History Main / OxygenMeter

Characters with SuperNotDrowningSkills, by definition, rarely have need of an Oxygen Meter. SubTrope of StatusLine (a display element showing the current disposition of the player, e.g. score, health, ammo, etc).

Characters with SuperNotDrowningSkills, by definition, rarely have need of an Oxygen Meter.

''"There's some pretty cool stuff down there. Grab a blue balloon and double your dive time, dude!"''

->''"Your air supply is running out."''
-->-- '''Sparks''', ''VideoGame/LEGORockRaiders'' (PC)

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' has an invisible one just for swimming. Some characters (e.g. Squirtle) can swim longer than others (e.g. Charizard), but anyone will sink eventually. In the Subspace Emissary, some stickers can increase the length, but there really isn't any need for it. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' expands on this by having certain characters -- namely [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]], [[Franchise/{{Splatoon}} Inkling]], [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} Incineroar and Charizard]] -- outright [[SuperDrowningSkills take damage from being in the water]] on top of the meter itself, and are constantly seen in their "drowning" animation when swimming.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the party has twenty minutes to defeat [[BonusBoss Emerald]] [[UnderwaterBossBattle WEAPON]], unless a party member is carrying the "Underwater" Materia, which replaces the timer with SuperNotDrowningSkills.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Doom}} Doom 3]]'' has the oxygen meter only visible outdoors. You can even refill it by getting scattered air canisters.

* In ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', the Oxygen Meter is represented by blue-colored honeycombs (in analogy to the yellow honeycombs that represent the standard health meter); if it runs out, you immediately drown. [[ThatOneLevel Rusty Bucket Bay]] has oily water that not only drains the meter twice as fast when submerged, but drains it at the regular speed ''when on the surface'' (this also happens with the water in Click Clock Wood in winter, due to its low temperature). This is rectified slightly in ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'', where once the Oxygen Meter goes, your health starts to go down really quickly instead (this is also the case for areas where oxygen is depleted due to toxic airs or very naughty smells); there's a sidequest in Spiral Mountain whose reward is an upgrade to the oxygen meter's length. In both games, certain transformations allow you to stay underwater indefinitely.
* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' has one of these once you're able to swim underwater (namely after consuming some pills in the Poo Cabin). When you're underwater, Conker's face and a stream of bubbles represents your air. As your air runs down, the stream of bubbles grows shorter, and Conker's expression becomes increasingly desperate. And his face starts turning blue as well. When his head droops, your chocolate bar (i.e., your health) starts falling apart rapidly. All six pieces go in about five seconds, so unless you're near the surface, you run out of air, you're probably gonna die.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter Tri'' and ''3 Ultimate'' use an oxygen meter during underwater combat, though the amount of time the player character can hold their breath for is a bit unrealistic, just not enough so that you're not forced to return to the surface, find oxygen bubbles underwater, or use a miniature oxygen supply bauble. One of the major fights in the game takes place exclusively underwater, so this becomes very important. Eating certain food combinations or using an Air Philter or Mega Air Philter will extend your already-generous oxygen meter, and raising the Oxygen skill to 10 points grants you the [[SuperNotDrowningSkills Endless Oxygen]] skill.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' has an invisible one just for swimming. Some characters (e.g. Squirtle) can swim longer than others (e.g. Charizard), but anyone will sink eventually. In the Subspace Emissary, some stickers can increase the length, but there really isn't any need for it. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' expands on this by having certain characters -- namely [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]], [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} Inkling]], [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} Incineroar and Charizard]] -- outright [[SuperDrowningSkills take damage from being in the water]] on top of the meter itself, and are constantly seen in their "drowning" animation when swimming.

* Most 3D ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games have one (With the exceptions being ''[[VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand 3D Land]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld 3D World]]'' which allow the player to swim indefinitely since they play closer to the 2D games). The original ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' makes the odd decision of using the LifeMeter in lieu of a separate oxygen meter, while still allowing you to catch your breath when surfacing, which basically means that you can refill your health for free by swimming around at the surface of any deep body of water, or continue holding your breath as long as you gather coins (which heal your life meter). ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' and both ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Galaxy]]'' [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 games]] use a separate oxygen meter (though coins still refill it when underwater, and in ''Sunshine'', it basically replaces your health meter while you're underwater). ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' also uses a separate meter, however, the need for oxygen can be bypassed altogether if Mario uses Cappy to capture an aquatic creature that breathes water, such as a Cheep Cheep. The oxygen meter is also turned off altogether in [[MercyMode Assist Mode]], allowing Mario to stay underwater indefinitely.

