History Main / PlotDrivenBreakdown

* ''Fanfic/MarinetteWeekOff'' has Nino's DJ equipment break down right before he's supposed to provide the music for the school dance. While he improvises by using his phone, he doesn't have the right equipment to broadcast it across the whole gym... and soon ''that'' dies as well, leaving them without any music at all.

->'''The Doctor:''' Clicking towards oblivion. How long, K9?
->'''K9:''' Insufficient data.
->'''The Doctor:''' Yeah, you never fucking know the answer when it's important.

* In mecha anime ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Trowa's BFG arsenal on his Gundam tended to run out of ammunition at some point in a major engagement.
** Which is probably one of the more reasonable examples, considering his battle tactics are pretty much "stand in one spot and ''shoot everything''".
** It's actually VERY reasonable once you realize that in about a year of nearly non-stop fighting, he only runs out of bullets about 3 times (including the movie), and each time usually after a period of intense fighting.
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamMSIGLOO'', with its unusual focus on realism, this happens several times to giant war machines. Even more justified as the machines in question are usually experimental prototypes undergoing testing, so it makes some sense that they would have some flaws. In Episode 2, a destroyed Zaku's arm gets lodged in the [[TankGoodness Hidolfr's]] tracks, immobilizing it. In Episode 5, a Ball suffers a weapon malfunction at a critical moment, leading to the pilot getting taken prisoner rather than winning the battle.

* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', Simon is unable to pilot Gurren Lagann properly in episode 9, dealing with the ''huge'' impact of [[spoiler: His blood brother Kamina's tragic demise]]. His mech is powered by Spiral Energy, which is generated through determination- but Simon is a complete wreck, causing him to get so upset in battle he loses control of Gurren Lagann to the point he ''pukes''. Which generates Spiral Energy out of Lagann's mouth in way similar to puke. This worsens to the point Lagann by itself refuses to listen to him. Until Simon overcomes his grief in a blockbuster manner several episodes later and returns with a vengeance.
* In ''Anime/SailorMoon R'''s FillerArc, Usagi's Moon Tiara Magic craps out during a monster fight, requiring the other Sailor Guardians to save the day. When it happens again, leading to her being BroughtDownToNormal, Usagi and Luna both realize it's because her IJustWantToBeNormal mindset has caused it.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': In an Orange Islands episode, Ash accidentally breaks Snorlax's Pokéball. It's lampshaded how dumb that is. The good news is that there is a Pokémon Center. Bad news it's on the other side of a mountain, which means that Ash and his friends have to carry the sleeping giant up a mountain to get there. HilarityEnsues.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
** Jean's maneuver gear malfunctions while he's attempting to escape two Titans in Episode 12. He immediately notes [[LampshadeHanging the timing of it.]]
** [[spoiler:Eren is unable to transform in Episode 24 after finding out that Annie is the Female Titan, despite her shifting right in front of him. It takes Mikasa, Armin, and Jean (only Mikasa and Armin in the manga) to help him find his resolve and shift.]]
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' [[FusionDance Fusions]] will crap out ''right'' when it's really needed. Gotenks' fusion makes sense - being powered by two half-Saiyan kids, they let their power get to their heads, so they're screw around and try to act cool and when it's absolutely needed, they'll break back down to normal. The fight between [[spoiler:Super Saiyan Blue Vegito and Merged Zamasu]] is infamously frustrating as [[spoiler:Goku and Vegeta is given a one-hour mandate, they get the upper hand on the fused god... and they ended up using so much power that the fusion crapped out.]]

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': In "The Mall," Bolt's normally keen sense of smell is fully compromised because of a bad head cold. He is thus of minimal use in helping to find the lost Mittens.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{How to Train Your Dragon|2010}}'' movie, [[spoiler: Toothless' prosthetic tail fin is burnt off by a fireball he and Hiccup are flying away from near the film's end, setting up the crash landing and DisneyDeath.]]

* ''Film/TopGun'': During the climactic dogfight, the aircraft carrier's catapult breaks down without warning, preventing the launch of any more planes to assist the heroes, and forcing Maverick to overcome his traumatic fears. Made especially bad by fact that they have redundant systems in reality for exactly this reason.

