History Main / TheThreeTrials

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': Inside Diamond Island are the three trials: the Trial of Power, the Trial of Wisdom, and the Trial of Courage. (The aspects of Power, Wisdom & Courage being a shout-out to the three pieces of the Triforce in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''.) The Trial of Power involves smashing bricks, the Trial of Wisdom involves answering questions in a quiz, and the Trial of Courage involves having a large object falling from high above, about to crush Mario, and Mario must not stop the object until the last second. Upon completing each trial, Mario will be gifted the corresponding orb, and when he has all three he can then enter the Sea Tower.

*** In "Lair of the Leviathan", Guybrush has to join the Brotherhood of the Manatee by impressing de Cava's four former crew members... though Moose always votes the same as his pal Santino, despite him [[MummiesAtTheDinnerTable being a skeleton]]. Later in the chapter [[spoiler: you have to interrogate de Cava's crew in order to figure out where the manatee-speaking device is. Again Moose always sides with Santino, lowering it back down to three... but Bugeye cracks the instant you ask him, lowering it down to two.]]

*** "Rise of the Pirate God" references the trope namer itself with [[spoiler: each of the three possible pirate afterlifes being based on one of the tree trials: Swordfights, treasure hunting, or thievery. The challenges Guybrush must complete in each realm also fit the trope.]]

** In Val'sharah you need to find 3 Archdruids to help purify Cenarius, [[spoiler: but you have to kill one of them after he is corrupted by Xavius, and thus it fails]], setting up the rest of the storyline.

* The later half of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' season 8 revolves around three trials required to permanently seal the gates of Hell. There's an unspecified unpleasant fate for whoever completes them, but Sam volunteers anyway. His reasoning is that wanting a normal life gives him a better shot at surviving than someone treating it as a SuicideMission. Step one: kill a HellHound and bathe in its blood. Step two: rescue an innocent from Hell. Step three: [[spoiler: "cure" a demon.]]

** In "Serious Steven", the Gems find a series of hallways that each lead to a set of three trapped rooms. The thing is, each set of rooms leads back to the center chamber somehow, and the Gems can't find the right one. [[spoiler: Steven figures out that the rooms are actually moving around by a hidden mechanism, and they're a decoy to protect the inner sanctum of the temple and its power source.]]
** In "The Test", the Gems set up a series of three tests for Steven, who's worried he needs to prove himself as a Crystal Gem after being reminded of the disastrous events of "Cheeseburger Backpack". [[spoiler: The tests turn out to be rigged in Steven's favor, but when Steven overhears the Gems discussing their own worries about being good {{parental substitute}}s for Steven, he doesn't have the heart to expose their ruse.]]

*** The fourth (and longest) part again has Five Trials, in the form of five golden keys Guybrush must find to unlock the safe containing the Secret of Monkey Island, which - much like the map pieces from the second game - are scattered across multiple islands (it's practically only ''four'' trials, though, as you can get one key simply by going down the street from where you first learn about the keys and asking the key's current owner for it, with Guybrush pointing out how [[LampshadeHanging surprisingly easy and uncomplicated]] it was). The same part also features Three Trials ''within'' those Five Trials, as to get one of the keys Guybrush must be crowned Queen of Brrr Muda by defeating the current Queen in Three Contests (Intelligence, Heartiness, and Seriousness). Guybrush even compares them to the original Three Trials, though the Queen insists they are completely different; they are ''[[InsistentTerminology Contests]]'', not Trials.

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* A staple of numerous ''Zelda'' games from

* ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'': About half the episodes feature this. For example, the three demeanors in Ep. 3: "Citizen Brown".

* ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'', the entire game between the prologue and the endgame. Interestingly done in that each task is set in its own time period and pursued by a different character.

* Another AdventureGame example from ''VideoGame/TheJourneyDown'': to get your Seaplane running in the first chapter, you need to get three components.

** The trope namer is the Three Trials in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'': to become a full-fledged mighty pirate, Guybrush will need to prove his skills at sword-fighting by finding and beating the Sword Master of Melee Island, prove his skills at thievery by stealing the Idol of Many Hands from the Govenor's mansion, and prove his skills at treasure-hunting by finding the Treasure of Melee Island.

