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 You Know, That Thing Where.
Find a Trope:
openElite Mook Volunteers to Test Opponents Videogame
Whilst I would've loved to just do one big Trope Finder post with all the tropes I needed, I believe that is against the rules, so I'll have to take it one at a time.
So, in this case, we have an Elite Mook whose Boss is planning an invasion of an area. The Elite Mook volunteers to go ahead, act as a scout, test out the inhabitants' strength personally. Upon being defeated, he happily recognizes that his opponents are strong, before unironically musing "Isn't it great?"
What tropes fit this particular situation? Tried to glance around at Test Tropes, but found nothing that didn't have to be stretched beyond acceptable levels.
openAll your favorite girls have a route. Videogame
It applies mostly to visual novels, but I suppose also for any videogame. Any girl has a route, with romantic relationship. No girls liked by fans of that game is left aside.
openItem can only be used once for no apparently reason Videogame
An item can only be used once, and there's no logical reason why. Something like a healing potion wouldn't count, as you can only drink a potion once, whereas something like a magic wand that heals people and is used up after one use would count. Usually this is a videogame trope, but could theoretically appear in any kind of story-telling medium.
Edited by BootlebatopenWalking -> NPC -> Running Videogame
What is this trope called where NP Cs that the player has to accompany tend to move at speeds that is faster than player's walking speed but slower than player's running speed?
openChecking a previously visited area for a reward Videogame
You've defeated a boss, you move on per the plot, and later (can be immediately after if you have the chance to go right back or after some other plot event) you return to the scene of the battle. If you check the spot where the boss was standing, you can pick up an item. There's no plot reason for your return, it's something you just have to choose to do. Often it's an item related to that boss, like a special dropped weapon/item that they used.
Do we have anything for this scenario? I looked through Video Game Rewards and Rewarded with an Index but didn't see anything that quite covered it. It's not an Easter Egg as it's a legitimate item not especially well hidden (in games that have invisible items, it might be one of those). It might be the general ballpark of something like Always Check Behind the Chair, but in this case, it's not a Pixel Hunt through mundane objects to find it, there's meaning to it's placement.
A prime example comes from the Pokémon games where you can often find items where Pre-existing Encounters Pokemon were battled (at least in the generations before pre-existing encounters became the standard) like Sacred Ash where Ho-oh stood or Leftovers where Snorlax was.
openTwo characters with comm links are misunderstood by a third party who thinks there's only one person Videogame
In Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism, the player character (who can be either Reimu or Marisa) investigates an underground city and uses fantasy Comm Links to stay in contact with a Mission Control partner who remains at the surface.
A recurring source of humor throughout the game is how the bosses hear both the player character and her partner, but only see the player character and don't realize that she's using a device to talk to a third party, so they end up believing she's talking to herself, giving out contradictory information, or something else along those lines.
Would this be Sustained Misunderstanding, a variation of Funny Phone Misunderstanding, or is there some other trope that fits better?
P.S. One instance has one of the bosses recognize the partner's voice, but then see Reimu and go "You've changed a lot, you look just like a human shrine maiden". Maybe there's also a trope about mistaking people for other people that fits for that one?
Edited by yokaipinataopenDenied Their Happy Ending Videogame
Our heroes have defeated the Big Bad, and he seems to be dead. They are celebrating, and are eager to live the rest of their days in peace. But oh wait, the Big Bad is still alive, and since he is such a Sore Loser, he still tries to screw with the heroes and deny them their happy ending in his weakened state, all just because Evil Is Petty. For example, Dragalia Lost ends with the heroes defeating Xenos, and are creating a new world to replace what Xenos has destroyed. However, just when they think that they're home free, Xenos is still alive, and is using the last of his strength to prevent the heroes from creating their world. This encourages Euden to confront Xenos all by himself, and only then is he killed once and for all. Is there a trope for this? Thank you!
Edited by cwallace135openI Already Know Videogame
I've tried looking for this one, but haven't found anything that covers it: It's a love confession scenario where Bob starts to reveal his feelings to Alice, who usually interjects by saying she already knows how he feels about her. I've seen it multiple times in movies, romcoms, and video games.
