Console RPG Cliches 1 to 24: Difference between revisions

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our trope 'castle in the sky' fits 'a magic floating castle' better than 'floating continent'

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Revision as of 18:04, 9 May 2017 (view source) Looney Toons (talk \| contribs) m (removed Category:The Grand List of Console Role Playing Game Cliches; added Category:The Grand List of Console Role Playing Game Clichés using HotCat) ← Older edit		Latest revision as of 18:54, 24 November 2022 (view source) Ilikecomputers (talk \| contribs) m (our trope 'castle in the sky' fits 'a magic floating castle' better than 'floating continent')
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Line 1: {{~~trope~~Just for Fun}} Back to [[The Grand List of Console Role Playing Game Cliches]] Line 10: #'''[[Only One Name\|Some Call Me...]] [[Some Call Me... Tim\|Tim?]]''' ''Good guys will only have [[First-Name Basis\|first names]], and bad guys will only have [[Last-Name Basis\|last names]]. Any bad guy who only has a first name will [[Heel Face Turn\|become a good guy]] at some point in the game. Good guys' last names may be [[All There in the Manual\|mentioned in the manual]] but they will never be referred to in the story.'' #'''[[Nominal Importance\|Nominal Rule]]:''' ''Any character who actually has a name is important in some way and must be sought out. However, if you are [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"\|referred to as a part of a possessive noun]] ("[[Chrono Trigger\|Crono's]] Mom") then you are superfluous.'' <ref>Rather ironically, the example they used has a name. It was excised in translation.</ref> #'''[[Video Game Settings\|The Compulsories:]]''' ''[[Seen It a Million Times\|There's always]] [[Lethal Lava Land\|a fire dungeon]], [[Slippy-Slidey Ice World\|an ice dungeon]], [[Down the Drain\|a sewer]] [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer\|maze]], [[The Lost Woods\|a misty forest]], [[Ghost Ship\|a derelict Ghost Ship]], [[Minecart Madness\|a mine]], [[Underground Level\|a glowing crystal maze]], [[Temple of Doom\|an ancient temple full of traps]], [[~~Floating~~Castle ~~Continent~~in the Sky\|a magic floating castle]], [[Eternal Engine\|and a technological dungeon]].'' #'''[[Science Is Bad\|Luddite Rule]] (or, [[George Lucas]] Rule):''' ''Speaking of which, technology is inherently evil and is the exclusive province of the Bad Guys. They're the ones with the [[Schizo-Tech\|robots, factories, cyberpunk megalopolises and floating battle stations]], while the Good Guys live in [[Arcadia\|small villages in peaceful harmony with nature]]. (Although somehow your guns and/or heavily armed airships are exempted from this.)'' #'''[[Bag of Spilling\|Let's Start From The Very Beginning]] ([[Final Fantasy X-2\|Yuna]] Rule):''' ''Whenever there is a sequel to an RPG that features the same main character as the previous game, that character will always start with beginner skills. Everything that they learned in the previous game will be gone, as will all their ultra-powerful weapons and equipment.'' Line 17: #'''[[Thief\|Garrett's]] [[Kleptomaniac Hero\|Principle]]:''' ''Let's not mince words: you're a thief. [[Swiss Cheese Security\|You can walk into just about anybody's house]] [[Your Door Was Open\|like the door wasn't even locked.]] You just barge right in and start looking for stuff. Anything you can find that's not nailed down ([[8-Bit Theater\|or on fire]]) is yours to keep. You will often walk into perfect strangers' houses, lift their precious artifacts, and then chat with them like you were old neighbors as you head back out with their family heirlooms under your arm. Unfortunately, [[Shoplift and Die\|this never works in stores]].'' #'''Hey, I Know You!''' You will accumulate at least three of these obligatory party members: # [[Rebellious Princess\|The spunky princess]] who is rebelling against her royal parent and is in love with the hero. # [[Mysterious Waif\|The demure, soft-spoken female mage]] and [[The Medic\|healing]] [[White Magician Girl\|magic specialist]] who is not only in love with the hero, but is also the [[Last of His Kind\|last survivor of an ancient race.]] # The tough-as-nails [[Action Girl\|female warrior]] who is ''not'' in love with the hero (note that this is the only female character in the game who is not in love with the hero and will therefore be indicated as such by having a spectacular scar, a missing eye, [[Artificial Limbs\|cyborg limbs]] or some other physical deformity—see The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Rule.) # The [[Bishonen\|achingly beautiful]] [[goth]]y swordsman [[Troubled but Cute\|who is riven by inner tragedy.]] # The big, tough, [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold\|angry guy]] who, deep