History Main / TimeKeepsOnTicking

* In ''VideoGame/HalfMinuteHero'', Normal difficulty stops the clock inside towns. Hard mode does not, forcing the player to manage his time even more strictly. The Time Goddess also does this as [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment punishment]] if you try to short-change her on the money she requests for a prayer.

-->''And there's one more important piece of advice for you. So listen up! [[TropeNamer Time keeps on ticking]] [[OhCrap even as you are reading this message!]]''

As can be seen above, this is simply when the timer continues going through events that in all fairness should not be affected by it. Examples include during cut scenes and other periods where the player's control over the character is removed, to the point where they can die without any way of preventing it, or when going through the inventory or saving the game. A possible sub trope of FakeDifficulty, as this is one of those things that averts a common and rather beneficial [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Acceptable Break from Reality]].

* In Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', after Lord Crump activates the self-destruct sequence in the Great Tree, the timer keeps ticking even while you're fighting the Mooks that get in your way. Heck, it even keeps going while the Puni elder is shouting at him. Fortunately, it does pause on the menu screens. Though you wouldn't really need it, except maybe to heal yourself before the boss battle. [[spoiler:Hold on to your items; there's a Recovery Block next to the Save Block right before the battle.]]

* In Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', after Lord Crump activates the self-destruct sequence in the Great Tree, the timer keeps ticking even while you're fighting the Mooks that get in your way. Heck, it even keeps going while the Puni elder is shouting at him. (However, you can't get a Game Over during that cutscene.) Fortunately, it does pause on the menu screens. Not sure why you'd need the pause menu at this point, though, except maybe to heal yourself before the boss battle. [[spoiler:Hold on to your items; there's a Recovery Block next to the Save Block right before the battle.]]

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' has this after the Power Star is revealed during a Speedy Comet, but not during cutscenes. Subverted in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2''.

** However, the clock does not keep running during interactive cutscenes, aka "action events", where the right key must be pressed at the right time during the cutscene.

* ''Yoshi's Island DS'', the TropeName, actually mocks the player with this in Time Trial mode, with the message boxes being replaced by taunts saying things like "Lost time!"

* In Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', after Lord Crump activates the self-destruct sequence in the Great Tree, the timer keeps ticking even while you're fighting the Mooks that get in your way. Heck, it even keeps going while the Puni elder is shouting at him. Fortunately, it does pause on the menu screens. Not sure why you'd need the pause menu at this point, though, except maybe to heal yourself before the boss battle. [[spoiler:Hold on to your items; there's a Recovery Block next to the Save Block right before the battle.]]

* ''Yoshi's Island DS'' actually mocks the player with this, with the message boxes being replaced by taunts saying things like "Lost time!"

* In Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', after Lord Crump activates the self-destruct sequence in the Great Tree, the timer keeps ticking even while you're fighting the Mooks that get in your way. Heck, it even keeps going while the Puni elder is shouting at him. Fortunately, it does pause on the menu screens. Not sure why you'd need the pause menu at this point, though, except maybe to heal yourself before the boss battle. [[spoiler:Hold on to your items; there's a Refresh Block next to the Save Block right before the battle.]]

** In any of the Final Fantasy games with timed missions in them, the timer keeps running while you're in the menu screen, although you can stop it by pausing in battle. In fact, the mission timer will generally count down in the spot where the total game time is usually seen in the main menu, just to drive home the point that you had better use items and equip your party ''fast''.

** In any of the Final Fantasy games with timers on them, the timer keeps running while you're in the menu screen, although you can stop it by pausing in battle.

* ''MassEffect3'' has a mission in a spaceship hangar where the enemy tries to gas you out. To stop it, you have to get to a control panel on the floor above. However, you will die if you take too long, and the actual use of the control panel takes place in a cutscene. But the timer doesn't stop. You can actually get a Critical Mission Failure ''right in the middle of the cutscene''.

* GameShow example: The final round of ''WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego'' involved competitors trying to get through a maze of gates. In order to open a gate, a question had to be answered correctly, the questions were not all the same length, and the voice asking them spoke ''rather slowly''. Oh, and there was a strict time limit, which didn't stop while the question was being asked.

* ''TombRaider: Anniversary'' has some cutscenes that where the clock keeps ticking during Time Trials.

* ''{{Metroid}}'' games generally keep the timers of their (frequent) timed missions going during elevators and cut-scenes, but generally not when you pause.

* ''PerfectDark'' has a level that does the opposite - to get a cheat, you have to do it in a certain time, but there is a part where you are forced to wait for a door to unlock that takes nearly half that time. If you start the lock and then start a cutscene, the door keeps unlocking but the level timer pauses.

** Also, early in the game you have to stop Ultros from dropping a weight on Celes, which he helpfully states it will take him five minutes to finish moving. Between your party and him is a walkway infested with rats, which trigger unescapable battles when touched. Even with high enough levels (which you really don't want because of the [[GuideDangIt Esper stat bonus you can't gain yet]]) and good equipment, you still have to figure out how to encounter as few enemies as possible to even make it to him.
* In the first ''BaldursGate'', the game would un-pause whenever you went into a character's inventory. The intent was to keep you from being able to do things like change armor during combat, but it was pretty frustrating when you forgot to, say, pre-equip a potion or arrows. This was fixed in the sequel; you were simply prohibited from changing armor during battle.

