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Spikes of Doom: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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A classic, staple [[Death Trap]] and obligatory part of every [[Death Course]]. Obviously, they aren't just limited to videogames, but that's where they're most known.
See also [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice]]. Also see [[Spike Balls of Doom]] for a spherical version. Not to be confused with [[Spikes of Villainy]].
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==
* In the [[Don Rosa]] [[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck|Scrooge McDuck]] story "Treasure of the Ten Avatars", the Duck family encounter this sort of trap ''twice'' when they're investigating an ancient Indian city for treasure, one of them a [[Descending Ceiling]] and the other a [[Fake Platform]].
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== Live Action TV ==
* In a flashback scene from the ''[[Stephen King|Rose
** Instant Spikes Of Doom: Just Add Water?
* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' episode "The Girl Who Was Death" has Number 6 (as Mister X) in a gauntlet that includes a trap door over a rising floor of spikes. That are electrified.
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* ''[[Alfred Chicken]]'' wants you to walk across them using invulnerability in order to reach a secret item.
* The infamous [[Nintendo Hard]] game ''[[Battletoads]]'' had tons of these. One section of one level took it so far as to cover every stable surface with these - to survive, you had to use giant snakes as temporary platforms.
* [[Game Boy Color]] game ''Batman: Chaos in Gotham'' had three types of sharp things. The first type was a platform that looked like it had sharp pieces but were really background material. The second type were slightly damaging spikes that you had to jump over. Next, there's a large icicle that instantly kills Batman if he tries climbing it.
* ''[[Castlequest]]'' has floor spikes, ceiling spikes and wall spikes. And the player is a [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]].
* ''[[Castlevania]]: [[Symphony of the Night]]'' has entire corridors lined top and bottom with these. It also has the Spike Breaker armor, which causes them to shatter harmlessly when you walk over them.
** They make you navigate a spike-filled, pitch-black corridor with only your little bat-sonar-peep for guidance to get at the stuff, too. Or you can do a little [[Sequence Breaking]] and navigate it blindly as invulnerable Mist instead.
** Before ''[[Castlevania: Rondo of Blood]]'', even ''touching'' a spike will kill you instantly, with the exception of some spiked platforms in ''[[Castlevania III:
** One stage in ''[[Castlevania III:
** ''[[Super Castlevania IV]]'' upped the ante by making you deal with a ROTATING ROOM full of spikes only avoidable by the Tarzan-swing-with-whip trick. As an added incentive for Simon to hang the hell on, there's an example of the cost of failure in the skeleton of a former, less savvy hunter lying in one corner... In that same room, if you choose to hang on to the platform instead of the Swing Ring, a new set of spikes appears on the floor you're trying to land on. Lose-lose situation there.
* ''[[Cave Story]]'' has two types of spikes. One type is found on floors, walls and ceilings throughout the game, and damages you a good bit if you run into it. There is another type of floor spikes which glow red; landing on them is instant death. The [[Bonus Level of Hell]] contains extreme amounts of both spike types.
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** Subverted in ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]''. What looks like an impossibly difficult trap is actually harmless because [[Depth Perplexion|the spikes are in the foreground.]]
** Rambi can destroy the Spikes of Doom in ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]''.
* ''[[Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project]]'' used these in the 5th episode, Fearsome Factory. What's strange about these is that the game is fully 3D rendered, despite being a side-scroller, so there are often instances where you can clearly see a way Duke could walk around obstacles [[No Sidepaths, No Exploration, No Freedom|if only he weren't forced to conform to the path.]] As you might expect, even [[Collision Damage|lightly stubbing your toe on these spikes]] [[Chunky Salsa Rule|is enough to make Duke]] [[Ludicrous Gibs|explode into a pile of gibs.]]
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' features the Menacing Spike, key component in the Upright Spike Trap. If linked to a pressure plate, these will shoot up, kill any hapless dope standing on it, and if the panel is pressed again will retract and leave the impaled goblin to collapse into a bleeding heap. Having these spikes at the bottom of a fifteen floor falling trap will result in lots of goblin torsos stuck on the spikes, while their limbs are scattered about, [[Gorn|having been shorn off on impact]].
** Dwarves are just fond of menacing spikes in general; it's one of the common decorations they put on ''everything.'' Dwarves will even stud ''training weapons'' with decorative menacing spikes (which do nothing to alter the weapon's effectiveness, or deliberate lack thereof).
