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4
5The final goal of the game/plot happens to be somewhere the hero can reach -- possibly even WhereItAllBegan -- but nothing can be done about it.
6
7Usually, when a DamselInDistress needs to be rescued, half the adventure is figuring out where she is, and then getting there. But in this case, you already know where she is--in fact, you saw her five minutes ago. Unfortunately, she's anything but "rescued".
8
9In this trope, the hero needs something or someone else to truly save the day. If their job is to save a person, they're not so much kidnapped as they are bound, bewitched, enchanted, enfeebled, {{curse}}d, [[ForcedTransformation polymorphed]] or in other dire straits. If the task is to defeat a person, they can be challenged at any time--at the challenger's own risk. But other than that, same rules apply--TheHero needs to go on an adventure to finish things.
10
11Often, when this occurs, the distressed person may double as MissionControl or otherwise assist the hero that's trying to save them. The antagonist, if they're feeling cheeky, can pull this role also under the justification of INeedYouStronger or CantKillYouStillNeedYou. This has the benefit of giving the protagonist the ability to interact and speak with these characters and let the audience grow on them. In games, it sometimes provides a cozy hub to return to while acting as a constant reminder to the player what's at stake. At the other extreme, if the villainous MissionControl is ''not actually helping'' the player, you've got MissionControlIsOffItsMeds.
12
13Compare FinalDungeonPreview. Contrast YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle for the damsel version and OrcusOnHisThrone for the villain version. Sometimes the result of a BrokenBridge.
14----
15!!Examples
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17[[foldercontrol]]
18
19[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
20* In ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'': During the Alfheim Online Arc, Kirito must rescue Asuna. However, she is in a hospital room in a coma pledged to be married to a much older company worker unless Kirito can interfere. He has to enter the game and find Asuna to set her free from being locked within the game stuck in a coma, but she never actually leaves her hospital bed the entire time. [[spoiler:Said older company worker is also the one that trapped Asuna into the game.]]
21[[/folder]]
22
23[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
24* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' segment "Den". Den knows where Katherine Wells is - she's sleeping inside a glass case in Ard's palace. Unfortunately, Ard will only allow her to wake after Den has stolen the Loc-Nar from the Queen and returned it to him. Things don't turn out quite as planned.
25[[/folder]]
26
27[[folder:Literature]]
28* ''Literature/ThePatchworkGirlOfOz''. Ojo the Unlucky has several problems. First, his uncle Nunkie and another person have been turned to stone by the Liquid of Petrifaction, so he must quest through the land of Oz to find the ingredients for an antidote. Second, one of the ingredients for the potion is a six-leafed clover, and it's illegal to pick them. Third, it's illegal to practice magic (like using magical antidotes to restore people to life) in the land of Oz.
29* Right at the start of ''Literature/TheElenium'', Sparhawk is taken to [[DamselInDistress Queen Ehlana]] in her throneroom... except that she is dying from a mysterious disease, and has been placed in suspended animation in a magical crystal casing to postpone her death. Most of the rest of the trilogy is about the quest of Sparhawk and his friends to find a cure before a usurper can accede her throne.
30* There is a moment of this in ''Literature/TheFamousFive'' book ''Five Go Off in a Caravan''. When the Five are trapped inside the hill, they discover that an underground stream flows out of the side of the hill, so they wade along it to escape. Unfortunately, just when the end is in sight, the stream is flowing too fast and too dangerously to proceed any further, and they fear being thrown against the side of cave and Timmy being drowned, so they have to wade back again, having got wet for nothing. Too sickening for words.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Video Games]]
34* Sometimes used in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games.
35** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'': While the entrance to the final dungeon can be tough to find without looking carefully for it, you ''can'' enter the dungeon from very early in the game. But you can't make it more than a few rooms unless you have found all the Triforce shards.
36** ''Videogame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'': The sleeping Princess Zelda is the ''first thing you see'' when you start the game. Every time you run out of lives and continue, you start back at the same palace where she's been sleeping for hundreds of years. This is a stark contrast to the original game, where all of the characters named in the backstory were unseen and mysterious until the very last fight of the game.
37** ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'':
38*** When you first go into the Dark World en route to the Tower of Hera, you can see the base of Ganon's Tower atop the Dark World version of Death Mountain. The only thing separating you from the final dungeon in the game is a single, unclimbable wall.
