History Main / PlotLeveling

* Bowser, of ''SuperMarioBros'', has gone from locking a Princess in a castle to cursing her whole castle with creepy dreamworld-doors, to lifting it up into space, to trying to take over galaxies. But, of course, Mario wasn't lazy either. He went from "my only move is to jump on your head" to literal kick-boxer to using the power of the stars. Oh, the number of his power-up-items also increased rapidly.
** And the [=RPGs=]. Take ''VideoGame/PaperMario''. First you had invincible Bowser take over the kingdom, then the Shadow Queen nearly take over the world (and it's an unsealed thousand year old demon with lightning powers too), and then Count Bleck (and [[spoiler:Dimentio]]) try to destroy the entirety of existence (in the former's case for good, latter's case to remake in own image). ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi Mario & Luigi]]'' series too to an extent, the first game had Cackletta steal Peach's voice, second had aliens try to conquer the planet and mass destroy the population and the latter kinda went down a level again with Fawful and the Dark Star.

* Though the creators are doing their best to avoid the trope, ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'''s uber-powerful, all-purpose battle suit, introduced at the GrandFinale, became so all-powerful (it was even powered up during the first episode of the [[UnCancelled new season]]) that the creators had to HandWave the non-use of this battle suit as being in repair for 4/5ths of the fourth season.

** [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] are frequently accused of suffering this. Yes, their effect on the plot and the lore behind them grows greater with each generation (see page quote). But [[StatisticallySpeaking from a gameplay perspective]], it was not until ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''[='=]s [[PhysicalGod Arceus]] that ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''[='=]s original InfinityPlusOneSword Mewtwo was surpassed in stat total. On the other hand, the sheer number of legendary and mythical mons introduced per game [[CommonPlaceRare kept going up]] until ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' dialed it back. And as of ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'', there are at least ''five'' Legendary Pokémon that surpass the aforementioned God Pokémon Arceus via some form of SuperMode.[[note]]As a side note regarding the page quote, the "life and death" is a case of HilariousInHindsight. Pokémon for those concepts didn't exist at the time of the video, so it just served as an extra gag. They actually became a thing in the sixth generation. [[BrickJoke Oh, and they decided to go with "Truth and Ideals" for Generation 5]], in case you were wondering.[[/note]]

** [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] are frequently accused of suffering this. Yes, their effect on the plot and the lore behind them grows greater with each generation (see page quote). But [[StatisticallySpeaking from a gameplay perspective]], it was not until ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''[='=]s [[PhysicalGod Arceus]] that ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''[='=]s original InfinityPlusOneSword Mewtwo was surpassed in stat total. On the other hand, the sheer number of legendary and mythical mons introduced per game [[CommonPlaceRare kept going up]] until ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' dialed it back. And as of ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'', there are at least ''five'' Legendary Pokémon that surpass the aforementioned God Pokémon Arceus via some form of SuperMode.

** [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] are frequently accused of suffering this. It is true that their effect on the plot and the lore behind them grows greater with each generation, but [[StatisticallySpeaking from a gameplay perspective]] it was not until ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''[='=]s [[PhysicalGod Arceus]] that ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''[='=]s original InfinityPlusOneSword Mewtwo was surpassed in stat total. On the other hand, the sheer number of legends introduced per game [[CommonPlaceRare kept going up]] until ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' dialed it back. By ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'', however, there are at least ''five'' Legendary Pokémon that surpass Arceus via some form of SuperMode.

** [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]] are frequently accused of suffering this. It is true that their effect on the plot grows greater with each generation, but StatisticallySpeaking it was not until ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''[='=]s [[PhysicalGod Arceus]] that ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''[='=]s original InfinityPlusOneSword Mewtwo was surpassed in stat total. On the other hand, the sheer number of legends introduced per game [[CommonPlaceRare kept going up]] until ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' dialed it back. By ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'', however, there are at least ''five'' Legendary Pokémon that surpass Arceus via some form of SuperMode.
** Each regional evil team has had their goals inflate over time. After Team Rocket, a realistic Mafia-esque band of poachers and criminals, a slew of groups centered their plans around Legendary Pokémon, with the end goals of flooding the land/evaporating the sea, then rewriting the universe, then domination by FantasyGunControl, then domination by freezing everything solid, then enacting ''mass genocide'' for all but a wealthy few. Even when Team Rocket returns in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'', their boss fancies himself an upgrade from TheDon to MultiversalConqueror.