** Done several times in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'': First you need to find a map, a ship and a crew (of 3) in the second act. Then in the fourth act you need to find a ring, a diamond, and a means of removing a cursed ring ([[spoiler:hand lotion]]).

* An unspoken Three Trials sequence takes up most of the latter half of ''{{VideoGame/Psychonauts}}'', once Raz gains access to the asylum. He must acquire three items - a straitjacket, an acting trophy, and a portrait of [[MadScientist Dr. Loboto]] - to cobble together a disguise that will fool the short-sighted [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain 'orderly']] into thinking he's Loboto and letting him use the elevator that will take him to the upper levels. These items are in the possession of three of the asylum's four remaining patients (the fourth had already been dealt with on the way in), and must have their mental problems solved via JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind before they'll hand them over. As usual, the patients' minds are full levels, and may be done in any order; and yes, this is the only way, as the 'orderly' [[NoSell is immune to all of Raz's psychic powers]] (HandWaved as being some sort of protection offered by Loboto). The presence of this trope should come as no surprise given creator Creator/TimSchafer's previous experience with adventure games, including ''Monkey Island''.

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* Parodied in ''Manga/SoulHunter'': when Youzen first encounter Taikoubou, he's reluctant to recognize his leadership, especially after the fiasco resulting in the creation of the Snake Pit and the death of so many innocents, so he forces Taikoubou to undergo three trials... with the last one being improvised, as [[{{Pride}} he never thought Taikoubou would be able to pass the first two.]] Said trials include attacking him while transformed into Dakki to test his tactical acumen and cold blood (Taikoubou is able to see through his disguise), pull an HostageSituation with Taikoubou's mount Supushan to force him to fight (Taikoubou points out that this conflict is useless and guesses that Supu's not in real danger). Finally, he has him help some refugees getting through a guarded pass to reach Seiki (Taikoubou passes by pretending to side with the guards out of spite for Youzen's arrogance, which result in Youzen actually helping the refugees pass unharmed and with only Taikoubou's hurt, showcasing his cunning and his willingness to sacrifice himself to help others).

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* A staple of numerous ''Zelda'' games from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' onwards, in which going to three dungeons to collect three items is usually the initial quest of the game. To elaborate:
** ''Link to the Past'' had the Player collect the [[MacGuffin three pendants of virtue]] of wisdom, power, and courage.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' also has Link gather the three pendants - or rather, visits one dungeon for an unrelated reason, then learns he already acquired the first pendant before entering it, then going after the other two.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has Link gather the three spiritual stones of forest, fire, and water, needed to open the Door of Time. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Ganondorf pulls a TrickAndFollowPloy on you, gaining access to the Sacred Realm and claiming the Triforce of Power]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has the player collect the pearls.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' requires you to collect the three fused shadows.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' does it twice: First Link must rescue the Spirits of Power, Wisdom, and Courage to find the ghost ship, then find three pure metals to get a sword capable of hurting the BigBad.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' has three trials which must be passed to gain entrance to [[spoiler: the Desert Temple]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has the three first Silent Realms, the three dragons' songs, the first three dungeons set in three provinces...

* In the first episode of ''VideoGame/HectorBadgeOfCarnage'', Hector meets the three demands of the terrorist: fixing the clock tower, destroying the porn shop, and funding the town beautification project.
** And in episode 2, to get Hector out of the ruined building, you need to find some explosives, a fuse and a means to light the fuse.

** In ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', Guybrush has to prove his innocence on Lucre Island by finding and retrieving the stolen loot, find the real perpetrator, and finding a piece of evidence that ties him to the crime...and later on when Guybrush has to find the three pieces of the Ultimate Insult (a bronzed hat, a golden man, and a silver monkey head) on Jambalaya Island.

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' chapter 1, "Launch of the Screaming Narwhal", Guybrush has to get information from news-starved journalist Davey Nipperkin about a person that can help get him off Flotsam Island, so Guybrush has to board a ship, find a treasure, and start a fight so Nipperkin will have something to write about.

