The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at the Trope Launch Pad.
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Is there a trope for RPG battles with different starting conditions? Usually some variation on "normal battle", "player advantage", and "enemy advantage" is typical. In games with Pre-existing Encounters on the overworld, the player might be able to influence which they get (eg, approaching an enemy from behind allows you to ambush them, but being attacked from behind lets them ambush you), but it may also be determined by stats (eg, players get an advantage if their speed or Character Level is much higher than the enemy) or it could be just random.
Some examples: Final Fantasy VII had "preemptive attack" (player advantage) and "back attack" (enemy advantage) that let one side or the other get a free attack round. Earthbound gave the player an advantage if they approached the Pre-existing Encounters from behind, while enemies got an advantage if they hit the player character in the back, resulting in a free round similar to FFVII. Persona 3 and Persona 4 use the same mechanic as Earthbound, but also have the Pre-existing Encounters flee from the player rather than pursuing them if they outlevel the enemy enough, and if they do fight, enemies will be more vulnerable to high-level player attacks.
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Do we have a trope for when a character discovers an ability/tool that makes a previous method of doing something obsolete? Not necessarily limited to video games. For example, in Tomb Raider (2013), Lara acquires a fire striker that allows her to light her torch at will, without having to rely on fire sources in the environment anymore.
Speaking of Tomb Raider (2013), do we have a trope for when a game/movie makes a remake/reboot/remaster and gives it the exact same name as the predecessor? Games like Tomb Raider (2013) and Resident Evil and films like Total Recall come to mind.
Edited by Inferus54openNo Title Videogame
In a game that has two or more different health/magic/whatever meters, the ability (sometimes granted by an item) to convert one into another (always at a loss, of course). For example, in the old DOS game God of Thunder the Golden Apple can convert your magic power into health; a very useful thing to have at times.
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Do we have a trope for what I've come to call as a "Grinding Gap" which occurs in some RP Gs in which when characters reach a certain level of power there is no content available for that level, but still content for later levels. If the player tries to engage the later content they will be slaughtered, yet the old content is not very challenging. This forces the player to repeat previous content again and again to reach the new level of content.
For an example, say a character reaches level 60 in an RPG and there is no quests to complete or monsters to slay levels 61-79, then monsters and quests appear again at level 80. The player must grind the old content to be viable for the new content.
As for examples, I find this in most Final Fantasy games. In between the strongest monsters you'll fight as part of the main game storyline and being able to take down the Superbosses, you'll probably end up grinding a lot of the same old stuff.
This also happens in Pokemon Heartgold / Soulsilver, with Lance's rematch team being level 75 at its strongest and Red's team being level 80 at its lowest. The gap isn't exactly huge, but repeating the Elite Four a few times is really recommended if the player wishes to have any chance of beating Red.
EDIT: This could be considered a trope similar to Empty Levels, but referring to actual in-game content and things to do rather then new powers and abilities.
Edited by AnimakuroopenNo Title Videogame
Do we have a trope for RPG enemies which have to be defeated in X number of turns before something bad happens, like they use a powerful attack (e.g. the Tonberry from the FF series, which edges closer and closer before using a powerful attack), summon more enemies or grow stronger if they aren't defeated?
Edited by Bisected8openNo Title Videogame
A Death Trope in which a character dies because the plot says so, even if you have items that can revive them. Happens a lot in the Final Fantasy series.
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This just occurred to me. Do we have a trope for the video game mechanic where you are in an environment that will slowly kill you/cause a Game Over, but you can reach certain collectibles or "safe points", which will reset the damage/time? It's usually related to running out of oxygen, but can be caused by other things as well, such as the Mass Effect example below, which is not oxygen-related.
Specific examples include:
- In the Water Levels of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Edward will slowly run out of air, shown on a meter. He can replenish his air by sticking his head in various pockets of air contained in overturned barrels or underwater caverns, or by simply returning to the diving bell used to reach the sea floor.
- (I haven't played this personally, but...) In Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, the player can go out onto the open-space surface of the moon where the game takes place. The player's oxygen tanks will slowly deplete, but can be instantly replenished by entering pressurized areas or by collecting oxygen tanks.
- Some of the levels in Mass Effect 1 have environmental hazards in the form of extreme heat, cold, or gravitational pressure. The player is safe inside their vehicle, the Mako, but if they leave the vehicle, a meter will appear and slowly deplete. If it empties, the player dies, but the meter instantly fills back up if the player enters the Mako or a pressurized environment such as a building.
