Oracle of Tao: Difference between revisions

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* The nature girl, [[Nature Hero|Anideshi]] ([[Only One Name|no last name]] ).

* The exorcist, [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Azrael]] [[Meaningful Name|Runesealer]].

* The demon, [[Horny Devils|Lilith]].

* The [[Big Bad]], [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Belial]].

** The [[Playable Epilogue|second game]] [[Hero Antagonist]], {{spoiler|the angel Estheriel.}}

** This is also the case with characters who have been turned to stone. Attacks still work on them, causing a petrified party member to then be killed.

** Subverted with better coding, but certain effects still make this happen.

* [[Beef Gate]]:

** (Simultaneously this, and [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere]]). {{spoiler|Much of the enemies are sort of mystical fantasy-themed, with dragons and the like. And then, if the party goes out of order in the plot, there are three distinct places where it can encounter [[Eldritch Abomination|Elder Gods]].}}

* [[Betty and Veronica]]: A couple of bisexual cases. For Aqorm, the resident thief, her "Betty" is Elias, the somewhat bookish type man, and her Veronica is Lilith, another girl and a [[Horny Devils|succubus]]. Lilith's Betty is actually Aqorm, and her "Veronica" is Michael, a very effeminate-looking angel guy who is this because they are polar opposites.

* [[Black and White Magic]]: Since it's based on [[Useful Notes/Taoism|Taoism]], usually [[Red Mage|merged]].

* [[Blue and Orange Morality]]: God, who apparently is more into some sort of balance than true goodness.

* [[Bodyguard Crush]]: Possibly the main couple.

== C ==

* [[Call to Agriculture]]: Seriously, this is among the good endings.

* [[Capital Letters Are Magic]]: This seems to be the approach used with most of the magical effects in the game, named items, etc.

* [[Cast From Hit Points]]: Nevras's Dragon Strike ability requires one turn extra, and this, in order to use. Well, it is strong enough to kill a dragon.

** And its inverse, [[Mana Shield]]. Yazim Jianne can do this by transferring however much health is lost (divided by 10) from his magic points.

* [[Cerebus Retcon]]: Double Subverted. {{spoiler|Ambrosia has a sudden flashback where she thinks she was dead, and can't explain why she had no wounds after that. At the time, this turns out to be a test for her resolve, before gaining another Crest, so she denies it showing . It turns out this might have been true later, and she starts to again not exist, this time fading to nothing (that is, the original retcon was subverted, then retconned again as a symptom of another, more horrifying conclusion). Which is then subverted again, as she manages to force herself into existence. Which is then retconned again, this time, [[Mind Screw|applying to everyone but her]].}}

** For that matter, [[Reverse Cerebus Syndrome]]: {{spoiler|Immediately after a terrible point in a story where someone gets [[Impaled With Extreme Prejudice]] you have three choices as to whether to finish them off, leave them, or kill them. Killing them makes the story head south, while either of the other options causes the ending to take a dramatic upswing.}}

* [[Closed Circle]]: The town of Sekai can't be left until you fix everyone's problems.

* [[Cognizant Limbs]]: [[Bonus Boss|Zakum]]

* [[Crap Saccharine World]]: {{spoiler|The universe and everyone in it, beside the hero [[Dream Apocalypse|don't even exist]]. Unlike the typical [[Dream Apocalypse]], where some people may have been there before the dream, it is kinda clear that the only option for the remaining person (who in fact turns out to be the avatar of God) is to either spend eternity alone once she awakes from this dream, or knowingly create every living thing, realizing that there's a change they ''still'' might not be real}}.

* [[Crazy Homeless People]]: Ambrosia, although subverted later in the game, when she buys a house. She's still very much like a crazy person, though.

* [[Crocodile Tears]]: The name and premise of a [[Fairy Tale]]. A talking crocodile has massive amounts of Wangst about how the other forest critters don't trust it, so it cries alot. They finally learn to trust it, and everyone lives [[Happily Ever After]]. ''[[Surprise Creepy|Until the crocodile eats everyone.]]''

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: To its credit, the battle against the boss monster is ''fake.'' The real monster is the one who told them to climb the tower, and is standing outside it.

** Ambrosia's actual powers, and those she gets at the end of the game, are significantly [[Reality Warper|different in scale]] (although she still has one skill that can bypass maximum damage, it's nowhere near her story powers).

** Also, see the [[Never Say Die]] example below. Death mainly happens outside of battle.

* [[Gainax Ending]]:

** Even if you win, the ending depends on the ending party. That is, you can "win" with the wrong party and have most/all of the party die (since the final boss has a final attack scripted by the story).

** Actually no, that's not even the rarest ending. The rarest ending is actually after winning against Cthulhu rather than getting the loss ending, and talking to him, and choosing option 2. See Radar section for more details, as this is deeply hidden in the game.

