The term was coined in the 1995 role-playing video game Chrono Trigger,[1] but examples can be found in earlier games, such as Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, The Legend of Zelda, Ghosts 'n Goblins, and Super Mario Bros.[citation needed].
Key items that are related to the story are normally removed so they cannot ruin the game's progression, and are given back to the player at the time they are needed; likewise, characters that the player acquires throughout the story will also not appear until their scheduled place and time, but will get the enhanced stats from the previous playthrough.
In Astro Boy: Omega Factor, the player uses the game's Stage Select mechanism, explained in-story as a form of time travel, to avert disaster, while in Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, the player defeats three different final bosses, one in each playthrough, to access the true ending.
This includes unlocking new characters, such as in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night; new areas, such as in Parasite Eve; new items, such as in the Metal Gear series; new challenges, such as in the .hack series, or new weapon and armor upgrades, like in God of War II's Bonus Mode and God of War (2018)'s New Game+ mode.
[4] Final Fantasy XIV is a MMORPG with an extensive story line called the "main scenario quest" or colloquially the "MSQ".