Line #86 RunningGag/VideoGames


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8	* ''VideoGame/{{Absinthia}}'': Each town has a spittoon that Sera can examine for items, which grosses the rest of the party out.
9	* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
10	** Throughout the series, the characters debate on the correct denomination of a ladder (ladder or stepladder?) whenever you examine such a object. The ladders first appeared for flavour, then just for the sake of the RunningGag, and never had any relevance to the cases, except in the third case of ''Apollo Justice'', where examining a (step)ladder clues you into a possible escape route for the murderer. ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' alas does not feature enough ladders to continue the joke... so the characters start arguing over spades and shovels instead.
11	** There's also a running joke in the first game about how difficult Edgeworth seems to find getting witnesses to state their names and professions.
12	** There is also Wright presenting the Attorney's badge, something that nearly every NPC in the first game reacts to (future games restrict this to giving reactions to only recurring characters), often questioning why he is doing so (possible joke at the process of TryEverything). Lampshaded in ''Apollo Justice''.
13	** And then there's Gumshoe telling him that real men wear a police badge.
14	** Detective Gumshoe and his constantly falling salary. [[spoiler: He gets it raised at the end of [=AAI2=]. He takes a while to understand what just happened.]]
15	** In AAI, we have Edgeworth always yelling "Nnnghoooh" during moments of distress. And Edgeworth will cringe at it every time Kay Faraday brings it up to make fun of him.
16	** Also there is Phoenix's defense line about unidentified person in a costume/mask: ''"Anyone could wear that! Even me!"'' Recurring, but not exactly a gag until it hilariously culminates in him saying it about waitress' uniform in the third game. The Judge asks that he [[BrainBleach stops]].
17	** Phoenix cross-examining animals. First with a parrot in the first game, then an orca during the DLC episode of ''Dual Destinies''. In ''Spirit of Justice'' the judge asks Phoenix if he's going to do the same thing to a dog, but Phoenix declines, "at least this time". This also extends to the ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' crossover, where another parrot is cross-examined, although this one is somewhat justified as one of the other witnesses SpeaksFluentAnimal.
18	** Grape juice shows up everywhere, in bottles that bear a [[FrothyMugsOfWater remarkable resemblance to wine bottles]] -- except it really ''is'' grape juice, [[SubvertedTrope even in Japan]]. Apparently it's the series creator's favorite drink.
19	* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'':
20	** Date will ''never'' remember Inspector Kagami's name, always using a different name starting with "Ka" when addressing him. This carries over to [[VideoGame/AITheSomniumFilesNirvanaInitiative the sequel]], where both Ryuki and Mizuki do the same exact thing.
21	** Examining the potted plant at the Lemniscate office will always have Aiba comment on a bug she can see on it.
22	** The textbooks on the Sagan family's tea table will always include one that is very much not an elementary school textbook.
23	* ''VideoGame/AtelierSeries'':
24	** Characters throughout the series seem to have an unhealthy fascination with barrels, and will shout "Barrel!" every time the player examines one. Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/ManaKhemia2FallOfAlchemy'' and ''VideoGame/AtelierAnnieAlchemistsOfSeraIsland''. In the former, Pepperoni and Goto (later replaced by Lily and Whim) surround a barrel in the Campus Grounds and notes "it's a barrel", while in the latter, a customer will lament the lack of barrels once your shop level is high enough.
25	** In ''VideoGame/AtelierIris2TheAzothOfDestiny'', Max [[AccidentalMisnaming never gets Felt's name right,]] saying things from "Frank" to "Frederico". Poe's womanizing counts for this too.
26	** In ''VideoGame/AtelierRyza3AlchemistOfTheEndAndTheSecretKey'', every time you reach a new area, Ryza will use alchemy to quickly build a new atelier. Each time this happens, the party members that joined between now and the last time you did this will be amazed at how Ryza can create such a large building overnight.
27	* The ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' series' use of {{Sequel Hook}}s is both an in-universe and meta example, which is partially due to the games having both MediumAwareness, and NoFourthWall, and partially due to the games being made by Creator/{{Rare}}, a company with a history of being {{Trolling Creator}}s. This goes all the way back to the first game, and its promise of a sequel that would allow Banjo and Kazooie (and the players) to get the ice key and two eggs that were all literally unobtainable (at first; long story).[[note]]Indeed, Banjo-Tooie lets the players do just that, but not in the way some people were expecting.[[/note]] This carries over to SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/YookaLaylee'', made by Playtonic Games (a company consisting mostly of people who used to work at Rare[[note]]Which is now a division of Microsoft[[/note]]).
28	* The Kid's typical entrance into an area in ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'' is to just come flying in and [[{{Faceplant}} land right on his face.]] [[spoiler: It eventually stops being funny by the end of the game when, after a vicious beating by the Ura, the Kid returns to the Bastion in his usual manner...and then doesn't get back up.]]
29	* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', Enzo's CoolCar never seems to get through an angel fight intact, and sometimes, Bayonetta herself is the reason the car gets wrecked. Enzo also nearly [[GroinAttack gets his balls crushed]] about once a game, once by a falling gravestone and once by Jeanne's bike. [[ButtMonkey Poor guy]].
30	* Pick a Creator/BioWare game -- any [=BioWare=] game -- and there's guaranteed to be a reference somewhere to [[VideoGame/BaldursGate "Go for the Eyes, Boo! Go for the Eyes!"]]
31	* ''VIDEOGAME/BearWithMe'': The paintings and lamps all get unique descriptions if clicked on. Every single one. Naturally, there's an achievement for clicking on all of them.
32	** If you try to do this in later chapters, Ted calls you out on it, saying he doesn't want to look for all the lamps again.
33	* ''VideoGame/TheBizarreAdventuresOfWoodruffAndTheSchnibble'': The little man who pops up and questions whether you've paid your taxes.
34	* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' has several:
35	** Til’s lack of patience with Anonymous, and her turning his avatar into a frog.
36	** Tyalie’s constant attempts to [[BefriendingTheEnemy make friends with the bad guys]].
37	** [=GmasterRED=] stealing credit for Catie’s deeds in increasingly outlandish ways.
38	** Out-of-place onions popping up all over the BonusDungeon, culminating with [[spoiler: the boss’s true form being an onion]].
39	* One of the missions in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' sends the player character(s) to rescue a Dr. Stephen Fayte, who is constantly being mistaken for a powerful sorcerer even though he is "merely a gifted surgeon, and nothing more." His captors repeat this phrase verbatim several times when he's found, as if they're under the influence of a JediMindTrick ... but that's impossible, for Fayte is merely a gifted surgeon, and nothing more.
40	* In ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'', several characters will blame Coco when they destroy part of the scenery during races. Coco herself gets in on it before correcting herself.
41	* The ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series (and ''VideoGame/EldenRing'') have spellcasters in comically oversized wizard hats, starting with Big Hat Logan (who wore it to avoid social interaction).
42	* Videogame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath: In Journey to Rooted Hold, a series of "runners" attempt to relay a message, which loses information each time it get's passed on. The City Beneath has two gossipers who chat about Beethro's latest escapade. The Second Sky has the Critic, who follows Beethro everywhere to make sarcastic comments about his swordplay at every opportunity.
43	* A running gag spanning ''multiple'' games started with ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' and it's "Zombie Genocider" achievement for killing 53,594 zombies, a.k.a. the entire population of Willamette, Colorado, the town the game takes place in. ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' had the bright idea to one-up them by including an achievement called "Zombie Genocid'''est'''" for killing 53,59'''5''' [[TechnicallyLivingZombie Infected]], and the gag started going from there as various games started to one-up the previous achievement by increasing the number by 1.