'''RRRIIIIIPPPP!'''\\

* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games get accused of this with [[OlympusMons legendary Pokémon]]. It is true that their effect on the plot got greater in each generation but StatisticallySpeaking, it was not until generation four's [[LightningBruiser Arceus]] that generation one's Mewtwo was surpassed in stat total. On the other hand, the sheer number of legends introduced [[CommonPlaceRare kept going up]] until Generation five, which did not escalate the number, though it more than doubled the number of form shifting legends and another that surpassed Mewtwo in stat total, in two different ways but was still lower than Arceus.

'''Dawn:''' Only one place left to go... (''points skyward'') we go for GOD!\\

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole has this, though justified by the show being a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign so the plot had to level up with the players. We arrive in the middle of it, since the campaign had been running for two years before it was streamed.

** WordOfGod says that if the party gets through this, they'll eventually level up from saving the world to saving ''existence''. Only after that would a ChangingOfTheGuard occur.

* This seems to be the Modus Operandi for the StarWarsExpandedUniverse. Can't think of a plot? Introduce another seemingly forgotten Sith faction from nowhere and build them up to be the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known. Done to such an extreme that the most recent [[FateOfTheJedi main storyline series]] had Luke facing off against an EldritchAbomination that was made out to be stronger than the Emperor. For the record, the Emperor has been used as a benchmark for enemy PowerLevels.

* The ''{{Pokemon}}'' games get accused of this with [[OlympusMons legendary Pokémon]]. It is true that their effect on the plot got greater in each generation but StatisticallySpeaking, it was not until generation four's [[LightningBruiser Arceus]] that generation one's Mewtwo was surpassed in stat total. On the other hand, the sheer number of legends introduced [[CommonPlaceRare kept going up]] until Generation five, which did not escalate the number, though it more than doubled the number of form shifting legends and another that surpassed Mewtwo in stat total, in two different ways but was still lower than Arceus.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has been doing this, most obviously since the new series started in 2005. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf Game show controlling]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays Daleks]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E12ArmyOfGhosts Cybermen]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday Daleks]] invading Earth, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia The Master]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums seizing control of Earth]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2913LastOfTheTimeLords decimating the population]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth Daleks again]], this time [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd attempting to destroy the universe]], Time Lords returning and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime attempting to end time]]... then, [[spoiler:not just time ending, but making it so that [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens nothing even existed]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang in the first place]]]]. The sixth season finale features [[spoiler:the (almost) final death of the Doctor, which is arguably ''worse'' than the universe not existing.]]

* ''OnePiece'' comes with Plot Leveling built in. We start in the East Blue, the weakest of the four main seas. Then move up to the Grand Line, which lives up to its hype of being difficult to sail and survive. Finally, the sailors who travel across the Grand Line's second half, the New World, refer to the first half as "Paradise" out of comparison to the New World.
** However the author throws a curveball once in a while. For example, right after the Alabasta arc, which Luffy took two defeats to just barely win on his third try against Crocodile, was the Jaya arc, the main antogonist was Bellamy. It took Luffy [[CurbStompBattle one punch]] to put him down, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome without stretching]].
** It should be note that the name of the first half "Paradise" was mentioned quite early near the beginning, only to be explained hundreds of chapter later. Given Oda's love of all thing Chekhov, he may very well be planning from the beginning.

* {{Sierra}} dropped the ball with this one and their ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series. After the first one, where you save a small Barony, you jump immediately to saving the entire world from an evil genie. There's not much they can go from there, so you then save the world from an evil demon, followed by saving the world from an evil vampire, and finally saving the world from an evil dragon. Each one plays itself up like it's somehow worse than the one before it, even though the end results are pretty much the same.

