History Main / SlidingScaleOfCollectibleTracking

** In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', feeding all of the animals can fall under LostForever, as one dog can only be found [[spoiler:when you travel back in time to defeat Orochi]]. Each of the Stray Beads, however, is numbered, can be gotten until you reach the PointOfNoReturn, and has the area it's in listed.

* '''LostForever''': Not only is there no way to know which item you missed, even if you figure it out there is no way to go back and get it. Your only option is to start a new game and make sure you don't miss it next time around.

** In ''VideoGame/{{La-Mulana}}'', every ROM and piece of equipment (except for a few that replace each other) has a unique position on the item screen.

** The Hidden Packages and other such collectibles in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games. The photos/gang tags/horseshoes in San Andreas were limited to individual cities, while the oysters were all found in water, but could be anywhere in the world. Exception: GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories gives you an option on your map to display the red balloons you ''have'' found and popped.

** The random collectibles from the space stage of ''{{Spore}}''. Literally could be anywhere. Except for Earth which has a fixed location.

** ''VideoGame/InFamous'' has 350 Blast Shards for you to collect in Empire City. A tad easier than the other games listed here since you can press R3 on the [=PS3=] controller and momentarily reveal the locations of blast shards within your minimap. But given the small size of your minimap and some the shards being stuck in really obscure locations, you'll still likely to use a game guide.
*** This was fixed in ''[=inFamous=] 2'', see ''It's here'' below.
** The ''MetroidPrime'' games have the Energy Tanks, Missile Expansions, Ammo Expansions, and Power Bomb Expansions. You can see how many of them you have, but not which ones they are or how many are left, save for a counter on the menu screen that tells you what percentage of all the items in the game you have.

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' tells you how many flags/feathers are left in each city. Because of the size of the cities though, and the number of flags in each, it's still a trial.
*** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' breaks down the locations of the feathers into city districts.
** ''JakAndDaxter'' games show you how many of each collectible you have found in each of the levels.

** ''SpyroTheDragon'' has gems in levels and the games tells you which levels in which you don't have all the gems. However, in 2 and 3, (and others?) you could use Sparx to point in the general direction of a gem or gems.

** 'VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' does this as well, keeping track of the number of items you've collected in each level. And between [[GottaCatchEmAll all the different types of items]] you ''need'' to collect, you're going to be looking at that summary page a ''lot''.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' has rabbits to catch. You can check at the collectors location how many of the five different types you found, each of which corresponds to the five terrain types. However, you can make things much easier by using the trademark map notes to mark each spot you find one at. However, the game doesn't really tell you how many Force Gems you need to track down, and you need pretty much all of them to reach all of rabbit locations.

** ''AliceMadnessReturns'' has a chapter select feature that gives a brief overview of the collection progress of the four available kinds of collectibles. X over Y, where X is the number of location unique collectibles found and Y is the total in that chapter.

*** The same goes for the Emotional Baggage. There's five different kinds, and each mental world has one of each, which you have to reunite with their tags; the collection screen tells you both what tags you have, and if you've taken them where they need to go. The Scavenger Hunt also tells you which items you have, and [[spoiler:the campers' brains are listed off]], but the latter isn't very helpful.
** [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]] has two other collect the {{MacGuffin}}s: the Twilight Bugs (It's Here) and the Golden Bugs (Individual Identification). The Twilight Bugs are shown on your map, when you get to them you need to look for the telltale electric flickering. The golden bugs are much, much more annoying, as the only clue to their presence is a faint jingle and the fact that they're shiny, other than that, you're on your own (I played [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]] on a giant screen and it was ''still'' a case of GuideDangIt. One of them is inside a ''dungeon'' for crying out loud!).

** In ''{{Okami}}'', feeding all of the animals can fall under LostForever, as one dog can only be found [[spoiler:when you travel back in time to defeat Orochi]]. Each of the Stray Beads, however, is numbered, can be gotten until you reach the PointOfNoReturn, and has the area it's in listed.

*** ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' is somewhat easier, but still falls in this category. You can as before find maps to the various Riddler puzzles and trophies, this time by interrogating the Riddler's spies in other groups. Also, if you see a trophy but can't reach it or don't have time to go after it, you can permanently (until you retrieve the trophy) tag it on your map.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'' have a useful feature: if you have the Compass while in a dungeon, it will play a little jingle when you enter a room with a key that has not yet been collected.

** Star Pieces in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' have features connected to them to help Mario find each individual piece. For ''Paper Mario'', an in-game character will describe the location of a randomly-chosen Star Piece Mario hasn't yet found. For ''The Thousand-Year Door'', Mario can equip a radar.
*** The I Spy badge in the first game shows a message above Mario and plays a short jingle when a Star Piece is hidden in the area. You don't even need to buy this badge: Rowf gives it to you for free once you get back his calculator from the Shy Guys.

** In [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]], it also shows you where treasure chests are located in rooms of dungeon areas. (But only after you find the map and compass first!)

** ''BanjoKazooie'' does this as well, keeping track of the number of items you've collected in each level. And between [[GottaCatchEmAll all the different types of items]] you ''need'' to collect, you're going to be looking at that summary page a ''lot''.

** In ''VideoGame/MichaelJacksonsMoonwalker'' for the SegaGenesis, you have to find all the kids in each level (it's not a sidequest). They're often hidden behind doors and other objects, and the game gives no indication of where you've already checked.

* '''It's Here Somewhere''': The game tracks your progress in individual sections of the game (often levels) so you know when you have every item in a particular area and don't need to search there further. (The game might not tell you the total number that can be collected in each area, but you can always look that up in a guide). How helpful this is depends on how big each section is -- at least you're not wandering the entire world, but you still might have a lot of ground to cover as there is still no way to know which items you've found within an area, only how many.

** ''RedDeadRedemption'' has a subquest where you can find some buried gold using treasure maps - the catch is that these maps are in no way integrated with your normal map. Instead they show where the treasure is in relation to landmarks (such as an arrow pointing to a campsite on a mountain, then another arrow pointing to a pass visible from that campsite, and so on.) Each treasure cache has the map to the next location inside, meaning that when you run out of maps, you've found all the gold.

** {{MARDEK}} has a map screen that shows you the exact location of all secret passages and treasures, including those not in chests, so long as you've gone reasonably close to them.

** The Collectopaedias in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' track the items found in that area. Some of the Collectopaedias allow you to trade for those items, but for later ones, you are left tracking item orbs for that one final item you need to finish the Collectopaedia. Luckily you only need one of each item to complete it.

** The hidden treasures in ''{{Uncharted}} 2'' are listed so you can find the ones you missed, as well as a count of how many treasures you've found in each chapter. Unfortunately the treasures are listed in the order you found them, rather than in the order you can find them, so it's harder to identify which you're missing.

** Star Pieces in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' and ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' have features connected to them to help Mario find each individual piece. For ''Paper Mario'', an in-game character will describe the location of a randomly-chosen Star Piece Mairo hasn't yet found. For ''The Thousand-Year Door'', Mario can equip a radar.

'''LostForever''': Not only is there no way to know which item you missed, even if you figure it out there is no way to go back and get it. Your only option is to start a new game and make sure you don't miss it next time around.

* Nearly all collectibles in ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' function in this way, most notably with the Gremlins and Pins. The game does not tell you how many there are, which ones there are, where they can be found, or whether you've obtained all of the ones in a region, and once you complete most parts of the game, the game permanently locks Mickey out of the area. There are also mutually-exclusive collectibles, where once Mickey obtains one, he cannot get another. The only solace is that every collectible has a unique name, so you can look up the ones you've obtained and compare it with a list [[GuideDangIt in a guide]].

* '''LostForever''': Not only is there no way to know which item you missed, even if you figure it out there is no way to go back and get it. Your only option is to start a new game and make sure you don't miss it next time around.
** Nearly all collectibles in ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' function in this way, most notably with the Gremlins and Pins. The game does not tell you how many there are, which ones there are, where they can be found, or whether you've obtained all of the ones in a region, and once you complete most parts of the game, the game permanently locks Mickey out of the area. There are also mutually-exclusive collectibles, where once Mickey obtains one, he cannot get another. The only solace is that every collectible has a unique name, so you can look up the ones you've obtained and compare it with a list [[GuideDangIt in a guide]].