44	* In ''Delicious 5: Emily's Holiday Season'' the local Elvis impersonator keeps showing up wherever Emily currently happens to be working and asks for a hamburger, which he never gets. When finally a hamburger drops out of the sky right in front of him at the end of the game, he asks for ketchup.
45	* ''VideoGame/DemonHunterTheReturnOfTheWings'':
46	** Gun keeps encountering Lideal who manages to [[SelfDisposingVillain kill himself]] in embarrassing ways the first three times.
47	** Beros keeps calling Gun "cool guy" and the end of their conversations.
48	* In the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, there's a running gag of Dante getting impaled in almost every installment. In the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 first game]], it's Force Edge and Alastor, in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', he has several scythe blades jammed to his body in the prologue and Vergil later stabs him twice (first with the Yamato and then his own Rebellion), in ''Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries'', it's the Rebellion, in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'', he gets impaled and pinned to a statue of Sparda in the game's opening by Nero, in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', [[spoiler:Dante stabs himself with the Rebellion to obtain Devil Sword Dante and his Sin Devil Trigger]].
49	* Mentions of Wirt's wooden leg in the Blizzard game ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' have spread to the ''other'' Blizzard game ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' (and all sequels/spinoffs that follow).
50	** Speaking of Blizzard, they also have a running joke about how Darkness called... [[IncrediblyLamePun but I was on the phone, so I missed him]].[[labelnote:*]]Among other puns.[[/labelnote]] It started as StopPokingMe quotes from a bunch of villainous characters in ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'', and now spread all over ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm''.
51	** There's also the "Secret Cow Level" in Warcraft, which even found its way to one of World of Warcraft's loading screen. "There is a secret cow level in this game! it's called Mulgore!"
52	* In the [=PlayStation=] 2 and [=GameCube=] versions of ''VideoGame/DonaldDuckGoinQuackers'', every cutscene that plays before a boss battle has Donald's cousin Gladstone Gander get comically injured and then say that he found a nickel.
53	* ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'':
54	** Dennis has a habit of popping out of nowhere, usually when the protagonist is about to make some kind of decision. Lampshaded by the protagonist when Lauren surprises him instead, and he says Dennis’s name reflexively. Then, he has to explain to Lauren why he just called her “Dennis.”
55	** The protagonist can never remember Marco’s name. Even his name in the text is “Nerd.”
56	* It is guaranteed that any more games in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' franchise are going to include Sandal standing in a room full of dead Darkspawn/demons including multiple Ogres and Pride Demons, and responding to any questions about what happened with "Enchantment!"
57	** Shale's hatred of birds, to the point of a shopkeeper in the second game telling Hawke a story about a massive decline in the Ferelden pigeon population.
58	** All the suggested/past offscreen references to Oghren taking his pants off, always reacted to with either shock or horror.
59	** Alistair's catchphrase "Swooping is bad" from the first game became this in the second. Whenever someone as much as used the word "swoop", somebody is bound to bounce it back (e.g. by Alistair's himself in his cameo and by Varric during his random banter with Merrill in the ''Legacy'' DLC).
60	** By the time of the third game, everyone is creeped out about how Nugs, little docile pig-rabbit creatures, have ''hands'' on all four appendages. Even the giant rideable mount versions, known as "nuggalopes".
61	* Every single ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' game has a reference to "Puff Puff", at least in the Japanese version. It's seldom spelled out directly, but in most cases implied to be [[MarshmallowHell Marshmallow Heaven]].
62	** Additionally, every game that includes a Dharma Temple/Alltrades Abbey will have, somewhere in said Temple/Abbey, and old man who wants to be a young girl. It varies from game to game and translation to translation whether he simply wants to be a little girl or a BunnyGirl, though.
63	* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', the cameraman that appears frequently will, rather than using the stock phase of "Say cheese!", tells the player to "Say 'fuzzy pickles!'"
64	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
65	** Series wide examples:
66	*** Most of the games in the series begin with the PlayerCharacter [[YouAllMeetInACell as a prisoner]]. Your release or escape sequence then serves as the game's tutorial.
67	*** There are numerous references and mentions to your sweetroll getting stolen. At different times, it has appeared as a question in the opening PlayerPersonalityQuiz and has been a recurring phrase in the dialogue of CityGuards. It became a Bethesda-wide running gag when they even snuck it into ''[[{{VideoGame/Fallout3}} Fallout 3]]'').
68	*** Starting with the [[VideoGame3DLeap leap to 3D environments]] and hand-placed items in ''Morrowind'', the devs like to put items with rather... ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything suggestive]]'' uses into NPC bedrooms. Potions of Restore Endurance and items of a certain size and shape (like a horker tusk with a strip of leather) are favorites.
69	*** [[EasterEgg M'aiq the Liar]] is a Khajiit LegacyCharacter who has appeared in every game since ''Morrowind''. M'aiq is a known a FourthWallObserver (and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Leaner]] and ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaker]]'') who [[AuthorAvatar voices the opinions]] of the series' creators and developers, largely in the form of {{Take That}}s, to both the [[TakeThatAudience audience]] (given the ''ES'' UnpleasableFanbase) and isn't above above [[SelfDeprecation taking some]] at [[TakeThatUs Bethesda itself]].
70	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', there are three separate instances of nude Nord barbarians, as a result of them offending the witch they were escorting. Later spoofed in the ''Tribunal'' expansion, where you find another nude Nord who is quite vocal about having never escorted a witch; he's nude because Mournhold is ''hot''.
71	* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' features a running joke and MythologyGag in the form of Harold, a FEV mutant with a tree called Bob [[ItMakesSenseInContext (or is it Herbert?)]] growing out of his head. He shows up again in ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' and makes jokes and references to the first game. Finally in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' He shows up again, completely mad from his 200 years of life and still very friendly.
72	** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' also has Cass and a few other NPC's who will make jokes and snide remarks about events from the second game.
73	* Every episode of ''VideoGame/FarnhamFables'' has a pebble which can be picked up. It's never actually used for anything, but the games' approach to CombinatorialExplosion (every possible action gives a unique response) can lead to some funny interactions.
74	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
75	** For ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' in general, we have Gilgamesh, a recurring PluckyComicRelief boss character that is technically the same guy from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' (Not a rehash, ''the same exact person''), just caught in the endless void of dimension hopping who shows up in other games in the franchise. Even those that were made before ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''.
76	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has a strange example in that the running gag is for every remake, direct sequel, and CallBack to the original "VideoGame/FinalFantasyII" translation as opposed to every subsequent game. Every time, no exceptions, the phrase in question is "You spoony bard!" Other dialogue has been changed in every redoing of the game, but not that single line. It carries over into Dissidia, where Tellah is one of the helper characters an refers to Edward as a spoony bard. But then it goes the extra mile in Duodecim, where ''Kefka'' gets in on the action, referring to Kuja as a spoony bard in some of the text-box dialogue.
77	** Barrett's train metaphor in "VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII" comes up a few times, though it's only a memetic occurrence.
78	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' has a subtle one: no one ever shakes Zell's hand. He'll offer and be ignored. Everyone else will get the offer to shake hands (Squall usually won't do it) except Zell. Later on, he can occasionally be seen wiping his hand off before offering it out, thinking his hand just might be dirty. However, wiping his hand on his butt ''in front of whoever he wants to shake hands with'' is not any more effective at getting someone to shake it. He's eventually put out by this, but, being Zell, shakes it off. He can't get any hot dogs either (flavored bread in the original).
