Excuse Plot: Difference between revisions

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Some games may [[No Plot, No Problem|not even bother with plot at all]].

Compare [[Xtreme Sport Xcuse Plot]], [[Just Here for Godzilla]]. For the porn equivalent, see [[Pizza Boy Special Delivery]]. Contrast [[Play the Game Skip ~~The~~ Story]], where the plot is textually deep and/or complex, but is overlooked by players all the same.

Compare [[Xtreme Sport Xcuse Plot]], [[Just Here for Godzilla]]. For the porn equivalent, see [[Pizza Boy Special Delivery]]. Contrast [[Play the Game Skip the Story]], where the plot is textually deep and/or complex, but is overlooked by players all the same.

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* The Cheapass Games board game ''Devil Bunny Needs A Ham'' has a story, which, in all seriousness, goes as follows: "You and your fellow players are sous-chefs working in the town of Happyville. For no apparent reason, you decide to race to the top of the tallest building in town. Devil Bunny thinks that knocking you off will get him a ham. Perhaps he is right. Perhaps he is not." A purer example of an Excuse Plot has yet to be generated.

** The Excuse Plot for ''Fight City'' is purer. "It's a city, and they fight."

* ''[[Clue (~~Tabletop Game~~)|Clue]]'''s plot is essentially - "Mister Boddy is dead. Find out whodunnit." There is no explanation of who Mister Boddy is, why would anyone want to kill him, or who the guests are and why they're at the mansion.

* ''[[Clue (game)|Clue]]'''s plot is essentially - "Mister Boddy is dead. Find out whodunnit." There is no explanation of who Mister Boddy is, why would anyone want to kill him, or who the guests are and why they're at the mansion.

* [[Candy Land]] has a backstory about the King being kidnapped by Lord Licorice and only two children from our world being able to find him, with gingerbread men (the playing pieces) acting as guides. Even as a child, did any of this matter when you were actually playing the game? No.

== Video Games ==

* ''[[~~Borderlands (Video Game)|~~Borderlands]]'''s plot can be best summed up as this: Something about a vault - Cool! A [[Revolvers Are Just Better|revolver]] [[Shotguns Are Just Better|that shoots shotgun shells]]! And an SMG that lights people on fire! And - well, you get the idea.

* ''[[Borderlands]]'''s plot can be best summed up as this: Something about a vault - Cool! A [[Revolvers Are Just Better|revolver]] [[Shotguns Are Just Better|that shoots shotgun shells]]! And an SMG that lights people on fire! And - well, you get the idea.

** [[Word of God]] says that they started out wanting to do something at least somewhat serious and ''[[Fallout]]''-like, but...

* ''[[Combat Arms]]'': Virtually no plot is given, save for little blurbs on loading screens that mention why Team A and Team B are fighting.

* Most games in the ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' series. The basic plot for these games boils down to this: Friend/Relative X has died and left Player Y with Farm Z. Now go farm on it and steal the village women. The ''[[Rune Factory]]'' spinoffs vary from this slightly, where the protagonists have [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]... and therefore need to farm and kill goblins.

* ''[[Battlefield (~~Video Game~~)|Battlefield]] 2'' It is never stated why the war is taking place, although one map hints to it being about oil, but no info as to why the USA is fighting China too.

* ''[[Battlefield (series)|Battlefield]] 2'' It is never stated why the war is taking place, although one map hints to it being about oil, but no info as to why the USA is fighting China too.

** Similarly, neither of the games in the ''Bad Company'' subseries offers even the slightest explanation for why the United States is at war with the Russian Federation (yes, ''[[The New Russia|Russian Federation]]'', not Soviet Union, so communism can be ruled out), much less why the latter is projecting forces all over the Western Hemisphere in the second game.

* ''[[Super Monkey Ball]] 2'' fits this trope to a T, with a plot that that goes from exploding an island to making bananas tasting like curry.

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* ''[[Smash TV]]'''s storyline about a [[Deadly Game|kill-or-be-killed game show]] is largely an excuse to shoot things and rack up points.

** Well, there ''are'' piles of cash and prizes to be won, not to mention a grand prize (although you get that ''before'' facing the final challenge), but it's not clear how exactly these are implemented...how many "year's supply of meat-s" does one man need, anyway?

* The NES ''[[Mega Man (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Mega Man]]'' games. Eventually, it became clear that Capcom was having difficulty coming up with new excuses for their latest [[Mission Pack Sequel]]. ''[[~~Mega Man 9 (Video Game)|~~Mega Man 9]]'' and ''[[~~Mega Man 10 (Video Game)|~~Mega Man 10]]'' just openly embrace this.

* The NES ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' games. Eventually, it became clear that Capcom was having difficulty coming up with new excuses for their latest [[Mission Pack Sequel]]. ''[[Mega Man 9]]'' and ''[[Mega Man 10]]'' just openly embrace this.

* ''[[Warriors Orochi]]''. The snake god Orochi has brought the warriors of Three-Kingdoms-era China and Sengoku-period Japan together in the same universe to challenge him. Sure, whatever - all we care about is getting to have the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors together at once.

* The ancient Windows puzzle game ''Maxwell's Maniac'' was based off a genuine physics thought experiment, known as [[wikipedia:Maxwellchr(27)s demon|Maxwell's Demon]]; the premise being that a magical being could observe individual molecules and sort them to reverse entropy. {{spoiler|He can't.}}

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* Quite a lot of [[FPS|FPSers]], especially multiplayer-only ones.