down, [[Gentle Giant\|is a total softy]]. # The hero's [[The Lancer\|best friend]], who is actually [[Ensemble Darkhorse\|much cooler than the hero]]. # The [[Ineffectual Loner\|grim, selfish mercenary]] who over the course of the game learns [[The Power of Friendship\|what it means to really care about other people]]. # The character who is actually a [[The Mole\|spy for the bad guys]] but will instantly [[Defeat Means Friendship\|switch to]] [[Reverse Mole\|your side]] when you find out about it. # The [[Optional Party Member\|weird bonus character]] who requires a bizarre series of [[Sidequest\|side quests]] to [[Magikarp Power\|make them effective]] (with the ultimate result that [[Tier-Induced Scrappy\|no player ever uses this character if it can be avoided]].) # The [[Team Pet\|nauseatingly cute mascot]] who is [[Joke Character\|useless in all battles]]. #'''Hey, I Know You, Too!''' You will also confront/be confronted by at least three of these obligatory antagonists: # The amazingly good-looking and amazingly evil [[Long-Haired Pretty Boy\|long-haired prettyboy]] who [[Big Bad\|may]] or [[The Dragon\|may not]] be the ultimate villain. # The villain's loyal [[The Dragon\|right-hand man]], who comes in two versions: [[The Imp\|humorously incompetent]] or [[Implacable Man\|annoyingly persistent]]. # The villain's [[Femme Fatale\|attractive female henchman]], who is the strongest and most competent soldier in the army but always lets the party escape because she's, yes, [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter\|fallen in love with the hero]]. # Your former ally who [[Not Quite Dead\|supposedly "died"]] and was forgotten about, until much later in the game when he/she [[Forgotten Friend, New Foe\|shows up again on the villain's side]] and full of [[Wangst\|bitterness]]. # The [[Worthy Opponent\|irritatingly honorable foe]] whom you never get to kill because, upon discovering the true nature of his superiors, he either [[Redemption Equals Death\|nobly sacrifices himself]] or [[Defector From Decadence\|joins your party]]. # The [[Monster Clown\|insane clown]] or jester who will turn out to be [[That One Boss\|surprisingly difficult to subdue]]. # The [[Mad Scientist]] who likes [[Evilutionary Biologist\|creating mutated creatures and powerful weapons 'cause it's fun]] (and also handy if uninvited adventurers show up.) # The [[Killer Rabbit\|adorably cute li'l creature]] or [[Enfant Terrible\|6-year-old child]] who fights you and, inexplicably, [[Surprise Difficulty\|kicks your butt]] [[Hopeless Boss Fight\|time after time]]. #'''Hey, I Know You, Three!''' Furthermore, expect to encounter most of the following obligatory non-player characters (NPCs): # [[Welcome to Corneria\|The townsperson or crewmember who wanders aimlessly in circles and never quite gets where he is going.]] # [[The Guards Must Be Crazy\|Hilariously incompetent or cowardly soldiers.]] # The NPC who has a crush on another NPC and [[Cannot Spit It Out\|can't quite work up the nerve to tell him or her]], so instead tells every other person who wanders by about it at great length. # [[Children Are Innocent\|A group of small children playing hide-and-seek]]. # The [[Reasonable Authority Figure\|wise and noble captain/king/high priest]]. # The wise and noble captain/king/high priest's [[Evil Chancellor\|splutteringly evil second-in-command]]. Nobody, including the hero, will notice the second's constant, crazed scheming until the moment when he [[Et Tu, Brute?\|betrays everyone to the forces of badness]]. # The [[Workaholic\|NPC who is obsessed with his completely mundane job]] and witters on endlessly about how great it is. He's so thrilled by it that he wants to share it with everyone he sees, so given a quarter of a chance he'll make you do his job for him. # The (adult) NPC who has [[Serious Business\|nothing better to do than play kids' games with passersby]]. # The group of young women who have formed a [[Instant Fanclub\|scarily obsessive fan club]] for one of your female party members. #'''[[Chrono Trigger\|Crono's]] Complaint:''' ''[[Heroic Mime\|The less the main character talks]], the more words are put into his mouth, and therefore the more trouble he gets into through no fault of his own.'' #'''[[Heroes Prefer Swords\|"Silly]] [[Final Fantasy VIII\|Squall]][[Heroes Prefer Swords\|, bringing a sword to a gunfight..."]]''' ''No matter what timeframe the game is set in -- past, present, or future -- the main hero and his antagonist will both use a [[Cool Sword\|sword]] for a weapon. (Therefore, you can identify your antagonist pretty easily right from the start of the game just by looking for the other guy who uses a sword.) These swords will be [[Guns Are Worthless\|far more powerful than any gun]] and often capable of [[Sword Beam\|distance attacks]].'' (See also [[Katanas Are Just Better]])