Line #11 Main/TempleOfDoom


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7	[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/temple_4280.png]]
8	[[caption-width-right:261: Also called the main characters' special graveyard.[[note]]Clockwise from top-left: ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'', ''VideoGame/LaMulana'', ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'', ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}''[[/note]]]]
9
10	->''"Where there's ruins, there's riches! And booby-traps we can steal ideas from!"''
11	-->-- '''[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]]''', ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' #191 [[Recap/StrongBadEmailE191Buried "buried"]]
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13	%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
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15	An ancient temple or city, usually buried [[JungleJapes deep within the jungle]] or [[ShiftingSandLand in the middle of the desert]]. The temple is often full of [[BambooTechnology ancient yet sophisticated machines]] and {{Booby Trap}}s that still work to lethal effect [[DurableDeathtrap even after thousands of years without maintenance]].
16
17	The Temple of Doom is almost always inhabited, often by the same {{Mooks}} and monsters found in the surrounding environment — oddly, they know how to avoid every single trap in the DeathCourse with [[DeathTrapTango well-timed steps]] — but you can also expect things like ghosts, skeletons, living statues and other ancient guardians. And naturally, whatever treasure you go in there to find will be found in the very spot the GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere has decided to make its home.
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19	Occasionally, the Temple of Doom will be co-opted by the BigBad to use as his base, which would explain why the traps still work. In which case, you can also expect his Mooks and a few high-tech surprises as well.
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21	Named for ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', which serves as an obvious inspiration for these levels.
22
23	May contain valuable artifacts. Logical location for LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair, if the work is philosophically inclined.
24
25	May be part of an AdvancedAncientAcropolis, and imply a {{Mayincatec}} religion, culture or whatever.
26
27	Compare RuinsForRuinsSake, DungeonCrawling, and LandmarkOfLore.
28
29	If you’re an author: See SoYouWantTo/WriteAJungleOpera
30
31	----
32	!!Examples:
33
34	[[foldercontrol]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* Classic Creator/CarlBarks stories with WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and his relatives usually featured this as a plot device. There are also two scenes which ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' copied from such stories, which both Lucas and Spielberg proudly admitted. The one is the introduction idol and boulder scene from ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', which was taken from the Seven Cities of Cibola and the other is the water bursting through the tunnel to the canyon side, near the end of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''. This wasn't an actual trap of the temple, in the movie, but it was in the original comic, The Prize of Pizarro, which also contained some other traps used throughout the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' films. After Barks, other writers would too feature such temples and ruins.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Fan Works]]
41	* The Twisted Temple in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', home to several dozen death-touch-dealing [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Brothers of Doom]]. Described rather frighteningly by the Hunter and the narration, and essentially impregnable by normal means, it is [[DungeonBypass rendered completely innocuous]] by Ringo, who, from a safe distance, [[MindOverMatter telekinetically]] removes each Brother and drops him safely in [[AnIcePerson a giant ice box made by John]]. Which awes everyone, especially the watching Fans.
42	* Cynthia in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' often explored these, even when she was as young as ''[[LittleMissBadass ten]]''.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Films — Animated]]
46	* ''WesternAnimation/BionicleMaskOfLight'': Takua, the Chronicler, decides to visit the Ta-Koro volcanic shrine to inspect an ancient totem. Him picking it up activates a pressure plate that causes an earthquake.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
50	* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' subverts the trope: When Rhodey and Nebula go to get the power stone on Morag, Nebula opens the vault where the Orb is located. As she is about to enter, Rhodey stops her, mentioning this trope and his certainty about booby traps in such place. Nebula looks at him like he's crazy and simply walk into the main room. Rhodey is surprised when [[spoiler:nothing happens]].
51	* Not only does ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' have the trope namer, but it also has the ancient idol resting place from the beginning of ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', the temple of the Grail in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', and the eponymous ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]''.
52	* Played straight in ''Film/LaraCroftTombRaider'' with the temple originally hosting the Triangle of Light, with all the six-thousand-years-old mechanisms (and traps) still in working condition, if only a bit dusty. Averted in [[Film/LaraCroftTombRaiderTheCradleOfLife the sequel]] however, where the Luna Temple is only hazardous because an aftershock from the earthquake that uncovered it hits while Lara is inside.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Gamebooks]]
56	* Some ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' gamebooks featured such a place. Actually, one of the books is titled ''Literature/TempleOfTerror''.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Literature]]
60	* One holds ''Literature/TheBandsOfMourning'', hidden deep within the mountains and containing a long, [[DeathCourse trap-ridden hallway]] with the corpses of the last explorers piled within the first fifteen feet. The lore states that it was built by a [[GodEmperor God-King]] centuries ago to keep the Bands safe when he returns. Wax and Allik have a discussion on why it's set up like this; Wax wonders why the Bands are "hidden" in a large temple when a cave would be more discreet, and Allik says that's why some people think the Sovereign made the Bands as a test. Wax asks why the Sovereign would leave such spectacularly lethal traps and risk dying himself, and Allik claims that traps wouldn't affect him. The answers? [[spoiler:The Bands aren't inside the temple at all. The whole temple is a huge decoy for the real location: the "Bands" are the spearhead on the statue at the temple's entrance. The prominent temple ensures that the Sovereign won't lose track of it, and the lethal traps won't touch him because he's not going near them]]. Whether it was a test or not is up in the air.
