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This is one of the main bones of contention between creators and executives. Executives want each episode to potentially bring in new audience. Creators want to entertain the audience they have. In a rare case of this wiki taking the side of the [[Executive Meddling|executive meddlers]], we have to admit that continuity lock-out is never caused by the execs. It has to be written.
The standard answer to this issue is the [["Previously On..."]] segment: many shows on this list open each episode with a short capsule summary of events you should be aware of. Of course, [["Previously On..."|Previously Ons]] have their own drawbacks, such as inadvertently providing [[Spoiler|spoilers]] or flat-out not working. The better answer is [[Better
Why bother with the intense continuity at all? Simple: An intricate series-spanning plot often results in a stronger and more interesting overall show. You may not catch as many fans, but the ones you do get are yours for life. This does mean that you have be sure to rope in as many as possible early on before the Lockout effect takes hold to make the effort worthwhile.
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== Anime & Manga ==
* ''[[
** This happened with the [[Mobile Suit Gundam
** Somewhat remedied by the easy-to-follow-if-hard-to-grab-all-the-nuances ''[[
* Parodied in an episode of ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* ''[[
* Given the length of ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure
* ''[[
* ''[[
* As punishment for anybody skipping the [[Filler|Bount Arc]], the producers of ''[[
** Kariya from the Bount Arc also makes a Cameo appearance during Ichigo's Vizard training, which pretty much makes anyone go "WTF who's that?"
* Both averted and played straight in ''[[Ranma ½
* Given that ''[[
* Recent chapters of ''[[
** Of course, the OVAs were only ever released as bonus material for certain Japanese limited edition volumes of the manga, so it's not like casual fans have access to them anyway. Assuming we're talking about the Ala Alba ones and not Spring and Summer, which were primarily [[Fan Service]] episodes.
* Would you believe a simple [[Fan Service]]-laden [[Unwanted Harem]] show like ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Pokémon Special]]'' has its instances of this, with current, important plot points coming from previous-generation chapters.
== Comic Books ==
* This is particularly prevalent in comic book series, more so than television or film, because while most TV shows run for a maximum of a few hundred episodes (most of which are easily obtainable one way or another) some comic book series [[Long Runner|run for much longer]]. (Like [[Superman]]: Consistently in print since the ''1930s''). This, and the fact that comic books can be incredibly rare (with the auction prices this entails), ensures that most new readers are just going to either give up or ignore most of the last 70 years of continuity.
* This was the reason given for DC Comics' first [[Cosmic Retcon]], [[Crisis
* [[Chris Claremont]] took this to eleven with his out-of-continuity miniseries ''[[X-Men]]: The End'', which attempts to bring ''every subplot of thirty years'' to a satisfactory conclusion.
** During his run on ''X-Men'', [[Grant Morrison]] stated that he wanted to make the book more accessible to new readers by avoiding mentioning past storylines beyond [[Broad Strokes|vague summaries]]. Once he left the book, the subsequent writers went right back to the older, continuity-heavy storytelling style.
** [[X
* Fred Perry's ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'' has managed to achieve a degree of Continuity Lockout nearing that of [[The DCU]], despite having only existed since the early '90s and consisting only of one main title, a short-lived spinoff, and a few early crossovers with [[Ninja High School]]. Miss a few issues and you're likely to be met with a ''completely different set of cast members some of whom haven't shown up for a few years'', sometimes not even mentioning the main characters.
** He is attempting to combat this with the 10''1''st color comic, basically set a few years after the 100th and having some new archaeologists under the tutelage of Gina. Who is also a professor.
* The [[Gail Simone]] run on ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' was pretty continuity-heavy and sales fell sharply during it, with the writer herself later lamenting that her run might have been confusing to new readers. DC hired [[J. Michael Straczynski]] to replace Simone and bring in new readers with a highly-publicized storyline that took place in a more accessible [[Alternate Continuity]]. Brian Azzarello took Wonder Woman back to a more classic take, but he has said he will be making a deliberate effort to avoid bringing up past storylines and characters so as not to alienate new readers.
* Kurt Busiek actually managed to avoid this with ''Untold Tales of Spider-Man''. Instead of being a retcon or anything similar, it was early stories set 'in-between' the very first Spider-Man stories. If you had read the original issues it made Untold Tales more enjoyable, but if you hadn't then it was still no biggie.