79	** "VideoGame/FinalFantasyX" has Tidus waking up on a new shore after Sin attacked; it happens like 7 times over the course of the game. [[spoiler:It's also the manner in which he is revived in VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2]].
80	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' several characters refer to the [[LaResistance Dalmascian Resistance]] as the insurgents, prompting Ashe to correct them.
81	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': [[spoiler:Barthandelus]] knows exactly what [[BerserkButton buttons to push to piss the main party off]]. He manages to push [[IdiotHero Snow's]] button (his fiancee, [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl Serah]]) every time he is encountered, the result always being Snow charging head-on at him, only to be violently bounced back off a BeehiveBarrier. It works all three times. The man never learns.
82	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has [=FATEs=], which are random events that happen throughout the overworld that involve monsters or other enemies players have to defeat waves of or take on a boss. Each FATE has a description and several of them will always poke fun at the Lalafell being eaten or are in the danger of being eaten/abused due to the race's small childlike size.
83	*** The Hildibrand Manderville questlines are goldmines for running gags, including (but not limited to) Hildibrand's immaculate clothing being [[ClothingDamage distressed]], Hildibrand's father Godbert stripping down to his smallclothes and[=/=]or punishing Hildibrand with wrestling moves, Nashu using bombs, resident dimension-hopper Gilgamesh being nicknamed "Greg", and each questline concluding with Hildibrand being sent (often explosively and[=/=]or painfully) to new lands while promising to return.
84	*** There's also a running gag with Gerolt where every time you go to him to make a relic weapon, he's always forced to do so in order to pay off his debt to LoanShark Rowena. This happens in each expansion and when you reach the end, Gerolt's debt is paid but he incurs another one equal to or greater than his old debt.
85	*** Throughout the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion, a shoebill can often be seen in the background of certain cutscenes intensely staring at the protagonists. After completing the story of Patch 5.3, the shoebill takes up permanent residence in your room in the Crystarium- still intensely staring from either the windowsill or the dinner table.
86	* An odd version of this from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', where the biggest version of it was actually the ''earliest'' and before the joke had been established! Kellam the Knight has a running gag in the game of [[ForgettableCharacter being incredibly easy to overlook]] considering he wears massive amounts of armor. One character even comments [[LampshadeHanging "How can you be so stealthy in all that armor?"]] They routinely make references to this joke, from many of his spoken lines, to his supports and appearances in cut scenes, and even his epilogue. It even features in gameplay -- he's the first character whom you need Chrom to talk to in order to recruit, and it's entirely possible for a player who doesn't know this to miss recruiting him entirely! Then if one takes a good look at the [[http://i.imgur.com/xd0pgJz.jpg cover art,]] they see someone whose [[FridgeBrilliance face is mostly blocked by the main character's knee.]]
87	* Judge Grams mispronouncing Florentine's name in ''VisualNovel/FleuretBlanc''. It's implied she may be [[{{Jerkass}} doing it on purpose]]; if she makes eggs for Florentine's special luncheon, she claims that she was suddenly inspired to make eggs Florentine that day and [[LampshadeHanging doesn't know where she could have gotten the idea]].
88	* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games have several running gags within their in-game radio stations and commercials. These include:
89	** A war between the United States and Australia.
90	** "Freddy needs a nanny, because he's been a very naughty boy!"
91	** DJ/Talk show host, Lazlow (who's actually a real life talk show host who wrote some of the dialogue for the game), getting fired from one radio station and hired by another by the next game.
92	%%Are these each a separate example?* ''Black Isle / Troika'' has regular instances of {{Squick}} / BlackHumor bestiality. ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' has an omnisexual farmer's son. ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'' has a sheep as a worker in a brothel (that the player can purchase the services of) and ''VideoGame/TempleOfElementalEvil'' has a cut content brothel that also included an option with a rooster.
93	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has Barney Calhoun continually making [[NoodleIncident oblique references to some incident involving a cat and a teleporter]], possibly in homage to ''Film/TheFly1958''.
94	* ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' probably qualifies, given the number of times after a cutscene Noble Six is getting up off the ground and picking up a gun.
95	* ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'':
96	** The Teleporter appears in every game, and it ''never'' works properly, right back to the ''Crossing the Pit'' short that served as the series' precusor. In order: it teleports him into a pit, [[TeleFrag into a bank wall]], in the air above a roof [[spoiler: about three feet above- it's a correct choice for once]], into a white void, into ''VideoGame/StarCraft'', and in ''Completing the Mission'' he's wised up and breaks the teleporter if prompted to use it. [[spoiler: Which is once again ''the correct choice''- the resulting malfunction sends him where he wants to go.]]
97	** Henry has some gadgets reviewed by Gadget Gabe, which always do ''exactly'' what they're supposed to do... in some way that makes Harry suffer horribly (the one that makes him intangible makes him fall through the ground, the one that allows him to shift dimensions makes him ''one''-dimensional, and so on). [[spoiler: ''Completing the Mission'' has two Gadget Gabe options that ''work''; the [=SuccPack=] and the Swapper. The others fail as normal.]]
98	** Asking Charles for assistance will lead to him crashing his helicopter into wherever you are.
99	** One specific to the Government/Bounty route is Henry attempting the ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' default dance and [[TakeThat getting immediately shut down]].
100	* ''VideoGame/HiFiRush'' has a recurring joke regarding the coffee machine at the power plant where Vandelay's R&D department is stationed, which, due to the tampering of a disgruntled employee, is only capable of giving out decaf, much to the chagrin of both [[MustHaveCaffeine Kale and Korsica]].
101	* At the end of each ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' game, before Jak and Keira can kiss, Daxter shouts out "Hey!" and interrupts them. The third game has Jak doing this to Daxter, while ''Jak X'' subverts this.
102	->'''Daxter:''' Hey! Will ya kiss her already? Sheesh!
103	* ''VideoGame/JimmyAndThePulsatingMass'': Multiple:
104	** Information Guy being the ButtMonkey, [[TheyKilledKennyAgain which often involves him getting killed horribly]], like by Buck, or being impaled on a stalagmite.
105	** In the Wilted Lands, every member of the Petty Thugs seems to have a different idea of what "the first rule of gooning" is. The secretary says that it's "getting here in the nick of time", the instructor says it's "brush your teeth after every meal.", the Information Guy video for the GECE is... never said, and then the instructor changes his to just following orders, the Prospective Goon says it's "work together with your friends so you can achieve your dreams", the pool-playing goon has "don't make fun things less fun".
106	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
107	** Throughout the series, Sora, Roxas, and Ventus all tend to give Braig/Xigbar an "[[DeathGlare angry look]]" whenever they see him, though this joke ends up taking on more serious connotations once the connections between the three are revealed.
108	** From ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', characters (usually [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Yuffie]]) calling Leon by his real name, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Squall]], and him having to correct them.
109	** The [[Manga/KingdomHeartsII manga adaptation]] of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' has [[LethalChef Aerith]] attempting to offer Leon one of her homemade beverages and him trying to refuse it.
110	** ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'':
111	*** Throughout the first trip to [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} Agrabah]], characters seemingly feel the need to constantly bring up that the city is full of sand.
112	*** Any trip to [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Halloween Town]] always features Roxas getting a pumpkin bomb to the face courtesy of [[TerribleTrio Lock, Shock, and Barrel]].