** Shows up again in ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2''. The second act of the game revolves around repairing Ford Cruller's shattered mind, which is done by tracking down three of his [[ItMakesSenseInContext teleporting split personalities]] working at Psychonauts HQ - in the mailroom, the bowling alley and the hair salon - and [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind jumping into their minds]] to recover fragments of the original Ford's sense of self (assuming the form of shards of a broken mirror). Just like in the first game, the fragments can be recovered in any order; Barber Ford's fragment can be recovered immediately, while Mailroom Ford and Bowling Ford's fragments require some setup first (as they are both locked behind doors they won't open without permission from a superior and a Senior Bowling League membership card, respectively).

* Much of the middlegame of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' revolves around gaining support for the Grey Wardens by bringing old treaties to various leaders. There are three treaties -- one for the elves, one for the dwarves, and one for the mages -- and you can visit the three groups in any order. There is a fourth one though that's unrelated to the treaties, the Castle Redcliffe that Alistair believes will be able to assist. Naturally, none of these four people are able to help you right off the bat, and you have to save their asses before they'll help you.

* The main quest of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' can be solved after acquiring three things - the two artifacts the sword Keening and the hammer Sunder and a means of wielding them for more than a second without dying.

* In ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'' Nightwolf tells Liu Kang he must pass three tests before he can defeat Shao Kahn. The first test is courage, which apparently involves having a hatchet thrown at your head to induce a "dream-state." [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse We never learn what the other two tests were.]]

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A common trope in Adventure Games where the hero must achieve [[RuleOfThree three]] specific goals in order to advance the plot. Bob may want to fight the dragon and save Alice right now, but the giant lizard safety inspector has made it clear that he must first find a magic shield from the haunted forge, a spray can of dragon repellent from the future, and a helmet in spite of the mad king's ban on headwear. Whether true or not, the hero is almost always given the impression that the tasks may be [[BranchAndBottleneckPlotStructure completed in any order]].

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* ''Fanfic/TheUltimateEvil'': Those who want to inspect the [[RewritingHistory Book of Ages]] must first pass the [[MacGuffinGuardian Guardian's]] three tests. When [[spoiler:Valerie Payne]] enters the temple, the Guardian tests her heart first through touch. He then tests her mind by turning his staff into an inland taipan, which she realizes is only an illusion since [[TheShadowKnows the Guardian's shadow is holding just his staff]]. And lastly, he tests her spirit by having her look into his fire and see something. With the tests passed, [[spoiler:Valerie]] is allowed to go to the Book, at which point [[spoiler:Shendu (who has hidden himself from the Guardian) [[DemonicPossession retakes over her body]] and rewrites history before the Chans arrive too late to stop him]].

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* ''Literature/{{Hilda}}'': In order to see the Elf Prime Minister in ''Hilda and the Hidden People'', Hilda has to pass three tests; the test of courage (which involves having to face the Prime Minister’s cavalry), the test of skill (which involves having to navigate a narrow, slippery path intothe caves of kismet), and the Test of Exceptional Braininess (where Hilda has to figure out in which of two caves the Prime minister is, by asking two water spirits a single question [[KnightsAndKnaves which one will answer truthfully and the other will answer with a lie]]).

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3trials_4993.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:And then ye must drink grog with us!]]

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* Explicitly stated in ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'', on Mickeyjunk Mountain. The guard will only let you through to meet Oswald if you pass TheThreeTrials, in the form of levels based on Oswald The Lucky Rabbit films. After that, there's an example that isn't stated, but is much broader in scope. You have to go to three different lands, and defeat the bosses of each in order to get a piece of them needed for an escape rocket.
* An unspoken Three Trials sequence takes up most of the latter half of ''{{VideoGame/Psychonauts}}'', once Raz gains access to the asylum. He must acquire three items - a straitjacket, an acting trophy, and a portrait of [[MadScientist Dr. Loboto]] - to cobble together a disguise that will fool the short-sighted [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain 'orderly']] into thinking he's Loboto and letting him use the elevator that will take him to the upper levels. These items are in the possession of three of the asylum's four remaining patients (the fourth had already been dealt with on the way in), and must have their mental problems solved via JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind before they'll hand them over. As usual, the patients' minds are full levels, and may be done in any order; and yes, this is the only way, as the 'orderly' [[NoSell is immune to all of Raz's psychic powers]] (HandWaved as being some sort of protection offered by Loboto). The presence of this trope should come as no surprise given creator Creator/TimSchafer's previous experience with adventure games, including ''Monkey Island''.
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* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' has the Merovingians set three trials that Neo has to pass to escape the chateau. The first is escaping an M.C. Escher type maze, the second trial is fighting your way through a club of vampires and the third is a fight with the Witch Queen to finally escape.