61	* In ''Literature/TheBarbarianAndTheSorceress'', [[EvilSorcerer Barnabus]] and his slave Kira are living in a long lost temple to an EldritchAbomination in the middle of a desolate wasteland.
62	* ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' by Creator/RobertEHoward: Common in the stories. The problem in "Literature/TheDevilInIron" kicked off when a fisherman disturbed a body of a {{Necromancer}}; "Literature/BlackColussus" opens with a thief raiding a ruined city.
63	* {{Deconstruct\|ion}}ed in ''Literature/ReaperMan''. The temple of doom is staffed by a pair of bored priests. About the only excitement they get is listening to interlopers get killed by the deathtraps. There's even a little thermometer fundraising poster on the wall for the Temple of Doom Roof Repair Fund.
64	* ''[[Creator/MatthewReilly Temple]]''. An ancient South American temple buried in a giant pillar of rock, full of demonic cat monsters. And treasure, obviously.
65	* ''Creator/HPLovecraft'''s story ''Literature/TheTemple'' takes place within a strange ancient temple isolated by thick jungle near the Yucatán peninsula. Another story, "The Nameless City" takes place in an abandoned city lost in time and the great deserts of the Arabian peninsula, with LizardFolk inhabitants. Lovecraft extends this ancient lost temple/city motif to the bottom of the sea with Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu; the short story which is the TropeNamers for the ''Franchise/{{CthulhuMythos}}'' and the CosmicHorrorStory.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
69	* ''Series/LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'': One cannot count how many entered the Shrine of the Silver Monkey and never returned.
70	* On ''Series/{{Lost}}'', the Others are mentioned as having a temple of some kind in the third season finale. In typical Lost fashion, it isn't seen until the sixth season premiere. It is guarded by a large stone wall, a tunnel system, and various other weapons, and contains a healing pool of some sort. The Temple's exact significance is unknown.
71	* The title edifice in the ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' episode "Murdoch and the Temple of Death", which is a booby-trap-filled duplicate of the Hagia Sophia built in the Canadian woods [[spoiler:to hide the Holy Grail]].
72	%%* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Xena visits one of these in the episode "Prometheus".
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
76	* Fittingly, [[Literature/PopolVuh Mayan Religion]] has one in the form of Xibalbá, an underworld city inhabited by sinister deities and protected by monsters and booby-traps.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Roleplay]]
80	* ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder 2'': The temples of the ancestral artifacts are straight-up examples, although the godmodder bypasses the traps by teleporting in.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
84	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Many a dungeon crawl fits (and possibly made) the trope. Don't get old-school gamers started on the ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors'' and ''TabletopGame/TempleOfElementalEvil'', both of which might as well have been called the Tomb of Doom and the Temple of Elemental Doom.
85	* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has more than a few of these, but one stand-out example is the city of Denandsor. Buried in the jungles of the Scavenger Lands, it's full of the treasures and [[LostTechnology wonders]] of the First Age, as well as the means of production to make more. So why hasn't anyone claimed it yet? Well, when [[ThePlague the Great Contagion]] hit, the guy in charge of the city (who didn't fully understand how it worked) turned on ''every'' defense at once in the vague hope that it'd do ''something''. As a result, not only is it full of giant automatons that will stomp any intruders, but it's also cloaked in a field that instills horrible dread in whoever enters the city walls. If people survive getting into the city, they usually don't stay for long.
86	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has some of these. In general, they tend to contain [[ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Things]] [[BlackBox Man]] [[EldritchAbomination Was]] [[OmnicidalManiac Not]] [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul Meant]] [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt To]] Find. This is part of [[PlanetOfHats the hat]] of the Necrons in particular, though their architecture is a metallic version. Imperial scholars have been studying some of the surface bits of them for generations, but it is only in recent history that the Stasis Tombs have begun to "[[SealedEvilInACan wake up]]", their [[PortalNetwork Inter-spacial Gates]] opening with a SicklyGreenGlow, and legions of [[SkeleBot9000 metal skeletons]] animate and begin their [[OmnicidalManiac terrible work]]. Considered actual temples by the [[AveMachina Adeptus Mechanicus]], who think the metallic Necrons are the servants of their god (they may be right). The result being that they open a tomb, enthusiastically start running around poking things, and are surprised when they get slaughtered by the now-awoken Necrons, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero who go on to attack other systems]].
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
90	* At the Ride/DisneyThemeParks:
91	** The Indiana Jones sequence in ''Ride/TheGreatMovieRide'' is (fittingly) set inside one.
92	** The setting of both versions of ''Ride/IndianaJonesAdventure'' at Disneyland and Tokyo [=DisneySea=]. The rides have a deity -- Tokyo has the crystal skull, although its bears no relation to the [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull movie]] and its interior reflects the second film's in some areas. Disneyland has one similar to [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom Kali Ma's]]. However, the interior and the traps reflect those of the [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk first]] and [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade third movies]].
