History Main / WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has two lead protagonists: [[TheHero Chrom]] and the [[PlayerCharacter Avatar]]. If either of them die, the other will bemoan their passing before the game ends. This applies even in Causal Mode where fallen units simply 'retreat' instead of [[FinalDeath being killed off forever]] or being unable to fight again on that save file.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' keeps the tradition where the [[PlayerCharacter Avatar's]] defeat equals game over, but only in Classic Mode. In the new [[EasierThanEasy Phoenix mode]] (where allies come back the next turn after dying) even if you lose the Avatar, he'll just come back the next turn after being defeated, and thus, the only way to lose is [[EpicFail to lose all units in the same turn]]. ''Fates''' Casual mode, unlike the ones from ''New Mystery of the Emblem'', ''Awakening'', and ''Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'' also lets you keep going, but unlike Phoenix mode, this isn't always the case, since some maps end if you lose the Avatar anyway, like Chapter 5 probably because they're the only major source of damage in that chapter, and clearing it without them would be impossible.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars'' will end if Daichi is defeated in battle regardless of how many Puyos you have left on the field, with two notable exceptions: the first encounter with Sho and Marin (in which the story will progress as usual), and when [[FightingYourFriend you have to battle Daichi (who at this point has gone berserk) as Sho and Marin]], the latter case having a game over occur when both Sho and Marin are downed.

* In episode 10 of ''Anime/TheAmbitionOfOdaNobuna'', Nobuna's army is about to become trapped by two rather large enemy forces, one of whom was supposed to be an ally of hers. She considers several options, such as fighting them or surrendering, but is told that none of those would play out the way she hopes, and they would kill her rather than allow her to live and possibly stage a rebellion later on. Nobuna is then told that uniting Japan is impossible without her, likely because no one else has the charisma and dedication of ruling peaceably like she intends to. She is still hesitant on retreating, as someone would have to stay behind and delay them while she makes her escape, and likely be killed. Naturally, the LoveInterest, Yoshiharu, volunteers for it.

* In ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'', Chisa Yukizome's bracelet will pump her full of poison if her friend Kyosuke Munakata dies, making him this trope to her.

* Rating Games in ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD''. The game ends when the king is defeated, similar to chess. Granted, [[ActionGirl Rias]] wants in on the action instead of being the MissionControl; however, she's always called out on it by other people.

* In episode 10 of ''LightNovel/TheAmbitionOfOdaNobuna'', Nobuna's army is about to become trapped by two rather large enemy forces, one of whom was supposed to be an ally of hers. She considers several options, such as fighting them or surrendering, but is told that none of those would play out the way she hopes, and they would kill her rather than allow her to live and possibly stage a rebellion later on. Nobuna is then told that uniting Japan is impossible without her, likely because no one else has the charisma and dedication of ruling peaceably like she intends to. She is still hesitant on retreating, as someone would have to stay behind and delay them while she makes her escape, and likely be killed. Naturally, the LoveInterest, Yoshiharu, volunteers for it.

** When a player selects the VideoGame/{{Ice Climber}}s, he or she will control Popo as Nana trails behind. It's possible to kill them individually. Nana can get killed without it counting as a KO, but if Popo dies, Nana will literally vanish into thin air. This applies to ''Melee'' as well.
** Some of the Ice Climbers alternate colors swap Nana for Popo, inverting it. Basically, if the Ice Climber the player is directly controlling gets [=KOed=], it counts for both of them.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars'' will end if Daichi is defeated in battle regardless of how many Puyos you have left on the field, with two notable exceptions: the first encounter with Sho and Marin, and when [[FightingYourFriend you have to battle Daichi (who at this point has gone berserk) as Sho and Marin]], the latter case having a game over occur when either Sho or Marin are downed.

* In TabletopGame/{{Chess}}, the lynchpin to both sides is the King. Whenever either King is threatened with capture (Check), the threatened side has no choice but to spend their next move getting the King out of danger. Oddly, the King is never captured - the game ends when the King has no way to escape impending capture (Checkmate), with the King (and his side) surrendering.
** It's then thrown the complete opposite direction with stalemates, where none of the pieces can make a move without putting the King into check, but they themselves are also not presently in check. Since the King isn't in check, they're not presently in danger, and since every other move would move them into check, those moves are illegal, so it's a draw. In other words, your army can't go on without you, but suddenly neither can the enemy's!
* In ''Sid Meiers Civilization The Board Game'', the lychpin to each side is his capital city. Capturing that will immediately end the game in favour of the player who managed to do so.

* Inverted with the Necrons in older editions of TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}}. While the Necron Lord and/or C'tan leading the army was a powerful character, killing them would not have any notable negative effects on the army; however, wipe out 75% of the footsoldiers and the rest of the army immediately vanishes, [[NonStandardGameOver granting the opponent an automatic win, regardless of other conditions.]]

** ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games starting with the third one [[JustifiedTrope justify]] this with late-game plot twists: play this straight at first. Both then have a lot of fun justifying it ''later'' with major plot twists as the games approach conclusion.

