Temple of Doom: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

An ancient temple or city, usually buried [[Jungle Japes|deep within the jungle]] or [[Shifting Sand Land|in the middle of the desert]]. The temple is often full of [[Bamboo Technology|ancient yet sophisticated machines]] and [[Booby Trap]]s that still work to lethal effect [[Durable Deathtrap|even after thousands of years without maintenance]].

Compare [[Ruins for Ruins Sake]], [[Dungeon Crawling]], and [[Landmark of Lore]].

 

{{examples}}

* Classic [[Carl Barks]] stories with [[Donald Duck]] and his relatives usually featured this as a plot device. There are also two scenes which ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' copied from such stories, which both Lucas and Spielberg proudly admitted. The one is the introduction idol and boulder scene from ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', which was taken from the Seven Cities of Cibola and the other is the water bursting through the tunnel to the canyon side, near the end of ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]. This wasn't an actual trap of the temple, in the movie, but it was in the original comic, The Prize of Pizarro, which also contained some other traps used throughout the Indiana Jones' films. After Barks, other writers would too feature such temples and ruins.

 

== Film ==

* Not only does ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' have the trope namer, but it also has the ancient idol resting place from the beginning of ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', the temple of the Grail in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', and the eponymous ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull|Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]''.<ref>Plus the attractions based on them at [[Disney Theme Parks]].</ref>

 

== Literature ==

* Some [[Fighting Fantasy]] gamebooks featured such a place. Actually, one of the books is titled ''Temple of Terror''.

* ''[[Matthew Reilly|Temple]]''. An ancient South American temple buried in a giant pillar of rock, full of demonic cat monsters. And treasure, obviously.

* ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' by [[Robert E. Howard]]: Common in the stories. The problem in "[[The Devil in Iron]]" kicked off when a fisherman disturbed a body of a [[Necromancer]]; "[[Literature/Black Colussus|Black Colussus]]" opens with a thief raiding a ruined city.

 

* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'': Xena visits one of these in the episode "Prometheus".

* One cannot count how many entered [[Legends of the Hidden Temple|The Shrine of The Silver Monkey]] and never returned.

* On ''[[Lost]]'', the Others are mentioned as having a temple of some kind in the third season finale. In typical Lost fashion, it isn't seen until the sixth season premiere. It is guarded by a large stone wall, a tunnel system, and various other weapons, and contains a healing pool of some sort. The Temple's exact significance is unknown.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Exalted]]'' has more than a few of these, but one stand-out example is the city of Denandsor. Buried in the jungles of the Scavenger Lands, it's full of the treasures and [[Lost Technology|wonders]] of the First Age, as well as the means of production to make more. So why hasn't anyone claimed it yet? Well, when [[The Plague|the Great Contagion]] hit, the guy in charge of the city (who didn't fully understand how it worked) turned on ''every'' defense at once in the vague hope that it'd do ''something''. As a result, not only is it full of giant automatons that will stomp any intruders, but it's also cloaked in a field that instills horrible dread in whoever enters the city walls. If people survive getting into the city, they usually don't stay for long.

 

== Video Games ==

** ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball]]'', although since the entire game takes place inside Robotnik's oddly laid out fortress and all the levels are mixes of [[Pinball Zone]] with another level type, this is perhaps understandable.

** Anyway, for completeness' sake: Marble Zone from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic 1]]'' ([[Hailfire Peaks|merged]] with [[Lethal Lava Land]]), Labyrinth Zone from ''Sonic 1'' (merged with [[Down the Drain]]), Aquatic Ruins Zone from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2|Sonic 2]]'' (merged with [[Under the Sea]]), Marble Garden Zone from ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles|Sonic 3]]'', Sandopolis from ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles|Sonic & Knuckles]]'' (merged with [[Shifting Sand Land]]), Rusty Ruins from ''Sonic 3D'', Lost World from ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' (merged with [[Down the Drain]])... you get the picture.

* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' has a "Millstone Mayhem" stage as the last non-boss stage in Monkey Mines, as well as a "Temple Tempest" level near the end of Vine Valley.

** Said level served as inspiration for "Angry Aztecs" world in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''.

* The third ''[[Quest for Glory]]'' game features such a temple as the base of the demons looking to do a divide and conquer on the different peoples of Tarna.

* ''[[Oddworld]]: Abe's Oddyssey'' has the Paramonia and Scrabania temples.

** ''Super Metroid'': Ridley and company inhabit what appear to be ruins of Chozo civilization, deep within Zebes.

* ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' has eight Temples Of Doom, one for each [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors|element]], where you find the [[Summon Magic|summon spirits]].

* ''[[Mother 3]]'' features the Chupichupyoi Temple; however it isn't a dungeon, but a key location, and it doesn't try to kill you at all.

* Both [[Valkyrie Profile]] and [[Valkyrie Profile 2]] have about half a dozen of them.

* [[World of Warcraft]] has one or two dungeons that fit, but the best example is probably the Sunken Temple. A large temple to the serpent god Hakkar, sunk beneath the waters of a lake, hence the name. Infested with dragons and zombie trolls.

* ''[[Something]] Rom Hack series''

** Oldschool Temple in ''Something''. The graphics come from the Pyramid Levels in ''[[Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' and the Labyrinth Zone from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. The music is a remix of Marble Garden Zone Act 2 from ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles|Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]''. The level is filled with large pits in the first half and Thwomps and spikes in the second half.

 

* The fantasy satire ''[[The Fourth]]'' opens with one of these, though it ends up being more of a [[Noob Cave]] than anything else.

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Journey Quest]]'' contains the Temple Of All Dooms as a storage for the Sword of Fighting. It seems to follow the trope, though it's weak to [[Cutting the Knot]].

 

== Western Animation ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Doomed Tropes]]

[[Category:Video Game Settings]]