History Main / HeartContainer

* In ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', your health is represented in Hearts, and most hits remove half or one whole heart. Most characters start with about 3 heart containers on average. Red heart pickups heal your missing life, but there are also less common Soul Hearts that protect your Red Heart containers. You can carry up to 12 hearts of any type at a time. While it's easier to recover red hearts, red heart containers are also used to pay for powerful [[PowerAtAPrice Devil item]], and the odds of finding special Devil or Angel rooms are greatly increased if you don't take any (non-self-inflicted) red heart damage, so keeping a balance of both types of hearts is important for harder content.
** ''Afterbirth+'' adds a [[BreakablePowerUp breakable]] red heart container called Bone Hearts, which can take an extra hit, but are permanently removed when depleted.

* Collecting enough Slimetanium in ''VideoGame/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures'' causes a heart to be added to Pac's health meter.

* Later games in the ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' series introduce star pieces that grant the player one-fifth of an extra life; they're typically received for successfully clearing spellcards. It's done differently in ''Ten Desires'', where you obtain "heart pieces" by collecting purple spirits.

* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'': There are two of these (Gemini Holders) in each main major world in the game. Each character (Juno, Vela, Lupus) visits three destinations (two planets and a vessel) before Mizar's Palace, so each can get 6 extra units (worth 5 HP each). All of them can be gathered prior to meeting Mizar for the first time, which means that they'll have to survive with what they get during the second half of the game (as no Holders are found in any of the additional areas and worlds).

* In the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, the playable character's [[LifeMeter Vitality Gauge]] can be expanded by collecting Blue Orbs, both obtained in full (usually bought from the God of Time's Divinity Statues, or picked up as-is in the first two games) and assembled for each four Blue Orb Fragment obtained (the usual rewards for completing Secret Missions, and are found in the environment). Purple Orbs serve the same purpose for the [[ManaMeter Devil Trigger Gauge]], though without Fragment counterparts and are almost exclusively bought as whole orbs from shops.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'', you collect blue orb fragments, and each four you collect extend your health bar. There is the occasional whole orb, but most of those are bought rather than found (except the second, which has full blue orbs lying all over the place). Purple orbs do the same for the Devil Trigger meter, though there are no fragments and they are almost never found during gameplay. Every game after the first allow buying whole orbs as well as getting fragments from Secret Missions, eventually quadrupling your starting LifeMeter.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'': The big, star-tattooed mushrooms serve this function. Your life meter is usually 3 points worth, but the mushrooms/hearts increase it to 6. Keep in mind that the mushrooms only have effect during the current level, and losing the extra 3 points returns your maximum to 3.

* In ''VideoGame/TreasureHunterMan'', these are usually dropped by bosses.

* The 3D ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' games have special drinking fountains that extend your life bar.
** ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' had giant potion bottles that functioned like this in mostly hidden areas; you could get from 3 hearts to 10 over the course of the game. Interestingly, at one point your [[EnemyWithout Shadow]] can steal one of these from under your nose. When you merge back with him later, you get an extra life point regardless of whether he's actually stolen this potion. Of course, for a SpeedRun you can simply avoid all these potions.
** In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2: The Shadow and the Flame'', you can raise your heart level from 3 to 12; there's more than nine potions, but that's the cap. It turns out by the end that you will need most of these, because the spell you require to win the game is CastFromHitPoints. The last level contains a side area where you can tediously grind these in case you missed or [[DestroyableItems accidentally destroyed]] a few.
** ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' have secret rooms (that sometimes require to endure PlatformHell to get to them) that contain these. In ''Warrior Within'' collecting them all unlocks [[InfinityPlusOneSword Water Sword]], which in turn unlocks the GoldenEnding.

** ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' have secret rooms (that sometimes require to endure PlatformHell to get to them) that containe these. In ''Warrior Within'' collecting them all unlocks [[InfinityPlusOneSword Water Sword]], which in turn unlocks the GoldenEnding.

** ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaSandsOfTime'', ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' have secret rooms (that sometimes require to endure PlatformHell to get to them) that containe these. In ''Warrior Within'' collecting them all unlocks [[InfinityPlusOneSword Water Sword]], which in turn unlocks the GoldenEnding.

* ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'':
** The original game has big vases with red liquid serving as these (unlike small potions that merely refill HP).
** ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' have secret challenges that lead to these. In the former, collecting them all unlocks [[InfinityPlusOneSword Water Sword]], which in turn unlocks the GoldenEnding.

** Original game had big vases with red liquid serving as these (unlike small potions that merely refilled HP).
** ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' and ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones'' had secret challenges that led to these. In the former collecting them all unlocked [[InfinityPlusOneSword Water Sword]], which in turn unlocked GoldenEnding.

[[folder: Action]]

[[folder:Action Adventure]]

* Each of the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' games had something like this to extend your health: ''Blood Omen'' let you find blood vials that increased your health, and as it turned out, there were more of them than you could actually use. ''Soul Reaver'' had special wedge-shaped power ups, and every five would boost your health, while ''Soul Reaver 2'' gave you an upgrade every time you activated a Reaver forge. ''Blood Omen 2'' gave you an upgrade when you drank enough blood.

* ''VideoGame/{{ShadowComplex}}'' has eight health pickups that give 100 units of maximum health, as well as a bonus health extension of the same amount gained by reaching level 10.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' has Heart Holders, genie bottles shaped like... hearts. They are found only in out-of-the-way places. ''Pirate's Curse'' has the Heart Squids, which are living beings that must be melted down by a lady in Scuttle Town 4 at a time to increase your health. They were absent with a return of Heart Holders in ''Half-Genie Hero'', only to return in force in ''Seven Sirens''. It's revealed there that they are [[BlackComedy actually the children of Squid Baron's sister]] when he asks Shantae to look out for them.
* In ''VideoGame/ShounenKinindenTsumuji'' features Life Candles that increases Tsumuji's health after collecting a large one or five smaller pieces.

* Collecting 3 gold rings in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' increases your life bar until you lose a life or finish the level. Collecting 3 gold rings with an extended life bar grants an extra life. If you finish a level with two gold rings, you'll only need one to increase the life bar in the next level. In many levels, it's possible to collect two extra lives by way of gold rings if you started with two. In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', the life meter is increased automatically by one heart after a boss is defeated.

[[folder:First Person Shooter]]

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' has Yellow Herbs. Because both Leon and Ashley have their respective life meters, both are in need of consuming the medicines of these herbs to have higher chances to survive. The same applies for Ada in ''Separate Ways''. Fortunately for all three characters, the increased life meters carry over for the NewGamePlus, and R+G+Y herbs can be sold for a good bit of money if you don't particularly need them.

* The first ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'' game let you add first one, then three more health ("nanotech") spheres by buying Premium and Ultra Nanotech cans. The second game had an experience-based system for gaining health, but nanotech tubes could be found which would increase your maximum health by one, as well as recharging all your existing health and letting off a lightning zap thing which killed everything in sight. Then, in the third game, the nanotech tubes were abandoned in turn, and the series now uses the experience-based system exclusively.

* Seen in the later ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' games, and inverted in the earlier ones (some game modes or mechanics would reduce your hit points for an increased difficulty).

[[folder: Shoot Em Up]]

* ''{{VideoGame/Monolith}}'' has a four-segment meter next to your character's health that increases when picking up HP Part pickups (which come in amounts of 1, 2, or 4) or when overhealing, and filling the meter adds 1 to the character's maximum health. There's also the Plating upgrade, which adds 1/3 of your character's current maximum HP to itself. [[spoiler:On non-Normal lethalities, HP Parts and overhealing are instead converted into [[GlobalCurrency debris]]]].