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* Present in level 6 of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening''. You are presented with three challenges, representing strength, skill and intelligence. Passing one of them gives you nothing, passing two opens the way to the end of the level and passing all three nets you the Artemis gun.

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* ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'', the entire game between the prologue and the endgame. Interestingly done in that each task is set in its own time period and pursued by a different character.
** Hoagie needs to find power to his Chron-O-John in the 1800s. This involves finding the blueprint for a super battery, components to build said battery, and managing to charge the finished product.
** Bernard needs to find a replacement diamond. Or rather, managing to change history so that the Edisons become rich, find the safe code and order one.
** Laverne needs to escape from a tree, escape from tentacle jail, find a disguise and in the end power on her Chron-O-John.

* Used in every Creator/TelltaleGames adventure ever, at least OnceAnEpisode. Flat-out {{Lampshaded}} in ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxBeyondTimeAndSpace: Moai Better Blues''.
* ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'': About half the episodes feature this. For example, the three demeanors in Ep. 3: "Citizen Brown".
* Another AdventureGame example from ''VideoGame/TheJourneyDown'': to get your Seaplane running in the first chapter, you need to get three components.
* ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' Year 2 is built around one of these. Manny must acquire unionised worker bee equipment for Glottis (and sober up his sidekick in the process), forge a maritime union membership for himself (and steal from a major mafia boss in the process), and finally prevent a ship's cook from showing up for work (and dig through giant kitty litter in the process).
* The last 3 puzzles in the first ''VideoGame/DarkFall'' game, even called such in the backstory. The first one is solved by finding a set of colors and inputting them in a certain order; the second via matching the 4 elements to sounds you hear in said trial. The third relies on a [[SimonSaysMinigame sequence of sounds]] in the room with the trial.
* In the first episode of ''VideoGame/HectorBadgeOfCarnage'', Hector meets the three demands of the terrorist: fixing the clock tower, destroying the porn shop, and funding the town beautification project.
** And in episode 2, to get Hector out of the ruined building, you need to find some explosives, a fuse and a means to light the fuse.
* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIII'', the rite of manhood for Uhura's tribe involves three contests: spear-throwing, a balance beam "fight", and a footrace (though there are "mini-contests" within the footrace as well).
* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestI'' follows this pattern pretty straight, with the three treasures as a magic chest, a magic shield, and a magic mirror. (The difference being in [=KQI=], the treasures are required to win the game, not just to solve the first quest).
* ''VideoGame/PeasantsQuest'': You have to stink like a peasant, dress like a peasant, and be on fire like a peasant before the knight will let you go fight Trogdor. And then there are the three guardians who ask you questions outside Trogdor's lair and give you the equipment you need.

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* ''VideoGame/NetHack'' has many sets of three trials. First you must acquire the Bell of Opening, the Candelabrum of Invocation, and the Book of the Dead; to collect these items, you have to visit and kill special monsters - your role's Quest Nemesis, Vlad the Impaler, and the Wizard of Yendor. Secondly, you must travel to the bottom of the dungeon, find the vibrating square, and perform the three-part Invocation Ritual with these items. Lastly, to complete the over-arcing TheThreeTrials you must take the Amulet of Yendor up to the Astral Plane, identify your alignment's High Altar, and sacrifice it up to your deity.
* ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' has three trials in the final stretch, all of them loaded with zombies. First is "Close to the Border", a 1.5 hour siege (90 seconds in real time) in a cramped location. Second is "City of Crushed Hopes", another siege, this one 4 hours which is 4 agonizing minutes in real time. Finally, third is an actual fight at the border where your team must fight their way across a bridge and then assist the [=RCMP=] in holding the zombies off until their backup arrives.

