Dem Bones: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

[[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|Beings made entirely of ossific material]] are a very common form of [[The Undead]] in video games, but much rarer in other media. They're a cousin to the [[Zombie Apocalypse|Zombie]] in spirit, but remain explicitly separated in the public consciousness by the lack of muscles and other juicy bits. This raises a [[Fridge Logic|troubling question]]: [[A Wizard Did It|where do the motor skills come from]]? And [[The Dead Have Eyes|how are they capable of seeing and hearing?]] What makes these [[Perpetual Motion Monster|Perpetual Motion Monsters]] keep going? In some depictions, even the connective tissue physically binding bones into a coherent whole are optional, making this creature firmly an inhabitant of [[Fantasy]] works. You might know them as [[Skeletons]]. We call 'em "Dem Bones."

 

 

Often enough, Dem Bones are reused in the same game ''à la'' [[Underground Monkey]]. Expect, in the spirit of a Zombie Minotaur, to find [[Hybrid Monster|double-category monsters]], like a skeletal mammoth or dragon. Also for some odd reason, many games have even tougher skeletons that are [[Palette Swap|colored red]].

 

* [[Megadeth (Music)|Megadeth]]'s mascot Vic Rattlehead is a skeleton who sees no evil (blindfolded), hears no evil (ears are closed with metal caps) and speaks no evil (mouth clamped shut).

* Chiodos' ''Bone Palace Ballet'' (and the [[Updated Rerelease|subsequent re-release]] ''[[Updated Rerelease|The Grand Coda]]'') features two of these on the cover.

* Camille Saint Saens' well-known ''Danse Macabre'' (1874), a symphonic poem describing skeletons rising from their tomb to dance. Notable for having introduced the xylophone in European Music, to imitate the rattling of the bones.

** Being based on a ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' setting with a heavy emphasis on death and unlife, the standard [[Dem Bones]] from the source material also exist in the game. As the necromantic Dustmen repair the bodies of decaying zombie slaves, eventually they are reduced to [[Dem Bones]], held together with iron and leather.

* In ''[[Chrono Cross (Video Game)|Chrono Cross]]'', one of the early [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] you can meet is the disembodied skull of a clown looking for the rest of his body parts. Naturally, he asks you to help him find them all. He appears to have been getting around until then by hopping with his jaw. Later, you get to meet his family, who has been wondering what happened to him.

** Somewhat subverted in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Oracle Games]]'' featured skeleton pirates who were ''good guys''.

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks]]'' had the boss Skeldrich, which was basically a giant humanoid skull with an absurdly long neck.

* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' series is an obligatory mention here - there are dozens of varieties in each game, including a lot of simple [[Underground Monkey]] recolors. The red ones keep getting back up.

** Don't forget the laser-firing skeletons, the armor-wearing blade Masters, and the amusing skeletons in ''Aria of Sorrow'' that kick their skulls at you. There's even a medal-wearing champion runner Skeleton in ''Circle of the Moon'', the Skeleton Bartender who tosses drinks at you in ''Portrait of Ruin'', the Farmer Skeleton, the Waiter Skeleton, the [[Kamen Rider|Rider Kicking]] Skeleton, and the Ape skeleton that [[Donkey Kong|throws barrels at you]].

*** In the original japanese, they were called "Soccer Boy".

* The '''protagonist''' in ''[[Medievil (Video Game)|Medievil]]'' is a reanimated skeleton. Unlike most skeletons in media, when he reanimates, his lower jaw falls off his skull, and he never gets it back. As a result, his speech is largely incomprehensible (though subtitled).

* Dry Bones from ''[[Super Mario Bros]].'' are skeletal Koopa Troopas. Using the [[Goomba Stomp]] on them makes them collapse for a few seconds, and then they reassemble. Usually, you have to either make the head roll into lava or a pit, smash them some other way or make sure all of the enemies on screen are dead to beat them, depending on the game/series in question.

** Of course, that's not counting the part where Bowser gets [[Stripped to The Bone]] and reanimated as a Skeleton. ''[[Mario Kart (Video Game)|Mario Kart]] Wii'' calls this "Dry Bowser".

* ''[[Devil May Cry (Video Game)|Devil May Cry]]'' has floating skulls as enemies.

* ''[[The Curse of Monkey Island (Video Game)|The Curse of Monkey Island]]'' and ''[[Escape From Monkey Island]]'' had the fearsome Murray, the demonic animated skeleton with plans to conquer the world, who would have been significantly more fearsome if he wasn't just a skull and unable to move around by himself. Still, with lines like this, it's no wonder "Murray the Mighty Demonic Skull" is [[Ensemble Darkhorse|so popular]]:

'''Guybrush:''' Stride?<br />

'''Murray:''' All right then, roll! ''Roll'' through the gates of hell. Must you take the fun out of everything? }}

* Floating skulls are also in some of the ''[[Might and Magic]]'' games.

* ''[[Baldurs Gate|Baldur's Gate]]'' had enemy skeletons, but you could also summon your own with the proper spell, much like the aforementioned ''Diablo II''.

** The sequel, ''Baldur's Gate II'', especially with ''Throne of Bhaal'', features several floating skulls, which are infinitely more nasty than their full-bodied counterparts.

* Like Dry Bones, skeletons in ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' don't tend to stay down for the count.

* In keeping with its El Día de los Muertos theme, nearly all of the characters in ''[[Grim Fandango]]'' are skeletons. The rest are demons native to the Land of the Dead.

[[Category:This Index Is Not an Example]]

[[Category:Dem Bones]]