History PermanentlyMissableContent / ActionAdventure

*** The DX version on the Game Boy Color has 12 photos to collect throughout the game. Three of these are during the short time that you are with [[spoiler:Marin. Go to the cliff face at the extreme lower left grid space on the map for one, fall down the well 5 spaces above that space, and go to the Rooster statue in town]]. There is also another missable photo where you need to approach a gate to a castle (from the outside) after you start the quest to invade that castle but after you finish the quest the gate is opened by a switch so the photo is gone. (If you complete the quest without opening the gate, it is still Lost Forever because the NPC will not check on your "progress" due to it already being over). There is also a cave not far from the castle that is only visitable with the flying rooster, which will leave you after it's no longer quest-important.

*** A Moblin in a cave by the beach will swap any item of your choice with his boomerang. If you give him an item which you can later re-acquire (such as your shield, bombs or Magic Dust) you will be one slot short, meaning you'll have to permanently give up on one of your items to finish the game.

** There are some experience bags and one one-up doll in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' that can be missed because they're in palaces, which become inaccessible after you collect the palace's item and restore the crystal to the palace.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games are by and large aversions of this trope -- Miyamoto has actually said in an interview that he always tries to avoid PermanentlyMissableContent and Unwinnable scenarios in his games. The following games have exceptions, however:
** In the original ''VideoGame/{{The Legend of Zelda|I}}'', a couple of old men would give you your choice of either a Heart Container or a Red Potion. If you choose the Potion, the Heart Container becomes Lost Forever. Similarly, the NintendoHard second quest has rooms in certain dungeons that require you to leave 50 Rupees or one of your Heart Containers to proceed. If you don't have the cash, one of your Hearts is gone for good.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening DX'' on the Game Boy Color has 12 photos to collect throughout the game. Three of these are during the short time that you are with [[spoiler:Marin. Go to the cliff face at the extreme lower left grid space on the map for one, fall down the well 5 spaces above that space, and go to the Rooster statue in town]]. There is also another missable photo where you need to approach a gate to a castle (from the outside) after you start the quest to invade that castle but after you finish the quest the gate is opened by a switch so the photo is gone. (If you complete the quest without opening the gate, it is still Lost Forever because the NPC will not check on your "progress" due to it already being over). There is also a cave not far from the castle that is only visitable with the flying rooster, which will leave you after it's no longer quest-important.
** Also from ''Link's Awakening'': If you steal from the shop in Mabe Village, aside from [[ShopliftAndDie getting killed by the shopkeeper if you come back]], your ''name'' gets lost forever; the game renames you to "THIEF". Furthermore, while dying to the shopkeeper will let you re-enter the shop after dying, this will lock you out of the extended ending since it requires zero deaths. You need both the shovel and the bow, which are found only in the shop, so if you steal one without having bought the other you can't get it. Oh, and one of the photos added in ''DX'' is of you sneaking past the shopkeeper, which means you have to steal something (thus losing your name) if you want a full photo album.
*** Also, a Moblin in a cave by the beach will swap any item of your choice with his boomerang. If you give him an item which you can later re-acquire (such as your shield, bombs or Magic Dust) you will be one slot short, meaning you'll have to permanently give up on one of your items to finish the game.