* [[Go Mad From the Revelation]]: One of the endings has a literal [[Lovecraft Lite|Cthulhu-style ending]] where unspeakable things {{spoiler|[[Department of Redundancy Department|which we won't speak of here]]}} happen to Ambrosia, driving her nuts before the universe is consumed by the Elder Gods.

* [[Good Parents]]: There are several instances of this, listed below.

** When the Ambrosia's and Nevras's child dies in battle, both of them [[Berserk Button|buff up dramatically]], and the [[Limit Break]] fills more easily.

* [[The Heart]]: Ambrosia, and later {{spoiler|[[The Empath|Tamashii]], her daughter.}}

* [[Hermit Guru]]: Several.

* [[Heroic Neutral]]:

** Nevras actually quotes from [[The Godfather (Film)|The Godfather]] when he hears of his new quest:

** [[Lonely Together]]: Ambrosia and Nevras.

*** Heck, half the party seems to have no secondary friendships, and is drawn together for this reason.

* [[Immortal Immaturity]]: Lilith and Michael, though probably more a case of [[Emotional Maturity Is Physical Maturity]] since they look in their twenties.

* [[In Harmony With Nature]]: Anideshi, presumably.

* [[Interspecies Romance]].

* [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]]: Angels. Which is why killing one, even for morally questionable deeds, is enough to trigger a [[Moral Event Horizon]], apparently.

 

== J ==

* [[Jiggle Physics]]: Although the physics part is a bit weak, Lilith's clothing shifts a bit (and ''beneath the clothing'') when she moves.

* [[Jigsaw Puzzle Plot]]: Many things are revealed in this game, spaced out all over the place. There is at the very opening, a [[World Sundering]], of the New Earth and the Void {{spoiler|which was the old Earth}}. Then Ambrosia gets a series of religious truths foisted on her, along which the revelation that she might not be real, and the realization that she has a [[Literal Split Personality]] causing chaos around her. This is to say nothing of [[Rashomon Style|the often conflicting (as viewed by histories, versus personal accounts, versus the demon's own account)]] versions of people getting raptured by a demon's coming, various personal plots scattered about the world, Ambrosia's [[Quest for Identity|quest to find her memories of her parents]], and various secrets revealed at the end about her identity, the world, and everything in it. And it's not even truly over, so there is a second game to tie up loose ends, with an additional secret or two {{spoiler|the Oracle's role is actually a replacement to extend the lifespan of God, since without someone to renew the cycle, God and everything else in existence is doomed to return to the Void they came from}}.

* [[Jumped At the Call]]: Ambrosia, largely since she had nothing better to do (the second time, not so much).

 

== K ==

* [[Kaizo Trap]]: The [[Final Boss]] has one if you have the wrong party. The boss in question would before dying and being removed from the field, as part of the plot blow up the surrounding area, killing off everyone who isn't somehow immortal. This includes Lilith, Michael, and Anideshi the Sage. It also includes Azrael, and Nevras as their presence triggers a different event. But if you have Ambrosia, Elias, Aqorm, Anideshi (normal, without a special item she gets), or Yazim Jiane, the blast will kill everyone off resulting in a bad ending (well, worse, considering the ending is ''already bad'' simply for choosing the wrong party).

* [[Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand]]: This situation is on the final showdown against rivals. Later becomes the start of a [[Heel Face Turn]], when the mercenaries (motivated by [[Greed]] not [[For the Evulz|malice]] ) find out the [[Big Bad]] temporarily exploying them is lying about the payment, because they will be [[Money for Nothing|nowhere to spend it]].

* [[Killer Rabbit]]: Seriously, one of the enemies is even named this, and with 999 attack and double hit, they mean it for lower levels.

* [[Last Minute Hookup]]: The [[Gay Option]] above, only is completable after the [[Playable Epilogue]].

* [[Lazy Backup]]: [[RPG Maker]] has it designed this way, barring massive coding. Subverted in one bonus castle that actually [[Plot Tailored to The Party|requires teamwork]] from the multiple parties. But still, they won't actually help in battle if your party dies.

** Ambrosia mainly narrates in the opening parts of either the main game or the [[Playable Epilogue]], and seems to care ''even less'' about the main story the second time, preferring to instead talk about her marriage and subsequent child.

* [[Light Is Not Good]]: Two distinct versions of this, one a [[Knight Templar]] who is a party member, the other an [[Endgame Plus]] final boss.

* [[Marathon Boss]]: This game loves these.

** And also [[Padded Sumo Gameplay]]. Many of the bosses have some type of regeneration that you have to outrun or disable (there are many ways to do this). Or some [[Weaksauce Weakness]] that turns what seems to be a [[Marathon Boss]] into a [[Puzzle Boss]].