** The opening quote is from the lead programmer of ''[[Doom]]''. There was originally a long and complex plot with multiple protagonists. This was cut and the plot was reduced to: "You're the last [[Space Marine]] left on Mars. Shoot anything that moves." Obviously this didn't detract from its success. Of course later it adds "Go [[To Hell and Back]]". But still doesn't change things.

** ''[[~~Unreal Tournament (Video Game)|~~Unreal Tournament]]''. You are playing a futuristic [[Blood Sport]], here is your rocket launcher.

** ''[[Unreal Tournament]]''. You are playing a futuristic [[Blood Sport]], here is your rocket launcher.

** ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'', which has the required [[Zombie Apocalypse]] [[Backstory]], but it's never really explained, and the developers admitted they didn't want to put in any more plot than that. It's basically just one big "slaughter anything that's not you or teammates before it slaughters you," with only a few hints in design and dialogue about the characters themselves (though that is slightly expanded outside the game, which mostly focuses on the survivors than the zombies).

*** Yahtzee described the plot thusly; "'Here are some zombies' pretty much sums it up."

*** The wall graffiti found in safehouse exists to provide some background info on the setting as well as possible hints about the infection's origins (more so in the sequel).

** ''[[Painkiller]]''. You're in purgatory. Shoot everything until it stops moving. When it does, the exit opens up (also, purgatory is really just [[Rule of Cool|every cool environment]] the designers had time to come up with, regardless of whether it makes any sense to have a modern military base next to an ancient Persian palace).

** ''[[~~Quake III Arena (Video Game)|~~Quake III Arena]]'': You are thrown into deathmatches by some sadistic gods. As the game's manual put it: "Frag everything that isn't you."

** ''[[Quake III Arena]]'': You are thrown into deathmatches by some sadistic gods. As the game's manual put it: "Frag everything that isn't you."

*** Every Quake game, usually featuring some sort of [[Alien Invasion]] that must be repulsed. [[Quake (~~Video Game~~)|The first game]] vacillated on whether "Quake" was ''the enemy or the hero''.

*** Every Quake game, usually featuring some sort of [[Alien Invasion]] that must be repulsed. [[Quake (series)|The first game]] vacillated on whether "Quake" was ''the enemy or the hero''.

** ''[[Shadow Warrior]]'' starts out with you taking down Zilla's men when they try to do a [[Contract On the Hitman]] on you for leaving Zilla Enterprises, but then has you taking them down to avenge Master Leep and save the world.

** ''[[Shadow Warrior]]'' starts out with you taking down Zilla's men when they try to do a [[Contract on the Hitman]] on you for leaving Zilla Enterprises, but then has you taking them down to avenge Master Leep and save the world.

** ''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]]'s'' plot is an explanation for why two armies are at permanent war. Some other information can be found in [[All There in the Manual|supplementary material]]. For a while, this was the entirety of the game's [[Canon]]:

** ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'s'' plot is an explanation for why two armies are at permanent war. Some other information can be found in [[All There in the Manual|supplementary material]]. For a while, this was the entirety of the game's [[Canon]]:

{{quote| "Nine mercenaries have come together for a job. It's the middle-ish part of a century a lot like the one we just had. A simpler time. There are three TV stations, one phone company, and two holding corporations that secretly control every government on the planet. Each corporation administers its half of the world with a multi-disciplined army of paper pushers. For any problem lacking an obvious bureaucratic solution, mercenaries like these are contracted to address the situation through a massive application of force." }}

*** The Excuse Plot for Soldier/Demoman War? Kill more of the other side so you can get the super secret extra unlockable: {{spoiler|a pair of boots that shield you from [[Rocket Jump]] damage}}. ([[In Universe]], it's because RED Demoman and BLU Soldier [[Foe Yay|became friends]] and the Administrator 1) didn't want to risk sensitive information being shared among her peons and 2) REALLY doesn't like friendships.)

*** The Excuse Plot for Soldier/Demoman War? Kill more of the other side so you can get the super secret extra unlockable: {{spoiler|a pair of boots that shield you from [[Rocket Jump]] damage}}. ([[In-Universe]], it's because RED Demoman and BLU Soldier [[Foe Yay|became friends]] and the Administrator 1) didn't want to risk sensitive information being shared among her peons and 2) REALLY doesn't like friendships.)

** With each successive major update, the absurd, tongue-in-cheek backstory of the game has become more elaborate. It now involves attempts at achieving immortality through technological advancements, family feuds over inheritance, and a mineral element with fantastic properties capable of making Australia into the world's dominant power. That, however, is all on the TF2 website. Load up the game and it's just "Shoot everyone dressed in the other color."

* Virtually any [[Shoot'Em Up]]. The best you're likely to get is "The [enemy name] is attacking [us]! Shoot anything you see!".

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** From ''[[Crystal Quest|Crystal Crazy]]'''s instructions: "Although it might be possible to think up some contrived scenario like you're a ship raiding somebody else's crystals while some nasties try to stop you, it wouldn't really be worth it."

** The "Lost Viking" minigame in ''[[Starcraft II]]'' parodies this trope.

* Freeware game ''PixelShips'' justifies the ''[[Pokémon]]'' [[X Meets Y|meets]] ''[[Defender]]'' gameplay with... nanotech, I think.

