Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories: Difference between revisions

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The game stars Adell, the only person unaffected by a devious curse that has transformed all of the human inhabitants of his home village into heartless demons. The source of the curse is Overlord Zenon, a enigmatic figure who became known as the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|God of All Overlords]] after he [[One-Man Army|slew one thousand Overlords in a single battle]]. Adell's solution to the problem is simple: get his mother to [[Dungeon Bypass|magically summon Overlord Zenon to the village]] and then [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|pound him into submission]].

 

 

Joining Adell are his two younger siblings, Taro and Hanako; Tink, Rozalin's childhood friend who has been [[Baleful Polymorph]]ed into a frog; and Yukimaru, a [[Ninja]] girl who seeks revenge against Overlord Zenon for wiping out her clan, [[Verbal Tic|zam]].

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[A-Cup Angst]]: Hanako wants to try hard to ''undo'' her [[Buffy-Speak|un-bustiness]]. Yukimaru also qualifies.

* [[An Ice Person]]: The snow clan.

* [[Another Side, Another Story]]: Much like Etna Mode in the handheld ports of the first ''Disgaea'' and the downloadable Raspberyl chapters in ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]'', Axel gets his own story.

* [[Baleful Polymorph]]:

** An area-wide version of this forms the premise for the story. In the game, the Dark Sun in the Dark World sometimes has the ability to turn a character into a monster.

** Tink is a victim of this, being turned into a demonic frog. In the good ending, he is eventually returned to normal as a bishonen butler.

* [[BFG]]: Rozalin's "Rose Thorn" special ability uses a [[Gatling Good|chaingun]] to deliver [[Death of a Thousand Cuts|several successive hits]] to a group of enemies with [[More Dakka|a shower of bullets]].

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]:

** Played straight in the manga where Etna deflects an incoming beam from a monster followed up by Laharl and Flonne bursting into the scene with their signature attacks.

** Also played straight (though [[Lampshaded]]) by Axel. In fact, for a [[Noble Demon|self-proclaimed rat bastard]], he sure gets quite a few of these.

* [[Blood Knight]]:

** Adell is the more chipper, fight-happy type.

** {{spoiler|Real Zenon}} was once one, until {{spoiler|s}}he tired of the endless bloodshed.

* [[Bowdlerise]]: The English audio of {{spoiler|the worst ending}} was heavily censored in the US version, resulting in a severely [[That Came Out Wrong|butchered]] impression. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02XfTf874YY Here's the real thing].

* [[Bragging Theme Tune]]: Etna's ''Etna Rock'' and Axel's ''White Tiger''.

* [[Butt Monkey]]:

** Tink, the lecherous frog. He even gets a subpoena from the Dark Court just for ''existing''. Also note his ultimate attack-

* [[Camp Gay]]: The Director, who calls Axel "Axel darling" and refers to him as "the man I fell in love with" in addition to an ''extremely'' gay-sounding voice.

* [[Catch Phrase]]:

* [[Celibate Hero]]: Adell is one, sort of.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: The four leaf clover seal on Rozalin.

* [[The Chew Toy]]:

** Etna when she looses her levels, also, a nice [[Laser-Guided Karma]] in favor of the prinnies.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Taro.

* [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard]]: When you magichange in the remake, you only have 2 turns to wield the monster-weapon (3 if you pass the once-per-resurrection bill for the monster). If the computer magichanges enemy monsters, they keep them forever.

* [[Continuity Nod]]:

** When the Prism Rangers appear in the 2nd game, they note that they can't let their guard down because of what happened last time (Etna shot 2/3 of them during their transformation sequence).

* [[Crossdresser]]:

** Also, the flower monster in Adell's hometown.

*** [[Dropped a Bridget On Him|Named]] [[Guilty Gear|Bridget]]

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Rozalin, though this is powered by a [[Super-Powered Evil Side]].

* [[Cruel and Unusual Death]]: The gruesome death of {{spoiler|Taro and Hanako}} in the worst ending.

* [[Cutscene Power to the Max]]: Laharl blows up the planet in a bad ending.

* [[The Dandy]]: Tink.

* [[Defeat Equals Friendship]]: In several ways. Most of the story characters have to beaten, or at least, foiled first. Downloadble characters (save one) have to be roughed up, and other extra characters that you can get in the [[Updated Rerelease]] are initially [[Bonus Boss]]es. Further, you can capture monsters by tossing them into the Base Panel and whupping the tar out of them.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Rozalin.

** The game takes time to point out that Adell really isn't an [[Idiot Hero]] when he easily unravels the geo puzzle in the colosseum. The explanation given is that just because he prefers to rush in with his fists doesn't mean he's incapable of thinking it out when he needs to.

