| 1 | [[quoteright:349:[[VideoGame/DonkeyKong94 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dkpauline_gb.png]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:Before there was Peach, there was Pauline.]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | * In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, most female assistants fall under this at some point: Ema Skye, Trucy Wright, Athena Cykes, and Kay Faraday are all accused of murder at some point, Pearl Fey goes missing in the third game, and Kay Faraday is kidnapped in Investigations 2. Phoenix's main assistant Maya Fey, however, takes the cake. First meeting? Save her in a court case. Reunited in game 2? Save her in a court case. End of game 2? Kidnapped, must save someone else in a court case in order to get her back. Final case third game? Nearly murdered and then trapped in an icy cave. Meet her again in game 6? Save her in a court case. End of game 6? Kidnapped, must settle ownership claims to an artifact in court to get her back. The Layton crossover? Accused of witchcraft. Thankfully, she also spends just as much time out of distress and she's even rescued Phoenix on a few occasions, and she never lets herself be defined by the trouble she gets into. |
| 5 | * The ''VideoGame/AdventuresOfLolo'' trilogy involves Lala getting kidnapped by King Egger, and Lolo has to save her. However, in the third game, one can change this around by attempting to take out King Egger [[HopelessBossFight the first time]] as Lolo, in which King Egger [[DistressedDude will demonstrate to Lolo how it is like to be kidnapped.]] Of course, this leaves Lala to save Lolo. |
| 6 | * ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'': [[spoiler:Saito Sejima, a serial killer, takes the teenaged Iris hostage in order to lure TheHero, Date, to a remote location. Iris's mother Hitomi, who comes with Date to save her daughter, is knocked out alongside Date and also taken hostage.]] |
| 7 | * Midway through ''VideoGame/AquamanBattleForAtlantis'', Mera and Tempest are kidnapped by the Fire Trolls after Black Manta is dealt with, requiring you to rescue them. |
| 8 | * PluckyGirl Yuri Sakazaki from the original ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'', although after the events of the game [[TookALevelInBadass she took up Kyokugen Karate from her father to defend herself]] and became nearly as proficient as her brother, Ryo, and their friend[[note]]and LoveInterest, in Yuri's case[[/note]], Robert. Though Ryo initially objected to her taking up martial arts, [[BigBrotherInstinct out of concern for her safety]], he's come to acknowledge her talents. |
| 9 | * Kaori plays this role in ''VisualNovel/AseliaTheEternalTheSpiritOfEternitySword'' despite theoretically having the same ass kicking potential as any stranger would. But she never even acquires a weapon and is instead held hostage for almost the entirety of the game by one person or another. |
| 10 | * In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'', Altair saves countless Distressed Damsels (and some Distressed Abbots and Islamic Scholars as well) from the city guards, and is rewarded by their family/students helping him escape from Mooks. Despite this happening in the middle of a city, [[ApatheticCitizens nobody seems to react at all to the attempted abductions and rapes happening right in front of them]]. [[note]] They're in Medieval cities in the state of war, and the would-be rapists and murderers are exactly the people stationed to keep the peace, and are the only ones with decent weapons and armour around. TruthInTelevision, unfortunately. [[/note]] |
| 11 | * Much of the plot of ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' is this, being about Asura's struggle to save his daughter Mithra. In the end, no one could stop him from saving her, [[spoiler:not even the creator of life itself.]] |
| 12 | * ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'': An important plot point in ''Northern Rebirth'' is the news that an elven princess named Eryssa has been captured by the orcs. Tallin decides to rescue her to get the elves to help his cause while simultaneously preventing the orcs from getting any ransom money. |
| 13 | * Jade's distressed damsels in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' are quite original, in that she has to rescue her [[spoiler:uncle, who is a humanoid pig, as well as all the orphans from the lighthouse.]] |
| 14 | * ''VideoGame/{{BioShock}}'': |
| 15 | ** Wonderfully averted in ''VideoGame/BioShock2''. [[spoiler:Eleanor Lamb is setup to be one, but stick her in a combat situation and she absolutely massacres every Mook in her way. It is also revealed that she basically engineered her own rescue by resurrecting her rescuer.]] |
| 16 | ** Elizabeth in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' seems to be your average DamselInDistress: she's trapped in a tower, guarded by a terrible ''monster' and must be rescued by the PlayerCharacter, Booker. But she's immensely helpful in combat to the point it could be said [[EscortMission Elizabeth is escorting YOU]], constantly fetching needed supplies and using her abilities to summon useful terrain and helpers from other dimensions. While you do need to rescue her from Comstock's scientists in the third act, by the end of the game, [[spoiler:she reaches near godlike levels of power and effortlessly defeats her former guardian, a feat even Booker himself couldn't manage.]] |
| 17 | * There's also a subtle deconstruction in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''. While on the initial surface, Litchi Faye-Ling is trying to 'rescue' Arakune from his fate as an EldritchAbomination ([[spoiler:and later be captured by Relius]]), in truth [[spoiler:she's been dying of the same corruption and Kokonoe flat out refused to help her, and without any other sources of help, she's ForcedIntoEvil by joining NOL. In other words, Litchi has been in distress mentally and had to act on her own because nobody is willing to help her, compounded with the fact that she has been hiding her growing corruption from everyone else except Kokonoe, which makes possible helpers like Bang, Taokaka or Carl completely unaware of her distress.]] |
| 18 | * ''VideoGame/BodyHarvest'': The Man in Black captures Daisy at some point in the fourth stage and takes her to the Alien Comet to lure Adam into a trap. |
| 19 | * Inverted, then played straight and also lampshaded in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2''. The first "damsel" the players have to rescue is resistance leader Roland, and the second is his girlfriend Lilith - who comments on it in a radio message: "Better dead than a damsel". After this example was featured in Anita Sarkeesian's "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" series, writer Anthony Burch [[http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/community/articles/1099/inside-the-box-you-still-don-t-know-jack commented]] that he regretted using this trope. |
| 20 | * ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' takes this trope and [[spoiler:'''inverts''' it. In the final level (technically the first, chronologically), the princess is in distress '''because''' of ''you''. NiceJobBreakingItHero.]] |
| 21 | * ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire'': |
| 22 | ** ''VideoGame/{{Breath of Fire|I}}'' has Nina serve this role in her initial arc, when she's captured by the [[EvilSorcerer Karma Wizard]] while [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething looking for a cure for her father]], who said wizard poisoned. After the rescue, she never goes through it again. The first manga adaptation, however, just ''loved'' to turn her into a FauxActionGirl, even having another party member accuse her of being TheLoad to the rest of the group. |
| 23 | ** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' switches it with this game's Nina's sister, Mina, being kidnapped to blackmail her into "[[IHaveYouNowMyPretty joining]]" a thieves' gang. There's also Princess Elfarran/Elforan in the [=HighFort=] arc. |
| 24 | ** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'' also presents Nina in such a situation, when she's captured by [[SiblingTeam Balio and Sunder]] to blackmail the king/her father. |
| 25 | ** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' is set into motion by Cray and Nina's quest to find her missing sister, Elina, later revealed to have been taken in by TheEmpire. Unlike previous games, things don't end up well. |
| 26 | * ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' descended into this trope slowly. Early installments forwent hostages altogether (only the arcade rehash ''VideoGame/HauntedCastle'' added Simon's wife Serena, as if fighting {{Dracula}} weren't motivation enough), and when they began coming, there was uncommon gender balance. The series' first canonical damsel was actually a [[DistressedDude a guy in distress]], Christopher's son Soleiyu in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIBelmontsRevenge''; Richter in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' and Morris Baldwin in ''Circle of the Moon'' further balance out the captured maidens in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' (one of whom isn't such a damsel at that). After ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'', however, this trope began to do its worst, e.g. Lydie in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'', Mina [[spoiler:and later Yoko]] in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'', Sara in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence''... |
| 27 | ** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' plays with this a bit when the bad guys' plan to turn [[ItWasHisSled Soma into Dracula]] is to trick him into thinking that Mina is a DamselInDistress again [[spoiler:and kill "Mina" in front of him]]. |
| 28 | ** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'', while there are distressed damsels, but there are also distressed children and distressed men as well. |
| 29 | * Sue Sakamoto in ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' is continually kidnapped or imprisoned by various parties. When playing as Quote, Curly does need to helped at certain points of the original story but otherwise is an invincible partner. In Curly Mode it's Quote whose the DudeInDistress. |
| 30 | * In ''VideoGame/CheeseCatAstrophe Starring WesternAnimation/SpeedyGonzales'', Carmel is captured by Sylvester, and the goal of the game is for Speedy to rescue her. |
| 31 | * Subverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' as Marle, [[spoiler:Princess Nadia]] is NEVER in this position. In fact, the only time in the entire game when you have to save her is when she's been effectively erased from time and can't help herself. The rest of the game she's a gung-ho Action Girl who won't back down from anything and the only other time it's possible for her to get captured...is if she's in your party at a story moment when you can also have characters like the super strong Robot and the frog Swordsman; and she still won't just sit there waiting to be rescued. |
| 32 | * In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' there is a junior heroine, Fusionette, who is constantly getting in over her head, captured and needing rescuing. So much so that it's become a running joke among the community that she has to be the worst {{superhero}} in Paragon and the only reason that Vanguard even employ her is as an example of others of how NOT to do the missions. |
| 33 | * Tawna in the original ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996''. Coco, though more prominently active herself, takes the role a handful of occasions in her teenage life during the Play Station 2 and the Game Boy Advance games. [[BadassInDistress until the late 2000s' Crash Mutant Island]]. |
| 34 | * ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' has several. Rhea is trapped in the Tomb of the Giants after her companions either all abandoned her or died. Dusk of Oolacile and Sieglinde are trapped in golden crystal golems. Anastacia of Astora is murdered and you have to retrieve her soul to revive her. Then again, most of the dudes you meet need rescuing as well. |
| 35 | * In the eighth and final level of ''Darkwing Duck Advance'', a hack of ''VideoGame/DarkwingDuckCapcom'', [[EvilCounterpart Negaduck]] has captured Morgana Macawber. Darkwing's goal is to defeat Negaduck and rescue Morgana. |