113	*** The [[Manga/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 manga adaptation]] of the game has a few Running Gags of its own. These include Roxas attempting to use an Elixir, only for it to turn out to be past its expiration date, Demyx being forced to redo his reports because his originals are never up to an acceptable standard, and Saïx getting angry at the rest of the Organization's antics.
114	** Throughout ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'', characters constantly [[AccidentalMisnaming call Lea "Axel"]]. Lea himself eventually gives up trying to correct people and just decides to let them call him that.
115	* ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'':
116	** Whenever Meta Knight challenges Kirby to a duel, a sword always falls from the sky for Kirby to pick up, and Meta Knight will (almost) always wait for Kirby to pick it up.
117	** After getting defeated by Kirby, Meta Knight's mask always breaks off, [[TheReveal revealing his face]].
118	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has HK-47's "Meatbags!" and general [[ComedicSociopath insanity]], along with Mission's repeated use of [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour "Bantha poodoo."]]
119	** In the second game, Atton makes an astute observation: "Why is it that everywhere we go, I end up in a cell?"
120	* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc9f-VVQK3k Francis' hatred of everything he encounters]], which goes from where they are ("I hate forests", "I hate hospitals") to everything else ("I hate Creator/AynRand", "I hate the Internet").
121	** He eventually [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] this by saying "You know what I don't hate? I don't hate vests."
122	** Also lampshaded in Crash Course between Francis and Zoey:
123	--->'''Zoey:''' Francis, they have the latest issue of Hating Everything Magazine here!\
124	'''Francis:''' I hate latest issues!
125	** ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'': [[NoodleIncident Did ah ever tell you 'bout the time my buddy Keith...]]
126	** A survivor shooting a helicopter pilot because he was an infected and causing them to crash seems to be the running gag for the two Left 4 Dead games.
127	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel III'' has Rean getting interrupted by other characters whenever he either summons his HumongousMecha or is about to his SuperMode. "[[InterruptingMeme That won't be necessary]]", indeed.
128	* Most of the 3D ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' games have a running gag in which the final boss can be defeated, or at least distracted, with normal household items:
129	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' let you beat Aganim [[spoiler:who was Ganon in disguise]] by deflecting his shots with a bug-catching net. This was later referenced directly in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', which lets you distract [[spoiler:Demise, the Demon King]] with the Bug Net and deflect lightning with it.
130	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' allows you to swipe an Empty Bottle at Ganondorf's magic ball attack and deflect it, so you don't have to use a sword. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' repeats this against the Phantom Ganon fight. Finally, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' allows you to distract Ganondorf by taking out your Fishing Rod, allowing you to get in some free hits.
131	** In most games, attacking the [[CallARabbitASmeerp cuccos]] will result in Link being mauled by an invincible army of them until he leaves the area. However, in ''Twilight Princess'', attacking them will allow you to swap bodies for ten seconds.
132	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', Fi always makes reference to the Bokoblins' obsession with "fashionable undergarments" when analyzing them.
133	** Tingle and his obsession with fairies and driving you bankrupt.
134	* ''VideoGame/{{Levelhead}}'': The campaign keeps referencing food. For example, GR-18 can hold up to 5 burritos, Waylay can be used to make omelets, Zipper is powered by burritos, Lizumi attacks GR-18 because it thinks the robot stole its almonds, and Swoopadoops can store peanuts.
135	* ''VideoGame/LinearRPG'' has Kliche waking up wet every single time.
136	* In ''VideoGame/{{LISA}}'', there are several occasions where the protagonists are able to climb up ridiculously tall cliffs which contain nothing except for a large statue of a hand FlippingTheBird at the top.
137	* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' includes a pair of son-father (son will always be called Watanabe or variations of thereof). In various timelines, the father will always have the worst of luck of being killed randomly and then his son would hilariously cry over his death and drag him away. They could be encountered naturally, or [[GuideDangIt require some tinkering in how you play]]. In the Distant Future chapter, knowledge of the MilitaryAlphabet will lead the player to realize that one character is spelling the name, but the last letter is cut off (and indeed, another character is having some pretty bad luck at that moment).
138	* ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'' has several:
139	** One such example would be the dog whistles that each member of the family carries which, when blown, will have Wanko come running if she is within earshot. Unfortunately, this response is so deeply ingrained that her feet respond automatically, causing it to often be used against her, particularly when exam time comes around and there's studying to be done. Exploited for MoodDissonance during her route, when Yamato uses it to locate her after [[spoiler: she's [[TheRunaway run away from home]].]]
140	** The anime has one for Miyako starting Episode 2 -- each episode begins with an attempt by her to win Yamato's heart through increasingly ridiculous means, all of which fail.
141	* Creator/NipponIchi may have dropped their plans of creating a sequel to their game ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'', but it didn't stop them from including its planned main character, Asagi, as a SecretCharacter in many games following that. More often than not, Asagi laments the fact that she doesn't have a game to herself and attempts a HostileShowTakeover, before being thwarted and joining the player's party.
142	** Ever since ''VideoGame/LaPucelle'', during many of the games' tutorial sequences someone will hit "End Turn" a bit too early, usually leading to them or someone else getting pummeled into submission by the enemies, and promptly admonished for it.
143	* In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'', no one knows who Luigi is, even Bowser, who calls him "Mr. Green Mario Brother Guy". Likewise, in ''VideoGame/PaperMario 2'', where Mario was repeatedly mistaken for '''Luigi''' in one side quest even Luigi's biggest fan thinks Mario (dressed in green at the time) is Luigi, which in a moment of hilarity the real Luigi shows up which the fan accuses Luigi of being the impostor and calls the police.
144	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has a turian outside the Wards that repeatedly tries to get through the security checkpoint. Every one of his exchanges with the security officer ends with him saying [[HypocriticalHumor "You humans are all racist!"]]
145	** Similarly, the first game has the human trying to return a product at a shop in the wards.
146	*** He's still there in the second game. ''Two years later.''
147	*** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', you can help him get his refund [[spoiler: for his 15-credit toaster]].
148	** Reporter Khalisa bint Sinan Al-Jilani getting punched due to Shepard having had enough of her adjective nouns. In a bonus video from the Lair Of The Shadow Broker DLC, she gets punched out by a krogan. And, if you got back later, by a volus! Creator/BioWare must ''really'' hate reporters like her... In Mass Effect 3, she also tries to punch Shepard back. Shepard can respond by headbutting her.
149	** Any time you happen upon dead bodies with Grunt, there's a good chance Grunt will ask if anyone else is feeling hungry. Given a CallBack in the third game if [[spoiler: Grunt survives holding off the Ravagers]].
150	** Commander Shepard's dancing being ''hilariously'' atrocious.
151	** Javik's repeated CulturalPosturing towards the "[[WhileYouWereInDiapers Primitives]]" in this Cycle and telling Shepard to throw things out the airlock.
152	** Cerberus' incompetence across the franchise, with all their experiments "got loose, and now killing all their guys".
153	* For some time now, the change list for every update in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has referenced Herobrine, a character from a creepypasta that reached [[MemeticMutation meme]] status in the community.
154	* Sound designer Dan Forden's infamous "Toasty!" cry in the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series.
155	* ''VideoGame/NelkeAndTheLegendaryAlchemistsAteliersOfTheNewWorld'':
156	** Many things that were running gags in previous ''Atelier'' installments are something you can expect to see here. Suelle's fear of insects from ''VideoGame/AtelierLydieAndSuelleTheAlchemistsAndTheMysteriousPaintings'' is a good example.