* [[Masquerade]]: Subverted. There is a lot of freaky stuff that goes on in this world, and for the most part the general populace (at least, the educated general populace, Ambrosia seems to need to be explained things) knows about them, and doesn't care. Except for the one big secret: {{spoiler|that the world and everyone in it but Ambrosia, don't exist, at least not until after her help.}}

{{quote| '''Yazim Jiane''': Why, hello there little child, will you come play with me?<br />

'''Tamashii''': Look Mommy, this man is a pedophile. }}

* [[Medium Blending]]: There is everything from animated scenes, to color pictures and photographs, to black-and-white sketches, to normal sprites, to sprites from other games that don't match the game's sprites at all.

** Played straight in that Ambrosia is {{spoiler|[[Divine Race Lift|God's daughter]]/[[My Own Grampa|God]]}}, and Nevras is the resident warrior.

* [[Might Makes Right]]: Regardless of what your character believes in, usually the way to "prove" it is to defeat the other in battle.

** And oddly enough, its [[Right Makes Might|inverse]]. Although "right" is replaced with "[[The Power of Love|love]]."

* [[Mr. Exposition]]: Your priest, Elias is a bit of a brainiac, knowing just about everything about every subject in the game. [[Justified Trope|Justified]], in that he's spent about 2/3 of his life in a library.

* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: Lilith, and to some extent, Ambrosia's dark half.

* [[Multiple Endings]]: ''And how''! There's over ten endings, [[Earn Your Happy Ending|most of them bad]].

* [[Murder Makes You Crazy]]: Ambrosia is more or less a little crazy already (being a [[Mood Swinger]] [[Sugar and Ice Personality]] with a [[Literal Split Personality]]), but in a Bad Ending she goes noticeably over the edge after killing [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|an angel]]. She starts talking about "balancing the scales" (which, since she {{spoiler|created the universe from a [[Dream Apocalypse]]}}, means basically destroying everything), and goes on a homicidal rampage, even killing her own party.

* [[No Body Left Behind]]: Usually the case will various creatures dying or running away. Occasionally, you might get bones or [[Gory Discretion Shot|mild 2d gore]]. This is more to not clutter up the screen than any censorship concerns though.

* [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased]]: One of the reasons given for why the breakup may have happened.

* [[No Ontological Inertia]]: Basically everything, inside [[Dark World|the Void]]. The only place that is safe is town.

* [[No Such Thing As Wizard Jesus]]: There is some overlap between various characters and what religious characters can do (notably [[Fertile Feet]]). This trend is actually lampshaded, as Ambrosia is worried that if there's Heaven and Hell on Earth, she has doubts about an afterlife.

* [[Ontological Mystery]]: Subverted in that it doesn't take place inside a [[Closed Circle]]. But it does involve a [[Quest for Identity]]. {{spoiler|And it does involve a [[Dream Apocalypse]].}}

* [[Only Smart People May Pass]]: That, or several cases of [[Moon Logic Puzzle]].

* [[Our Monsters Are Different]].

** [[Our Angels Are Different]]: There are two type of angels, the modern [[Winged Humanoid|WingedHumanoids]], and the older [[Eldritch Abomination|EldritchAbominations]] model. This is actually justified, explaining that traditionally angels ''were'' all like the [[Eldritch Abomination]] mentioning this story, but because humans have a [[All Men Are Perverts|great tendency for interspecies relationships]], current angels are actually a watered-down breed.

== R ==

* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: A dwarf and a Bishonen seem to have teamed up as mercenaries. They end up being the game's recurring [[Worthy Opponent]] equivalent for the party, ultimately helping them {{spoiler|when faced with the fact that their employer will destroy not only the world but ''[[Only in It For The Money|the economy]]''}}.

* [[Reality Warper]]: The end of the game, she gains the power to create/destroy pretty much the entire universe. Still, due to [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]], she never uses these in battle.

* [[Reconstruction]]: See the [[Oracle of Tao (Video Game)/Fridge|Fridge Section]] for more details.

** There's some heavy speeches in this game. Everything from a [[Green Aesop]], to [[History Repeats|political]] or [[Going Cosmic|theological]] viewpoints. Much of it is also [[Talking the Monster To Death]], though it doesn't really avert battles.

** Often it works after the battle, getting you the [[MacGuffin]], or interesting the monster enough with your responses that they join your party.

* [[Self Disposing Villain]]: On a [[Mook]] scale. Some of the lesser creatures, notably [[Our Goblins Are Different|goblins/kobolds]], would rather kill themselves than let you take them alive, and may do so after about 1/2 their life is gone.