== Film ==
* The more recent ''[[Harry Potter (
** As an example, the plot and tension of ''Order of the Phoenix'' hinges on the fact that the only person who would admit to Voldemort's return is Harry Potter. The problem is that if you saw ''Goblet of Fire'' you know that isn't true. Because the Ministry of Magic ''clearly'' has someone in custody who could tell them (or they could magic it out of his head): Barty Crouch Jr, who was last seen alive and going to be taken into custody at the end of the film. Of course, the book of ''Goblet of Fire'' had him [[A Fate Worse Than Death|kinda-killed off]]. This was not done in the film, and thus you need to read the books in order for the continuous work of films to make sense.
** An earlier example would be the complete cutting out of Peeves, hence the cutting of the broken Vanishing Cabinet, which became an important [[Chekhov's Gun]] in HBP.
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*** Though it does do right by Bill Weasley, acknowledging that he and Harry have never met before in the films, and throwing in a reference to how he got his scars (a scene cut from the previous film).
*** All of this is mainly because they decided to make the last three films have the most consistent continuity. Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2, plus parts of HBP, were ridiculously confusing for those who hadn't read the books in entirety. Mostly because they mention some events from the books that were not included in the films. So, if newcomers were to watch all of the movies in order, they would have almost no concept of what was going on by the end.
* The ''[[
** Data's emotion chip is an interesting example. ''[[
** Insurrection averted this trope. According to Michael Piller's unreleased book, ''Fade In: The Making of Star Trek Insurrection'', at least one plan was to have Picard and his crew look for a Federation traitor (a la Heart of Darkness) against the backdrop of the Dominion War (during the point when the Federation was losing ground against the Jem'Hadar). This plan was scrapped due to concerns that theatregoers wouldn't understand the references (which didn't stop them from referencing the aforementioned Deep Space Nine and "Best of Both Worlds").
** The 2009 ''[[Star Trek (
* Movies based on comics start with the premise that the movie requires no knowledge of the comic since it's telling its own version of the story. That premise is quickly violated.
** Example: ''[[X Men Origins: Wolverine
*** Origins: Wolverine is relatively unfaithful to the comics anyway (Sabretooth and Wolverine suddenly being brothers, mutilation of Deadpool, Gambit being a bumbling Cajun instead of a smooth one), not to mention its horrible continuity within the film franchise.
** The [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] does do a good job of adapting the comics while being accessible to a new audience, but the movies often contain numerous in-jokes and [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] that you won't understand unless you are a fan of the comics. Little things like Nick Fury's reference to the "Avengers Initiative" or the Cosmic Cube at the end of ''Thor'' likely have no real meaning for a large portion of the audience.
*** Considering that the first is a reference to/foreshadowing for [[The Avengers (
** Probably the worst is Hawkeye's appearance in ''Thor''. Non-comic fans are left clueless why the movie spent five minutes bringing in a big name actor to play a random wisecracking guy with a bow and arrow, who never appears in the film again.
* Films set in a historical period tend to [[Hollywood History|leave out a lot of information and twist facts]] to conform to the plot. You might [[Dan Browned|assume the movie's presentation is accurate]] if you don't habitually check Wikipedia after the movie.
* This is definitely one of the reasons why the second and third chapters of ''[[The Matrix]] Trilogy'' are so polarizing. It is [[It Makes Sense in Context|much,]] '''[[It Makes Sense in Context|much]]''' [[It Makes Sense in Context|better]] to watch [[Better
* Peter Greenaway's Luperverse movies, ''The Falls'', ''The Tulse Luper Suitcases'', ''Drowning by Numbers'' and several short films, are a deliberate appeal to this trope. His main character, Tulse Luper, generates so much writing and ancillary material about himself (both in canon, and, via Greenaway, In Real Life as well) that no one can write his definitive biography. [[Lampshaded]] in his very first appearance in ''Vertical Features Remake'', where a team of academics utterly fails to recreate a lost film Luper made while relying on vague notes and the memories of his collaborators.
