History PutOnABus / VideoGames

** Among ''Xrd'''s roster, while most of them would make a return in later releases or at least made minor appearances in the game's Story Mode, the most notable total absences were Bridget, whose sole post-''XX'' appearance was in the ''Vastedge'' pachinko game, and A.B.A., who disappeared completely just after ''XX Accent Core Plus'' finally gave her her own Story Mode route. Bridget would eventually return to ''-STRIVE-'' as the first Season 2 DLC character.
** Dizzy, Johnny, Jam, and Slayer are put a bus for ''Guilty Gear -STRIVE-'' despite most of the other ''Xrd'' cast returning. Anji [[TheBusCameBack gets off the bus]], and is playable for first time since ''Guilty Gear XX'' making this the first time he's appeared without his partner Baiken (until she was added as DLC, at least).

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': Starting with ''XX'', a good number of characters went missing from the roster for a while.
** Everyone who's not Sol, Ky, That Man or, to a certain extent, Dizzy is completely absent from ''Guilty Gear 2: Overture'', which is part of what made it such a ContestedSequel (along with the GenreShift into a strategy game).
** Testament, who was an important character in the first two ''Guilty Gear'' games as Justice's [[TheDragon right-hand man]], went out of the picture since ''Xrd''. Aside from a very brief cameo prior, it wasn't until ''-STRIVE-'' where Testament returned as the last Season 1 DLC character.

* In the first [[Franchise/DotHack .Hack://]] games for UsefulNotes/{{P|layStation2}}S2, in volume 2 Mistral admits she is nearing the end of her pregnancy and can't do anything stressful so she has to log off for a while. She is not seen or heard from again until she magically reappears in the 4th volume. Aura pulls this as well, appearing frequently in volumes 1 and several times in 2, but seems to have forgotten to aid you in your quest in 3 and only appears a couple times in 4.

* In the end of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1: Opposing Force'', G-Man stores the main character, Adrian Shephard away for an undisclosed period of time. This allows for reinstating the character in any future story, even if it is in a completely different era.
** Similarly, Gordon Freeman, the hero of the original ''Half-Life'', is put away in the end of ''Half-Life'', and in the end of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''.
** At the end of ''Half-Life 2: Episode 1'', Gordon's security guard-buddy Barney Calhoun is put on a train at the end of the game. He does not appear in Episode 2, nor is he mentioned.

** Jhun Hoon gets run over by a car in-between ''2000'' and ''2001'', thus rendering him unable to participate in the latter. He recovers in time for ''2003'', but hasn't been playable since.
** Both Ángel and K9999 cut their losses and abandon NESTS at the end of ''2001''. The former [[TheBusCameBack reappears]] in ''XIV'', and the latter in turn in ''XV'', although under the contrived identity of Krohnen to escape any chance of [[BuryYourArt a repeat of what happened to him for 20 years]].

** [[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Takuma Sakazaki]] gets beaten to unconsciousness in his own dojo at the end of ''2003''. As a result, he misses out on ''XI'' - and while he did become playable again in ''XIII'', he has gone back to being an NPC since.

** Sherry Birkin first appeared in ''[=RE2=]'' as a little girl taken in by Leon and Claire, only to be taken away by TheGovernment after the events of ''[=RE2=]''. Sherry only reappeared in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 RE6]]'' as a grown woman ''13 years later'', she reunites with Leon (who’s horrified that she's been raised by [[BigBad Simmons]] all this time). Sherry hasn't appeared with Claire in the games canonically since 1998, which considering their [[ParentalSubstitute relationship]] is upsetting. ''[=RE6=]'' has some files reveal that Claire got see Sherry in the between years, but fans unmoved had the ShowDontTell response.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' saw the removal of the National Dex, meaning that for the first time in series history there would be Pokemon that would not be able to be [[OldSaveBonus brought through from other games]]. Leaks before the release date for the games suggested that the number of bussed Pokemon was ''upwards of 400'', meaning that more than half of existing Pokemon would not be appearing. To help soften the blow, about half of those 400 later [[TheBusCameBack came back via DLC updates]].