[[folder: Stealth Based Game]]
* [[VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay]]: There are two types of medical machines--small ones that restored your health, and larger, single use ones that permanently increased it.

** Your maximum health in the original ''[[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Metal Gear]]'' for the MSX increases when you gain in rank, which increases or decreases depending on how well you play.
** Although there's nothing to collect, in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Snake's LIFE increases every time he defeats a boss unless you're playing on the hardest difficulty level, in which case it just sits there. This was removed in the remake and sequels, where you simply start with maximum health.

[[folder: Third Person Shooter]]

[[folder: Turn Based Strategy]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'', Health is mostly increased by upgrading it in the save room, but can also be extended on the field ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' style by using the rare Med Packs that also refill it to max.

** The ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series has Heart Tanks, which add a small boost to your maximum health, and some Cyber-Elves in the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZero Zero]]'' series which could increase your maximum health at the cost of your rank.

** There's also the [=HPMemory=] in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce Star Force]]''. These are justified in the sense that every [=NetNavi=] is essentially a sentient antivirus program.
** Also in ''X5'' and ''X6'', you can find injured Maverick Hunters scattered through stages who occasionally have life-ups that will increase your max health.

* The {{trope nam|ers}}ing and {{trope mak|ers}}ing Heart Containers from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''.
** Full Heart Containers come as rewards for beating bosses, while later games introduced Pieces of Heart (which make a full container with every 4 pieces found) that can be found as rewards for beating {{Mini Game}}s and doing {{Sidequest}}s, as well as exploring the heck out of the environment.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' has 5 full containers in very well hidden areas (one outside, and four being a choice between a container and a red potion... you should take the container). The second quest introduces a few old men inside dungeons that can take one full container ''away'' if you can't pay their price.
** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' is the only game in the series to replace the HeartsAreHealth system with a life bar, but it can still be increased with heart-shaped containers (as a side note, it's also the only game with containers to raise the Magic meter as well).
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'' are the first games since the NES era to have full containers only; to make up for this, they're much more difficult to find as they're only given after completing devious minigames or buying them at very high prices in shops.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' has only one full heart container gained in a way other than beating dungeon bosses (namely escaping Hyrule Castle with Princess Zelda). The overworld instead has Pieces of Heart (indeed, this is the game that introduced them). This is repeated in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', where bosses give them, as well as one very obscure {{Sidequest}} that gives you a full Heart Container instead of the usual partial ones. In [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames the Oracle games]], a full Container in each can be obtained through a special secret from the other game, and another is granted through the [[NewGamePlus Hero Secret]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' abandoned the traditional 4-Piece system in favor of a 5-Piece one because it ended up having two more dungeons (and thus two more heart containers) than originally planned. Better get hunting.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', two Life Medals can enhance Link's life meter by one heart each, but only while they're equipped in the [[InventoryManagementPuzzle Adventure Pouch]]. Increasing the Pouch's space will greatly help here.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' has the standard Heart Containers for defeating a main boss, but has no Pieces of Heart. Standing in for them are Spirit Orbs, which can be obtained in the different Shrines scattered all over Hyrule. Four of them can be traded in at a Goddess Statue for either Heart Containers or Stamina Vessels, which increase the length of Link's SprintMeter.

* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' has Empty Honeycombs. In the original, 6 Empty Honeycombs equals one new section for your LifeMeter. Also, [[spoiler:a special jigsaw puzzle at the very end rewards you with red Honeycombs that effectively double the life meter]]. In the sequels (''Tooie'' and ''Grunty's Revenge''), an NPC named [[PunnyName Honey B.]] exchanges increasing numbers of Empty Honeycombs (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) for new segments on your LifeMeter. ''Nuts and Bolts'' lacks an energy meter, thus the trope is averted there.