** The Hidden Packages and other such collectibles in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games. The photos/gang tags/horseshoes in San Andreas were limited to individual cities, while the oysters were all found in water, but could be anywhere in the world.
*** Exception: GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories gives you an option on your map to display the red balloons you ''have'' found and popped.

** ''RocketRobotOnWheels'' only tells you how many tokens and machine parts you've got. The game uses Individual Identification with the tickets, with each one graded based on difficulty and coupled with a hint.

** ''BatmanArkhamAsylum'' naturally has clues to the Riddler puzzles. There are also maps to be found that will put question marks on your map screen to denote the general location of unsolved puzzles. The game also randomly displays the clue to one of the unsolved riddles in the area whenever you enter a new area of the island.
*** ''BatmanArkhamCity'' is somewhat easier, but still falls in this category. You can as before find maps to the various Riddler puzzles and trophies, this time by interrogating the Riddler's spies in other groups. Also, if you see a trophy but can't reach it or don't have time to go after it, you can permanently (until you retrieve the trophy) tag it on your map.

* '''It's Here Somewhere''': The game tracks your progress in individual sections of the game (often levels) so you know when you have every item in a particular area and don't need to search there further. (The game might not tell you the total number that can be collected in each area, but you can always look that up in a guide). How helpful this is depends on how big each section is, at least you're not wandering the entire world, but you still might have a lot of ground to cover, as there is still no way to know which items you've found within an area, only how many.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons]]'', there's also a sidequest involving finding four jewels. Their locations are provided on the WorldMap, but it's up to you to search the individual screen for a secret entrance.

** In ''Michael Jackson's Moonwalker'' for the SegaGenesis, you have to find all the kids in each level (it's not a sidequest). They're often hidden behind doors and other objects, and the game gives no indication of where you've already checked.

** ''AssassinsCreed'' tells you how many flags/feathers are left in each city. Because of the size of the cities though, and the number of flags in each, it's still a trial.
*** ''Assassin's Creed 2'' breaks down the locations of the feathers into city districts.

** The Hidden Packages and other such collectibles in the ''GrandTheftAuto'' games. The photos/gang tags/horseshoes in San Andreas were limited to individual cities, while the oysters were all found in water, but could be anywhere in the world.

** Most ''RatchetAndClank'' games tell you how many Skill Points are on each world and give you their names, which are usually hints as to how to achieve them. (In the first game, you only got this information in a NewGamePlus.)

** ''AssassinsCreed 2'' shows the locations of the codex pages on the map, only removing them when you have collected them.

** ''[[RatchetAndClank Ratchet: Deadlocked]]'' goes a step further than the other games and tells you exactly how to get each Skill Point. On the other hand, there are a lot more of them than in any other game.

** Both ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty : ModernWarfare'' games and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'' have enemy intel laptops to collect, and they show how many have been found on each level. Fortunately, there are only about 3 on each level, so it's easy to check each location.

** ''PrinceOfPersia (2008)'' has 1001 light seeds throughout the kingdom. Fortunately each area only has 45 and progress is tracked on the map, so you know the places you still need to look.

* '''Not Even Keeping Count''': Not only does the game not tell you which items you've collected, it doesn't even tell you how many you have. You might be one away, you might have 50 to go, you'll hopefully be able to tell once you have them all. Tends to occur with collectibles that the games doesn't expect you to collect, but some players still do for a SelfImposedChallenge.

** In ''Michael Jackson's Moonwalker'' for the SegaGenesis, you have to find all the kids in each level. They're often hidden behind doors and other objects, and the game gives no indication of where you've already checked.

** VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}, in addition to the '''individual identification''' mentioned below, tells you all the collectibles you've found in a level (save the ammo/extra life capacity upgrades). Thankfully, it discriminates by section in most cases, so you usually only have to look through one third of the level if you're missing something.