** Carlos Oliveira from ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis RE3]]'' is Jill's partner who helped defeat the eponymous Nemesis, is one of the few people to survive [[ZombieApocalypse the Raccoon City Incident]] and also seen in Jill's win screen. ''However'' post Raccoon City, Carlos is '''never''' seen again and Jill doesn't mention him. In the epilogue, Carlos apparently shared a drink with Jill at a bar before they bid each other farewell.

** Although he's often considered the most popular character Leon S. Kennedy was PutOnABus after ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2]]'' (1998) and didn't appear in a mainline Resident Evil game until ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4]]'' (2004).... since the game was actually released in 2005 Leon was technically absent from the franchise for a total of six years and only mentioned once by Claire in ''Code Veronica''. Ironic since he's one of the most beloved characters nowadays. Leon’s prominence in the CG content has made up for his lack of appearances in the games after ''[=RE6=]'' (barring the ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake Resident Evil 2 remake]]'' of course)

* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' has the winning distinction putting ''every single one of it's protagonists'' on a bus at some point, though characters do tend to reappear in [=REmakes=], Mercenary Mode, Crossovers and the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles light gun]] [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarkSideChronicles Wii games]]. The five characters who've chronically had the most games and appearances are Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield and Ada Wong thus all five are considered the series mainstays.

* A rare literal example occurs in ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception''. Charlie Cutter, established as a ass-kicking Brit, has his last scene on a tour guide bus. Chloe Frasier gets put on the same bus. Neither of them appear again in the game. Chloe ends up replaced with Elena Fischer (just like in the second game). This is an example of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as Cutter's actor, Graham [=McTavish=], was to be cast in ''Film/TheHobbit'', meaning that he couldn't be around to voice Cutter for the last third of the game, since he was intended to be a part of the whole game.

** Jill is considered the franchise's main ActionGirl appearing in more games than Claire, Ada and Rebecca combined so it's quite disconcerting that chronically after ''[=RE5=]'' (where she spent most of the game BrainwashedAndCrazy and her role taken by Sheva) Jill drops off the face of the earth for the rest of the games. The last we hear of her whereabouts is when Barry in ''Revelations 2'' gets a email from Jill where she says she's bored being stuck in a [=BSAA=] lab undergoing treatment and observation for all BioAugmentation she went through under Wesker's hand. Fans were quite upset that Jill is ''[[OutOfFocus still missing]]'' in both ''Village'' and ''Infinite Darkness'' while her costars are returning (although the latter at least has the excuse of being a prequel). '''''Finally averted''''' with ''Resident Evil Dead: Island'' which after 14 years in-story brings Jill back to star alongside Chris and Rebecca as well as Leon and Claire whom she's never met once or appeared with in canon until now.

** Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., Dry Bones, King Boo and Funky Kong share the trope in the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series (so far).

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' saw the removal of the National Dex, meaning that for the first time in series history there would be Pokemon that would not be able to be brought through from other games. Leaks before the release date for the games suggested that the number of bussed Pokemon was ''upwards of 400'', meaning that more than half of existing Pokemon would not be appearing. To help soften the blow, about half of those 400 later [[TheBusCameBack came back via DLC updates]].

** Being PutOnABus is the fate of multiple partners in the more recent games e.g [[DamselInDistress Ashley Graham]], [[AmbiguouslyBrown Sheva Alomar]], [[TheBigGuy Parker Luciani]], [[FemmeFataleSpy Jessica Sherawat]] and [[ReplacementScrappy Helena Harper]] and [[LikeFatherUnlikeSon Jake Muller]]. Sheva was meant to appear in ''Vendetta'' but Rebecca took her place.

