History BagOfSpilling / VideoGames

** Averted in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' where Sonic is capable of performing the Light Speed Dash and can perform the Light Speed Attack as part of Team Sonic's Team Blast without needing Light Speed Shoes and Knuckles can break iron containers with his bare fists and perform the Homing Attack, removing his need for the Hammer Gloves and Fighting Gloves respectively. Shadow is similarly capable of doing the Light Speed Dash withought his beefier Air Shoes.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Poptropica}}'', items and skills you earn from specific islands don't carry over to the other islands. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the fact that not implementing this rule would make entire sections of quests skippable.

* In the ''VideoGame/Transmorpher'' series of Flash puzzle-platformers, you are a green blobby alien. The central game mechanic is transmorphing into a purple wheel-like alien who can climb walls, and a big orange alien who can smash things. In all three games you need to find and absorb these aliens before you can gain their powers. The intro to the second game shows the three of you getting separated by the baddie aliens, but in the third game it just happens somehow.

* In the ''Transmorpher'' series of Flash puzzle-platformers, you are a green blobby alien. The central game mechanic is transmorphing into a purple wheel-like alien who can climb walls, and a big orange alien who can smash things. In all three games you need to find and absorb these aliens before you can gain their powers. The intro to the second game shows the three of you getting separated by the baddie aliens, but in the third game it just happens somehow.

** In ''Videogame/GodOfWarRagnarok'', it's stated that [[EndlessWinter Fimbulwinter]] has caused most of the magical gear and upgrades obtained in the previous game to degrade, and that Kratos and Atreus keeping a low profile is why their stats are back at their base statistics. However, Kratos quickly retrieves the Blades of Chaos when the game actually opens up and he keeps most of the artifacts used to progress. The Huldra Brothers even lampshades this, asking whatever happened to all the stuff they made for Kratos (to which he answers "I used it") and telling them to try and keep them in decent condition this time around (to which he answers "I will not").

** ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'': Not only does the game explain this trope, the whole game revolves around it! Both Samus and the Power Suit's organic components get infected by an alien organism and the suit must be surgically removed. All of Samus's weapons and abilities stay in the suit, but the parasite within it mutates into the main villain, who ends up using Samus's best weapons against her. Luckily, this Bag Of Spilling doesn't spill things completely -- Samus still has all her powers as "latent abilities", they just need to be recovered.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' goes with [[MisaimedRealism a particularly disliked]] justification: Samus still has all the upgrades and weapons from ''Super Metroid'', [[HonorBeforeReason but chooses not to use them without permission from Adam]]. Logically this should only apply to her weapons, as Adam is concerned about her accidentally using a Power Bomb or something that can cause ridiculous levels of damage and kill everyone on the ship, but it strangely also includes abilities that are purely for transveral and defense as well. The go-to example many fans point to is the "Hell Run", where Samus must spend a prolonged amount of time running through in a superheated area without the upgrade that lets her stay in such locations without taking damage - the exact sort of situation ''every other game in the series'' avoids by using superheated areas as the BrokenBridge they are.

** The series has reasons why Gordon Freeman doesn't start with all his weapons and items from the previous game: removed by the G-Man at the end of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', destroyed by a security system during the penultimate level of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', and scattered by an explosion and train wreck at the end of ''Half-Life 2: Episode One''. Gordon still has his weapons at the end of ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', however, and shows no indication of possibly losing them. [[spoiler: Until ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'' retconned the ending of ''Episode Two'', at least.]]

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': Somehow, Kratos will ''always'' find a way to lose all his goodies in-between games and have to earn them back.
** At the beginning of ''II'', he has to give up all his powers to fight the Colossus of Rhodes, and then gets smote down to the Underworld where he has to start from scratch.
** Prior to ''III'', he loses all his stuff after a dip in the River Styx.
** As of the [=PS4=] game, he's left most of his stuff back in Greece, most of his powers don't work in Midgard, and he's kind of out-of-practice due to having given up on violent revenge. He doesn't even have his signature chain blades anymore, replacing it with his wife Faye's old weapon, the Leviathan Axe. Though to compensate, he now has Atreus to assist him in combat. [[spoiler:He actually still has the Blades of Chaos; he just really wishes he didn't since he sees them as emblematic of everything he regrets about himself. They're hidden under the floorboards of his home, since [[ClingyMacGuffin he can't destroy them or lose them]].]]
** This happens again in ''Ragnarok'', much to Sindri's annoyance as he's the one who made most of it. Several conversations reveal that the three years of Fimbulwinter (a cold so intense it can even wear away stone) between games degraded the enchantments, making all the armor useless and returning the axe to its base state. Kratos just sums it up as "I used it."
** A random conversation in ''Ragnarok'' address why Kratos doesn't have the powers of the Greek gods in the Norse saga. Kratos mentions that he's tried to use them, but they won't work. It's speculated in-universe that since magic is tied to the Earth, that because Greece died, so too did the magic of its realm.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'':
** Kratos starts ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'' with [[ATasteOfPower most of his divine strength]] he had at the end of [[VideoGame/GodOfWarI the first game]], until Zeus robs him of his power and banishes him to Hades.

** ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII 3]]'' gives Kratos another taste of power until he falls into Hades again. At that point you lose the maxed out Blades of Athena and its magic, as well as any experience points obtained at that point. However, you keep the Golden Fleece and the Wings of Icarus.

** In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', Kratos lost most of his power after [[spoiler:giving up the power of hope at the end of the third game]], and got rid of his weapons and artifacts from the previous games in order to try and put his past behind him. Instead of the Blades of Chaos he fights with his late wife's Leviathan Axe. Since he's not familiar with the weapon, it only makes sense that he'd need to spend time learning how to use it. [[spoiler:He eventually gets the Blades of Chaos back, though he needs to re-learn some of his old techniques due to being out of practice with them.]].
** In ''Videogame/GodOfWarRagnarok'', it's stated that [[EndlessWinter Fimbulwinter]] has caused most of the magical gear and upgrades obtained in the previous game to degrade, and that Kratos and Atreus keeping a low profile is why their stats are back at their base statistics. However, Kratos quickly retrieves the Blades of Chaos when the game actually opens up and he keeps most of the artifacts used to progress. The Huldra Brothers even lampshades this, asking whatever happened to all the stuff they made for Kratos (to which he answers "I used it") and telling them to try and keep them in decent condition this time around (to which he answers "I will not"). Another conversation states that the reason Kratos no longer has any of his old powers from Greece is because magic is tied to the lands they're from, which in this case is not only devastated but also far away.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy 3'', when the heroes[[note]]And the final boss of the last game [[HeelFaceTurn turned good]][[/note]] accidentally unleashed(read: poked) an EldritchAbomination who drained most of their power and leaving their equipments scattered around the world.

* ''Videogame/LikeADragon'': A mixed bag in the series, where Kiryu and other playable characters retain certain unlockable abilities from previous games (barring complete revamps to the combat systems) but still start off with base statistics (justified as being out of action in-between games).

** {{Hand Wave}}d in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames The Faces of Evil]]'' for the UsefulNotes/PhilipsCDi. When Link is informed that "it is written" that only he can defeat Ganon, he declares, "Great! I'll grab my stuff!" only to hear Gwonam reply, "There is no time; your sword is enough."
** It even happens in-game in the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor game, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages]]''. You've gotten a handful of useful stuff (a few dungeons in), when your rafting trip goes horribly awry, and lightning strikes you. You wake up on the island you were trying to get to anyway, surrounded by lizard men. Who carry off your stuff. You have ''nothing'' until you find the lizards who stole it and force them to give it back, including a handful of "trading" sequences involving planting a seedling in the past so you can get the seeds from it in the present to take those seeds back to the past to get your damn power bracelet back. This is especially apparent in the sidequests involving switching back and forth between the two ''Oracle'' games. Presumably, in-universe, Link is actually physically traveling between the two countries, but that doesn't explain why he becomes much more powerful and better-equipped when he goes back to the previous land and then leaves all his Heart Containers and items behind when he returns, ''especially'' when you actually can take rings from one game to the other as a NewGamePlus -- why Link would bother taking the Green Joy Ring from Holodrum to Labrynna where it's worthless (can't find double ore if there's no ore at all) but not even so much as his sword is anyone's guess.

* ''VideoGame/KidDracula'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy is the sequel to ''Boku Dracula-kun'' for the UsefulNotes/{{NES}}. In the first cutscene, the son of Dracula admits to Death that he already forgot the techniques he learned in the first game.

** A lengthy password given to you at the end of ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'' allows you to carry your weapons, armor, etc. to ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'' when you get your original party back, averting the trope. Doing so is required to get into the BonusDungeon and get the final two summons. Alternately, if you have another UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance (or a Gamecube with a Game Boy Player) and a link cable, you can transfer the data over without resorting to the lengthy passwords. If you don't take advantage of either of these functions, the trope is downplayed; Isaac and his companions rejoin you slightly underleveled, with poor equipment and 20 out of 28 [[GottaCatchEmAll Djinn]] found.

