God of War III

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God of War III was released for Play Station 3 in 2010. Picking up exactly where God of War II left off, it details Kratos and the Titans' assault on Olympus. After killing Poseidon, Kratos is betrayed by Gaia and tossed into the underworld, but escapes and begins to climb Mount Olympus, killing all who stand in his path...

This game officially marks the end of the trilogy, but not the franchise as a whole.

Tropes used in God of War III include:

• Ancient Greece: Meets its demise by the end of the game.
• Anti-Hero: Kratos is a Type V here.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Revealed to be the fate of Athena at the end of the previous game. Thanks to her saving the life of Zeus, she has become an angel-like creature that lives along the River Styx. She's also fully transparent.
• The Atoner: Played straight. Kratos discovers he had the power of hope inside of him the whole time after opening Pandora's box to fight Ares. Owing the now-dead Athena nothing, he kills himself with the Blade of Olympus, letting its power seep into the now-ruined world and leaving Athena disappointed in Kratos.
• Attack of the Monster Appendage: Poseidon, the first boss, is a Type 2.
• Awesomeness Meter: Rage of Sparta.
• Back from the Dead: Kratos in series tradition, which also doubles as the equally-traditional...
• Bag of Spilling
• Berserk Button: Do not make jabs at Kratos's family.
  • Hermes taunts Kratos about how they died by his hands, and becomes an amputee for his troubles.
  • In Hera's garden, Kratos actually tries to go around her and leave, even though she tried to have him killed several times, until she calls Pandora a whore... and you have an over-the-shoulder view facing Kratos as she says it. From this vantage point, you just know she's going to get it.
  • When Zeus brings theme up, Kratos actually lets Pandora go into the flames--something he was trying to desperately prevent--and beats Zeus to undeath.
• Bloodier and Gorier: This game heavily ramps up the carnage, to the point where the studio couldn't release some screenshots on gaming news websites without being censored. They even had an independent engine in place to animate enemies being ripped to pieces and having their organs fall out. Some highlights:
  • Kratos disemboweling a centaur boss, complete with spilling organs
  • Kratos ripping the eyes out of Cyclopes as before, with a much more graphic animation that includes blood flooding out of the socket and sinews hanging from the eye
  • [[Rule of Three|Kratos ripping off Helios's head. Yes, that Helios. And then he uses it as a flashlight.
  • The end result of the fight against Hercules - Kratos defeats the wily and cunning champion, then kills him by punching him in the face. Over and over, and over... and over... until his face stops resembling a face so much as a raw slurry of beef.
  • Think the gutting of centaurs is bad? Just wait till he guts Cronos.
• Book Ends: The first game began with Kratos jumping off the highest mountain in Greece saying "the Gods of Olympus have abandoned me". Near the end of this game, he jumps off a cliff again saying the exact same phrase, while in a vision caused from being killed (temporarily) by Zeus. The Stinger at the end proper a blood trail leading from where Kratos body used to be to the edge of a cliff off Mt. Olympus, setting up for the 2018 entry.
• Brother-Sister Incest: Depends on who you ask. The sex minigame in God of War III is with Aphrodite - if you're of the "Aphrodite is Zeus' daughter" school of thought, then it counts. If you're of the "Aphrodite was born from the foam of Ouranos's severed testicle as it hit the seas" school, then it's averted: Aphrodite would technically be his great-aunt, rather than his sister.
• Bullying a Dragon: Go ahead, Hermes, make fun of the family of a guy known to kill out of spite.
• Cain and Abel: Kratos and Hercules are both Zeus's bastard sons.
• Captain Ersatz: The parallels between Kratos and Hercules are indirectly acknowledged when the latter finally shows up and claims that Kratos is stealing his thunder. Considering that Kratos had already killed the Hydra at that point, he may well be right.
• Chain Lightning: The Nemesis Whip, a chain-whipe that produces lightning and doubles as a Visual Pun on this.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: Pandora's Box.
• Clothing Damage: The God armor he wore in God of War II is absolutely in tatters by now.
• Chekhov's Gun: Kratos takes a brief trip inside Gaia while trying to save her from one of the enlarged Poseidon's claws, passing by her heart as one of Poseidon's attacksopens up a passageway. Three guesses as to where the final fight of the game takes place, and the first two don't count.
• Colossus Climb: Done at the beginning of the game, as Kratos navigates the Titans during their assault on Olympus.
• Combat Commentator: A drunken Hera provides a commentary to Kratos's fight with Hercules, starting with an almost-motherly "Now you boys play nice!"
• Compilation Rerelease: The God of War Collection on PS3 included Updated Rereleases of the two PS2 games, along with a code for unlocking an exclusive God Of War III demo prior to its actual release.
• Curb Stomp Battle: All over the place - the game starts with a Curb Stomp War, as the Gods manage to down a half-dozen of the Titans climbing Mount Olympus within the first ten minutes of gameplay, and the rest more or less are beaten off-screen. Odds are, without Kratos on the Titan's side, the war would have been wrapped up in a half hour with the Gods being victorious. This makes one wonder why the gods were so concerned about them in the first place.
