SaGa Frontier/Characters

Asellus



 * Alien Blood- Purple.
 * Discount Lesbians - She's gay because of the Charm Lord Orlouge's blood in her veins.
 * Emergency Transformation- After being hit by Orlouge's carriage, she's infused with his blood, turning her into a Half-Mystic and saving her life.
 * Even the Girls Want Her - Largely because of a Charm Person effect.
 * Last First Of Her Kind There is no Half-Mystic other than Asellus.
 * Giant Poofy Sleeves
 * Halfbreed- Hated by humans for being a Mystic, mocked by Mystics for being human.
 * Half-Human Hybrid- Half Human, Half Mystic.
 * Lesbian Vampire - Played straight in the Full Mystic ending, ambiguous and Dark Is Not Evil in the Half-Mystic ending.
 * Mayfly-December Romance:
 * Phlebotinum Rebel: Though she isn't so much actively rebellious as just wanting to go home and live a normal life with White Rose.
 * Power Dyes Your Hair- When she uses her Mystic abilities, 'Mystical Change' activates and adds the stats of the absorbed monsters onto her own-- this change is signified by some glowing, floating, and her hair turning from green to bright blue.
 * Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated- Since the accident happened 12 years before the game started, and not 'yesterday' as she previously believed, Asellus' aunt believed her to be dead.
 * Super Mode - Mystical Change. Borders on a Super-Powered Evil Side, as too much use of this will lead to her getting Drunk On the Dark Side.
 * Theyd Cut You Up- Although it was removed from the game due to time constraints, Asellus was supposed to visit Dr. Nusaken and the Bio Research Lab.
 * Who Wants to Live Forever? - A source of Angst in the  ending where she finds it hard to
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity- In her Full-Mystic ending, she goes mad with power,
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair-It's actually dyed green, although Mystical Change changes it to blue.

Blue


""How...could...you...ever..beat...me?...This...is...un...believe...able.""
 * Bishonen- Fuse actually mistakes him for female in Essence.
 * Cain and Abel - Told to be the Cain of the equation by the Magic Kingdom. Rouge was no doubt told the same thing.
 * Different As Night and Day
 * The Exile- Not allowed to return to the Magic Kingdom until he kills Rouge.
 * Evil Twin: He is Rouge's Evil Twin.
 * Famous Last Words- If he loses the fight with his brother, he says the first part of their shared last words.


 * Jerkass- He just sits in his suite on the Cygnus when it's attacked, refusing to help Red because of his name. On his own quest, if swallowed by Tanzer, he ignores the attack by Nomad's fighters against the other passengers, and abandons Fei-On in Tanzer's stomach.
 * Theme Twin Naming
 * Villain Protagonist
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy / Blond Guys Are Evil- Manages to pull off both of these--His sprite has blond hair, though in all the artwork, it's white like Rouge's. Hair color aside, as for why he fits these, see Jerkass above.

Emelia



 * Clothes Make the Superman - Being an ex-supermodel, Emelia can get stat boosts in her clothes. Two of her four outfits give a minor benefit in a different skill. More specifically, they swap her "Spark Talent List"--that is, the moves she's most likely to learn, with the other ladies of Gradius.
 * Pink Tiger outfit boosts her barehanded attacks by swapping her list with Liza's
 * Bunnygirl outfit was likely meant to boost her magic skills, but has no effect.
 * Belly Dancer outfit boosts her sword techniques by swapping her list with Annie's
 * Soldieress outfit was likely meant to boost her gunplay, (possibly by swapping her hidden gun/magic stat (0) with Roufas (6)) but does has no effect.
 * Emelia Is About To Shoot You- In one piece of her official art.
 * Giant Poofy Sleeves- On her wedding dress
 * Go-Go Enslavement- Her "Sword Dancer" outfit, unlocked when she's forced to join a harem.
 * Impractically Fancy Outfit-
 * Pimped-Out Dress
 * Playboy Bunny- While on her Baccarat mission.
 * Shout Out- Emelia getting forced into a harem in a skimpy belly dancer outfit is like how Leia was forced into slavery by Jabba the Hut in Star Wars.
 * Win Your Freedom
 * Wrongly Accused- Accused of murdering her fiance, Ren. Unfortunately for her, Ren was Fuse's best friend, so he had her thrown into Despair with no trial.

