All The Tropes

Console RPG Clichés: The All The Tropes Version: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Console RPG Clichés: The All The Tropes Version (view source)

Revision as of 06:41, 8 April 2014

150 bytes removed ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (Mass update links)
Line 17:
# '''[[Alpha Protocol|Front Door Corollary:]]''' Regardless of how easy stealth is, [[Useless Useful Stealth|you may as well just fight your way through.]]
# '''That Which We Don't Kill Doesn't Make Us Stronger:''' No one ever gets [[Experience Points]] for avoiding enemies or having them run away. Might as well just kill everything.
# '''The Cutscene Director has a Magic Fetish:''' Magic is always [[Cutscene Power to Thethe Max|cooler in the intro movie]] for the game or for the (admittedly rare) cutscene where someone casts a spell, ''unless'' there are 'ultimate' spells. (Includes [[Summon Magic|summoning]].)
# '''Rule of [[One Hit KO]]:''' Bullets, arrows, swords, and other common weapons will [[Cutscene Power to Thethe Max|always kill during a cut scene, even if they don't anywhere else.]]
# '''[[No Sneak Attacks|Fair Play for Suckers Rule]]:''' If you see the villain standing before you, you have to go up and talk to him, [[Violation of Common Sense|no matter how obviously it is a trap]]. [[Combat Pragmatist|Bombarding him with spells and melee weapons from out of range of whatever he had planned]] is never an option.
# '''[[Persona 4 (Video Game)|Yosuke's Lament:]]''' Your character will ''[[Nobody Poops|never]]'' [[Bottomless Bladder|need to use a bathroom]], and sleep and eating are completely optional.
# '''Astroturf Clause:''' No matter what you do in battle while in a forest you'll never set the forest on fire. You can cast massive fireballs, pull meteorites from the heavens, or summon a planet-sized dragon to assault your enemy with a [[Wave Motion Gun]] from space, but those trees just aren't going up.
# '''Revenge of the Architects:''' A 10-foot high cliff is a more [[Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence|impassable barrier]] than an adamantine door engraved with runes of power. Apparently in the excitement of mastering apocalyptic magics, [[Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training|no one bothered to invent the stepladder]].
# '''Level 1 Hero, Level 50 Rock Climber:''' Similarly, the only mountain-climbing allowed involves no gear whatever. Mountains are essentially big staircases, and you just need to pull yourself from ledge to ledge.
# '''Beelzebombed:''' Summoning dark forces (Demons, Devils, [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]], etc) never works. Despite this, the evil wizards keep trying, lured by promises of fame, wealth and power, and generally [[Evil Is Not a Toy|wind up dead instead]].
# '''Rules of Romance:''' If the game has a romantic subplot, the protagonist will end up with his [[Hair of Gold|blonde]] [[Victorious Childhood Friend|childhood friend]] (who probably is also a [[White Magician Girl]], and very meek, which is how [[Stay in Thethe Kitchen|women apparently should be]]). If the game lets you choose between various characters, one of them will be your blonde childhood friend, but [[What the Hell, Player?|the game will tell you you're a bad person]] if you [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|don't choose her]], no matter how [[Not Blood Siblings|incestuous]] you may feel in doing so. The other options will be the [[Black Magician Girl]] and maybe a [[Lady of War]]. But [[Three Faces of Eve|there will always be three]], and very seldom a [[Gay Option]].
# '''Organ-Filled Punching Bag:''' At least one female character will see it as her duty to [[Armor-Piercing Slap|slap]] male characters when they do something she deems silly or stupid. [[Abuse Is Okay When Its Female On Male|No one thinks any less of her for it]].
# '''Back to Prohibition:''' Hardened [[Pirate|pirates]], [[City Guards|city guardsmen]], and dastardly thieves all have one thing in common: they drink nothing stronger than [[Frothy Mugs of Water|fruit juice]].
Line 32:
** [[Thief|I guess if you're rich enough, you can build any kind of madhouse to live in]].
# '''Reality Is A Shonen Series Theorem:''' The protagonist will always be a clean-shaven, brown-haired or blond lad who spends most of his time looking determinedly ahead and smiling a big stupid grin. All of his reactions will be bizarrely exaggerated.
# '''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Yuan's Surprise:]]''' If it is a JRPG, At least one major character (usually a protagonist, if not the main character, but sometimes applies to villains as well) will have [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|blue hair]].
# '''Narcolepsy:''' The revelation of unexpected news will cause a character (or, for a bigger [[The Reveal|reveal]], your entire party) to [[Face Fault|fall over]].
# '''Politeness Is For Troublemakers:''' Whenever anyone blames your party for something, they will barely apologize once you've [[Clear My Name|cleared your name]], and certainly won't offer any kind of restitution for the punishment you've endured.
Line 50:
#'''Inverse Law of Rewards''': The reward for succeeding at something in an RPG is inversely proportional to how trivial the task was. Defeating the vampire that was holding the village hostage might get you some gold, [[Dude, Where's My Reward?|if you're lucky]], whereas the path the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] will be a reward for tasks like racing with children and finding lost chickens.