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* ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' has three planets that must be visited to unravel Saren's schemes: Therum, Noveria and Feros. These may be visited in any order, and after two of them are cleared a lead also appears on a fourth planet, Virmire.

* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' Act 2 and 3 require you to track down three magical artifacts to combine into a weapon that'd open the way to the endboss. Technically there were four items in the third act, but the last one was obtained right next to where you needed to use them.

* Tends to show up in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' a lot.
* In the second ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' game you have to complete three trials (Strength, Speed and Patience) in order to become a member of the Vahnatai tribe. However, earlier in the there are three opportunities to do things that aid the Vahnatai (recover a spell book, awaken Vahnatai in suspended animation and honoring one of the crystal souls) and for each one of these you have done you are counted as having already completed one trial.

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* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: Legion'':
** In Stormheim, before you can visit the Halls of Valor, you need to pass three trials, all of which Skovald perverts in some way, The Trial of Might (best Yotnar in combat, Skovald instead tears him apart), The Trial of Will (have the Thorgnir accept you, Skovald enslaves them), and the Trial of Valor (have the ancient vrykul leaders accept you, Skovald has the bone keepers made to accept him)
** In Val'sharah you need to find 3 Archdruids to help purify Cenarius, [[spoiler: but you have to kill one of them after he is corrupted by Xavius, and thus it fails]], setting up the rest of the storyline.

* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': "Stop. Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see."

* Crops up in the ''[[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Dresden Files]]'' novel ''Literature/SkinGame''; Harry and company must pass three "gates" in order to break into Hades' vault.
* ''Literature/{{Hilda}}'': In order to see the Elf Prime Minister in ''Hilda and the Hidden People'', Hilda has to pass three tests; the test of courage (which involves having to face the Prime Minister’s cavalry), the test of skill (which involves having to navigate a narrow, slippery path intothe caves of kismet), and the Test of Exceptional Braininess (where Hilda has to figure out in which of two caves the Prime minister is, by asking two water spirits a single question [[KnightsAndKnaves which one will answer truthfully and the other will answer with a lie]]).

* The later half of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' season 8 revolves around three trials required to permanently seal the gates of Hell. There's an unspecified unpleasant fate for whoever completes them, but Sam volunteers anyway. His reasoning is that wanting a normal life gives him a better shot at surviving than someone treating it as a SuicideMission. Step one: kill a HellHound and bathe in its blood. Step two: rescue an innocent from Hell. Step three: [[spoiler: "cure" a demon.]]
* In ''Series/LostInOz'', to open Horn's Gate, the heroes must answer three riddles. Selina answers the first two and Alex answers the third.

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* ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' lives this trope. Every episode has three obstacles to get past before they reach their goal.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': "The King of Omashu" sees the titular king hold Team Avatar captive until Aang completes three trials. Turns out [[SubvertedTrope there was one extra item at the conclusion of the trials]], where the king challenged Aang to figure out his name...which he does in a matter of minutes.

** Done several times in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'': First you need to find a map, a ship and a crew (of 3) in the second act. Then in the fourth act you need to find a ring, a diamond, and a means of removing a cursed ring ([[spoiler: hand lotion]]).

** The straightforward path to the third requirement is getting [[AGodAmI Vivec]] to give you the gauntlet Wraithguard; the backdoor method is [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killing Vivec]], stealing the item, and asking [[LastOfHisKind Yagrum Bagarn]] to fashion the Left Wraithguard (sometimes called the "Backhand"); generally, as the seven minute {{speedrun}} of ''Morrowind'' proves, the game isn't picky about how you can hold the weapons for any realistic length of time as long as you live through it.

* A staple of numerous ''Zelda'' games from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' onwards. To elaborate:

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has the player collect the pearls

* Present in level 6 of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3''. You are presented with three challenges, representing strength, skill and intelligence. Passing one of them gives you nothing, passing two opens the way to the end of the level and passing all three nets you the Artemis gun.

* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}} II'' Act 2 and 3 require you to track down three magical artifacts to combine into a weapon that'd open the way to the endboss. Technically there were four items in the third act, but the last one was obtained right next to where you needed to use them.

* VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Legion:

* Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade: To reach the Holy Grail, Indy must get past three traps: The Breath of God,[[note]]"Only the penitent man shall pass" (humbling oneself by kneeling below blades that would otherwise decapitate him)[[/note]] the Word of God,[[note]]"Only in God's name shall he proceed" (stepping only on tiles with letters that spell "IEHOVA", what with there being no J in Latin script)[[/note]] and the Path of God.[[note]]"Only in the leap from the lion's mouth shall he prove his worth" (taking a leap of faith onto a path rendered invisible by ForcedPerspective)[[/note]]
* In ''Film/MortalKombat: Annihilation'' Nightwolf tells Liu Kang he must pass three tests before he can defeat Shao Kahn. The first test is courage, which apparently involves having a hatchet thrown at your head to induce a "dream-state." [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse We never learn what the other two tests were.]]

* Starting in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0324.html strip #324]], WebComic/{{the Order of the Stick}} must go through three trials, one each of Body, Mind, and Heart, in order to see an Oracle. The Trial of Body is defeating a hydra, which the team does by [[spoiler:chopping off so many heads that it passed out from not having enough blood to supply oxygen to the heads that regenerated]]. The Trial of Mind is a KnightsAndKnaves riddle; [[spoiler:Haley bypasses it by shooting one of the guards in the foot and seeing how they respond]]. The Trial of Heart is [[spoiler:[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a medical exam]], so the Oracle doesn't get sued if someone dies of shock from hearing an AwfulTruth or an otherwise unpleasant prophecy]].

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' chapter 1, "Launch of the Screaming Narwhal", when Guybrush has to board a Ship, find a treasure and start a fight so a journalist gives Guybrush information on a person that can get him off the island he is in when he has a story to write about in his newspaper.
*** In "The Siege of Spinner cay", Guybrush has to find three golden holy items hidden around the Jerkbait Islands

* Trope namer, the Three Trials in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'': Swordplay, thievery and treasure-huntery.
** ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' has a variation in four trials per act. To get a Voodoo Doll you need four items - "something of the head, something of the thread, something of the body and something of the dead". You have to do this twice in the game, once early on for Largo so you can leave Scabb Island, and once towards the end for [=LeChuck=] so you can escape the basement (using different items in different areas). Between these, you also have to get the four map pieces, which is way more convoluted than it sounds.

** And again in ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', where Guybrush has to prove his innocence by finding and retrieving the stolen loot, find the real perpetrator, and find a piece of evidence that ties him to the crime...and later on when Guybrush has to find the three pieces of the Ultimate Insult (a bronzed hat, a golden man, and a silver monkey head) on Jambalaya Island.

** And yet again in the first chapter of ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', when Guybrush has to board a Ship, find a treasure and start a fight so a journalist gives Guybrush information on a person that can get him off the island he is in when he has a story to write about in his newspaper.
*** And yet, yet again in the second episode, where Guybrush has to find three golden holy items hidden around the Jerkbait Islands...and the third episode, where Guybrush has to win the votes of the four members of the pirate brotherhood... (No, our math isn't off. One of the members always votes the same as his pal.)
*** The fourth episode changes up this trope a bit by charging Guybrush with four crimes to get himself acquitted from, followed by someone remarking [[LampshadeHanging "I thought there would be three"]], and then with having to find six voodoo ingredients. It might as well be three cimres, though, since one is such an obvious lie that all you have to do is press the plaintiff on the obvious lie three times.
*** The third episode mixes it up a bit. After getting their votes [[spoiler: and holding them hostage, you have to interrogate them in order to figure out where the manatee-speaking device is. One of them always sides with another, lowering it back down to three... but another one cracks the instant you ask him, lowering it down to two.]]
*** The fifth episode references the trope namer itself with [[spoiler: each of the three possible pirate afterlifes being based on one of the tree trials: Swordfights, treasure hunting, or thievery. The challenges Guybrush must complete in each realm also fit the trope.]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the Springs of Power, Courage, and Wisdom, where [[spoiler:Zelda unsuccessfully prayed to awaken her RoyaltySuperPower]] in the backstory. A century later, Link can unlock the Shrines hidden behind them by offering the scales of the dragons to them.

[[caption-width-right:350:The Three Trials.]]