History Main / ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest

-->(''later'') "HEEEEEEY! DON'T FORGET YOUR FISH!"

-->'''Roger:''' I finally got rid of that fish!

** The trend in the series, since at least the second game, is that you will always get what you need to complete the next dungeon either in that dungeon, or right before it. This can become JustForFun/{{egregious}} at some points, like the trope picture. How lucky is it that you found that item right before flipping over blocks and pots from a short distance away became a vitality important ability? It's sometimes justified by the dungeons being carefully laid out trials, but just as often it isn't brought up. Did whoever designed the fire-temple in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' know that the switches would become rusted over, and that's why they left a hammer capable of pressing them for you to find, or was it just a [[ContrivedCoincidence coincidence?]]
** [[MemeticMutation "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"]] Sure is handy that some old geezer who is giving away the game's most essential item for free lives right where Link happened to begin his quest. Although the rest of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' is much less conveniently arranged.

** In [[Film/ReadyPlayerOne the movie]], another character casually flips the coin to him as a reward for winning a bet. Although Parzival thinks it's rather odd, hindsight shows that the one giving it to him certainly knew its value.

* ''Literature/TheMagicalMonarchOfMo'', Chapter 9 "The Wizard and the Princess". The Princess Truella goes to the sorceress Maetta for help in retrieving her stolen big toe from the Wicked Wizard. The sorceress gives her a collection of items: a magical umbrella, a lump of putty, an iron ball, a mirror, a pack of chewing gum, a magical veil and a winged dagger. All of these items turn out to be very useful to the Princess on her quest.

* ''Literature/TheMagicalMonarchOfMo'', Chapter 9 "The Wizard and the Princess". When the Princess Truella goes to the sorceress Maetta for help in retrieving her stolen big toe, the sorceress gives her a collection of items: a magical umbrella, a lump of putty, an iron ball, a mirror, a pack of chewing gum, a magical veil and a winged dagger. All of these items turn out to be very useful to the Princess on her quest.

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* From ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'': Dumbledore with great ceremony gives Harry... his father's rock and tells him to keep it with him at all times. It's just a big rock which is not special at all. [[spoiler: The fact that it actually does come in useful, and the circumstances where it does, are seen as so suspicious in-universe that it completely changes the state of political alliances by bringing the Malfoys in under Harry's personal banner.]]

* Subverted in ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'': Yang gives Yokoka some Lava Powder, which is a medicine to cure fevers - she then forgets to use it when she gets a fever in the next chapter, and it is ruined [[note]](the inventory listing is updated to Soggy Powder)[[/note]] in a fight a few chapters later.

-->'''Jack:''' [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound I've got a jar of dirt!]]

-->'''Jack:''' [[MostAnnoyingSound I've got a jar of dirt!]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Okage}}'': Shadow King, main character Ari receives the music box his dad gave his mom when he was younger. It isn't used until Ari encounters Princess Marlene, where he gives it to her (regardless of what choice you pick), and wouldn't come into play until [[spoiler: Ari disappears from the world, as the box is how Marlene is able to remember Ari due to his status being the only one not affected by Beiloune's Classification]]

* In C.S. Lewis's "Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe" the four main characters are each given a special object by none other than Father Christmas.

* Another iffy example happens in ''Film/VanHelsing'', when the monk-inventor sidekick introduces the hero to a seemingly vulgar stone that can produce a sudden burst of solar-like light. The monk-inventor insists he doesn't know why it could be helpful, despite knowing that they are going to travel to Transylvania to fight vampires who are [[CaptainObvious vulnerable to day light]], then says he is going to take it anyway. Three guesses about what specific item they use to escape a palace filled with vampires at night later on.

* Subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. After Quagmire has an affair with Cleveland's wife, Cleveland's swears revenge. Quagmire hires Mayor Adam West as a guard, but after failing to keep still, West decides to leave while giving Quagmire a banana and telling him "When the time comes, [[YouWillKnowWhatToDo you'll know what to do]]." Later, when Cleveland is chasing him, Quagmire throws the banana... and it does nothing. The scene is set up to {{invoke|dTrope}} the classic banana peel gag to viewers, but [[GenreBlind Quagmire forgot to ''peel'' the banana before throwing it]].