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Video Games]]
96	* ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}'' has the Drinno, the abandoned section of the Druid School. There's also Khamulon that is built on this theme, but it's actually a city.
97	* ''VideoGame/AmidEvil'' has the Sacred Path, an abandoned pilgrim's path through another ruin on the same world as [[HubLevel the Gateway of the Ancients]]. It's full of hostile statuary, plant monsters, and floors covered in burning coals. The secret level is an obstacle course through a third ruin ending on an EasterEgg.
98	* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla:'' The Tombs of the Fallen has Eivor going through several ancient tombs which were touched up after the fact by a Roman architect with all manner of puzzles and lethal booby-traps (with a justification that apparently Emperor Nero felt he had to forbid people going there, but was also forbidden to ''directly'' kill anyone. So just leave a lot of sharp spikes around, and if anyone who just stumbles onto it gets killed, problem solved!)
99	* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'': Mayahem Temple is the first world in the game, and in it Banjo and Kazooie can venture through a pyramidal maze overrun by tiger-like enemies (Moggies). Collecting 10 statues along the way will open a chamber with a Jiggy, while collecting 20 will open a second chamber that is identical to the first and has a Jiggy as well, but it's guarded by the deity Targitzan (the world's boss).
100	* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': The Ancient Castle, a giant sandcastle in the Lost Sands, is an ancient structure left behind by the bygone Roach civilization that the main characters need to traverse to find one of the ancient artefacts that serve as the game's {{Plot Coupon}}s. Its local enemies consist of a number of robotic constructs left behind to guard the complex, alongside some desert scorpions, and the area culminates in a boss fight against an undead guardian watching over the artefact.
101	* ''VideoGame/{{Bujingai}}'': Downplayed. The temple itself is full of light and looks quite normal, if it weren't for some traps and the demons all around.
102	* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'': A large number of levels in the franchise, such as Sunset Vista in the first, Road to Ruin in the second, and Sphynxinator in the third. Hazards include walls that move back and forth (and can push Crash onto a pit), rotating platforms, totems that swing between sides, bat swarms, spear traps, and tarry floors. These levels are usually long as well.
103	* ''VideoGame/CurseOfTheDeadGods'' features not one, but three of them: Ty'atanwic, the Jaguar Temple, dedicated to the Jaguar God T'amok', Hucawic, the Eagle Temple, the abode of Yaatz the Eagle Goddess, and Chucwic, the Serpent Temple, dedicated to Sich'al the Serpent Goddess. Each of them comes with their own variety of deadly traps and enemies.
104	* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has Sen's Fortress, full of swinging axe blades, arrow traps, and the classic rolling rock of doom.
105	* ''VideoGame/DeadfallAdventures'' has three (of a reputed [[spoiler:seven]]), each featuring [[DurableDeathtrap several means]] of being chopped up, crushed, impaled or roasted. Oh, and mummies. Lots of mummies.
106	* ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'': The Shrine of Storms fits this trope to a T, especially the second stage. Deadly falls everywhere, explosive spheres of energy, arrow traps when you least expect them, enemies positioned in such a way that you can't see them until it is too late and invisible enemies that ambush you and are more than happy to backstab you when you are busy dealing with other enemies. Also, did we mention the place is pitch dark in some places?
107	* ''Diablo''
108	** ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' has lots of them, naturally. There's the various Tombs of Tal Rasha; the temples under the Flayer Jungle, large parts of Kurast...
109	** The original ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' was a series of Basements of Doom beneath the Tristram Cathedral.
110	** ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' continues the tradition of trap and monster-filled desert and jungle tombs.
111	*** The first story arc of Act I takes place in the same Cathedral as the first game and later in the act the player visits a sacred Nephalem temple.
112	*** In Adventure Mode the player can visit the Temple of the Firstborn, where angels and demons first birthed the Nephalem. It's been overrun by an evil cult led by [[spoiler:the demonic Lord of Envy]].
113	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''
114	** The original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'' has a "Millstone Mayhem" stage as the last non-boss stage in Monkey Mines, as well as a "Temple Tempest" level near the end of Vine Valley. In them, Donkey and Diddy have to venture through temples overrun by dangerous mooks, as well has large stone wheels that roll back and forth. Said levels served as inspiration for the Angry Aztec world in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64''.
115	** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' has a world centered on this, and features many samples of BambooTechnology that has to be interacted with in order to progress. Also, every world has a hidden temple that serves as a BrutalBonusLevel; beating each one unlocks another temple, [[spoiler:which is actually LevelAte aside from the immediate entrance]].
116	** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' has the Rodent Ruckus stage, but instead of a rock the Kongs are rolling away from a big wheel of cheese. The hidden temples make a return, and the complex gizmos within make them the most formidable levels in the game challenge-wise.
117	* The Shadow Warriors' hideout in ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''.
118	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has a few, one being a stronghold built to protect the Urn of Sacred Ashes, and one being a not-fully-explained Tevinter ruin in the depths of the Brecilian Forest that changed hands a few times long before the players arrived. Both share the same tileset, but have very different arrays of enemies inside.
