History Main / StuckItems

** Furthermore, some characters actually have armor pieces which cannot be removed or upgraded, usually owing to the person's profession (such as Mina's Toe Shoes, as she's a dancer).

* ''VideoGame/FableI'': Inventory items can't be dropped, only sold or otherwise used, so the player character is stuck with some non-consumable and non-salable items, like his StarterWeapon (a stick). Fortunately, it's a bottomless HyperspaceArsenal with no encumbrance penalties.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora and company cannot unequip their main weapons, although the Trio can change their weapon to another of the same type. Sora always has to have his Keyblade equipped; Donald and Goofy: their respective Stave and Shield, and any World Partner comes default with a weapon that can't even be switched out for another.

* Koromaru can't equip footwear in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. This is largely because [[CaptainObvious he's a dog.]] His "shoes" equipment slot is permanently occupied by an unremovable "item" called "Bare Paws".

* Several of the classic ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' titles had an extra inventory space to accommodate a "personal" item for the character to help make progress; usually a cigarette lighter for the male character and a lockpick for the female. The space could not be used to stash regular inventory, but would sometimes temporarily hold another item for plot-critical reasons. The knives your characters pack in newer games fit more under EmergencyWeapon, since they don't take up any inventory space to begin with.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'': Mandalore's armor cannot be unequipped, though it can be upgraded. This is justified in-story as his armor including life-support systems - Mandalorians may be tough, but a lifetime of fighting still takes its toll, and the guy's [[BadassGrandpa pushing sixty]] at this point.

* Hilariously, in ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'' for some time it was possible for gold coins to be cursed. So if you decided to fool around and equip a coin as a weapon... you might have found out it was impossible to un-equip, and you were forced to walk around [[ImprobableWeaponUser beating up monsters with a single coin]].

* Un-Unequipables: You can equip the item but subsequently can't remove it (a common property of 'cursed items').

* Koromaru can't equip footwear in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. This is largely because [[CaptainObvious he's a dog.]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' features cursed magical items that once equipped, will re-appear in the relevant slot and force the user to use it even if it has been physically destroyed. Usually requires a specific spell or combination of spells just to allow the item to be unequipped and thrown away. Probably the TropeCodifier.
** ''VideoGame/NetHack'', ''VideoGame/{{Angband}}'' and many other {{Roguelike}}s use the same mechanic; you can't remove a cursed item once equipped without removing the curse first. This is especially bad if the item in question is a two-handed weapon (leaving no hands available to use other items) or an [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Amulet of Strangulation]].
** Hilariously, in ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'' for some time it was possible for gold coins to be cursed. So if you decided to fool around and equip a coin as a weapon... you might have found out it was impossible to un-equip, and you were forced to walk around [[ImprobableWeaponUser beating up monsters with a single coin]].
* Used for flavor in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'': Minsc won't allow Boo to be removed from one of his potion slots.
** Imoen also starts ''Baldur's Gate 2'' with a belt which cannot be removed and has flavor text saying she's been stuck with it as long as she's been in the dungeon. It provides a few [[OneHitKill hidden immunities]] to ensure she [[StoryDrivenInvulnerability survives to reach the exit and trigger the plot]], and it's gone when you get her back later.
** And Edwin has a non-removable amulet that's there because the devs wanted him to be ''really'' good at spellcasting but the engine doesn't allow for someone to just be given extra spell slots.
** Nalia has a ring that cannot be removed from her right hand. This ring gives her resistance to fire, a boost to her saves, and a boost to her armor class.
** The games also include a handful of "cursed" items, that are of the "un-unequipable" variety.