* [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s take on ''[[The Lord of the Rings (
* In a bizarre instance where the first sequel has Continuity Lockout, ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]: [[Advent Children]]'' is nearly incomprehensible unless you've played the game.
* The M. Night Shyamalan film ''[[
* One of the many reasons why ''[[
** In what is something of an irony, the producers and executives were a little wary of applying ''Part II" to the second movie partly because they were concerned that people might get the impression they needed to see the first movie in order to understand the second one, which might turn off new audiences. The second movie, however, is generally more accessible, and in general started a trend for numbered sequels.
* David Lynch's adaptation of ''[[Dune]]'' is nigh-impossible to comprehend without reading the book, particularly its last forty minutes or so which are an incredibly rushed depiction of ''two-thirds'' of the book's length. Especially bad is the scene where Paul decides he needs to ride a sandworm to properly lead his new army, despite the fact that the Fremen ride the worms never having been referenced. In 1984 audiences were even handed ''playbills'' before entering the film to explain the plot they were missing.
* The second ''[[Mortal Kombat (
** The film does have a (throw away) line about being the brother of Sub-Zero, and being that the first movie showed Scorpion removing his mask to show a ''fire-breathing skull'' him coming back to life isn't sharp leap. Watching the second movie and not the first, however, would still count as a lockout.
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** [[Terry Pratchett]] said much the same in the introduction to the first edition of ''The [[Discworld]] Companion''. Although he does still make the effort; if necessary consulting with [[Big Name Fan|Big Name Fans]] who actually know more about the Discworld than he does, such as the ''Companion'' co-author Stephen Briggs.
*** Pratchett wrote his way out of having to be consistent, all errors are blamed on the fact that even the History Monks can't quite always get time back exactly the way it should be after the magical disruptions that occur.
* [[
** In fact, it is quite clear that till the 4th book or so, each book provided info from previous books, including character development history and some important pieces of lore. However, by the 5th book, no more "backward compatibility" is provided and the writer assumes that readers have read the previous books.
** To the point of removing anyone three books or older from the glossary. Readers may have trouble remembering which of the 20 A-named female channelers was Aes Sedai, Rebel Sedai, Aeil, Seachan, or Dark-aligned. They tend to blur together after 10,000 pages or so.
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* [[Perry Rhodan]] has a real problem with this. With a backstory of over 2500 issues in the main series alone that might become relevant for the current plot at any time and story arcs that last for 50 to 100 issues it can be quite hard for new readers to break into the series.
** Nowadays they take some pains to make the round numbers a good place to start, without too much pre-knowledge. Also, in each issue there is a small glossar explaining plot-relevant background that a new reader might not know (or an old reader might not remember).
* ''[[
* Katherine Kerr's 15-book ''[[Deverry]]'' series is divided into four parts; starting at the beginning of any one of the three latter will cause you to only miss '''half''' of the significance of what's happening... The Dragon Mage (3rd series) is probably the worst offender, since it tells about the end of the civil war, which has been earlier covered in three other books.
* To keep up with all the various plots and [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] in the ''[[
* Eric Flint's ''[[1632]]''-verse is a "shared universe" open to anyone who wants in. In other words, any fan of the series can write their own contributions to it and have them entered into canon. Flint and his co-writers then tend to take characters introduced in these stories and work them into the main series. Thankfully, the short stories that have the most impact on the main story have been collected into their own "Ring of Fire" anthologies.
* The Harry Potter ''books'' partially avoid this trope thanks in large part to the film series, the popularity of Harry Potter in general and some exposition on JK Rowling's part. You can watch the first couple movies, pick up the third book and pretty much get everything. Likewise, if you know the basic story of the first book/movie, you can read the second book without much trouble. After those points, though, it gets kinda muddled.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The ''[[Stargate]]'' franchise has been accused of this. A newbie coming it at the eighth season of ''[[Stargate SG-1]],'' for instance, is going to need some help understanding who and what all those species are meant to be about. Some people almost gave up after sitting through the ''pilot episode'' -- without seeing the movie first. "Who are all these people?!" Somehow it did not occur to the writers that it carried over a whopping six characters from the movie without bothering to give them any proper introduction, ''in addition to'' introducing five new major characters in this episode alone. The fact that they moved through Abydos and Chulak in large crowds didn't help. Starting with "Emancipation," when it became obvious that they were focusing on a four-person team, things started to look more manageable.