** Although ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' didn't have any permanently missable items that ''mattered'', if you wanted to achieve HundredPercentCompletion on your [[FirstPersonSnapshooter pictography]] you needed to take a pictograph of everyone alive within the game; enemy, ally, NPC and boss alike. This is alleviated somewhat by the NewGamePlus and the BossRush near Ganon's Tower near the end of the game, but it's difficult to get a photo op of certain subjects (like a random Rito NPC that [[GuideDangIt inexplicably disappears after a plot event]]), so they can eventually become Lost Forever anyway. The VideoGameRemake for UsefulNotes/WiiU averts this thanks to Website/{{Miiverse}}, from which you can receive pictographs (from players ''worldwide'') of the missable targets. At least until late 2017, when Miiverse itself was shut down.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' features this trope for the Light Arrows, which can only be found if the player "kinfuses" with a [[GuideDangIt seemingly random, arbitrary person]] to unlock a teleporter that leads to a location later in the game, where they must [[spoiler: save an NPC named Gregal from an evil spirit by using the Gust Jar]], who will then give you the arrows once he has fully recovered much later in the game. Otherwise, by the time you can reach said location normally, [[spoiler: Gregal is dead]] and the item is lost. There are also a handful of kinfusions that are lost if you progress too far into the game. Especially irksome since some of them become unavailable as a result of other kinfusions, meaning they have to be done in the right order too.
*** Speaking of missable kinfusions, Eenie is the most infamous example in the European version. When the player fuses kinstones with Eenie, the Goron seen in Lon Lon Ranch that was digging a wall will have enough strength to access the Goron Cave. Later on in the game, Link can find caves dedicated to the Mole Mitts. Certain caves have walls that have kinstone fusions, which can cause more Gorons to show up. If the player finds all 6, [[spoiler: they can get an Empty Bottle. If the player beats the game, they can fuse kinstones with one of the Gorons to make Biggoron appear, which can eventually lead to you getting the Mirror Shield.]] Due to a glitch in the European version, should said player ask to fuse kinstones but cancel it afterward, Eenie will never fuse with you again, causing you to lose everything in this quest.

* ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'' has a particularly irritating example - the final animal that you need to photograph is a SpaceWhale hidden in an asteroid you need to shoot while on your way from Hillys to the moon. If you get to the moon without destroying the asteroid and photographing the space whale, you lose the photo of the space whale forever, because your space engine stops working once you reach the moon.

** Also, if you don't get Pey'j's boots while in the factory, you have no way of knowing [[spoiler: the code on the boot's underside that gives you access to the secret spaceship Pey'j built with Jade's father. Without it you have no way of getting to the moon, and thus cannot fight the final boss or complete the game]].

* The PS version of ''VideoGame/HarryPotter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is downright brutal to anyone trying to get 100% completion. Certain wizard cards can only be obtained by getting a perfect score on a [[ThatOneLevel certain minigame]]. But you have to try again and again until you get the card, without stopping, or else the door locks itself as you exit. So much for that card, eh? Luckily, the PS version of ''Chamber of Secrets'' averts this entirely by letting you go back to places once you lose access to them. But in the case of the Knockback Jinx upgrade in ''Chamber of Secrets'', it can only be obtained near the end of the game, but go too far and it's lost forever, AND you can't get 100% completion. Ironically, when you get the upgrade, a speech glitch occurs.

* You are given only one shot at obtaining either of the two whip upgrades in ''VideoGame/LaMulana''. The upgrade in the Inferno Cavern can be sealed off by two rising stone pillars, and the entrance to the upgrade in the Tower of the Goddess permanently seals off behind you once you enter it. Additionally, the penultimate area, the Shrine of the Mother, will disappear forever along with any items you missed in there (most notably the final life upgrade) after all eight bosses are defeated.

* In November 2012, Atari shut down the servers for the PC and [=PS3=] versions of ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', making the ten achievements/trophies only obtainable online impossible to get.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', you can use a Link amiibo to summon Epona into the game as a mount. However, like every other horse in the game, she can be killed in combat. While horses can be revived by the Great Horse Fairy, you can only bring back horses that you've registered at the stables, so if you summon Epona and let her get killed before registering her at the stable, you won't be able to use her at all for the rest of that playthrough.
** Another two examples in ''Breath of the Wild'' are the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller's Sword. These aren't one offs, but they're found in only two or three non respawning chests in the entire game, so losing or breaking all of them will make it impossible for you to find/keep another one.
** Similar to above, there is a feature of the game where enemies will eventually upgrade to stronger versions of themselves when you kill them enough times. Because their equipment also upgrades, it's possible to lose out on certain weapons to fill out the Compendium, particularly with the Lynels, whose equipment is unique to them. Thankfully, you can buy any missing images for your Compendium from an NPC; you are only missing out on the chance to use or take photos of those weapons yourself.
** You can also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwkgncIs3C0 permanently lose the Thunder Helm]] and Champion's Tunic by having a full inventory when you speak to Riju or Impa respectively. For other non sellable armour pieces (like the Zora Armour and Zora Greaves), the [[NonPlayerCharacter Non-Player Characters]] who give it to you have special dialogue that tells you to come back once your inventory is freed up. This means an unlucky or particularly dye/Toys/{{amiibo}} obsessed player could lose either or both of these before realizing they're meant to be mandatory collectibles.

