Crate Expectations: Difference between revisions

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[[File:crates3.jpg|link=Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis|~~right~~|[[Captain Obvious|You don't say.]]]]

[[File:crates3.jpg|link=Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis|frame|[[Captain Obvious|You don't say.]]]]

{{quote|''"Ah, the crate. As seen in everything."''|'''Comic Book Guy''', ''[[The Simpsons Game (Video Game)|The Simpsons Game]]''.}}

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In short, crates satisfy three of our basic monkey drives: climbing, finding things to eat, and breaking things. They are so widely used that humor website [[Old Man Murray]] coined the term "Start-to-Crate", [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|referring to the length of time between starting a game and encountering the first crate or barrel]] - most games don't rate especially high. [[Tropes Are Tools]]: crates have too many gameplay uses to ever [[Undead Horse Trope|die]].

See also [[Die Chair Die]], [[Exploding Barrels]], [[Inexplicable Treasure Chests]], or [[Rewarding Vandalism]].

See also [[Die, Chair, Die!]], [[Exploding Barrels]], [[Inexplicable Treasure Chests]], or [[Rewarding Vandalism]].

== [[Action Adventure]] ==

* Crates in ''[[Star Fox Adventures (Video Game)|Star Fox Adventures]]'' tend to be of the "contains one food item" variety. A couple are completely empty.

* Link comes across randomly located crates in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', which he can destroy with his sword (or, if you're a wolf, your claws) to reveal hearts and Rupees. These crates are found all over the place; there are even crates, for no discernible in-game reason, on small islands in the middle of Lake Hylia. In ''Ocarina of Time'', one crate in Kakariko contains a Cucco. And then there's the boxes [[Womb Level|''inside'' Lord Jabu Jabu]] (the giant whale-god of the Zoras in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'') that you can break open to get hearts and other items.

* Link comes across randomly located crates in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', which he can destroy with his sword (or, if you're a wolf, your claws) to reveal hearts and Rupees. These crates are found all over the place; there are even crates, for no discernible in-game reason, on small islands in the middle of Lake Hylia. In ''Ocarina of Time'', one crate in Kakariko contains a Cucco. And then there's the boxes [[Womb Level|''inside'' Lord Jabu Jabu]] (the giant whale-god of the Zoras in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time]]'') that you can break open to get hearts and other items.

* ''[[Beyond Good and Evil (Video Game)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' has crates employed in various uses: broken to get money, pushed into mines to destroy them, used to block lasers, etc.

* ''[[Shadow Complex]]'' uses these from time to time. Most contain health, but a few do not, and a select few also cannot be aimed at without large amounts of luck. Excluding the prologue mission, the StC is pretty high, though.

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== [[Platform Game]] ==

* All of the games in the ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'' series had dozens of crates that were usually there to be broken for [[Global Currency|bolts]]. The game also featured red exploding crates, that counted down when Ratchet so much as touched them, and metal crates, which could only be broken by explosives. The third game introduced the multiplier crate, which for a short while doubled the amount of bolts Ratchet got from other crates, enemies, and the environment in general, and the Inferno crate, which turned Ratchet into an unstoppable dual-wrench-wielding engine of destruction. There's also the ammo crate, and in ''[[Ratchet and Clank|Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time]]'', the camo crate, which was almost invisible, and had more bolts than average crates. It should be noted that crates went through a huge graphical update during the transfer to HD, especially the rubble they leave around, so this is hardly due to laziness on the part of the graphic developers.

* ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' not only saw levels filled with crates, but destroying all of them in all levels are required to reach the full [[Hundred Percent Completion]]. In fact, crashing through crates is one of the series' defining gameplay elements, as well as the origin of the protagonist's name.

* ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' not only saw levels filled with crates, but destroying all of them in all levels are required to reach the full [[Hundred-Percent Completion]]. In fact, crashing through crates is one of the series' defining gameplay elements, as well as the origin of the protagonist's name.

* ''[[Super Mario Bros|Super Mario]] [[Super Mario Galaxy (Video Game)|Galaxy]]'' has crates in several levels, which can be broken up with spin attacks.

* ''[[Super Mario Sunshine (Video Game)|Super Mario Sunshine]]'' has a fair few crates. They can be broken with a ground pound. One of the game's 120 Shines requires the player to break an arrangement of crates within a time limit!

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== [[Roguelike]] ==

* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''. You get barrels and bags with items you buy in the expedition planner, or just get barrels for the sake of getting barrels, and part of the game's [[Refining Resources|recursive]] [[Inventory Management Puzzle]] involves the construction of barrels, bins, and bags to organize the endless clutter you will produce. Crates and bins are simply very useful, but barrels are ''essential'' for a fortress. Any player who does not take getting barrels [[Serious Business|seriously]] is in for a world of [[Game Over|Fun]]. Without enough barrels, no excess food will be stockpiled, and no [[Booze Based Buff|alcohol can be brewed]]. A lack of either can literally mean the death of your fortress.

* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''. You get barrels and bags with items you buy in the expedition planner, or just get barrels for the sake of getting barrels, and part of the game's [[Refining Resources|recursive]] [[Inventory Management Puzzle]] involves the construction of barrels, bins, and bags to organize the endless clutter you will produce. Crates and bins are simply very useful, but barrels are ''essential'' for a fortress. Any player who does not take getting barrels [[Serious Business|seriously]] is in for a world of [[Game Over|Fun]]. Without enough barrels, no excess food will be stockpiled, and no [[Booze-Based Buff|alcohol can be brewed]]. A lack of either can literally mean the death of your fortress.

== [[Role Playing Game]] ==

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] [[Morrowind|III: Morrowind]]'' doesn't give you time to orient yourself before you see your first crate; you wake up in a ship's cargo hold. The game also [[But Thou Must|But Thou Musts]] you into interacting with a barrel just a few seconds later.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] [[Morrowind|III: Morrowind]]'' doesn't give you time to orient yourself before you see your first crate; you wake up in a ship's cargo hold. The game also [[But Thou Must!|But Thou Musts]] you into interacting with a barrel just a few seconds later.

** The Market District of ''[[Oblivion]]'''s Imperial City is ''packed'' with crates.

** ''[[Skyrim]]'' is full of them too. Every building seems to have a basement filled to the brim with crates and barrels full of vegetables.

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[[Category:Undead Horse Trope]]

[[Category:Crate Expectations]]

[[Category:Trope]]