History Main / PressXToNotDie

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* ''{{Crysis}} 2'' features Quick Time Events in some cutscenes. Fortunately the time window for pressing them is very generous, and most cutscenes feature a minimal level of interactivity (moving the mouse to look around) by default.

Originated in ''[=~Dragon's Lair~=]'', the gameplay of which consisted entirely of these; It was pretty much a cartoon where you had to press buttons at the right time for the story to continue. (''Exactly'' the right time, [[TrialAndErrorGameplay often without any sort of prompt.]] [[SarcasmMode Not annoying]] ''[[NintendoHard at all]]''.) ''DieHard Arcade'' and the SegaDreamcast game ''{{Shenmue}}'' as well as the LicensedGame of ''{{Berserk}}'' on the same console introduced them to the action genre.

-->--[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZsDUSxK5Fs mc chris]]

* ''FinalFantasyVIII'' had a couple, too, where you had to move Squall just the right way to get to safety or rescue Rinoa, and it wasn't immediately obvious in either case that you COULD move yourself, much less that you had to. Made particularly frustrating in the one where you have to move Squall to safety; there are two ways to go, and it's not immediately obvious which was the right one. Pick wrong? Game over.

* DistortedTravesty has its share of 'PRESS A/X NOT TO DIE!' moments.

*** Other M also introduces the "Concentration" mechanic, which is more of HOLD X To Not Die. When you're on the verge of death (I believe below 50 health), you can hold the Wiimote straight up and hold A for a few seconds to go up to 100 health. However, most bosses are incredibly fast, so you'll often not have enough time to do so. There are items that shorten the concentration time, but against enemies like the scorpion-thingy, you'll almost never have enough time to heal. So it's really more Hold X And Pray To The Gods That You Don't Get Hit During Your Recharge To Not Die.

Thanks to overuse, misuse, and [[PetPeeveTrope generally being disliked by most players]], this may become a DiscreditedTrope (although it's propably already an UndeadHorseTrope). Contrast PressXToDie. Compare CoupDeGraceCutscene, where no input is needed. SmashingSurvival is a mix between this and ButtonMashing.

* ''Ninja Blade'' has a few of these; a mini-boss as early as the second mission pulled out a cutscene that involved one of these about once a minute. In a surprisingly obvious move to reduce frustration, when the consequence of getting the press wrong is, in fact, death, rather than a standard GameOver, it rewinds the sequence a bit and gives you an opportunity to retry from there.

*** God of War II also has (at least?) two [=QTEs=] that you [[HopelessBossFight you can't win]]: In Rhodes, when [[spoiler:Zeus fights you while you're half dead, it eventually prompts an O-mash minigame. Whether you lose or "win" it, you still get stabbed.]] Then in the start of the end of the last battle, you will [[spoiler:stop and pretend to surrender when faced with Zeus' lightning... cage... thing, no matter how furiously you press the O button.]]

Originated in ''[=~Dragon's Lair~=]'', the gameplay of which consisted entirely of these; It was pretty much a cartoon where you had to press buttons at the right time for the story to continue. (''Exactly'' the right time, [[TrialAndErrorGameplay often without any sort of prompt.]] Not annoying ''at all''.) ''DieHard Arcade'' and the SegaDreamcast game ''{{Shenmue}}'' as well as the LicensedGame of ''{{Berserk}}'' on the same console introduced them to the action genre.

Originated in ''[=~Dragon's Lair~=]'', the gameplay of which consisted entirely of these; It was pretty much a cartoon where you had to press buttons at the right time for the story to continue. (''Exactly'' the right time. Not annoying ''at all''.) ''DieHard Arcade'' and the SegaDreamcast game ''{{Shenmue}}'' as well as the LicensedGame of ''{{Berserk}}'' on the same console introduced them to the action genre.

* Despite ''{{Shenmue}}'' being rightly placed at the top of this page, there was one notable [[InvertedTrope inversion]] in ''Shenmue II''. A barber tried to intimidate the player character into making a wrong move by holding a razor to his neck during what looked like a routine haircut. If the player followed the normal Quick Time Event prompt, the scene ended in failure; the trick was to ''[[JustIgnoreIt ignore]]'' [[JustIgnoreIt the button prompt]] and [[PressXToDie not press anything.]]

** The portions of the final boss where you control the [[spoiler:[[HumongousMecha Gaia Colossus]]]] against Dark Gaia plays out through these in the PS3/360 version. Hit the button right, and you slug the monster right in the face. The Wii/[=PS2=] version dispenses with them in that part, allowing you to ''really'' slug the guy in the face, ''PunchOut'' style.

* Cruelly inverted in ''TheImpossibleQuiz''. One of the questions tells you to press the Tab key 50 times and gives you a short time limit. [[spoiler:However, pressing the Tab key at any point in the quiz immediately causes a GameOver. What you are supposed to do is ignore the instruction, and after a few seconds, the game tells you "Actually, don't do that, you'll die!" and moves on to the next question without a hitch.]]

**** Actually, that one is a reversal; nothing bad happens if you ''don't'' press O. Kratos realizes he's in a lose-lose situation either way, so he gets [[ISurrenderSuckers creative.]]

** ''Two Thrones'' had this as well, similar to GodOfWar. IIRC, it's called "speed/stealth kills," and mercifully, you only need to hit the primary attack button. Notably, at least two boss battles could ''only'' be won this way; One [[ColossusClimb on account of being big as]] [[PrecisionFStrike fuck,]] another [[ThatOneBoss on account of being difficult as]] [[PrecisionFStrike fuck.]]