119	* You can build your own in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', should you so desire.
120	* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' has an underwater version as part of the Atlantis area of the game. Lots of mazes, occasional bricks that can squish you if you screw up your timing, and various angry sea creatures await. Plus, you have to search constantly for underwater air pockets to avoid drowning...
121	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
122	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Vvardenfell's plentiful Daedric ruins primarily fill this role. Once upon a time, they were used by the ancient Daedric-worshipping Chimer. However, after the Tribunal Temple formed and banned Daedra worship, they became prime real estate for cultists, bandits, necromancers, and any other hostile outlaws.
123	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''[='s=] [[AbusivePrecursors Ayleid]] ruins manifest as a combination of this trope and AdvancedAncientAcropolis.
124	** The various ancient Nord barrows in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' qualify, being filled with booby traps and mummified tomb guardians. The Dwemer ruins also have a temple-like design, complete with several contraptions and setups that have to be dealt with during exploration.
125	* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness: Sanity's Requiem'' features two: an ancient temple in the Angkor Thom region of Cambodia, that is home to [[EldritchAbomination Mantorok]] (as well as all kinds of traps), and the Forbidden City, which is home to the essences of the [[EldritchAbomination Ancients]] at the start of the game (though not quite as trap-filled as the former).
126	* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'':
127	** ''[[VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight]]'': Ginnungagap is an ancient temple located not too far from High Lagaard, and is visited by the player's character party in order to help Arianna perform a centennial ritual. Due to a grave incident that occured 100 years ago during the then-last ritual, now remembered as the Anomaly, it has been abandoned by humans, and turned into a perfect habitat for dangerous monsters, including powerful bosses like Basilisk and Demi-Fafnir.
128	** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIITheDrownedCity'' has the fourth stratum, Abyssal Shrine. It's a dark, mysterious labyrinth that was originally part of the city of Armoroad, but has since been sunken in the ocean. As the player's characters venture through it, they'll find doors that will be open for access; but if they're crossed through in the direction they're facing, they will close and it won't be possible to turn back. The stratum is home of a sapient, yet hostile species known as the Deep Ones.
129	** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyNexus'': There are four Shrines built in the floating islands of Lemuria, surrounding this land's Yggdrasil. They were built to [[spoiler:keep the monster Jörmungandr sealed, as it would bring doomsday to the world if it were released]]. The Eastern Shrine merely introduces the temple archetype to the game, as it has only one floor and has no gimmicks or even F.O.E. on its own, serving as a NoobCave. But each subsequent Shrine, on top of having five floors, adds a new concept: climbable walls in the Southern Shrine, boulder-like F.O.E. that can be pushed (up to twice, as a third push would awaken the monster and chase the player's party) for puzzle solving in the Western Shrine, and floating rafts that can take explorers from one spot to the other in the Northern Shrine. They're also overrun by all sorts of F.O.E. and deadly enemies, becoming even more dangerous as a result. It is revealed by the game's BigBad, that [[spoiler:in their efforts to conquer these strata, the player's characters [[NiceJobBreakingItHero have contributed to the seal's weakening]]]]. Completing all four Shrines unlocks the final dungeon, the Yggdrasil Labyrinth itself; this dungeon features hovering rafts like those of Northern Shrine, but these drag two wagons attached to them and which make their management trickier (as they impede someone from backtracking directly to their previous spot); there are also pressure plates that raise or lower each time they're stepped on. Lastly, the Abyssal Shrine (not to be confused with the one from ''The Drowned City'') serves as the BonusDungeon, and not only brings back the boulder concept from Western Shrine (though with a stronger version of the F.O.E.) but is also there where the TrueFinalBoss awaits.
130	* ''VideoGame/ExpeditionsConquistador'' has "the Temple of Death" in the Mexico part of the game, which is filled with ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' style deathtraps which can end up doing do a really nasty number on the expedition party, but the player will get richly rewarded if they can make it through.
131	* ''VideoGame/EXTRAPOWERGiantFist'': Blackberry's pyramid is functionally this. The ancient pyramid of Diamond Mine which she calls home is a labyrinthian tomb populated by the phantoms of those bound to the pyramid, fire-breathing statues, various traps, treasure secrets, and a supernatural guardian. At least her inner sanctum is cozy, with a robust library for magical research and a table for guests.
132	* Lost Temple, the final round introduced in Season 5 of ''VideoGame/FallGuysUltimateKnockout'', is a sprawling maze temple, with each room having randomly-generated obstacles. Players must traverse through the obstacles and break through the temple doors (and avoid fake ones) in order to reach the crown at the end of the temple.
133	* ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' begins with a Temple of Doom called the "Temple of Trials". There's no justification for it in game or real world history, but it's so Doomy that surviving instantly makes you TheChosenOne, even though one of your tribesmen are waiting for you inside. Fans hate it as it forces you to run around in a temple killing overgrown ants with a spear at best and heal with medicine that makes it harder to hit and then fight a fellow tribesman with only your fists, all the while using a character who will most likely not built for such a dungeon. You can talk him out of a fight if your speech is good enough (~30-40% should be good enough) but if not well...