Lute



 * The Alcoholic- Not as bad as Gen, but he has shades of this- He's always found in the Pub in Scrap, and during his story, if you do the quest for the Grail Card, finding the card becomes an afterthought to "Free sake!"
 * All Your Powers Combined - Essence states that his quest was finished last, mainly because he was so busy helping out all the other characters. So they returned the favor and all joined him to finish his quest. All of them.
 * Basement Dweller- Actually starts off his quest because he's tired of being a burden to his mom (read: he gets kicked out.)
 * Cool Big Bro- To Thunder
 * Disappeared Dad
 * Expy- He's not the only friendly traveling bard in a game in the SaGa Series-- The Minstrel in Romancing Sa Ga fits that description as well.
 * Funny Afro
 * Lazy Bum- Starts as of these, and he's forbidden from going back home until he gets a job. His intro outright calls him "shiftless."
 * Magikarp Power- He starts out with, essentially, no abilities to speak of, but can be developed to any level in any direction, and learns skills unusually quickly.
 * Magnetic Hero- Always found in the pub in Scrap, gets the other hero to talk about their self, and winds up joining their team. In his own story, he's genuinely friendly to anyone and gets people to join his team easily. In-game, he's got a very high "Charm" stat.
 * Punny Name- A wandering minstrel named Lute...
 * Walking the Earth- He leaves home in search of adventure. Adventure and a decent job.

Red



 * Anime Hair- A few drug users comment on it, calling him "Cactus Head". Also, Doll finds it easy to find him due to his "hip-hop hairdo".
 * Crutch Character- Alkaiser form. While few non-bosses can stand up to his immense power, ending a battle as Alkaiser voids any stat bonuses that Red would get. Since Red's stats directly influence Alkaiser's, the result can be a very weak superhero.
 * Emergency Transformation- After nearly being killed by Shuzer, he's turned into a superhero by Alkarl in order to save his life.
 * Expy- His appearance appears to be based off that of a character named Red in a little-known Square Soft game called Treasure Hunter G. There's also a Blue in that game, although he looks nothing like this one's.
 * Filk Song: The song Fight! AlkaiserNow sounds like an Anime/Toku Opening theme
 * Henshin Hero
 * Light'Em Up - Many of his moves as Alkaiser use light, either directly offensively or just as added special effects.
 * Only Known By Their Nickname- Word of God says his real name is 'Retsu'.
 * Parental Abandonment- His family is killed by Black X about thirty seconds into his game.
 * Power Glows- Morphing into Alkaiser is accompanied by glowing and a flash of light.
 * Secret Identity- One that, if revealed, will lead to him being Depowered in addition to having his memory erased
 * Superheroes Wear Capes- Even when he's not dressed as Alkaiser.

Riki



 * The Chosen One
 * Dub Name Change- In the Japanese version, he's known as "Coon."
 * Fish Out of Water-
 * Horrible Judge of Character- Justified, he's a little kid who honestly doesn't know any better.
 * Idle Animation-The only character with one. Leave him alone long enough, and he rocks back and forth.
 * Kid Hero- Though his actual age is unknown, he definitely behaves as though he's a kid. Probably in part due to being a Fish Out of Water.
 * Kitsune- A Lummox actually, but the combination of his multiple tails and shape shifting certainly invokes it.
 * Mega Manning- As a monster, it comes with the territory.
 * Ring of Power- Has the "Guardian" ring. In-story, it's the reason Margmel managed to go so long without dying. In-game, it boosts the party's defenses.

T260



 * Heart Drive- T260's "core" apparently functions as one of these, enabling it to swap body types at will. Presumably, it's the same for other Mecs, too.
 * Living Ship- Its original original body, before crash-landing in Junk.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia- T260 cannot remember its original mission.
 * Samus Is a Girl- Sort of. As a mec, T260 is genderless, but it's original body was a ship, and ships are considered female, so...
 * Spaceship Girl
 * Robo Speak- "Affirmative"s, "negative"s, various calculations and repeated instances of Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness make up T260's dialogue.
 * Robot Names- Of the "string of letters and numbers" variety. "T260" actually its model number.
 * Wolverine Claws- on its default body.