Do we have this one? It wouldn't be Everybody Knew Already, 'cuz the important distinction here is that Alice herself is the one who knows. With EKA, Bob's feelings for Alice would be common knowledge to everyone who knows him.
openEarth People Videogame
A race of people who are made out of rocks or dirt, or have rocks or dirt incorporated into their biology. I was thinking Rock Monster, but that mainly applies to golems and the like, which usually don't have sapience. I'm talking about a race of people who are as intelligent as regular humans, but are made out of rocks. An iconic example would be the Gorons, a race of rock-like people who live around mountains and volcanoes and even eat rocks as their diet. Their backs are even very clearly rocks. Another example would be the Urayans, who, while looking mostly like humans, have rocks protruding from their skin. Is there a trope for this? Thank you!
Edited by cwallace135openDisliked plot contrivance for the sake of the game's tutorial at the beginning of the story Videogame
In this case rather than a trope, I'm looking for an audience reaction.
In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All, the second game in the series, the first case's culprit knocks out Phoenix by hitting him on the head with a fire extinguisher and causes him temporary amnesia, as narrative justification for the game's tutorial (namely, this makes Phoenix forget how to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses, so that another character can explain it to him and thus to the player).
Many fans disliked this for being such a blatantly forced way to shoehorn the tutorial by bending the plot over backwards. (Later games dodged the issue either because the player character is a newcomer, e.g. Apollo Justice in his own game; or by making it so the player character is the one explaining things to someone else, like in Spirit of Justice where there hasn't been a proper trial in Khura'in in years, so Phoenix can either remind the Judge how cross-examinations work, or simply demonstrate, thus also letting veteran fans skip the tutorial).
At first I was thinking this might count as an Ass Pull, but that audience reaction's page seems to indicate it's specifically about plot twists, reveals and such that have no proper setup, which isn't quite what's going on here.
So, is there an audience reaction for this example?
openUS spec-ops team aids loyalist Russian general against ultranationalist rebels Videogame
In Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, one mission has the protagonists provide aid to a Russian general who - along with what forces he has at the time - is pinned down by ultranationalist rebels that seek to finish him off then and there, lest he be able to rally the disorganized loyalist forces and march to Moscow. To that end, one of the protagonists uses his fluency in Russian to contact the general and warn him about an ambush, and when the general demands to know who's talking to him, he evasively says that they're "allies".
Later on, the same protagonist contacts the general again to inform him that they've neutralized all of the artillery units firing on him and he's safe to advance, and he inquires about their location (presumably to rendezvous under the assumption they're a Russian unit), only for the protagonist to bluntly say that they're "already gone". The general seems to deduce from all this evasiveness that they're foreign commandos and drops the subject, but warns them of rebel patrols that are in their general direction that have already cost him a couple of units, allowing the protagonists to be prepared for both a sniper ambush and getting the drop on other enemy contingents on their way to extraction.
What tropes are applicable here? The overarching objective seems to be fit Badass in Distress, but I'm not sure if it's required that the character demonstrate specific acts of "badassery" (e.g. being a Four-Star Badass or Frontline General). FWIW, the general is explicitly described in the briefing as "a career soldier, an impressive tactician, and a badass, and he might be the hero the Loyalists need", and he does go on to organize an effective retaliation against the rebels.
But what about the protagonist team's evasiveness about their identity, the implication that the general eventually has at least a vague idea that they're foreign, and him giving them a forewarning about enemy activity in their way?
Edited by MarqFJAopenSike, you don't get a companion Videogame
Is there a trope for you coming across other survivors during some sort of crisis only for them to be immediately killed off the moment you lay eyes on them?
openDisguised(?) malware Videogame
A video game is directly messing with your data, especially those who don't belong to it. There was this horror game which tried instilling The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You by moving your personal files. In extreme cases, like the infamous Lose/Lose, it may even threaten your operating system (it puzzles me how modern OS would allow it to, with system files being locked out of even the administrator's access, but who'd take the risk?).
openUnsafe Mode Videogame
Video-game specific trope where you're warned that the developers aren't responsible for you possibly being unable to progress if you do something, but you can choose to continue if you understand the risks.