• Cutscene Boss:
  • Hephaestus serves as one after sending Kratos to retrieve the Omphalos Stone from Cronos, then trying to kill him using his ring after completing the Nemesis Whip, only for Kratos to kill him. His godly possession inadvertently lampshades this, as it unlocks a cheat that automatically completes quick-time events for you (which was present in previous games).
  • Helios is one as well. While aiding the minions of Olympus against Kratos and the Titans by throwing fireballs into the area, Kratos used a ballista to damage Helios' Sun Chariot, causing him to fly straight into the hand of Perses, who then crushed Helios and threw into the city. Kratos later finds him here, using a Cyclops to smash through a battalion of Olympus Sentinels that converged on the wounded god, and demands the location of The Flame of Olympus before violently stomping his head, ignoring Helios's pleas to stop. After finally getting the information he wanted out of Helios, Kratos then soldiers through a final attempt to stop him and grabs Helios's head, breaks his neck, and finally tears it off}}.
  • The defining example is Hera. After her champion Heracles tried and failed to kill him, Kratos finds a drunken and plague-weakened Hera in her garden; as he reaches the end of the garden, Hera blocks his way, with Kratos trying to get around her, not in the mood for a fight... right up until she calls Pandora 'that little whore', causing him to lose control and snap her neck - all without any input from the player. Kratos then uses her corpse to weigh down several pressure plates and aid in his escape.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Hades averts the usual stereotypes (minus perhaps greed, if the manuals are reliable) and has genuine reasons to hate Kratos, as well as there being implications that all of his less likable traits are the fault of Pandora's Box. Some of the Titans arguably qualify as well, since Zeus was the one with the brilliant idea of punishing them forever for "the sins of just one" (justified though it may be).
• Dark Messiah: Kratos is this by the time the game ends.
• Death by Irony: In ancient Greece, worshipers of Hades would knock their heads on the ground so the god of the underworld would hear them. What does Kratos do to Hades immediately before stealing his soul?
• Death by Sex: Inverted. Aphrodite, the hostess of the sex minigame, is the only Greek God in the games spared of his wrath (though she likely dies in the collapse of Olympus anyway). To be fair, Kratos consistently maintained that if the Gods would stay out of his way on the path to kill Zeus, he would leave them alone. Most of the gods did not oblige.
• Death of the Old Gods: Effectively the end result of Kratos's rampage.
• Decapitation Presentation: Kratos with the head of Helios.
• Depth Perplexion: An entire puzzle is made out of this in Hera's Garden. When you activate a switch, a green filter appears on the screen, causing the camera to zoom away as stairways that are only adjacent by perspective become connected for real. This allows you to reach the top of the garden without having to perform a single jump.
• The Dev Team Thinks of Everything: During the beginning of God of War II, when you are still allied with the gods, the save screen says "Zeus has given you the opportunity to save your progress"; later in the game, that named is changed to Gaia. In this game, when Kratos is essentially waging his own war on his own terms, there is no message.
• Disappointed in You: Athena says this to Kratos when he runs himself through with the Blade of Olympus, giving the power of hope to the remaining humans instead of her.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The hilariously suggestive sex minigame - given where the half-circle-up is, it does rather suggest Kratos takes an unholy amount of time getting out of the practically nothing he's usually almost wearing.
• Driven to Suicide: Kratos does this at the end of the game. Originally a case of Never Found the Body, God of War (2018) reveals it was a more metaphorical act, with Kratos trying to start a new life.
• Dual-Wielding: Kratos's standard Blades of Chaos and the Claws of Hades.
• Dying Alone: Kratos. Or did he? God of War (2018) decisively answers that with a no.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: When Helios' plea for his life ends in vain, he out of nowhere screams "FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN!!!" and shines so bright that nothing can be seen. Doesn't stop him from losing his head.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Arguably the case here.
• Eldritch Abomination: Poseidon's aquatic form.
• Elemental Powers
  • Light'Em Up: What Kratos uses the head of Helios for.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: The Nemean Cestus has a magical "roar".
  • Making a Splash: Divine Reckoning, the magic ability for the Blades of Athena at the beginning of the game.
  • Shock and Awe: The Nemesis Whip.
• The End of the World as We Know It: What Kratos' actions lead to, for the ancient Greek world anyway.
• Escort Mission:
  • At one point, Kratos must drag "Poseidon's Princess" along with him in order to use her to jam a gear mechanism so that he can make it through a door, leaving her to be very painfully crushed.
  • Surprisingly averted with Pandora. While you help her get to Pandora's Box, she only needs dire protection from enemies maybe twice. She is quite competent at avoiding enemy attacks, which is great due to the major enemy rushes that happen.
• Essence Drop: As with previous entries: red orbs for experience, blue for magic and green for health.
