History Main / FightingDownMemoryLane

* In ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Fever 2'', there are two items which make the opponent's movement slower by evoking their sweet memories.

Compare with YetAnotherChristmasCarol, where time travel is used to witness the events from the outside; and BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind, where the fighting is done through mental avatars.

No, this doesn't literally mean that the combatants fight each other in a location that's nostalgic - or traumatic - for them both (although that would potentially be very entertaining).

* '''Attempted MindRape''': Using PsychicPowers, or a technological equivalent, the villain drags up all the defender's bad memories - every failure, every moment of humiliation - and forces the hero to relive them. The hero may fight back by focusing on his good memories; first kiss, lives saved. The hero doesn't need mental powers of his own to mount this defense, just heroic willpower.

* '''Redemption''': To reverse MoreThanMindControl, or redeem a villain, the hero [[CareBearStare forces positive memories to the surface, or outright restores them]] - making the mind control victim relive the good times he had with his friends, for instance. This may be done with words alone, or with psychic powers, but if there is a direct mind-to-mind connection, the villain will fight back, dragging up dark memories.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': During Kratos's final confrontation with Ares, after direct combat has failed, he sucks him into some kind of mental plane, where he forces Kratos to relive his most defining moment: the day he unwittingly murdered his own family. Or at least, he tries: he has to fight off a horde of clones while protecting his family. Fail, and Kratos will simply collapse with a moan of "No... not again...", as the clones slaughter him.
** Comes up at the end of ''God Of War III'', where [[spoiler:Zeus forces Kratos into the darkness of his mind, revisiting his old memories. However this time [[MoralityPet Pandora]] guides him using the fires of hope to help cleanse Kratos' soul.]]

* In the ''[[Comicbook/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' story "Happy Birthday" , a botched spell by ComicBook/DoctorStrange sends Spidey lost in time. In order to get back to the present, Spidey has to fight his way there. Through every battle, against every villain he's faced.

* Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' novel ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': While the Witch is trying to MoreThanMindControl the heroes into thinking that their memories of Narnia are false, the Marsh-Wiggle Puddleglum fights back.
-->'''Puddleglum:''' But I know I was there once. I've seen the sky full of stars. I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I've seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn't look at him for brightness.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': The Dementors do the mind rape variant to everyone nearby.
** Harry's occlumency lessons with Snape could almost be considered this, but it is subverted by the fact that [[spoiler: Snape's not actually a villain, and his purpose was to help Harry. It also applies when Harry deflects it back at Snape, though it's accidental]].
** The Drink of Despair causes the drinker to relive their horrible memories.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Doesn't involve any actual fighting, but the sequence in the crater at the begining of Disc 2 of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' certainly seems to fall under [[MindRape the first category]] as Sephiroth uses illusions to force Tifa and Cloud into reliving the destruction of their hometown and (possibly invoking [[BreakingLecture the second category]]) uses the gaps in Cloud's memories to convince him he isn't who he thought he was, thus manipulating him into doing Sephiroth's will.
** Later, Tifa brings in the redemptive ''third'' category, helping guide Cloud on a journey through his own memories to uncover the truth of his past.
* This is how Franchise/{{Batman}} defeats Darkseid's scientists during ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''.
* The DLC for ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' [[spoiler: Takes place in one, constructed from both Alan and the Dark Presences memories of Bright Falls. It gets a bit warped.]]
* In ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Fever 2'', there are two items which make the opponent's movement slower by evoking their sweet memories.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Done first with words alone, and then with psychic powers. When Discord corrupted all of the main casts, Celestia sends Twilight's friendship reports back to her. After reading them, she re-realizes the importance of friendship, and she uses memory spells to her friends which reverts them to their previous selves.

* ''Literature/TheCycleOfFire'' uses this a lot.
* In ''[[Literature/{{Shannara}} The Wishsong of Shannara]]'', Jerle brings his sister back this way.
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': During Kratos's final confrontation with Ares, after direct combat has failed, he sucks him into some kind of mental plane, where he forces Kratos to relive his most defining moment: the day he unwittingly murdered his own family. Or at least, he tries: he has to fight off a horde of clones while protecting his family. Fail, and Kratos will simply collapse with a moan of "No... not again...", as the clones slaughter him.
** Comes up at the end of ''God Of War III'', where [[spoiler:Zeus forces Kratos into the darkness of his mind, revisiting his old memories. However this time [[MoralityPet Pandora]] guides him using the fires of hope to help cleanse Kratos' soul.]]
* Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' novel ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': While the Witch is trying to MoreThanMindControl the heroes into thinking that their memories of Narnia are false, the Marsh-Wiggle Puddleglum fights back.
-->'''Puddleglum:''' But I know I was there once. I've seen the sky full of stars. I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I've seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn't look at him for brightness.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': The Dementors do the mind rape variant to everyone nearby.
** Harry's occlumency lessons with Snape could almost be considered this, but it is subverted by the fact that [[spoiler: Snape's not actually a villain, and his purpose was to help Harry. It also applies when Harry deflects it back at Snape, though it's accidental]].
** The Drink of Despair causes the drinker to relive their horrible memories.