Annie

 * Knowledge Broker - She sells Red the location of Shuzer's base and knows her way around Despair, among other things.

Captain Hamilton

 * Amazon Brigade- Her entire crew is female, all orphans who've had their families killed by Trinity.
 * Cool Ship/Cool Boat- She's Captain of the Victoria, an region ship that looks like a pirate ship, complete with large glowing sails.
 * The Good Captain
 * The Lancer - to Lute. Would be a straighter example if she didn't join just before the Point of No Return

"Doll"

 * Code Name- "Icy Doll."
 * Fair Cop
 * Only Sane Employee- Of IRPO
 * Undercover Cop Reveal- Lies to Red at first about why she wants to go to the ruins in Shingrow, just before the fight with Berva, she reveals herself as an IRPO patrol officer.

Fei-On

 * Bare-Fisted Monk
 * Warrior Monk- Even went so far as to shave his head to look the part. He was on his way to Kyo to train before his ship was swallowed by Tanzer.

"Fuse"



 * Casanova Wannabe- It doesn't come up in the game, but in Essence, he's quite the... ineffective ladies man.
 * Code Name
 * Cowboy Cop
 * Dead Partner- Ren, Emelia's fiance, was his partner and best friend from way back in their academy days.
 * Demoted to Extra- Was originally going to be one of the main protagonists, but his quest had to be cut due to disk space.
 * Jerkass- Knocks Red unconscious for talking out of turn, gets Emelia thrown in Despair with little evidence because he doesn't like her, insults Lute a bit... he's not a particularly pleasant individual.
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Connections: Throws Emelia into Despair without a trial, because he's the boss at IRPO and can do whatever he wants.

Gen



 * The Alcoholic- A full-blown drunk. Just sits around getting wasted in Scrap and Junk, and both his status screen and victory pose involve him drinking.
 * Cool Old Guy- Has the personality, and at age 35, he's definitely this to Rose(14) and Thyme(12). To everyone else in-game, he's borderline- none of the protagonists are older than 25 (Lute), and short of Roufas(40) and Capt. Hamilton (48), he's still got 6 years on the next closest character who can join the group.
 * Drowning My Sorrows
 * Drunken Master- A drunken samurai, and possibly the best sword user in-game.
 * Implausible Fencing Powers- He cuts through a rope by using an iron pipe as a sword, although he later claims he didn't use the pipe to cut it. Lampshaded by T260, who Divides By Zero trying to figure it out.
 * The Lancer- to T260G
 * Last of His Kind - He's the last survivor from Wakatu, a region whose inhabitants were slaughtered by Trinity.
 * Master Swordsman

Mei-Ling

 * Chinese Girl
 * Foreshadowing- She warns Riki early on that
 * Noblewoman's Laugh- Never actually heard, but her victory animation has her doing the gesture.
 * The Lancer - to Riki
 * The Lancer - to Riki

Roufas

 * Cool Shades- Never takes 'em off. Not even while cooking. Not even at a wedding.
 * Rated M for Manly-When you run into him at Mu's Tomb looking for the Victory Rune. He'll only join human, male characters who answer with a Testosterone Poisoned "YEAH!!" when asked if Victory is the mark of a real man.
 * My Nayme Is/Spell My Name With an "S"- "Roufas" rather than "Rufus". Possibly (probably) a translation error.

Rouge


""How...could...you...ever..beat...me?...This...is...un...believe...able.""
 * Cain and Abel
 * Different As Night and Day
 * The Exile- Not allowed to return to the Magic Kingdom until he kills Blue. Due to a lack of Gameplay and Story Segregation, he'll actually leave the group if you try to bring him.
 * Famous Last Words- If defeated by Blue, he gives the last bit of their shared last words-


 * Hero Antagonist
 * Theme Twin Naming
 * The Power of Friendship- In Essence, he's able to muster the strength to, because he knew there were people who cared about him outside.