** Jill is considered the franchise's main ActionGirl appearing in more games than Claire, Ada and Rebecca combined so it's quite disconcerting that chronically after ''[=RE5=]'' (where she spent most of the game BrainwashedAndCrazy and her role taken by Sheva) Jill drops off the face of the earth for the rest of the games. The last we hear of her whereabouts is when Barry in ''Revelations 2'' gets a email from Jill where she says she's bored being stuck in a [=BSAA=] lab undergoing treatment and observation for all BioAugmentation she went through under Wesker's hand. Fans were quite upset that Jill is ''[[OutOfFocus still missing]]'' in both ''Village'' and ''Infinite Darkness'' while her costars are returning (although the latter at least has the excuse of being a prequel). '''''Finally averted''''' with ''Resident Evil: Dead Island'' which after 14 years in-story brings Jill back to star alongside Chris, Rebecca and Leon whom she's never met once or appeared with in canon until now.

* Tennenbaum in ''VideoGame/BioShock2''
** However in the DLC "Minerva's Den, she makes a return, explaining her absence in the second game as her working to get the Thinker out of Rapture.

* The Hero of Ferelden from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is revealed to disappeared completely by 9:40, explained through letters in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' as their quest to cure the Calling and grant themselves and fellow Wardens a longer life free of the taint and its negative effects.
** Subverted in Trespasser if the Warden is in a relationship with Divine Leliana: [[spoiler:she allows open romantic relationships within the Chantry, meaning the Warden once again becomes a very public figure to the people of Thedas.]]

** Eight[[note]][[DealWithTheDevil Clavicus Vile]], [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Hermaeus Mora]], [[FallenAngel Meridia]], [[ImAHumanitarian Namira]], [[TheSacredDarkness Nocturnal]], [[{{Plaguemaster}} Peryite]], [[FunPersonified Sanguine]], and [[YourWorstNightmare Vaermina]][[/note]] of the 16 [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Princes]] introduced in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' do not appear in ''Morrowind''. These missing Princes obviously still exist, several of their artifacts appear, and they are mentioned in dialogue and in in-game books, but they do not make an appearance themselves. All of them [[TheBusCameBack return]] for ''Oblivion''.

* A rare literal example occurs in ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception''. Charlie Cutter, established as a ass-kicking Brit, has his last scene on a tour guide bus. Chloe Frasier gets put on the same bus. Neither of them appear again in the game. Chloe ends up replaced with Elena Fischer (just like in the second game). This is an example of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as Cutter's actor, Graham [=McTavish=], was to be cast in ''Film/TheHobbit'', meaning that he couldn't be around to voice Cutter for the last third of the game, since he was intended to be a part of the whole game.

* In ''Franchise/AngryBirds'', most games that feature the art style of ''WesternAnimation/AngryBirdsToons'' tend to omit Hal, Bubbles and Stella in order to stay TruerToTheText since Hal and Stella were AdaptedOut and Bubbles had an AdaptationalLateAppearance. The most notorious case was ''VideoGame/AngryBirds2'', as the game was a DolledUpInstallment, these birds where notoriously absent for 4 years until [[TheBusCameBack they all came back]] as Extra Birds as part of the [[MilestoneCelebration 10th anniversary of the franchise]].

** Rebecca Chambers story-wise is the first protagonist chronologically but despite being a main character of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil0 RE0]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil RE1]]'' she was never seen again after those game, 19 years later she appears in ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta''. Rebecca's lack of appearances can be attributed Creator/ShinjiMikami having [[CreatorsPest disdain]] for her [[AuthorAppeal compared to the tougher]] ''[=RE=]'' [[ActionGirl heroines]].

** Speaking of ''Revelations 2'', that was first time Barry Burton was seen seen since ''[=RE1=]'', a whooping 16 years later and it's his only canonically playable appearance.

** Jill is considered the franchise's main ActionGirl appearing in more games than Claire, Ada and Rebecca combined so it's quite disconcerting that after ''[=RE5=]'' (where she spent most of the game BrainwashedAndCrazy and her role taken by Sheva) Jill drops off the face of the earth for the rest of the games. The last we hear of her whereabouts is when Barry in ''Revelations 2'' gets a email from Jill where she says she's bored being stuck in a [=BSAA=] lab undergoing treatment and observation for all BioAugmentation she went through under Wesker's hand. Fans were quite upset that Jill is ''[[OutOfFocus still missing]]'' in both ''Village'' and ''Infinite Darkness'' while her costars are returning (although the latter at least has the excuse of being a prequel).

* ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'': Off the Hook is almost completely missing from the base game[[labelnote:*]]outside of an in-universe collab with the new band Damp Socks, one Sunken Scroll related to same, and a handful of locker decorations[[/labelnote]] despite being major characters in the [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 previous entry]], with the new idol trio Deep Cut taking their place. This is {{Hand Wave}}d by saying that they're on a world tour, which makes since because they're musicians, but doesn't explain why nobody ever mentions them or seems to care that they're gone. Reassuringly, it was confirmed early on that [[TheBusCameBack their bus would come back]] for the DownloadableContent.

** Among ''Xrd'''s roster, while most of them would make a return in later releases or at least made minor appearances in the game's Story Mode, the most notable total absences were Bridget, who's sole post-''XX'' appearance has been in the ''Vastedge'' pachinko game, and A.B.A., who disappeared completely just after ''XX Accent Core Plus'' finally gave her her own Story Mode route. Bridget would eventually return to ''-STRIVE-'' as the first Season 2 DLC character.

** Even Ada has been PutOnTheBus now as despite being an integral character in ''[=RE6=]'', she vanishes completely in the following titles. Even in ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta'' Leon (who’s smitten with her) makes no mention of her, despite Ada's prominence in the [[Anime/ResidentEvilDamnation previous]] CG movie. Ada doesn’t return to join Leon and Claire for the ''Infinite Darkness'' series either, with newcomer [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Shen May]] seemly filling her role. Ada’s fans might be further miffed to learn she was originally going to [[https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/screenrant.com/resident-evil-village-dlc-ada-wong/amp/ appear]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'' but was cut due to “conflicting scenarios”.

* It has been confirmed that Bosco will not appear in ''VideoGame/{{Sam and Max|FreelancePolice}}'' season 3. The ingame explanation is that Bosco has gone on a road trip to Las Vegas. It is later revealed he has a large gambling debt, and is forced to be a male stripper.

* Elora was an important character in ''VideoGame/Spyro2RiptosRage''. She's missing for most of [[VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon the third game]], despite other characters from her game getting larger roles then before, and only appears in an ending cutscene. She hasn't appeared in any other games since the original trilogy, especially odd since she was Spyro's love interest. Though, it's probably a good thing since the new guys aren't so swell when it comes to keeping the original personalities.

* In ''Franchise/AngryBirds'', most games that feature the art style of ''WesternAnimation/AngryBirdsToons'' tend to omit Hal, Bubbles and Stella in order to stay TruerToTheText since Hal and Stella were AdaptedOut and Bubbles had an AdaptationalLateAppearance. The most notorious case was ''VideoGame/AngryBirds2'', as the game was a DolledUpInstallment, these birds where notoriously abscent for 4 years until [[TheBusCameBack they all came back]] as Extra Birds as part of the [[MilestoneCelebration 10th anniversary of the franchise]].

* ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'': Towards the end of Day 12, Joe tells Amelia that he'd be going on a two-day baker's retreat. She gets worried about how the café would do without him, but he tells her that he'll only go if she's alright with it. He reassures her that there her friends and family will take care of her while he's out, and he hugs her before he leaves.

** '''All''' the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' characters drop off the face of the earth in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' as Tetsuya Nomura elected to put his original characters over recurring ones. [=FF=] characters only cameo as toy boxes in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' world.

** Among ''Xrd'''s roster, while most of them make returned in later releases or at least made minor appearances in the game's Story Mode, the most notable total absences were Bridget, who's sole post-''XX'' appearance has been in the ''Vastedge'' pachinko game, and A.B.A., who disappeared completely just after ''XX Accent Core Plus'' finally gave her her own Story Mode route. Bridget would eventually return to ''-STRIVE-'' as the first Season 2 DLC character.