History Main / CriticalExistenceFailure

Critical Existence Failure also allows [[ViolationOfCommonSense certain tactics]] that would be downright crazy in RealLife to work in the game (e.g. using explosions for a makeshift {{rocket jump}} because you have enough HP to survive the explosion, bunny-hopping to reduce total damage taken, or running into suppressing fire to either act as a shield for the guys behind you or just get close enough to use a OneHitKill weapon). Furthermore, when each unit can keep attacking at full effectiveness until its HP hits zero, a team of players (or a single player controlling multiple units) is incentivized to focus all attacks on one enemy at a time in order to quickly reduce the enemy team's damage-dealing potential. In real life situations such as fighter plane and tank battles, it’s normally more efficient for each vehicle to engage a different enemy to avoid wasting munitions on overkill, and destroy (or almost as good, disable) more enemies more quickly.

** The budget for ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' wasn't high enough to damage and repair the ship models for episodes so we occasionally saw things like the Borg tearing up the Enterprise with cutting beams in an episode, and there would be nary a scratch on the ship after the battle.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In Fanfic/CoOpMode, James averts this by a hair on the very first chapter by being [[CrashIntoHello saved by]] [[Literature/{{Worm}} Taylor]].
[[/folder]]

CEF also allows [[ViolationOfCommonSense certain tactics]] that would be downright crazy in RealLife to work in the game (e.g. using explosions for a makeshift {{rocket jump}} because you have enough HP to survive the explosion, bunny-hopping to reduce total damage taken, or running into suppressing fire to either act as a shield for the guys behind you or just get close enough to use a OneHitKill weapon). Furthermore, when each unit can keep attacking at full effectiveness until its HP hits zero, a team of players (or a single player controlling multiple units) is incentivized to focus all attacks on one enemy at a time in order to quickly reduce the enemy team's damage-dealing potential. In real life situations such as fighter plane and tank battles, it’s normally more efficient for each vehicle to engage a different enemy to avoid wasting munitions on overkill, and destroy (or almost as good, disable) more enemies more quickly.

* Webcomic/TropeOverdosedTheWebcomic: [[http://tropeoverdosed.pcriot.com/?p=73 Even biting something can cause it to explode if it makes that thing's HP hit 0.]]

** Egregiously doesn't come close to how TNG handled radiation exposure. While the Enterprise [crew] was subject to radiation, T-1 second and no effects whatsoever (not even a mention to show up to sickbay). T+1 second of exposure and presumably everybody was dead. Oddly enough, ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOKhan'' was mentioned in one of this editor's physics textbooks as "a fairly accurate portrayal of death by extreme radiation".

** Egregiously doesn't come close to how TNG handled radiation exposure. While the Enterprise [crew] was subject to radiation, T-1 second and no effects whatsoever (not even a mention to show up to sickbay). T+1 second of exposure and presumably everybody was dead. Oddly enough, Star Trek II (Wrath of Khan) was mentioned in one of this editor's physics textbooks as "a fairly accurate portrayal of death by extreme radiation".

[[caption-width-right:315:Fuck, all I did was bump the building!]]

** Some fans would claim that the Bluesmobile was no longer needed after arriving at its final destination and could finally [[IncrediblyLamePun rest in pieces]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', this seems to be the case with Aberrations: they seem to not be slowed down at all as they get injured as Andrea's [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2016-01-29 fight with the spider-like Aberration demonstrates]], but as soon as they are defeated they [[SpontaneousHumanCombustion spontaneously combust]] and are reduced to ash.

** Unlike Magic, in ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' this applies to the monsters you battle with themselves. So long as the monster you're battling with has more Defense or Attack (depending on the position of the monster) than the than the Attack of your battling monster, that monster will stay on the field regardless of the amount of times it battles.

* CriticalExistenceFailure/BoardGames
* CriticalExistenceFailure/CardGames
* CriticalExistenceFailure/LiveActionTV

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', Jake and Elwood lead the cops on a city-wide chase, destroying hundreds of cars and pushing the Bluesmobile to the very limit. Pretty much the exact second as they arrive at their destination, every single panel on the car falls off at once. Puts their claiming to be on a MissionFromGod into [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane a very different light]], doesn't it?
** Some fans would claim that the Bluesmobile was no longer needed after arriving at its final destination and could finally [[IncrediblyLamePun rest in pieces]].
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Bs1ZZ-7b8&t=4m53s Monsieur Creosote]] from ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'': After a large feast, he explodes after eating a [[TheLastStraw wafer thin mint]].
* In the movie ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'', the Queen's brother takes severe damage without showing any effect because the Queen shares her life force with him. After a serious attack, the brother is barely hanging on and begs the Queen for more. Since she is very near death herself, she apologizes and severs the link, causing his death.
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Nick Fury's car has onboard damage control, which is able to tell him precisely how close the car's windows are to breaking. Its constant readouts come across as it giving the window's remaining Hit Points. At one per cent integrity, the window was apparently fully bulletproof, while at zero it is simply no longer there.

Most of this is a [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality function of fair gameplay]], especially in fighting games where making a character weaker over time would just [[UnstableEquilibrium make them progressively more vulnerable and susceptible to damage]]. This trope enables comeback victories which are more dramatic than one side holding the advantage for an entire game, and avoids a situation where an early setback makes it pointless to keep trying because defeat is assured. Of course, this same trope is what makes CherryTapping both viable to use and humiliating to have done to you. CEF also allows [[ViolationOfCommonSense certain tactics]] that would be downright crazy in RealLife to work in the game (e.g. using explosions for a makeshift {{rocket jump}} because you have enough HP to survive the explosion, bunny-hopping to reduce total damage taken, or running into suppressing fire to either act as a shield for the guys behind you or just get close enough to use a OneHitKill weapon). Furthermore, when each unit can keep attacking at full effectiveness until its HP hits zero, a team of players (or a single player controlling multiple units) is incentivized to focus all attacks on one enemy at a time in order to quickly reduce the enemy team's damage-dealing potential. In real life situations such as fighter plane and tank battles, it’s normally more efficient for each vehicle to engage a different enemy to avoid wasting munitions on overkill, and destroy (or almost as good, disable) more enemies more quickly.

* CriticalExistenceFailure/{{Webcomics}}

* CriticalExistenceFailure/{{Literature}}