* Subverted in ''Film/DoubleIndemnity'', when Walter and Phyllis are unable to start their getaway car the first few times they turn the key. But then the engine turns over, they get away, and the temporary malfunction never affects the plot.
* In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Millennium Falcon's HYPER Drive systems refuse to work for nearly the whole film which means they can't easily escape the Imperial Fleet like everyone else, leading to their eventual capture, which requires Luke to divert from his training early to save them leading to his defeat by Vader and Han's capture by Fett. Basically if it had worked there wouldn't be any danger in the film at all past the quarter point. The initial failure is justified by Han's shoestring and glue approach to ship maintenance, plus having to evacuate Hoth in the middle of repairs. After leaving Cloud City, the next failure is due to Imperial sabotage.
* In ''Film/ItHappenedOneNight'', the hero's car breaks down, just as he was to reach his {{Love Interest|s}} and resolve their ThirdActMisunderstanding.

* The [[GrapplingHookPistol Maghook grappling guns]], from Creator/MatthewReilly's books. After being reliable in the first couple of books, in ''Scarecrow'', TheBigGuy (so to speak) finally comes across a situation where the Maghook happens to be out of propellant, and thinks "Come on! That never happens with TheHero." And then in the next paragraph, TheHero has ''his'' Maghook run out of propellant.
* In Creator/EEDocSmith's ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series, the enemy spaceship Kim Kinnison has stolen and is making his way home in suffers an abrupt failure of its usually-reliable Bergenholm stardrive, causing the ship to drop from several thousand times the speed of light to sublight immediately... and causing his pursuers to overshoot and lose track of him for a while. His engineer patches it up, but from there on, it's a "long series of hops" with the unit failing over and over again and Kinnison hoping he can get to a repair base before it quits for good [[spoiler: (he does).]]

** [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse:]] Remember the Enterprise's [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath "transporter malfunction"]] in ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture''? They even used it as a way to conveniently [[DroppedABridgeOnHim "remove"]] the new Vulcan science officer who was supposed to replace Spock. Granted, everyone was naturally wanting to see Spock on the bridge again, and [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute any other Vulcan]] would most likely have been [[ReplacementScrappy unacceptable.]] But ''come on!'' Couldn't they have just [[PutOnABus reassigned]] the poor guy?

* The Stargate breaking down was, of course, the basis for some of the most memorable episodes of ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/StargateAtlantis''.
* [=DeMilo=]'s whorehouse-on-wheels breaks down just as the heroes get to their destination in ''Series/TinMan.''
* Axl's car breakdown in ''Series/TheMiddle'''s "Vacation Days" sets him for a climactic chat with his mother on the way home. Justified by Axl not being the kind of person who would be expected to regularly maintain his car, as his father points out.

* In The ''Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game'', it suggests not keeping track of ammunition. Instead it suggests using this trope. So instead of saying "Well, Spidey you have five shots of web fluid left." you let it run out like when the villain is supposed to escape, or whatever.

* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', the washing machine at the protagonist's diner breaks down, giving him the chance to impress his way into Kathy's pants by fixing it.

* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', Phoenix bravely and perhaps stupidly attempts to cross a burning bridge to save Maya, only to have it collapse when he is half way across. He is sent plunging into an incredibly deadly river only to survive with little more than a head cold. But this accident ultimately leads to a major break in the case.

* Guess what happens if you try to ignore plot-heavy Cosmo Canyon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''? Yep, your buggy breaks down.
* In the second half of one of the last Los Santos missions in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', you're given an old, poorly-maintained AK-47 to defend the car you're escaping in. About halfway through that sequence (right as the police manage to set up an effective road block) it irreparably jams.

* This affects Simon's phone light in ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'', where the battery [[InfiniteFlashlight lasts as long as he needs it to]] up until he reaches the subway for the first time, where the phone goes dead - right as Simon is about to enter [[BlackoutBasement the completely dark tunnels and hallways underneath the subway]], forcing him to navigate them via much less potent or portable road flares until he can eventually find a new battery, which once again lasts as long as he need it to [[spoiler:until a train crash [[BagOfSpilling robs Simon of his inventory]].]]

* One [=RidiculousCake=] video features a [[NonHumanHumanoidHybrid fox/dolphin]] lady scuba-diving for fun, until her oxygen tank's regulator valve suddenly unlocks itself, releasing the pressurized air all at once. This happens for [[ExcusePlot no reason other than]] [[InflatingBodyGag to have her inflate like a giant 3-foot balloon]] and float on the surface like a life raft.