| 36 | * ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'': |
| 37 | ** Double subverted with Amanda. Cecilia has not coerced Amanda into anything, but she’s managed to win her niece over by giving her information about her mother that her father didn’t. [[spoiler:Still, it requires a hell of a rescue operation to get her out.]] |
| 38 | ** Played straight with [[spoiler:Lainie in the protagonist's flashback. He had to rescue her from the cult that she’d fallen in with to save her from a purification ritual.]] |
| 39 | * ''VideoGame/DemonHunterTheReturnOfTheWings'': In the [[spoiler:5th chapter, Perna]] is taken hostage and then is also kidnapped, so Gun has to go after her. [[spoiler:And after the FinalBoss Perna goes missing.]] |
| 40 | * Several girls in the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' franchise are quite capable of protecting themselves from demons, but Kyrie's role in the story of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' boils down to getting saved by Nero. Agnus and Sanctus exploited this by kidnapping her to [[LuredIntoATrap lure out Nero]] and steal the Yamato from him. ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' also threw Trish and Lady into this role with Nero and Dante needing to save them, something that did ''not go over well'' with fans. |
| 41 | * In ''VideoGame/DisneysHideAndSneak'', if starting the game as WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse, his girlfriend WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse unknowingly gets carried off into the sky by Lu-Lu and he has to catch up to her and rescue her. However, [[DistressedDude the roles are reversed]] if playing as Minnie herself. |
| 42 | * ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'': |
| 43 | ** Pauline (Aka "Lady") is one of the most iconic examples in gaming, needing Mario to rescue her from Donkey Kong in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'', ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94'', and the [[VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong Mario vs Donkey Kong series]]. She's pictured above for a reason. |
| 44 | ** Donkey Kong himself in ''Donkey Kong Junior'', with the player playing as Donkey Kong's son trying to rescue his father from Mario. CharacterizationMarchesOn I suppose. |
| 45 | ** All of the playable Kongs (besides Donkey) are this to some extent in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64''. |
| 46 | *** Though Donkey himself does act as one in both ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' sequels. |
| 47 | ** The fact that Dixie Kong is very much not a damsel in distress is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by an outraged Cranky Kong. |
| 48 | * Marian in the original ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'', where the main objective was to rescue her from the Black Warriors. |
| 49 | ** Subverted in ''Double Dragon II: The Revenge''. The arcade version starts off just like the first game, with Marian being surrounded by the Black Warriors, only instead of being knocked unconscious and taken into their hideout, [[StuffedInTheFridge she is gunned down to death]] by Machine Gun Willy. A similar thing happens in the NES version, only it shows Marian being attacked by a ninja (instead of Machine Gun Willy) and [[GoryDiscretionShot the game doesn't actually show the murder occur]] (the opening only says that it happened). Marian [[KilledOffForReal stays dead]] in the arcade version, but in the NES version [[BackFromTheDead she is brought back to life]] if the player completes the game on hardest difficulty level (playing this trope straight in a way). |
| 50 | ** She's a no-show in the arcade version of ''Double Dragon 3'', but in the NES version the game's plot was rewritten (specifically for the localized version) so that the final boss turns out to be a possessed version of Marian named Queen Noiram ("[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Marion]]" spelled backwards). |
| 51 | ** ''Super Double Dragon'' was about saving Marian too, but you wouldn't know [[AllThereInTheManual unless you read the manual]]. |
| 52 | ** Averted in the Neo-Geo fighting game and (Despite not in the main continuity) in ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirls2'', where she's one of the playable fighters. The game explains that [[spoiler:Marian got so fed up with getting kidnapped all the time that she spent one time kidnapped working out and [[ActionGirl freed herself]]. She, then, proceeded to kick so much ass that the Lee Brothers decided to open up a dojo out of boredom]]. |
| 53 | * Johanna is this at the end of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. Even though Dennis wasn’t really about to sexually assault her, he was blackmailing her. Plus, the prank that Dennis forced her to play involved the two of them being together in their underwear, which could only have been mortifying for Johanna. |
| 54 | * Zethia from ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost'', although she’s a bit of a deconstruction. She is perfectly capable of fighting against evil, and could probably fight her captors and run away if she wanted to; she just chooses to let herself be a pawn for the villains so that they will leave Euden and friends alone. Of course, being the noble hero that he is, Euden [[UnwantedRescue tries to rescue her regardless]]. Even if she’s doing it for Euden and friends, in a way she’s still hurting them, since the villains are using her to bring tyranny to Alberia, which means that [[DidntThinkThisThrough they are still hurting the people, even if it isn’t direct.]] |
| 55 | * ''Franchise/DragonAge'': |
| 56 | ** Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. In the "Paragon of Her Kind" quest, one of your goals is to rescue party member [[BoisterousBruiser Oghren's]] wife, Branka, from the [[BeneathTheEarth Deep Roads]], where she is missing. [[spoiler:It turns out that she deliberately led her entire clan (except him) there in search of an ancient ArtifactOfDoom. When it turned out the artifact was protected by lots of golems, ghosts, and death traps, she deliberately let darkspawn kill all the men and attempt to turn all the women into Broodmothers, a process that involves force-feeding them the flesh of poisonous monsters and their own relatives, gang-rape by monsters, and lots of BodyHorror, so that she'd have a vast supply of monsters to set off the traps and kill the guardians. She's raving insane as well as utterly evil by the time you find her. You ''can'' spare her life and take the artifact for yourself, but the better choice, both morally and gameplay-wise, involves fighting and killing her, then destroying it. Even if you spare her, she refuses to be rescued, and stays in the Deep Roads with her prize.]] After the infiltration of Arl Howe's estate, [[spoiler:the Warden him/herself can be arrested (along with Alistair, if he's in the active party at the time) and have to be rescued from prison by your choice of party members.]] Choose carefully, some combinations have truly hilarious results. |
| 57 | ** In the third act of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', a faction of mages and Templars working together to bring down Knight-Commander Meredith comes to the conclusion that Hawke is their enemy, and will kidnap someone important to Hawke as a means of luring them into an ambush. Who exactly is kidnapped depends on how the game has been played up to this point. [[spoiler:If Hawke's remaining sibling is still alive, they will be the first choice. If both of the siblings have died, then it will be Hawke's LoveInterest, unless Hawke is being played celibate or the LoveInterest is in the active party when the abduction is discovered. If either of those is the case, the kidnap victim will be Hawke's closest friend.]] No matter who is taken, however, the result is the same - one RoaringRampageOfRescue. |
| 58 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' has an entire cadre of kidnap victims, a group of Inquisition soldiers taken hostage by a hostile barbarian who wants to fight the [[PlayerCharacter Herald of Andraste]] and knew that this was a surefire way to make them come to him. |
| 59 | * In ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'', [[MsFanservice Princess Daphne]] is being held prisoner in the castle of the wizard Mordroc by an evil dragon named Singe, and it's Dirk's mission to reach the dragon's lair and save her. In the sequel, she is kidnapped once again, this time by Mordroc himself, and Dirk has to chase the two of them across various wacky dimensions in order to get her back. |
| 60 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': |
| 61 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'': Princess Gwaelin gets kidnapped by the Dracolord to force the King of Tantegel to "behave" and not cause trouble. |
| 62 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': Rose is kidnapped and locked in a tower by Psaro out of a misguided desire to keep her safe. |
| 63 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'': A somewhat unusual variant, in that Nava becomes a Damsel in Distress by having her soul sucked into a SoulSword... which the monsters then give to her and have her slaughter others with. Meaning that to save this Damsel, you have to beat the tar out of her first. |
| 64 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': When Ivor and the hero first reach the pass where the Stornway soldiers try to excavate, they ask the boys about Patty. It turns out Patty disappeared on the road to Angel Falls and got lost in the Hexagon, an underground passageway between the two locations. The hero's later exploration of the tunnels leads them to discover Patty just in time to save her from the Hexagoon. |
| 65 | ** The entire population of Boingburg (with the exception of [[PlayerCharacter Rocket]]) in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestHeroesRocketSlime''. |
| 66 | * ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma''. [[spoiler:The ending works on this premise, with whichever character you have the highest affinity with being kidnapped by the dragon and used as a hostage as your assumed love interest. Can lead to unintended hilarity if someone like Feste or Fournival is chosen.]] Aelinore also has this as her defining characteristic, and can potentially be rescued three times in the game. |
| 67 | * Furiae in ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' doubles as this for family reasons (she's your sister, and technically a [[SaveThePrincess princess]]) and because she happens to be the linchpin CosmicKeystone that prevents [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt catastrophe.]] As the DownerEnding page points out, this isn't as idealistic as the other examples. |
| 68 | * ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' has Paula in this role a total of three times - kidnapped by [[{{Cult}} the Happy Happyists]], kidnapped by [[ZombieApocalypse zombies]], kidnapped by [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Monotoli]]. The second time was [[AllMenArePerverts Ness' fault]], though. Ness himself was captured the second time along with Paula. |
| 69 | * ''VideoGame/{{Echocalypse}}'': The game's plot is the [[BigBrotherInstinct Awakener's journey to free]] their younger sister Rayna from her Echo CrystalPrison. |
| 70 | * ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'': Both times, Natalie has been kidnapped by Lance: |
| 71 | ** ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'': She's being held in one location behind bars. |
| 72 | ** ''VideoGame/AdventureStory'': Natalie has been kidnapped by Lance and it's up to Matt to rescue her, after fighting multiple bosses. |
| 73 | * ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'': |
| 74 | ** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIVLegendsOfTheTitan'': At one point, the Medium is abducted because [[spoiler:she holds the key to awaken the true form of Yggdrasil, the Heavenbringer]]. The player's party goes through the fourth stratum (Echoing Library) to chase Prince Baldur, who is forcefully dragging her to the Yggdrasil. The party manages to defeat the Prince (who is then revealed to have been corrupted by the influence of Yggdrasil, and pulls a HeelFaceTurn), but it's too late: [[spoiler:The Medium is now captive inside the Heavenbringer, but her determination to save the world allows her to force a restrain to the monster, allowing the party to defeat it in battle and rescue the girl]]. |