** ''Devil Children'' explained this in the Fire and Ice entries for UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance by having the powerful characters depowered at the beginning through a minor but plausible plot device.

** This was downplayed in the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafxCD version of ''Ys Book [[VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen I]] and [[VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter II]]'' which threw you into the second game immediately after finishing the first with all your levels, experience intact. This was made to work simply by raising the level cap and continuing to offer more powerful equipment as you progressed. Your sword and armor still get left behind in Esteria, though you get them back at the end when Ys lands.

* ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'':
** A mixed bag in the series, where Kiryu and other playable characters retain certain unlockable abilities from previous games (barring complete revamps to the combat systems) but still start off with base statistics (justified as being out of action in-between games).
** Lampshaded in ''Yakuza Kiwami'' where Majima is disappointed by Kiryu's lack of the fighting prowess he had in ''Yakuza Zero'' due to 15 years in the slammer and so makes it his mission to beat those skills back into him.

** The series has reasons why Gordon Freeman doesn't start with all his weapons and items from the previous game: removed by the G-Man at the end of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', destroyed by a security system during the penultimate level of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', and scattered by an explosion and train wreck at the end of ''Half-Life 2: Episode One''. Gordon still has his weapons at the end of ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', however, and shows no indication of possibly losing them.

** Averted in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', in which Sonic holds onto the Chaos Emeralds through the entire game.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'': If you choose to start a new file [[OldSaveBonus based on]] a completed ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'' save (the completion of which generates a password in the DS version and makes your save file interactable for this game), then while your guild are recognized as experienced adventurers and get to enjoy some exclusive rewards and field events, you can't recreate your endgame party. You can manually remake those characters with the same names, looks, and classes, but these supposed veterans have to start all over at level 1 with only Daggers and Tweeds equipped and three skill points just like any proper fresh faces you make.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'': If you choose to start a new file [[OldSaveBonus based on]] an ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'' save, then while your guild are recognized as experienced adventurers and get to enjoy some exclusive rewards and field events, you can't recreate your endgame party. You can manually remake those characters with the same names, looks, and classes, but these supposed veterans have to start all over at level 1 with only Daggers and Tweeds equipped and three skill points just like any proper fresh faces you make.

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'': If you choose to start a new file [[OldSaveBonus based on]] a ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'' save, then while your guild are recognized as experienced adventurers and get to enjoy some exclusive rewards and field events, you can't recreate your endgame party. You can manually remake those characters with the same names, looks, and classes, but these supposed veterans have to start all over at level 1 with only Daggers and Tweeds equipped and three skill points just like any proper fresh faces you make.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series is notable for this trope, as joked about in the ''Webcomic/ZeldaComic'' [[http://www.zeldacomic.net/episode-166-enlightening-would-be-an-apt-pun/ strip]] on the main page. However, it's actually {{Justified}} in most games, since each installment is usually about [[LegacyCharacter a different Link]], who shouldn't be expected to have anything more than a sword and a shield starting out. And most direct sequels tend to have him stranded in a different land or unceremoniously thrown into a new situation -- it's not unreasonable to suppose your swag from the previous game got lost after Link [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass is cast adrift at sea]] or is suddenly teleported to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask another]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames realm]].

* ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' was DividedForPublication, resulting in ''Ultima VII: The Black Gate'' and ''VideoGame/UltimaVIIPartII: Serpent Isle'' as two separate titles . However, each one is a full game, and by the end of ''The Black Gate'', your party is all powered up. This would be a problem for ''Serpent Isle''. The solution? Immediately after getting off the boat there, you're struck by [[LightningCanDoAnything magical transposing lightning]] that trades your InfinityPlusOneSword for a piece of cheese, your ArmorOfInvincibility for a bucket, etc. It even trades your ''party members'' for random scrap items. Oh, and welcome to level 1 for no reason. Attempting to keep your stuff by dumping it out onto the beach before you walk to the event flag for the teleport storm doesn't work, either. There are actually two versions of that beach in the game's map. The one you start on, and the one you are sent to when the teleport storm happens. You can't get back to that first version of the beach without glitches or hacking, so you'd better get to questing!

* The ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1: Definitive Edition'' PlayableEpilogue, ''Future Connected'', does not take into account a main game save file. So even if you had your characters at level 99 with endgame equipment and fully leveled arts, you will start at level 60 with basic equipment and arts only partly leveled. Since skills and skill links are not a feature in ''Future Connected'', you also lose any of those.