134	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
135	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': The Temple of the [[{{Precursors}} Ancients]].
136	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has Centra Ruins and Tomb of the Unknown King, the latter being less spooky, but a frustrating deadly maze.
137	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Ipsen's Castle is never directly referred to as a "temple", but it serves similar purposes and has traps galore.
138	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has three lost temples, each with a sidequest that unlocks an [[SummonMagic Aeon]].
139	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': While conspicuously light on the booby-traps, there's the Tomb of Raithwall, complete with ThatOneBoss, an OptionalBoss, and lots upon lots of undead things crawling around. Also the Stilshrine of Miriam. And Giruvegan. And the Pharos at Ridorana. And the Sochen Cave Palace. It makes you wonder why modern civilization bothered to build anything, since there's probably enough hidden temples and lost cities to house a nation.
140	* The Temple of the Swivel Chair in ''VideoGame/HarryTheHandsomeExecutive''.
141	* ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}} Two'' begins with Ogmo falling into such a temple. Sector 2 of ''Jumper Three'' also fits this trope.
142	* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has the Hidden Temple, which is loaded with all kinds of traps involving arrows, poison gas, boulders, swinging blades, and an homage to the Indiana Jones puzzle that used stone tiles engraved with letters. Although a few of the puzzles are necessary to locate the Hidden City during the level 11 quest, most of the incentive for visiting the Hidden Temple lies in the traps themselves, which provide quick stat gains if you can keep your HP above zero, with the caveat that you'll gain no items, currency, or familiar experience like you would from adventuring somewhere with monsters to fight. The Ancient Buried Pyramid is another Temple of Doom, this time filled with monsters that impede your progress in solving the puzzle in the lower chambers. [[AffectionateParody It's worth noting that these two examples are located in a jungle and a desert, respectively.]]
143	* ''VideoGame/LaMulana'': The ruins are basically one giant Temple of Doom, with the various stages being different parts of it.
144	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroANewBeginning'': The Tall Plains are a labyrinthine set of jungle-covered temple ruins swarming with armadillos, animated stone constructs and apes in {{Mayincatec}} costumes, where Spyro must solve ancient stone-based puzzles to progress and navigate around rows of sharpened bamboo stakes, traps that spit volleys of sharp darts through the air, and swinging pendulum-like logs.
145	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' has featured a large number of these as dungeons. There's the occasional level [[WombLevel inside a suitably enormous creature]], and occasionally a level still inhabited by its original builders, but most dungeons are of the Temple of Doom variety, frequently [[HailfirePeaks mixed with some other theme]]. In ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', not only are all seven dungeons Temple of Doom-type, the monsters within them are [[AllThereInTheManual ostensibly]] not on the same side as the ones on the OverworldNotToScale.
146	* ''VideoGame/LittleBigAdventure'': The "Temple of BÃ¹" contains traps, skeletons and stuff, and is located underground [[ShiftingSandLand in the middle of the desert]]. In the second game, it got turned into a Theme Park ''and'' the aliens' secret base.
147	* Sword Man's stage from ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' is a Cambodian temple-like arena featuring lava cavern.
148	* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
149	** The series has some, though the temples are mostly futuristic (the biggest being "Temple Of Doom [[HailfirePeaks meets]] EternalEngine" Sanctuary Fortress from ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes''), and the most dangerous aren't contraptions, but post-abandonment inhabitants (or in the case of the Sanctuary Fortress, old inhabitants, the [[AIIsACrapShoot haywire-security robots]]).
150	** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'': Ridley and company inhabit what appear to be ruins of Chozo civilization, deep within Zebes.
151	** ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' has Ferenia, a stony complex described as once being used by the Mawkin tribe for various rituals.
152	* The simply named 'Abandoned Temple' in ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VIII'' is this to a S[[note]]the main above-ground body and the primary entrance actually just sits in the open on the hill of an inhabited island. It's abandoned, not ''lost''.[[/note]], Mayincatec style included. Apparently once built by a gone serpentine race, they created snakemen servants and traps that could be activated in case of danger, lost control over the snakemen, activated the traps and found that somehow the correct sequence to getting through unscathed had been altered.
153	* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has three types of doom temples.
154	** Desert temples are pyramids in desert regions with hidden basements containing treasure chests. The treasure room is hidden under a [[NoticeThis conspicuously colored block]] positioned directly over the [[SchmuckBait trigger for a TNT trap]].
155	** Jungle temples contain treasures hidden behind a puzzle system. There are no TNT traps; instead, the hallways have tripwires connected to arrow dispensers, which will shoot anyone who doesn't disarm them first.
156	** Ocean temples are massive complexes only found in deep ocean regions. Their treasure rooms contain several blocks of gold and there are no traps. Instead, the danger comes from [[SeaMonster the Guardians]] and from drowning in the completely flooded buildings.
157	* ''VideoGame/MinecraftDungeons'': The [[AncientTomb Desert Temple]], which is filled with all kinds of traps and undead mobs.