** Hence why ''[[
* ''[[
** Many times in the message boards, JMS would say something like "If you've got some friends you've been trying to get into the show, the episodes in the next few weeks aren't too arc-heavy and/or should be able to catch them up on the arc." Which sounds nice at first, [[Fridge Logic|until you realize]] that with most shows, you can jump right in without fear at any point in the season.
* Most of the jokes on ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' barely make sense unless you have an intimate knowledge of the episodes that have come before (and, in some cases, the ones that come after...). This is why the show [[Vindicated
* So bad in ''[[The X
** It doesn't help that the show's continuity is all over the map. Even hard-core fans of the mythology have a rather hard time keeping up with it. You could make a drinking game out of all the plot holes in the mythology, ''especially'' in the last two seasons. There is a reason it's called [[The Chris Carter Effect]].
** Fans of the show are forever locked into a debate as to which episodes are better, specifically the [[Myth Arc]] verses the [[Monster of the Week]] episodes. They're pretty evenly split between the seasons, with the Arc marketed more to the hardcore fans while the Monsters are marketed to the casual viewer, who is used to not keeping up with the show.
* The 2000s ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]''. The series premiere follows immediately from the events of the pilot miniseries, which was not initially included on the Season 1 DVD, and any given episode relies on the viewer being aware of plot details introduced several episodes or seasons earlier.
* ''[[
** They hang a lampshade on it in Season 5, with [[The Summation|Hurley explaining why the Oceanic Six lied]] to his parents in his [[Crowning Moment of Funny|trademark Buffy Speak]]:
{{quote| '''Hurley:''' Okay. See, we did crash, but it was on this crazy island. And we waited for rescue, and there wasn't any rescue. And there was a {{spoiler|smoke monster}}, and then there were other people on the island. We called them the Others, and they started attacking us. And we found some hatches, and there was a button you had to push every 108 minutes or... well, I was never really clear on that. But... the Others didn't have anything to do with the hatches. That was {{spoiler|the DHARMA Initiative}}. {{spoiler|The Others}} killed them, and now they're trying to kill us. And then we teamed up with {{spoiler|the Others}} because some worse people were coming on a freighter. {{spoiler|Desmond's girlfriend's father}} sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew it to their freighter, but {{spoiler|it blew up}}. And we couldn't go back to the island because {{spoiler|it disappeared}}, so then we crashed into the ocean, and we floated there for a while until a boat came and picked us up. And by then, there were {{spoiler|six}} of us. That part was true. But the rest of the people... who were on the plane? They're still on that island.}}
* ''[[
** According to articles, the network executives cancelled ''Farscape'' precisely because of the [[Continuity Lock Out]].
* ''[[Scrubs]]'' is fond of minor subplots that develop from episode to episode (Dr. Mickhead killing his wife, "the world's most giant doctor," Crazy Dr. Hooch and Dr. Kelso's family issues stand out), so that if you come across an episode with one of these b-plots, you'll miss a bit if you haven't seen a specific set of episodes before. The major plot points are fairly simple to follow, however.
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* Try watching ''[[Glee]]'' mid-season without the "previously on" segment to clue you in. The pregnancy plot was confusing enough in context. One can only imagine trying to watch an episode that contained that plot without knowing the context.
** Averted hard in the second season, which can be easily summarized as "a bunch of teenagers doing some random stuff, acting different in every episode for no particular reason. Also, there are choir competitions in three episodes". This was the huge complain why the second season was considered mediocre compared to the first one by most critics. The writers promised to fix this for the third season, however.
* This trope is often blamed as one of the contributing factors to the cancellation of the original series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' - amongst a lot of other issues that the show was facing at the time, the fact that a fairly large portion of the stories broadcast during the 1980s seemed to hinge upon the audience being aware of characters, events and storylines which hadn't been seen for upwards of ten or even twenty years didn't make the show any easier to watch. Matters weren't helped by the fact that this was well before VHS and DVD was prominent enough to allow [[Better
** In the new series of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the later into any given series an episode occurs, the lower the likelihood of a casual viewer having any clue who the characters are or what is going on. The most extreme example is the cliffhanger of "Turn Left": the [[Arc Words]] from ''the first series''. We are then introduced to nearly every Companion or character who had appeared in multiple stories from the past four years, as well as a few of the main characters from the spin-off shows.