*** Speaking of missable kinfusions, Eenie is the most infamous example in the European version. When the player fuses kinstones with Eenie, the Goron seen in Lon Lon Ranch that was digging a wall wil have enough strength to access the Goron Cave. Later on in the game, Link can find caves dedicated to the Mole Mitts. Certain caves have walls that have kinstone fusions, which can cause more Gorons to show up. If the player finds all 6, [[spoiler: they can get an Empty Bottle. If the player beats the game, they can fuse kinstones with one of the Gorons to make Biggoron appear, which can eventually lead to you getting the Mirror Shield.]] Due to a glitch in the European version, should said player ask to fuse kinstones but cancel it afterward, Eenie will never fuse with you again, causing you to lose everything in this quest.

*** Speaking of missable kinfusions, Eenie is the most infamous example in the European version. When the player fuses kinstones with Eenie, the Goron seen in Lon Lon Ranch that was digging a wall wil have enough strength to access the Goron Cave. Later on in the game, Link can find caves dedicated to the Mole Mitts. Certain caves have walls have kinstone fusions, which can cause more Gorons to show up. If the player finds all 6, [[spoiler: they can get an Empty Bottle. If the player beats the game, they can fuse kinstones with one of the Gorons to make Biggoron appear, which can eventually leas to you getting the Mirror Shield.]] Due to a glitch in the European version, should said player ask to fuse kinstones but cancel it afterward, Eenie will never fuse with you again, causing you to lose everything in this quest.

** Although ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' didn't have any permanently missable items that ''mattered'', if you wanted to achieve HundredPercentCompletion on your [[FirstPersonSnapshooter pictography]] you needed to take a pictograph of everyone alive within the game; enemy, ally, NPC and boss alike. This is alleviated somewhat by the NewGamePlus and the BossRush near Ganon's Tower near the end of the game, but it's difficult to get a photo op of certain subjects (like a random Rito NPC that [[GuideDangIt inexplicably disappears after a plot event]]), so they can eventually become Lost Forever anyway. The VideoGameRemake for UsefulNotes/WiiU averts this thanks to Miiverse, from which you can receive pictographs (from players ''worldwide'') of the missable targets. At least until late 2017, when Miiverse itself was shut down.

** Another two examples in Breath of the Wild are the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller's Sword. These aren't one offs, but they're found in only two or three non respawning chests in the entire game, so losing or breaking all of them will make it impossible for you to find/keep another one.

** You can also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwkgncIs3C0 permanently lose the Thunder Helm]] and Champion's Tunic by having a full inventory when you speak to Riju or Impa respectively. For other non sellable armour pieces (like the Zora Armour and Zora Greaves), the {{Non Player Character}}s who give it to you have special dialogue that tells you to come back once your inventory is freed up. This means an unlucky or particularly dye/amiibo obsessed player could lose either or both of these before realising they're meant to be mandatory collectables.

** Similar to above, there is a feature of the game where enemies will eventually upgrade to stronger versions of themselves when you kill them enough times. Because their equipment also upgrades, it's possible to lose out on certain weapons to fill out the Compendium, particularly with the Lynels, whose equipment is unique to them.

** In the original ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI The Legend of Zelda]]'', a couple of old men would give you your choice of either a Heart Container or a Red Potion. If you choose the Potion, the Heart Container becomes Lost Forever. Similarly, the NintendoHard second quest has rooms in certain dungeons that require you to leave 50 Rupees or one of your Heart Containers to proceed. If you don't have the cash, one of your Hearts is gone for good.

** Also, if you don't get Pey'j's boots while in the factory, you have no way of knowing [[spoiler: the code on the boot's underside that gives you access to the secret spaceship Pey'j built with Jade's father. Without it you have no way of getting to the moon, and thus cannot fight the final boss or complete the game ]].

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' has the Chaos Ring, which increases your [[ManaMeter MP]] regeneration rate so much that it effectively gives you unlimited magic. To get it, you need to possess every soul in the game, including one-of-a-kind boss souls. This wouldn't be so bad (as said bosses are guaranteed to drop their souls), but if you use these unique souls to synthesize more powerful weapons, the Chaos Ring cannot be collected. Thank God for NewGamePlus (synthesize for the weapon(s), or get the ring first before the weapons)...