%%* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', this is done during the corruption and redemption of Chibi-Usa.
* Doesn't involve any actual fighting, but the sequence in the crater at the begining of Disc 2 of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' certainly seems to fall under [[MindRape the first category]] as Sephiroth uses illusions to force Tifa and Cloud into reliving the destruction of their hometown and (possibly invoking [[BreakingLecture the second category]]) uses the gaps in Cloud's memories to convince him he isn't who he thought he was, thus manipulating him into doing Sephiroth's will.
** Later, Tifa brings in the redemptive ''third'' category, helping guide Cloud on a journey through his own memories to uncover the truth of his past.
* This is how Franchise/{{Batman}} defeats Darkseid's scientists during ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''.
* The DLC for ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' [[spoiler: Takes place in one, constructed from both Alan and the Dark Presences memories of Bright Falls. It gets a bit warped.]]
* ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': D-Reaper, posing as Jeri, confused Takato by mentioning Jeri's memories about Takato.
** ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'': Ranamon tricked Zoe into eating a hallucinogenic apple, which reminded her of her painful past.
* In ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Fever 2'', there are two items which make the opponent's movement slower by evoking their sweet memories.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': In the anime-only battle with Tsukishima, he forces Chad and Orihime to "relive" their [[FakeMemories fake]] FriendshipMoment with him, distracting them at the critical moments.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Done first with words alone, and then with psychic powers. When Discord corrupted all of the main casts, Celestia sends Twilight's friendship reports back to her. After reading them, she re-realizes the importance of friendship, and she uses memory spells to her friends which reverts them to their previous selves.
* ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'': An EmotionEater takes the protagonist into a painful incident from his childhood, and then asks him to let it eat his memories.
* Used by M'gann in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' on [[spoiler: Kaldur]]. Its the first version, only minus the "attempted" part. She claws through her victim's memories, causing a very fast sequence of flashbacks, showing [[spoiler: all the good he did as Aqualad, the plan to be a FakeDefector and that Artemis isn't dead.]] It shows why heroes should really stick to the redemption part of this trope.
* In ''FanFic/MegaManReawakened'', this happens as Robert's memories return in full due to Wood Man's Pulse of Life.

** In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', the symbiote forces Spidey to [[OriginsEpisode relive getting his powers and losing Uncle Ben]] in order to convince him to permanently bond with it.

** Leading to a CrowningMomentOfAwesome when, on realizing the dream is about to reach a point it hasn't before (he always woke up before that part in the past), Scrooge ''[[http://disneycomics.free.fr/Ducks/Rosa/show.php?num=25&loc=D2002-033&s=date throws a Beagle Boy out of his mind]]'' so he won't be interrupted..

* Creator/CSLewis' ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' novel ''The Silver Chair'': While the Witch is trying to MoreThanMindControl the heroes into thinking that their memories of Narnia are false, the Marsh-Wiggle Puddleglum fights back.

** Harry's occlumency lessons with Snape could almost be considered this, but it is subverted by the fact that [[spoiler: Snape's not actually a villain, and his purpose was to help Harry]].

* ''Manga/NatsumeYuujinchou'': An EmotionEater takes the protagonist into a painful incident from his childhood, and then asks him to let it eat his memories.

* In the ''[[Comicbook/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' story "Happy Birthday" , a botched spell by DoctorStrange sends Spidey lost in time. In order to get back to the present, Spidey has to fight his way there. Through every battle, against every villain he's faced.

* In ''PuyoPuyo Fever 2'', there are two items which make the opponent's movement slower by evoking their sweet memories.

* This is how Franchise/{{Batman}} defeats Darkseid's scientists during ''FinalCrisis''.

* Doesn't involve any actual fighting, but the sequence in the crater at the begining of Disc 2 of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' certainly seems to fall under the first category as Sephiroth forces Tifa and Cloud to relive the destruction of their hometown and uses the gaps in Cloud's memories to convince him he isn't who he thought he was and manipulate him into doing Sephiroth's will.

** Leading to a CrowningMomentOfAwesome when, on realizing the dream is about to reach the only woman he ever loved, Scrooge ''[[http://disneycomics.free.fr/Ducks/Rosa/show.php?num=25&loc=D2002-033&s=date throws a Beagle Boy out of his mind]]'' so he won't be interrupted..

* ''Manga/NatsumeYuujinchou'': EmotionEater takes the protagonist into a painful incident from his childhood, and then asks him to let it eat his memories.

* In the ''[[Comicbook/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' story "Happy Birthday" , a botched spell by DoctorStrange sends Spidey careening through time. In order to get back to the present, Spidey has to fight his way there. Through every battle, against every villain he's faced.

* Used by M'gann in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' on [[spoiler: Kaldur]]. Its the first version, only minus the "attempted" part. She claw's through her victim's memories, causing a very fast sequence of flashbacks, showing [[spoiler: all the good he did as Aqualad, the plan to be a FakeDefector and that Artemis isn't dead.]] It shows why heroes should really stick to the redemption part of this trope.

No, this doesn't literally mean that [[RevisitingTheRoots the combatants fight each other in a location that's nostalgic - or traumatic - for them both]] (although that would potentially be very entertaining).

* In DonRosa's Uncle Scrooge story "The Dream of a Lifetime", the Beagle Boys use experimental technology, stolen from Gyro, to enter Scrooge's mind as he dreams. Since they're inside his mind whatever he's thinking of is given away, and they're hoping if they ask him the combination to his vault he'll be forced to think it. Scrooge spends the night dreaming of [[Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck the greatest moments of his past]] (and not his money, to the surprise of the Beagle Boys), so it effectively turns into this.