Dismantled MacGuffin: Difference between revisions
→Video Games
(update links) |
|||
| (3 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 3:
{{quote|'''Professor:''' Obviously, I'll also leave that here with y... Leave... It's only logical, so that the device... So I'll leave it... Lea... I'll leav...
'''Professor:''' NO!!! ''I'm sorry, but the urge is too strong! I'll separate the punchcard into seven pieces and hide them deep within seven monster-infested dungeons distributed all over the country!!!'' Tell that to any group of people who might come asking for it...|[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/index.php?cid{{=}}398 The B-Movie Comic]}}
A common way to produce [[Plot Coupons]] of the '[[Gotta Catch Em All]]' variety is for the [[Precursors]] to split a powerful [[MacGuffin]] that was used to defeat the bad guy into three or more parts and, yes, distribute them across the world on a vague premise of it being "[[Holding Back the Phlebotinum|too dangerous to ever use again]]". Then, when the bad guy raises its head [[Exty Years From Now|Exty Years Later]] (and it always does), the heroes must set out to reassemble said [[MacGuffin]].
Line 10:
If said artifact was disassembled because there was a good chance that evil would get their hands on it in the present, this overlaps with [[Fling a Light Into the Future]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* The corpse parts in ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|Steel Ball Run]]'' scattered across America, which grant mysterious powers to those who hold them.
Line 70:
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S1/E05 The Keys of Marinus|The Keys of Marinus]]'', the Doctor and companions are sent to collect the Keys (scattered throughout the planet Marinus) that control the Conscience Machine, which made everyone peaceful on the planet till it malfunctioned.
** "Last of the Time Lords" parodies the trope by revealing Martha's search for the four pieces of an anti-regeneration gun to be just a smokescreen for her real mission. She laughs at the Master for actually buying it. Apparently, the Doctor had never brought up...
** ...the [[Doctor Who/Recap/S16|Key to Time arc]], in which the titular device could stop time throughout the universe once its six parts were transmuted back into their original forms and reassembled.
** Inverted in "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End." The twenty-seven planets the Daleks needed weren't pieces in and of themselves; they ''stole'' those planets and formed an intricate superweapon with them.
* In the third season of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'', they broke the [[Mineral MacGuffin|Zeo Crystal]] into five pieces, and ''threw them into unstable time portals'', so the five pieces were literally scattered throughout space and time, their locations unknown even to the Rangers. Not such a good idea, as they ended up needing it again [[Power Rangers Zeo|less than a year later]].
Line 78:
== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' has the "Rod of Seven Parts" (originally known as the "[[Order Versus Chaos|Rod of Law]]", which shattered when used). Each piece has powers on its own, and can point in the direction of the next-longest piece. The more parts are combined, the more powers they grant. Oh, and once more than a couple parts are fitted together, [[Clingy MacGuffin|the owner/user ''can't let go of it.'']]
Line 107:
* ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'' has Star Chips (used to form Launch Stars) and Silver Stars (used to form Power Stars).
* Cap'n Hawk's treasure map in ''[[Ultima VI]]'' is split into nine parts. Somewhat subverted in that it's possible to [[Sequence Breaking|skip the entire quest]]—possibly without realizing it.
* ''[[Luigi's Mansion|Luigi's Mansion 3]]'' combines this with [[Broken Bridge]]. The hotel has 15 floors, and most are only accessible via the elevator, but the ghosts have swiped all the elevator's buttons. Luigi thus has to hunt them all down; with each Boss defeated, Luigi gains a button, meaning each victory grants him access to a new floor.
* The [[The Precursors|Xel'naga]] artifacts in Starcraft II count, since they form a {{spoiler|[[Lost Superweapon]]}} when combined.
* [[World of Warcraft]] loves this trope with regards to it's Legendary Weapons. You have to collect numerous pieces of the weapon from raid bosses, ''then'' complete additional quests (for example, doing something unusual during boss fights). Sometimes you would also need a big pile of cash for buyable materials. And in the end you get yourself a nice, flashy weapon that will last you for a couple of content patches at most and end as a [[Bragging Rights Reward]] later.
Line 115 ⟶ 116:
* Much of the first act of ''[[Diablo III]]'' has you seeking out the three pieces of a powerful sword that was wielded by the Stranger you found in the impact zone of the Fallen Star, while fighting off the efforts of an evil coven to do the same. {{spoiler|The sword in question is ''Eldruin'', the sword of Tyrael, who has become mortal because he's had enough of the Angiris Council's inaction regarding the demons and wants to give humanity a chance}}.
** Later on in the game, {{spoiler|you have to recover the parts of the body of Zoltan Kulle, an [[Evil Sorcerer]] who was decapitated and dismembered by his fellow Horadrim, so that he can be resurrected to lead you to his creation, the Black Soulstone, which you need to seal Belial and Azmodan, the last Lords of Hell. Being that Zoltan Kulle is an evil and treacherous bastard, you ultimately have to kill him again}}.
== Webcomics ==
| |||