Example: The Thread of Prophecy, Severed game state in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
I know I've also seen this in other places, particularly rare cases where you're allowed to access developer tools, but which ones are escaping me right now.
openSmall Child fights later Videogame
When a small child is introduced early in an ongoing story. However, they are too young and small to really do anything. They often have a notable parent, who fights in their stead for a while. However, time passes and the kid has grown up a little. They're still a child, but are now old enough to fend for themselves. Examples would be Tulin and Nene and Kino. They initially appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the base game of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 respectively, but were too young to go our adventuring. That is why their fathers, Teba and Riki respectively, adventure instead. However, by the time that Tears of the Kingdom and Future Connected come out, Tulin and Nene and Kino, while still being children, have grown up considerably, and start fighting alongside the heroes. I don't think that it's Kid Hero All Grown-Up, since that is when the kid still fights initially, and becomes an adult later, while this is when the kid doesn't initially fight, grows up and fights, but is still a kid. Is there a trope for this? Thank you!
Edited by cwallace135openA game mechanic doesn't work as described Videogame
i'm not sure if this is a trope, trivia item or YMMV item or whatever it might be, but this is the example i had in mind:
- State of Decay 2: Various parts of the game's UI stress the importance of having enough beds in your community in order to stave off and recover from fatigue faster, as well as preventing community morale debuffs. However, one dedicated player has proven that beds don't affect fatigue at all and the penalty for lacking beds is a measly -1 per survivor that has to go without one (out of a scale from -100 to 100), which is easily offset by every morale-boosting action in the game.
openUnrecognizable Without Makeup Videogame
When a character usually wears makeup and/or a mask of some kind. However, they take it off, they are almost completely unrecognizable. For example, the members of Team Star. Although Giacomo and Ortega don’t look much different, the others do. Atticus usually wears a ninja hood, though he can be seen without it on while wearing his usual outfit, so one might recognize him without it on. Eri and Mela are completely different stories, though. Eri always wears a mask and has her hair dyed grey. That is why it can be strange seeing a girl with black hair hanging out with Giacomo, with just about the only clue of the girl being Eri being that she is a Statuesque Stunner. There's also Mela, who usually wears a lot of makeup, which is why it can be hard to recognize her at first. The only reason why she is a bit easier than Eri is due to her hair. Is there a trope for this? Thank you!
openopening heavy doors in co-op games? Videogame
it feels like every single co-op game made has to have that one scene where a player walks up to a garage door and goes "hey player 2, help me out!" then they lift it. it's in kane and lynch, it's in a way out, it's in it takes two, it's in fuckin the escapists 2, the works. i've even seen it in single player games like last of us, but i don't think this has a trope. is there enough examples to warrant a trope to be made or does anyone even care?
Edited by indianaliam1openStatistically Strong, Shallow Movepool/Ability Set Videogame
Characters/Mons in stat-based games who are strong statistically, but lack the moves/abilities/spells/talents/etc. to really take advantage.
I've checked some works where I know this to happen (Pokémon, Fire Emblem, etc.) and there are some listed in tropes like Crippling Overspecialization, Boring, but Practical, and, on the YMMV front, Low Tier Let Down, but none of them fully cover this character type.
TIA for anything!
Edited by BeerBaron
In Act of War, the Consortium uses as its private army a "large number of armed groups around the world — terrorist organizations, armed militias, freedom fighters, mercenaries", with the more basic troops having low-tech but still effective gear (such as Kalashnikov rifles and self-propelled mortar) and the elite troops having very high-tech gear (e.g. optical camouflage-equipped soldiers and railgun-armed stealth tanks).
In Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, the Brotherhood of Nod's army is comprised of large numbers of hastily-trained, low-tech militias hailing from the 50% of Earth's regions that have fallen to social collapse and anarchy, backed by a smaller core of highly trained elite soldiers equipped with high-tech weapons and equipment.
Is there a trope for an army's troops being so eclectic and disparate in both background and the sophistication of their equipment?