* The PS version of ''VideoGame/HarryPotter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is downright brutal to anyone trying to get 100% completion. Certain wizard cards can only be obtained by getting a perfect score on a [[ScrappyLevel certain minigame]]. But you have to try again and again until you get the card, without stopping, or else the door locks itself as you exit. So much for that card, eh? Luckily, the PS version of ''Chamber of Secrets'' averts this entirely by letting you go back to places once you lose access to them. But in the case of the Knockback Jinx upgrade in ''Chamber of Secrets'', it can only be obtained near the end of the game, but go too far and it's lost forever, AND you can't get 100% completion. Ironically, when you get the upgrade, a speech glitch occurs.

** Although ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' didn't have any permanently missable items that ''mattered'', if you wanted to achieve HundredPercentCompletion on your [[FirstPersonSnapshooter pictography]] you needed to take a pictograph of everyone alive within the game; enemy, ally, NPC and boss alike. This is alleviated somewhat by the NewGamePlus and the BossRush near Ganon's Tower near the end of the game, but it's difficult to get a photo op of certain subjects (like a random Rito NPC that [[GuideDangIt inexplicably disappears after a plot event]]), so they can eventually become Lost Forever anyway. The VideoGameRemake for UsefulNotes/WiiU averts this thanks to Miiverse, from which you can receive pictographs (from players ''worldwide'') of the missable targets.

* In November 2012, Atari shut down the servers for the PC and [=PS3=] versions of ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', making the ten achievements/trophies only obtainable online impossible to get.

** A glitch causes one opportunity to upgrade Deku Nuts in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime's'' LostWoods to be rendered Lost Forever once the player obtains the Poacher's Saw, an item in the future era's [[ChainOfDeals trading sequence]]. This glitch is removed in the Nintendo3DS remake.

** You can also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwkgncIs3C0 permanently lose the Thunder Helm]] and Champion's Tunic by having a full inventory when you speak to Riju or Impa respectively. For other non sellable armour pieces (like the Zora Armour and Zora Greaves), the NPCs who give it to you have special dialogue that tells you to come back once your inventory is freed up. This means an unlucky or particularly dye/amiibo obssessed player could lose either or both of these before realising they're meant to be mandatory collectables.

*** How about the Bomb Bag reward after opening up Zora's River in the HD remaster? Although technically a bug, there have been reports of losing the bomb bag on the item screen after it is supposed to be obtained for completing the sidequest. The fact that this bug does not appear to exist in the original release makes the updated re-release look inferior at times.

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' has the Chaos Ring, which increases your [[ManaMeter MP]] regeneration rate so much that it effectively gives you unlimited magic. To get it, you need to possess every soul in the game, including one-of-a-kind boss souls. This wouldn't be so bad (as said bosses are guaranteed to drop their souls), but if you use these unique souls to synthesize more powerful weapons, the Chaos Ring cannot be collected. Thank God for NewGamePlus...

** Although ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' didn't have any permanently missable items that ''mattered'', if you wanted to achieve HundredPercentCompletion on your [[FirstPersonSnapshooter pictography]] you needed to take a pictograph of everyone alive within the game; enemy, ally, NPC and boss alike. This is alleviated somewhat by the NewGamePlus and the BossRush near Ganon's Tower near the end of the game, but it's difficult to get a photo op of certain subjects (like a random Rito NPC that [[GuideDangIt inexplicably disappears after a plot event]]), so they can eventually become Lost Forever anyway. The VideoGameRemake for WiiU averts this thanks to Miiverse, from which you can receive pictographs (from players ''worldwide'') of the missable targets.

** Averted in the WiiWare remake. There is one NPC in the game which can reset some of the puzzles if you screw them up after you beat the boss of the Dimensional Corridor.

** Also from ''Link's Awakening'': If you steal from the shop in Mabe Village, aside from [[ShopliftAndDie getting killed by the shopkeeper if you come back]], your ''name'' gets lost forever; the game renames you to "THIEF". Furthermore, while dying to the shopkeeper will let you re-enter the shop after dying, this will lock you out of the extended ending since it requires zero deaths. You need both the shovel and the bow, which are found only in the shop, so if you steal one without having bought the other you can't get it.

