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Press X to Not Die: Difference between revisions
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Similar to but distinct from [[Action Commands]] (these happen during cutscenes, while those occur during gameplay), and third cousin once removed to [[But Thou Must!]].
[[Your Mileage May Vary]] on whether they add a feeling of tension that adds to the gameplay or they just interrupt the gameplay at inappropriate times just to look cool and nothing else, but they certainly encouraged [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny|ADHD players]] to pay more attention to the cutscenes in either cases, now that they are actually a bit interactive. Thanks to overuse and misuse this may become a [[Discredited Trope]] (although it's probably already an [[Undead Horse Trope]]). Contrast [[Press X to Die]]. Compare [[Coup De Grace Cutscene]], where no input is needed. [[Smashing Survival]] is a mix between this and [[Button Mashing]].
Named for a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Zero Punctuation]]''.
{{examples}}
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** Another unique example is where {{spoiler|The true final boss's Final form has these along with your own as a form of Counter QTE's.}}
* Although God of War has mainly Action Commands, it does occasionally have Quick Time Events as well.
** ''[[God of War]] 2'', where {{spoiler|rapid shoulder button mashing is required to keep Atlas from literally squashing Kratos between his fingers long enough for [[Strange Bedfellows|Two Angry Bald Men to realize they both hate Zeus and want to kick his ass]]}}.
*** It also has (at least?) two QTEs that [[Hopeless Boss Fight|you can't win]]: In Rhodes, when {{spoiler|Zeus fights you while you're half dead, it eventually prompts an O-mash minigame. Whether you lose or "win" it, you still get stabbed.}} Then in the start of the end of the last battle, you will {{spoiler|stop and pretend to surrender when faced with Zeus' lightning...cage...thing, no matter how furiously you press the O button.}}
*** A better example of this trope is what happens right after {{spoiler|1=you pretend to surrender. A cutscene begins where Zeus comes down to finish you off, beginning one of the few mid-cutscene QTEs.}}
*** In ''Chains of Olympus'', a QTE is made of {{spoiler|''[[Shoo the Dog|Kratos pushing his daughter away]]'', so that, when it emerged that he could not remain with her or be reunited with her again, he could muster the strength to leave her.}}
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* ''[[Far Cry]] 2'' has a ''literal'' version of this trope. If your health drops below 20%, it will continue to fall until you die, unless you push the "restore health" button, which results in the character patching up a serious wound to bring you back to 40% health. If you don't push the button, or you're continually interrupted while trying to heal, then you die.
* ''[[Modern Warfare]] 1'' had a very annoying recurring 'Press V not to die' (or the right thumbstick/R3 button, for those of you playing the game on consoles) in which you need to melee a dog that is attacking you, but you only get roughly a quarter of a second to press it. Too early, you die, too late, you die. Oh, and did I mention that the default melee button is 'V'; just far enough from WASD to be hard to press without looking. By which time you have died from a dog to the throat.
** Returns in the sequel much to the annoyance of many. The final mission, "Endgame", also features you {{spoiler|pulling a knife out of your gut and sticking it into the poor shmuck [[Big Bad]]'s forehead}}.
*** In the mission "Takedown", you have to press the stance button (B on the X360) or else you'll get shot straight in the head while in the passenger seat of the vehicle. There is a good chance you won't know you can even do this the first time around, even with Soap screaming to get down.
*** A similar event happens later on, which uses the trope by name (though paraphrased). When walking through a field, Bouncing Betty mines spring up, the game goes into super-slow-motion, and text appears:
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** The dogs are coupled with fanatic Japanese soldiers using bayonets instead of biting you in ''[[Call of Duty]]: World at War''. They're actually possibly to consistently defeat without dying, however.
*** The animation for killing them when you're down is a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], and you are invisible to other enemies in the mean time, so sometimes... yeah.
** In ''[[Call of Duty]] 3'', hand-to-hand combat is executed by these types of sequences.
** Hell, in the first ''[[Call of Duty]]'' game, this happens during the intro of the Soviet campaign. You are packed in a boat with other Russian soldiers making your way across the Volga River while German planes and artillery attack the boats. You can't move, but you can look around. And you can crouch. And you should, or you'll get hit and killed by a strafing German plane. All before you can even get off the boat.
** Don't forget ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops|Call of Duty Black Ops]]'', in the level "SOG" an NVA soldier will jump on you and you have to tap the "use" button really fast. If you succeed, you [[Pineapple Surprise|remove the pins from the grenades on his belt and push him away before he explodes]]. Many others too, such as press X (or V in PC) to open parachute, to accelerate the car, etc.
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== MMORPG ==
* Tryndamere in ''[[League of Legends]]'' is a very literal example, because his ultimate ability literally just makes it so he can't die for a few seconds.
== Party ==
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== Platformers ==
* ''[[Distorted Travesty]]'' has its share of 'PRESS A/X NOT TO DIE!' moments in one level, while parodying the whole idea of quick time events and bashing game makers who use these. The main characters (who are gamers) react as though quick time events are the worst possible thing that could happen in the game, to the point that they put the main adventure on hold in order to kill the source of the events ASAP.
