Arbitrary Equipment Restriction: Difference between revisions

[[File:dekoostick_7992.png|frame| After seven years of sleeping, the [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Hero of Time]] forgets how to handle a three foot wooden rod.]]

 

A point in a video game where a certain weapon or ability is not actually [[Bag of Spilling|taken away]] or crippled or disabled in any way or fashion in story, but merely unusable or unselectable to the player for no particular reason given by the game, or a very weak reason in the form of a [[Hand Wave]]. Different from [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]], in that there is no in-story explanation for it. You just plain can't use/select it now; you can probably use it later, just not at the moment. Even when all logic the game has laid out indicate they are fully capable of doing what you're not allowed to do. Closely related to the [[Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence]] and its sub-trope the [[Invisible Wall]] wheras this trope deals with what the player can/can't do, not necessarily relating to the terrain.

 

Possibly justified by the developers as a way to not make the particular part cheap or too easy, or because it would possibly be too much work to program. Yet they make little to no effort to justify it in story and/or context.

 

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'': This one may not count in some cases, but is seems close. When you finally become Adult Link, Navi informs you that some items and weapons you hold can't be used as an adult. This basically accounts for nearly everything you have from your long ranged slingshot, to your stunning boomerang, to even Deku Sticks. Granted, this is just so you can venture on in your adventure with a near clean slate to start on another fetch quest to acquire a bow, hook/longshot, Din's Fire etc. But really, what's stopping Link from using any of his kid weapons or a STICK for that matter?

** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Wind Waker]]'', when fighting the flashback bosses in the last Dungeon, Link is restricted to whatever equipment he had at the time.

* In ''[[Rune Factory]] 3'', the lead character is a Half Human Hybrid that can use a [[MacGuffin]] to morph from human to monster. When he ventures into the desert colony or is with someone from it, he cannot morph into a human because he cannot reveal his half-human traits. Likewise, he cannot morph into a monster while in the human settlement.

* In [[Kingdom Hearts]] Sora learns to fly near the end of the Neverland level. While he does gain the Glide ability afterward he can only fly freestyle in Neverland and certain boss battles near the end of the game. From a story standpoint he should maintain the ability. You can't even argue that he runs out of pixie dust since Peter Pan has Tinkerbell go with him.

 

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