->'''Lucas:''' Let see here... [[OlympusMons we got time and space, every human emotion, every natural element and nature itself, life and death]]... what do we go for next?\\
'''Dawn:''' Only one place left to go... (''[[StabTheSky points skyward]]'') we go for GOD!\\
'''[[RecordNeedleScratch RRRIIIIIPPPP!]]'''\\

* Done by Creator/DavidWeber in ''Literature/HonorHarrington''; Honor gets roughly one promotion per book, and [[LensmanArmsRace there's roughly one revolutionary advance in military technology per book.]] So while the [[StandardStarshipScuffle big space battle]] of the first book is [[StandardSciFiFleet one outgunned cruiser versus a disguised battlecruiser]] in a peacetime skirmish, the most recent books involve battles between hundreds of ships flinging [[MacrossMissileMassacre tens of thousands of nuclear missiles]] at each other in a galactic-level, multi-sided war. Honor has literally reached highest rank possible in ''both'' of the navies in which she currently serves. Weber intended to break the cycle by killing her off and letting her children [[ChangingOfTheGuard pick up where she left off]] about two books back, but co-author EricFlint [[TakeAThirdOption gave her a literal new lease on life]] by pushing the newest war up about 20 years and shifting the focus to [[CastHerd other groups of characters]] to keep from having to promote Honor so damn much.

* In ''Manga/{{Dragonball}}'', we go from a military commander who wants to be taller, to an evil demon king, to the proud and arrogant prince of Goku's race that can crush Goku and his friends with ease, to the ruler of the galaxies that ''commanded'' said prince, to a genetic amalgam created from various good and bad guys including said ruler, and the... what can probably be called abomination Majin Buu, who destroys planets and people for the hell of it. SerialEscalation has made it so the series is widely known for parody-level absurd power levels, where you could practically sneeze and destroy a planet, but put it back almost as easily.

* Done by DavidWeber in ''Literature/HonorHarrington''; Honor gets roughly one promotion per book, and [[LensmanArmsRace there's roughly one revolutionary advance in military technology per book.]] So while the [[StandardStarshipScuffle big space battle]] of the first book is [[StandardSciFiFleet one outgunned cruiser versus a disguised battlecruiser]] in a peacetime skirmish, the most recent books involve battles between hundreds of ships flinging [[MacrossMissileMassacre tens of thousands of nuclear missiles]] at each other in a galactic-level, multi-sided war. Honor has literally reached highest rank possible in ''both'' of the navies in which she currently serves. Weber intended to break the cycle by killing her off and letting her children [[ChangingOfTheGuard pick up where she left off]] about two books back, but co-author EricFlint [[TakeAThirdOption gave her a literal new lease on life]] by pushing the newest war up about 20 years and shifting the focus to [[CastHerd other groups of characters]] to keep from having to promote Honor so damn much.

* ''Series/{{Haven}}'' ran into this in its later seasons. It originally started out as the story of Audrey Parker, a [[StrangeCopInAStrangeLand cop]] who is stuck in the town of Haven, Maine and helps the [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Troubled]] townspeople, all while trying to piece together the mystery of her past and who exactly the Colorado Kid is. As the seasons go on, Audrey finds out [[spoiler: that she is immortal and constantly returns to the town of Haven every 27 years, after which she goes into a magical barn and takes the Troubles with her. Unfortunately, things get messed up and she can no longer do so. Then she finds out actually the reincarnation of Mara, an evil CosmicEntity who created the troubles and who was punished by being forced to help the Troubled. They end up dealing with her lover, William, before having to deal with Mara herself, who unleashes all sorts of Troubles on the town. The final season is Audrey dealing with Mara's father,a SatanicArchetype who cuts Haven off from the rest of the world, wipes everyone's memories of its existence, and almost destroys the world.]]

* In ''Literature/LoneWolf'', the first five books are all over the place, but the first twelve books ultimately formed a self-contained series that focused on dealing with the threat of the Darklords, a world-class threat that could conquer all Magnamund if not stopped. After this, the Grand Master series had to scale up from that, so they included [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands a third tier of Kai powers that had never been heard of before]] and made use of [[BiggerBad Naar]], the god of darkness [[TheManBehindTheMan who was behind the Darklords]], using minions who made the Darklords look like chumps and yet hadn't taken any part in the Darklords' ambition. After the Grand Master saga was completed and Lone Wolf became the Supreme Master, the game reversed course. Instead of creating [[SerialEscalation a fourth power tier]], it had [[ChangingOfTheGuard the player take on the role of one of Lone Wolf's apprentices]], who had Grand Master abilities (and a few new ones) but didn't actually deal with stuff on the Supreme Master's level. Forgivable, though, as book 20 has Lone Wolf basically going ToHellAndBack, and if he'd actually killed Naar then any further books would just feel like mopping up the remianing dregs of evil.

