Heroic Fantasy: Difference between revisions

Tends to be distinguishable from [[High Fantasy]] by its scale—the problems are generally those of the hero, not the world—and moral standards—absolute evil and absolute good make fewer appearances. (Well, absolute good makes fewer. Absolute evil, in the form of a [[Religion of Evil]] or the like, makes a convenient foe.) Also by its tendency to be an endless series of adventures, partly because the smaller scale makes it more plausible, and partly because the heroes are very prone to ''love'' being [[In Harm's Way]].

 

 

Sometimes set in a world that looks [[Medieval European Fantasy|an awful lot like medieval Europe]], although it can range all the way back to a "forgotten prehistory" such as in ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'', or even the "classical" period (ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, etc.), as found in ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' (this variant is sometimes called "[[Sword and Sandal]]" and more burly versions are called "[[Thud and Blunder]]"). May involve [[Mythopoeia]].

 

{{examples}}

* Arguably ''[[Berserk]]'' goes from [[Low Fantasy]] to Heroic Fantasy at the end of the Golden Age arc where all the demons start coming out and become the main source of conflict.

** Or it was Heroic Fantasy all along without the characters noticing. After all [[Devil in Plain Sight|Zodd the Immortal]] didn't exactly keep his existence a secret.

* The first ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' anime was Heroic Fantasy, as opposed to the [[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|manga]] and [[Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood|second anime series]], which quickly veered into [[High Fantasy]] territory.

 

* ''[[Mouse Guard]]:'' Heroic fantasy with mice soldiers. And it's awsome!

* ''[[Red Sonja]].''

 

* ''[[The Adventures of Sinbad]]''

* ''[[The Beastmaster]]'' (only the movie, not the [[Science Fiction]] books it was based on.)

* ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' and ''[[Conan the Destroyer]]''

* ''[[Clash of the Titans]]''

* ''[[Highlander]]''

* ''[[Kull The Conqueror]]''

* ''[[Red Sonja]]''

 

* Alison Croggon's ''[[Books of Pellinor]]''

* Lynn Flewelling's ''[[Nightrunner]]''

* [[David Gemmell]]'s books are a prime example.

* Patrick Rothfuss's ''[[The Kingkiller Chronicle]]'' (although the protagonist is leaning toward [[Anti-Hero]] territory and may get worse in the upcoming book 3).

* Norman Spinrad's ''[[The Iron Dream]]'' (a [[Deconstruction]])

* ''[[The Black Company]]''

* ''[[The Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'', especially during [[Badass|Karsa Orlong]]'s storylines.

* The ''[[Codex Alera]]'' (quasi-[[Ancient Rome]] + [[Elemental Powers]])

* [[Lord Dunsany]]'s "The Sword of Welleran" and "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth", as well as a few other short stories here and there.

* Everything by [[David Eddings]].

 

* ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''

* ''[[Roar]]'' (pre-[[King Arthur|Arthurian]] British Isles)

* Arguably ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]'' what with its use of archetypes and mysticism.

 

* ''Barbarians of Lemuria'' emulates the whole Sword & Sorcery genre.

 

* ''[[Dragon Age]]''

* ''[[Demon's Souls]]''

* ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]''

* ''[[Prince of Persia]]''

* ''[[Fantasy Quest]]''

 

* ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'', if you only factor in Julie and her gang's adventures.

 

* ''[[Fire and Ice (animation)|Fire and Ice]]''

* ''[[Thundarr the Barbarian]]''

* ''[[Korgoth of Barbaria]]'' (Parody)

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Show Genres]]

[[Category:Literature Genres]]