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But Thou Must!: Difference between revisions
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Named after one of the first instances of the trope, from the original ''[[Dragon Quest (Video Game)|Dragon Quest]]''.
See also [[Railroading]]. Compare [[Stupidity Is the Only Option]], [[
{{examples|Examples where giving the "wrong" answer makes it impossible to proceed until you give the "right" answer (including giving [[Nonstandard Game Over|Nonstandard Game Overs]]):}}
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** A more obscure one exists in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask (Video Game)|Majora's Mask]]''. In the Astral Observatory, you can look through the old man's telescope by talking to him. He asks you if you want to look through it first, and you can refuse. He'll take it well. However, speak to him as Deku Link and he won't take no for an answer.
*** Also in ''Majora's Mask'', if you say "No" when Kafei asks if you can keep a secret he'll say "Listen, when someone asks you something like that, you're supposed to say 'yes'" (or something along those lines).
** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|Skyward Sword]]'', {{spoiler|when Zelda asks you to wake her up thousands of years later}}, you have the option to answer "Of Course!", "I promise" and "I will".
*** [[Skyward Sword]] does this a couple of other places too, and tends to make the answer more about personality than choice, making the above a demonstration that no interpretation of Link could possibly refuse to help Zelda.
* In ''[[Nie R]]'', {{spoiler|at the end of part one, when Kaine is blocking the door in the library that a giant regenerating Shade is in, you are given the option of petrifying her, or not. The game will not continue until you choose to petrify her.}}
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* ''[[Rambo]]'' for the NES console [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on this trope at the beginning of the game, where Colonel Trautman offers Rambo a mission in exchange for getting out of prison. You are prompted to either accept the mission or reply that you feel safer in prison. If you choose the second answer, the Colonel flat-out tells you that the game can't begin until you select the first answer.
** It happens again after Rambo is captured by the Soviet commander. The commander demands that Rambo make radio contact with the federal agent who sent him on his mission. You can either remain silent or do as he says. If you choose the former, the commander repeats his demand word for word, and he will do this ad infinitum until you finally break down and make the damn call. Later, playing as Co trying to rescue Rambo, you run into a soldier who offers to trade you a dress for your rifle. You can refuse all you like, but you're not proceeding any further in the game without the dress. All three events happen in the movie this game's based on, ''Rambo: First Blood Part 2'' (well, Co's rescue attempt plays out a bit differently...), so it's no surprise that deviating from the script is not allowed. (Rambo ''does'' initially turn down the mission, but not because of fear, he just doesn't think life outside of prison is any better than inside it.)
* ''[[Batman: Arkham City (Video Game)|Batman Arkham City]]''. When you're playing as {{spoiler|[[Catwoman (Comic Book)|Catwoman]], the game gives you a choice about whether to go and save Batman or to simply take two big boxes of loot and leave Arkham City. Choosing the second option allows you a brief look at outside Arkham, but then results in a [[Nonstandard Game Over]] where Batman is killed, Wayne Manor overrun, and the Joker's thugs basically raze Gotham City to the ground. The game then "rewinds the tape" to the point where you can make the choice again.}}
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== Literature ==
* Typically, the ''[[Give Yourself Goosebumps]]'' books will have a "choice" near the beginning where one choice is an obvious cop-out of the whole adventure ("If you want to enter the haunted house, turn to page 25. If you want to go home and read your math book, turn to page 63.") Choosing the cop-out leads you right back to the page you just came from. ("Your best friend says, 'If you leave us now, you're a coward, I'll never speak to you again, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and you need to give my lucky pen back!]]' You think it over. Return to page 7").
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* ''[[Persona 4 (Video Game)|Persona 4]]'' is a little better about this--you're told about the culture and sports clubs but you are not forced into joining either. The game still has "plot interruption days" though. Some of the social links (like your allies) are forced but building them up gives them new tricks in battle and all social links no longer reverse or break if left alone for prolonged periods of time.