*** [[David Tennant]]'s [[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 E17 E18 The End of Time|final episodes]] suffered from this as well.
** Also one of the problems with [[Doctor Who/TVM the TV Movie/Recap|the TV movie]]--they'd included enough from the old series without properly explaining it that it wasn't going to make nearly as much sense to anyone unfamiliar with ''Doctor Who''. Given that this was long prior to YouTube and BBC America, most Americans knew little to nothing about it, and while it tossed in all kinds of plot-points from the series it failed to give them nearly enough context.
** "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon" may leave people baffled as to why {{spoiler|why the future Doctor and the girl in New York are glowing some strange light}}, or why the Doctor seems visibly concerned with the word "Silence".
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''. Good Lord, ''Heroes''. The writers really wanted to give the impression that there were characters with powers ''everywhere'', which is one of the reasons it was so interesting and complex. On the other hand, even viewers who watch every week could be confused with all of the new characters and [[Put
* ''[[
* As noted in its Film entry, the ''[[
** The "Mirror Universe" episodes in ''DS9'' and ''Enterprise'' assume you have knowledge of the MU episodes from the original series (and, in ''DS9'''s case, the earlier seasons).
** A large reason why the ''Enterprise'' series finale, "These Are The Voyages", was such a polarizing episode was due to the B-plot (which was a concurrent side-story to the ''Next Generation'' seventh-season episode "The Pegasus" - if you've never seen the episode, you're lost as to why Riker is mulling over a decision to tell Picard about his involvement with an illegal Romulan cloaking device).
* [[In Treatment]] really requires the viewer to watch every episode in order, even if you don't like one (or more) characters and want to skip them from week to week. If you do not view every episode, you won't understand what's going on later in the week or in the series.
* ''[[
** Interesting is that this trope functions in-universe too. The Scoobies are a very self-contained group with their own in-jokes and insider information that makes getting close to them very difficult and makes miscommunication practically a given.
** And God help you if you pick up the Season Eight comics after a substantial time away from the show. {{spoiler|Why is Dawn a giant? Why does Xander only have one eye? Why is there an army of Slayers running around? How did they become a paramilitary organization?}}
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* ''[[Dollhouse]].'' [[Joss Whedon]] loves this trope. This was particularly true of the s2 episode "The Attic": the concept of the Attic had been mentioned only once since the previous season, and there was no explanation of who Mr Dominic is (and he hadn't been seen or mentioned since season 1, either).
* An early version of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' story "Secrets Of The Stars" would have featured aliens named the Mandragora who had last apppeared on ''[[Doctor Who]]'' in the 70s. This was one of the reasons why they were replaced with the Ancient Lights in the final product, the story would have been relying too much on one from around 30 years ago and thus locked out the young target audience.
* It's ''possible'' to watch Seasons 1 & 2 of ''[[Ashes to Ashes]]'' without first seeing ''[[Life On Mars]]'' - which introduces you to [[Noble Bigot
* ''[[Weeds]]'' tends to reveal major plot points in the current arc each episode, making it very difficult to get on track if you miss even one episode. And watching an episode in the middle of the season with no previous context will basically make no sense.
* ''[[Smallville]]'', particularly in the final season.
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' spinoff ''[[
** ''Torchwood'''s main character, Captain Jack Harkness, is shrouded in mystery. Some of his backstory is revealed on ''Doctor Who,'' while some remains hidden. A viewer of ''Torchwood'' alone could wait forever for explanations that already happened on another show. The same is true of the Torchwood Institute itself.
** The Series 1 episode "Cyberwoman" assumes a familiarity with the ''Doctor Who'' Series 2 finale episodes for viewers to understand why the villain is so frightening. Without that information, viewers would be baffled by references to recent historical events that bear great significance to the plot.
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** Ditto for Jack's brief cameo in the ''Doctor Who'' special "The End of Time". You would have had to have seen ''Torchwood: Children of Earth'' to understand why he was drinking away his sorrows on a space freighter rather than fighting aliens in Cardiff.