** '''Inverse Corollary of Accessibility''': However, the hard, non-trivial, non-rewarding quests can easily be seen and stick out like a sore thumb, whereas the easy, trivial, very much rewarding quests will require a [[Guide Dang It|lot of investigation]] to even find out. The secret cabal of vampires that gives you nothing can be seen from your house. The location of the chicken race (and its existence) that has no reason to be kept secret is a mystery wrapped in an enigma.
#'''[[Rock Beats Laser|Law of Military Research]]''': A weapon will always do more damage the more primitive it is. Player characters wielding guns will be completely useless with them, and will likely fill magical support roles, while characters wielding swords, axes, hammers, clubs, or even their bare fists will always hugely outclass supposedly superior weapons, up to and including [[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|galaxy-destroying super lasers]].
#'''Law Of Conservation Of Diligence''': Although sneaking past guards requires nothing more than avoiding a few obvious spots or staying out of their line of sight, if you break these simple rules, you will ''[[Can't Get Away Withwith Nuthin'|always]]'' be caught. It doesn't matter if you are [[Invisibility|invisible]], [[Baleful Polymorph|polymorphed into a rat]], [[Dude, Where's My Respect?|a legendary hero who has already saved the world]], or [[Dressing Asas the Enemy|wearing the exact same outfit as the guards themselves]] - unless it's a cutscene or an NPC specifically told you that ''this'' time those tactics would work, the guards will not only see through your disguise, but address you just as if you had taken no measures to hide yourself at all.
#'''The Valor Of The Defeated''': Except for the rare boss who changes sides or escapes at the last minute, all fights will be to the death. A single mugger, standing over the bodies of seven of his felled colleagues, will still fight against a team of god-slaying juggernauts until his last breath. Surrender can never be offered, and would presumably be rejected out of hand, anyway.
#'''[[Trippy Finale Syndrome|Spiraling Vortex of Terror]]''': Either the final battle, location, or next-to-last cutscene of the battle you just took place in will be in a location that is either completely destroyed, a kind of space-time vortex, or the mid-between of a portal that connects the human world with the generic-evil "other world" that the villain is drawing his/her power. Note: No matter what the location, those inside of "location x" will still be able to breathe, walk, and function normally unless specified otherwise.
Line 61:
#'''Makin' Use of Instinct''': If the main character is [[Half-Human Hybrid|any part Fantastic Race and any part human]], expect them to fall victim to any and every one of the "natural instincts" of that non-human at least twice in the story, more if they don't know about their mixed heritage.
#'''Anger Leads To Asskicking:''' If the main character has skills with either a weapon or combat magics, and anger issues, expect a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]], [[Foe-Tossing Charge]], or [[Curb Stomp Battle]]/[[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]. Shouts of "[[This Is Unforgivable!]]" are optional.
# '''Emotional Stability is For Wimps ([[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Cloud]] and [[Final Fantasy VIII (Video Game)|Squall]] Rule)''': The [[Dark and Troubled Past|emotional baggage a character has]] contributes directly to the badassery they possess.
# '''[[We Buy Anything|The Shopkeeper's Holding Out On Them]]''': Regardless of how destitute a town is the shopkeepers can still afford to buy your insanely valuable equipment from you for the same price as the shopkeeper in the richest city in the world.
** Justified by '''The Deskjob From Hell'''. That many hours has got to give you a good pay check.
Line 70:
# '''The Second Rule of Red''': Redheads in RPGs come in two temperaments: Brash and [[Hot-Blooded]], or shy and soft-spoken. The former is especially true if said redhead wields a sword.
# '''The Third Rule of Red''': Fire is always associated with deep red colors, even though real flames are often orange-red, and can also be yellow, blue, or white.
# '''Maturity Is Breast Size''': In the event that one of your female party members is considered mature by virtue of being a few (like, three) years older than the hero, she will invariably have large breasts -- which [[A -Cup Angst|the other female members will consistently express envy over]].
** '''Maturity Equals Nymphomania''': Said "mature woman" often prefers nothing more than to [[The Tease|continually flirt with the male lead]].
# '''The [[Disc One Nuke|Single-Disc]] [[Game Breaker]]''': A certain piece of equipment (usually body armor or an accessory) that, once acquired, makes an upcoming stretch of the game significantly easier.
Line 79:
Sandbag Enemies appropriate to your location and level, that [[Goddamned Bats|you still wouldn't want to have to deal with for a whole dungeon]]<br />
Said hallway itself neither contains anything else of interest or must be traversed to proceed with game. }}
# '''Rewarding Munchkinism (a.k.a. The [[Final Fantasy I (Video Game)|Melmond]] Effect)''': If a shop sells Single-Disc [[Game Breaker|Game Breakers]], expect the next storyline-related dungeon to have a Hall of Gigas.