157	** Pepperoni appearing anytime someone requests the presence of a fairy, only to not be wanted because he's not small and cute like the fairies of Nelke's world, or to end up breaking something because of his incredible strength and size.
158	* In the ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' game series from Her Interactive, you seem to be following a still-unseen weirdo named Sonny Joon from one game to the next. Wherever an investigation takes you, doodling, UFO-obsessed Sonny is likely to have worked there, vacationed there, or corresponded with someone there, only to leave some time before your arrival. Also, references to Koko Kringles and [[AcmeProducts Krolmeister]] show up at least once in each game
159	** From an AscendedMeme, Nancy saying "It's ''locked''." in her very deadpan voice.
160	* Given your [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits party's]] status as a walking band of racial stereotypes in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', some running gags are unavoidable: Khelgar's constant belligerent drunkenness, his constant insistence that Elanee is underfed, [[FishOutOfWater Shandra's]] constant complaints about being a farmer stuck on an adventure, and [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Grobnar]]. No more need be said about that last one.
161	* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''
162	** Every main game (that isn't ''Travis Strikes Again'') has Travis goaded/accept to participate in a ranked killing game, with the promise of Sylvia giving him some sweet love if he wins. By the final game, it's done more out of obligation than anything else, when an ''[[SkewedPriorities alien invasion]]'' is already in progress anyway.
163	** Before each battle with Destroyman, he offers to shake his opponent's hand as a sign of sportsmanship, but it's actually a trick since he intends to electrify them. It works on Travis (twice), but not Shinobu (who has gained a prosthetic cyber hand under a black glove).
164	* ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'': Every Wednesday, Ajik Ajik News announces the week's target material for recycling and the prize for collecting as much of it as the consumer can. HUE always snarkily reminds you that as shop employees, they don't need to participate in the promo, although items made of that material will have their values increased.
165	* ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji\|2016}}'': [[TheRival Kyūmei-neko]]'s utter inability to defeat Seimei.
166	** Kohaku's [[InsistentTerminology insisting]] to other people (mainly Hiromasa) that it is a ''fox'', not a dog.
167	* The ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'' series and pumpkins. In [[VideoGame/OverlordI the original game]], it was restricted to your minions being able to wear them as makeshift helmets and a farmer who treated them as sinister {{Companion Cube}}s. ''[[VideoGame/OverlordRaisingHell Raising Hell]]'' upped the ante by adding [[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever Killer Pumpkins]] and the Mama Pumpkins that create them. From then on, pumpkins and characters bizarrely preoccupied with them have been a comedic fixture of the series. Gnarl put it best in ''VideoGame/OverlordDarkLegend'' when he said "Damn pumpkins! Laying around all day... being orange."
168	* In every game in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series except ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'', there is some variation of a group of wizards whose names all start with Merlon who always tell some sort of long, boring story, during which Mario falls asleep. When he wakes up, they ask "Are you even listening?" to which Mario replies with a nod.
169	** And there's also the tendency for important elderly characters to not say Mario's name right.
170	** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' had at least one NPC say Mario's name wrong, mistake him for someone else or have him go by an alias in each chapter, up until Chapter 7. Examples include the "Luigi" example mentioned above from Chapter 6, plus a detective who assumes he's Luigi because he has "overalls, cap and a moustache", an elderly koopa mispronouncing his name as "Murphy" in Chapter 1, the elder Puni calling him Marty-Oh and Mario going by the alias "The Great Gonzales" in Chapter 3 (in this case, the partner you meet in the chapter refers to Mario as "Gonzales" for nearly the entire game).
171	*** Another running gag within the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series originates from this game in which an implied grunt character is referred to as Johnson. In this first case it’s an X-Naut, followed by a Koopa in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' and a Shy Guy in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash''.
172	* The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, since 3, has had a sequence with the male party members of each game accidentally ending up in a hot spring at the same time as the female party members, where the former face UnprovokedPervertPayback -- while it's skipped in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', it shows up in ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'', even happening in Kyoto -- the same place it happened in ''3''.
173	** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Morgana, the team's FunnyAnimal cat and resident ButtMonkey, regularly gets thrown by other party members. This includes in the opening animation by Ryuji, and as you're escaping the Pyramid dungeon by Ann.
174	** Speaking of Ann, Morgana's constant (failed) crush on her.
175	* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} 2:'' Louie is obsessed with food, to the extent that he is far more concerned with documenting the culinary uses of the various predators he encounters than working out how to survive when faced with them. This comes to a head in the secret ending where it's revealed that [[spoiler:he was the one who ate the golden pikpik carrots in the first place, and had actually lied about the monster that supposedly ate them, also revealing after the fact that everyone (i.e., the characters and the players) CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot.]]
176	* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfDust'': Many [=NPCs=] throughout the journey question Carlton's strength because of his small hands and lack of facial hair.
177	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
178	** The starting town having [[http://31.media.tumblr.com/d9cbeaf48f49945a7946d6d7a2e1c089/tumblr_mwifbmIn7R1s6bjwgo1_500.jpg a fat guy marveling at the power of modern technology/science]], usually with a nod to whatever new feature has been added to that generation of games.
179	** The ever-present fisherman with his team of six [[MagikarpPower Magikarp]]. Occasionally subverted when the sixth is a Gyarados.
180	** A variant of "I like to wear shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!" has showed up in every generation.
181	** Every game features a Hiker who starts each battle by laughing and ends it by telling you he has hay fever.
182	** Spinoff games ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger: Shadows of Almia'' and ''Guardian Signs'' both repeatedly mention people being "bound up with rope tied a smidgeon on the tight side."
183	** In ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', your rival Barry running into you every time he tries to leave a building when you’re coming in.
184	** In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', Nebby the Cosmog will ''not'' stay in Lillie's bag!
185	* In ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', [[spoiler:The Rat Man]]'s obsession with cake. "TheCakeIsALie!" Also the garnishes on the cake, as listed by The Cake Recipe Core. Example: Volatile organic compound. Shaped like fish. Tastes like rhubarb.
186	* ''VideoGame/Portal2'' has ''truckloads'' of them.
187	** The automated announcer's comments about various "apocalyptic scenarios" during the first test chambers.
188	** [=GLaDOS=] taunting Chell about her adoption and ParentalAbandonment. This is also a CallBack to an offhand claim [=GLaDOS=] made in the first game. Similarly, [=GLaDOS=] taunting Chell about her supposed [[YouAreFat weight issues]]. Wheatley tries to get in on these gags later, only for [=GLaDOS=] to hilariously shoot him down.
189	** The Weighted CompanionCube is a running gag across the entire franchise, but in one particular test chamber, [=GLaDOS=] uses RuleOfThree to YankTheDogsChain by repeatedly disintegrating it.
190	** Chell being a HeroicMime and the other characters commenting on it. Similarly, Chell supposedly having brain damage from extended hibernation.
191	** Wheatley is a living fountain of running gags: his belief that if he performed an action he would die, his ineptitude at hacking, his inability to accomplish things without Chell's help, [=GLaDOS=]' insistence on calling him a moron/idiot, his ineptitude at designing test chambers, his ineptitude with {{Death Trap}}s, and more. Let's just say that his ineptitude in general is the biggest running gag of the entire game.