* [[Sequel Reset]]: Game's all wrapped up, but then we have a sequel. Why? Just to show Ambrosia as an [[Action Mom]]. In fact, since Ambrosia is God's incarnation, it's heavily implied she manufactured the problem leading to the sequel. Also a [[Sequel Hook]], as the antagonist is introduced in the first game (but other than that, the story is more or less resolved).

* [[Sheathe Your Sword]].

* [[Shock Value Relationship]]: Michael and Lilith. {{spoiler|The two characters make out in a bar, wrecking the place while they bang into stuff with passionate kissing. Not to mention it's relationship that's sort of taboo anyway, since it's an angel/demon pairing. Subverted in that unlike most relationships of this sort, they actually like each other.}}

* [[Time Limit Boss]]: Some bosses need to be beaten in about 30 turns, or they use a killer breath attack on you.

* [[Title Drop]]: Several times, as it's Ambrosia's goal.

* [[Tomato in The Mirror]]: Ambrosia.

* [[Too Awesome to Use]]: Reconstructed. The Puffer Sushi is a great item which gets rid of ''all status effects'' (including death) and restores hp/mp. But rather than simply being a very rare item, it is available in some stores for about 9000 gp, when monsters usually don't hold money and you have to make it selling [[Vendor Trash]]. Even when you actually manage to find it for free, it carries a pretty terrible risk. It can heal the party member fully, or it can kill them. The risk of use makes it something that you have to save for when you're really desperate, or the party member is already dead.

** Also many [[Dead Unicorn Trope|DeadUnicornTropes]]. Especially the Cloud [[Expy]], and the [[The Grand List of Console Role Playing Game Cliches]].

** [[Troubled Sympathetic Bigot]]: Lilith hates angels. How can you hate angels?!? {{spoiler|She's a demon, so angels kind of hate her.}}

* [[Truly Single Parent]]: {{spoiler|God. Has a child with [[Meaningful Name|Manna Leaven]], Ambrosia's mother, but it's later revealed that ''nobody really exists aside from Ambrosia'', so God effectively created a clone.}}

 

* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: Ambrosia, mainly due to [[Innocent Inaccurate]]. Ambrosia tells the history of the world, as she knows it, but lacks knowledge of history, or trust in legends. And some of her knowledge is lacking certain details that come up later.

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: Nevras talks about "meeting attacks with equal force" and "revenge" with Ambrosia {{spoiler|...they're kissing.}}

* [[Upgrade Artifact]]: Stats Seeds, are a good example, along with Level Roots.

 

** Ambrosia for the [[New Game Plus]] was originally planned using multiple actors, [[Loads and Loads of Roles|but now all roles]] seem to be done by [http://www.starnow.com/profile/ProfileDetail.aspx?m_id=2143993 Pippa Winslow].

** Bakamaru, Tamashii's boyfriend, is [http://www.starnow.com/profile/ProfileDetail.aspx?m_id=2072936&application_id=8853957 Jim Mcgovern].

** [[Little Miss Almighty|God]], is [http://www.starnow.com/profile/ProfileDetail.aspx?m_id=1521287 Linda Southgate].

** Lilith is voiced by [http://www.starnow.com/profile/ProfileDetail.aspx?m_id=1660438 Meena Rayann].

 

== W ==

* [[Walking the Earth]]: Ambrosia does it, with her friends.

* [[We Want Our Jerk Back]]: Ambrosia is very much a [[Tsundere]] throughout the early game, but enters decay on this point over the course of the story, she eventually becomes a sort of weird mix of [[Sugar and Ice Personality]] and [[Mama Bear]].

* [[What You Are in The Dark]]: Ambrosia's choice in the [[Cosmic Egg|Universe Egg]] is witnessed by the party, but other than this, nobody can see her choice. The "villain" isn't really a villain, but although she isn't really egged on, she can definitely make a very ''off'' choice (to murder an angel who has already been run through by a rather large spear). Or a very good one (to heal it, although given that this ''same angel'' was trying to take over the world), or a [[Unflinching Walk|very apathetic one]], but somewhat understandable one given a [[Darkest Hour|no-win situation]].

* [[Wholesome Crossdresser]]: Subverted for much of the story, though.

* [[With This Herring]]. And oddly, once you have money, [[Adam Smith Hates Your Guts]], [[Continuing Is Painful]], and [[No Hero Discount]] comes into play (everything is priced about like the Japanese economy with basic items starting at about 100 gold and going up to about 500000 gold). Good luck making your first million without a bank.

 

 

== Y ==

* [[Yet Another Stupid Death]]: If you want to you can... run into some spikes, fall to your doom in a pit, jump staight into the middle of the ocean and drown, and other such fates. You can also challenge an [[Eldritch Abomination]] to a battle, usually involving something ''seriously wrong'' happening to you if you lose.

* [[You All Look Familiar]]: Played straight with guards and certain merchants, and subverted in the case of maids and police.