* Possibly the case in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', given that the protagonist [[AmbiguousSituation may or may not be]] the same character as the protagonist from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''.

** Finn in both ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'' get hit hard once the time skip happen. If he were to be paired up, he'll only start with an Iron Lance as his equipment is being inherited by his child. Except the child will never wield lances by default, so they get completely scrapped, especially the powerful Brave Lance, unless Finn sold his equipment in advanced. And then in the midquel, Finn is reverted back to a Level 7 Lance Knight with only a Brave Lance, when he could wield many different type of lances and, depending on how adamant you trained him in Generatation 1, can start as a Duke Knight in ''Genealogy''.

** There's a straighter example in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'': Most of the returning characters (like Erik and Marcus) are at lower levels or have lower stats/growths than they did back in the prequel ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade The Blazing Blade]]''. However, it's also a justified example; since twenty years pass between the two games, they could be weaker due to age or simply got out of shape in the interim.

* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'':
** ''VideoGame/AtelierRyza2LostLegendsAndTheSecretFairy'' is the first game in the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series to have the same main character as its predecessor. However, she starts off at level 5 with basic equipment and having forgotten all of her alchemy recipes. The explanation given is that she lost her previous staff (which is why she has a weaker one) and isn't used to her new alchemy cauldron (to explain her having to re-learn alchemy), but it's kind of a stretch how that makes her go from a seasoned alchemist and fighter to a complete beginner.
** ''VideoGame/AtelierSophie2TheAlchemistOfTheMysteriousDream'' notably averts this completely with regards to Sophie's level, as she starts off with an Adventurer level of 20 an an Alchemy level of 50, the {{Cap}} in ''VideoGame/AtelierSophieTheAlchemistOfTheMysteriousBook''. Losing her items is justified, as Sophie is TrappedInAnotherWorld and lost her gear in the process.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** As [=NPCs=], the game generally assumes that nobody undergoes transformation and nobody has any Links carrying over. However, there are a few exceptions: several episodes (including the initial story) have [[BigBad Nobunaga]] at Rank II, while a few others appear to take place after the initial story and have your player character (now an NPC opponent) at Rank II after transforming in said story. [[ThatOneBoss They tend to be the hardes opponents in the episodes they appear]]. In the final episode, where you play directly as your player character again, ''[[FromBadToWorse every ruling Warlord]]'' is at Rank II. Alas, if you recruit a Rank II Warlord who ''you'' haven't transformed to Rank II, they use your Gallery data or otherwise start from Rank I all the same.

* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] has starred in multiple {{RPG}}s, but no matter what level he has reached or what equipment/items he has gotten, he returns to level 1 with basic equipment (if any at all) at the start of the next game. This makes even less sense in ''Partners in Time'', where his baby form levels up and possibly becomes even stronger than him. Interestingly, in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Bowser's Inside Story]]'', when the time comes to use a technique from the first game, it's ''Mario'' who explains to [[ExpositionFairy Starlow]] this technique that they already know how to do.

** In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam Dream Team]]'', this is subverted by [[spoiler: Bowser. He retains the abilities he learned in the [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory last game]], such as turning into a spiked ball, the ability to turn giant without Kamek's help, and even the [[VacuumMouth Vacuum block]] ability, even though it was apparently undone in the finale. The last of which helps him to become [[RealityWarper Dreamy]] [[FinalBoss Bowser]]!]]

* Exception: One of the big selling points of the ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' franchise was its using the OldSaveBonus, letting the player transfer their character from one game to the next; doing so would let you retain some of the items you had from the last adventure (including all the reward money you'd earned, which tended to be a good chunk of change). This also holds true for stats, with imported characters generally being better off than ones created fresh for each game, especially if the player took the time to LevelGrind.

** As of the PS4 game, he's left most of his stuff back in Greece, most of his powers don't work in Midgard, and he's kind of out-of-practice due to having given up on violent revenge. He doesn't even have his signature chain blades anymore, replacing it with his wife Faye's old weapon, the Leviathan Axe. Though to compensate, he now has Atreus to assist him in combat. [[spoiler:He actually still has the Blades of Chaos; he just really wishes he didn't since he sees them as emblematic of everything he regrets about himself. They're hidden under the floorboards of his home, since [[ClingyMacGuffin he can't destroy them or lose them]].]]

*** Averted in the Wily Tower level of ''The Wily Wars'' (a.k.a. ''Rockman Megaworld''). While the first three games naturally play this straight, once you've beaten them all and unlocked Wily Tower, you can select any 8 of their 22 available weapons and 3 out of 7 items to equip for it.