** In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', Candy Kong, along with giving instrument upgrades, occasionally gives your characters extra watermelons to give them more health (one full watermelon is 4 HP, and you can get two additional watermelons).
** In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'', you can buy an actual heart-shaped container in Cranky's shop, and assign it to Donkey or Diddy (if the game's being played in co-op mode), or between the two (in single-player). Keep in mind that its effect only lasts until you either quit the level or clear it. A special, expensive Banana Juice protects you with '''20''' containers, but it only lasts for a limited time, and until you die for the first time. These items return in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze''.

* ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Mystical Ninja 64 Starring Goemon]]'' has silver and gold Fortune Dolls ([[ManekiNeko those "lucky cat" statuettes with one paw raised]]), which function like the Zelda series' Pieces of Heart and Heart Containers, respectively.

** Almost every level of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' has two Mushrooms hidden in subspace; these function as Heart Containers, but their effect only lasts till you beat the level. The GBA UpdatedRerelease adds one more mushroom per level. It also features a challenge mode where some of the mushrooms are replaced by Yoshi eggs which you must carry to the exit without dying.
** The big, star-tattooed mushrooms in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 its sequel]] have the same function, as do the gold-crowned hearts in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey''. Your life meter is usually 3 points worth, but the mushrooms/hearts increase it to 6. Keep in mind that the mushrooms only have effect during the current level (the crowned hearts allow the effect to be carried over), and losing the extra 3 points returns your maximum to 3.

** ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' has Tough Coffee, sold in Toad's shop for increasing prices (250 coins, then 500, then 1000, and finally 1500). Each mug increases her health by half a heart, allowing Peach to increase from 6 hit points to a total of 10.

* The ''VideoGame/SuperStarWars'' series had lightsaber pickups that extended your life meter, allowing you to take more hits. Since they can be [[RandomlyDrops dropped by enemies at random]] or found in hidden areas, it's possible to grind for these health extending items and have an extremely long life bar. However, your life meter reverts to its default length after completing a level or losing a life.

* There are two of these in each main planet (level) in ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini''. Each character (Juno, Vela, Lupus) visits three planets before Mizar's Palace, so each can get 6 extra units (worth 5 HP each).

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' has Heart Holders, genie bottles shaped like... hearts. They are found only in out-of-the-way places. ''Pirate's Curse'' has the Heart Squids, which are living beings that must be melted down by a lady in Scuttle Town 4 at a time to increase your health. They were absent with a return of Heart Holders in ''Half-Genie Hero'', only to return in force in ''Seven Sirens''.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' has up to 5, but plays the Pieces of Heart aspect straight for another 4.

** The ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series has Sub-tanks, which are effectively whole spare life meters which can be drained to fill the real one, and Heart Tanks, which add a small boost to your maximum health, and some Cyber-Elves in the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZero Zero]]'' series which could increase your maximum health at the cost of your rank.

** There are E-Tanks in the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' games from ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' on (except ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'', where it was replaced with Rush dropping random powerups). While sometimes these are just handed out, other times you need a weapon to access it or do some alternate death course. But then you can just buy them.

** Also in ''X5'' and ''X6'', you can find injured Maverick Hunters scattered through stages who occasionally have life-ups that will increase your max health, and even parts that can be equipped to act as full energy tanks.

* The Wizard Cards in the ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'' [[VideoGame/HarryPotter video game]] work this way. Collecting ten of them increases your stamina.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Phoenotopia}}'' the main character Gale can collect Heart Rubies to gain health. There are also Protein Shakes which you can buy to increase your life but they don't increase as much, you can also only use a limited number of them per game (5).

* The ''Princess Remedy'' series, which are given out in optional chests, boosting Remedy's max HitPoints by a fixed number:
** ''VideoGame/PrincessRemedyInAWorldOfHurt''
** ''VideoGame/PrincessRemedyInAHeapOfTrouble''

* ''VideoGame/DownWell'' : Collecting health-up items when you're at full health goes into a secondary meter that increases your health when you fill it.