192	* In ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'', [[VideoGame/DeadRising Frank]] [[ChivalrousPervert West]] will try to sneak pictures of attractive women he comes across. In the case of [[VideoGame/EndlessFrontier Kaguya]] [[MsFanservice Nanbu]], he sneaks five pictures.
193	* Many examples in the ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' series. Calling Schezo a pervert, Schezo [[ThatCameOutWrong blurting out an accidental double entendre]], Harpy's atrocious singing, Incubus trying and failing to flirt with Arle, Draco's obsession with beauty contests, Dark Prince's Carbuncle or Arle obsession, etc.
194	* The stuffed moose head in the ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series. It always appeared in the adventurer's guild (except for the third game). The moose head first showed up in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman'' and has since made a cameo in various [[Creator/{{Sierra}} Sierra games]] such as ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry''.
195	* ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'':
196	** From ''Up Your Arsenal'' onwards, the series has a running gag in the form of Dr. Nefarious's unfortunate tendency to seize up and broadcast ''[[SoapWithinAShow Lance and Janice]]'', the plot of which becomes increasingly ridiculous with each new episode.
197	** ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'': The Great Clock is located at ''the exact centre of the universe''... Give or take fifty feet.
198	* The ''VideoGame/RealityOnTheNorm'' series has a human RunningGag in form of the crazy bum who keeps switching to a new identity every game. His identities include soldiers, aliens, fictional characters, a JewishMother, etc.
199	* ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'' has destroying Dr. Don's time machines every time you return from the past in the second game.
200	** Getting a Snorkel to breathe underwater. This happened in both games.
201	* In ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'', Erica Fontaine constantly bumping into things, complete with [[CirclingBirdies Circling Birdies.]]
202	* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'':
203	** In each episode of ''Sam and Max Save the World'', you can ask Bosco for various ridiculous items, which he almost invariably doesn't have, including "hats in the shape of a cow udder", "Self respect" (''"Ha, got you!" "No, I understood the question, all too well."''), "Vegetables in the shapes of famous naturalists" (a CallBack to ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad''), "Ketchup" (which he ''does'' have, but it takes him a second to realize he was asked about an actual thing), and "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (to which his answer was "Who's asking?"). In the last episode of Season 1, Sam asks for items which would have helped out in every other episode. He has ''all of them'', and you later find them right behind the lottery tickets in Episode 4 of the second season.
204	*** In ''Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space'', Bosco's not running a store any more, but you can still torment him by asking him, even when [[spoiler:''he's naked in hell.'']] In the first episode, one of the things Sam can ask for is "passive aggressive payback disguised as innocuous customer inquiry".
205	** In the first three episodes of ''Beyond Time and Space'', someone mentioning the word "birthday" causes a mariachi singer to appear out of nowhere, say "Did somebody say 'birthday'?!", and play a brief song. Seems like just a nonsensical gag, then it turns out to tie into the plot of the fourth episode, "Chariots of the Dogs".
206	** The second ever example of Sam letting Max answer the phone (Look in the ''Sam and Max'' entry in Western Animation for the other) occurs in the last episode of ''Beyond Time and Space'', "What's New Beelzebub?". [[spoiler:Hell literally freezes over, at which point the phone starts ringing and Sam just stands by and lets Max answer the phone. Max also won the Nobel Peace Prize, and Sybil lets him be the official at her wedding.]]
207	* Ken Williams, the founder of Creator/{{Sierra}}, making in a cameo in Sierra games such as [[VideoGame/FreddyPharkasFrontierPharmacist Kenny the Kid]], [[VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry sitting in a bar in Larry games]], [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman Kenny the dog]], [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon one of the whipping henchman at Scumsoft]] and much more.
208	* Starting with ''VideoGame/SimCity 2000'', most incarnations of ''VideoGame/TheSims'' franchise feature the phrase "Reticulating splines" each time [[LoadingScreen the game starts up]].
209	** This running gag became so popular that a number of completely unrelated games from other companies now make references to it. ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'' (along with many other games) will sometimes show the line on its LoadingScreen, and ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' has it as one of its random splash messages. Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/DontStarve'' apparently spends some time at startup "reticulating ''[[{{Pun}} pines]]''." This has practically become a running gag in video games as an industry.
210	** ''VideoGame/SimCity'' also has a strange fascination with llamas, starting from the medium simulation speed setting in ''2000'' ("Llama"). ''3000'' had a llama giving you the Tip of the Day, in ''VideoGame/TheSims'' the minor-league team where you could play in the sports career is The Llamas, and the llama love is brought back in ''Sims 2: University'' (the llama is Sim State University's mascot). ''VideoGame/SimCity 4'' kicks this up a notch with a cheat code which turns your advisers into llamas. In SimLife, one of the default animals that you can put on a world is the Llama and the game's tutorial even has you use them during the tutorial. In addition, in the status screen when you check an animal, one of the random moods they can have is "I just saw a llama!"
211	** ''VideoGame/SimCity 3000'' also has running gags with kitty kibble shortage, broccoli (carried over to ''VideoGame/SimCity 4''), and FourthWall breakage.
212	** ''VideoGame/SimCity 4'', meanwhile, has running gags about you living a life full of luxuries.
213	** ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'' has an homage to this line -- if you're loading a game in the Creature Phase, one of the phrases is "Reticulating ''spines''".
214	** ''The Sims 3'' continues with this running gag, as well as the one with Llamas.
215	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
216	** If it's an entirely 2D ''Sonic'' game, expect there to be a pit with two springs facing each other in at least one level.
217	** Ever since ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', Knuckles has the tendency to believe in Eggman's lies that Sonic is the bad guy, leading him to fight against Sonic until he realizes that he's been duped by the evil scientist.
218	** Starting at ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', every now and then Sonic will fall from the sky, and land on his face [[note]]While he did fall from the sky in ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Sonic 2]]'', he was caught by Tails[[/note]]. ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' even uses the gag as BookEnds to the story.
219	** At least one character has said "Long time no see" in almost every game since ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.
220	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', Tails says this to Sonic in Sonic's story, and Amy says it to Sonic.
221	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Knuckles says it when first meeting up with Amy and Tails, and Rouge says this to Knuckles just before their boss battle against each other.
222	*** ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'':
223	*** Sonic says it to Tails and Knuckles in the opening cutscene for Team Sonic's story, and Rouge says this to Team Sonic before the Team Sonic vs. Team Dark battle.
224	*** [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]] also says this to Sonic at the start of the final boss battle; one of the few cases where it ''has'' been a long time.
225	*** In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', Sonic (see a pattern here?) says this to Shadow when you run into Sonic at the beginning of the very first stage.
226	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicRush'', Blaze says this to Eggman Nega when she first meets him in Sonic's side of the story.
227	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', Sonic and Rouge both say this at multiple points each in the game.
228	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicRushAdventure'', [[spoiler:Eggman]] says this the first time he encounters Sonic in the game.
229	*** ''VideoGame/SonicRidersZeroGravity''. Wave greets Tails with, "Long time no see, shorty!"
230	*** In the 3DS ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games]]'', Tails says it towards the [[ItMakesSenseInContext fog impersonating Mario & Luigi]]. To be fair, they probably haven't seen each other after the winter Olympics.
231	*** After being absent from the core games since ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', the catchphrase returned in ''VideoGame/SonicForces''. Sonic says the line to Infinite in one of their later encounters. He also greets Classic Sonic with the variant, "It’s been [[StealthPun generations]] since I’ve seen you."