* in ''VideoGame/LostSoulsMUD'', some cursed items display sticky behavior. Hijinks ensue when players decide it is more cost effective to have their buddy hack off the hand with the cursed ring on it, then reattach the limb, than to get a remove curse spell cast on them.
* ''VideoGame/TheLastRemnant'' gives a little control over party member equipment. You can get them to request certain pieces if it matches their equipment focus and will upgrade their weapons over time, but there is no way to manually change their stuff.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' won't allow you to drop quest items. This is to prevent you from making a quest {{Unwinnable}} by losing quest-essential items. Also, said items are weightless. Unfortunately many items will not properly have the "undroppable" tag removed long after they are no longer needed and at least once (Molag Bal's quest) [[UnwinnableByMistake an item that needs to be dropped to complete a quest may get flagged as undroppable]]. Most of these are unfixed as of the last official patch, requiring fan-made patches to fix (and if you are on a console, well, sucks to be you).
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' also has quest items that cannot be dropped short of a console command. However, sometimes these items are common ones that you can accumulate many of. This can easily lead to a player with 200 Giant Toes clogging up their inventory and no way to get rid of them without [[GuideDangIt looking up the completely irrelevant quest that flagged it in the first place]] Thankfully, the flag that makes an item undroppable also makes it weightless, even if it has an advertised weight.
* In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', The Nameless One can equip and unequip armor normally, and the body armour of everyone other than the Nameless One, Annah and Grace is stuck. Some characters have items that can't be replaced, like Dak'kon's Zerth Blade, Vhailor's helm, and Fall From Grace's journal. Other characters have eqipment slots that can't be emptied, but can have other items swapped into them, like Annah's daggers, Nordom's crossbows, The Nameless One's Eye and Morte's teeth and Annah and Grace's body armour. Most even have voiced lines if you attempt to try.