| 75 | ** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyNexus'': After the party conquers the Western Shrine, Princess Persephone goes missing. Once they reach Sandy Barrens in the Isle of Bluffs, it's shown that [[spoiler:Blót used his Hexer powers to mentally control her, as he needs to take her to the Northern Shrine to fully dispel the seal that holds Jormungandr captive]]. The party reaches Northern Shrine and manages to defeat the captor, but [[spoiler:Blót's twin, unbeknownst to the party, completes the job and orders Persephone to use some of her blood to break the seal]]. She's finally rescued in TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, shortly before the FinalBoss fight. |
| 76 | * Annoyingly in the ''Evolution'' games for the Dreamcast, WhiteMagicianGirl Linear WILL get kidnapped/convinced to leave the party right before the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and subsequent boss fights. And the two games have final bosses that are definitely ThatOneBoss. [[FakeDifficulty And she has the best healing and buffing skills in the game.]] Good luck! |
| 77 | * ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce EXTRAPOWER Attack of Darkforce]]'': The child telepath Emerald gets kidnapped by the Dark Force Army in their search for items of magical power. |
| 78 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}} Origins'', only the Purple Fairy is in any kind of distress [[spoiler:(stuck in a block of ice)]], the others are just kind of...floating around. Played straight in ''Fairune 2'' however, as all three fairies get captured by mechanical Cube monsters when investigating the Storage Devices. |
| 79 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': In the [[VideoGame/Fallout1 first Fallout game]], the [[TheHero Vault Dweller]] will encounter a small town known as Shady Sands en route to Vault 15. There, they will meet the town's leader, Aradesh, and his teenage daughter, Tandi. Upon returning from Vault 15, the player finds out that Tandi was kidnapped by a band of raiders known as the Khans. The player is given a number of options on how to handle this: they can [[GuileHero negotiate]] with the Khans to release Tandi, they can [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer go in guns blazing]], or they can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential leave Tandi to her fate]]. [[CuttingOffTheBranches Canonically]], the Vault Dweller chose the second option, wiping out the vast majority of the raider gang. Tandi would later succeed her father as the leader of Shady Sands, and under her leadership Shady Sands went from a small town in the wastes to the capitol of the [[TheRepublic New California Republic]]. In a [[CreateYourOwnHero twist of irony]], the ever growing NCR would end up pushing the Khans out of California entirely, leaving the gang a shadow of its former self. |
| 80 | * Being a very popular long-standing franchise, ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' has many examples: ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Rosa]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Aerith]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Rinoa]]'', ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX Garnet]]'' etc. The [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI very first game]] begins with a "SaveThePrincess from rogue knight" plot, before switching to saving the crystals. Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' with Yuna who, while kidnapped three times, managed to escape on her own the first time and actually made a plan to defeat one of the BigBad's the third time (which the heroes, while pulling off an impressive BigDamnHeroes, messed up); she still eventually escaped on her own. The second time, she was actually being "kidnapped" by [[spoiler:Rikku]], so there wasn't any real danger (other than being forced to end her pilgrimage and being held captive in Home), though the other characters think there is at the time. Interestingly the franchise makes a case that this trope isn't conceptually bad, e.g Tifa from ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII FFVII]]'' one of the most badass and capable [[ActionGirl Action Girls]] in ''Final Fantasy'' actually claims she ''wants'' to be this for Cloud in their ThePromise, as being rescued by the boy she loves when in mortal peril -- is something she dearly wants to experience. |
| 81 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' has had several of these: |
| 82 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has [[WhiteMagicianGirl princesses Maria and Elice]], along with [[FauxActionGirl Midia]], who all fight by your side once you rescue them. Also included is princess Nyna, although she's an NPC who mostly exists for story purposes. |
| 83 | ** In the original ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'', every single female unit in Alm's army must be rescued before they're recruited. Celica's party also has to bail Est out after she is kidnapped by pirates. |
| 84 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'', the villains kidnap Maria, Elice, and Nyna ''again'', plus your old WhiteMage Lena, to sacrifice them to revive BigBad Medeus. In addition, you have to bust Est out of prison ''again'' after she is kidnapped to force your old friend Abel into the villains' service. |
| 85 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', [[WhiteMagicianGirl Edain, Deirdre, Julia]] and [[QuirkyBard Lene]] start like this before they join you. [[spoiler:It doesn't end well for most of them: Deirdre eventually ends up brainwashed and dead; Julia fares just as badly as her mother Deirdre, but she survives, eventually coming into her own when she gets the holy spellbook Naga and bravely vows to keep fighting; and it's implied in a veiled way, through Ares vs Bramsel's pre-battle convo and Ares and Lene's convo when she's freed, that [[RapeAsDrama she was raped]] by Bramsel after he took her captive.]] |
| 86 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', Lilina is captured by Ostian rebels before you free her and she becomes a BlackMagicianGirl, Princess Guinivere is briefly taken prisoner in Chapter 13, and BadassBookworm Cecilia (in her defense, she was injured by [[RankScalesWithAsskicking Zephiel]]) and MysteriousWaif Sophia are found imprisoned and also join your group. |
| 87 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', there's Ninian and her DistressedDude brother Nils, thanks to Nergal (though they later become [[QuirkyBard a Quirky Bard and Quirky Dancer duo]] and join the team properly; there's also Priscilla (she's even got the evil marquess [[ScarpiaUltimatum trying to force her into marriage]]!), who also eventually becomes a RedMage after promotion. |
| 88 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', Queen Ismaire of Jehanna. [[spoiler:The worst thing? You do ''not'' get to save her, and she ultimately dies in the arm of her son, KingIncognito Joshua]]. Additionally in Ephraim’s route, Tana is kidnapped while trying to track the group. She joins the party upon being saved. |
| 89 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' we have Lissa's best friend Maribelle taken hostage by Gangrel for trying to call a cease and desist to the bandit attacks, Nowi the Manakete who was put on an auction block and treated like a circus animal, [[spoiler:Emmeryn, who's captured and threatened with death unless Chrom gives King Gangrel Ylisse's treasure]], and [[spoiler:Noire, Tharja's daughter]] who's captured by a slave trader and held prisoner [[spoiler:until she finds a bow lying on the ground and her [[SuperpoweredEvilSide alternate self]] takes over.]] |
| 90 | ** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', all three paths have Saizo's partner Kagero get captured by Kotaro, and you have to rescue her. It even results in an EnemyMine in the ''Conquest'' route, where you are at war with Saizo's country. |
| 91 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has Flayn, who is kidnapped and must be found and rescued in an early mission. In addition, [[spoiler:unless you choose to support Edelgard she will capture Rhea right before the TimeSkip, forcing the player to take Enbarr to save her]]. |
| 92 | ** ''Fire Emblem'' applies the imprisonment plot device to both genders pretty judiciously - probably thanks to the easy "recruit opportunity" of prisoners of war. For example, the aforementioned Midia is imprisoned with four other characters, all of whom are men. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Rolf is held hostage along with Mist, likewise the [=POWs=] Brom and Nephenee (plus Crimean Knight Kieran). In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' Ilyana and Aimee are held prisoner, but so are the three male members of their caravan ([[spoiler:and the incognito dragon prince, Kurthnaga]]). Midway through ''Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest'', you have to rescue the Hoshidan royalty, consisting of two men and two women, from getting murdered in captivity by an unscrupulous underling. There are plenty of DistressedDude examples littered throughout the games, too. |
| 93 | * ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'': The main plot of Zettai Ryouiki no Tobira kicks off when Milfeulle Sakuraba, one of the main heroines of ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'', is captured by Verel and held in the Central Globe of ABSOLUTE as a living battery, spurring both the Luxiole's crew and the Rune Angel Wing into action. She's rescued near the end with the help of her fellow Moon Angel Wing pilots and joins them for the final battle. |
| 94 | * Princess Prin Prin from ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' is kidnapped in every single game she appears in (four). It's a wonder why she never [[{{Reconstruction}} takes exception on it and evolves]] into RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething territory. |
| 95 | * ''VideoGame/{{Gift|2001}}'': Princess Lolita Globo. |
| 96 | * In Book II of ''VideoGame/{{Guenevere}}'', the titular player character and her sister-in-law Morgana are kidnapped [[spoiler:by the Frankish ambassadors Grimald and Meligaunt]]. While Myth/KingArthur and the Knights are [[SaveThePrincess in active pursuit]], it ultimately falls to Guen and Morgana to [[DamselOutOfDistress take matters into their own hands]]. |
| 97 | * Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', where Dizzy is more powerful than her guardians, Testament, Johnny and Ky. The "rescuing" is more like [[PowerIncontinence calming her down when her power goes out of control.]] Dizzy herself is a NaiveEverygirl who [[ActualPacifist hates violence with passion]], so the experience of unintentionally attempting to kill people [[BreakTheCutie is traumatizing.]] If you listen to her in-game quotes, it seems that [[BlessedWithSuck her enormous powers inflicts physical pain to her]]. And the few times she snaps? [[BewareTheNiceOnes She SNAPS]] (like the AlternateUniverse from the CD dramas [[spoiler:in which she succeeds her mother Justice and destroys the world]], or the Midnight Carnival ending in which [[spoiler:she horribly kills I-No [[TheDogBitesBack when she abuses her a bit too much.]].]] In short, Dizzy needs no rescue from others... ''but from herself.'' |
| 98 | * ''VideoGame/GunfighterTheLegendOfJesseJames'': Jesse's girlfriend, Zerelda "Zee" pretty much exists to be rescued by Jesse in both games, the first where she gets abducted by Jack Carson's mooks and ends up ChainedToARailway leading to a lengthy LocomotiveLevel where Jesse must stop the train in time, and later in the sequel where she gets abducted by the new villain, Bob Younger, leading to Jesse infiltrating Bob's hideout to save her. |
| 99 | * In ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead 1'', the thing that draws the heroes to the mansion in the first place is a distress call from Tom Rogan's girlfriend Sophie, who, despite apparently being a fellow [[TheMenInBlack AMS]] agent and the only survivor of her group, is mostly useless. Depending on how you fared, she [[MultipleEndings may or may not survive]]. In the later games, you can rescue citizens or your partner from marauding zombies for extra lives. |
