History Main / SaveThePrincess

In the Disney Channel Original Movie Princess Protection Program, the inciting incident is Princess Rosalinda needing to be rescued after a military dictator takes over her country.

* In ''Literature/TheLostPrincessOfOz'', Princess Ozma of Oz suddenly goes missing along with all of the most powerful artifacts of Oz. Search parties are organized to scour Oz for any sign of her. [[spoiler: It turns out she was kidnapped by a shoemaker-turned-wizard named Ugu and imprisoned in a golden peach pit, which luckily one of the characters in the search party, Button-Bright, happens upon mid-way through the book, never knowing she was trapped inside until after the villain's defeat.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': A major motivation for Robert's Rebellion was to recover Lyanna Stark from Rhaegar Targaryen.

* In the 1988 ShootEmUp ''Last Duel'' developed by Creator/{{Capcom}}, the goal of the game is to rescue Queen Sheeta, the ruler of the planet Mu.

* While technically not a princess (unless you count her as one for being the daughter of the Fey clan's leaderess), poor Maya Fey in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series has to be saved from death ''four times''! The first two involve Maya being accused of murder and you have to get a not guilty verdict to save her. The third occasion has Maya kidnapped by an individual who uses this as leverage to force Phoenix into taking a case. The last case has Maya being trapped on a freezing mountain. And things just get worse from there...

* The main quest of Creator/ProZD's King Dragon Canon revolves around rescuing someone called Prince Horace from the villainous King Dragon. The prince is never seen and nothing is known about him outside of his abduction.

* One segment of the main plot in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has the Warden breaking into Arl Howe's estate to rescue Queen Anora, who is kept there by her father against her will. The Rescue the Princess aspect is really overshadowed by the [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Fort Drakon escape following it]] and the fact that [[KickTheSonOfABitch Howe finally gets what's coming to him]].

The trope derives from the [[TheOldestOnesInTheBook ancient]] concept of "[[DragonsPreferPrincesses Princess and Dragon]]", where TheHero must save a woman from an invading monster. This is usually used as a metaphor for real-life conflict.

** The original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' have this plot, as do, ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', the first half of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', the second half of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', ''all'' ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games (excluding ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where Peach is a playable character), ''and'' every ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' [[note]]''1'', ''Wii'', ''2'', ''U'', and ''Luigi U''[[/note]] Bowser must really dig Peach...

** The original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' both have this plot, as do ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', the first half of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', the second half of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games (excluding ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where Peach is a playable character), ''and'' every ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' [[note]]''1'', ''Wii'', ''2'', ''U'', and ''Luigi U''[[/note]] Bowser must really dig Peach...

** ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' inverts the trope - Bowser jacked the Vibe Scepter and sends his minions in to use it to paralyze the entire castle in emotional distress, using the chaos to imprison the Mario brothers (arguably one of his smartest moves in some time). Peach was LateToTheTragedy, and thus puts it on her shoulders to bail the brothers out.

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** ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'' inverts the trope - Bowser jacked the Vibe Scepter and sends his minions in to use it to paralyze THE ENTIRE CASTLE in emotional distress, using the chaos to imprison THE MARIO BROTHERS (arguably one of his smartest moves in some time)! Peach was LateToTheTragedy, and thus puts it on her shoulders to bail the brothers out.

* ''Series/TheLastKingdom: The second half of Season 2 revolves around rescuing King Alfred's daughter, Aetheflaed, after her husband's stupidity gets her captured by Danish raiders, without having to pay a ransom that will allow her captors to finance their planned invasion of her father and husband's kingdoms.

* One of the reasons behind the final battle of Season 5 of ''Series/TheLastKingdom'' involves rescuing Aelfwynn, daughter of [[TheHighQueen Lady Aethelflaed of Mercia]] and niece to King Edward of England before [[spoiler: she is [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forcibly wed]] to King Constantin of Scotland to secure [[AltarDiplomacy an alliance]] of [[EnemyMine her uncle's enemies]]. [[TheHero Uhtred]] gets drawn into the rescue because 1). [[TheLostLenore Aethelflaed was his lover]] and [[{{Protectorate}} asked him to protect her daughter]] [[LastRequest before she died]], 2). One of Edward's enemies holding her hostage is his [[ClashingCousins villainous cousin Wihtgar]], who [[ItsPersonal Uhtred wants dead for murdering his mentor, Father Beocca]], and 3). [[GirlInTheTower Aelfwynn is being held captive at Bebbanburg]], Uhtred's ancestral home that he has been trying to reclaim after his EvilUncle stole it from him as a boy, and helping in the rescue gives him the chance to fulfil all three goals]].

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' starts off with a textbook version of this in the Middle Ages chapter. The Lord of Dark had just kidnapped Princess Alethea and the kingdom of Lucrece's champion and future king Oersted sets out to rescue his bride alongside his friend Streibough as well as to bring the previous two heroes Hasshe and Uranus out of retirement to help them. [[spoiler:This goes completely wrong when after defeating the Lord of Dark, Alethea is nowhere to be seen and Hasshe dies from the plague, then Streibough gets killed in a cave-in. Things get worse when Oersted gets tricked by an illusion into killing the king and put up for execution. Uranus uses the last of his life to free him so he can find Alethea and [[ClearMyName prove his loyalty to Lucrece]]. Then it's revealed that ''Streibough'' faked his own death to rescue Alethea for himself after figuring out she was stashed in a secret area and wanting to get one over on his rival by branding him a traitor and get the glory. One DuelToTheDeath later, Alethea appears and admits her love for Streibough and kills herself. That pushes Oersted off the deep end and has him declare himself [[BigBad The Lord of Dark, Odio]], thus setting off the events of the previous chapters.]]