* Despite ''{{Shenmue}}'' being rightly placed at the top of this page, there was one notable [[InvertedTrope inversion]] in Shenmue II. A barber tried to intimidate the player character into making a wrong move by holding a razor to his neck during what looked like a routine haircut. If the player followed the normal Quick Time Event prompt, the scene ended in failure; the trick was to ''[[JustIgnoreIt ignore]]'' [[JustIgnoreIt the button prompt]] and [[PressXToDie not press anything.]]

** In ''Call of Duty 3'', hand-to-hand combat is executed by these types of sequences.
** Hell, in the first CallOfDuty game, this happens during the intro of the Soviet campaign. You are packed in a boat with other Russian soldiers making your way across the Volga River while German planes and artillery attack the boats. You can't move, but you can look around. And you can crouch. And you should, or you'll get hit and killed by a strafing German plane. All before you can even get off the boat.

* The first ''DarkCloud'' employs a unique version in its mini-boss battles: It warns you ahead of time that you're about to enter a quick-time event, then the buttons you need to press scroll by the bottom of the screen in an interface reminiscent of GuitarHero or DanceDanceRevolution.

* This appears in the licensed game for the 2007 TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles film. Losing all your health results in your character falling on one knee. Here you have to repeatedly hit the button that shows up onscreen to save him. If you're playing in a level where the Turtle is solo, this helps him slowly get back up - once he does, his health is restored. If it's a level where the other Turtles are in reserve, one appears when your Turtle falls and starts to help him up. Once successful, he replaces the injured Turtle in battle. Doing nothing in either case causes the afflicted Turtle to collapse and die, to reappear at the last checkpoint.

** In ''FinalFantasy IX'', your team splits up into 4 pairs, each headed for different elemental temples. In the one temple you actually get to play (the rest are taken care of automatically), you have to press "X" to get past a trap. It's really easy, and other than the boss, it's the only obstacle in the temple.

* ''Gears of War 2'' multiplayer. If you have a lancer and an enemy tries to chainsaw you from the front, and you do not ''immediately'' begin hammering B, you will die. Often you'll die anyways - it's usually a question of who starts hammering first, and since you need to use your finger rather than your thumb to get maximum speed, this is often a tricky situation.

* ''MetalGear Solid 3: Snake Eater'' has one and precisely one such event, which also winds up being one of the most emotionally loaded events in the entire game: [[spoiler:Press Square To Kill The Boss.]]

** ''Metal Gear Solid'', ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and ''Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'' also have these [[IncrediblyLamePun done horribly wrong]]; as in, [[ButtonMashing Mash]] X Until Your Fingers Fall Off To Not Die. At least [=MGS1=] gave an opt-out [[spoiler:leading to an [[MultipleEndings alternate ending]]]].

*** Same in 3, pressing R1 on opportune moments switched to Snake's POV, which could then be moved around. This was used a few times to help advance gameplay ([[spoiler: The Sorrow gives you the opening code for the cell during the torture scene R1 section]]) but it's best reserved to admiring [[AbsoluteCleavage EVA's]] [[BoobsOfSteel physique]] as the default viewpoint in her introduction.

** In Other M, they adapted this trope for use beyond a specific mechanic like Phazon corruption, instead working it into parts of normal gameplay for the first and, so far, only time in Metroid's history. In other words, being {{Genre savvy}} won't save you if you fail to mash the control pad when the action slows down.

* ''[[AssassinsCreed Assassin's Creed]]'' 2 has optional ones during certain cutscenes. You don't die if you miss them, the cutscene just goes a slightly alternate direction (for instance, Ezio won't...[[HandsomeLech remove the woman's dress]], or won't hug Leonardo, or will get hit in the head with a vase). It's a bit more strange than most other games, as most other games have quick time events when something dramatic and sudden happens. This game however, has quick time events for...[[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome shaking your friends' hands]]...

* In the [[JurassicPark Jurassic Park]] mini-game in ''Universal Studios Theme Park Adventures'', the player gets to shoot at a T-Rex! When the dinosaur gives up, a small cutscene will play with the driver having a hard time passing through some rough terrain. Then, all of the sudden, a huge (L) or (R) appears on-screen. If you don't press the button at the right time (which seems to be 1 frame long), you'll merely stay momentarily incapacitated.
* Even {{MUGEN}} has this, of all games. The_None's [[EarthBound Giygas]] possesses two MindRape attacks. One imprisons the opponent in a box and requires to rapidly tap left and right. Failure to do so results in [[OneHitKill electrocution and explosion in a shower of gore]]. The second has the opponent falling down a pit and requires to press the right buttons to escape - failure will result in [[OneHitKill being shredded by a massive buzzsaw]].

* A ''lot'' of WarioWare microgames consist in essence of a single QTE.

* {{FEAR}} 2 got some flak for its use of these. Press X to stop an abomination eating your face, press x to wrestle a angry man with a moustache, [[spoiler: Press x to avoid death by ghost rape]].....

* {{Metro2033}} has these frequently, to the detriment of what is otherwise a pretty good game. On the plus side, it is a forgiving example, just annoying.
* [[LostPlanet Lost Planet 2]] has three instances of this, a first for the series. Interestingly, you have to die at least '''FOUR''' times for [[OneHundredPercentCompletion 100%]].

* Despite ''{{Shenmue}}'' being rightly placed at the top of this page, there was one notable [[InvertedTrope inversion]] in Shenmue II. A barber tried to intimidate the player character into making a wrong move by holding a razor to his neck during what looked like a routine haircut. If the player followed the normal Quick Time Event prompt, the scene ended in failure; the trick was to ''[[JustIgnoreIt ignore]]'' [[JustIgnoreIt the button prompt]] and not press anything.