| 100 | * ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'' uses this as a gameplay mechanic, by requiring Fiona to have rely on [[CanineCompanion Hewie]] as her primary means of defense against the game's stalkers. This is especially the case, when she's in full panic mode and unable to move. In most cases, her only recourse is to run and hide 'til the danger's passed. |
| 101 | * ''VideoGame/IronMan3TheOfficialGame'': Pepper Potts is kidnapped and held captive by Ezekiel Stane during Tony's fight against the Living Laser so she can surrender all of Tony's bank account information to him. It isn't long before he tries to torture her to death just so he can spite Tony. |
| 102 | * Palutena in ''VideoGame/KidIcarus''. Apparently, being a goddess does not make one immune to this trope, although it's more MindControl than actual kidnapping. |
| 103 | * Princess Mari in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfDragons'' exists to fulfill this role. Though she actually [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething lead the offensive]] of her kingdom against the hordes of monsters, she just makes things get worse. |
| 104 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': |
| 105 | ** Kairi gets kidnapped no less than three times in the series, one per each number game. The last is particularly infuriating as it happened just after the game promised that she becomes a capable combatant, only for her to get kidnapped once again before getting StuffedInTheFridge by Xehanort (but was justified in the [=ReMind=] DLC). |
| 106 | ** The other Princesses of Heart don't fare much better but are sometimes useful. For example, Belle has a particularly memorable scene in which Xaldin has both her and the Rose and is forcing the Beast to choose between them. [[spoiler:Belle preempts the choice by elbowing Xaldin in the gut, taking the rose from him, and escaping over to Sora right before the party fights him.]] |
| 107 | ** Naminé is an... [[ZigzaggedTrope unusual case]]. At first she's a DamselInDistress that Sora has to rescue. The problem is that [[spoiler:this is a complete and utter lie. She's a witch who can [[FakeMemories control the memories of people connected to Sora]]. However, she's only doing it because she's a hostage to Marluxia. After Sora rescues her, she's trying to restore his memories... only to be forced into hiding soon after when she betrays [=DiZ=] and the Organization wants her dead. Doesn't stop her from rescuing Kairi, though]]. |
| 108 | ** Played straight with [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} Megara]]. Her [[EstablishingCharacterMoment very first scene]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' has her being chased by Heartless, and she ends up in distress at least three times. [[Manga/KingdomHeartsII The manga adaptation]] has her fare worse, where she ends up BoundAndGagged by Pete moments after Sora frees her. |
| 109 | * Princess Cassima in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestV'' and more so in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI'' is a damsel in distress. She is held captive by the wizard Mordak in V and in VI, is actually kept inside a tower by the GrandVizier Alhazred for a plot to marry her. |
| 110 | ** Similarly, the entire objective of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'' is to rescue Princess Valanice from a tower prison. |
| 111 | *** And in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIII,'' the Llewdor Oracle lights a fire under Gwydion's rear by showing him the three-headed dragon that's laid waste to Daventry. The dragon demands a HumanSacrifice, and the one "chosen" this year is Princess Rosella [[spoiler:his long-lost twin sister]]. |
| 112 | ** Her first appearance notwithstanding, Rosella tends to [[ZigZaggingTrope take this trope for a joyride]]. In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIV'', she's the one doing the rescuing, finding a MacGuffin to bring back from Tamir to heal her stricken father. She's briefly relieved of her inventory and locked up, but is freed soon enough due to MookFaceTurn. ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVII'' has her impulsively putting herself in harm's way, finding a way to free herself from the fire she landed in, and then rescuing a captured king. Top it off with her breaking the MoreThanMindControl Malicia pulled on [[spoiler:Edgar - who seems to be an absolute sucker for this sort of thing]]. |
| 113 | * ''VideoGame/KlonoaDoorToPhantomile'': The Songstress Lephise is kidnapped by Ghadius in his plan to destroy Phantomile, and Klonoa has to save her. |
| 114 | * Sylvia in the first ''VideoGame/KungFuMaster'', kidnapped if just to force his boyfriend Thomas to [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours enter into a fight]] with the kidnapper and his group. |
| 115 | * ''VideoGame/KuriKinton'': The plot of the game is to rescue [[DistressedDude a senior police officer]] and his daughter. [[spoiler:She's present in the background with him in the final boss fight.]] |
| 116 | * ''VideoGame/LastDuelInterPlanetWar2012'': The ExcusePlot of the game is to rescue [[SaveThePrincess Queen Sheeta]] from galactic conquerors known as the Galden Tribe. Considering that it's an arcade game and that [[MsFanservice Sheeta is rather fanservice-y]], it was likely a deliberate decision to get more quarters out of its male demographic. |
| 117 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', Shana fits the bill perfectly. Even when she joins the party she is the light-elemental-healer. |
| 118 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Peach's contemporary, Princess Zelda, fits the trope, but not in a way that plays the trope precisely straight. While finding/rescuing/protecting her is usually Link's ultimate or major goal in any game where she is present, she almost invariably cooks up some clever ideas whereby she can actively work against the EvilPlan of the BigBad who captures her. The classic DamselInDistress, by contrast, is tactically of no use whatever. |
| 119 | ** In the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI original game]], she knows she's going to be captured as part of Ganon's plot, so she fragments the Triforce of Wisdom (which is what he's really after) and hides it in various parts of her kingdom, then enables her most loyal servant to escape to find help while she herself is taken prisoner. |
| 120 | ** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', though she is in a prison cell at the beginning, she is quickly rescued by Link. She only gets kidnapped again about a third of the way into the game; she gets rescued in the second-to-last dungeon, after which she and the other Maidens (themselves Distressed Damsels) use their magic to break the barrier barring entry into Ganon's Tower. |
| 121 | ** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', she also acts as the [[{{Mentors}} mentor]] by [[ItWasHisSled secretly]] being Sheik. However, it's played painfully straight when she reveals her identity near the end of the game and ''immediately'' gets kidnapped. |
| 122 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'', Din plays this role pretty straight forward, while in the game's counterpart, ''Oracle of Ages'', Nayru is possessed by Veran (to be fair, she does help Link and Ralph escape from Queen Ambi). Zelda, if you linked your game, plays this trope very straight twice through ''Oracle of Ages'', being kidnapped first by Vire, then again by Twinrova. |
| 123 | ** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', Zelda starts out as leader of a gang of pirates (in the form of a girl called Tetra), while Link's just some kid, which initially makes her ''more competent than the main character''. She's also vital in the final boss fight. Link's sister Aryll instead serves as the primary damsel of the game's first half (because the Helmaroc King mistook her for Zelda) and two subplots involve girls who were also kidnapped from Windfall. |
| 124 | ** In the ''Wind Waker'' sequel ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'', Tetra spends the first half of the game AWOL and the second half as a statue just to make sure she had a reason not to be kicking ass by Link's side. |
| 125 | ** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', she isn't kidnapped - she surrenders to the BigBad to [[BarrierMaiden save her people from genocide]], although it amounts to roughly the same thing. While unable to actively participate in the fight for most of the game, she is extremely helpful [[spoiler:to the point of appearing to ''give up her own life'']] when she does appear, and is a vital participant in the endgame. |
| 126 | ** [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzagged]] in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'', where Zelda's ''body'' is the one who got kidnapped, while her ''spirit'' actively teams up with Link [[AnimatedArmor while possessing a Phantom armor]] and assists in her own rescue, to the point of actually fighting alongside Link (including against the final bosses). |
| 127 | ** Played straight, after all these years, in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', where Link gets involved in the plot in order to rescue his childhood friend Zelda. She actually barely avoids a proper kidnapping. |
| 128 | ** Inverted in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', where [[spoiler:Zelda's the one who's been keeping Calamity Ganon sealed inside Hyrule Castle with her for the last 100 years; Link's less her rescuer and more her ''backup'']]. |
| 129 | ** Averted in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'', where [[spoiler:after Ganondorf reawakens, she is whisked back in time to the age of the Imprisoning War, where she plays a key role in the attempt to defeat Ganondorf in the past as the Sage of Time. When their attempt fails, she uses her knowledge of the future to convince her fellow Sages to make preparations for their descendants to aid Link when Ganondorf returns, then uses a DangerousForbiddenTechnique to become the Light Dragon, allowing her to not only restore the Master Sword after Ganondorf's power shattered and weakened it, but also play an active role in helping Link defeat Ganondorf once and for all in the present.]] |
| 130 | ** It's common in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' to be forced to rescue allies who are in danger as part of the gameplay, but there are notable storyline examples. The ''Ocarina of Time'' arc starts by informing us that Princess Ruto has been kidnapped, and she falls into a trap from which you must save her in the next level. Agitha is saved early in the ''Twilight Princess'' arc, and the villain specifically sends enemies to capture her again later. And a massive part of the conflict at Gerudo Valley involves saving a stranded Lana. That said, all of the above-mentioned ladies are also {{Action Girl}}s who get to kick plenty of ass. Oddly, despite disappearing after the first stage of the game, Zelda is ''never'' captured at any time in the story, though this is hardly a surprise when [[LateArrivalSpoiler Sheik is the third playable character you unlock]]. |
| 131 | * In the 1988 ShootEmUp ''Last Duel'' developed by Creator/{{Capcom}}, the [[ExcusePlot goal]] of the game is to rescue Queen Sheeta, the ruler of the planet Mu. |
| 132 | * In ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'', all the princesses are held in jars by the kings you have to defeat to add them to your set. Near the end of the game, whoever you brought with you is swallowed by [[spoiler:a rat king, which later gets chucked out the window by the boy whose room you're in]]. |
| 133 | * ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': |
| 134 | ** The Prehistoric chapter has you playing as a young caveman named Pogo who falls in love with a pretty cavewoman named Beru. Beru's getting chased by an enemy tribe looking to offer her as a HumanSacrifice, so it's up to Pogo to save her. Being the damsel in distress aside, she's actually [[GameplayAndStorySegregation very strong in gameplay]]. |
| 135 | ** In the Edo Japan chapter, you'll come across a young woman about to be killed by some intruding guards. You can choose to rush in to save her, but you gotta leave her if you're going for a Pacifist run. Don't feel too bad about it though, cause [[DecoyDamsel she's actually a demon who was planning to kill you anyway]]. |