** Jeff Minter's ''Andes Attack'' [[All There in the Manual|justified similar gameplay]] with good aliens fleeing bad aliens by landing on Earth and living with the ancient people there. One of the aliens got bored, and used a timescoop to collect "a [[Commodore 64]] and a study Kempston joystick" from the future to play games on. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Unfortunately]], the bad aliens picked up the RF transmissions from this, and attacked Earth. Plot was never important to Llamasoft games.

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* ''[[God Hand]]'' doesn't even bother to hide how it's mainly all about beating the living hell out of thugs, demons, robots, and the occasional gorilla in a wrestling mask. The story's actually kind of neat, but it never gets in the way, serving instead to flimsily justify the next level. Even the characters [[Lampshade Hanging|joke about]] how ridiculous it is.

* ''[[Pokémon]]'': The point of the game is to get you to collect all the [[Mons]], train them, and perfect your team for battling all other trainers in the land, and, eventually, other players. Having the goal of becoming the master of the Pokemon League and fighting the local evil team is just the framework for you being able to do all this.

** The spinoff games avert this, although this is mostly for ''[[Pokémon Colosseum]]'' and ''XD'', as well as ''[[Pokémon Ranger]]'' and ''[[~~Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (Video Game)|~~Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]''. Others like ''[[Pokémon Snap]]'', ''Pokemon TCG'' and ''Pokemon Trozei''? [[Excuse Plot]] to justify it all.

** The spinoff games avert this, although this is mostly for ''[[Pokémon Colosseum]]'' and ''XD'', as well as ''[[Pokémon Ranger]]'' and ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]''. Others like ''[[Pokémon Snap]]'', ''Pokemon TCG'' and ''Pokemon Trozei''? [[Excuse Plot]] to justify it all.

** Averted wonderfully in the main series with ''[[~~Pokémon Black and White (Video Game)|~~Pokémon Black and White]]'', where the "evil team" storyline, which was usually confined to the [[Excuse Plot]], is now the main plot of the game, advances within each and every major location visited, and it's conclusion is the conclusion of the game, subverting the usual "beat the Champion and become master of the Pokemon League" ending.

** Averted wonderfully in the main series with ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'', where the "evil team" storyline, which was usually confined to the [[Excuse Plot]], is now the main plot of the game, advances within each and every major location visited, and it's conclusion is the conclusion of the game, subverting the usual "beat the Champion and become master of the Pokemon League" ending.

* ''[[~~Conkers Bad Fur Day (Video Game)|~~Conkers Bad Fur Day]]'' has actually been considered to be an outright parody of an [[Excuse Plot]]: Conker gets drunk at a pub, wanders off into the night, wakes up hung over in a place he doesn't recognize, and sets off on a quest to get back home. {{spoiler|Meanwhile, the Panther King schemes to kidnap Conker because a red squirrel is the exact height needed to replace the King's broken table leg, which he uses to hold his milk. The plot later thickens as it is revealed that the King's right hand scientist has been ''incubating'' an [[Alien]] life-form in the king's stomach, and his attempts to capture Conker are to ensure that the King ''won't go without his milk.''}}

* ''[[Conkers Bad Fur Day]]'' has actually been considered to be an outright parody of an [[Excuse Plot]]: Conker gets drunk at a pub, wanders off into the night, wakes up hung over in a place he doesn't recognize, and sets off on a quest to get back home. {{spoiler|Meanwhile, the Panther King schemes to kidnap Conker because a red squirrel is the exact height needed to replace the King's broken table leg, which he uses to hold his milk. The plot later thickens as it is revealed that the King's right hand scientist has been ''incubating'' an [[Alien]] life-form in the king's stomach, and his attempts to capture Conker are to ensure that the King ''won't go without his milk.''}}

* Every single bit of plot in ''[[Contra]]'' is just an excuse to let you go and mow through enemies with your gun.

** [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] in ''Contra: Rebierh''

* Jon Ritman freely admits of ''[[Head Over Heels]]'' that he "made the whole game up then added the bullshit in the last fifteen minutes".

* One of the earliest examples: ''[[Donkey Kong]]'', from 1981, although this only partly counts, since it was one of the first attempts to make an actual story in the game.

* And let us not forget the ''[[Super Mario Bros ~~(Franchise)~~|Super Mario Bros]]'' and ''Zelda'' series: Are you a bad enough plumber/elven expy to save our princess in another castle? Increasingly averted in later games, though, when the Mario series started to makes [[Paper Mario (~~Video Game~~)|witty caricatures of themselves]] while the ''Zelda'' series got more complex and [[Darker and Edgier|darker]].

* And let us not forget the ''[[Super Mario Bros.|Super Mario Bros]]'' and ''Zelda'' series: Are you a bad enough plumber/elven expy to save our princess in another castle? Increasingly averted in later games, though, when the Mario series started to makes [[Paper Mario (franchise)|witty caricatures of themselves]] while the ''Zelda'' series got more complex and [[Darker and Edgier|darker]].

** The first ''[[The Legend of Zelda (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' actually tried to justify the [[Dismantled MacGuffin]] premise by stating that the Triforce of Wisdom was required to defeat Ganon. No explanation as to ''why'', of course. The only indication is that if you enter Ganon's fortress without the completed Triforce, the room immediately after the entrance will have an old man who says "THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE TRIFORCE CAN'T ENTER" and prevents you from going further. Okay, it's understandable that the NES had limitations, but it's still just a bit unsettling that the real reason you need the completed Triforce is, essentally, "Because I said so!"