• Evil Gloating: This ends up being Hercules's undoing. He actually manages to knock Kratos out, but he stops to boast to Hera. Kratos comes to and takes this opportunity to steal the Nemean Cestus from him, subsequently beating his face to a bloody pulp.
• Exploding Barrels: There are exploding oil pots that can be ignited by the Bow of Apollo.
• Extreme Melee Revenge: The end of the final boss fight with Zeus - and the game lets you carry it on for as long as you want. It's glorious (and there's an Achievement in it too).
• Eye Scream: Kratos's standard Finishing Move against Cyclops enemies returns. He also ends up doing it to {{spoiler|[[Holy Shit Quotient|Poseidon}} in a Shaky POV Cam Quick Time Event - which fittingly uses the thumb sticks.
  • At a few points during the battle with Cronos, Kratos is required to blind him by giving him a burst of sunlight from Helios' head.
• Fake Skill: The "New Game+" glitch in the 3rd game.
• Fantastic Light Source: Kratos uses Helios's head as a lantern.
• Fighting Down Memory Lane: During his final battle against Zeus, Kratos goes through all of the evil he's committed over the course of the series, showing that Kratos really did feel guilt for what he did deep down.
• Fingore: Kratos rips one of Kronos's fingernails off during the fight with him. The sheer crudeness of it makes even the toughest gamers cringe and shiver, but compared to what Kratos does to Kronos later on in the fight, that is pretty tame.
• Five-Bad Band: The gods definitely qualify.
  • Big Bad: Zeus, oh so very much.
  • The Dragon: Poseidon kills a Titan in one shot, holds back the rest, and would have killed Gaia if Kratos hadn't stopped him. Helios acts as a Co-Dragon of sorts, and would have killed Perses had Kratos not intervened - he also seems quite determined to not let Kratos kill Zeus, despite his apparent cowardice.
  • The Brute: Hades relies more on hitting Kratos with his chain blade things than anything else, and his second form relies on nasty physical attacks.
  • Evil Genius: Hermes, who delivers a nasty Hannibal Lecture to Kratos, and is smart enough not to directly confront him... at first, anyway.
  • Dark Chick: Hera, who never actually fights.
  • Sixth Ranger: Hercules, who's not actually a god but fights Kratos at Hera's insistence, both out of a desire for godhood himself and because he's terribly jealous of Kratos' success.
• Fixed Camera
• Foe-Tossing Charge: Kratos can do this when he grabs an enemy, using their body as a battering ram as he dashes through enemies. After running for a while, he'll simply toss the body, or slam their head into a wall if he hits one.
• Follow the Plotted Line: Justified. Kratos is in search of Pandora's Box and knows it is somewhere on Olympus - given how important the temple where it was stored was to Zeus and the other gods (it's where they were watching the Titans attack the mountain from), it was really only a matter of time.
• Fragile Speedster: Hermes.
• Full-Frontal Assault: Several topless female monsters, such as the usual Gorgons and Harpies.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Icarus' Wings alternate between Cutscene Incompetence and Cutscene Power to the Max. At the beginning of the game, Kratos doesn't think about using them before falling into the Styx (though he likely would've been shot down regardless). In several cutscenes afterwards, he uses them to actually fly, while you can only glide in gameplay. You do get a couple of actual flying segments though - once using a powerful updraft, and again by skydiving down the same tunnel.
• Get Back Here Boss: The majority of your encounter with Hermes is simply chasing him down; since he's the speedy messenger of the gods, he delights in dashing about making fun of you. Once you manage to knock the wind out of him, he barely puts up a fight to speak of—chasing him down was the real contest.
• Gorn: A series standard, taken Up to Eleven in this game.
• Gotterdammerung: The developers have said that God of War III will explain why Greek myths aren't around anymore. Indeed, Kratos proves to be a one-man apocalypse that brings down the entire Greek pantheon.
• Ground Pound: One of the moves available with the Blades of Chaos, and Hercules is also capable of this.
• Hannibal Lecture: In the path of the Caverns, Hermes completely deconstructs Kratos, who can only listen. Before his death, Hermes gives a big one to Kratos, and later on it's revealed that it actually registered on Kratos, something Zeus made use of during his mental attack on Kratos.
• Harder Than Hard: Chaos difficulty.
• Heel Face Turn: Kratos goes through a gradual one over the course of the game. While he's still not a great person, he becomes noticeably more concerned for his fellow man by the end. Thanks, Pandora.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Pandora. Also a Tear Jerker given how hard Kratos tries to stop it. The fact that her sacrifice turned out to be completely meaningless only worsens the blow. Kratos eventually performs one and (seemingly) kills himself, which ruins Athena's plans and gives hope to the world.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Hades has his soul devoured by his own weapons, and Hercules' head is caved in with the Nemean Cestus.
• Homage: The Labyrinth in the third game reminds one of Cube.
• Ms. Fanservice: Aphrodite, of course, it's literally her divine domain.
• Rule of Three: This being the third game, various tropes and motifs end up qualifying.
• Soul Power: The Claws of Hades lets Kratos summon the souls of various enemy monsters.