* Hong Kong or Taiwan serials can stretch for hundreds of episodes and rarely pause to recap who's who.
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', especially since season four, when the angels started getting involved. Considering the show's high HSQ, watching a newer episode without following the story makes for bizarre and incoherent viewing.
** Take season 4, episode 16: So, the guy torturing that dude who looks like a paedophile is the good guy? And what the hell are the angels stabbing each other over?"
* ''[[Fringe]]'' avoided this problem during seasons one and two, thanks to its heavier focus on self-contained [[Monster of the Week]] plots, with the occasional [[Wham! Episode]] for the longtime fans. According to JJ Abrams and the other [[Fringe]] producers, they specifically wanted to make the show more accessible and avoid the impenetrable-for-newbies style progression that [[Lost]] did. However, by the time season three came around, the plot became too tough for new viewers to follow, so the show's structure became far less episodic. It's understandable though, as the more procedural feel of the first two seasons would have watered down the major plot developments (with many of them reaching [[Mind Screw]] territory) that season three unraveled.
* Around 20-25% of ''[[
* "[[Mad Men]]" suffers from this in spades. The episodes are generally not self-contained, and most of the subtext is built upon episodes from previous seasons. The problem is that this series built on subtext. Viewers must watch from the absolute, [[S 1 E 1]] beginning. The [["Previously On..."]] segments absolutely do not help.
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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Metal Gear]]'' slowly rose from humble origins, into the self-sequels ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' and ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty]]'', had a brief blip for the stand-alone ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater]]'', and then gunned the canon whole-heartedly into the massive continuity snarl-ups of ''[[Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops]]'' and ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots]]'', both of which only a very serious and dedicated fan would be able to [[Continuity Porn|understand totally]].
** As a sort of alternative, the ''[[Metal Gear Acid|Ac!d]]'' games happened in an alternate universe, but they still expected a familiarity with the main phase series with its [[Spoiler|spoilerrific]] character cards. In the first game's story, a lot of hints about Snake's identity and motivations require some knowledge of his main phase [[Canon]] [[Backstory]], such as his sterility.
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater]]'' is an interesting exception in that while the story can be completely enjoyed and understood on it's own it's packed with [[Continuity Nod|Continuity Nods]] and back story for characters in the other games.
* Some games or companies attempt to keep world bibles in order to allow their development teams to keep track of what is what in a setting. It works... sometimes.
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' is like this at times. Events happen outside the game's continuity that still affect the game. Why is the king of Stormwind back for Wrath of the Lich King, and where was he? Why is {{spoiler|Cairne}} dead in Cataclysm? Op, better [[Gotta Catch Em All|read the expanded universe material]] to find out!
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** Blackwing Descent, one of the tier 11 raids, is home to Deathwing's son Nefarian, who is running experiments on different kinds of dragons. Except Nefarian was already killed several years prior to the ''Cataclysm'' expansion. Playing through the game alone, you'll never find out how Nefarian came [[Back From the Dead]], what the purpose of his experiments was, or how they tied into Deathwing's plan since the raid doesn't address it and neither Nefarian nor his experiments ever appear or are mentioned outside of Blackwing Descent. Were it not for the [[Warcraft Expanded Universe|Expanded Universe]], the entire raid would be a [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment]].
* [[Star Craft 2]] is also slightly guilty of this. There are summaries on the website, but otherwise you have to read the novels to know anything about Valerian, Tychus, Matt Horner and Nova.
* The ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series. Starting from any game from ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
** And to make things worse, the continuity is spread over multiple handheld systems, including the GBA, DS, PSP, and the 3DS. Note that three out of four of these are Nintendo systems. The [[
*** Basically, [[Crack is Cheaper]] than playing the entire series.
*** It also doesn't help that the [[Updated Rerelease|Final Mixes]] in the series [[No Export for You|are unavailable outside Japan]], despite containing critical plot points. This makes it difficult to follow the [[Kudzu Plot|already complex plot]] of the series, unless you look up fan translations.
** '''[[Averted Trope|Averted]]''' in ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D]]'', for the first time in the series, thanks to the recap-like [http://kh13.com/forum/topic/30377-memoirs-feature-in-kingdom-hearts-3d-explained/ "Memoirs" feature.]