** The first ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' actually tried to justify the [[Dismantled MacGuffin]] premise by stating that the Triforce of Wisdom was required to defeat Ganon. No explanation as to ''why'', of course. The only indication is that if you enter Ganon's fortress without the completed Triforce, the room immediately after the entrance will have an old man who says "THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE TRIFORCE CAN'T ENTER" and prevents you from going further. Okay, it's understandable that the NES had limitations, but it's still just a bit unsettling that the real reason you need the completed Triforce is, essentally, "Because I said so!"

** ''[[~~New Super Mario Bros Wii (Video Game)|~~New Super Mario Bros Wii]]'' almost has to be parodying this in its [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNI2yimhzec intro scene]. Basically, Peach gets a birthday cake. Bowser Jr and Koopalings jump out of it, throw cake at Peach and carry Peach off into an airship while chased by Mario, Luigi, etc. And Toads fire items out of cannons across the kingdom.

** ''[[New Super Mario Bros Wii]]'' almost has to be parodying this in its [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNI2yimhzec intro scene]. Basically, Peach gets a birthday cake. Bowser Jr and Koopalings jump out of it, throw cake at Peach and carry Peach off into an airship while chased by Mario, Luigi, etc. And Toads fire items out of cannons across the kingdom.

*** The intro scene for the original ''[[~~New Super Mario Bros (Video Game)|~~New Super Mario Bros]].'' for [[Nintendo DS]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRzP__xSXLY has even less storytelling]. And instead of "explaining" how the items were distributed, it "explains" why Mario wasn't in Super form when the gameplay starts.

*** The intro scene for the original ''[[New Super Mario Bros]].'' for [[Nintendo DS]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRzP__xSXLY has even less storytelling]. And instead of "explaining" how the items were distributed, it "explains" why Mario wasn't in Super form when the gameplay starts.

** ''[[~~Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Video Game)|~~Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'' is about as simple: Bowser captured Peach, became giant and took over much of the universe. Stop him. Or, from the manual, Princess Peach wanting Mario to come to the Star Festival so she can share cake with him.

** ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'' is about as simple: Bowser captured Peach, became giant and took over much of the universe. Stop him. Or, from the manual, Princess Peach wanting Mario to come to the Star Festival so she can share cake with him.

** ''[[Super Mario World (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Super Mario World]]'': Mario, Luigi, and Peach are on vacation in a land of dinosaurs. Bowser has hidden seven dinosaurs in eggs. Even if you use the Star World to warp straight from Donut Plains to Bowser's castle, you will have saved all seven.

** ''[[Super Mario World (video game)|Super Mario World]]'': Mario, Luigi, and Peach are on vacation in a land of dinosaurs. Bowser has hidden seven dinosaurs in eggs. Even if you use the Star World to warp straight from Donut Plains to Bowser's castle, you will have saved all seven.

** ''[[Yoshis Island ~~(Video Game)~~|Super Mario World 2]]'': Baby Luigi gets snatched from [[Delivery Stork|the Stork]]. Yoshi and Baby Mario must rescue him.

** ''[[Yoshis Island|Super Mario World 2]]'': Baby Luigi gets snatched from [[Delivery Stork|the Stork]]. Yoshi and Baby Mario must rescue him.

** ''[[~~Super Mario 64 (Video Game)|~~Super Mario 64]]'': Peach invites you to her castle for cake. Bowser's kidnaps Peach and imprisons everyone. Go collect the Stars and kick Bowser's ass.

** ''[[Super Mario 64]]'': Peach invites you to her castle for cake. Bowser's kidnaps Peach and imprisons everyone. Go collect the Stars and kick Bowser's ass.

** ''[[~~Super Mario 3D Land (Video Game)|~~Super Mario 3D Land]]'': Mario is walking along happily when he's suddenly informed that Bowser has Princess Peach again. Go get her. In 3D.

** ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'': Mario is walking along happily when he's suddenly informed that Bowser has Princess Peach again. Go get her. In 3D.

* ''[[River City Ransom]]'' deserves special mention: The [[Big Bad]] kidnaps Ryan's girlfriend. He makes you face all the gangs in the city, including "evil bosses" (Yes, he actually calls them "evil bosses".) But the real hero is [[Game Breaker|Karma Jolt]].

* The freeware game ''[http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=3740 Stair Dismount]'' has a plot involving a superhero who needs to prove that he incurred physical damage in order to [[Hero Insurance|pay for the widespread mayhem he inadvertently caused while saving the day]]. This is surprisingly deep for a game that's pretty much entirely about [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|shoving a ragdoll down a flight of stairs]].

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** And for some reason, the creator of the genetically enhanced soldiers is not just a mad scientist, but a devil worshipper?

* ''[[Gundam|Gundam Vs. Gundam]]'' has [[G Gundam|the Devil Gundam]] come to live and take over arcade machines for games representing all of the franchise's 30-year history, forcing the characters to work together and save their virtual existences. No, really.

* The plot of ''[[Capcom vs. Whatever|Marvel vs. Capcom]]'' goes like this: [[X Men|Onslaught]] does evil things. Use characters from the [[Marvel Universe]] and [[Capcom]] to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|beat him]].

* The plot of ''[[Capcom vs. Whatever|Marvel vs. Capcom]]'' goes like this: [[X-Men|Onslaught]] does evil things. Use characters from the [[Marvel Universe]] and [[Capcom]] to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|beat him]].

** In ''[[~~Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Video Game)|~~Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'' it's basically [[Doctor Doom]] [[Villain Team-Up|teaming up]] with [[Resident Evil|Wesker]] and gathering villains from both companies to take over both Worlds. That said, they are giving a little more effort than in ''2''.