39*** After beating [[DiscOneFinalBoss Agahnim]], Link is transported to the Dark World atop a large pyramid, with the landscape of the DarkWorld visible in the horizon. This trope is ''doubled'' because not only does the view of the Dark World show you Ganon's Castle, where the BigBad resides (and which Link can get close enough to ''spit on'' at that point in the quest), but the pyramid Link is standing on actually contains [[CosmicKeystone the Triforce]], which is the true goal of the entire game!
40** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'':
41*** You can go to the outside of the final dungeon, Ganon's Castle, as soon as you set foot in the BadFuture halfway through the game, though in order to get inside you need to rescue the sages who then build a magic bridge to allow you to enter the castle.
42*** A single dungeon version happens in the Fire Temple where the boss key and door are in rooms right off the entrance of the Temple, but you can't access the boss key until you get the Megaton Hammer later on in the temple.
43** ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': The Skull Kid is confronted at the very beginning of the game at the end of the Final Day on top of the Clock Tower from which you first emerged into Termina, but you quickly find out that there's no way to stop him from crashing the moon into the land. All you can do there is retrieve the Ocarina of Time and use it to reset the three day cycle. You must instead follow Tael's entreaty to find the Four Giants at the four corners of Termina before you can once again confront the Skull Kid at the Clock Tower and stop the moon.
44** ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'':
45*** Link's sister is in the first dungeon you visit, which is easy enough to traverse--but the BigBad's [[TheDragon drag--er, giant bird]], prevents her rescue because Link isn't strong enough. You have to attain the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Master Sword]] before she's finally rescued.
46*** Ganon's Tower, the final dungeon, is only a short walk away from Hyrule Castle, which you visit halfway through the game to obtain the aforementioned Master Sword. However, the way is blocked by a magic barrier set up by Ganondorf, which cannot be broken until the Master Sword has its power restored. Once you accomplish that, you ''still'' have to get one more set of PlotCoupons since the [[DiabolusExMachina gods won't reopen]] the portal to Hyrule for you (which is also in a readily accessible location) unless you have them.
47** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'':
48*** Zelda is turned to stone in the opening portion of the game and subsequently kept right next to her father's throne, itself in Hyrule Castle that you first visit early on, while Link goes on his quest to free her.
49*** A single dungeon version happens in the Temple of Droplets, where the Boss Door is one of the first unlocked, but the Element of Water is frozen, forcing Link and Ezlo to traverse the dungeon to melt it out. Happens again at the end, when the now unfrozen Big Octorok sucks the Element inside itself, forcing Link to defeat the boss.
50** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'':
51*** The very first area you visit upon completing the tutorial and reaching the surface is not only [[SealedEvilInACan the prison for the big bad]], but also [[spoiler: right next to the place where [[LivingMacguffin Zelda]] has been sleeping for thousands of years waiting for you to defeat him]]. Unfortunately for you, to claim the MacGuffin you'll use to defeat the BigBad and [[spoiler: make it safe for Zelda to wake up]], you must first travel across the surface and undergo numerous trials to strengthen yourself and prove yourself worthy to use it, with this location serving as a frequent destination. ''Then'', your success triggers [[spoiler:a scene when TheDragon comes BackForTheFinale and the location is revealed as the site of one more boss battle before becoming the gateway to the FinalBoss (albeit in the distant past).]]
52*** [[spoiler:The Triforce is hidden on the HubCity of Skyloft, directly beneath the area where you retrieve the [[CoolSword Goddess Sword,]] your main weapon, at the very beginning of the game.]] And numerous other areas have plot-relevant subsections that will have you making repeat visits. Though, again, you won't get the PlotCoupons you need to access them until you've proven yourself.
53** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'': Your first foray into Lorule actually brings you to the chamber where the FinalBoss is fought and which you cannot revisit until you rescue all the Sages.
54** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' plays with this. Hyrule Castle, where Zelda is trapped and Calamity Ganon is sealed, is one of the first things the player sees upon getting out into the main game world, and it's also one of the closest landmarks relative to that starting position. But once you complete the introductory Great Plateau sequence, you can in fact run straight to the castle and fight the FinalBoss without doing any other story quests if you want. Granted, not only will this be an absurdly difficult thing to do, you will also miss out on all the plot explaining who Link is, what his relationship with Zelda was like, who the Champions were, etc. And you'll also miss the GoldenEnding.
55** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': does this with its two main endgame goals:
56*** As you solve Hyrule's crises and learn more about why they and the Upheaval happened, it becomes increasingly clear that the only way to ensure the kingdom's safety is by defeating the Demon King, Ganondorf. Much like in ''Breath of the Wild'', he is located deep in the Hyrule Castle Chasm that is very close to where you first return to Hyrule upon skydiving from the Great Sky Island (in fact, he's almost right next to [[WhereItAllBegan the tunnels Link and Zelda explored in the prologue]]), and you can go straight there after getting the Paraglider without doing any other story quests. But this is even harder to do than immediately facing Calamity Ganon, in large part thanks to the pit being full of [[MadeOfEvil Gloom]] that causes MaximumHPReduction that is hard to counteract without the kind of extensive preparation you would do by completing way more quests beforehand.
57*** Long before you find out who exactly Ganondorf even is, you are tasked with reuniting with Princess Zelda, who got mysteriously teleported away when Ganondorf caused the platform she was on to collapse. The Purah Pad you relocate on the Great Sky Island points you toward the Temple of Time, but upon gaining access you instead get an enigmatic vision and message from Zelda before the Light Dragon flying around the Temple clears away the cloud barrier that was preventing you from skydiving back down to Hyrule. You have to search for more clues about Zelda on the surface (with many {{Red Herring}}s distracting you along the way) before you figure out the truth: [[spoiler:that Light Dragon you saw ''is'' Zelda, who got TrappedInThePast and underwent a seemingly one-way transformation into an immortal but [[DeathOfPersonality mindless]] dragon so she could restore the broken Master Sword over the ages]]. But you can't do anything about ''that'' until the finale.
58* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
59** ''VideoGame/Metroid1'', its remake ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' all have the entrance to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon very close to where you first land in the HubLevel, but you can't pass the threshold until you beat the main bosses and/or collect every PlotCoupon (though clever use of GoodBadBugs in the first game can enable some SequenceBreaking to let you jump to the entrance of Tourian).
60** ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' and its remake ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' have an unusual variant, in that progression through the game map goes in a clockwise direction that brings you back to your gunship right after beating the Queen Metroid, but there's no clear indication that this will be the case before the end, and it's completely impossible to go the opposite direction to even glimpse the climactic area instead of going the proper way.
61* ''Videogame/{{MYST}}'': The story of the game involves two brothers who are trapped in a pair of books, and the player needs to collect pages in order to unlock the solution to the final puzzle. However, if you already know the solution (such as, after playing through the game once), you can go straight to the final puzzle and complete it.
62* In ''Videogame/PandorasTower'', the protagonist's girlfriend, Elena, is turning into a beast from the very beginning, prompting the hero to go on a quest to save her. The game revolves around building an affectionate relationship with Elena as much as it does adventuring.
63* In ''Videogame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', Mono is dead as the game begins, and Wander's deal with the deity Dormin is that they will resurrect her in exchange for Wander destroying each of the Colossi. You return to the central temple where she rests every time you defeat one.
64* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
65** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'':
66*** Princess Gwaelin is in the Marsh Cave that you enter early on in the game. The reason you can't rescue her the first time you enter is because one, you do not have a key, which is required to open up the door to her cell; and two, there's a dragon guarding said door that [[BeefGate you won't be able to beat at your current level and equipment]].
67*** Charlock Castle, where the Dragonlord dwells, can be seen right below your starting point in the map.
68** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'': In the beginning of the second part of the game, you arrive in the city of Tantegel. You can see Zoma's Castle -the final dungeon- across a narrow strait.
69** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'': As soon as you enter the Swordsman's Labyrinth you can spot the chest containing the treasure required to progress the game, but you can't get it until you have walked around the whole dungeon, beaten all puzzles and killed the guardian monster.
70* In ''VideoGame/{{Zeliard}}'', Princess Felicia la Felishika is [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] by the villain, and she's being kept in a shrine in the first town where you can visit her whenever you like. There's no dialogue and, while you can go back to the first town at any point if you want to, there's no reason to ever go to her. She's saved remotely by defeating the final boss at a town very far away.