232	** Starting with ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Amy thinks someone else is Sonic, runs up behind them out of nowhere, and hugs them, and seconds later Amy sees she was mistaken. This one gets stealthily played with in ''Unleashed'', where her hug actually DOES land on Sonic... but since he's in Werehog form at the time, she apologizes and runs away before Sonic can say ''anything'' to her.
233	** Also, beginning in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', Eggman has a tendency to do his EvilLaugh before suddenly lapsing into a coughing fit.
234	* ''VideoGame/{{Sonny}}'' has one about Felicity knifing Veradux in the face. The first time they meet, he almost lines up a shot and she throws a knife at him. The second time they meet, she throws a knife at him as she [[VillainExitStageLeft escapes]], prompting a shout of "ow! My face! Again!". When she shows up later and joins your party, [[DeadpanSnarker Sonny]] comments "quick, cover your face." She also has an attack in-game that inflicts a debuff described as the victim having a knife in its face.
235	* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'': Never ask any of the [[GorgeousGreek Alexandria]] women what her weight is.[[note]]Sophitia's weight in her bio in ''Soulcalibur'' is listed as [[spoiler:"Refuses to reveal"]], Cassandra's weight in ''II'' is listed as [[spoiler:"Insists she has lost weight recently"]], and Pyrrha's weight in her bio in ''V'' is listed as [[spoiler:""Too embarrassed to reveal"]].[[/note]]
236	* The first three single-player campaigns in the ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' series has included some variation of the line "I'll take your silence as a yes." near the beginning of the campaign, as a nod to the protagonists' HeroicMime tendencies. The line has been given by Cap'n Cuttlefish in ''VideoGame/Splatoon1'' ("I'm gonna take your silence as a yes."), Marie in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' ("I'll take your awkward silence as a yes."), and Cap'n Cuttlefish once again in ''Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion'' ("I'll take your stunned silence as a YES!"). ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' doesn't have the line, but still keeps the broader gag about everyone assuming the protagonist's silence means "yes".
237	* News tickers during pre-mission cutscenes in the first two ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' games make mention of a US Army general named Fisk, who suffers his third heart attack in the first game, and then his fourth and final one in ''Pandora Tomorrow''.
238	* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', Vette mentioning her fear of dying in whatever situation the Sith Warrior happens to be in.
239	** The somewhat frequent appearance of the dark sided dialogue option [shock him/her] for the Sith Inquisitor.
240	* On the comp.sys.sinclair newsgroup, every "what is this game?" request will get at least one reply to the effect that "it's definitely not VideoGame/{{Stonkers}}". This is sometimes subverted, e.g. if the game described is a PlatformGame, someone might reply "it's definitely not VideoGame/JetSetWilly".
241	* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series has a few, most notably the "Schtoltenheim Reinbach III" pseudonym and [[TheDitz Viki]] sneezing and teleporting herself to another game's events during the victory feasts at the end of the games.
242	* In a few Mario games (including ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''), the fact that Princess Peach has been kidnapped [[OncePerEpisode AGAIN]] does not escape notice, and makes for a quick joke.
243	-->'''[[VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash Toad NPC:]]''' Mario! Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser! No one could have predicted this!
244	* In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'':
245	** The tendency of Elzam's {{Leitmotif}} '"Trombe!" to override all other songs is taken as a RunningGag by the producers. But then {{Flanderization}} took over, and due to the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic awesomeness]] of the song, and it's no longer viewed as a RunningGag, but justified by the RuleOfCool. In the RPG spinoff ''VideoGame/EndlessFrontier'', there's a running gag involving Kaguya Nanbu being mistaken for or compared to a cow, due to her... huge tracts of land, and possibly her white-and-black outfit, including by what's essentially a minotaur. Who asks to ''marry her''.
246	** There's the HeterosexualLifePartners relationship between Elzam and [[EverythingsBetterWithSamurai Sanger Zonvolt]]. Exaggerated where both get their respective {{Mid Season Upgrade}}s, and later on show through their mechs that "[[Memes/VideoGames Real Men Ride Each Other]]''...
247	** Whenever [[Characters/SuperRobotWarsZ Hibiki Kamishiro]] gets all hopeful about not being sulky or dark anymore and somebody says that he's still not quite there in the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsZ series'', he gets depressed; causing promptly somebody say "How bothersome!" each time.
248	* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' also has some jokes running between games. Observe the following:
249	** This one starts as a victory quote in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''...
250	---> '''Colette:''' Our weapons are -- love!\
251	'''Genis:''' Justice! And?\
252	'''Kratos:''' [[TheComicallySerious Ugh...hope.]]
253	** ...then gets appropriately revamped for the DarkerAndEdgier ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss:''
254	---> '''Luke:''' Our weapons are status-!\
255	'''Jade:''' [[MagnificentBastard Scheming!]]\
256	'''Anise:''' Playing ''dirty''
257	** ...and then ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' knocks it out of the park:
258	---> '''Estelle:''' Our weapons are love!\
259	'''Yuri:''' [[VigilanteMan Justice!]]\
260	'''[[DirtyOldMan Raven]]:''' SEXUALITEEEEEHHHAH!
261	** On a similar note, take this ridiculous winner, already funny in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''...
262	---> '''Luke:''' You're weak!\
263	'''Guy:''' You're a hack!\
264	'''Jade:''' [[DeadpanSnarker You're whack.]]
265	** ...and then mix it up with a dash of {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and we get this madness in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia:''
266	---> '''Yuri:''' You're weak.\
267	'''Karol:''' You're a hack!\
268	'''Estelle:''' You're whack...teehee!
269	** Also there's poor [[VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth Veigue,]] who, after adding a dash of AscendedMeme and BigWordShout, can be depended on for a dramatic [[SayMyName KUREAAAAAAA]] in any cameo appearance. He doesn't do it in VideoGame/TalesOfGraces, however. For some reason, he's also lurking in the background of every single Tales of Theatre 5-minute short.
270	** There's also a random one poking fun at PerpetualFrowner [[VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss Asch]]. In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' the eternally dependable [[DeadpanSnarker snark king]] Jade says "you look like you swallowed a bug...oh wait, you always look like that." And then in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia,'' you can find a signboard that details the fighting styles of all the Abyss party members -- but all [[GuestStarPartyMember Asch's]] entry says is "always looks angry."
271	** Much like ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' and their tendency to cast Creator/DaisukeNamikawa as their would-be Scrappies, ''Tales'' has a recurring gag to assign English dub VA Creator/LiamOBrien as the SmugSnake minor villain that could end up as a HateSink.
272	** [[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Dhaos]]' susceptibility to the "Indignation" spell can be seen as this as well, with it always dealing severe damage and always making him shout ThisCannotBe when it's cast in any crossover game he's in. Even his expy Sekundes from VideoGame/TalesOfEternia ends up a victim of this.
273	* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', every time the party needs to recap anything for an NPC, Jade makes Guy explain. There's no obvious reason why Guy should get stuck with the task. (Mercifully, the actual explanation occurs during a FadeToBlack.)
274	* Whenever the party gets involved in something bad in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', expect Yuri to remark that he must be cursed.
275	** "The sign of Victory!"
276	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has a few: Raine's cooking being terrible (carrying on from a gag that started with VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia's Arche), her fear of water, Colette apologising at every little thing, Lloyd's hatred of Dwarven Vow #7 ("Justice and love will always win!"), Zelos [[HandsomeLech flirting with every girl he meets]], Sheena (and Colette's) clumsiness, Raine's love of archaeology, Lloyd's "Give me your name and I'll give you mine" line he uses to anyone who asks him who he is (lampshaded at one point when Genis asks why he didn't say it and Lloyd responds "It's not worth it"), Genis being smart (almost to the point of InsufferableGenius) and Lloyd being dumb, etc.