** In ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'' it's basically [[Doctor Doom]] [[Villain Team-Up|teaming up]] with [[Resident Evil|Wesker]] and gathering villains from both companies to take over both Worlds. That said, they are giving a little more effort than in ''2''.

** ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom'' is even worse: Characters live in TV Land. They beat up each other. The end.

*** ''Ultimate All-Stars'' elaborates a bit: {{spoiler|[[Okami|Yami]]}} pulls multiple characters from both sides into a mishmash of dimensions; They beat each other up until they realize what happened, then go to settle the matter in the final boss fight.

* The plot of ''[[Magical Battle Arena]]'' involves how all magical worlds are connected to a single magical source that lets them exist and how said source is verging on collapse, requiring the [[Big Bad]] to force several powerful magic-users of different worlds to fight one another so she can select one to act as a [[Barrier Maiden]] [[Anti-Villain|and prevent the destruction of the multiverse]]. This plot, of course, only exists to justify why [[Slayers|Lina Inverse]], [[Cardcaptor Sakura ~~(Manga)~~|Sakura Kinimoto]], [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha|Nanoha Takamachi]], and several other [[Magical Girl|Magical Girls]] and female mages [[Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny|are blasting the crap out of one another]].

* The plot of ''[[Magical Battle Arena]]'' involves how all magical worlds are connected to a single magical source that lets them exist and how said source is verging on collapse, requiring the [[Big Bad]] to force several powerful magic-users of different worlds to fight one another so she can select one to act as a [[Barrier Maiden]] [[Anti-Villain|and prevent the destruction of the multiverse]]. This plot, of course, only exists to justify why [[Slayers|Lina Inverse]], [[Cardcaptor Sakura|Sakura Kinimoto]], [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha|Nanoha Takamachi]], and several other [[Magical Girl|Magical Girls]] and female mages [[Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny|are blasting the crap out of one another]].

* ''[[Mortal Kombat]] vs. [[DC Universe]]'': Freak accidents involving Shao Kahn and Darkseid fuse the two [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] into a Bigger Bad named Dark Kahn and consequently, cause the ''Mortal Kombat'' and DC universes to merge together. The inhabitants of both worlds believe those of the other to be invading their own and thus (surprise, surprise) [[Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny|they beat up the everloving shit out of each other]], which said Bigger Bad amplifies by infecting everyone with [[Unstoppable Rage]] because, yes, he admits to loving nothing more than the kombat when you confront him at the end.

* ''[[Super Smash Bros]]'' and it sequel ''Super Smash Bros Melee''. ''Super Smash Bros Brawl'', surprisingly has a well thought plot, however.

* In ''[[~~Yoshis Story (Video Game)|~~Yoshis Story]]'', the plot is something about collecting fruit to restore the Happiness Tree and save the adults who have been zapped with some kind of spell.

* In ''[[Yoshis Story]]'', the plot is something about collecting fruit to restore the Happiness Tree and save the adults who have been zapped with some kind of spell.

* The [[Interactive Fiction]] game ''For A Change'' has quite a lot of plot, but it gets a mention for its iconic intro.

{{quote| The sun has gone. It must be brought. You have a rock.}}

* Although the plot for ''[[Oneechanbara]]'' is surprisingly interesting, it ultimately boils down to little more than an excuse for attractive girls to kill zombies. [[Rule of Cool|Not that anyone's complaining.]]

* ''[[~~Wario Land (Video Game)|~~Wario Land]]'' in pretty much all games in the series can be summed up as 'Wario wants to get more treasure and money by beating up the enemies that get in his way and coming into world saving situations almost entirely by accident. The latest game actually makes the intro and ending completely optional movies that can only be watched from the media room after seeing them once.

* ''[[Wario Land]]'' in pretty much all games in the series can be summed up as 'Wario wants to get more treasure and money by beating up the enemies that get in his way and coming into world saving situations almost entirely by accident. The latest game actually makes the intro and ending completely optional movies that can only be watched from the media room after seeing them once.

** ''[[~~Wario Ware (Video Game)|~~Wario Ware]]'' is another example, in that the plot has hardly anything to do with the gameplay, with said gameplay being 3-5 second micro games, and said story being short random adventures of Wario and friends.

** ''[[Wario Ware]]'' is another example, in that the plot has hardly anything to do with the gameplay, with said gameplay being 3-5 second micro games, and said story being short random adventures of Wario and friends.

** The latest one, ''Snapped!'', is actually more excusable than the preceding -- all of the story can be found in the opening.

* ''Gunz: The Duel''. The actual plot is only a couple of paragraphs, and considering there are no [[cutscenes]], it's barely noticeable ingame. Made more ridiculous by the fact that it calls itself an [[MMORPG]].

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*** An often overlooked fact mentioned in the manual is that the Donkey Kong you play in ''Donkey Kong Country'' is actually Donkey Kong Jr.. Cranky Kong is the original Donkey Kong, as evidenced by his comments about in his day they didn't have screen scrolling, and they also say in the game manual as well if I recall correctly. So, it may just be accurate to say Cranky Kong(original Donkey Kong) is a [[Jerkass]], but Junior is more the pacifist type.

* ''[[Retro Game Challenge]]''. You get sucked back in time to play 8-bit video games with a young [[Otaku|gamer geek]]. Good luck, and [[Catch Phrase|keep on kickin']]!