158	* ''VideoGame/MonstersIncScreamTeam'': The Tomb level, whose interior can only be unlocked after Mike or Sulley places the three moon-marked blocks into their corresponding luminous sports near the entrance. Once inside, they have to climb tall walls, jump across ancient seesaws and pass through periodically-lit torches.
159	* ''VideoGame/Mother3'' features the Chupichupyoi Temple; however it isn't a dungeon, but a key location, and it doesn't try to kill you at all.%%A straighter example is ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'''s Scaraba Pyramid.
160	%%* ''VideoGame/{{Owlboy}}'': Owl Temple.
161	* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'' has many temple[=/=][[JungleJapes jungle]]-themed maps, such as Frog Isle, Jaguar Falls, and Serpent Beach for Siege mode, Hidden Temple for Payload mode, and Primal Court for Onslaught mode. In early development there was a large map called Temple Isle, but it was reworked and divided into Frog Isle, Jaguar Falls, and Serpent Beach.
162	* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'' features the Lost City's appropriately named Challenge Zone Temple of Bloom.
163	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
164	** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' has a rather tame version of this. The Ruins of Alph contain puzzles which you can solve, but once you do, the floor drops out from under you and strange creatures attack you with mystical power. The remakes have that, plus the Sinjoh Ruins, that you access from the Ruins of Alph by having Arceus as your lead Pokemon. No traps or danger there, though, just a big MindScrew event.
165	** ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'': The Mirage Tower, the Sky Pillar, and the hidden chambers which house [[{{Golem}} Regirock, Regice, and Registeel]].
166	** ''VideoGame/PokemonFireRedAndLeafGreen'' have the Tanoby Ruins on Seven Island. These function again only to give you encounters with strange creatures after completing a puzzle.
167	** ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Solaceon Ruins is an almost exact duplicate of the Ruins Of Alph, lacking only the sliding panel puzzles.
168	** Relic Castle in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' and its sequels. Sandpit traps ahoy!
169	* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2: The Shadow and the Flame'': Levels 10-13 are set in a temple, which actually contains most of the {{Mooks}} in the game. Levels 6-9 are in a the ruins of a palace, now inhabited by snakes and [[GoddamnedBats flying heads]].
170	* A couple of examples in ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'':
171	** ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'' features a temple deep in the desert, where [[SealedEvilInACan Iblis]] is trapped. The main villain's EvilPlan is to find a hero who can get past the traps in the tomb so that he can unleash Iblis.
172	** ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIII'' features such a temple as the base of the demons looking to do a divide and conquer on the different peoples of Tarna.
173	* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'': Chapter 4 mostly takes place in a Temple of Doom. It uses an ancient African ruined city as a setting. It has a few traps, some more ridiculous than others.
174	%%* The Temple Stage in the Famicom/NES version of ''Salamander/Life Force'' and the Platform/PCEngine version of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} II''.%%ZCE, examples aren't general.
175	* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndThePiratesCurse'': The Lost Catacombs, an ancient ruin found under the deserts of Tan Line Island. Shantae will need to contend with the ScorpionPeople and [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant mantises]] currently inhabiting it, as well as various spike and descending ceiling traps.
176	* ''VideoGame/ShiningTheHolyArk'' has three. South Shrine which is part ShiftingSandLand with weird corridors that turn you upside-down. West Shrine which is one big puzzle to get a door to open and East Shrine; which is overgrown with giant ancient trees.
177	* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'': Nearly every [[PlotCoupon Moon Crystal]] is found in one of these.
178	* ''VideoGame/{{Something}} series''
179	** Oldschool Temple in Something. The graphics come from the Pyramid Levels in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' and the Labyrinth Zone from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1''. The music is a remix of Marble Garden Zone Act 1 from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3''. The level is filled with Rexes, Charging Chucks, and large pits in the first half and Thwomps and spikes in the second half.
180	** Puzzle Itemple in Something Else. To complete this optional level, Luigi has to solve the puzzles, which requires proper use of the springboards and P-Switches.
181	** Snowy Fuzzy Temple in Something Else. It's in the [[BrutalBonusLevel brutal bonus world]] because Luigi has to deal with ice physics, the obstacles, enemies and the giant FOE.
182	* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' has so many, it'd be quicker to list games in the series that ''don't'' have one of these.
183	** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogSpinball'', although since the entire game takes place inside Robotnik's oddly laid out fortress and all the levels are mixes of PinballZone with another level type, this is perhaps understandable.
184	** Anyway, for completeness' sake: Marble Zone from ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Sonic 1]]'' ([[HailfirePeaks merged]] with LethalLavaLand), Labyrinth Zone from ''Sonic 1'' (merged with DownTheDrain), Aquatic Ruin Zone from ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]]'' (merged with UnderTheSea), Marble Garden Zone from ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic 3]]'', Sandopolis from ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]'' (merged with ShiftingSandLand), Rusty Ruins from ''Sonic 3D'', Yellow Desert from ''VideoGame/SonicBlast'', Lost World from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' (merged with DownTheDrain), Death Chamber and Pyramid Cave from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Holy Summit from ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' (mixed with DeathMountain), Glyphic Canyon, Sky Troops and Death Ruins from ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' and Dusty Desert from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' (which is also a ShiftingSandLand).