** Subverted in DF2010 where one of the best ways to train your dwarfs for combat is to turn the barracks into a [[X-Men|danger room]] filled with spike traps loaded with blunt training spears. Though training axes are safer (thanks to even larger contact surface), other than this the specific training weapon matters only for skill if wielded, not in traps.
** This entry menaces with spikes of onyx and adamantine. On the entry is an image of spikes in camel bone. The spikes are menacing.
* In a rare JRPG example, ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' has one area where, if you run instead of walking, you will slide into a wall of spikes that will take off a significant amount of your party's HP.
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* In ''Keith Courage In Alpha Zones'', touching spikes is [[One-Hit Kill|instant death]] (same as a [[Bottomless Pit]]), and since Keith only has one life, it's back to the beginning of the level (or game) if he dies. Particularly aggravating when jumping on platforms, or dodging [[Goddamned Bats]] such as the flying skulls in the underworld.
* ''[[Knytt]]'' has crystal-like spikes in the eastmost area of the game.
* ''[[La-Mulana]]'' has lots of spikes, including whole floors of spikes in some areas. However, as you progress through the game and collect Life Jewels, you'll build up so much health that spikes end up serving as a nuisance rather than a mortal threat. At times touching spikes can even be useful to exploit [[Mercy Invincibility]] and/or to [[Damage Boost]] in the right direction. However, some puzzles require making jumps and dodging spikes on the way down; the [[Bonus Level of Hell|Hell Temple]] has a chamber two rooms tall where the player must navigate spike-filled shafts with careful [[Wall Jump
** However, the WiiWare remake, according to [http://la-mulana.com/en/blog/game_balance.html an official blog post], will have spikes take off about 1/5 of your health. As if getting knocked around by them wasn't bad enough!
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' uses this trope, but one of its most noteworthy versions is the boss of the Earth Temple in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Wind Waker]].'' The villain, a giant, intangible ghost, is met in a room whose walls are covered in spikes. The ghost can blow [[Heroic Mime|Link]], our trusty hero, into the walls and kill him thusly, but if Link can render the ghost tangible, he can then ''throw'' him into the wall, ''at'' the spikes, where he breaks apart into smaller, stab-able ghosts. The underlying message? Hooray for spikes!
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* The 2D platformer MMORPG ''[[Maple Story]]'' has spikes here and there. Two areas in particular, Warning Street: Road to the Dungeon and Warning Street: Henesys Dungeon Entrance, are loaded with thorns among other things.
* If you had a nickel for every set of insta-death spikes in a ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' game, you could buy every game in the series, and '''''all''''' of its spinoffs. (& if you had even a penny for everytime every player touched those freaking things, you'd be one of the richest beings in history!)
** In the first ''Mega Man'' game, [[Mercy Invincibility]] did not protect you against spikes. Later games allowed damage from enemies protect you from spike damage later.
** In ''Mega Man & Bass'' and ''9'', it is possible to buy a spike guard (Up to three at a time in Mega Man 9) that would make spikes damage you instead of outright kill you. However, the spike guard is used up the moment you touch spikes while you have one, so if you don't get off the spikes while temporarily invulnerable, you'll die from them. Furthermore (As a slight subversion), a Wily boss in Mega Man 9 has an underbelly of spikes that only damage you on contact.
** All four ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'' games had a power-up that permanently turned off the spikes of doom. Its absence in the ZX series is rather hard to forgive. ''[[Mega Man X]] 5'' and ''X6'' also had armors that you can acquire that let you walk on spikes without harm.
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* ''[[Serious Sam]]: The Second Encounter'' featured a long corridor with spikes on the walls to each side. The twist was that there was a strong air current trying to blow you sideways into them as you traveled the corridor that you had to fight, and it continually changed strength and direction.
** In ''[[Serious Sam]] II'', upon entering into one of the rooms full of spikes, you'll get "I ''hate'' spikes"!
* Amazingly,
* The online ''[[Shift]]'' games play with this; the hero survives the
* They appear all too often in the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series. Unlike most other spikes though, only the sharp edges are typically damaging.
** Curiously, both the original ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic 1]]'' and the original ''Mega Man'' game had a specifically programmed behavior (at least [http://info.sonicretro.org/Spike_damage_behavior in Sonic's case]) with their Spikes of Doom that instantly killed you if you touched them during [[Mercy Invincibility]]. The remakes took out the <s>glitch</s> behavior, but it's never been explained why it was there, in the first place.
** ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles|Sonic The Hedgehog 3]]'''s [[Temple of Doom|Marble Garden Zone]] also has an enemy that [[Subverted Trope|subverted]] Spikes Of Doom: it looked exactly like a set of spike, until you got close to it, at which point it rose from the ground slightly and fired glowing projectiles at you. But the spikes on top of this enemy don't actually hurt you; instead they act like a springboard.
** Mystic Cave Zone of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'' is home to the infamous inescapable spike pit. At one point, you need to grab a rope to lower a bridge to cross a pit. If you fall into the pit, you are [[Cycle of Hurting|speared repeatedly]] by a row of spikes at the bottom. It might as well be a [[Bottomless Pit]], given that the shaft is so deep that it can't be escaped (except by Knuckles). Even worse if you're [[Super Mode|Super Sonic]] and therefore can't take damage until you've run out of rings (which happens incredibly slowly)...
*** Actually, because Super Sonic could jump higher than normal Sonic, it was possible for him to escape from the pit... unless Tails had grabbed the rope after you'd fallen in, causing the bridge to cover the pit.
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* In one of the [[Action 52]] games called [[They Just Didn't Care|Unerground]], spikes?(spears?, mushrooms?) work in a weird way. They [[Violation of Common Sense|don't damage you if you fall on top of them but will kill the character if you try to walk past them]].
* ''[[Toss the Turtle]]'' uses these to stop the turtle in his tracks. You can get an achievement for hitting enough of them, too.
* ''[[Pokémon]]'' has a sort-of example, with the moves Spikes and Toxic Spikes (and to a similar extent, Stealth Rock). When used, spikes get laid around the opposing team, and any Pokemon that switches in that can't fly/Levitate over them (or is immune to Poison in the latter case) gets hurt (directly with Spikes, or get poisoned with Toxic Spikes). Using the moves again increases the damage done (in the case of Toxic Spikes, a second layer badly poisons Pokemon that switch in so they lose health faster).
** Now there's [[media:597-
* In ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'', [[Person of Mass Destruction|Alex]] [[Heroic Sociopath|Mercer]] can use these, as one of the special moves for his claw powers. Giant spikes burst up from the ground, skewering a target. You're immobile while charging the groundspikes up, but early on, it's one of the few attacks that does appreciable damage to hunters and tanks. Then there's the [[Limit Break|Groundspike Graveyard]], a move which skewers anything within a thirty-foot radius with spikes (it works best on armor, but lower-level mooks also die).
* In a case of [[Trailers Always Lie]], the trailer for the game ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'' shows a crushing ceiling with spikes lowering when the player crosses the entrance to one of the areas. However, while the crushing ceiling is in this section in the actual game, the spikes are not. There is, however, more than one third-party map for Portal that ''does'' have a spiked crushing ceiling, such as "Hetzchase Nailway".
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* ''[[Meat Boy]]'' and ''Super Meat Boy'' are filled with Meat Boy-shredding buzzsaws and other such hazards, causing him to explode in a bloody mess on contact. The Dark Stages in ''Super Meat Boy'' are insane about this, as are the ''[[I Wanna Be the Guy]]''-themed bonus levels (naturally).
* ''[[Joe Danger]]'' has stationery spike traps that send him flying if he lands on one, causing you to start over from the last checkpoint (or at the beginning of the race if there are no checkpoints).
* In the latest expansion to ''[[
* The level Cozy Cabin in ''[[Kirby's Epic Yarn|Kirbys Epic Yarn]]''.
* [[Everything Trying to Kill You|All over the place]] in ''[[Quake]]'': spike shooters, spike traps that come out of the walls, and spikes on an [[Advancing Wall of Doom]] are common level design elements.
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* In ''[[Nethack]]'' (non-bottomless) pit traps often have spikes at the bottom, which merely cause more damage than a normal pit trap rather than causing a [[One-Hit Kill]]. However, the spikes are often coated with poison, which have a chance of causing a [[One-Hit Kill]] if the victim isn't immune to poison.