Dr. Nusakan



 * Back Alley Doctor- Runs a small clinic in the backstreets of Koorong.
 * Deadly Doctor
 * Disc One Nuke: Has access to Greater Arcana before completing the Arcane Quest. Including the Death tarot.
 * Expy- Looks somewhat similar to Final Fantasy VII's Dr. Hojo.
 * Loves the Sound of Screaming
 * Minored in Asskicking- Essence states that he's as powerful as a Mystic Lord, but couldn't care less about the Mystic hierarchy. He'd rather continue his morbid research. In game, he has the Death spell, despite it being a high-level Arcane spell and him not having the Gift for it.
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate
 * Nightmare Fetishist
 * Scary Shiny Glasses
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Dark green

Ildon

 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold- Although his heart of gold doesn't show up until near the end of Asellus' game when he rejoins your party following.
 * Oranyan: To Rastaban. He's well aware that Rastaban's completely off his rocker, and doesn't mind snarking bitterly at him whenever they get a scene together, but he does love him.


 * Word of Gay - All There in the Manual, he and Rastaban are together.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Light green

Mesarthim



 * Apologizes a Lot- For perceived disrespect to upper class Mystics.
 * Cast From Hit Points: Her [LifeRain] ability sacrifices her LP to heal the party's HP.
 * Extreme Doormat
 * Happiness in Slavery - She's quite eager to be Asellus' slave when Asellus comes back to her. Averted with the Lord of the Manor; she's not happy at all when he confines her to his house.
 * I Owe You My Life- If Asellus goes back to Owmi for her after the Dark Labyrinth, Mesarthim invokes this trope, insisting that she be Asellus' slave. Incidentally, she also feels this way about the Lord of the Manor, but can't stand the constant smell of humans or her confinement in his shower.
 * Our Mermaids Are Different- They're water mystics.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl

Rei



 * Better to Die Than Be Killed- She threw herself into the fires of Kurenai, so she wouldn't have to live as one of Orlouge's mistresses.
 * Boomerang Bigot- In Asellus' game, the first thing she says is "I smell the foul stench of a Mystic," referring to White Rose, despite she herself being one.
 * Miko- Acts as one at the shrine in Devin.
 * My Hero Zero- "Rei" means "Zero" in Japanese, and she's the only character able to use Mirage magic.
 * Pride- Essence says that her portrait during the battle with Orlouge symbolizes "Pride that bows to none."
 * Reincarnation- Committed suicide to be reborn into human flesh, by using the "cycle of birth".
 * Wise Beyond Their Years- Despite knowing about Time and Space magic, having mastered Mirage magic and her reaction to Asellus and White Rose, she's only 12. Justified, since she's been re-incarnated.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Purple

"Silence"



 * Appropriated Appellation
 * Code Name- As an IRPO agent, it makes sense.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?- He tried to invoke this by attempting to absorb the dimensional beast Tanzer, but failed miserably.
 * Good Wings Evil Wings- As part of his Impractically Fancy Outfit, moth wings appear out of his back when he casts magic.
 * Impractically Fancy Outfit- Somewhat justified since most mystics dress rather fancily. Fuse hates his dress style and even gave him a nickname because of that (see trope below).
 * In-Series Nickname- Fuse calls him "Narcissistic Cosplay Jerk."
 * The Silent Bob- In The Essence of Saga Frontier.
 * The Voiceless- It's rumored that he lost his voice when trying to absorb Tanzer, although Word of God says he's a natural mute. Under the right circumstances, he'll speak in Red's game near the end, but it's in a scene where the second and third members of the group ask Red-as-Alkaiser about where Red is, so it's likely just an oversight or glitch.

