Invisible Monsters: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''"Oh look, they were too cheap to hire villains!"''|'''Joel Robinson''' on invisible enemies, ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''}}

 

 

See also [[Invisibility]]. Take note of [[Nothing Is Scarier|Nothing Being Scarier]], which is why this can work at all.

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] ==

* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS'', we learn that an invisible [[Mecha-Mooks|Gadget Drone]] was what {{spoiler|nearly killed Nanoha during the [[Snow Means Death]] incident}} after another one of them {{spoiler|[[Normally I Would Be Dead Now|stabs Vita through her chest]]}} during the final mission.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'': The Invisible Garboyle from "Gobo's Discovery".

* Hell hounds in ''[[Supernatural]]'' are invisible to everyone but their target.

* Mirror Monsters in ''[[Kamen Rider Ryuki]]'' (and its American adaptation ''[[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]]'') can only be seen by those who've been to the mirror world; to everyone else, they're this.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** You can see the exact picture at the top of the page...

 

*** Both of these are easily seen as a wolf while in "sense" mode.

** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' has a group of invisible enemies directly outside the room with the item that makes them visible. Said item is intended for a few other (non-battle) purposes.

** Let's not forget Ganon in the [[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|original game]]. He's invisible until you can shoot him with the Silver Arrows, except for a very brief period after you strike him with your sword. The only way to figure out where he is is by extrapolating from the start location of the fireballs he shoots.

* There are a number of enemies in the ''[[Metroid]] Prime'' games that require the use of other visors to track. You usually run into at least one ''before'' you get the visor...

** Strangely avoided in the sequel Portrait of Ruin, where there is an Invisible Man enemy, but they actually start out wearing a hat and trenchcoat, so you know where they are. Once they sense you, however, they take off said hat and trenchcoat and really are invisible (barely visible via a few intentionally misplaced pixels here and there). However, it's rare that they'll be able to do much while truly invisible; they don't take that many hits to destroy.

** Both of the above enemies are back in ''Order of Ecclesia.''

* The GameCube remake of ''[[Resident Evil]]'' features a challenge mode in which '''all''' of the monsters are invisible. Prepare to die repeatedly.

** [[Resident Evil 4]] features an enemy located in an [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]] called the "Novistador". These enemies are invisible until they die, and their bodies become visible.

* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' loves this trope. Most wizards will use some variant of Invisibility (usually ''Mislead'') thieves love stocking up on ''Potions of Invisibility'' (especially nasty are the "Rune Assassins" featured in one quest, that have a very nasty backstab and a near-unlimited amount of potions...) Throne of Bhaal ups the ante further, introducing a '''dragon''' that turns invisible, and who cannot be detected unless you use a particular sequence of spells. Ouch.

* [[Kirby]] Super Star had Chameleo Arm, which tended to be invisible...and tended to fire balls of paint which the protagonist could get the Paint ability from to reveal and damage him with.

** Invisibility is a somewhat important unit attribute, in fact, as stealth units cannot be directly targeted for attack. When fighting a Terran or Protoss player one should always have detector units handy or else be left helpless. Zerg units can't move while invisible but they can burrow to set up ambushes.

** [[Dawn of War|Dawn of War II]] fixed this by making infiltrators reveal themselves if they attack, or if they get within arm's reach of any enemy unit. This is with the exception of the super-infiltrated Cyrus, who can use his incredibly destructive array of explosives and specialist ammunition without breaking Infiltration, but will be otherwise be revealed just like any other infiltrated unit.

* [[Ancient Domains of Mystery]]'s Invisible Stalker is...[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]].

** {{spoiler|If you eat the corpse of an invisible stalker, there's a chance that YOU can become intrinsically invisible}}.

** {{spoiler|Like [[Nethack]] it also has spellcasting monsters who will turn themselves invisible.}}

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' gives us the Stealth Sneak, first as a [[Boss Battle]], then reappearing later on in the Hades Cup. The icing on the cake is one of the latter seeds, consisting of not one but ''two'' Stealth Sneaks to carve up. Mind you, locking onto and hitting one is not affected by whether they are visible or not. They can be detected by sight alone if you look very carefully. Their camouflage produces a "heat ripple" effect, though this is easier to see during the boss fight than during the seed match.

** ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'' also gives us the boss from the {{spoiler|Secret Episode}}. For the entire first part of the fight, the only parts of it you can see are its [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|glowing red eyes]] and, when it attacks you, its claws.

** Due to a bug in the level generation routine, they do not respect the safe zone around the entrance. So when you just arrived in the level and you are gathering your bearings, casting [[Mana]] Shield, checking item durability, etc., they could be ''[[Right Behind Me|right behind you]], getting closer''. And if this is multiplayer mode, your gear is now on the floor next to a sea of enemies right at the stairs.

* Chapter 10 of ''[[Eternal Darkness]]'' features a [[Our Vampires Are Different|telekinetically vampiric]] creature who turns invisible when he's not attacking anyone or getting healed at a shrine. Mercifully, you can use a spell to reveal him.

* ''[[Plants vs. Zombies]]'' has the mini-game [[Punny Name|"Invisi-Ghoul"]]. ALL The zombies are invisible. The only TWO ways to detect them is to 1. use an ice-shroom to cause ice to appear around their feet or 2. the audio cues they make when they appear. Oh, and the [[Demonic Spiders|Zomboni]] that runs over your plants [[One-Hit Kill|in one shot]]? Yep, it's fought in this minigame.

* Flying-Neo from [[Alien Soldier]] is an [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|alien zombie dragon helicopter]]. Once it's health gets to a quarter, the [[Goddamned Boss]] turns ''completely invisible'' other than the silhouette of its legs against the ground when it flies low. Or when the [[Lightning Reveal|lightning in the background strikes]].

* One level in ''[[Demon's Souls]]'' has invisible enemies that you probably won't even know are there until they stab you in the back, which is likely to [[Nintendo Hard|kill you outright]].

* ''[[King's Quest: Mask of Eternity]]'' had one of these in the Frozen Reaches, which served as a [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]] as well.

* In ''[[Wizard of Wor]]'', Garwors and Thorwors could turn invisible at times, though they would still appear on the radar screen.

* Certain enemies in ''[[Bubble Tanks]] 3'' have the ability to use stealth, which turns them invisible. ''Bubble Tanks Tower Defence'' has the Stealth enemy, which is invisible to the player. When damaged, their invisibility wears off for a short time.

[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]

[[Category:Invisibility Index]]