* ''[[Suikoden]]'' loves these, forcing you to pick the answer it wants again and again. Early on in one game, for example, you're asked if you want to carve a symbol on a rock, and if you answer that you don't, the other character just says "Sure you do! C'mon!" and you do it anyway. More frequently, the character asking something will give a verbose explanation of why you should say yes, then ask again, repeating a rotation of 3 or 4 explanations for as long as you keep refusing.
** It's subverted in the sequel, ''[[Suikoden II]]'', however -- two of the [[
** ''[[Suikoden II]]'' features another subversion -- at one point, your sister suggests that you give up on the war and run away with her. If you agree, you actually ''do it'', for a while, and a brief optional plot arc in which you abandon your responsibilities follows; this ends with the hero confronted by his followers and forced to choose again. Insisting on abandoning them at this point causes a [[Nonstandard Game Over]], and it's implied that you've lost their respect in any case.
** There's also an example near the start of the game: after finding out that the local army wants you and your best friend dead, said friend suggests jumping down a waterfall to escape. Saying "No" four times will result in a battle against a group of soldiers, then you'll be given the exact same choices again. You can repeat the process infinitely, but the game won't continue until you agree to jump. HOWEVER, fighting 108 battles in this style will result in the flashback that follows your suicide jump changing from black-and-white to full color.
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* Shortly before ''[[Earthbound (Video Game)|Earthbound]]'s'' first real boss fight (against a local gang leader), the protagonist is asked if he wants to join the gang. Answering "Yes" results in being told to come back after finishing the game.
** And again in ''[[Earthbound (Video Game)|Earthbound]]'', before {{spoiler|time-travelling}} to the [[Big Bad]]'s final lair, Dr. Andonuts gives a big inspirational speech about how Ness is [[The Chosen One]] and all, and by pressing the "go back in time" button with his own hand, he is fulfilling his ultimate destiny, and then asks a yes/no question as to whether you want to do it. Saying no prompts him to simply say "Oh. I see", and then ask his own son to do it instead. Saying no past that just loops back to Ness until you press the button.
** When Jeff shows up in Threed in ''[[Earthbound (Video Game)|Earthbound]]'' he'll give you a laundry list of his flaws and ask if you still want him to join. Say "no" and you'll be asked the same question again, after a [[What the Hell, Player?|lecture.]]
** In the beginning of ''[[Earthbound (Video Game)|Earthbound]]'', Pokey will ask you to help him find his brother. If you say no, he will threaten to say something that will cut you like a knife. If you say no again, he will apologize. It loops.
** In ''[[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Mother 3]]'' when you refuse the Rope Snake's plead to aid you out of Saturn Valley enough times, the options become "Okay" and "I'm so moved".
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** In another scene, Kid is injured and the player either charges off to her rescue or expresses doubt he can save her. Although it looks like a [[But Thou Must]] situation, being pessimistic turns out just as well and sets you on the path to pick up Glenn, one of the most powerful characters in the game.
*** Which makes it like a reverse But Thou Must. Thou ''mustn't'' if you want to recruit Glenn.
*** Well, that choice is a ''bit'' more of a trade-off storywise... go that route and you doom the hydra and dwarves to extinction, which means the marsh in Home is guaranteed to turn as poisonous as its counterpart, and Razzly is eaten by the pentapod. If you [[Video Game Cruelty Punishment|don't care about that]] (you [[What the Hell, Player?|heartless bastard you]]), the characters you recruit instead of Glenn/Macha/Doc aren't good enough to justify passing him up. But there's pretty much ''no'' reason to say yes to Kid the first time.
*** The whole first half of the plot revolving around Kid can be interpreted as a double subversion of this trope. The game begins with you having a presumably prophetic vision/dream of Kid being in your party and having an unfortunate incident. You are then given multiple opportunities to try and prevent this from happening by not allowing Kid to join your party. You seem to be allowed to succeed. You are even rewarded (consistently you get to recruit better party members if you choose not to recruit/help Kid). But in the end Kid joins your party anyway and the unfortunate event occurs anyway (though not in precisely the way you think it would).