* Oh, so very, ''very'' much subverted in ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Orsted sets out to rescue his princess bride-to-be in an opening obviously [[{{Homage}} inspired by]] ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins''. By the end of the chapter, [[spoiler:she thinks that his friend was the only one who truly deserved her, even though he's [[FaceHeelTurn turned evil]], and commits suicide so that the two of them can be together forever. This leads to Orsted becoming [[TheHeartless a demon of pure hatred]] and the FinalBoss.]]

* The objective in the first ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' is to rescue Billy's girlfriend, Marian. In the second, it's a little different; you're avenging her death.
** Although she does come back to life in the ending of the NES version, only to be kidnapped in the third game.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', your goal is to rescue Jessica, who is both Cody's girlfriend and Haggar's daughter.
** And since Haggar is the mayor, Jessica is the local princess, and you are off to rescue her.

** Which is incredibly funny when all the people playing it don't care at all about it, and just stand around waiting to be killed in order for someone to smooch the princess and end the level.
* Pretty much all the classic (1989-1994) ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' games have you rescue April, though only the first and third Game Boy ones have you save her at the end of the game.

** The original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' and ''3'' both have this plot, as does the Japanese version of ''2'' (''The Lost Levels''), ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', the first half of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', the second half of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games (excluding ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where Peach is a playable character), ''and'' every ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' [[note]]''1'', ''Wii'', ''2'', ''U'', and ''Luigi U''[[/note]] Bowser must really dig Peach...
** In fact, the plans of pretty much ''every villain in the Mario universe'' always involve kidnapping Peach at some point. In fact, in some games she's even somewhat of a BarrierMaiden. In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', her voice can awaken the Beanstar (the MacGuffin of the game), while in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' she is forced to wed Bowser in order to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
** Also Daisy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'', one of the few games where Bowser isn't present. Apparently he only got a license to kidnap Peach.

** It's [[EpilepticTrees possible]] that the game is actually a {{Deconstruction}} of the standard "save the princess" plot.

* The ''Videogame/{{Clonk}}'' level "Dragon Rock" plays this [[ExcusePlot unashamedly straight]], right down to the evil mage-with-a-dragon doing the kidnapping. In "Tower of Despair" it's the king, and the dragon itself is the capturer, but otherwise it's pretty much the same.

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', Leon pretty much spends the entire game going through the BigBad's trap-filled castle, fighting off undead minions, so he can rescue the President's daughter, Ashley. At the end of the game, Ashley offers him a ''lot'' more than just a SmoochOfVictory, but given he's part of the secret service in that game, that would obviously not have been a good idea, and he rightly turns her down.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' had Link trying to rescue Zelda from Ganon, and the [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink second]] sees him trying to rescue another Zelda from a spell that causes her to sleep eternally. All the games after that, though they usually do have Zelda kidnapped at some point, do not make it the major driving force of the plot; those games which are an exception to this rule usually do not feature Zelda at all (e.g. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'').

** ''Majora's Mask'' has a kidnapped princess that is the basis for reaching the first dungeon. However, you can finish the game without needing to free her from her prison.

* This is how ''Webcomic/{{Exiern}}'' starts.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140209184616/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3554 Fuchsia reads the damned a story about rescuing the princess from the dragon.]]

* In ''Manga/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', as far as Utena is concerned,this is what she's doing for Anthy alias the Rose Bride. [[spoiler: She's not: in reality she's treating Anthy like a prop to feel good about herself. She shuts down when she realizes it, and only after she recovers from that slump, she can truly give Anthy the chance to save herself.]]

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', Peach is now a playable character alongside Mario, Luigi and a Blue Toad. In her place, however, are the seven Sprixie Princesses, who Bowser [[FairyInABottle bottled]] before snatching away.

* In ''VideoGame/AkaneTheKunoichi'', Akane's objective is to rescue her samurai lord (who she's also in love with).

* Being an AffectionateParody of RPG cliches, ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'' naturally uses this as it's main plot. Being the {{Jerkass}} that he is, the Bard isn't interested until he's offered [[RescueSex access to the princess' panties]] as a reward.

* Your first real goal in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is to rescue Bastila from the swoop gang that recovered her from a crashed escape pod and is now offering her as a prize in an upcoming swoop race. Then, two-thirds of the way through the game, Malak captures her... (Of course, [[Franchise/StarWars the movie whose universe KotOR is set in]] had Save the Princess as a good chunk of its plot as well.)

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', the game starts off with one. [[PrincessClassic Princess]] [[WhiteMagicianGirl Aideen]] of Jungby gets nabbed by Verdanite brigands in a surprise invasion, and rescuing her is the initial objective. Only after saving her in Chapter 1 does the plot thicken and actually go on it's proper course. Starting in Chapter 10, one has to find Princess Julia... [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle in classic style she's in another castle every time previous castle is conquered...]] this lasts until the final part of the final chapter, where she's ThatOneBoss hanging out in the group's way. (Note that she's ThatOneBoss because can't be killed; the game will become practically {{Unwinnable}} as she's needed for the FinalBoss [[SNKBoss fight]].)

* Swap out "Princess" with "CEO and former MagicalGirlWarrior", and we've got the main plot for ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt''. Of course, both halves of the rescuer/rescuee equation are female (and said Rescuee is reasonably capable of saving herself), so...
* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[https://web.archive.org/web/20140209184616/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3554 Fuschia reads the damned a story about rescuing the princess from the dragon.]]
* In ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'', their first level has them directed to go rescue the princess. She needs rescuing rather less than it appeared at first, being a PrettyPrincessPowerhouse.

* Gender-swapped in ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince''. Partly inverted as the rescue from a "dungeon" takes place early on, and the rest of the series is aimed towards ensuring the Prince's survival.
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