"Time Lord"

 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"- No one knows what his true name is- "Time Lord" is just a title he's taken for himself.
 * Power Perversion Potential- Invoked in Essence when he uses Time Leap to allow Fuse to feel up Doll. Unfortunately, since the person is outside of time, they can't be affected by anything, and feel as hard as stone. Unfortunately for Fuse, Time Leap's effect doesn't last very long.
 * Time Master

White Rose

 * Heroic Sacrifice-  White Rose decides that she deserves it as punishment for disobeying Orlogue, and stays so that Asellus and co. may leave.
 * Love Martyr -
 * Nice Hat

Zozma

 * Dark Is Not Evil- Sure, he can use evil magic and looks like Akuma, but he's on Asellus' side and helps her cope with the loss of
 * Dark-Skinned Redhead
 * Walking Shirtless Scene- ...with star-shaped nipple pasties.

BJ&K

 * The Medic- For Humans.
 * Secret Keeper- He recognizes Red as Alkaiser pretty early on, but keeps it secret on pain of being disassembled.

Engineer Car

 * The Medic- For Mecs.

Leonard

 * Brain Uploading- Predicts his own death and backs up his memory for just such an occasion.
 * The Smart Guy

Pzkw V

 * Arms Dealer- Found in the backstreets of Koorong, selling guns smuggled from Trinity.

Rabbit

 * Appropriated Appellation

ZEKE

 * Genki Mec

Cotton

 * Strapped to An Operating Table- Found in the Bio Research Lab, trapped in some sort of chamber being experimented on.
 * The Unintelligible- He speaks in "kyu"s and "myu"s, although Doll and Fuse seem to understand him. More so because Cotton is an IRPO agent.

Kylin

 * Friend to All Children- So much that he created a magical paradise just for them.
 * Papa Wolf- He seems quite jolly until Blue announces he's going to kill him and take his gift of Space Magic.
 * Reality Warper- Due to having the Gift for Space Magic, he was able to create a magical region.

Red Turnip

 * Replacement Scrappy - Discussed when he joins Asellus' party.

King Sei

 * Defeat Means Friendship- If you defeat him after robbing his grave, he offers to join the party.
 * Dem Bones
 * Grave Robbing- He does not take kindly to being awoken by people raiding his tomb.

Suzaku

 * Taken for Granite- Frozen solid in the mountains of Mosperiburg.

Thunder

 * Big Little Brother- Thunder's easily twice Lute's size but still calls him "Big Bro."
 * Disc One Nuke: He can turn into a powerful Trisaur easily, which makes his Ground Hit cause 1000 points of damage to any enemy in range.

Berva

 * The Brute
 * Malevolent Masked Man- Enters the Masked Martial Arts Tournament wearing a domino mask.

Ciato

 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * Blue Blood
 * The Dragon - To Orlouge.

Cindy Campbell

 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Evil Genius

Dr. Klein

 * Eyepatch of Power
 * No-Nonsense Nemesis- Orders Metal Black III to kill Alkaiser before the latter has a chance to rest.
 * Man Behind the Man
 * Rival Turned Evil- To Dr. Okonogi. They went to college together, but Klein "became obsessed with strange and dangerous experiments for a secret organization [...] and was eventually expelled." Okonogi still considers him a friend, wishing only to stop Klein before he commits any more crimes..

Gina

 * Bi the Way
 * Morality Pet - To.
 * Nostalgic Narrator- Narrates Asellus' game in this fashion.
 * Super Empowering-

Lion Princess



 * Action Girl- Even before being turned into a mystic.
 * Blood Knight
 * The Brute: To Orlouge
 * Darkskinned Blonde
 * Red Baron- She's also known as "The Golden Mane"
 * What Happened to The Mouse?:

Hawk

 * Badass Beard
 * The Mentor- To Red
 * Parental Substitute- After Red's family is killed, he takes over as father and employer.
 * The Mentor- To Red
 * Parental Substitute- After Red's family is killed, he takes over as father and employer.

Metal Black

 * Evil Knockoff- Metal Black III is modeled after Alkaiser, and has his own version of Alkaiser's Al-Phoenix, called Dark Phoenix. In fact, MBlackIII's Japanese name is Metal Alkaiser.
 * Pick Your Human Half- Obviously a Mec, but is quite the philosopher.
 * Recurring Boss-
 * Worthy Opponent- Enough that he allows Alkaiser to rest up and outright refuses to attack while he's still weak from fighting the Black X emperors.