** It eventually gets revealed that the whole ''point'' of a Dark Hero is to be underhanded, sneaky, and repulsive: in other words, all the qualities that evil just loves. Though, judging from some of the other games, not ''[[Moral Event Horizon|too]]'' [[Even Evil Has Standards|repulsive]].

* [[Disc One Nuke]]: Pleinair. Being Level 100 and using her at Early game will solve till everyone catches up.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: The cause of the entire plot. {{spoiler|Fake Zenon loses a fight to Real Zenon. As revenge, Fake Zenon initiates an incredibly complicated plan that involves tracking down and kidnapping the innocent reincarnation of Real Zenon, then raising her as an air-headed, pompous fool. It's so crazy that it actually works, at least until Adell starts [[Pull the Thread|pulling the thread]]}}.

** Also, if you win the first fight against Laharl, he ''destroys the entire world''.

* [[Double Entendre]]: Etna:

{{quote|You old men are all the same. No stamina. And now us girls have to find our own way to amuse ourselves.}}

** It should also be noted that the Angel who joins up in Axel Mode is affected by abilities and effects that only affect ''male'' characters.

* [[Duel Boss]]: {{spoiler|Rozalin's super powered evil side vs Laharl}}, also serves as the [[Worf Effect]] as he is a base level of 1200.

* [[Empty Promise]]: Adell's parents promised to come back from fighting the [[Big Bad]]. The result? Their dejected son will never break a promise because of it. ''Ever''.

* [[Evil Debt Collector]]: The [[Big Bad]] of Axel's story is a repo man form of this trope.

* [[Exact Words]]: Rozalin is bound to Adell by the strict terms of a summoning ritual.

* [[Expy]]: Adell's dad looks disturbingly like [[Azumanga Daioh|Kimura-sensei]]. [[Scary Shiny Glasses]] included.

** Design-wise, Rozalin bears a lot of resemblance to [[Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure|Etoile Rosenqueen]], both of them being the [[Lonely Rich Kid]] who hides [[More Dakka]] under a [[Pimped-Out Dress]]. Motivation and personality wise though, they're very different.

* [[Fallen Princess]]: Rozalin. She goes from living in a huge mansion being attended to by hundreds of servants to essentially being stuck in the Netherworld version of a small Kansas town running around in the muck.

* [[Fetish]]: When summoning Saphire as DLC in the PSP release, it's noted that since Adell summoned two princesses, he must have a thing for them.

* [[The Fettered]]: Adell.

* [[Five-Man Band]]:

** There's another one halfway through the game where Rozalin says {{spoiler|"...do you suppose he (The real Zenon) may have been tricked by the faker and is imprisoned somewhere...?"}}

* [[Forgot I Could Fly]]: Subverted. Rozalin can fly, but not for long enough to help when she falls off a cliff.

* [[Weirdness Magnet|Freak Magnet]]: Adell, who lampshades it. Several times.

* [[Funny Background Event]]: While Rozalin discusses whether or not to let Adell die in Chapter 3, Adell is busy having a fight on-screen.

* [[Goldfish Poop Gang]]: Axel is a one-man Goldfish Poop Gang.

* [[Got Me Doing It]]: "Why is everyone speaking like her now, zam?"

* [[Gratuitous English]]: In the Prism Rangers bonus battle, Prism Orange parodies this concept by speaking entirely in Engrish. In the original Japanese version, he spoke like a stereotypical foreign Japanophile.

** As well as in White Tiger, Axel's theme.

* [[Guys Smash, Girls Shoot]]: Adell is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, while Rozalin is skilled with guns.

* [[He-Man Woman Hater]]: Adell really doesn't like girls, though {{spoiler|he eventually makes an exception for Rozalin}}.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Adell will protect anyone and ''everyone'' he makes a promise to, no matter what it takes. His shameless sense of honor also works as an in-game combat bonus: his attacks get stronger against enemies at a higher level than him.

** Yukimaru frequently attempts seppuku whenever she thinks she failed her mission. She gets over it.

* [[Hopeless Boss Fight]]: Etna and Laharl during the main storyline.

* [[Hot-Blooded]]: Quite a few characters, but Adell especially. He can even ''set enemies on fire'' through sheer hot-bloodedness.

** Axel deserves specific mention, as well. Manages to roast his director with an explosion caused by his hotbloodedness, plus he's voiced by [[Nobuyuki Hiyama|one of most hotblooded JP VAs around]].

* [[Hot Mom]]: Adell's mom. Just try to ignore that little third-eye thing.

* [[I Am a Humanitarian]]: Adell in the worst ending.