* In the ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' premium module Kingmaker, you're offered a chance to run for rulership of the town you end up in. You can try to refuse, but your intelligent weapon that revived you after you died in the beginning tells you that you were brought back for this specific purpose. If you lose the election, your weapon kills you.
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** Spoofed in ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Video Game)|Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]'' if the player refuses enough when offered the Pokédex; Professor Rowan will tell the player that he "can stand here all day without talking if I have to".
** Also spoofed in ''Platinum''. Buck asks the player to investigate Stark Mountain because something funny is going on - if the player responds with "No", Buck says "I'll just keep asking until you say yes!" and then repeats the question.
** In the beginning of ''[[Pokémon Gold and Silver (Video Game)|Pokémon Gold and Silver]]''/''Crystal'', your in-game mom asks you whether or not you know how the PokéGear works. Regardless of whether you answer yes or no, she says pretty much the same thing anyway; they changed the first sentence of the explanation from a statement to a question, but the rest is unchanged. Can we call this an example of [[Viewers
** Subverted in another incident in the same game/s, where one trainer in Cianwood City who gives you a Shuckle to hold onto temporarily will not keep on asking for it back if you refuse to give it back to him. He will, however, tell you that [[What the Hell, Player?|what you're doing is akin to stealing.]]
** At the beginning of ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team (Video Game)|Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team]]'', your partner asks you if you want to form a rescue team with him/her. You have the option to refuse, but your partner won't let you into your house until you accept.
* In the "Bidoof's Wish" episode of ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers (Video Game)|Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers]] of the Sky'', upon meeting Jirachi, you can choose between a series of wishes (including world domination) but he instead chooses to wish for new juniors, AKA, you.
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* ''[[Alpha Protocol]]'' was designed around avoiding this trope as much as possible, to the point where Obsidian Entertainment [http://blip.tv/file/3491456/ put on a presentation at PAX] specifically named after the ''[[Dragon Quest (Video Game)|Dragon Quest]]'' example and discuss why and how developers should make choices matter. They then proceed to make a drinking game out of the word "choice" and drink like fish, but that is neither here nor there.
** ....And it's then played utterly straight when you meet Madison, even if you're playing an utterly paranoid character, you have to take her back to your safehouse to keep her...er, safe
* In ''[[Devil Survivor (Video Game)|Devil Survivor]]'', a sidequest allows you to recover Miss Mari's bag, which has an item that she {{spoiler|actually Kresnik, who is inside her}} needs to {{spoiler|fight Kudlak}}. If on the next day you talk to Mari while you still have the bag, you are given two options: Give her the bag or hold on to it. If you choose the latter, [[What the Hell, Player?|Yuzu and Atsuro will punch you]] and you'll have to pick an option again. Unless you hand Mari the bag, the dialogue won't advance.
** Kinda ironic, when you consider that if you want to save both {{spoiler|Miss Mari and Keisuke}} you have to give the bag to Kaido, NOT Miss Mari. If you give her the bag either {{spoiler|Kaido will not come to help you save Mari and will kill Keisuke before you can rescue him or if you save Keisuke, Mari will have to fight Kudlak alone, and will die just when the party reaches her.}} Thus you shouldn't even TALK with Miss Mari if you want to avoid both [[Player Punch|player punches.]] However, this game usually averts this trope quite well, although the results are usually [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|not pretty.]]
** Whenever a [[Info Dump|plot-important concept]] comes up, you're usually asked if you understand. In some instances, however, it doesn't matter how you respond -- Yuzu will protest and insist they repeat the information, simplifying it even further if possible.
* ''[[Infinite Space]]'' has a rather humorous (albeit a little disturbing) example of this case. At one point during the Magellanic Stream chapter, Cico wants to spend some time with Kira, the main character's little sister, and to confess his love for her. He won't stop bugging you until you <s>grant him permission</s> give up and let him have his way.