* DoujinSoft developer Creator/FoxEye takes this UpToEleven by having this mechanic in every last one of their games. This is mainly out of [[AuthorAppeal its lead designer's huge fascination with underwater fantasies and drowning perils]], making this trope the developer's [[SignatureStyle modus operandi]]. Even in games where the Oxygen Meter isn't present (and several games where it is), the developer puts great care [[NightmareFuel and graphic detail]] in showing that it still plays a significant role [[TruthInTelevision through the character's distressful body language as they're running out of air]].

* In ''VideoGame/FarCry1'', your SprintMeter doubles as a Oxygen meter. It makes sense, because if you sprint for an extended period of time, ''what'' are you going to have to catch?
* ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' had your standard oxygen meter that, once empty, would begin to drain your life instead. However Far Cry 2 ''also'' allows you to heal for free with the press of a button. This wonderful GoodBadBug led to what the fans call [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enb0zWbYUik DEADLY AFRICANIZED WATER]]: you can swim for an eternity in it, provided to stop every so often to pull the barbed wire out of your flesh that the water inexplicably leaves there. Later games corrected this by merely having you drown when your breath ran out.

* ''VideoGame/AlphaPrime'' uses an OxygenMeter on the asteroid's surface, refillable through the use of oxygen dispensers, or simply by walking back into an airlock.

* In ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', the Oxygen Meter is represented by blue-colored honeycombs (in analogy to the yellow honeycombs that represent the standard health meter); if it runs out, you immediately drown. [[ThatOneLevel Rusty Bucket Bay]] has oily water that not only drains the meter twice as fast when submerged, but drains it at the regular speed ''when on the surface'' (this also happens with the water in Click Clock Wood in winter, due to its low temperature). This is rectified slightly in ''Banjo-Tooie'', where once the Oxygen Meter goes, your health starts to go down really quickly instead (this is also the case for areas where oxygen is depleted due to toxic airs or very naughty smells); there's a sidequest in Spiral Mountain whose reward is an upgrade to the oxygen meter's length. In both games, certain transformations allow you to stay underwater indefinitely.

* ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty 3'' has a blue bar on the left side of the screen that appears whenever your head is below the water. Additionally when it's within five seconds of running out, [[https://youtu.be/xTkDI0cUj_4?t=1m28s big green numbers]] [[ShoutOut straight from]] ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' appear right above the player's head and start counting down.

* The first ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'' game. Ratchet then gains an oxygen mask about halfway through the first game -- and unlike [[BagOfSpilling most of his weapons and items]], the mask makes it to every subsequent game, making it a non-issue for the rest of the series.
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** Averted in some levels, where Sonic displays SuperDrowningSkills, dying if he so much as touches the rippling water at the very bottom of the game world (if you're lucky, he may only lose rings, and bounce back onto land). On others, water is a relatively benign substance, merely reducing your running speed and jump height (swimming is out of the question), and in ''some'' cases (where it takes up a significant portion or even all of the level) requiring you to find air to breathe. Worse, there are even some places where the two are mixed; go too deep on, say, the Jungle zone in the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog18Bit 8-bit version of]] ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog18Bit Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' or the Aquatic boss fight, and you'll instantly pop your clogs.

* ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'' is the only game in the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' series which has this meter.[[note]]And one of the only games to not feature Kirby in scuba gear when underwater.[[/note]] This meter is shared by all the Kirbys and the more Kirbys the player has, the bigger the meter is.
* The first ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' game has SuperDrowningSkills, the second has an Oxygen Meter which can be refilled by collecting blue lums (or by entering bubble vents in ''Rayman Revolution'', and inhaling the large air bubbles Carmen the Whale provides for you in [[UnderTheSea Whale Bay]]), and the third game onward lets you breathe underwater indefinitely.