| 136 | ** The Medieval chapter starts out like a typical SaveThePrincess scenario. You play as the knight Oersted whose fiance, Princess Alethea, was kidnapped by the seemingly resurrected demon king and so he sets out to save her. Joining him are his longtime friend Streibough and the retired heroes Uranus and Hasshe. Without going into too much detail, [[spoiler:things end very, ''very'' badly for every character involved]]. |
| 137 | * The ''{{VideoGame/Lunar}}'' series rarely passes on an opportunity to incorporate a love interest rescue into one of its finales. |
| 138 | ** ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'' -- VictoriousChildhoodFriend Luna spends the latter half of the game in captivity, and is freed after beating the final boss. |
| 139 | ** ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' -- Lucia, target of the hero's [[TheDulcineaEffect Dulcinea Effect]], is captured by the BigBad near the end. Technically she frees herself, but if the hero hadn't come for her she would have assumed escape was impossible. |
| 140 | ** ''VideoGame/LunarDragonSong'' -- Lucia (a different Lucia) gets kidnapped in the first half of the game and stays that way until the conclusion. |
| 141 | * ''VideoGame/MagicalTetrisChallenge'': Minnie is [[{{Brainwashed}} hypnotized]] and kidnapped by Pete, who intends to [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe marry her]]. |
| 142 | * Liara's establishing character moment in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' involves rescuing her from a forcefield she got herself stuck inside, fighting off a krogan battlemaster while she hides in a corner, then saving her from a collapsing volcano. To avoid confusion, and confirm her love-interest status, she then proceeds to faint once she arrives on your ship, since she spent anywhere from hours to days without food or water in extremely stressful situation. Once she's had a proper rest she reveals herself for the badass she really is in the next mission you take her along. [[TookALevelInBadass More so in the sequel.]] |
| 143 | ** Liara's establishing character moment in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' subverts this trope fantastically while demonstrating her CharacterDevelopment throughout the series. She is first seen scrambling through the air ducts, trying to escape Cerberus troopers who have attacked the base she was working at. As soon as she exits the ducts, she uses a biotic attack and a pistol to ambush and execute both troopers. |
| 144 | ** [[spoiler:Yeoman Kelly Chambers]] gets this treatment late in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', complete with [[spoiler:getting dragged away by monsters, screaming her head off. The non-specialist crew of the Normandy meets the same fate at the same time.]] And [[{{Squick}} god help the poor girl]] if you [[RedundantRescue don't go to her rescue right away]]. Considering [[ShellShockedVeteran her fate]] in the third game, God help her even if you do. |
| 145 | ** The Rachni Queen somewhat counts, insomuch as a giant bug can be considered a ''damsel!'' If set free on Noveria during the first game, she is captured by the Reapers during the third. Both times Shepard can decide to rescue her. |
| 146 | * In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2TheFallOfMaxPayne'', Mona Sax's first line is: "God! I turned out to be such a damsel in distress..." |
| 147 | ** She gets to invert the trope, running into a burning building to save Max. |
| 148 | ** The line is an IronicEcho from [[VideoGame/MaxPayne1 the first game]], when she denies being a damsel in distress like her twin sister was. |
| 149 | * Bandage Girl from ''VideoGame/MeatBoy'' who is constantly kidnapped by Dr. Fetus. In the last chapter in ''Super VideoGame/MeatBoy'', she decides she had enough of it. |
| 150 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'': |
| 151 | ** [[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce Star Force's]] Luna Platz becomes one whenever the evil villains attack in the games. There are three occasions in the first game where this happens. When Taurus turns Bud into a monster, then when she (along with Bud and Zack Temple) are forced into doing the swan dance on a trip to AMAKEN. Finally when the kids teacher merges with an evil FM-Ian and goes berserk. Her role as the DamselInDistress continues into the second game, as she is kidnapped by Hyde-Phantom, then almost trapped in a alternate dimension by Solo-Rogue (along with Bud, Sonia and Zack), then kidnapped by Hyde-Phantom, again and then finally kidnapped by a giant bird monster. |
| 152 | *** And it all comes to a head in the third game. The [[BeachEpisode trip to Alohaha]] was supposed to be a relaxing affair, but then [[EvilDuo Jack and Tia]] corrupt Strong with a Noise Card, causing him to start an earthquake on the island and force him into a fight with Mega Man. Before you can say "it can't get any worse", [[ScaryBlackMan JOKER]] shows up and erases Strong. Just as Jack and Tia transform to fight Geo, Luna picked the absolute worst time to show up - [[MoralEventHorizon and Joker uses THAT opportunity to]] ''[[MoralEventHorizon kill]]'' [[MoralEventHorizon her]]! Strong, Luna, and Vogue (Luna's Wizard, the youngest of the lot) [[DisneyDeath all get better]], but Joker has established himself as a very serious threat - one that Luna fans absolutely despise. |
| 153 | ** Roll from ''Videogame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' has gotten herself into trouble at least once per game. |
| 154 | ** When Zero first wakes up at the beginning of ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, he has to protect the girl who revived him, Ciel, throughout the entire first level, though {{justified|Trope}} in that 1) Ciel is a scientist, not a warrior; and 2) the soldiers who were protecting her all got killed by the enemy by the time they finally got to where he was and she was the SoleSurvivor. |
| 155 | ** In ''VideoGame/MegaMan2ThePowerFighters'', one of the three selectable path objectives is to rescue Roll. |
| 156 | ** Mega Man must save [[VideoGame/MegaMan4 Kalinka]] in Wily Stage 3 of ROMHack ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity''. |
| 157 | * ''VideoGame/MissionImpossible1990'': [=IMF=] Agent Shannon Reed was assigned to be Dr. O's secretary to provide protection from any abduction attempts. When the doctor is kidnapped by The Sinister Seven, she gets taken as well, but is able to send out a coded message to the [=IMF=] that starts the plot. She ends up being used as a HumanShield by the boss of the fourth level. |
| 158 | * In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', TheHandler assigned to the player character to manage their contracts and paperwork very often winds up rushing off to explore and bumps into a dangerous monster. This tendency is lampshaded by the scholars, before the first Deviljho hunt, making specific mention of her staying in camp. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she has already ventured into the Ancient Forest where it is lurking before she can be warned. Sure enough, she is caught in a clash between Deviljho and Great Jagras and needs to be rescued from her current pickle before she ''literally'' ends up in a pickle.]] |
| 159 | * ''VideoGame/MilonsSecretCastle'': Queen Eliza, the queen you are trying to save, is being held captive by Mahirito. |
| 160 | * Played with in ''VideoGame/MysticWarriors'': sure, Yuri ''could'' end up being kidnapped at the beginning of the game, but because she's the only girl in a pool of 5 playable characters, the odds are in favor of there being a DistressedDude instead. The only way to guarantee Yuri becoming the victim is for there to be 4 players, and for all of them to select the boys. |
| 161 | * Played with in an entertaining fashion in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' mod ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues''. The Princess in the story is the player character and spends a lot more time rescuing people than not, and the character who most fits this archetype is Anden, a male character. Pia actually comments on this when you tell her the tale of rescuing Anden for the first time. |
| 162 | ** In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', after you rescue Neeshka from the Fort Locke guards, she says "Does that make me a damsel in distress? I hope not, I ''hate'' those women!" |
| 163 | *** [[spoiler:She get snatched off-screen once you enter Merdelain.]] |
| 164 | * ''Normy's Beach Babe-O-Rama'': The six goddesses of the beach have been captured by alien invaders and taken to different to time periods to serve the villains' evil purposes.[[note]]Ogg the Caveman wants Moon-unit, the Goddess of Waves, to test his new invention, the surfboard, Princess Cuffy wants Persephone, the Goddess of Sunshine, to help her work on her tan, Shlomo, King of the apes, wants Daphne, the Goddess of Surf Music, to perform at his night club, Professor Warhol wants Thalaia, the Goddess of Warm Sand, to make silicon chips for his new invention, video games, Grxplrt wants Valerie, the Goddess of Clean Air, to provide an atmosphere for his evil planet, and Lucifer wants Bambi, the Goddess of Snow Cones, to make ice for his lemonade.[[/note]] Normy's goal is to defeat the villains and rescue all six of the goddesses. |
| 165 | * ''VideoGame/NosferatuTheWrathOfMalachi'': Everyone who's not James or a monster. The most traditional example would be Rebecca, since the ultimate objective of the game is to rescue her from the Count before he can sacrifice her. [[spoiler:Ironically, she's the only one you can't save.]] |
| 166 | * ''VideoGame/OneWayHeroics'' has Queen Frieda, who is locked inside a randomly-appearing heavily-guarded castle which you must fight through if you want to recruit her. |
| 167 | * ''VideoGame/PacMan'': |
| 168 | ** Among the characters that Pac-Man has to rescue from Ghost Island in ''VideoGame/PacManWorld'' is his wife, Ms. Pac-Man. In ''[[VideoGameRemake Pac-Man World Re-Pac]]'', her role is filled by Pac-Mom due to legal issues surrounding Ms. Pac-Man. |
| 169 | ** The intro of ''VideoGame/MsPacManMazeMadness'' has Professor Pac explain that an unnamed princess ruling over the four wonders of Pac-Land disappeared at the same time that an evil witch named Mesmerelda arrived and took over her palace. [[spoiler: At the end of the game, however, it is revealed that the princess was actually turned into Mesmerelda by an evil spell, and Ms. Pac turns her back to her old self by destroying her crystal ball]]. |
| 170 | * ''VideoGame/Persona4'' makes liberal use of this trope and DistressedDude, with each kidnapped victim being one of the primary motivations for entering the TV world in the first place. |
| 171 | ** That said, this trope is subverted by each of the female party members in some capacity: |
| 172 | *** Despite being ambushed by her Shadow after running off on her own in Yukiko's dungeon, Chie plays a major role in rescuing Yukiko not long afterward. Further fleshed out in her Social Link arc, where she grapples with her burning desire to protect those around her. Also, [[MemeticMutation she kicks tanks]]. |
| 173 | *** Yukiko's Shadow represents her desire to free herself from being forced to become the future manager of the Amagi Inn, and appears as a princess looking for her knight in shining armor. As her Social Link arc progresses, she toys with the notion of leaving the inn altogether, only to change her mind and take on the role of manager willingly and on her terms. |
| 174 | *** Rise Kujikawa, like Yukiko, appears to be the epitome of this trope at first; that is, until her Shadow is defeated by Teddie's HeroicSecondWind and she obtains her Persona. Moments later, ''Teddie'''s Shadow appears, and is ready to wipe the floor with the party until the exhausted and newly freed Rise steps up to provide analysis and support to the party (which was originally Teddie's job). Her S. Link revolves around her conflicted feelings about her career as an idol: she hates being the ditzy pop star, but she is reminded of just how inspirational she is to many of her fans (including her replacement, Kanami). |
| 175 | *** And then she becomes a playable character in ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax''. |
| 176 | *** Averted most prominently with [[spoiler:Naoto]], whose skills as an ace detective make her definite ActionHeroine material. [[spoiler:Plus, there's the whole matter of her struggles with her being a girl in a male-dominated profession.]] |