185	* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', being an action-adventure game instead of a shooter like the other ''VideoGame/StarFox'' games, has various examples: Volcano Force Point, Ocean Force Point, Walled City, and [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Krazoa Palace]]. The former two are where the Spellstones have to be taken back, and rely more on puzzles than traps or obstacles. Walled City is a more open-ended location, as its design is based to put into test whoever wants to claim the Spellstone and later a Krazoa Spirit (though, due to the wrongdoings of General Scales, it will also be necessary to defeat the [=RedEye=] Tribe for the former PlotCoupon). Krazoa Palace is where all Krazoa Spirits have to be deposited, and it's there where Krystal remains imprisoned due to [[spoiler:Andross, who plans to return to physical life]].
186	* The Ceras Lake Ruins in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV''. Ask not, "why give a ''sluice control for a dam'' a complex three-layered lock that can only be unlocked by three buttons on the far sides of a labyrinth, a door controlled by a one-of-a-kind magic rune and fill it with {{magitek}} robot guardians?", because the game certainly isn't going to tell you.
187	* ''VideoGame/SuperKiwi64'': The fifth and sixth levels are set within ancient ruins filled with traps and obstacles like green boulders, swinging axes, purple-colored flames, and pools of toxic liquid. And in the sixth level, some of the gems are encased within sarcophagi that have to be opened by pressing switches.
188	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
189	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'': The Clockwork Ruins Galaxy consists of giant stone blocks forming its planets, decorated with carvings and dotted with a variety of traps such as blocks of stone that try to push Mario into the void and rolling millstones that must be carefully navigated to progress.
190	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'': North of the Sunbaked Desert is an enormous palatial city which features levels themed around regal, ancient buildings. One of them is Color Switch Dungeon, where Mario and his friends have to deal with [[TogglingSetpiecePuzzle puzzles and hazards built upon toggleable contraptions like blocks and conveyor belts]], and its Wonder Flower's effect summons an EvilCounterpart of the leading character. There's also the levels Secrets of the Shova Mansion (also located in the aforementioned palace), where the characters have to move large crates to enter (or even rebuild) doors.
191	** ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'': Thwomp Ruins takes place within a winding set of ancient ruins populated by giant stone Thwomps that try to crush anyone who passes underneath them.
192	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPGLegendOfTheSevenStars'': Belome Temple is a large underground complex beneath the desert of Land's End, seemingly built to honor the monster Belome, and inhabited by mercenary Shamans and giant lizards.
193	** ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
194	*** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': The Yold Ruins are a vast, ancient ruined complex deep within the Yold Desert. They're filled with obstacles and traps, including quicksand pits, rotating bars of fire, and rolling balls of spiked stone.
195	*** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': The Vellumentals' temples and the Sea Tower are a series of mazelike dungeons that Mario must navigate to find and battle the elemental spirit resting at its deepest point, and will hamper his progress with complex puzzles, pits filled with sharp spikes or burning lava, and a variety of ancient but perfectly functional stone deathtraps -- including, of course, the classic giant rolling ball.
196	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioParty'': Whomp's Domino Ruins and its Partner Party counterpart, Domino Ruins Treasure Hunt, are the first board in their respective modes. The boards take place in an old temple out in the jungle, with images of Whomps engraved into them. The northernmost area of the board has some traps that the players can activate that can send rolling boulders their ways, and Whomps appear at certain points to block their progress unless they can pay coins.
197	** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioFusionRevival'': In World 2-S3: Parthenon Peril, the Rebel Army has taken control of the Parthenon and its underground labyrinthine maze. Rumor has it a beast named "Tryclydius Maximus" was seen somewhere in the catacombs...
198	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' has a Ruins level in the Subspace Emissary, featuring many enemies (including those part of the Subspace Army) and traps like falling spikes and fire jets; it is here where Pokémon Trainer captures Ivysaur and Charizard (his starter is Squirtle). In the Ruined Hall, one of the bosses (Galleom) is fought.
199	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has eight Temples Of Doom, one for each [[ElementalRockPaperScissors element]], where you find the [[SummonMagic summon spirits]].
200	* The UsefulNotes/{{iOS game\|s}} ''VideoGame/TempleRun'' is set in one of these.
201	* ''Franchise/TombRaider'': Oddly enough, sealed-up tombs with no apparent exits to the outside world apart from the door Lara Croft has just opened still contain live animals, burning fires, etc. There are some bits of bone or shredded clothing that indicated a... sticky end for some explorers in some levels.
202	* ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}''. Since it's ''Franchise/TombRaider'' without the mummeries, it has all the same temples and nearly as much doom.
203	* Both ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' and ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria'' have about half a dozen of them.
204	* The second level of ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe2'' even references the title- ''Viewitiful Heroes and the Statue of Doom''.
205	* ''VideoGame/WarioLand'':
206	** VideoGame/WarioLand4'' has the entirety of the Golden Pyramid. Of course, 16 of the 18 levels are accessed via portals leading out of the place, but the entry and golden passage levels are still within.