* You must stop the sun and the moon from fighting by... uh... partying? According to ''[[~~Mario Party (Video Game)|~~Mario Party]] 6'', yes.

* You must stop the sun and the moon from fighting by... uh... partying? According to ''[[Mario Party]] 6'', yes.

** The original ''[[~~Mario Party (Video Game)|~~Mario Party]]'' game had all the Mario characters compete with each other to solve major problems in order to determine who is the "Super Star". Again, by partying. It eventually ends with you unlocking a secret board and trying to recover the broken pieces of the Eternal Star, with Bowser trying to stop you at all costs with his minions. Bring out the party.

** The original ''[[Mario Party]]'' game had all the Mario characters compete with each other to solve major problems in order to determine who is the "Super Star". Again, by partying. It eventually ends with you unlocking a secret board and trying to recover the broken pieces of the Eternal Star, with Bowser trying to stop you at all costs with his minions. Bring out the party.

* [[Lampshaded]] in ''[[Skate It]]'', where there's a live action video of an announcer describing the horrible devastating climate events which have wrecked the world's major cities. The slides he shows are an 'Artist's Impression' of the events, which are drawn childishly and in crayon. Then you go and skateboard around the ruined cities for no real reason.

* Obscure [[Game Boy]] game ''[[Mole Mania]]'' counts. For whatever reason, a farmer with a huge island and ''more subordinates that outnumber the legions of hell'' decides to kidnap the wife and children of a mole. As the mole you then go through multiple areas of the island with some fun puzzles, complete bosses like a kangaroo, a legion of hedgehogs, and ''the sun itself''. And in the end, the ''farmer'' somehow is an [[Implacable Man]] that gives up on his own terms when you beat his challenge.

* ''[[Earthworm Jim (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Earthworm Jim]]''.

* ''[[Earthworm Jim (video game)|Earthworm Jim]]''.

* The official plot in ''[[Galaxian]]'' is "We are the Galaxians...Mission: Destroy Aliens". Most people don't even realize the game has a plot in the first place.

* ''[[Lyle in Cube Sector]]'': Your cat's been stolen. Go rescue him.

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* Online Flash game ''Powerfox'' has a little "plot" window during the opening screen that explains the story: "Powerfox, you need to rescue the world!" "Yeah."

* ''Super [[Space Invaders]]'' -- the Amiga port of the arcade game ''Super Space Invaders '91'' -- adds a story wherein some old arcade machines are jettisoned into space in the year 2061, though a ''Space Invaders'' machine broke out of orbit and drifted through space until twelve years later, when an very intelligent alien race got their hands on the arcade machine. Then in 2091, the Invaders, now real and threatening, suddenly show up and proceed to attack earth colonies. After that, you play through was is essentially the same game you've played countless times before.

* ''[[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]]'' is a very interesting [[Deconstruction]] of this trope. The plot at first seems to be a thinly disguised excuse for having you run through a bunch of rooms where you play with the portal gun. With cake as the reward. Then it takes a look at how insane players would have to be to work under such conditions and what kind of psycho would expect them to.

* ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'' is a very interesting [[Deconstruction]] of this trope. The plot at first seems to be a thinly disguised excuse for having you run through a bunch of rooms where you play with the portal gun. With cake as the reward. Then it takes a look at how insane players would have to be to work under such conditions and what kind of psycho would expect them to.

* The developers of ''[[Carmageddon]]'' were forced to come up with a literal [[Excuse Plot]] to allow the game's release in the United Kingdom, where the full blood version was refused a rating by the BBFC, effectively banning it. To get around it, they swapped the pedestrian sprites for [[Zombie Apocalypse|legions of the undead]], tinted everyone visible in the starting FMV a bit green, and changed its voiceover to make the same scenes as in the US release appear to be about a vehicular crusade to exterminate the zombies.

* The early ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' games suffered from this. However, by ''[[Super Robot Wars Alpha]]'', the story and cross-over interactions hit in stride and it's never looked back since.

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* The original ''[[Tekken]]'' had a very dull story, essentially being a tournament to find the greatest fighter in the world. This has been improved in later games, though, and ''Tekken 6'' has a hugely developed storyline.

* ''[[Blast Corps]]'': A carrier is carrying defective nuclear warheads. They leaked, necessitating setting it on autopilot to head straight its destination regardless of what's in the way when a single impact could set the nukes off and cause nuclear winter. Your job is to [[Stuff Blowing Up|destroy every obstacle in its path.]]

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'': An evil scientist is turning cute forest animals into robots; stop him! ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ~~(Video Game)~~|Sonic 2]]:'' Evil scientist is doing it again; stop him, with the help of a mutant fox! ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles ~~(Video Game)~~|Sonic 3 & Knuckles]]'': Evil scientist has duped an echidna into helping him; stop both of them!

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'': An evil scientist is turning cute forest animals into robots; stop him! ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2|Sonic 2]]:'' Evil scientist is doing it again; stop him, with the help of a mutant fox! ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles|Sonic 3 & Knuckles]]'': Evil scientist has duped an echidna into helping him; stop both of them!

** Apparently, the in-game plot was kept to a minimum in the Genesis games so that Sega of Japan and Sega of America would be free to make up mutually contradictory backstories, tailored to their target markets. Then came the ''[[~~Sonic Adventure (Video Game)|~~Sonic Adventure]]'' games and the addition of an actual plot to the series (and with it, the Western backstory was almost entirely rendered [[Canon Dis Continuity]]).

