Basic Trope: Content in a video game can no longer be accessed after a certain point.
- Straight:
- You can not obtain a certain item if you missed out on the sidequest that rewards you with it while it was available.
- You can't get a playable character to join your party if you don't visit the village they live in while they're still there or you're still able to go there.
- You can't buy a specific item if you do not visit the shop that sells it while it was still in stock.
- The item was located in a One-Time Dungeon and you can no longer obtain it if you didn't pick it up while going through the dungeon.
- Exaggerated: Every single item in the game is permanently missable, including those you need to complete the game.
- Downplayed:
- The missable item is immediately outclassed by a superior item.
- The game warns you if content can be missed.
- It's not an item that you can miss out on, but a cutscene or dialogue that serves no purpose other than exposition.
- Justified:
- The NPC who gives the sidequest to obtain the item dies.
- The playable character left to go on their own adventure, you killed them, or they died off-screen.
- The playable character's village got destroyed by war or a natural disaster, and you were not there to save them.
- The shopkeeper who stocked the item either dies or is sold out of it.
- You are exiled from the village and thus can not go back for the character or the item anyway.
- The dungeon a permanently missable item is located in collapses upon completing it.
- You have passed the Point of No Return, and can no longer backtrack to the collectibles you missed.
- Inverted: You can't avoid obtaining the item in any way, and you are forced to collect it at some point in the game.
- Subverted: You are given another opportunity to obtain the item later in the game if you missed it the first time.
- Double Subverted:
- If you also miss out on getting the item the second time, you are given no more chances to obtain it.
- The item you miss out on is one that you can have more than one of but are limited in availability, so you lost your chance to have an extra.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig Zagged: You are given a second chance to obtain the item, but you can miss out on getting the second time. You are later given a third chance to obtain the item, but you can also miss out on getting it the third time.
- Averted:
- You are given an unlimited amount of chances to obtain the item.
- You are given an unlimited amount of time to complete sidequests.
- The playable character escaped the destruction of their village and can be found elsewhere.
- The shopkeeper always stocks the item.
- You can't kill the shopkeeper, quest giver, or playable character, nor can they die by other means.
- You are able to revisit every dungeon, or no collectibles required for 100% are placed in One Time Dungeons.
- Lampshaded: "I guess I will never have this item unless I reset my progress."
- Invoked: The game deliberately kills off characters who give you sidequests or can be recruited into your party.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz, the villain of the game, deliberately blocks access to items required to beat the game.
- Defied: Hiro gains access to a Time Machine which lets him visit towns in all possible states, including repeating a sidequest as many times as desired. Including obtaining the Time Machine.
- Discussed: "I should have picked up every treasure in that cave before it collapsed."
- Conversed: "Be sure to help that person as soon as possible. Something bad might happen to them."
- Deconstructed:
- The hero ends up failing their quest because they missed out on getting a powerful piece of equipment or ally.
- The players give the game bad reviews since losing the missible content ends up making the game sadistically difficult or the narrative nearly incomprehensible.
Back to Permanently Missable Content