* [[Idol Singer]]: Axel has his own rock band—and film crew!

* [[Immortality Begins At Twenty]]: Unlike the rest of the worlds in the series, demons native to Veldime mature like humans.

* [[Inevitable Tournament]]: Spread across two chapters.

* [[Instant Plunder, Just Add Pirates]]

* [[Insult Backfire]]: Any derogatory statement about Mom's lack of conscience will invariably be met with, "Damn straight, I don't -- Zenon took it. Now either go kick his ass or shut your trap."

** Same for Axel and his little bro. He will willingly give up fame and fortune to tear your ass apart if you threaten him.

* [[Mana Drain]]: Fubuki.

** When asked about why her title is "Beauty Queen" and not "Demon Lord", she claims to have hacked it ages ago.

** When Adell insists that he is going to beat Zenon, Rozalin asks why he's so overconfident; does he have an extremely high level or something?

* [[Mega Twintails]]: The archers get a new hairstyle in this game, which consists of this.

* [[Mythology Gag]]: The entire "Makai Wars" chapter of Axel's story; about a movie that has never been finished the past 100 years.

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: When the game generates a random name for a character, one possibile outcome is '''Deathsatan'''.

** Rozalin is just a snob at times; she honestly cares about Adell's family. As for Adell, well, as Etna puts it; they have one of ''[[Tsundere|those kinds of relationships]]''.

* [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome]]: The story-relevant fight of Level 1000 Etna vs. Overlord Zenon happens completely offscreen.

* [[Ojou]]: Played straight with the [[Tsundere]] Rozalin.

* [[Only Sane Man]]: Adell.

* [[Peninsula of Power Leveling]]: Map 4-3, where nearly half of the map has enemies level up every turn.

* [[Pillars of Moral Character]]: Adell's requirement to live up to all his promises binds him like a ball and chain.

* [[Playing with Fire]]: Adell.

* [[Power Nullifier]]: Yukimaru.

* [[Princess Classic]]: Rozalin partly fits this, at least at first.

* [[Promoted to Unlockable]]

* [[Rainbow Motif]]: The Prism Rangers.

* [[Redemption Demotion]]: When Etna first shows up, she is an extremely powerful boss-type character that's impossible to defeat on most first playthroughs. She reappears later on in the game, but is reduced to level 1 and given crappy equipment, and she forces herself into Adell's party to gain her levels ''back''. Their initial exchange upon her return is rife with [[Lampshade Hanging]]. This can also be subverted using the [[New Game+]] feature which allows for your previous party members to rejoin at the level they were during your last playthrough, how does this affect your series well, if your Etna was at level 9999 and had all the best weapons and armor then she'll rejoin your group in that chapter at this level.

* [[Redheaded Hero]]: Adell.

* [[Restart At Level One]]: Etna, due to a summoning ritual gone bad.

* [[Rule of Symbolism]]: Rozalin's childhood is extremely similar to that of (I kid you not) the Buddha.

* [[Save the Princess]]: Subverted. Axel makes the assumption that Princess = [[Damsel in Distress|Must Be Saved]], even if said princess is with her "captor" willingly (Rozalin). The situation ended in comical pain.

* [[She Is Not My Girlfriend]]: [[Tsundere|Oh yeah?! Well you're not my boyfriend either Adell!]]

* [[Stealth Insult]]: Axel Mode's Evil Pink specializes in this.

* [[Throw the Dog a Bone]]: Axel.

* [[Token Evil Teammate]]: Etna, since you're playing as heroes this time.

{{quote|''Because I loooove being hurt. <3''}}

** It seems he named himself "Main Hero B" just so that the demons would have an excuse to hurt him.

* [[Unknown Rival]]: Axel.

** It makes more sense in Japanese. What she does is add "de gozaru" at the end of every sentence, which is an archaic way of speaking and often crops up with jidaigeki involving ninjas.

* [[Vile Villain Saccharine Show]]: Real Overlord Zenon. Also Adell in the infamous worst ending.

** Axel paraphrases the trope when Taro and Hanako are arguing over a candy bar.

* [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!]]: Rozalin.

* [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]: Adell assumes that he'll be able to beat Zenon despite his low level because he's the only human in Veldime who hasn't been affected by Zenon's curse, and thus he must be the main hero character who triumphs against all odds. {{spoiler|He's wrong in regards to ''why'' he's immune to the curse, but the confidence he gains from his [[Determinator]] attitude certainly contributes a lot to his eventual victory}}.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Strategy RPG]]

[[Category:Fantasy Video Games]]

[[Category:Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories]]

[[Category:Video Game]]

[[Category:Disgaea]]