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*** Harvest moon: More friends of mineral town does this too. In the beginning, you buy a farm that you think is in good condition, while it's truly quite terrible. Mayor Thomas asks you if you want to stay. Saying no ends the game.
* In ''[[Wing Commander (Video Game)|Wing Commander]] IV'', you're given two chances to defect to the Border Worlds. If you don't take the second chance, infinite Border World bombers spawn until your home base is destroyed, thus ending the game for the player. Given the moral issues the game was trying to raise, that didn't exactly help with making the player believe there was really any morality concerns, although the game's $12M production costs (one of the highest costs in games at the time) may have been an influence on the reduced list of options for which more [[Full Motion Video]] would be required to be filmed.
** In the ancient days of the [[
* In ''[[Rune Factory]]'', Mist offers to let you work her farmland. You can answer, "No, I really can't do that", to which she answers, "No, I insist. You helped me out, and I want to do something for you too." Cue endless loop.
* One storyline in ''[[Escape Velocity]]: Nova'' involves the player being mind-enslaved, which makes the quests for this quest chain non-refusable. Not that this makes a lot of difference, because actually refusing a plot mission would disrupt the plot and possibly leave you [[Unwinnable By Mistake|stranded with no way of winning the game]].
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* In ''[[Shining Force]] II'', the player is, at the end of the game, asked if he would kiss and marry the princess who is trapped in eternal sleep... even though they've exchanged about ten words total before she fell into that sleep. The game almost plays off of this by having the lead female character storm off in anger, but your only options remain "Yes" and "I will walk around town for a while, then come back and be given these two choices once more".
** This game also has what seems to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to the [[Trope Namer]]. The king asks you to go find a historian -- a simple enough task for our [[Kid Hero]], which the king is quick to point out. If you refuse, the king's [[Evil Chancellor|probably non-evil minister]] chastises you for refusing your king's wish, and His Royal Crybaby asks, somewhat petulantly (and with weird grammar), "Does thou love me?" If you say 'no' again, the king pouts and whines, [[But Thou Must|"...but thou must!"]]
* In ''[[Shining Force]]'', The [[Card
* In ''[[Fallout (Video Game)|Fallout]]'', you can compromise the location of the [[Doomed Hometown]] and/or agree to join the [[Big Bad]], in which case cutscenes play showing your people being mercilessly butchered and you (bound, gagged, straightjacketed and hung from a meathook) being dropped into a vat of green slime which is a part of the process of turning you into a mindless super mutant soldier. At which point, [[Nonstandard Game Over|the game ends]] with a sober scolding from the narrator. Earlier on, the Overseer demands that you hand over the initial [[MacGuffin]] in order for the plot to progress, to the repeated uttering of "Please, the chip!" until the player either caves in or quits the game, should s/he persist in refusing.
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* ''[[College Saga]]'', a live-action spoof of ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' tropes that you can find [http://youtube.com/watch?v=wwLrgxtALWs here] on [[YouTube]], uses this when [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwLrgxtALWs#t=03m41s the main character sits down for a class] and is immediately asked "[[Trauma Inn|Sleep?]] Yes/No". He selects "No" a couple times, but it keeps popping back up...
** [[Truth in Television]], as anybody who has taken a college class can attest.
* While obviously a videogame trope, it is used in the first episode of the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!:
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* ''[[Breath of Fire II (Video Game)|Breath of Fire II]]'' has an instance where you are asked to cough up 900K Zenny or an Uparupa (an exceedingly rare creature) in exchange for releasing the Grass Man, Spar. After encountering and subduing the Uparupa (releasing it gives some good booty in exchange for your kindness), you can choose to give the Uparupa, the obscene sum of money, or you can valiantly refuse. MC Tusk (the guy who made the offer in the first place) chooses to kill you regardless of your answer. Cue boss fight.
