Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Yellow Brick Road

 Yellow Brick Road
type
FeatureClass
 Yellow Brick Road
label
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road
page
YellowBrickRoad
 Yellow Brick Road
comment
This is the pathway a character has to travel along to get to their ultimate goal. Deviating from the path is not an option, and even if you attempt to do so for any brief period or for any reason, inevitably you'll have to go back onto the path to complete the journey's chief objective.
It doesn't have to be a literal pathway, but can refer mainly to the route that a character needs to travel along to get from start to finish. Also note that there aren't multiple goals to be fulfilled beyond the end of the journey; the journey's end is just that.
Not related to No Sidepaths, No Exploration, No Freedom, which focuses mainly on videogames' design; this trope focuses on linear storylines within all media.
Compare Stay on the Path and But Thou Must!. Contrast Screw Destiny.
If the ultimate goal of the story is to get the character home, that's The Homeward Journey. If the destination is a place of legend, that's The Promised Land. If this is the only way to get to the villain's lair, it's Walk into Mordor.
 Yellow Brick Road
fetched
2023-06-17T17:15:26Z
 Yellow Brick Road
parsed
2023-06-17T17:15:26Z
 Yellow Brick Road
processingComment
Dropped link to TropeNamer: Not an Item - UNKNOWN
 Yellow Brick Road
processingComment
Dropped link to ZigZagged: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Yellow Brick Road
processingUnknown
TropeNamer
 Yellow Brick Road
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Yellow Brick Road / int_1b7ca727
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_1b7ca727
comment
The Stanley Parable: At one point the narrator gets so frustrated with the player's refusal to play the game in his way that he creates "The Stanley Parable Adventure Line" which is simply a thick yellow line which the player must follow.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_1b7ca727
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_1b7ca727
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Stanley Parable (Video Game)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_1b7ca727
 Yellow Brick Road / int_2a54016d
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_2a54016d
comment
The Mississippi River functions as this in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At first, they were floating down to reach Cairo, Illinois, from whence they could sell the raft and buy tickets up the Ohio into the free states, but after they miss Cairo in a fog, they keep heading south...kinda just because.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_2a54016d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_2a54016d
featureConfidence
1.0
 TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_2a54016d
 Yellow Brick Road / int_45599333
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_45599333
comment
Slave.In.Utero's Tower of God knows only one way. Up, from testing area to testing area.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_45599333
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_45599333
featureConfidence
1.0
 Tower of God (Webcomic)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_45599333
 Yellow Brick Road / int_5fa33285
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_5fa33285
comment
Labyrinth: Although she is of course running around (and often getting lost) in a deadly maze, Sarah has only one goal: to find Toby in the center of the labyrinth and every step she takes is to try to get her further towards that goal.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_5fa33285
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_5fa33285
featureConfidence
1.0
 Labyrinth
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_5fa33285
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7134bf0d
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7134bf0d
comment
One Shot initially wasn't messing around with its title; if the player closed the game at any point before the end, its main character would die. The game would modify the player's computer to ensure that it couldn't be replayed after this. Averted in version 1.003 of the RPG Maker version, in which the player is given another chance if this does happen. This mechanic was replaced with an autosave in the updated re-release.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7134bf0d
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7134bf0d
featureConfidence
1.0
 OneShot (Video Game)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_7134bf0d
 Yellow Brick Road / int_721e57f2
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_721e57f2
comment
C.S. Lewis's The Pilgrim's Regress has the same basic theme, except most of the book consists of deviations from the path, with the justification that the protagonist can only clearly see the part already traveled. Once finally accepting divine guidance and correction, the remainder of the path is clear and easily traversed. Whether the added parts of the journey were worth it in the end is ambiguous.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_721e57f2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_721e57f2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Pilgrim's Regress
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_721e57f2
 Yellow Brick Road / int_791fca45
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_791fca45
comment
BioShock 2: Maps of the Atlantic Express essentially plot out the entire game.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_791fca45
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_791fca45
featureConfidence
1.0
 BioShock 2 (Video Game)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_791fca45
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7df661c5
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7df661c5
comment
No Straight Roads rather ironically is set up like this; the near-entirety of Vinyl City's hub is vertically laid out to end on the NSR Tower seen at the edge of it.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7df661c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_7df661c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 No Straight Roads (Video Game)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_7df661c5
 Yellow Brick Road / int_9e2f90f4
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_9e2f90f4
comment
A variation of this takes place in One Piece: the ultimate goal for all pirates searching for the titular treasure is Raftel, the last island in the Grand Line, where Gold Roger is believed to have hidden the treasure. Each pirate crew's navigator has a Log Pose (a compass worn on the wrist like a watch) that points out the direction to the next island along the journey...but it's a variation because there are several winding paths along the Grand Line beginning from Reverse Mountain, all of which have in common Raftel as the final stop. Therefore, the specific pathway that the Straw Hats have been traveling from Reverse Mountain is just one of several routes they could have sailed.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_9e2f90f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_9e2f90f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 One Piece (Manga)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_9e2f90f4
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b0bd1e3d
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b0bd1e3d
comment
Lemmings 3D has a level called "Follow The Yellow Brick Road", where you have to do just that.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b0bd1e3d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b0bd1e3d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Lemmings (Video Game)
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_b0bd1e3d
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b8b2e6aa
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b8b2e6aa
comment
Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings: The Care Bears have to follow a specific trail to Coldheart Castle and can't stray from it, even with all the obstacles in the way.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b8b2e6aa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_b8b2e6aa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_b8b2e6aa
 Yellow Brick Road / int_beacc602
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_beacc602
comment
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Stick to the straight and narrow, or you will regret it. Even leaving it for an easier road that parallels it is bad, as Christian is quick to find out.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_beacc602
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_beacc602
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Pilgrim's Progress
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_beacc602
 Yellow Brick Road / int_c07374f4
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_c07374f4
comment
In both Jumanji and Zathura, once the protagonists have started playing the eponymous games, they must play the game all the way through in order to escape and undo the damage done.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_c07374f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_c07374f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Jumanji
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_c07374f4
 Yellow Brick Road / int_ec28245c
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Yellow Brick Road / int_ec28245c
comment
The Snake Way in Dragon Ball Z could be seen as this. Goku had to travel along this path to get back to Earth from the afterlife in time to fight the Saiyans. The anime added some filler episodes about him falling off the path and having to find a way back and finding a rest stop at the halfway point that turns out to be a trap where he is tempted to abandon his journey and finds himself in the belly of a snake when he refuses.
 Yellow Brick Road / int_ec28245c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Yellow Brick Road / int_ec28245c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dragon Ball Z
hasFeature
Yellow Brick Road / int_ec28245c

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Yellow Brick Road
processingCategory2
Plots
 Jumanji / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Labyrinth / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Zathura / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Jumanji / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 The Pilgrim's Progress / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Zathura / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Tropes T to Z / Real Life / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Star Trek: Voyager / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Final Fight (Video Game) / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Streets of Rage Remake (Video Game) / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Umineko: When They Cry (Visual Novel) / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Brony D&D (Web Video) / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Tower of God (Webcomic) / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road
 Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings / int_72065868
type
Yellow Brick Road