* ''{{VideoGame/Fallout}}'': ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', and ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', which use the same (or similar) engines to their aforementioned {{Creator/Bethesda}} ''Elder Scrolls'' sister series above, inherit this mechanic as well. It drains worryingly quickly, followed by massive health loss. Although a character in ''New Vegas'' can gain SuperNotDrowningSkills with [[spoiler:the unique rebreather]], again based on the very same effect as Water Breathing in ''The Elder Scrolls''. An interesting variation on this is that the meter is more and more forgiving as you increase your Endurance attribute. Amusingly, some creatures in ''New Vegas'' will follow you underwater, despite having their own oxygen meter.

* When traveling on the ocean floor to Tane-Tane Island in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', the way you refuel your characters' collective oxygen bar is unusual. The amount of time you're able to survive without the aide of these machines is fairly realistic compared to most examples, though -- around 30 seconds to a minute (with battles excluded). You get them [[HoYay kissed by big-lipped mermen]]. And if you run out of oxygen, you don't die -- instead you get washed up on the beach at the beginning and have to start the underwater "dungeon" all over again.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the party has twenty minutes to defeat [[BonusBoss Emerald]] [[UnderwaterBossBattle WEAPON]], unless a party member is carrying the "Underwater" Materia, which replaces the timer with SuperNotDrowningSkills.
* There's an optional underwater dungeon in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' that gives you a timer. The boss is a PuzzleBoss, just to make things more "fun". It's Gogo the Mimic. How do you win? [[spoiler:Do nothing. He's testing to see if you can be a good mimic -- so mimic him mimicking you doing nothing.]] The faster you catch on, the more time you have to get out.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', diving while swimming normally only lasts for a few seconds before Link resurfaces. Equipping the Iron Boots in the former game lets Link stay underwater longer, in which case a timer based on how much health you have appears (unless you also equip the [[ArtificialGill Zora Tunic]], which lets you breathe underwater). These two items are important in the Water Temple. ''Majora's Mask'' merely requires Link wearing the Zora Mask to eliminate the swimming restrictions.

** In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork5'', there is a water dungeon which you have to guide your current Navi through. While they are underwater, they are perfectly fine until they run out of "cyber-air" (really?), at which point their HP starts dropping rapidly until you either hit a cyber-air pocket or exit the water. Oh, [[FakeDifficulty and there's random encounters the whole way, including while you're attempting to fight the currents that push you back and drain your air, and while you're trying to avoid the whirlpools that drain your air.]] There's also three areas of this, each one progressively more frustrating. This is one instance Capcom cut something out of the English release for a good reason -- in the Japanese version, there were four areas. By the DS version, it was back up to four.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' has an invisible one just for swimming. Some characters (e.g. Squirtle) can swim longer than others (e.g. Charizard), but anyone will sink eventually. In the Subspace Emissary, some stickers can increase the length, but there really isn't any need for it. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' expands on this by having certain characters -- namely [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]], [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} Incineroar and Charizard]] -- outright [[SuperDrowningSkills take damage from being in the water]] on top of the meter itself, and are constantly seen in their "drowning" animation when swimming.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has two of these. A traditional oxygen bar for underwater, and a fatigue bar to prevent you from swimming out too far. The first one can be bypassed by potions or spells. The second one on depleting completely begins draining your health, and can be circumvented by healing yourself to easily swim to the end of the map. The undead Forsaken can also stay underwater for much longer. This used to be significantly more useful until they extended the oxygen bar for all players, so that now everyone usually has plenty of time to fulfill their task. They can't seem to decide on how long the oxygen meter should be, before the ''Burning Crusade'' expansion, and shortly into ''Wrath of the Lich King'', it was one minute long, halfway through wrath, they increased it to roughly five minutes, and as of ''Cataclysm'', it's back down to roughly two minutes. As of ''Mists of Pandaria,'' the Forsaken no longer have a longer oxygen meter than the other races.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' has an invisible one just for swimming. Some characters (e.g. Squirtle) can swim longer than others (e.g. Charizard), but anyone will sink eventually. In the Subspace Emissary, some stickers can increase the length, but there really isn't any need for it.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' expands on this by having certain characters -- namely [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]], [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} Incineroar and Charizard]] -- outright [[SuperDrowningSkills take damage from being in the water]] on top of the meter itself, and are constantly seen in their "drowning" animation when swimming.