| 177 | * Subverted with Demi and Kyra of ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV''; they're both captured, but not to motivate anyone: Demi is immobilized by Zio when he takes over Nurvus, the system she works in, because she's the AI that runs it, but he has no use for her himself. Kyra has to be rescued from a forest of carnivorous trees; she got so pissed off at watching her friends suffering that she decided to go kill her way through the forest to put a stop to it. [[spoiler:Turns out the party isn't any better at fighting them than she is, either.]] |
| 178 | * The objective of the 1989 ShootEmUp ''Phelios'' is to rescue Artemis from the titan Typhon. She's subjected to quite a bit of {{Fanservice}} between levels, with her being stripped down to her underwear. She has a bit of a RescueRomance going on with the PlayerCharacter Apollo--who was actually Artemis' brother in Greek mythology, but the developers clearly weren't too concerned with mythological accuracy. |
| 179 | * ''VideoGame/PilgrimRPGMaker'': Inago, Akemi's little sister- the entire goal of the game is for Akemi to rescue Inago from Alice, who [[YourSoulIsMine wants her soul]] and has brought her to her castle in the [[EldritchLocation Other World]] for this purpose. |
| 180 | * The 'Save Our Seeds' levels in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'' have 'endangered plants' which the player must protect from the zombies in order to complete the level. |
| 181 | * ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'': |
| 182 | ** Series-wide: Flora Reinhold, who eventually becomes Layton's foster daughter, gets stuck in this role in his games. In the original game of the series (''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheCuriousVillage''), she's more of a BarrierMaiden than a DamselInDistress, but in the other two games where she appears so far (''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheDiabolicalBox'' and ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture''), she has great aptitude for being kidnapped. She also goes missing in ''Professor Layton's London Life'', the bonus RPG packaged with some releases of ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheLastSpecter'' [[spoiler:- but she hasn't been kidnapped. She's preparing to sacrifice herself to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]]. |
| 183 | ** ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheAzranLegacy'': The final numbered chapter has this happen to Aurora, who gets kidnapped by Targent's leader Léon Bronev due to [[spoiler:her holding the key to unveil the biggest secret of the Azran civilization]]. |
| 184 | * Dana Mercer becomes one about midway through ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. Given that the one kidnapping her is [[spoiler:a freaking ''Leader Hunter'']] she is excused for screeching in panic. [[spoiler:a Leader Hunter is about the size of an elephant, and can throw down with Dana's big brother Alex. [[PersonOfMassDestruction Alex can tear tanks apart barehanded, and survive ''anything'']]. Dana can't do that.]] |
| 185 | * Miyu in ''VideoGame/RedSteel'' is kidnapped on the first level, and the rest of the game revolves around bringing down the {{yakuza}} in order to save her. |
| 186 | * Parodied in ''VideoGame/ResetGeneration'' where EVERY player tries to 'rescue' a princess from every other player. |
| 187 | * ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' every playable female character (with the sole exception of Shiva in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'') has to be saved more than once. |
| 188 | ** Jill Valentine the series's primary [[TheHero female protagonist]] is not free from this, in her debut she nearly gets killed by zombie hounds before Chis and Wesker save her. In Spencer Estate proper she still needs her male colleagues to pull her put trouble, Barry saves from becoming a [[RunningGag ''Jill Sandwich'']] when she gets trapped by a DescendingCeiling and in Chris's play through she has to be saved from Wesker's prison ensuring a RescueHug. The majority of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' subverts this greatly with Jill being the main protagonist, though she is saved by Carlos when the Nemesis manages to infect her. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' also subverts this as Jill is the one trying to find and rescue Chris for half of the game, also the prologue to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' "''Lost in Nightmares''" she's the one who saves Chris from Wesker by performing a HeroicSacrifice spearing Wesker out of a window. Unfortunately the damsel comes backs as Jill is dying and Wesker decides to strip her down and put her in a test tube and experiment on her as the [[BestServedCold ultimate]] revenge against Chris. The ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'' got some ire for upping damsel moments for Jill with Carlos needing to rescue her a total of ''five'' times across the story. |
| 189 | *** Jill's role in Resident Evil 5 as whole is hybrid of Damsel and DarkActionGirl as she's Wesker's [[TheDragon Dragon]] and Nina William's esque [[ProfessionalKiller super assassin]] however she's also BrainwashedAndCrazy and in need of rescuing, Chris manages to snap her out of Wesker's control and she even provides firepower against Wesker in the final battle though she doesn't get to fight Wesker herself which disappointed a good chunk of fans. To make matters worse the last we hear of Jill she's hospitalized and bored, until ''Anime/ResidentEvilDeathIsland'' finally brought her back into the action again. |
| 190 | ** Claire Redfield who was trained by her brother Chris in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2]]'' still has ''these'' moments. In her very first scene she is saved from the zombies by Leon the '''rookie''' cop but for the rest of the game she subverts this trope playing MamaBear to Cherry, and she manages to avoid damsel status in the final cutscene against the G-Creature (despite screaming for Leon) by finding a opening in the train. In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' Claire subverts this majorly like Jill in 3, Claire in Code Veronica is an BulletTime-happy action girl pulling some big [[Film/TheMatrix Matrix moments]] in the opening cutscene and remains competent for most of the game despite being imprisoned in the first level. But Claire's winning streak doesn't last the whole game especially when she's captured by Alexia and it switches over to Chris, plus there was some painfully forced RescueRomance with [[TheScrappy Steve Burnside]] that happens earlier. Averted with ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'' where Claire is the one babysitting and kicking ass to protect the teen damsel Moria who cannot fight herself (until the game's climax). |
| 191 | *** Claire's role in CG movie ''Anime/ResidentEvilDegeneration'' can ''sort of'' considered this, she along with some other survivors are trapped by zombies in a airport and she needs to be saved by Leon again the exact same way he does in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. However when Claire and little girl Rani are surrounded by zombies, Leon tosses her his handgun and Claire takes out all of them in seconds so she's still the awesome action girl underneath, Claire is just committed to looking after Rani like she was with Cherry. ''Anime/ResidentEvilInfiniteDarkness'' however plays this straighter with Claire getting kidnapped by the corrupt government officals, forcing Leon to literally pull her out of danger and into his arms. It doesn't help that the mini-series brings up Claire's feat of surviving Raccoon City [[FauxActionGirl but doesn't show the skills that helped her do so]]. In ''Anime/ResidentEvilDeathIsland'', Claire is incapacitated by Dylan but this mitigated by the fact Chris and Leon (the poster boy badasses) were in the same boat as her, and the rest of the time Claire is presented as being just as capable as Chris, Leon and Jill. |
| 192 | ** Rebecca Chambers got this heavily but ironically enough they actually made her a damsel ''in reverse'', by giving her a badass upgrade in the prequel, where she's a player character and therefore pretty competent. In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' she's the only survivor of the Star's Bravo Team and while she has to be saved by her partner Billy Cohen from Leaches and falling down a hole at one point, Rebecca still kicks a lot of ass by herself even defeating the goddamn Proto-Tyrant. But since ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil RE1]]'' takes places after 0, some time between then and running into Chris (who has to save her) in the original game, she apparently [[FreakOut snapped]] from the sheer horror around her and lost all her zombie-killing skills. In the CGI movie ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta'' she's an absolute Damsel In Distress having be to be saved by Leon and Chris from the BigBad Arias who of course has VillainousCrush on her and plans to to make her his bride since she looks like his dead wife. Averted surprisingly in ''Anime/ResidentEvilDeathIsland'' Rebecca is the one who saves Chris, Leon and Claire from being turned into zombies and while she's still treated as less superhumanly cool than the other four main characters, she's no less vital to the story as [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Girl]]. |
| 193 | *** Rebecca's damsel status was [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by the series creator Shinji Mikami who dislikes Rebecca considering her TheScrappy in comparison to Jill and Claire saying he [[AmazonChaser prefers strong women]]. |
| 194 | ** Ashley Graham from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', with her needing to be saved more than a dozen times across the story and constantly protected in gameplay. Made all the more hilarious by how she was shown to want ''very'' much to give [[MrFanservice Leon]] a SmoochOfVictory (and a lot more than just a smooch) for rescuing her at the end... only for Leon to reject her and make sure she knows that he is ''not'' interested. To the suprise of many ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4make]]'' managed to give Ashely a great deal of AdaptationalBadass while keeping her core damsel role, as she aids Leon many times throughout the game and can even kill a Regenerador for him. This treament along with her more likebale and realistic personailty turned her from one of the most disliked elements of the original game, to one of the most beloved aspects. Unsurprisingly this version Ashely has Leon respond more agreeably to her flirtation. |
| 195 | ** Ada has comes close to this trope more than a few times but only outright been a damsel in the climax of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 RE4]]'' when Saddler overpowers her and holds her hostage. It seems like she's going to be a damsel in ''Anime/ResidentEvilDamnation'' but then immediately frees herself with a knife hidden in her stiletto. |
| 196 | ** Mia in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7'' though she plays with this. When you Ethan the player, first seemingly rescue her from the Baker Estate [[spoiler: she reveals she's infected and takes Ethan's hand off with a chainsaw forcing you to have to shoot Mia in the head (she gets better). Later on you are able to rescue her properly and cure her of the Mold but then you're attacked by Eveline and the game switches over Mia's POV who has to go save BadassInDistress Ethan.]] |
| 197 | * ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'' has Lisa and Princess Darcy in the first game. While Lisa is a DefiantCaptive, Darcy has the misfortune of being trapped in a mirror. |
| 198 | * ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'': In each of the three 16-bit games, their respective princess is captured by Axel Gear, the arch-rival and EvilCounterpart of Sparkster, to serve as the prisoner of each game's respective BigBad, with Sparkster's goal being to rescue the princess. The original game has Princess Sherry as the prisoner of Emperor Devligus Devotindos, ''Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2'' ([[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis GEN]]) has Princess Cherry as the prisoner of King Gedol, and ''Sparkster'' ([[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]]) has Princess Flora as the prisoner of Generalissimo Lioness. |