* Strangely averted by ''Zelda'', despite having a humongous [[Continuity Snarl]] of a timeline. For example, one can play both ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
** In the case of direct sequels (like ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
* The ''[[
** Said series somehow manages to play this trope straight at the same time, as many character appearances and associated in-jokes will doubtless leave many new players scratching their heads.
* Continuity in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' games works in a similar way to avert lockout. You don't NEED to know about the Warp in the West to play and enjoy Morrowind--but if you'd LIKE to know how the previous game's multiple endings were resolved, just read the in-game book about it! Of course, business and technical challenges sometimes force some bizarre contortions of continuity, but that's [[Executive Meddling|another trope]].
* ''[[
* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* The ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' series is hard enough to follow even if you play them all. If you missed one, you have no chance.
** You'll probably be alright if you miss ''Blood Omen 2''. It gives some back story for the Hylden, but nothing terribly important that can't be gleaned from ''Soul Reaver 2''.
* ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' is well-made enough that the gameplay is easy to enjoy. Try following the story without having already gone through the EU material, though.
** Some found the story very easy to follow and perhaps even ''easier'' if you hadn't read the EU. There's a team of [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]], they fight [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens]], {{spoiler|a scientist gives them an AI, you deliver it to a ship}}, etc. Anyone who had read the EU had to contend with the game's [[Broad Strokes]] and multiple [[Retcon|retcons]]. IGN in particular praised this, calling it the most accessible ''[[Halo]]'' game yet. ''[[Halo 3]]'' and ''[[Halo 3: ODST|ODST]]'', however, definitely fall into this.
* Arguably the entire [[Fighting Game|fighting genre]], not in the story but in game structure. Even most of its fans know that the games can oftentimes get too convoluted for beginners to start playing. This isn't even getting into the terminology, which are hundreds of words and phrases long and many prominent series have adopted.
** Masahiro Sakurai created the ''[[Super Smash Bros]]'' series in [[Defied Trope|defiance of this]]. However, more dedicated players learned how to exploit the physics of the original and ''Melee'' to make it as complex as other fighting games, and Sakurai responded by reworking the physics in ''Brawl''.
** Oh, the stories have got their fair share of it, too. You try to get into the ''[[King of Fighters]]'' plot without hours of SNK wikiing about why Iori is so pissed off, why that flamboyant guy with the green fire is such a big deal and what the whole NESTS debacle is about.
** Also, try getting into the plot of [[Mortal Kombat]]. Just try!
* Happened with ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' when it was ported to the Playstation 3. Because of licensing issues, the first game never made it to that console. People were worried that new players wouldn't get the whole story, so [[
** According to [[
* Anyone playing [[Endless Frontier|Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier EXCEED]] would be left confused if they did not first play [[Super Robot Wars Original Generation|Super Robot Wars Original Generation Gaiden]], as two characters in the playable cast who were supposedly [[Killed Off for Real]] in the [[Super Robot Wars Original Generation|main series]] winds up in the [[Endless Frontier|spin-off series]]. In fact, the developers make it a point you ''have to play the previous games'' occuring in the main continuity to know what's remotely going on if you decide to start somewhere in the middle.
* Playing a [[Lego Adaptation Game]], apart from Lego Batman (which is a semi-original story), make very little sense if you haven't seen/read the source material they are based on, [http://www.mytgn.co.uk/forum/content.php?67-Lego-Harry-Potter-as-Explained-by-Somone-Who-Has-Never-Read-Harry-Potter-Introduction as this blog demonstrates].
* ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'' is frequently accused of this. While most of the references make sense to a casual fan, the use of this trope pretty much single-handedly turned the Ridley scene into one of the most despised scenes in the series history.
** To give you an idea, this plot point came from an obscure manga that was never released outside of Japan, where Samus has already feared Ridley since he [[You Killed My Father|killed her mother]] and lead a massacre of [[Doomed Hometown|her home planet K2L.]] About the only indication people get is a [[Makes Just
*** Considering this is, AT LEAST, the Fourth Time she has Met Ridley, and she ALREADY killed him two times over...and that's not even COUNTING the Prime Series and other spin-offs. It still makes no goddamn sense. She should be yelling about "WHY DO YOU NOT DIE!" instead of cowering like a Little Girl. Literally.