** The MC Tusk situation is actually a slight inversion, in that you can actually skip the entire Uparupa sequence if you have that ridiculous sum of money. In most RPGs, such monetary offers usually exceed the player's maximum gold-carrying capacity, forcing you to follow the alternative path (in this case, catching the Uparupa), thus creating a financially-driven [[But Thou Must]]. However, through cheats or ridiculous diligence, it's entirely possible to have 900,000 Zenny to give to MC Tusk, so that you can avoid the Uparupa cave altogether.
* ''[[Suikoden Tierkreis]]'' uses this over and over, typically as a choice between "Yes, I know what to do" and "No, please tell me what to do" with you doing the same thing either way. Then, ''very'' far into the game, it subverts this with a default answer that [[Kill
* ''[[Blue Dragon]]'' is full of these. You'll be asked "Do (plot required action)?" The correct answer is "yes". The characters will always just do it anyway or ask again until you answer yes.
* In the fourth part of the ''[[The Elder Scrolls (Video Game)|The Elder Scrolls]]'' game series, ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion (Video Game)|Oblivion]]'', the Dark Brotherhood quest line always offers three options in dialogue when talking with an involved [[NPC]], yet all three options mysteriously give the same result, except for one point where you can taunt your target into attacking you. Quite useful, as an Imperial Legion guardsman is stationed inside that very room, and will actually help you out if he attacks first.
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*** On the other hand, Charm/Intimidate options are only available if you have enough Paragon/Renegade skill points. If you don't, these special options are disabled, and the enabled "regular" options usually all have the same effect.
* In ''[[Persona 4 (Video Game)|Persona 4]]'', during the school camping trip, Chie and Yukiko attempt to make curry, and are met with [[Lethal Chef|disastrous results]]. Yosuke tries it, expecting a brilliant dish, and not only is the curry horrible, but Yosuke flies into a rage. You then are asked by Chie and Yukiko to try the curry, and even if you pick the options in which you refuse, you'll be successfully pressured into eating it anyway, with predictable results.
* In ''[[Legend of Mana (Video Game)|Legend of Mana]]'', you can refuse any of the NPCs who want to join your party, and if you don't bother to correct the Onion Kid when he calls you "Chumpy" you are stuck with the nickname for that game cycle, but you are compelled to "buy" some fairly bad gear from [[Honest
* At the end of the game in ''[[Fable II]]'', Lucien, the Big Bad, will go off on a monologue. You have the option to shoot him, but if you don't, Reaver will shoot him for you and say, "Oh, I thought he'd never shut up. I'm sorry, did you want to kill him?"
* In ''[[Legend of Legaia (Video Game)|Legaia 2: Duel Saga]]'', Lang is given the choice of joining the [[Dark Side]] early on by a pair of villains. Your possible answers change depending on Lang's personality (which is molded by your dialogue choices throughout the game, between brash or cowardly). You can rudely refuse, respectfully refuse, or agree. They [[Hopeless Boss Fight|kick your ass]] and drag you back to the castle regardless, even if you agree...
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** Happens a few times in ''[[The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks]]''.
** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening]]'', the player can meet up with Papahl in Tal Tal Heights before obtaining the pineapple that he wants as part of the [[Chain of Deals]]. If the pineapple is not in the player's inventory, the only answer choices available in response to his question of whether you can offer him anything to eat are "Nope" and "Can't."
** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'', {{spoiler|when Zelda asks you to wake her up thousands of years later}}, you have the option to answer "Of Course!", "I promise" and "I will".
*** [[Tropes Are Tools|And it is]] [[Heartwarming Moments|incredibly heartwarming]].
* In ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time (Video Game)|Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time]]'', at one point, there's a dialogue where Norschtalen comments that it's odd that Sherlotta has a tail when most people don't, and when she asks your opinion, the only response possible is "Not really". Norschtalen immediately breaks the fourth wall to complain that you only had one option to choose from, and demands you try again with at least three. This time, the three are "Why?", "Nope", and "Seems normal to me".
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