277	** A small gag that occasionally occurs in the Z-button skits involving Zelos and Sheena, after the former says something perverted and/or insulting towards the latter:
278	-->'''Sheena:''' You better shut up or I'll smack you!
279	-->'''Zelos:''' Don't say it ''after'' you've smacked me!
280	* A recurring joke in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' is the messed-up "We are... awesome!" victory skit. Variants include Pascal hogging the screen, Hubert's glasses almost getting stepped on, and even Asbel lamenting that his team is unable to coordinate.
281	** Asbel's desk. It starts off messy and stays that way. Going back to it has him comment how he needs to clean it. Even after 7 years and 6 months... it's still messy.
282	---> '''Asbel:''' (thinking)"One of these days I'll clean this desk up."
283	* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'': Frogs are people too. Originally you can argue this with Milton, and if you find the floppy disc with ''[[spoiler:Serious Sam: The Text Encounter]]'' on it in ''Road to Gehenna'', you can argue that with Ennui. In addition, you can write "Frogs are people too" on a wall with the paint bucket if you trigger the former conversation.
284	* Dion in ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'' continuously try to be popular with the girls, to no avail. Daphnis regularly makes offhand HoYay comments accompanied by an appropriate reaction from [[HappinessInSlavery his master]] [[BodyguardCrush and love interest Elissa]]. Kleito and Tarte keep arguing over worshippers. The final one is a ChekhovsGag.
285	* ZigZagged throughout the ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' franchise with the tradition of members of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Mishima clan]] [[DisneyVillainDeath throwing each other from high places]]. Sometimes, like Heihachi's attempt at launching his son Kazuya and grandson Jin into the atmosphere from a space station backfiring on him, [[PlayedForLaughs it's funny]]. Other times, like Kazuya brutally beating Jin's cousin Asuka to near death and then dropping her off a skyscraper, [[PlayedForDrama it's not]].
286	* In the ''VideoGame/TouchDetective'' games, anytime Chloe comes up with a ridiculous idea (that surprisingly ends up working), Mackenzie tries to walk away before Chloe stops her and gives random wording to convince/"remind" Mackenzie they're still friends.
287	* The ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has three running gags involving resident CuteWitch Marisa Kirisame: The first one being her introducing herself as [[TheRival Reimu Hakurei,]] the local shrine maiden, or as a maid, nurse or whatever else have you, [[BlatantLies while never even bothering to get off her]] FlyingBroomstick or changing out of her [[WitchClassic pointy hat and black dress]]. The second running gag is Marisa's BossSubtitles insisting that she's just your average, every-day "Ordinary Magician." This particular gag has evolved over time with the Boss Subtitles getting ever more insistant to the point that, at present, it's outright approaching SuspiciouslySpecificDenial territory... The third running gag is Marisa's [[StickyFingers kleptomania]] and her insistance that she's just "borrowing" the things she steals and that the people she steals from can have their stuff back when she dies... which would've been a possibly reasonable argument, given that most of her victims are [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld centuries old]] {{Cute Monster Girl}}s, if it wasn't for the fact that the running gag coupled with this one is that Marisa's stealing stuff because she's trying to brew up an Elixir of Immortality.
288	* Apparently, Nasu took a great deal of interest in the character popularity polls of ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' and the fandom's reaction to certain characters who have been DemotedToExtra, becoming the source [[MemeticMutation jokes in the fandom]] and ran with it in ''Kagetsu Tohya''. The result? Ciel constantly [[BreakingTheFourthWall paints]] or outright breaks the fourth wall out of depression for her low popularity. In the side story Ciel Sensei, she eventually teams up with Kohaku (whose BatmanGambit nature was also downplayed and turned into a joke) against Arcueid because she's the only heroine to score lower in popularity. Satsuki is eventually kicked out because she never actually got heroine status and can't answer questions about her route.
289	* [[VillainProtagonist The Fatebinder]] in ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' is often given the option to [[DeathGlare [=[Glare Silently]=]]] in dialogue. This can be pretty effective if done sparingly, but if the player goes for glaring silently at every possible juncture? Terratus is a WorldOfSnark, so characters eventually start cracking jokes about the Fatebinder's curious habit of grim, brooding silence. [[SourSupporter Eb]] will do a sarcastic impersonation of the Fatebinder's glare, and [[HumanoidAbomination Tunon]], [[BerserkButton who really hates it when the Fatebinder tries it on him]], will eventually mockingly demand to know why the Fatebinder's "speech is often stilled as if by some great terror or apprehension". (Though if the Fatebinder replies [[spoiler:that it's to let people incriminate themselves with their own words]], Tunon will be begrudgingly impressed.)
290	** Or you can say you learned it from him. Tunon's response is to [[IResembleThatRemark give you a glare of his own]].
291	* Smith the horse in ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'', who consistently will give you a hint to help you solve the previous game.
292	* Every game but the [[VideoGame/UnchartedDrakesFortune first]] in the ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' series has a game of Marco Polo to be played. In the [[VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves second]], Nate can jump into a hotel's pool and yell "Marco!" to an exasperated Chloe who finally responds "Polo". In the [[VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception third]], he can go into an empty pool and say "Marco" to no one in particular. He tries to get his brother Sam to play it with him in the [[VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd fourth]] game but Sam doesn't know what it is. In ''[[VideoGame/UnchartedTheLostLegacy Lost Legacy]]'', you can make Chloe miss her jump and fall into an aqueduct and yell "Marco!" to Nadine.
293	* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', the Annoying Dog has an inexplicable ability to pop up in storage places (including the player's inventory) where it's neither wanted nor expected. It also has a habit of stealing things that the characters have or want, including Papyrus's special attack, a legendary artifact from a shrine, [[spoiler:Toriel's cell phone]] (potentially more than once even!)...
294	** Each of the main areas has a table with cheese (or, in one case, spaghetti) on it near a mouse hole, and examining them will have the narration say that "it's stuck to the table." The save points nearby will give some narration about how the mice will eventually come out of their holes to eat the cheese, which they do in the GoldenEnding (the mouse that had the spaghetti gives up trying to eat it though).
295	** The monsters love their King, Asgore, but the guy is ''[[GiverOfLameNames just the worst]]'' at naming things. Heck, [[spoiler: The trait is genetic, if "Flowey" is anything to go by]].
296	** Toriel has a scandalous sock drawer. Sans scandalously leaves his socks thrown about in a corner of his bedroom. If Shyren successfully sings, people will throw scandalous socks on the stage.
297	* ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000RogueTrader'': "Abelard, introduce me." As your Senechal, Abelard can be asked to introduce the Rogue Trader to pretty much every major, and several minor chracters, often with appropriate threats or references.
298	--> "Abelard, please inform this pirate rabble they're about to die."
299	* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' has Big Joe, a strange flamboyant man who [[TookAShortcut keeps appearing in increasingly-unexpected locations]].
300	* The protagonist of the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' franchise, Adol Christin, starts many of his adventures via getting shipwrecked and losing all of his equipment from his previous adventure. This notably happens in the first [[VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen game]], ''[[VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim Ark of Napishtim]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/YsVIIILacrimosaOfDana Lacrimosa of Dana]]''.
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Context RunningGag / VideoGames