* This trope is the reason Franchise/{{Scooby|Doo}} and the gang ever got anything done. The Mystery Machine is prone to this; it's usually the reason the gang is stuck having to solve a mystery in some out of the way locations. In one episode of ''Mystery Inc'', they get stuck because ''someone stole the Mystery Machine's engine while they weren't looking.''
* [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 Ben Tennyson's]] Omnitrix [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce never works right]]. [[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Even when it's upgraded]]. Although it's implied that the Omnitrix/Ultimatrix is semi-sentient, and gives Ben unexpected transformations as a way of saying "Here, exercise your strategy instead of using the obvious solution". Though all too often it ends up giving him a transformation that ends up putting him in extra danger, instead, like giving him Rath when he's facing an opponent who can mind control cats, or during the Khyber story arc when the Omnitrix refused to transform into anything other than the aliens that Khyber's hound could actively counter with their natural predators.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has two characters need to deliver a warning before the villains can attack. Since this is the age of radio technology, this would be simple except the airship they hijack has had the radio ripped out, the town they fly it to doesn't have a strong enough transmitter, and no one on the other end picks up when they do get a radio strong enough.

* In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Millennium Falcon's HYPER Drive systems refuse to work for nearly the whole film which means they can't easily escape the Imperial Fleet like everyone else, [[ForWantOfANail leading to their eventual capture, which requires Luke to divert from his training early to save them leading to his defeat by Vader and Han's capture by Fett.]] Basically if it had worked there wouldn't be any danger in the film at all past the quarter point. The initial failure is justified by Han's shoestring and glue approach to ship maintenance, plus having to evacuate Hoth in the middle of repairs. After leaving Cloud City, the next failure is due to Imperial sabotage.

* In Creator/EEDocSmith's ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series, the enemy spaceship Kim Kinnison has stolen and is making his way home in suffers an abrupt failure of its usually-reliable Bergenholm stardrive, causing the ship to drop from several thousand times the speed of light to sublight immediately... and causing his pursuers to overshoot and lose track of him for a while. From there on, it's a "long series of hops" with the unit failing over and over again and Kinnison hoping he can get to a repair base before it quits for good [[spoiler: (he does).]]

* In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Millennium Falcon's HYPER Drive systems refuse to work for nearly the whole film which means they can't easily escape the Imperial Fleet like everyone else, [[ForWantOfANail leading to their eventual capture, which requires Luke to divert from his training early to save them leading to his defeat by Vader and Han's capture by Fett.]] Basically if it had worked there wouldn't be any danger in the film at all past the quarter point. Of course, YMMV on this one. The initial failure is justified by Han's shoestring and glue approach to ship maintenance, plus having to evacuate Hoth in the middle of repairs. After leaving Cloud City, the next failure is due to Imperial sabotage.

* Possibly the {{Trope Maker|s}} is Franchise/SpiderMan's Web Shooters, which can be guaranteed to run out of fluid whenever it's vitally needed to catch the villain (or run away, depending on the situation), forcing Spidey to either improvise or (as was the case with the Green Goblin a lot) let the bad guy get away. Even when he finally wised up and started keeping spare fluid packs in his suit, that didn't stop the fluid from running out (and having to be changed) at the worst possible time. It's {{lampshade|Hanging}}d. A lot. As a side note, the recent movies and the several alternate continuities avert this by having the webbing be organic...except in [[Film/SpiderMan2 the second movie]], where a crisis of confidence shorts out his powers.
* In the case of ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'''s super suit, it is easier to list the times when the [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Hypermembrane]] ''does'' work correctly. A justified example. Emp has a theory that the suit's reliability is tied into her self-confidence. The times the suit works are usually when she's pissed off or determined.
* In the original (pre-movie) version of ''ComicBook/TheRocketeer'', Hughes asks Peevy if anyone has thought of checking the fuel level on the rocket pack. Minutes later, Cliff runs out of fuel in mid-flight. There is exactly enough time for Hughes to get into a plane, catch up with him and grab him before he hits the ground.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' movie, [[spoiler: Toothless' prosthetic tail fin is burnt off by a fireball he and Hiccup are flying away from near the film's end, setting up the crash landing and DisneyDeath.]]

* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': In an Orange Islands episode, Ash accidentally breaks Snorlax's Pokeball. It's lampshaded how dumb that is. The good news is that there is a Pokemon Center. Bad news it's on the other side of a mountain, which means that Ash and his friends have to carry the sleeping giant up a mountain to get there. HilarityEnsues.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': In an Orange Islands episode, Ash accidentally breaks Snorlax's Pokeball. It's lampshaded how dumb that is. The good news is that there is a Pokemon Center. Bad news it's on the other side of a mountain, which means that Ash and his friends have to carry the sleeping giant up a mountain to get there. HilarityEnsues.