** Apparently, the in-game plot was kept to a minimum in the Genesis games so that Sega of Japan and Sega of America would be free to make up mutually contradictory backstories, tailored to their target markets. Then came the ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' games and the addition of an actual plot to the series (and with it, the Western backstory was almost entirely rendered [[Canon Dis Continuity]]).

* ''[[Descent]]'': You are a [[AFGNCAAP|space mercenary]] who is hired by an unscrupulous space mining corporation. Apparently the AI controlling their [[Recycled in Space|space]] [[Underground Level|mines]] has [[AI Is a Crapshoot|gone rogue]] and you need to travel to each mine, destroy the robots, destroy the reactor, and [[Collapsing Lair|get out safely]]. Made even more ridiculous because the [[Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids|supposed "mining robots"]] include a [[Demonic Spiders|"drilling" bot]] with an under-mounted chain gun and robots that dig with homing missiles. As the game progresses the makers lose all pretense of designing "mining" robots and explain the [[Spikes of Villainy|spike covered]] [[Charged Attack|fusion shooting]] monstrosities as a "top secret military test."

** Well, the briefings do mention the designs being modified and new ones being created by the rogue AIs; take that how you will.

* The plot of ''[[Spelunky]]'' is so irrelevant, that the blurbs at the start of the game explaining said plot are randomly selected from a list.

* ''[[~~Monster Hunter (Video Game)|~~Monster Hunter]]''. There is a village. The village is under [[Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever|Attack of the 50 Foot Monster]]. Since you are a newbie hunter yourself, you have to start with the small ones. Here's your [[BFS]].

* ''[[Monster Hunter]]''. There is a village. The village is under [[Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever|Attack of the 50 Foot Monster]]. Since you are a newbie hunter yourself, you have to start with the small ones. Here's your [[BFS]].

* ''[[Castlevania Harmony of Despair]]''. [[Castlevania]] has once again risen... inside a book. So the book brings the heroes to life to destroy the castle. Inside a book.

* ''[[Castlevania: Harmony of Despair]]''. [[Castlevania]] has once again risen... inside a book. So the book brings the heroes to life to destroy the castle. Inside a book.

* ''[[Gratuitous Space Battles]]'': There's a war on. Go fight it. Hey, it's called ''Gratuitous'' Space Battles for a reason!

* ''Jojo's Fashion Show: World Adventure''. Before each level there's a couple of lines of an incredibly boring story about some stereotypical bitchy fashionista drama, w/e. Other than the story being about fashion designers who are going on a world tour, and the game being about you designing outfits to fit different styles from around the world, it's entirely irrelevant. The level titles are ostensibly based on the story, but they have little bearing even on that.

* [[Lampshaded]] in the online game ''Fancy Pants Adventure 2''. "You must go in after him! For justice! For humanity! For World 2 to have a plotline!"

* ''[[~~Slime Forest Adventure (Video Game)|~~Slime Forest Adventure]]'' exists to [[Edutainment Game|teach the player Japanese]]. Everything else is subordinate to that goal.

* ''[[Slime Forest Adventure]]'' exists to [[Edutainment Game|teach the player Japanese]]. Everything else is subordinate to that goal.

* Other than a short three paragraph summary at the start of the game, ''[[Banana Nababa~~|Banana nababa~~]]'' doesn't really have a complex plot. It mainly amounts to a wizard stealing six jewels and now some guy has to kill six bosses in a tower in order to get them all back.

* Other than a short three paragraph summary at the start of the game, ''[[Banana Nababa]]'' doesn't really have a complex plot. It mainly amounts to a wizard stealing six jewels and now some guy has to kill six bosses in a tower in order to get them all back.

* The old arcade Whack-A-Mole game ''First Funky Fighter'' has a beautiful lady kidnapped as your main reason to punch suckers out of a massive bunch of wacky crocodiles and sharks!!

* This trope is one of the (many) reasons why ''Soulstorm'', the third ''[[Dawn of War]]'' expansion, is so despised. While the previous three campaigns possessed fairly intricate stories with detailed charcters (though ''Dark Crusade'' was pushing it), ''Soulstorm'''s campaign is literally "a [[Negative Space Wedgie]] attracts nearly every faction in the galaxy to a single system. They fight".

* ''[[~~Castle Crashers (Video Game)|~~Castle Crashers]]'': "Four princesses have been kidnapped! [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience|You there, color-coded knights!]] [[Save the Princess|Go rescue them!]]"

* ''[[Castle Crashers]]'': "Four princesses have been kidnapped! [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience|You there, color-coded knights!]] [[Save the Princess|Go rescue them!]]"

* ''[[Fatal Racing]]'' (''Whiplash'' in the US): The top eight car manufactures hold [[Car Fu]] races every year. The winning company enjoys a massive boost in sales. Represent your company well.

* ''[[Let's Go Find El Dorado]]'' has a pioneer family decide at the last second to look for the fabled city of gold, instead of taking the [[Oregon Trail]].

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* ''Night Walk'', an economic British game about walking through graveyard with zombies. The description [http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/2010/12/ashens-nightwalk/ must be seen to be believed.]

