end up passing out. [[FinalDeath However, allied NPCs do not receive this luxury.]]

* The player in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' can Non Lethal KO opponents with riot batons, cattle prods, and crossbow-fired tranquilizer darts. Although the tranquilizer crossbow averts the trope a bit, as while shooting someone in the body will render them unconscious, a shot to the head will [[RealityEnsues kill them]]. Your character's brother encourages the use of these non-lethal weapons [[spoiler:because he's working with the 'enemy'.]], while two of your co-workers encourage you to KillEmAll. [[spoiler: Surprisingly enough, they turn out to be the real bad guys.]] The game also hints you along that you should be doing this. The quartermaster will scold the character (read: you, the person controlling the character) for killing too many people in mission one if, in fact, you do go on a shooting spree. Incidentally, you won't get any ammo from him if you do.

** Your party members will always go into a NonLethalKO, though, even if they took Body damage. There are plenty of enemies that are still alive in cutscenes after you battle them, as well, regardless of what method you used to defeat them.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'' put an interesting spin on this trope: if you fight monsters, they always [[GameOver kill you good]], and you return the favor. However, when fighting humans, both sides deal a NonLethalKO first, with an option to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown execute the downed enemy]] later. The point is that a downed enemy can be looted like a dead body without incurring any penalties for murdering them--however, that also applies to the downed PlayerCharacter, so the enemies who don't immediately execute you will search your pockets and strip you of any valuables they find.

* Despite doing battle with massive untamed wyverns, the hero in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' never dies. Should he or she run out of life, a pair of cats wheel him or her back to camp and unceremoniously dump out the body with full health. However, running out of life cuts your reward by one-third, and after three [=KOs=] (resulting in a reward of nothing) you immediately fail the mission.

** ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' has the same mechanics, but the critical wound is outright called "Bleeding Out", and another soldier can carry the one that's bleeding out and evac to the Skyranger with them to prevent their death. In addition to that, there's an actual Unconscious status where the unit is essentially dead unless revived by a Specialist's proper skills; melee strikes from [[TheMusketeer Stun Lancers]] and [[TheBrute Berserkers]] have a small chance of this that increases the lower the target's health is, anything that has its HP reduced to 0 by a [[SnakePeople Viper]]'s constricting bind will go Unconscious, and most of the special abilities of the [[KingMook Alien Rulers]] from the ''Alien Hunters'' {{DLC}} add-on have a high chance of sending your troops to la-la land.

** ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' subverts this, however, during [[spoiler:the escape phase and final boss of the Octo Expansion.]] As confirmed in [[https://www.reddit.com/r/splatoon/comments/911jwz/splatoon_2_1st_anniversary_interview_with_the/ this interview]], being splatted here is the only time in the series that your character can actually die. If you continue after dying, you instead "go back in time" to when Agent 8 was still alive.

* In ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' (mostly the early seasons), some villains such as Rito, General Havoc, Gasket, Archerina and Choobo would get hit with a Megazord's finisher and explode like any other monster...but be fine in the next scene. [[SparedByTheAdaptation This was not the case with their SuperSentai counterparts.]]

* This is most explicit in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, where every defeat is a KO, and when you're defeated you black/white out temporarily. You are also forced to give a portion of your money to the person who beat you. Oddly enough, in ''[=FireRed=], [=LeafGreen=], Diamond'', and ''Pearl'' versions, after being defeated your character is described as running to the Pokémon Center, so the fact that your character blacks out is now utterly pointless. Also note that in Generation I, being beaten by a wild Pokémon ''also'' cost you half of your money (which later games have explained as being lost in the confusion).

* In ''Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos'', it is not clear whether party characters with 0 HP are supposed to be incapacitated or dead. One one hand, characters with 0 HP can still talk and manipulate items, suggesting that they are just too wounded to fight. On the other hand, they can only be healed with magic and special items, are unable to perform most actions, and any poison effects they have are removed, suggesting they are dead.