* ''Super Adventure Rockman'' was a [[No Export for You|Japan-only]] ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' game released in the mid-nineties. It was an animated adventure that gave the player [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] style choices that would guide the cutscenes. Every once in a while, in the middle of a cutscene, arrows would flash on the screen and you'd have one second to choose a direction, hit the D-Pad, and dodge a surprise attack.
** ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]] 4'', specifically the [[One Game for the Price of Two|Red Sun]] version, had this in the lead-up to the fight against SearchMan; he was in the Undernet, and when you go there to look for him he snipes at you every few seconds. When he takes aim, a crosshair appears over MegaMan, followed by an arrow determining which direction to press to dodge the shot.
* In a series that's been otherwise free of them, ''[[Metroid|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption]]'' introduces one in the form of "Phazon overload," which you have to burn off by frantic mashing of the firing button. Not doing so fast enough earns you a [[Nonstandard Game Over]]. The first and last time it happens, it's a Press A To Not Die; in all other instances it takes the form of an [[Action Command]]. Usually overload works in your favor as it's basically a free Hypermode, but it can be overdone to cruel effect on the hardest difficulty setting.
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* ''[[Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles|The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' and ''[[Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles|The Darkside Chronicles]]'' have QTEs. Cutscenes that have a QTE start with a quick white fade-in and play a tense theme when the danger you have to avoid appears. They also are used in boss battles to dodge an incoming attack.
* In ''[[Silent Hill Origins]]'', almost all of the monsters have a special attack that does [[For Massive Damage|extra harm]] to Travis should you mess up the quick time event. It's only instantly fatal in the case of one enemy (the Ariels, when they hang from the ceiling), but it's still annoying.
* ''[[Silent Hill Homecoming]]'' has a few, particularly while fighting Ferals and Needlers. It also has Press X To Shrug Off This Minor Inconvenience with Swarms and Smogs. The most significant doubles as a [[Cutscene Boss]]; the sort of [[Big Bad]] is killed in a cutscene with their own power drill. In the face.
== Third-Person Shooters ==
* ''[[Gears of War]] 2'' multiplayer. If you have a lancer and an enemy tries to chainsaw you from the front, and you do not ''immediately'' begin hammering Y, X, B, or A, you will die. Often you'll die anyways - it's usually a question of who starts hammering first, and since you need to use your finger rather than your thumb to get maximum speed, this is often a tricky situation.
* ''[[Lost Planet]] 2'' has three instances of this. Interestingly, you have to die at least '''FOUR''' times for [[One Hundred Percent Completion|100%]].
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*** Subverted when {{spoiler|Tali commits suicide}} and a paragon interrupt pops up to save her. Even if you make it, she still dies.
** It also has a literal example of this trope in the multiplayer. When incapacitated but not dead, a downed player must tap a button to keep themselves alive before the associated timer ends.
* ''[[Mercenaries]] 2'' does this every time you try to hijack an enemy vehicle, and [[Cutscene Boss|The final boss fight]] is a quick time event.
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* This appears in the licensed game for the 2007 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' film. Losing all your health results in your character falling on one knee. Here you have to repeatedly hit the button that shows up onscreen to save him. If you're playing in a level where the Turtle is solo, this helps him slowly get back up - once he does, his health is restored. If it's a level where the other Turtles are in reserve, one appears when your Turtle falls and starts to help him up. Once successful, he replaces the injured Turtle in battle. Doing nothing in either case causes the afflicted Turtle to collapse and die, to reappear at the last checkpoint.
** Interestingly, there is a point in the game where your character is ''supposed'' to be knocked out, for plot purposes. He falls and you get the cue to button-mash, but he collapses anyway and the screen fades to black for some relevant voice-overs.
* In ''[[The Witcher|The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings]]'' this is often a part of combat against creatures that are massively larger than humans, like the dragon in the prologue or the Kayran at the end of the first chapter.
* [[Telltale Games]]' ''[[Jurassic Park: The Game]]''. The ''entire'' game, minus some sections where you get to stop, take a breath and play with some puzzles, consists of this style of gameplay. [[Press X to Not Die|Press X To Not be Eaten by a Tyrannosaur]] indeed.
* In the ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' mini-game in ''Universal Studios Theme Park Adventures'', the player gets to shoot at a T-Rex! When the dinosaur gives up, a small cutscene will play with the driver having a hard time passing through some rough terrain. Then, all of the sudden, a huge (L) or (R) appears on-screen. If you don't press the button at the right time (which seems to be 1 frame long), you'll merely stay momentarily incapacitated.
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* The name of this trope appears in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsW3CjegbQ0 this video] at about the 3:48 mark.
* [http://xkcd.com/788/ xkcd presents Press Y To Not Die].
* This trope is referenced word for word in [[
* Warned against in [http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=428 this Sequential Art strip.]
* The picture caption wasn't the only time [http://www.cracked.com/article_16196_the-7-commandments-all-video-games-should-obey_p3.html Cracked.com addressed this issue.]
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