71* ''{{VideoGame/Scribblenauts}} Unlimited'' is all about saving your sister from a [[TakenForGranite curse of petrification]]. She's at your home the whole time, waiting patiently for you to collect enough Starites to break the spell. (Not that she has much choice.)
72* ''Videogame/ChronoTrigger'': [[BigBad Lavos]] can be defeated at any time after you visit the End of Time (roughly a quarter through the main story). But, until you get through the plot proper, expect to get [[CurbstompBattle curbstomped.]] In a NewGamePlus, you can fight Lavos from the very start, and defeating him at different points in the story gives you the various MultipleEndings.
73* Can happen in ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}} 2''. You only need to pick up three things to finish the game: Quickclaw, Rhonda, and the diamond ring. The game automatically ends when you pick up the last one of these. Where's Quickclaw? Right below your starting position. You can see him shivering below you on the very first screen of the game, but if you try to double back and save him right away, you're blocked by an aggressive rat. You have to take the (very) long way around and approach him from underneath.
74* Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'': The Breach, closing which is set up as your main objective for the game in its opening sequence, is a short walk away from Haven, where you set up your PlayerHeadquarters. In fact, you can see the Breach from pretty much anywhere in the village, but you have to secure an alliance with either the mages or the Templars before you can actually seal it for good. The subversion comes from the fact that despite being set up as the ultimate goal, closing the Breach turns out to be just the start of a much larger, game-spanning conflict.
75* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'': There's a unique example that isn't plot sensitive, but is still a game-spanning objective. The game is littered with enigmatic advertisements for something called Peng and an award in the AchievementSystem exists for finding it. It happens to be a tiny golden statue of a woman sitting in a trench in the very first area of the game but Isaac won't be able to get ahold of it until returning there near the end of the game, using the Kinesis Module he didn't have earlier. It has no purpose but is sellable for a large sum.
76* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX'': Defeating Sin is the entire goal of the game, and if it were possible at the beginning of the game, your party would do it with no hesitation. Instead, though, they must go on a Pilgrimage for the Final Aeon, the only thing that can defeat Sin. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that they, themselves are potentially the Final Aeon. The point of the Pilgrimage was to create powerful emotional bonds that will allow the chosen sacrifice to become an exceptionally powerful Aeon upon their death. It also turns out that defeating Sin in this method doesn't really solve anything, so our heroes reject it and search for another means. To hammer this trope home, the protagonists at one point leave a dungeon to find Sin just towering outside, waiting. When Tidus (who now knows that Sin is his father, Jecht) pleads with it to give them just a little more time to figure things out, Sin turns and leaves.]]
77* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
78** In the ''A Realm Reborn'' expansion (also known as "2.0"), the final mission and main enemy base are located in Northern Thanalan, just a hop-skip-and-jump away from the starting city of Ul'dah for any player that began there (and even if they didn't, the player will still reach Ul'dah extremely early into the story). However, due to the area crawling with high-level mobs and entry to the dungeon being restricted regardless, it isn't until the end of the 2.0 Main Scenario questline that they will be able to invade the base and defeat TheHeavy: Gaius Baelsar.
79** In the ''Stormblood'' (4.0) questline, the player must liberate two different countries conquered by the Garlean Empire. The first is Doma, and the player comes within spitting distance of Doma Castle at numerous times throughout the story, blocked either by barriers, tough monsters or other hindrances. Naturally, the player and the resistance will need a ton of work and preparation to retake the Castle and free Doma.
80** In the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion, the party is unexpectedly accompanied by [[spoiler:Emet-Selch, one of the true masterminds behind not only the Garlean Empire but almost every problem that has arisen throughout the main story.]] Everyone in the group knows that [[spoiler:Emet-Selch]] is plotting something nefarious, and that he can't be trusted...but there's nothing that can be done about it. [[spoiler:As an Ascian, Emet-Selch is capable of BodySurfing if his current body is killed; although the group knows the means to permanently kill an Ascian, Emet-Selch isn't stupid and will simply run away the moment that they try. Furthermore, his [[MrExposition insight and knowledge]] on the current situation is useful ([[UnreliableExpositor even if unreliable]]). For these reasons, they decide to simply put up with him until the end of the game, where he finally enacts his master stroke and the only way to resolve the crisis is to eliminate him.]]