* ''VideoGame/SakuraDungeon:'' If Yomi dies, the game ends. Similar to ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'', most of the characters in your party are under contract by her, and thus would have no reason to continue fighting if she died. What makes this a unique example is the fact that Yomi is ''not'' required to be in the party, and in fact you don't get her as a playable character until after the first part of the game. Also notable is the fact that this rule does not apply to Ceri, who must be in the party at all times.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' returns to the style used in ''Awakening'', as Alear falling in battle is always a defeat condition, even in Casual Mode. Like in ''Three Houses'', though, you may use the Draconic Time Crystal to turn back the clock when a battle's defeat condition is triggered if you have charges remaining, though unlike in ''Three Houses'', [[PressXToDie you can opt not to]], which will predictably result in a Game Over.

** In fact, in the first game, the enemy AI is '''actively''' trying to kill Marth at first priority. This, however, can be exploited by placing Marth in range of enemies to protect your frailer units, like clerics or other wounded units.

* Lose a character in ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' and they're gone for good. If one of the viewpoint characters is taken down, the game ends. The same applies to escortees during an EscortMission, but those are surprisingly easy to get through if you're careful.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' returns to the style used in Awakening, as Alear falling in battle is always a defeat condition, even in Casual Mode. Like in ''Three Houses'', though, you may use the Draconic Time Crystal to turn back the clock when a battle's defeat condition is triggered if you have charges remaining, though unlike in ''Three Houses'', [[PressXToDie you can opt not to]], which will predictably result in a Game Over.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' returns to the style used in Awakening, as Alear falling in battle is always a defeat condition. Like in ''Three Houses'', though, you may use the Draconic Time Crystal when a battle's defeat condition is triggered if you have charges remaining, though unlike in Three Houses, [[PressXToDie you can opt not to]], which will predictably result in a Game Over.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars'' will end if Daichi is defeated in battle regardless of how many Puyos you have left on the field, with two notable exceptions: the first encounter with Sho and Marin, and when [[RoleReversalboss you have to battle Daichi (who at this point has gone berserk) as Sho and Marin]], the latter case having a game over occur when either Sho or Marin are downed.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Gaiden: Puyo Wars'' will end if Daichi is defeated in battle regardless of how many Puyos you have left on the field, with at least one exception (the first encounter with Sho and Marin).

* Appears in one short quest in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' as Bannon, the man you must protect, is the leader of the rebel movement. Also made easier than some other cases as he has a unique ability that heals the entire party without using magic points. Notably, it's used to make the first fight with Ultros a TimedMission - if the fight goes on too long, Ultros will hit Bannon with an attack that deals more than enough damage to kill him.

** When a player selects the VideoGame/{{Ice Climber}}s, he or she will control Popo as Nana trails behind. It's possible to kill them individually. Nana can get killed without it counting as a KO, but if Popo dies, Nana will also vanish into thin air. This applies to ''Melee'' as well.

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]'': Unlike previous entries (with the exception of ''Gaiden''), there's no traditional Lord class in the game, but instead there are several viewpoint characters such as Micaiah and Ike (the main character in ''Path of Radiance'' who, funnily enough, had the Lord as his promoted class). Much like the Lord, if you lose them in any chapter they're playable, you lose the game. However, since the objectives vary greatly and this game is [[SequelDifficultySpike much harder than most previous games,]] the game can end even by losing just ''one'' unit. Example? In the ''first'' few chapters, losing ''any'' ally means that you ''lose the game''. NintendoHard indeed!

* VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam games: As the battle gauge (basically a measure of how many spare mobile suits remain) empties, your operator becomes increasingly worried about the dwindling resources and chances of victory. If the player is destroyed while the gauge is empty, that's taken as the sign to cut losses and evacuate.
* You can actually abuse this trope to your advantage in some VideoGame/DynastyWarriors and VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors games. The designated leader of the clan is the lynchpin for both you and the enemy, and most of the time you're saddled with phenomenally stupid AI, so sometimes it's more beneficial to play as said clan head and be in control of your destiny. (Later games in the series, including the crossover VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi, would just put clan control in the hands of a different NPC if you tried that trick.)

* Rating Games in ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD''. The game ends when the king is defeated, similar to chess. Granted, [[ActionGirl Rias]] wants in on the action instead of being the MissionControl; however, she's always called out on it by other people.

* In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', this became a mechanic in some of the recent quests from 2017 onwards, such as the Attack On Titan Collab or Yaia's 5★ Fate Episode. Losing a specific party member will trigger an instant game over.

** Thankfully fixed in the sequel. If the party leader gets KO'ed, then as long as the other player character's still kicking, the game just transfers the mantle of party leader. It only works for Noel and Serah, though; you can't control the {{Mons}}.

** Also, in Coded, there is the Final Fantasy-esque Olympus Coliseum, where you still get a Game Over if Sora is killed (unless he's under the effect of Auto-Life), whereas Hercules and Cloud can be revived with a simple Cure spell.

* In both ''[[VideoGame/Tekken Tekken Tag Tournament]]'' and its sequel, if a fighter from one team loses all their health, then they lose that round.

* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', a round is lost as soon as a fighter from one team loses all of their health, a considerable deviation from the "fight to the last man" rules of, say, ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom''. The AI, however, doesn't seem to understand this, and will often lose a round for [[ArtificialStupidity keeping in a fighter with a sliver of life, even if the teammate is waiting in the back with full health.]]

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ: Chou Saiya Densetsu'' on the Super Famicom featured this in tandem with {[Permadeath}}. Due to their importance to the story, the game is instantly over if Goku, Gohan, or Piccolo dies outside of a cutscene. Oddly enough, this doesn't apply to Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha or Chaiotzu, who can die at any point in the game without a GameOver occurring.