* There's a Music/{{Vocaloid}} [[http://www.animelyrics.com/doujin/vocaloid/noroinomegane.htm song]] about the singer being stuck with "cursed glasses" she can't unequip, which is a problem because she has 20/20 vision normally and with the glasses on she can't see.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} 3'' which has several (plot-important) items that can't be dropped; if you could drop them, you would lose them for the rest of the game.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', you cannot un-equip the backpack you start with, ever. Which is annoying, as there are a few easily attainable alternatives readily available with 4-6 slots more.[[note]]Blizzard has stubbornly claimed this to be a protection against any player accidentally finding some bug that would allow them to remove all their bags, thus leaving them with no inventory and no way to restore it. This doesn't explain why they wouldn't even consider making the default backpack automatically expandable under certain conditions in the same way the defunct Keyring automatically grew in size.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'': Mason's sledgehammer is a default that can't be exchanged for a another weapon. On the other hand, it's the single most versatile weapon in the game.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series, the True Runes can't be moved or removed from their bearers. The same goes for certain ''other'' characters with "special" Runes, whether or not said Runes are actually ''unique'' and plot-relevant.
** Furthermore, some characters actually have armor pieces which cannot be removed or upgraded, usually owing to the person's profession (such as Mina's Toe Shoes, as she's a dancer).
* ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' gives you a bunch of items that remain bound to you during the whole game: the Augite of Souls (a glowy rock that frequently serves as your only source of light), Nexial Binding (a bangle you can use at any time to escape a level at the cost of all your souls/money), Blue Eye Stone (used to enter another player's world as an allied Blue Phantom), Black Eye Stone (used to invade another player's world and hunt them down as a Black Phantom), and after you fulfill the right conditions, the Red Eye Stone (used to enter a duel with another player).
* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' plays this very subtly. It allows you to drop pretty much every piece of equipment, and the items may get lost again if you don't pick them up... except the Orange Charred Ring and the Covenant of Artorias ring, which are required to reach two of the four key bosses throughout the game, and are instead placed in the initially conspicuously empty chest at the Firelink Shrine in case you lose them. On the other hand, they are also the only equipment pieces not transferred to the NewGamePlus.
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', you cannot completely unequip any equipment slot on any character - they're all filled by default, and all you can do is swap them (with the slight exception of your time on the Blackbird, where the slots temporarily empty for everything except [[BareFistedMonk Ayla's]] weapon). The same applies to weapons and basic armor in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', but nothing else.
* ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}'' applies this for all plot-important items. Unfortunately the dev team neglected to consider that "King Tharnos's Permit" allows you to deal with a BrokenBridge either through directly using it, or through selecting a relevant conversational option. Only if you use it directly will it be removed from your inventory--otherwise, it stays with you forever. At least it doesn't weigh much. Albion also features the conventional cursed items, which reduce one of your stats and can't be unequipped (except by paying a healer to remove the curse, which destroys the cursed item).
* The ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'' series has cursed items, which after being equipped cannot be removed until you pay a priest to remove the item for you.
** ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'' brings the "swap only" plate to the table, with everybody coming with default equipment.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' has cursed weapons that are very powerful, but have the annoying side effect of causing paralysis when fighting. Once equipped, you can't take them off unless you visit a priest to remove the curse from the character. The weapon will still be cursed though.
** Though you can equip a special ring to remove the paralysis effect, making it a powerful weapon you probably won't want to remove anyway.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Civilization}} Civilization V]]'': Capital cities cannot be razed. Even if the original owner is defeated entirely, the city is there to stay for the entire game. This includes city state cities, and serves some purpose in that this allows players to liberate both major civs and city states, which is especially useful for a diplomatic victory. On the other hand, its impossible to get rid of such cities if you wanted to build another one in a better location nearby.
* In ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance'' the biker mercenary Nails refuses to take off his leather jacket in favour of proper body armour, which makes him something of a JokeCharacter[[note]]the armour stat penalty this imposes is ''huge'' by mid-game and his other stats don't really make up for it[[/note]], but he ''can'' be persuaded to upgrade it for another leather jacket with Kevlar reinforcement if you can prevent him from getting shot full of holes first. He also doesn't seem to mind shoving a trauma plate underneath it, at least in the V1.13 GameMod, which helps slightly.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts 1'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora and company cannot unequip their main weapons, although the Trio can change their weapon to another of the same type. Sora always has to have his Keyblade equipped; Donald and Goofy: their respective Stave and Shield, and any World Partner comes default with a weapon that can't even be switched out for another.
** The same goes for ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', in which Terra, Ventus and Aqua can switch out Keyblades, but cannot unequip them leaving them with nothing.
*** In the case of the keyblade wielders, this is {{justified|Trope}}; the keyblade is usually the only weapon available to them, and their "weapon slot" is actually just a [[AmplifierArtifact keychain]] used to modify the keyblade's attributes. In a more meta sense, the Keyblades themselves are also [[ClingyMacGuffin Clingy MacGuffins]].
* The ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series has cursed weapons that can only be removed with special methods once equipped. The moment you equip them, you'll hear an ominous tune play, which has become a sort of staple in the series.
* Some ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games have cursed tools that can't be removed when held. Very annoying if you accidentally equip them with the switch tools button shortcut.
* {{Subverted}} in ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile''. Lenneth's Nibelungen Ring has all the usual signs that it can't be removed, but it really can be [[spoiler:and ''not'' wearing it at certain points in the game is necessary to get the best ending]].

* Happens in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' with GuestStarPartyMember Asch. He comes pre-equipped with "Maestro" equipment, basically his uniform as God-General, that refused to be removed unless you use cheat devices. When you first get him, his equipment is top-notch and his accessory very useful, but the next time you can actually control him the rest of your party has clearly outclassed him.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', Chester and Arche can't be stripped of any weapon they are currently in possession of. This is justified as Chester is an Archer ''not'' trained for melee combat and Arche uses {{flying broomstick}}s without which she wouldn't have much advantage in battle.
* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', key items can't be tossed or sold once obtained. Trying to toss gets you a "That's too important to throw away", which is annoying in the early games, which limit your space severely, with items whose purpose has already been fulfilled, like the SS Anne ticket in Gen I after you finish with the ship.
** At least one slot in your party MUST be filled at all times. It can be any Pokemon, but if you try to deposit that last one in the PC, you'll get a "That's your last Pokemon" message and be stopped from doing it.
* This happens in ''Heroes Of Ruin'' for the 3DS. You can swap out your equipment, but once you put something onto your character, you can't remove it.
* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', the weapon/left hand slot of a character cannot be emptied once it has been filled.
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Dizzy}} Magicland Dizzy]]'', you pull Excalibur from the stone by [[spoiler:picking up some 'sticky stuff' that allows you to get a good enough grip]]. It's then permanently attached to your hand (taking up inventory space) for the remainder of the game.
* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' has this at the end: [[spoiler:The Volunteer is unable to take the Psi Armor off]].
* Koromaru can't equip footwear in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. This is largely because [[CaptainObvious he's a dog.]]