81* The ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' franchise does this in most of its games, to the point of it practically being a running gag. In the first game, [[spoiler:the White Page which forms your final objective is actually only feet from the starting point; it's just hidden in a place you won't find until MUCH later in the game]]. In ''VideoGame/RivenTheSequelToMyst'', [[spoiler:you spawn right next to the telescope necessary to open the Star Fissure; however, you have no idea that it's important and you can't find the code to open it until a later point (and getting the good ending requires even more work)]]. The third game, ''VideoGame/MystIIIExile'', has the Releeshahn book on a pedestal right in front of you in the opening scenes, but it quickly gets stolen and you don't get it back until the final level. ''VideoGame/MystIVRevelation'' is the only exception, since the ending takes place [[spoiler:on a different Age]]; however, [[spoiler:the final cutscene ''is'' set in Tomanha, where the game started]]. And finally, ''VideoGame/MystVEndOfAges'' has the object of the game, [[spoiler:The Tablet]], appear in front of you near the start of the game; however, unlocking it [[spoiler:and deciding what to do with it]] is the entire purpose of the game.
82* In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', you eventually discover that [[spoiler:the gateway to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon is in the room where you woke up in the Mortuary at the beginning of the game]]. In one optional dialogue response, the Nameless One is not amused.
83-->'''Nameless One:''' I regret that I wandered all over the Planes when [[spoiler:the damn portal was right here when I FIRST woke up]].
84* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'': The entrance to the final area, Kiln of the First Flame, is located underneath [[HubLevel Firelink Shrine]]; however, the door to the Kiln is sealed shut until the very end of the game.
85* ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' plays with this. The game starts with Guybrush [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally]] turning [[DamselInDistress Elaine]] into a [[TakenForGranite golden statue]] with a cursed engagement ring and needing to find a cure for her. However, the statue-fied Elaine is stolen by pirates soon afterwards, making finding her the primary objective.
86* In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaI'', you can see Dracula's Keep in the background of Stage 3. And if you fit the level maps together to match the map between levels, you'd see that Dracula's Keep is directly above the entrance door at the beginning of Stage 1.
87* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The Temple of the Black Egg is one of the first landmarks you can find in the Forgotten Crossroads at the beginning of the game. Upon reaching the City of Tears later on, you find out the Black Egg [[spoiler:is where the Hollow Knight was [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] with the source of the plague, making it the endpoint of your quest]]. You'll have go across Hallownest to destroy the Dreamers before you can enter the Egg itself [[spoiler:and fight the Hollow Knight]], and then take even more extra steps to get the GoldenEnding.
88* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
89** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'': When you reach the second town, Viridian City, you can find the road to the Indigo Plateau right next to it, which is where the biggest championship of the game takes place. However, they won't allow you through without all the badges.
90** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'': The route to the Indigo Plateau is to the east of your hometown, but you need the Surf and Waterfall [=HMs=].
91** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': The gate to the Pokemon League is to the east of the third town and first gym, but requires all eight badges.
92** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': The Pokemon League is connected to [[HubCity Mesagoza]] and the player can even access it without any issues, but getting passed the lobby requires all eight badges.
93* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'':
94** Unlike the other worlds in the game, the entrance to the palace of Deep Magma Bog can be found almost as soon as you can enter the world. Just like the other worlds, however, you still need to collect [[PlotCoupon Wonder Seeds]] in order to unlock the level to play, requiring you to complete the other levels in Deep Magma Bog.
95** The final levels of the game are located within [[GeniusLoci Bowser being a Castle]], which is located within the [[HubWorld Petal Isles]] unlocked after beating the first world, Pipe Rock Plateau. You can only access the final levels after you've collected the Royal Wonder Seeds to remove the Cloud Piranhas acting as a barrier around Bowser as a castle.
96[[/folder]]
97
98[[folder:Western Animation]]
99* ''Literature/VickyTheViking'': The vikings discover a great treasure in an Arctic cave, but it's behind a transparent ice sheet that they can't break through. They ultimately decide to let the treasure be and continue their voyage.
100[[/folder]]

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