Drama-Preserving Handicap: Difference between revisions

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* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'', Joey would have actually beaten Marik if not for the fact it was a Shadow Duel that made him pass out from the pain.

* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'': Because Sanosuke would [[Curb Stomp Battle]] almost any opponent not at Kenshin or Saitou's level with his new technique, it manages to put immense strain on his hand so he has trouble facing foes weaker than he's been fighting.

* Pretty much everyone in ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has this. Black Star has his horrible showboating which prevents him from being a good assassin. Death the Kid has his symmetry fetish. Stein has his insanity. Free, who is an immortal werewolf with the eye of the most powerful witch alive manages to stop himself in his first appearance, not to mention purposefully getting himself locked up in prison for 200 years. Shinigami is tied to one spot.... The list is pretty much endless...

* Kazuya, arguably the main protagonist of ''[[Freezing]]'' has the unique ability to use talents like a [[Barrier Warrior|Limiter]] without... well, limitations, including dispelling other Limiter's Freezing abilities and applying his own, which... well, freezes just about anyone in place. Unlike every other Limiter, he does not need to be linked to a [[Hot Amazon]] Pandora in order to use his abilities. Moreover, his power is considered significantly stronger than any other Limiter shown thus far, overpowering top-ranked and multiple limiters at any time. This should allow him to settle just about any problem in an instant, but he constantly seems to forget his powers even exist, to the point it drastically affects the storyline. And that's when he's around or left conscious during a fight.

* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', [[The Medic|Yellow]], among her arsenal of powers, can [[Super Empowering|boost her Pokemon's strength by roughly fifty levels]]. There are two reasons why she's unable to curb stomp anyone in her way: 1) [[Achilles Heel|using her powers makes her drowsy rather quickly]] and 2) she has to be properly motivated. As she is a [[Martial Pacifist]] who prefers healing to fighting, this comes rather hard to her.

* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', [[The Medic|Yellow]], among her arsenal of powers, can [[Super Empowering|boost her Pokemon's strength by roughly fifty levels]]. There are two reasons why she's unable to curb stomp anyone in her way: 1) [[Achilles' Heel|using her powers makes her drowsy rather quickly]] and 2) she has to be properly motivated. As she is a [[Martial Pacifist]] who prefers healing to fighting, this comes rather hard to her.

* Another ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' example, this time from the anime. Ash could easily beat the Cerulean Gym if he used Pikachu, but he's facing Misty and Pikachu doesn't want to battle her, so he's forced to use his non-Electric Pokemon.

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* In the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] Thrawn/Zahn trilogy, there's a whole planet covered in animals that block out the Force, so that Luke can't go around using all his Jedi powers. Thrawn, ever the tactical genius, carries one of these animals around with him to avoid Force attacks.

** Luke later does this to himself in the Zahn dulogy due to his concern over falling to the dark side. It does however give him the advantage of greater [[Combat Clairvoyance|foresight]].

* In first book of the ''[[The Dark Tower]]'' series it is clear that King's titular Gunslinger is an unstoppable force of death and destruction after he guns down several dozen enraged assailants. By the end of the book it is clear that Roland has no equal. King fixes this by {{spoiler|mutilating Roland's primary hand}} to make him more dependent on his friends.

* Raistlin Majere from the [[Dragonlance]] series is one of the most powerful magic users in in-universe history to the point of having several of the ''gods'' so worried about [[A God Am I|his ambitions]] that they actively work to sabotage him in an effort to save their skins. The only thing that really prevents him from being able to pull off his plans sooner is his [[Ill Girl|exceedingly frail constitution]] and a [[Blood From the Mouth|nagging]] [[Incurable Cough of Death|cough]]; for much of the Chronicles, he's simply too physically weak to survive the strain of casting the spells necessary to his plans. [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|He]] gets better, though.

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== Video Games ==

* In ''[[Golden Sun]]'', the heroes are able to fight Saturos (previously a [[Hopeless Boss Fight]]) in the water tower, since the tower weakens his magic, and strengthens the water mage (who he is weak against).

* In ''[[Super Smash Bros]]. Brawl'', the final boss has an attack that instantly turns all of the heroes into trophies a little while before the final battle. Right before the battle begins, {{spoiler|Sonic}} appears and attacks the boss's wings, weakening this attack considerably (though it's still almost a OHKO).

* In ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]. Brawl'', the final boss has an attack that instantly turns all of the heroes into trophies a little while before the final battle. Right before the battle begins, {{spoiler|Sonic}} appears and attacks the boss's wings, weakening this attack considerably (though it's still almost a OHKO).

* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', {{spoiler|Gray Fox}}'s [[Redemption Equals Death|last heroic deed]] is to take out Metal Gear REX's exterior vision modes, forcing the pilot to open the cockpit in order to see and giving Snake a legitimate weak point to fire at.

* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' often does this to justify players being able to kill a certain [[Big Bad]]. Some raid bosses have been weakened by another force, sometimes NPC's join the fight on the players' side, and some quests give you an item that will turn an elite mob into a normal one.