** Also from ''Link's Awakening'': If you steal from the shop in Mabe Village, aside from [[ShopliftAndDie getting killed by the shopkeeper if you come back]], your ''name'' gets lost forever; the game renames you to "THIEF". Furthermore, the shop is the only place you can get the bow, and if you steal from it, you can never return. This means that if you steal something other than the bow before buying it, the bow is lost forever.

** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'''s Richter Belmont has an obscure Item Crush ability that can only be used while he has no sub-weapon which covers his whip in flames. He had the same Item Crush in the previous game, ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Rondo of Blood]]'', but unlike that title, there is no way to drop a sub-weapon in ''Symphony'' due to the RPG-like nature of the game. (One death and it's GameOver.) Fortunately, it's not nearly as great as the ''Rondo'' version this time around, so there's no real reason to keep it, especially since the sub-weapon Item Crushes are much more useful.

*** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', you can use a Link amiibo to summon Epona into the game as a mount. However, like every other horse in the game, she can be killed in combat. While horses can be revived by the Great Horse Fairy, you can only bring back horses that you've registered at the stables, so if you summon Epona and let her get killed before registering her at the stable, you won't be able to use her at all for the rest of that playthrough.

* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' contains numerous easily missable one-shots, many of which are required in order to reach the [[BonusLevelOfHell secret hell level]], which leads to the game's [[MultipleEndings best ending]]. The worst of these moments: if you don't [[spoiler:search the corners of a certain room before triggering a cutscene, or search it after the boss fight and before [[FissionMailed your air supply runs out]], the tow rope, Curly Brace and]] the ability to obtain the best ending are LostForever in one fell swoop. You'd naturally assume that you would want to [[spoiler:save Professor Booster when he falls to the bottom of a pit in the Labyrinth]]. However, if you do that, two items necessary to get the best ending (and one necessary to [[spoiler:save Curly's life]]) are lost. Also, a little bit after that, there's a rest point that can easily be missed, as you are flying past it in a high-pressure stream of water. Even if you followed all of the other steps, if you don't [[spoiler:go into that room, sleep in the bed, read the computer monitor, read the bookshelf, read the computer monitor again, talk to Curly, then talk to her again ''and'' choose to take her with you, she will die and]] you'll miss out on the best ending. Cave Story 3D extended the ledge you need to jump on to make it to the Cabin, however, so it's easier to reach. However, it only gets worse from here: you need to find a hole in the ground in one of the last levels (however, you do need to move past it to advance at one point), and you find out about a mushroom that cures amnesia. To find said mushroom, you have to remember a door near the very beginning of the game that's very possible to look over completely, go through a somewhat confusing questionnaire, make sure the thing you just got is useless, and then you have to fight the mushroom you [[spoiler: feed to Curly to cure her amnesia]]. After you feed it to her, you have to talk to her so that she'll give you the Iron Bond. Then, once you beat the [[spoiler: normal]] FinalBoss, as you [[spoiler: flee the falling island, you have to enter the shed that, in all other scenarios, would be locked, and then jump down the pit in the floor. Better hope you saved.]]

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games are by and large aversions of this trope -- Miyamoto has actually said in an interview that he always tries to avoid LostForever and Unwinnable scenarios in his games. The following games have exceptions, however:

** In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon Circle of the Moon]]'', there's a secret item crush accessed by using the DSS technique with no subweapon equipped and at least 100 Hearts in reserve. Since you can't unequip subweapons after the first time you pick one up, this technique is easily LostForever. Combined with the other requirements, it's also AwesomeButImpractical.

* The PS version of ''VideoGame/HarryPotter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is downright brutal to anyone trying to get 100% completion. Certain wizard cards can only be obtained by getting a perfect score on a [[ScrappyLevel certain minigame]]. But you have to try again and again until you get the card, without stopping, or else the door locks itself as you exit. So much for that card, eh? Luckily, the PS version of ''Chamber of Secrets'' averts this entirely by letting you go back to places once you lose access to them. But in the case of the Knockback Jinx upgrade in ''Chamber of Secrets'', it can only be obtained near the end of the game, but go too far and it's LostForever, AND you can't get 100% completion. Ironically, when you get the upgrade, a speech glitch occurs.