* ''StarWars: Rogue Leader'' had this. Its sequel didn't.
* Another live TV example is ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''. This is quite telling when it's recut for non-American television and the commercials are missing (meaning 24 becomes about 18...)
* In ''DeadRising'', you have to talk to survivors before they join your party. There are a few painfully long conversations through which you have to mash the A button while the clock ticks down on other survivors in the mall.

* ''TimeCrisis 1'' had this. Plus instant GameOver upon time-out, and [[UnstableEquilibrium time extensions dependent on skill]].

* The NintendoHard BulletHell NES ShootEmUp ''{{Recca}}''. There's a time limit constantly counting down, if it reaches 0 it's GameOver and it still counts down even when the game was paused!

* An unusual form appeared in ''TwistedMetal 2''. Pausing the game did not suspend projectiles in the air (notable exception: rolling ricochet bombs), so you could get hit by a missile and die on the pause screen! This worked both ways: if an enemy was about to dodge your shot, press pause and it freezes your target so you get an easy hit.
* {{Okami}}'s timed missions allow you to pause the game with no benefit, but using the Celestial Brush (which freezes everything on screen) doesn't stop the clock. This is justified, though, since you are actually doing things with that time.

* The whole of the ''WheresWaldo'' NES game is a TimedMission, with the timer going down even during the level transitions. ([[FakeDifficulty Which are unskippable, in case you're wondering]].)

* In ''AnimalCrossing: Wild World'', when a villager gives you a package and a specific time limit for delivery, he means that amount of time. The games do run in real time, after all.
** Another frustration in ''Wild World'' is the lack of a quick way to switch among various tools. Catching certain insects (bees and underground/rock-dwellers) is annoying and difficult as they run away while you open the menu to grab your net. (The GameCube game pauses bugs while some menus are open; ''City Folk'' switches tools with the Wii Remote's Control Pad.)

* ''{{Kirby}}: Nightmare in Dreamland'' for GameBoyAdvance

** FamilyFeud also has this, but the timer is not nearly as strict.

* The whole of the ''WheresWaldo'' NES game is a TimedMission, with the timer going down even during the level transitions. ([[FakeDifficulty Which are unskippable, in case you're wondering]])

* In ''FinalFantasyV'', at one point you have to escape a castle before it explodes. Just when you think you're out, you get ambushed by a boss that insists on talking to you before attacking while the timer is still counting down. If you don't beat the boss before the timer ends, you're done for.

* Before the banquet in ''FinalFantasyVI'', you are given four minutes to talk to as many soldiers as possible. If you come across Kefka, he gets an extended conversation that uses up 20 seconds minimum. What's more, Kefka ''doesn't'' count as a soldier in the final talley - the only reason you're allowed to talk to him is as a trap to use up time.

* When stopping the train in ''FinalFantasyVII'', the timer elapses while two [=NPCs=] have a long conversation with you. Probably done deliberately, since if you actually take the time to read all of the dialogue in that scene instead of button-mashing through it, there's no way you'll be able to stop the train before the counter reaches 0.

* When stopping the train in ''FinalFantasyVII'', the timer elapses while two NPCs have a long conversation with you. Probably done deliberately, since if you actually take the time to read all of the dialogue in that scene instead of button-mashing through it, there's no way you'll be able to stop the train before the counter reaches 0.

* In the reactor escape in ''FinalFantasyVII'', the timer elapses while you're in the menu. It's not much of a problem, due to the brevity of the level.
** When escaping Dollet in ''FinalFantasyVIII'', the timer also ticks down while in the menu. You have 30 minutes to escape, though, so it's not a big deal... unless you're trying to get a [=SeeD=] ranking of 10.

* Played painfully straight in ''PuzzleQuest: Galactrix''. Pausing the game ''does not pause'' the timer on the Leapgate-hacking game.

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* During the big cutscene before the Volgin fight in ''MetalGearSolid 3'', Snake has just set the building up to explode. Volgin goes on a classic Metal Gear villain Motive Rant, but The Sorrow spends much of the cutscene holding up a timer to remind you of how long you have left. If you skip the cutscene, you'll have time from then to defeat Volgin with. In harder difficulty modes, there's a danger of the bomb actually going off during the cutscene and killing you unless you skip it early on.
** Similar happens during the end of ''MetalGearSolid''. Liquid sets up a bomb that goes off in three minutes, then talks about what Snake could spend that time doing, wasting thirty seconds of the time, and giving you just 2:30 to beat him. If you fail and die, then continue, or skip the cutscene, you get the full three minutes.

* ''ResidentEvil4'', at least in the part with a timer.

* ''TimeCrisis 1'' had this. Plus instant GameOver upon time-out, and [[UnstableEquilibrium time extensions depndent on skill]].