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'': Mandalore's armor cannot be unequipped, though it can be upgraded. This is justified in-story as his armor including life-support systems - Mandalorians may be tough, but a lifetime of fighting still takes its toll, and the guy's [[BadassGrandpa pushing sixty]] at this point.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': There is a side quest to photograph some landmarks, and you are given a camera. [[ObviousBeta A bug]] means that you cannot drop the camera when the quest is completed.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' will let you run around with no armor whatsoever, but you're never allowed to be weaponless. You can go hunting without armor--you'll just be a GlassCannon at best--but there would be no point in having no weapons equipped.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' has Bond's [=PP7=] which he always carries (sometimes with a suppressor). You can choose to never use it and even run out of ammo for it, but he'll always have the gun on him. The only time Bond doesn't have his signature pistol is during the Bunker 2 level where he gets captured and is stripped of all of his weapons.

* In ''VideoGame/RavenswordShadowlands'', every quest item you acquire remains in your inventory for the rest of the game and cannot be sold or dropped, even after they've long served their purpose.

* Occurs several times in the ''[[Franchise/SaGaRPG SaGa]]'' series:

* ''Franchise/RedFaction: Guerilla'': Mason's sledgehammer is a default that can't be exchanged for a another weapon. On the other hand, it's the single most versatile weapon in the game.

*** Ike's Ragnell, Elincia's Amiti[[note]]This prevents Renning, who is programmed to be able to wield Amiti, from actually getting it in legitimate gameplay[[/note], Sanaki's Rudol Gem, and all laguz weapons are locked to their wielder's inventories.

* In ''[[Videogame/{{Dizzy}} Magicland Dizzy]]'', you pull Excalibur from the stone by [[spoiler:picking up some 'sticky stuff' that allows you to get a good enough grip]]. It's then permanently attached to your hand (taking up inventory space) for the remainder of the game.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' has Bond's PP7 which he always carries (sometimes with a suppressor). You can choose to never use it and even run out of ammo for it, but he'll always have the gun on him. The only time Bond doesn't have his signature pistol is during the Bunker 2 level where he gets captured and is stripped of all of his weapons.

* The ''Franchise/{{Wild ARMs}}'' games generally let you upgrade your characters [=ARMs=] (or change their ammunition), but the [=ARMs=] themselves are character-specific and can't be unequipped.

* Occurs several times in the ''VideoGame/{{SaGa}}'' series:

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', you cannot un-equip the backpack you start with, ever. Which is annoying, as there are a few easily attainable alternatives readily available with 4-6 slots more.

** Shulk is also stuck with the Monado for the duration of the game and can't equip any other swords, though at least the Monado gets upgraded throughout the game to keep its damage viable.

*** In the case of the keyblade wielders, this is {{justified|Trope}}; the keyblade is usually the only weapon available to them, and their "weapon slot" is actually just a [[AmplifierArtifact keychain]] used to modify the keyblade's attributes.

* Justified in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} 3'' which has several (plot-important) items that can't be dropped; if you could drop them, you would [[PermanentlyMissableContent lose them for the rest of the game]].

* There's a Music/{{Vocaloid}} [[http://www.animelyrics.com/doujin/vocaloid/noroinomegane.htm song]] about the singer being stuck with "cursed glasses" she can't unequip, which is a problem because she has 20/20 vision normally and with the glasses on she can't see. ... yeah, it's pretty weird.

* Koromaru can't equip footwear in ''{{Persona 3}}''. This is largely because [[CaptainObvious he's a dog.]]