** At another point, you, again, get an item that immediately helps out in the trial afterwards. This time however, it seems to be that Link just decided to be smart after killing an enemy wielding a ball and chain and thinking "hey, this could probably break all that ice I can't get past". Doesn't explain why no other enemy in the game wields a ball and chain.

* Played fairly straight in ''Series/{{Merlin}}'', episode "The Eye of the Phoenix", when the Fisher King hands Merlin the waterglobe and says "When all seems lost, this will show you the way."

[[quoteright:300:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/it-may-help-you-on-your-quest_6524.jpg]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300: What, you mean I can't do that with my hands?]]-]

Common enough that subversions are notable when the item will in fact turn out to be [[RedHerring useless junk]]. Or [[TheCallTwinksYou immediately useful.]]

* Definitely ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}''. The main character's battle-happy brother Sesshomaru receives a sword that resurrects people. He begrudgingly carries it around and eventually resurrects [[MoralityPet Rin]] as a test to see if the sword works. The sword has a catch: it can only resurrect a person once so it can't save the people Sesshoumaru actually wants to save. [[spoiler:Rin and Kohaku have died once before so he can't save them and Kagura's death dissolves her body, so he can't save her either.]] It turns out that he needed Tenseiga and the lessons Tenseiga forced him to learn to be able to finally achieve his desire (a combat sword of his very own that could match his vast power, the idea being that only a compassionate heart should wield great power otherwise that power would be grossly misused).

[[folder:Theater]]

* Many adventure and RPG games [[TooAwesomeToUse condition pack-ratting behavior]] as an inventory management pressure, especially if there are inventory limitations and/or economic necessities. Not all games give clues whether the items are useful for problem-solving, or at least for uncovering Easter Eggs, or just VendorTrash or completely dead weight. Recently the games have gotten easier by simply making the "Handy" things undroppable/unsaleable, rather than more intuitive in their problem-solving application.
* Standard policy for adventure games is that if it's not nailed down, take it, you'll need it. If it IS nailed down, ''[[EmptyRoomPsych find a way to remove the nails]]'' and take it. [[KleptomaniacHero And take the nails too]]. Many, many early adventure games ''punished'' people for following this advice before realizing that it was a bad idea. For example, in ''VideoGame/{{Uninvited}}'', picking up a certain seemingly important gem results in being demonically possessed about three turns later. Whoops.

** [[MemeticMutation "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"]] Sure is handy that some old geezer who is giving away the game's most essential item for free lives right where Link happened to begin his quest. Although the rest of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' is [[GuideDangIt much less conveniently arranged]].

** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry 1'': a glass of whiskey
** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry 2'': a flower
** ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry 3'': soap-on-a-rope...

** The trend in the series, since at least the second game, is that you will always get what you need to complete the next dungeon either in that dungeon, or right before it. This can become {{egregious}} at some points, like the trope picture. How lucky is it that you found that item right before flipping over blocks and pots from a short distance away became a vitality important ability? It's sometimes justified by the dungeons being carefully laid out trials, but just as often it isn't brought up. Did whoever designed the fire-temple in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' know that the switches would become rusted over, and that's why they left a hammer capable of pressing them for you to find, or was it just a [[ContrivedCoincidence coincidence?]]

* Subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. After Quagmire has an affair with Cleveland's wife, Cleveland's swears revenge. Quagmire hires Mayor Adam West as a guard, but after failing to keep still, West decides to leave while giving Quagmire a banana and telling him "When the time comes, [[YouWillKnowWhatToDo you'll know what to do]]." Later, when Cleveland is chasing him, Quagmire throws the banana... and it does nothing. The way the scene is set up to {{invoke|dTrope}} the classic banana peel gag to viewers, but [[GenreBlind Quagmire forgot to ''peel'' the banana before throwing it]].

* In Creator/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung Siegfried]]'', after Siegfried kills Fafner, he can understand the forest bird's song telling him to take the ring and helm. He doesn't know what they really are, but it keeps them out of the hands of Alberich and Mime. (Too bad that the ring is an ArtifactOfDoom...)