* ''[[Distorted Travesty]]'' offers plenty of painful spikes. The sequel even manages to force you to ascend a verticle shaft lined with said spikes using wall clinging. And descend through a maze with every platform protruding said spikes. But starting about halfway through the first game the player is introduced to INSTANT DEATH SPIKES. Before long you find yourself facing huge pendulums and other traps made of said instant-death spikes. As may be obvious the game is [[Nintendo Hard]].
* ''[[Aladdin (Capcom)|Aladdin]]'' and ''[[Aladdin (Virgin Games)|Aladdin]]'' both have spike pits in certain stages, but fortunately not instantly deadly ones.
* Some of the spikes in ''[[Cosmos Cosmic Adventure]]'' are stationary, while others continually retract into the walls and then come out again. Most of the spikes can be removed with bombs.
* Even skateboarders aren't safe. Several ''[[Tony Hawks Pro Skater]]'' games had "Punji Pits" in the editor.
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== Webcomics ==
* ''[[8-Bit Theater
* Referenced in an early part of the "video game comic" ''[[Kid Radd]]''. Next level: Sharp Painful Object Land.
* [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0541.html These] [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0542.html two] ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' strips. The trap is taken ''directly'' from the D&D source book "Dungeonscape" (complete with the acid breathing shark). Only the glass containment was added.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'''s episode "The Firebending Masters" features actually a floor that lowers when a tripwire is triggered, revealing the spikes.
* In the 'Popcorn Panic' episode of ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'', the Penguins are pushed towards these by a huge amount of popcorn, prompting Skipper to regret installing the 'decorative' spikes in question.
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** The Viet Cong's traps were designed to be somewhat less than lethal so that the enemy would have to evacuate wounded and treat them at a hospital, which they believed to be more damaging to the war effort than simply killing them.
*** There's some truth to that, as it would tie up more soldiers and resources to try to keep a wounded soldier alive than to simply deal with a dead body. Alternatively, the Viet Cong would attack while the other soldiers tried to help the trap's victim.
* In 2008 several spike pit traps were discovered in the forests around the Dutch community of "Helden". The traps contained [http://www.metronieuws.nl/img/1984801410an.png large concrete blocks with metal spikes]{{Dead link}} and were covered in a way that made them nearly undetectable. Two people sustained minor injuries and the suspected culprit was arrested and sentenced a few months later. His motives were never made clear.
* [[Caltrops]] are four spikes arranged so that however you drop one, it will land with one spike pointing up (kinda like the jacks in a game of Pick Up Jacks). The idea is to drop them in the road or in a field somewhere to prevent vehicles or cavalry from operating freely without fear of injury or damage. They were used in the Korean War by the Air Force to cut off roads used by Communist supply lines, so they could come back and bomb the disabled supply vehicles. Pictures of the beaches at Normany show giant caltrops designed to hinder landing craft and tanks. Maybe not immediately threatening, but remember that while you're trying to get around these things or clean them up, you've probably got bad guys opening up with [[More Dakka|machine guns]], [[No Kill Like Overkill|artillery]], and maybe even [[Death From Above|air strikes]] if you're particularly [[Butt Monkey|unblessed in life]].
* This is being tossed around as an idea to ward future Earthlings away from highly radioactive places. Played with, since the spikes would be too massive to be really dangerous (Just foreboding) but the radiation is certainly lethal enough. The idea behind it is that most types of radiation that we generate these days has a half-life a lot longer than [[Eternal English|any language we've ever spoken]]. A "Warning, Radiation" sign would go unheeded if no one can speak English or even read. A giant wall of spikes, however, would certainly act as a [[Shmuck Bait|deterrent]].
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* Cypress and mangrove trees have spiky "knee roots" that could potentially impale an unwary explorer.
* Leap Castle in County Offaly, Ireland had one of these in its [[Sealed Room in the Middle of Nowhere|oubliette chamber]]. Prisoners were thrown in, and the "lucky" ones landed on the spike. The not-so-lucky ones simply wasted away from dehydration, starvation, infection, and exposure. ''Three'' large cartloads of human bones were removed from the then-abandoned castle in the 1930's. (Along with a gold watch dated to the 1840's, even though the castle was abandoned at that time.)
* The [[wikipedia:Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park|Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park]] in Madagascar is an entire landscape made of
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Death Course]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Video Game Difficulty Tropes]]
[[Category:Death Trap Tropes]]
[[Category:This Index Is in The Way]]
[[Category:Spikes of Doom]]
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