History ChestMonster / VideoGames

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' went full ham with mimic monsters, having the typical chest mimic, the aformentioned jar mimic, but also wardrobe mimics and even well mimics. If you were going to interact with someone, one has to take into account just about anything could jump at you

* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare'', hijacked Care Packages are rigged to explode when the next player tries to open it. ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'' players can also do this with the Hacker/Engineer perk.

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' has Mimicuties, Underworld mooks disguised as treasure chests that sprout ([[ShesGotLegs surprisingly shapely]]) legs and start [[KickChick kicking the mess outta you]] when you try to open them. They hit incredibly hard, move very quickly, and take more hits to defeat than nearly any other enemy in the game, making them [[DemonicSpiders extremely troublesome to deal with]]. Mimicuties make a return in the [=3DS=] version of the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU fourth installment of Super Smash Bros.]], where they appear in Smash Run. Like in Uprising, they mimic chests that you can open to get stat boosts. Also like Uprising, [[DemonicSpiders they're a pain in the ass]].

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', in any area where the treasure chests looked like round pots with four metal legs, some of them would of course turn out to be actual mimics. The game's monster lore provided a long, creative backstory regarding their creation. And then there are the "Crystalbugs", three monsters disguised as '''Save Points''', which were [[FeedItWithFire impervious to all elements]] and attacked using high-level spells, but fortunately left actual Save Points behind upon their defeat.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has treasure coffers in Hullbreaker Isle that can transform into a Mimic which can do a lot of damage and inflict Poison on the party. You have no choice but the fight them since they drop stone tablets that are needed to open a door. Palace of the Dead also has Mimics that can randomly spawn when you try to open a coffer. They still hit hard, but they can also inflict Accursed Pox, which causes damage over time, reduces your strength, and disables your HP from regenerating naturally for ''10 minutes''. You can also get a minion version of the Mimic that is harmless and follows you around like other minions.

* ''VideoGame/{{Dgeneration}}'': C/Generations are shape-shifting monsters that disguise themselves as everyday objects like chairs, power-ups, and the people that you're supposed to be rescuing. They're also immune to your primary weapon.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'':

* ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'' has not only chest mimics, but also shrine, crate, and [[UpToEleven wall]] mimics.

-> Does your cafeteria here serve... [[SuddenlyShouting TREASURE?!]] Just asking...

* ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' Trap Team has a boss called Chomp Chest, who, as his name implies, is a treasure chest with teeth. The game also seems to imply that treasure is essentially food for him.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': ''Monster Hunter 4'' has the Ruby Basarios, which disguise themselves as those patches of ruby crystals that you can mine in the Everwood.[[note]]The basic Basarios isn't this trope, since its back does look like an innocent arrangement of rocks, but not like one that you can actually mine from.[[/note]]. You can safely tell that a particular patch of rubies isn't what it seems because a. actual ruby mining points only appear on the edges of areas, not in the middle like Ruby Basarios does and b. you can toss a paintball from afar; if it marks the target and wakes it up, it's obviously one of them; if it goes through, it's a real set of rubies.

* ''VideoGame/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'': The occasional chest will turn out to contain Peeves the Poltergeist instead of useful items. This will not happen until the Skurge Challenge, though, where you're being tested on a spell that can be used to scare him off, so it could be considered part of the training. There's also a gnome in a chest in the Forbidden Forest level.

* ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'': Played literally in the DLC ''Dr. Ned's Zombie Island'' with the Loot Goon, a Tankenstein with a red gun chest on his back. Killing him let you loot the chest. In a more straight example, in ''The Secret Armory of General Knoxx'' several lootable things (weapons chests, dumpsters, etc) has midgets hidden away inside them. ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' adds a more traditional and horrifying version in ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep''.

* ''VideoGame/LaMulana2'' adds ''actual'' chest monsters that [[OneHitKO instantly kill you]] if you're too close when you open them. Despite looking exactly like normal chests, they are very obvious. They always appear "unlocked", even though most chests in the game require you to solve a puzzle to open, and they're often surrounded by the [[ThisWayToCertainDeath skeletons of their previous victims]].

** The [[DownloadableContent Afterbirth+ DLC]] features actual trap chests, which will spring spikes when you get too close to them. Touching them will hurt you, though it will open the chest and reveal the goodies inside, though they're the same as regular brown chests. They're fairly easy to spot since they have holes on the front, though this wasn't the case in earlier updates to the game, where it was almost impossible to tell them and regular chests apart unless you were playing close attention.

** ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has a number of AnimateInanimateObject enemies, most of which appear in a certain department store, which have the Overworld-Sprite of a present box despite looking nothing like one in battle. These include the Scalding Coffee Cup, which tends to drop a cup of coffee when defeated. Items can also be found inside garbage cans, but those can also turn out be enemies that pursue and attack you.

** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' and ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' can have the randomly dropped treasure chests from monsters turn out to actually be chest-like monsters. In both games, they have extremely high attack power compared to normal monsters, but are less dangerous in the former, due to only showing up later on, and can be disabled through use of the Analyzer spell (at which point the chests become regular treasures). In the ''Trials'', they can potentially appear at ''any'' point in the game, as a random "trap" on a trapped chest roulette, and have a stronger variant that starts showing up later (but you get the treasure from the original treasure box even if your chest turns into a Mimic.) In fact, Mimic Boxes can drop treasure chests that ''themselves'' can turn into Mimics.
** In the ''Trials'' remake, monsters drop item bags that are never traps. Rather, Mimic Boxes appear in predetermined locations on the map, pretending to be dungeon loot. Since the Li'l Cactus bonus that counts treasure chests does not count Mimic Boxes, you can sometimes discern them as fake simply because you already found all the treasure in the area. They're still worth fighting, though, because they always drop high-end Item Seeds.

*** You can shoot eggs such as freezing them, and if they do budge or get frozen, they're bullshit and are trying to lure you in (the eggs will pass through real Jinjos).

** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' and ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' can have the randomly dropped treasure chests from monsters turn out to actually be chest-like monsters. In both games, they have extremely high attack power compared to normal monsters, but are less dangerous in the former, due to only showing up later on, and can be disabled through use of the Analyzer spell (at which point the chests become regular treasures). In the third game, they can potentially appear at ''any'' point in the game, and have a stronger variant that starts showing up later.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', as you would expect, has Mimics hiding throughout the world. If you try to open a Mimic, it'll pull you inside its mouth and chew on you, most likely killing you in the process. An awakened Mimic is a powerful but slow enemy, and looks like the [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] with a chest on his head. There are a few ways to tell them apart: Mimics don't [[http://darksouls.wdfiles.com/local--files/enemies/mimic-fake-chest-large.jpg quite get the look right,]] they occasionally have to open slightly to take a breath, and if they take damage in any way, they'll abandon the disguise and attack. This can be dangerous though: in later games, attacking a chest can destroy whatever's inside. Hitting the chest with a Lloyd's Talisman/Undead Hunter Cham will also put a Mimic to sleep, allowing you to reach in and take its treasure without it noticing.

* ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZeroII'': [[DeathWorld Stranga]] is full of enemies disguised as health/energy pickups that'll suddenly sprout limbs to approach you when you get close. You can recognize them from real pickups if you notice they don't glow like regular pickups. There's also a few [[TreacherousCheckpoints Treacherous Checkpoints]] that spring up to shoot a nasty beam at you.