| 199 | * The objective of ''VideoGame/RollingThunder'' is to rescue Leila, [[PlayerCharacter Albatross']] female partner, from the secret society GELDRA. A bit of {{Fanservice}} of her is shown after each stage, presumably to get players spending more quarters. She's PromotedToPlayable in the sequel though. |
| 200 | * ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'' begins with the protagonist [[TheHeroine Spiritia]] [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Rosenberg]] meeting up with her childhood friend [[PrincessClassic Iris]] [[TheCutie Zeppelin]], the daughter of [[BigBad Count Michael Zeppelin]]. Then out of the blue, a dragon swoops in and [[DragonsPreferPrincesses steals Iris away]], at which point Spritia sets off to stop the Count's rebellion and rescue Iris. [[spoiler:Except not, as Iris is the game's [[BitchInSheepsClothing true villain]]. Having manipulated everyone else for the sake of her own entertainment, Iris played the part of a damsel in distress to toy with Spritia's feelings, and then attempts to kill her upon revealing her true motives]]. Played straight in the sequel ''[=RosenkreuzStilette=] Freudenstachel'', where the game opens with Spiritia herself getting kidnapped before cutting to [[TheLancer Freudia]] [[PromotedToPlayable Neuwahl]] setting off to save her. |
| 201 | * In ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'' [[spoiler:your fiance]] is kidnapped near the end of the game. This doesn't make her look bad since the one kidnapping her is [[spoiler:a super powerful dragon.]] |
| 202 | * {{Subverted}} in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'': Guybrush Threepwood goes through all kinds of peril to save Govenor Elaine Marley, who was captured by the BigBad [=LeChuck=]. He gets to the church on Melee Island just in time to [[SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace interrupt their wedding]], only for Elaine to descend on a rope from the ceiling. Turns out she'd already made her escape, fooling [=LeChuck=] by putting a pair of trained monkeys in her wedding dress, and was actually planning to assassinate him while he was distracted by the wedding ceremony, but Guybrush inadvertently managed to mess up that last step by attempting to rescue her. At least Guybrush ends up getting the honor of finishing off [=LeChuck=]. |
| 203 | ** Played straight in ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'', where [=LeChuck=] kidnaps Elaine near the end, ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', where Pegnose Pete captures Elaine in the middle, and ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' where [=LeChuck=] [[NoodleIncident had kidnapped]] Elaine sometime before the beginning [[spoiler:and again at the end, though that was part of a complicated BatmanGambit on her part]]. |
| 204 | * ''VideoGame/SentinelDescendantsInTime'' has Carrie, Beni's sister. She's being held hostage by Doba to make Beni explore tomb 35. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the end, when it turns out that Beni is really Ramirez.]] |
| 205 | * The final part of ''VideoGame/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2004'' has Sunny and Violet be put in danger thanks to another of Olaf's schemes to get their fortune and Klaus has to save his sisters. |
| 206 | * Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}''. The player comes across a beautiful maiden chained in a tower, but if you try to rescue her [[spoiler:she turns into a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] and kills you. You have to kill her before you can take the important artifact she was guarding.]] |
| 207 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Shadowverse}}'', Losaria gets kidnapped by shades at the end of the prologue. Arisa's story mode is focused on rescuing her. |
| 208 | * Princess Satera from ''VideoGame/ShiningWisdom''. You have to save her twice, once from being turned into a swan. |
| 209 | * The Heroine of the original [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Shin Megami Tensei]] twice. The first time, [[ClingyJealousGirl Yuriko]] (Aka [[spoiler:[[LouisCypher Lilith]]]]) kidnaps and nearly executes her via firing squad, both to make an example of her for leading a resistance against [[ArcVillain Gotou]]'s coup and [[MurderTheHypotenuse to remove any competition for the Hero's attention]]. The second time, her mind is invaded by the demon [[SeductiveSpider Arachne]], whom the Hero needs to defeat in order to save her. In spite of this, the Heroine is still very much an ActionGirl and is entirely capable of saving the Hero as well. [[spoiler:Even at the cost of her own life]]. |
| 210 | * If you romance a Governor's Daughter enough in the 2004 version of ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'', then when you next visit the port the Governor will tearfully tell you that she has been kidnapped by the Evil Colonel Mendoza and beg you to hunt him down and rescue her. (Successfully doing so leads to the opportunity to propose marriage shortly after.) |
| 211 | * In the ''VideoGame/SkateOrDie'' games, CJ is kidnapped late into the second game, and rescuing Miss Aerial is Bad N' Rad's plot. |
| 212 | * Although mostly able to take care of herself, there have been incidents in the ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' games where Carmelita Fox needed to be saved. This is lampshaded in [[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime the fourth game]] when [[DistressedDude Sir Galleth]] believes that a woman's role in combat is to be saved... and he was once rescued by Carmelita herself, much to his embarrassment. |
| 213 | ** Applies to Penelope twice in ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves''. She's also kidnapped by [[BigBad Le Paradox]] during the events of ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime''... [[spoiler:[[FakedKidnapping NOT]], as she actually joined forces with Le Paradox for [[AmbitionIsEvil very]] [[TakeOverTheWorld selfish]] [[TheSociopath reasons]]]]. |
| 214 | * ''VideoGame/SmurfRescueInGargamelsCastle'', ''VideoGame/TheSmurfs1994'', and ''VideoGame/TheSmurfs2'' have Smurfette as the damsel in distress, though in ''The Smurfs (1994)'', a few {{Distressed Dude}}s also need to be rescued from Gargamel. |
| 215 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 216 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' features Princess Elise taken hostage by Eggman, who pursues her relentlessly whenever Sonic gets her out of his clutches. Over the course of the game, Eggman kidnaps Elise no less than five times. Eventually, when she gets a few hints of what Eggman wants from her, she stands up to him by leaping to her supposed death to prevent him from achieving his goal. After that scene, it's only after Eggman threatens to destroy her city/kingdom that Elise chooses to return as his prisoner. |
| 217 | ** Also occasionally played straight with Cream. |
| 218 | ** Amy Rose a few odd times, most prominently in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD''. Interestingly, in ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'', Amy actually ''complains'' about being this and how it seems that it just overshadows her own heroics. |
| 219 | ** Tails occasionally plays a girlish-[[DistressedDude boy]]-in-distress kind-of role. |
| 220 | ** In [[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM the spin-off cartoons]] and [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics comics]], Princess Sally takes the role on occasion too. |
| 221 | * Lola Tigerbelly becomes one towards the end of the first game in ''VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries'', having been placed in a swinging blade trap by the BigBad. |
| 222 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', each level contains a damsel which you can rescue by taking them to the exit for a single extra hit point ([[NintendoHard you're gonna need it]]). They also make for [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential great throwing objects]] or [[HumanSacrifice altar sacrifices]]. In the classic version, if you rescue 8 of them in one playthrough, you can play as the damsel and rescue the Spelunky guy instead. In HD, you also change the damsel with a male version or a pug. The sequel replaces damsels with pets, and [[spoiler:one of the unlockable Spelunkers may be the original female damsel]]. |
| 223 | * ''VideoGame/SpudsAdventure'' has Princess Mato, who has no fighting abilities unlike the rest of the cast and must be rescued from the evil Devi. |
| 224 | * In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', Krystal serves the role of the Distressed Damsel, being trapped in a crystal up until the end. Which is ironic, considering that she was ''originally'' intended to be a player character of ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet''. |
| 225 | * Bastila, a trained Jedi, is kept as a hostage during the first part of ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. She'd just crawled out of a crashed escape pod's wreckage when she was captured, and her captors were intelligent enough to fasten a neural disruptor to her head (and she didn't have time to determine where her lightsaber was). She does manage to free herself the instant your rescue attempt manages to thin out the guards enough that she can finally get the disruptor off. However, she is quite offended if you comment that you "rescued the damsel in distress" later on, almost as badly as when Carth starts joking about losing her lightsaber being against the Jedi code. |
| 226 | * ''VideoGame/StarWarsChess'' every other good character in the good team is either male or a robot. Princess Leia being the only female [[https://i.imgur.com/DJBbpiP.mp4 is the only one who seemingly gets kidnapped]] in one of their "defeated" cutscenes. |
| 227 | * Miss Summer Penny from ''VideoGame/TheStretchers'' ends up Dizzied by [[BigBad Captain Brains]], necessitating the medic protagonists to rescue her. It is especially imperative they do so, as she's the train conductor for the Greenhorne Islands' major train service. |
| 228 | * The [[CanonDiscontinuity non]]-Creator/{{Capcom}} developed ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'' sequel, ''VideoGame/StriderReturns'', has this as its main plot, sending the game's protagonist to rescue his darling Lexia. |
| 229 | * ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' has a {{subversion}} with Princess Lymsleia. While she is held hostage for most of the game, she chooses to [[spoiler:use her authority to attempt an escape from the Godwins and in the war in the favor of LaResistance in a supposed assault on them]] rather than accept the state of affairs. |
| 230 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 231 | ** Princess Peach Toadstool has been kidnapped too many times to count, hence why she provides the page image. Yet she's [[SilkHidingSteel perfectly capable of kicking some major butt]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' (which is a famous inversion where Mario becomes the DistressedDude and Peach saves him single-handedly), ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', ''Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle'', ''Mario + Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope'' and [[PowerCreepPowerSeep the]] ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series. She is just as much of an athlete as everyone else in the sports games (the Mario Strikers series and the [=RPGs=] in particular make her a sassy and confident LadyOfWar) and is able to participate in the torture and chaos that is Mario Kart and Mario Party. One really does wonder why she gets kidnapped so easily when she can fend for herself so formidably. In some games however she does at least try to escape from her captors like in Super Mario RPG, Super Mario 3D Land and the first two Paper Mario games. In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', the tables have been turned and Bowser's kidnapping of Peach does more damage to him than her, as her being in Bowser's clutches leads him to be defeated again by Mario. |
| 232 | ** Princess Daisy fills in the role of Distressed Damsel in place of Peach in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' and in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'''s Remix 10 mode before [[RecruitmentByRescue being unlocked as a playable character]]. |