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** There are forgiveable elements of this in ''SGR'''s first strips, too. Ryan, Shelley and Fallon drop in with little introduction because they were already established in the predecessor strip ''Bobbins''.
** Of course, there are various characters still around from SGR, too, it's just that their backstory is no longer needed to understand their current role. (Including at least one who logically shouldn't be able to come back.)
* ''[[
** What's going on? [[For Science!|SCI]][[Mad Scientist|ENCE!]], that's what's going on.
* Any [[MS Paint Adventures|MSPaint Adventure]], but particularly ''[[
** Generally, webcomics having [[Call Back|call backs]] isn't so rough because of their archives, but ''MSPA'' is one of the few webcomics (except, perhaps, the [[Walkyverse]]) that requires you to read unrelated webcomics to get all the jokes. Want to understand why Jade is making jokes about pumpkins in ''[[
** Note that the author acknowledged the need for think-time during ''[[
** ''[[
{{quote| [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s{{=}}6&p{{=}}003574 This link] is the in-comic recap of the first year.}}
* ''[[The Order of the Stick
* The [[Walkyverse]] tends to avert this. While there is a continuity, starting with Shortpacked won't lock you out of the continuity (you'll just miss some of the [[Continuity Nod|references to the other comics]], which aren't really important to the plot).
** The newest comic, Dumbing of Age, completely averts this. While it contains characters from the other comics, it takes place seperate from the other comics. As such, knowing who these characters are means very little.
* Occasionally there are ''[[Arthur, King of Time and Space]]'' strips that don't make sense unless you [http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/1338.htm know the running gags] and continuity points. As with many meta-concepts in ''AKOTAS'', [[Lampshaded]] via [http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/0985.htm Arthur's webcomic].
== Web Original ==
* Given the vagueness of the plot and the fact that all the episodes are online, ''[[
* Happens in ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' a great deal. Sometimes, even starting at the beginning of the ''current'' version/season isn't enough - references will be made to scenes or characters in previous versions. It's often very bewildering for people seeing the RP for the first time.
* Arguable with the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'', since it now consists of over a hundred stories, most of them novel or novella length. Every major protagonist has a backstory, and girls of Team Kimba all have [[Backstory]] ''novels''. Diving in with current stories means you may not get the in-jokes, or the references to prior stories, or what's going on with recurring characters, or some of the ongoing plotlines, like Ayla's blackmailer or Jade's quest, or the people who may be after Toni. Not to mention that it's assumed that you already know what the main characters' powers are.
* Also arguable, [[That Guy With
** Linkara is definitely one of the worst with his ongoing story arc, but to his credit, he recently posted on his own website [http://atopfourthwall.blogspot.com/2011/01/atop-fourth-wall-storyline.html every arc-related episode in chronological order]. There's also a more recent [http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/linkara/at4w/30735-storyline-recap recap video].
** ''[[Suburban Knights]]'' was specifically written to avoid this, however. You'll definitely get more out of it if you're a fan of the site (especially regarding the use of Ma-Ti) but the story is perfectly comprehensible to someone coming in cold.
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== Western Animation ==
* One of the many complaints people had about ''[[
** Ironic with [[
* Later episodes of ''[[The Simpsons (
{{quote| '''Homer''': {{spoiler|What, I'm not allowed to get one right?}}}}
** Many of ''The Simpsons''' minor characters are completely bizarre without context, yet the show basically takes it for granted that the audience can recognize and appreciate most of them without any sort of perfunctory introduction or explanation. Examples would include Bumblebee Man, Sideshow Mel, Duff Man, the Sea Captain, or Disco Stu, or even Krusty, all of whom are basically long-running continuations of one-off gags from many, many years past.
*** This is Lampshaded when Marge gets amnesia one episode. She finds all the side characters confusing and creepy and is incredibly disturbed when Homer says they're his and Marge's close friends.
* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' might have a bit of this, given how much of its humor relies on [[Continuity Nod|Continuity Nods]] and [[Playing
* There's at least one episode of ''[[Codename
* ''[[Thundercats 2011
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