* The plot of [[Warriors of Might and Magic]] is present but extremely shady and hard to get (at least in some versions). You work your way through a series of totally unrelated dungeons (including a village inhabitated by Orcs, a golem-infested maze, a dungeon city full of goblins and minotaurs and zombies, a temple of demon worshippers and a dark temple-prison inside a volcano) in order to remove a mask. {{spoiler|Which happens at 3/4 of the game, leaving you with no reasons why to invade the temple.}}

* Parodied by the ''[[Starcraft ~~II (Video Game)|StarCraft~~ II]]'' minigame ''[[Shout-Out|Lost Viking]]''. Basically, the premise is that a Viking fighter is lost and needs to find its way back to Vikingville, but needs to watch out for the evil [[Ascended Meme|Terra-Tron]]. "[[Intentional Engrish for Funny|HE DOES NOT LIKE YOU!]]"

* Parodied by the ''[[Starcraft II]]'' minigame ''[[Shout-Out|Lost Viking]]''. Basically, the premise is that a Viking fighter is lost and needs to find its way back to Vikingville, but needs to watch out for the evil [[Ascended Meme|Terra-Tron]]. "[[Intentional Engrish for Funny|HE DOES NOT LIKE YOU!]]"

** Blizzard DOTA, another minigame for [[Starcraft]] II, is a [[Multiplayer Online Battle Arena]] that features player-controlled hero characters from various Blizzard games fighting it out in a crossover of several franchises. The story stated in the trailer consists of some mumbo-jumbo about two gods in dire need of some entertainment who kidnap the heroes from their respective universes. The announcer in the trailer then states outright that "these heroes are forced to fight to the death in an endless battle with no purpose other than ladder points!"

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* Parodied in flash game ''[[Robot Wants Series|Robot Wants Puppy]]'', which begins with an opening scrawl that describes a grand intergalactic war. Afterwards, it says "Meanwhile, in a completely different galaxy, thousands of light years away, [[Name Drop|Robot wants puppy]]."

* In the flash game ''[[Gun Bot]]'', the "plot" is literally being made up on the spot by a developer who was so busy with making the game that he forgot to add in a plot, deciding to just make it up as he goes along. This is the reason why a robot has a bug for a little sister.

* ''[[Catacomb ~~Abyss~~]]'': "You arch rival '''Nemesis''' has summoned the dark forces of the underworld to destroy all that is good." That's about it. There's some other background information to be found, but it's mainly about the creepy places you'll be going to, which are in themselves a large part of what this game series is all about.

* ''[[Catacomb 3-D]]'': "You arch rival '''Nemesis''' has summoned the dark forces of the underworld to destroy all that is good." That's about it. There's some other background information to be found, but it's mainly about the creepy places you'll be going to, which are in themselves a large part of what this game series is all about.

* It is actually surprising to learn that ''[[Linear RPG]]'' does actually have a plot. It's kind of in the background.

* Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Instead of just climbing all over a city and tagging, our hero becomes a freedom fighter in a dystopian future enforced by Adam West.

* In the opening of ''Urban Yeti'', a silly [[Game Boy Advance]] game, we are told that Yetis surely exist and are among us, therefore they would, like us, want to have a home and family. And so the titular Yeti's journey begins. Get ready to ''Yeti''!

* In ''[[Magical Whip Wizards of Phantasmal Forest ~~(Video Game)~~|Magical Whip Wizards of Phantasmal Forest]]'', two apprentice wizards somehow end up in the eponymous forest. Time to beat up a bunch of monsters and dragons to escape!

* In ''[[Magical Whip: Wizards of the Phantasmal Forest|Magical Whip Wizards of Phantasmal Forest]]'', two apprentice wizards somehow end up in the eponymous forest. Time to beat up a bunch of monsters and dragons to escape!

* The freeware shmup [[Hydorah]] has only bare hints at a plot. Apparently, there's some sort of alien empire ruled by an evil god named Hydorah that is attacking. But half of what little dialog there is (16 lines counting the post credits scene) makes no sense, and some of the missions don't even involve fighting the Hyodrans/Meropticonians/whatever at all.

* In ''[[Videogames/Temple Run|Temple Run]]'', you steal the idol. The demon monkeys start chasing you. Now run. (Good luck.)

* ''[[~~Meat Boy (Video Game)|~~Meat Boy]]'': You are a cube of meat/skinless boy. Suddenly, a fetus in a tuxedo wearing jar suit kidnaps your girlfriend (who is made of bandages). Go rescue her. Ther'se also Buzz saws, lots of them.

* ''[[Meat Boy]]'': You are a cube of meat/skinless boy. Suddenly, a fetus in a tuxedo wearing jar suit kidnaps your girlfriend (who is made of bandages). Go rescue her. Ther'se also Buzz saws, lots of them.

* ''The Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout'': Bugs Bunny's fan club is celebrating his 50th birthday, but his jealous ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' co-stars don't like this and do everything they can to obstruct his way to the party.

* ''Hoard''. You're a dragon! Burn kingdoms! Steal treasure! Kidnap and ransom princesses! Dodge the evil knights trying to kill you!

* ''The I of It''. The intro goes as following - "Once upon a time there was an I and a t. 'Bah', said the t, and left. 'Where is t?' I was wondering, and started the quest."

* The games in the ''[[Elder Scrolls]]'' series are all open fantasy worlds, that give the player a lot of freedom. The premise of these games is basically to let the player do what he wants. Each game has a main plot, but it can be ignored entirely. In fact, even when the main plot tells you to hurry, [[Take Your Time|nothing bad will happen if you don't.]]

* ''[[~~Alien Hallway (Video Game)|~~Alien Hallway]]'': There are aliens in the hallway. Aliens are bad. Shoot them. That's all the plot you need.

* ''[[Alien Hallway]]'': There are aliens in the hallway. Aliens are bad. Shoot them. That's all the plot you need.