A third way, of course, is to just prohibit underwater travel entirely--either by limiting swimming mechanics to the water's surface (such as in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}''), using SuperDrowningSkills, or by simply not allowing the player to interact with deep water in the first place using {{Invisible Wall}}s. (Sure, you can still splash around in puddles and knee-high streams, but to go jump in a ''lake''? Are you crazy?)

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''. This was a departure from the rest of the series, as previous games gave the player SuperDrowningSkills.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' does not have any underwater breathing, but does have a stamina bar to prevent you from swimming from island to island (which can only be done by sailing your boat).

* In ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'', the Oxygen Meter is represented by blue-colored honeycombs (in analogy to the yellow honeycombs that represent the standard health meter); if it runs out, you immediately drown. [[ThatOneLevel Rusty Bucket Bay]] has oily water that not only drains the meter twice as fast when submerged, but drains it at the regular speed ''when on the surface'' (this also happens with the water in Click Clock Wood in winter, due to its low temperature). This is rectified slightly in ''Banjo-Tooie'', where once the Oxygen Meter goes, your health starts to go down really quickly instead (this is also the case for areas where oxygen is depleted due to toxic airs or very naughty smells); there's a sidequest in Spiral Mountain whose reward is an upgrade to the oxygen meter's length. In both games, certain transformations allow you to stay underwater indefinitely.

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' has one of these once you're able to swim underwater (namely after consuming some pills in the Poo Cabin). When you're underwater, Conker's face and a stream of bubbles represents your air. As your air runs down, the stream of bubbles grows shorter, and Conker's expression becomes increasingly desperate. And his face starts turning blue as well. When his head droops, your chocolate bar (i.e., your health) starts falling apart rapidly. All six pieces go in about five seconds, so unless you're near the surface, you run out of air, you're probably gonna die.

* Bungie's ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' series feature an especially heinous, literal Oxygen Meter: Your armored suit's {{HUD}} doesn't indicate how much oxygen remains in your lungs and blood, but in ITS compressed oxygen tanks! Since your suit lacks any way of refilling it with ambient oxygen, you must locate compressed oxygen dispenser panels or tanks of compressed oxygen to refill it. Worse yet, the player character apparently refuses to hold his breath, as if his suit's tank is empty he will [[CriticalExistenceFailure instantly faint from even momentary immersion]].
** It's rare to have trouble with Oxygen underwater (or sewage, or lava), but the back-to-back vacuum levels (three in a row, if you visit a secret level) in ''Marathon Infinity'' have a nasty reputation. The one vacuum level in ''Marathon'' was also infamous.
** Compare this with the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series' Master Chief/playable Elites, who can apparently stand around forever without anything to breathe.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has two of these. A traditional oxygen bar for underwater, and a fatigue bar to prevent you from swimming out too far.
** The first one can be bypassed by potions or spells. The second one on depleting completely begins draining your health, and can be circumvented by healing yourself to easily swim to the end of the map. The undead Forsaken can also stay underwater for much longer. This used to be significantly more useful until they extended the oxygen bar for all players, so that now everyone usually has plenty of time to fulfill their task.
*** They can't seem to decide on how long the oxygen meter should be, before the ''Burning Crusade'' expansion, and shortly into ''Wrath of the Lich King'', it was one minute long, halfway through wrath, they increased it to roughly five minutes, and as of ''Cataclysm'', it's back down to roughly two minutes.
*** As of ''Mists of Pandaria,'' the Forsaken no longer have a longer oxygen meter than the other races.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' has a meter that applies to all Kongs, both when played as together or separately. Touching air bubbles or items surrounded by air will replenish the meter.
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has an oxygen bar that lasts for roughly 15 seconds before Ori's health begins to drain rapidly. Strangely, drowning in this game is the only way to die that doesn't employ CriticalExistenceFailure (Ori clutches at their throat and visibly inhales a lungful of water upon death, rather than exploding into a shower of magic sparks as usual), and can be averted entirely via an upgrade that ditches the meter for SuperNotDrowningSkills.
** The meter returns in ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', but with one frustating change: instead of their health rapidly draining upon their air running out, Ori now drowns immediately.