#'''The Back-Attack Principle''': Preemptive strikes on the enemy are as simple as sneaking up on them from behind. Likewise, all the enemies have to do to ambush you is touch you from behind, on the sides, or [[Camera Screw|where your view of your map character is obscured by the scenery]].
#'''You Can Go Home Again''': If a character in your party was [[You Can't Go Home Again|banished from his homeland]], you'll almost definitely have to go there to get some plot-important item. Half the time, he'll end up redeeming himself in the eyes of his people. The other half, he'll spout off [[An Aesop]] about how it's important not to let others' opinions of you dictate your life.
Line 95:
# '''Medina law ''': A city where the people hate you will invariably sell goods for exorbitant prices, fair trade be damned. However, even if you are the one ruler of a city you will still have to pay for everything with your money.
# '''[[Kartia the Word of Fate|Rimzan's Maxim]]''': The [[Guest Star Party Member]] loses a lot of usefulness when he formally joins your party.
# '''[[Final Fantasy Tactics (Video Game)|The Calculator Theorem]]''': By the time you get the necessary pieces in place to get a [[Game Breaker]] setup for your team, you've either a) almost reached the end of the game or b) deliberately ignored about twenty other, easier methods for domination.
# '''Rule of "Not It":''' Your party will be blamed for something, at some point. If not your party, you. If not you, a single person or pair from the party, possibly the/a love interest. If nobody from your party is blamed, look for a person on your side with a [[MacGuffin]], and wait for them to be blamed. No matter what, blaming on your side will happen. Do note that the enemy will never be blamed, only captured, if that.
# '''Law of Summon Magic Utility:''' If you have a summoner/the ability to summon there is a good chance that at least one summon is good for nothing at all aside from one plot event, repeatable as needed, and you will not feel like the summon saved you, you will feel annoyed because it was necessary. If all summons for the plot actually do have usefulness in combat at any point, then at least one summon will actually be worse than a common spell.
Line 105:
# '''[[The Load|Mandatory Useless Party Member]]:''' In any game where party members are selectable, 100% of the time there will be at least one party member too weak to ever use, thus most of the time you will not, and 100% of the time the game will force you to use them.
** '''[[Breath of Fire 3|Peco's Addendum]]:''' There's always one character who ''really'' seems like they'd be useless, but train them up and they'll solo the game for you.
** '''[[Final Fantasy IX (Video Game)|Quina's Corollary]]:''' In the absence of (or, heaven forbid, in addition to) the above characters, you will have [[Difficult but Awesome|a character who will have exceptional skills and be incredibly dangerous in good hands,]] [[Lethal Joke Character|but is incredibly awkward or out of place for the setting.]] You'll be forced to use them too.
# '''Warrior Girls are Bachelorettes:''' No Warrior Girl will have a romantic relationship with anyone in a game unless they are the main character, and even then the odds are slim.
# '''[[Never Found the Body|No Body = No Death]]:''' No character, hero or villain that falls off a cliff, gets caught in a [[Death Trap]], is at the center of a big explosion, etc. and does not leave a body behind is not dead, no matter how unlikely their survival.
Line 112:
# '''[[Magnetic Hero|Heroes Attract]]:''' Heroes will recruit numerous people to their cause like flies to honey, often as party members, including people that are nothing like them and that wouldn't make sense for them to get together.
# '''[[All Swords Are the Same]]:''' All weapons of a specific type will perform and look exactly the same.
# '''[[Pokémon (Franchise)|Viridian City's Hex]]:''' Regardless of how many times you have played games in a franchise, no matter how little the system has changed over the years, in completely indifference to the [[New Game+|5 plus signs on the file]], you will still be required to watch the tutorials at the beginning.
# '''Gotta Buy 'em All:''' Owning an older game in the series will be required for [[Hundred-Percent Completion]], due to ''that one item'' given as an [[Old Save Bonus]]. <ref>The most infamous offender is [[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]], hence the name, but Game Freak isn't the only company doing this.</ref>
# '''Heroic Presence=Everybody's incompetence:''' Despite all indications to the contrary prior to this, a empire/kingdom/organization/some guy on the street/etc.'s competence is inversely proportional to the amount of heroes in the given area at any given time. As a result, the now incompetent people will get the hero to do a bunch of tasks they should be more than capable of doing themselves.
# '''Good Guys=Good Guns Bad Guys=Bad Guns:''' If guns are used by both sides, the hero's guns will be far more effective and they will be far more skilled in their use than trained and (one would think) far better funded and equipped soldiers of the villain's side, even if the hero has never picked up a gun at any time in their lives before the beginning of the story.
# '''Scooby's Axiom:''' Any problem in the known world, from a missing apple to quarreling lovers to the impending apocalypse, can and most likely ''will'' be solved by a bunch of meddling kids.
# '''The Odd Inhuman Out''': At least one member of your party will be some sort of monster race, whether they be a [[Final Fantasy X|Cat Person with Horns]] or a [[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Robot]], there is usually at least one. They are either stoic and never speak, or completely awkward and often Comic Relief.
----
 
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/885519"