| 233 | ** Francis kidnaps [[ExpositionFairy Tippi]] for all of one chapter in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', though he only wants to post pictures of her on the Internet. |
| 234 | * ''VideoGame/SuperPandaAdventures'': At a celebration, [[AlienInvasion alien robots]] invade [[PlayerCharacter Fu's]] planet and kidnap the princess. |
| 235 | * ''VideoGame/SuperPitfall'': Heavily downplayed, as one of your goals is to save your cursed niece from the Underworld. You would only know this if you read the manual. |
| 236 | * ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'': |
| 237 | ** [[LethalChef Kusuha Mizuha]] -- her face just screams that she is a perfect target to make a Distressed Damsel, and in every installment of ''[=Original Generation=]'', starting from ''[=OG=] 1, [=OG=] 2, [=OG=] Gaiden'', there is always a scenario where she is kidnapped, first by Ingram in ''[=OG=] 1'', then by Lorenzo & Murata in ''[=OG=] 2'' (only in the remake. The scenario was not featured in the GBA version), and finally by the Bartoll units in ''OG Gaiden''. Not even saying 'I'm not just some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued!' in battles can rectify this... |
| 238 | ** In ''Alpha'' series, however, it's {{inverted}}. Once ''Alpha 2'' kicks in and the stories get more proper, it's usually her boyfriend Bullet that needs to be rescued. |
| 239 | ** Though not entirely subverting to this trope, somewhat the RidiculouslyHumanRobot Lamia Loveless fell into this trope in ''OG Gaiden''. After all her whole [[TookALevelInBadass ass kicking and dramatic development]] back in ''[=OG=] 2'', her story in ''[=OG=] Gaiden'' involves her getting kidnapped and needs to be rescued TWICE (even our resident damsel needs to be rescued once this time). First she's kidnapped by the Bartolls, all while just being in the wrong place in the wrong time, stripped naked and be somewhat {{brainwashed}} to fight her allies. She was almost saved... but suddenly, the villains managed to snatch her back after the player has to [[CliffHanger wait for 6 months to see if she's dead or alive]], and brainwash her AGAIN. So much that it takes a [[HeelFaceTurn former badass enemy turned good]] to save her completely. Once she's completely saved, she returns being a formidable girl in battlefield (and that even depends whether the player wants to use her or not), though her story arc was over at that point. |
| 240 | * The ExcusePlot of ''{{VideoGame/Sheriff}}'' is to save a damsel in distress from some bandits. Actually the first instance of a Nintendo game using this trope. |
| 241 | ** In ''VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars'', Professor Eri Anzai gets kidnapped by Ze Balmarian Empire because her vast knowledge on the lost continent of Mu. |
| 242 | * In ''VideoGame/SurvivorFire'', a family's house is on fire. The family features a mother, grandmother, and a daughter (in addition to a father and a son). |
| 243 | * ''VideoGame/TalesSeries:'' |
| 244 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'''s Colette Brunel. Even though, gameplay wise, she's a powerful and useful GlassCannon. |
| 245 | ** Shirley from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'', who is constantly kidnapped during the main quest. |
| 246 | ** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Natalia and Fon Master Ion are held hostage, she could have gone peacefully to avoid any conflict. |
| 247 | *** Ion is always getting kidnapped. |
| 248 | ** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', Estelle is held hostage and used by the villain at the time of the game. She did not use her powers to save an Entelexia because she would have driven him berserk, and the amount of guards could have prevented a feasible escape. |
| 249 | ** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'', the first half of the game is dedicated to save dozens of damsels in distress (captured by the Queen of the land. Go figure). But Veigue really cares more about rescuing his [[ShesNotMyGirlfriend not-girlfriend]] Claire, because she is just so much more important than all those other simpletons. |
| 250 | * Many early games in the ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' franchise have a similar plot, with intrepid news reporter April O'Neil being kidnapped by the Foot Clan, and the Turtles have to defeat Shredder, typically along with some other villains, in order to save her. |
| 251 | * Princess Kiku in ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'' gets kidnapped in every game she appears in. It's played with in ''Tenchu 4'', where [[spoiler:she orders Rikimaru to kill her as a way to defeat the BigBad who was holding her hostage, and he eventually complies]]. |
| 252 | * ''VideoGame/ThreeWonders'' has the Princess of Asthar in ''Chariot''. |
| 253 | * ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' games: |
| 254 | ** Babs Bunny is this in [[VideoGame/TinyToonAdventures the 1991 NES game of the same name]], ''[[VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresBustersHiddenTreasure Buster's Hidden Treasure]]'' for the Platform/SegaGenesis, and ''Buster Saves the Day'' for the Platform/GameBoyColor, as she is captured by [[RichBastard Montana Max]] in all three games. Buster's goal in all three games is to rescue her. |
| 255 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresBabsBigBreak Babs' Big Break]]'' for the Platform/GameBoy features two examples. First, [[SmellySkunk Fifi La Fume]] is captured by the Forest Ghost in Level 3. In order to rescue her, you'll need to find the switch that opens her cage. Once you rescue her, she will return the favor by using her stench to knock down the trees blocking the path. Then, in Level 4, Shirley the Loon is captured by the Wolverine, who plans to eat her. You have to defeat the Wolverine in order to rescue her. |
| 256 | * One of the primary goals of ''VideoGame/TomatoAdventure'' is to save the player character [=DeMille=]'s girlfriend, Patharan, who has been captured by King Avira and is being used to power his Super Cara-Cooker to turn everyone in the Ketchup Kingdom into toys. |
| 257 | * At the end of ''VideoGame/TotalOverdose'', Ram has to save a DamselInDistress in a sequence involving many [[DeadHorseTrope tropes so dead they don't even have entries]]. The Damsel is tied to the front of a runaway locomotive by the Villain, and Ram must run along boxcars, jumping into and out of boxcars, fighting mooks, and dodging explosives. The subversions could be that the Villain wears a White Hat with an antique emblem of the US Cavalry on it, and that instead of a horse, Ram gets a motorcycle to ultimately ride to the rescue on. |
| 258 | * The titular princess of ''VideoGame/{{Tsioque}}'' seems to be this as she's immediately captured and put in the castle dungeon. She [[{{Averted}} averts]] this by breaking out of the cage herself. |
| 259 | * Raven inverts this a few times in ''VideoGame/UltimaIX'', then lampshades it when she has to play it straight. She later puts the Avatar into DistressedDude territory herself...and makes him like it. |
| 260 | ** Played straight in the first ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'': when the game starts, the Baron's daughter, Arial, has been abducted into the Stygian Abyss by the villain, and the Avatar is forced to prove their innocence by rescuing her. |
| 261 | * The paramedics from ''Urban Chaos: Riot Response'' are usually in need of rescue, [[JustifiedTrope which makes sense]] since they're civilians trying to save injured cops and firefighters while under attack from insane gang members with ELECTRIC SAWS. |
| 262 | ** Also the firefighters, Officer Forrester, and your C.O. Adam Wolf are in need of rescue. The firefighters are excused because they too are unarmed and the Burners have guns. Officer Forrester when he is not being used as a human shield is rather competent at stealing your kills so he too is excused. Wolf is excused because they kidnapped him at his safe house. Both Forrester and Wolf tell you when to fire at the Burner and they mock their would-be kidnapper. |
| 263 | * ''{{VideoGame/Vendetta}}'' has the player characters saving Hawk's apprentice, Kate. |
| 264 | * The ExcusePlot of ''VideoGame/ViolentStorm'' consists of the player characters rescuing their kidnapped friend Sheena. |
| 265 | * Clementine is kidnapped at the end of Episode 4 of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' by the man who was talking to her through the walkie-talkie, though she has direct agency in her rescue and can kill her captor if the player lets her. |
| 266 | * ''VideoGame/WarioWareIncMegaMicrogames'': Ana, in Kat's chapter. A skeletal spirit called Boneheads curses a regal individual whose name and gender are based on those of the player; and when Ana goes to the Castle to defeat the spirit she falls in a trap and is kidnapped. Ana sends a rescue letter to Kat asking for help. Winning the microgames symbolizes Kat being able to break through the areas of the castle until she reaches the roof, where the evil spirit, the player's avatar and Ana are. |
| 267 | * ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' has its main character spend significant lengths of time trying to rescue [[spoiler:his captured sister.]] |
| 268 | * Lynn in ''VideoGame/WitchesLegacy''. The premise of each game is usually Carrie having to save her from being kidnapped and possessed. It's very satisfying in have her be the player [=POV=] in the bonus chapter of the fifth game and have her save Edward. |
| 269 | * [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''VideoGame/WizardsAndWarriors''. |
| 270 | ** Each stage (except the last) ends with rescuing a DamselInDistress, conveniently labelled as "the distressed damsel". (In the last stage, you appear to have rescued a princess, which I guess means that the other stages are variations of the "[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess is in another castle]]" trope.) |
| 271 | ** Three princess sisters appear in the third game of the series. In order to finish the game, you must promise to marry them after freeing them. Yes, all three. |
| 272 | * In ''VideoGame/WoolfeTheRedHoodDiaries'', Red's grandmother is seen being held hostage by B. B. Woolfe. |
| 273 | * Subverted in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. For the Alliance, you get a quest to rescue the dwarven princess from Blackrock Depths. For the Horde, you're given the same quest in the hopes of improving relations with the dwarves. Not only she does not want to leave, but she is pregnant. And you just killed the father. |
| 274 | * The MC's love interest, Elly, in VideoGame/{{Xenogears}} gets kidnapped by the antagonists near the end of the game. Fei and his friends worked together in the climax final battle to rescue her. The ending shows Fei finally succeeded in rescuing his lover after going through three past lives of losing her to tragedy. |
| 275 | * Teana becomes this near the end of ''VideoGame/YuGiOhForbiddenMemories'', though this is more a ploy from Priest Seto to lure the hero to Heishin's chambers and claim his Millennium Puzzle, and Teana is quickly let go once the hero reaches her. |
| 276 | * In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhReshefOfDestruction'', Ishizu gets kidnapped near the end of the game to force the player to hand over the Millennium Items. |
| 277 | ** Serenity is this in the Kaibaman show. It's just a show, but you have to duel against Leichter anyway. |
| 278 | * In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhBAM'', at the same time Yugi's arrested, Akiza gets kidnapped by Devack. By the time you reach her, she's been brainwashed. |
| 279 | * ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' [[spoiler:The real Makoto Makimura]] is one of the most tolerable examples of the trope, by virtue of being both completely new to the world of criminal conspiracy and completely blind. She does express a desire to aid in her own rescue and tries to be proactive on several occasions, but that doesn't work out very well. |
| 280 | * Multiple cases in the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series, but the worst offender has to be Elena in ''VideoGame/YsTheOathInFelghana'', whom you have to rescue at ''least'' three times. |
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