207	** VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise'' has the fifth and sixth chapters. The former is set in a pyramid where Wario is looking for one of the Wishstones, and has to tackle assets like invisible platforms (which can be seen with the Genius powerup) and torches that open doors and activate ladders; when Wario defeats the boss, the latter confesses that the Wishstone isn't there but in the Ancient Waterworks (Chapter 6), a temple in ruins located in a waterlogged jungle.
208	* ''VideoGame/WarioWareDIY'': In Mona's chapter, she ventures through a tall temple in search for treasure. The microgames you play along the way represents the obstacles and dangers she overcomes while inside the temple.
209	* The Egyptian waxwork in ''VideoGame/Waxworks1992'' takes the player to an Egyptian pyramid filled with traps.
210	* The ''VideoGame/WildArms'' games are full of these, often just lying around inexplicably, often with fiendish traps that just happen to be able to be bypassed using one of the tools the party has picked up along the way.
211	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
212	** The Sunken Temple is a large temple to the serpent god Hakkar, sunk beneath the waters of a lake, hence the name. Infested with dragons and zombie trolls.
213	** The Black Temple was once a holy place of the Draenei, it has been defiled and is home to demons, crazy orcs, a big bad and an eldritch abomination.
214	** The larger troll ruins such as Zul'Gurub and Zul'Aman tend to pull double duty as cities and temples.
215	** Zul'Drak is ''a leveling zone'' that is a Temple of Doom. There is a more classic enclosed Temple of Doom at the far end of it.
216	** The Temple of Ahn'Qiraj is a massive temple that houses the body of the Old God C'thun, tended to by his insectoid servants.
217	** The Tomb of Sargeras was originally a massive temple dedicated to Elune, patron deity of the Night Elves and is even built upon a Titan facility, doubling the holiness. Then Aegwynn sealed Sargeras's corpse inside, where it proceeded to corrupt the building and its inhabitants.
218	* The Domino Dungeon level in ''VideoGame/YoNoid2EnterTheVoid'' fits the mold, filled with archaic architecture, desert-level-inspired music {{Lock and Key Puzzle}}s, and devious traps.
219	* Canopy Heights in ''VideoGame/{{Zapper}}'' is an outdoor, vaguely {{Mayincatec}} ruin with crumbling pillars and rotting wood as platforms and pressure plate tiles rigged to fire giant darts.
220	[[/folder]]
221
222	[[folder:Webcomics]]
223	* The fantasy satire ''Webcomic/TheFourth'' opens with one of these, though it ends up being more of a NoobCave than anything else.
224	[[/folder]]
225
226	[[folder:Web Videos]]
227	* ''WebVideo/JourneyQuest'' contains the Temple of All Dooms as a storage for the Sword of Fighting. It seems to follow the trope, though it's weak to both CuttingTheKnot and DungeonBypass.
228	[[/folder]]
229
230	[[folder:Western Animation]]
231	* The temple of the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' episode "The Firebending Masters", with killer spikes, a secretly-cached MacGuffin, and a room that fills full of killer glue. It also has a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for the fact that everything's still working: [[spoiler:the ancient civilization that built it is not actually extinct, and they follow a strict policy of isolationism to keep it that way - Hence all the booby traps.]]
232	* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' the Tennysons race against the Forever Knights in retrieving an ancient sword in a Mayan temple, filled with booby traps, and guarded by a Mayan Death God.
233	* ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddParents'': In "Remy Rides Again", the final item on Timmy and Remy's scavenger hunt list is the "Treasure of the Peruvian Pyramid". Said pyramid is a typical {{Mayincatec}}-style trap-filled gauntlet, to the extent that Timmy realises Remy didn't steal the real treasure because [[GenreSavvy lifting it from its pedestal didn't trigger any booby traps]].
234	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The ancient ruins JustForFun/DaringDo explores in "Read It and Weep" and "Daring Don't" are filled with gauntlets of deadly traps, and the former were apparently built on top of an active lava flow that can ''also'' be utilized as a trap. {{Justified\|Trope}} since she's an {{expy}} of Indiana Jones.
235	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsResistance'': In [[Recap/StarWarsResistanceS2E7TheRelicRaiders "The Relic Raiders"]], Kaz, Eila and Kel discover an ancient Sith temple long-buried underground that's absolutely full of booby traps and very easy to get lost in.
236	* ''WesternAnimation/AThousandAndOneAmericas'': In the seventh episode, Chris, his pet dog Lon and a friendly priest enter a pyramidal temple to look for clues that might help them discover who stole the sacred Pakal mask and/or where it was taken to. Soon they discover that going within is far from safe, as one of the chambers traps them inside with no apparent way out, and when they use a secret passageway to proceed forward they have to go through a dark maze where Lon guides the two humans by using his nose to follow the right trail to the exit. Chris thinks the expedition was in vain, but the priest tells him otherwise, as he noticed something fishy that is revealed later in the episode (namely, [[spoiler:it was the mask's thief who activated the chamber's trap, and the priest knows who did it]]).
237	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TempleOfDoom