* In ''Literature/LoneWolf'', the first five books are all over the place, but the first twelve books ultimately formed a self-contained series that focused on dealing with the threat of the Darklords, a world-class threat that could conquer all Magnamund if not stopped. After this, the Grand Master series had to scale up from that, so they included [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands a third tier of Kai powers that had never been heard of before]] and made use of [[BiggerBad Naar]], the god of darkness [[TheManBehindTheMan who was behind the Darklords]], using minions who made the Darklords look like chumps and yet hadn't taken any part in the Darklords' ambition. After the Grand Master saga was completed and Lone Wolf became the Supreme Master, the game reversed course. Instead of creating [[SerialEscalation a fourth power tier]], it had [[ChangingOfTheGuard the player take on the role of one of Lone Wolf's apprentices]], who had Grand Master abilities (and a few new ones) but didn't actually deal with stuff on the Supreme Master's level. Forgivable, though, as book 20 has Lone Wolf basically going ToHellAndBack, and they'd hit the ceiling.

* This seems to be the Modus Operandi for the StarWarsExpandedUniverse. Can't think of a plot? Introduce another seemingly forgotten Sith faction from nowhere and build them up to be the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known. Done to such an extreme that the most recent [[FateOfTheJedi main storyline series]] had Luke facing off against an EldritchAbomination that was made out to be stronger than the Emperor. For the record, the Emperor has been used as a benchmark for enemy power levels.

* In ''Literature/LoneWolf'', the first five books are all over the place, but the first twelve books ultimately formed a self-contained series that focused on dealing with the threat of the Darklords, a world-class threat that could conquer all Magnamund if not stopped. After this, the Grand Master series had to scale up from that, so they included [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands a third tier of Kai powers that had never been heard of before]] and made use of [[BiggerBad Naar]], the god of darkness [[TheManBehindTheMan who was behind the Darklords]], using minions who made the Darklords look like chumps and yet hadn't taken any part in the Darklords' ambition. After the Grand Master saga was completed and Lone Wolf became the Supreme Master, the game reversed course. Instead of creating [[SerialEscalation a fourth power tier]], it had [[ChangingOfTheGuard the player take on the role of one of Lone Wolf's apprentices]], who had Grand Master abilities (and a few new ones) but didn't actually deal with stuff on the Supreme Master's level. Forgivable, though, as book 20 was already pushing credulity.

* One could argue this is what ultimately crippled ''{{Dragonball}} Z''. We go from a military commander who wants to be taller, to an evil demon king, to the proud and arrogant prince of Goku's race that can crush Goku and his friends with ease, to the ruler of the galaxies that ''commanded'' said prince, to a genetic amalgam created from various good and bad guys including said ruler, and the... what can probably be called abomination Majin Buu, who destroys planets and people for the hell of it. SerialEscalation has made it so the series is widely known for parody-level absurd power levels, where you could practically sneeze and destroy a planet, but put it back almost as easily. It's ''really'' not what Mr. Toriyama was going for back in the beginning...

* ''OnePiece'' arguably comes with Plot Leveling built in. We start in the East Blue, the weakest of the four main seas. Then move up to the Grand Line, which lives up to its hype of being difficult to sail and survive. Finally, the sailors who travel across the Grand Line's second half, the New World, refer to the first half as "Paradise" out of comparison to the New World.

* One could argue this is what ultimately crippled ''{{Dragonball}} Z''. We go from a military commander who wants to be taller, to an evil demon king, to the proud and arrogant prince of Goku's race that can crush Goku and his friends with ease, to the ruler of the galaxies that ''commanded'' said prince, to a genetic amalgam created from various good and bad guys including said ruler, and the... what can probably be called abomination Majin Buu, who destroys planets and people for the hell of it.