I'm sure folks can think of many other examples.
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Is there a trope for when a character is a dragon for multiple big bads? I looked at the list under the dragon and none seemed to fit this. I also searched for what I would call the trope, either "Dragon for Hire" or "Professional Dragon".
Example: In Metroid, Ridley is the dragon (quite literally) to Mother Brain but in Metroid Prime 3, he is now the Dragon to Dark Samus (Metroid Prime).
Ghirahim in Hyrule Warriors serves as Dragon for Demise, Cia (debatable), and Ganon.
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Do we have a trope for where the villain turns out to be a different version of the hero due to Time Travel or being part of another dimension? Case in point, this happens in inFAMOUS where Kessler turns out to be Cole himself from a Bad Future
Edited by DeisTheAlcanoopenNo Title Videogame
When you can't get through to a certain area because a mook, which by all rights you should be able to mop the floor with, won't let you pass, and there is no option to fight him. This happened in Okami, when you couldn't get past some mooks to get into Orochi's lair unless you had a disguise.
I thought this would be Mook Bouncer since it fits the description, but this is for mooks that just wont let you pass somewhere, instead of teleporting you away.
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WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING. Record of Agarest War 2, Professor Layton And The Unwound Future and Disgaea 2
Is there a trope for when playing a game one of the player characters including possibly the main character is temporarily replaced by an imposter but the player continues to play as them without knowing that they are playing as an imposter? I can think of at least two instances.
in Professor Layton And The Unwound Future there is a bit where Layton runs off and you play as Luke for a very short while. You immediately meet up with Layton again and continues playing as him with him even being the designated puzzle solver for a few puzzles and the player for a puzzle boss. Then the real Layton shows up and it's revealed that you've actually been playing as Don Paolo.
in Disgaea 2 there is a single battle during the game where this happens. You have full access to all of your party members but after the battle it is revealed that one of your party members that you were still able to control had actually been left behind by mistake and was replaced by a ninja in disguise for the entirety of the battle even mimicing his stats and skills along with somehow gaining experience for that character.
In Record of Agarest War 2 you fight a boss as soon as you start the game and then get back stabbed. Stuff happens and you're still alive. You later find out that the guy at the beginning died and you've been playing as amnesiac version of the series main villain throughout the ENTIRE GAME.
Edited by SpoonElementalopenNo Title Videogame
Is there a trope that describes when minute elements in videogames are so ubiquitous (for instance, a small audio or visual cue that warns the player of a hazard — for example, hearing crying in Left 4 Dead warns the player of a nearby witch) that someone who has played the game catches themselves reacting to the cues outside of the game as well? Sort of like a mental, Pavlovian version of Damn You, Muscle Memory.
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Is there a trope for videogames that change the appearance of the title screen after certain events in the game, most commonly after you have beaten the game? For example, Devil Survivor puts on the title screen the sprites of characters whose endings you have seen, and Nier, after you've seen the last ending, adds there a flower.
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Is there a trope in which a character formerly known primarily for fanservice stops it with the fanservice? Either to be taken more seriously as a character or for another reason? Like the opposite of a Fanservice Pack or Girliness Upgrade?
I just played EverQuest 1 for the first time in about a decade, and Firiona Vie (aka the scantily-clad elf girl all over the game packaging but barely in the game itself) was given an artistic makeover with a set of full plate armor. I was going to add something about this to the trope page if I could figure out an appropriate trope.
I'm not talking about Xenafication because the character in question was already a badass paladin.
Edited by McJeffopenNo Title Videogame
1. Passing on a question from Superjustinbros on the Tomodachi Life discussion page:
"Would there be any tropes that could work for Miis wanting to go out on a date with their wife/husband, but if you pick a certain choice they'll go 'I dunno, I don't feel like going there right now' and they 100% withdraw the date?"
2. Is there a trope for when in a video game you are given a specific request but it is possible to make substitutions for a slightly less valuable prize/smaller score/etc.?
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Video Game trope:
We have Enemy Chatter in order to give the mindless Non Player Characters some personality. But what about a trope when said enemy chatter concerns the PC(s) - more specificly, the Enemy Chatter-ing mook is fully aware of his/her/their status as Red Shirts compared to the PC. Phrases like "He's probably listening to/Creeping up to/aiming at/ambushing us right now" are common.
Examples include the thugs in the Batman Arkham games, The city guard after the betrayal in Dishonored and the Uruks Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Edited by Theharbo

Trope name for the [usually royal] guards being much, much weaker than the person they are ostensibly protecting.