Mondo

 * Affably Evil-At first, he seems like a genuinely nice guy- In Emelia's quest, he gives her the Angel Broach, and in Lute's game, he gives him a ride out of Yorkland... he's also the head of Trinity, killed Lute's father, and plans to rule the world with a Humongous Mecha.
 * Galactic Conqueror- Plans to use his Spriggan to conquer the Regions.
 * Humongous Mecha- The Spriggan
 * Rival Turned Evil- He was Lute's Dad's best friend...then he killed him.
 * The Man Behind the Man- Between events in game and happenings in Essence, he's in some way involved in at least five out of the seven stories.
 * Wave Motion Gun- The Spriggan's "Buster Launcher", which does about 1,000 damage to the first person it hits, and 10-100 to everyone else.

Orlouge


"Orlouge: Don't ever question me again.
 * Bad Boss/Villainous Demotivator- After Asellus' escape, Ciato questions the wisdom of not punishing Ildon... and gets hurled around the room for his trouble.

Ciato: Yes, lord..."


 * Blue Blood
 * I Have Many Titles- Charm Lord, Merciless King, Protector of Rose, Ruler of Darkness, Pursuer of Beauty, Supreme Judge, Ruler of Facinaturu, Lord of the Castle, Mystic Lord Orlouge. Phew.
 * Stalker With a Crush- For lack of a better trope, yes. As White Rose puts it, he never lets go of things he has acquired, ever.

Rastaban



 * The Chessmaster- Turns out, he's behind a plot to
 * Dark Chick
 * Wild Card
 * Word of Gay - With Ildon.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Green, blue in game.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Green, blue in game.

Rosemary & Thyme

 * In-Series Nickname- "Rose", rather than Rosemary.
 * Kid With the Remote Control- To T260, Thyme more than Rosemary.
 * Theme Naming - They're both named after herbs.

Ren

 * Sacrificial Lamb

Shuzer

 * Cyborg
 * Luke, I Am Your Father- Although he may just be trying to mess with Red's head, during the battle at his base in Koorong, just before Alkaiser deals the final blow, he claims to have Dr. Okonogi's brain and asks Red/Alkaiser if he could kill his own father.
 * Rocket Punch- He shoots his hands off when he uses the move "Claw Bit". Once every turn they fly back around and attack a character.
 * Swiss Army Appendage- While his hands are detached, the rest of his arms can function as a rail gun, machine gun, or flamethrower.
 * Wolverine Claws

Tanzer

 * Womb Level

Virgil

 * A Glass of Chianti
 * Cool Chair- A golden bat and angel winged throne set atop a massive dragon!
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed- In Essence, he's also referred to as "Fireworks Lord". The artist based his face on her favorite Visual Kei band vocalist- Atsushi Sakurai. Sakurai's band is named "Buck Tick," which is pronounced "bakuchiku," which translates to "Firecracker."

Bio Research Lab

 * Evilutionary Biologist
 * Body Horror
 * Living Forever Is Awesome- Quite a few of the scientists remark on having a "disease-free, immortal body", either by offering you one or having one themselves. They don't even seem particularly bothered by the Body Horror that comes with it.
 * Playing With Syringes
 * Professor Guinea Pig- The majority of the test subjects? The researchers themselves- those that aren't are kept in a basement dungeon.

Black X

 * Highly-Conspicuous Uniform- Of the "all one color" variety. They're color coded by which "Black X Emperor" they serve.
 * Nebulous Evil Organization
 * Slave Mooks-  are would-be tomb robbers who've been captured and forced to join.

The Caballero Family

 * The Mafia- Runs a protection racket in Junk, a factory in Scrap.

IRPO

 * Oddly Small Organization- The only patrol officers are Fuse, Ren, Doll, Silence, Cotton and Rabbit. In Essence Suzaku, Engineer Car, and ZEKE are deputized as well. Fuse also deputizes Red in one instance.
 * Space Police- Although whether the regions are planets or just places is... kind of ill-defined.

Trinity

 * One Nation Under Copyright