Console RPG Cliches 1 to 24: Difference between revisions

#'''[[Doomed Hometown|"No! My beloved peasant village!"]]:''' ''The hero's home town, city, slum, or planet will usually be annihilated in a spectacular fashion before the end of the game, and often before the end of the opening scene.''

#'''[[The Dulcinea Effect|Thinking With The Wrong Head]] ([[Lunar|Hiro]] Rule):''' ''No matter what they are accused of or [[Mysterious Waif|how mysterious their origins]], the hero will always be ready to fight to the death for any girl they met three seconds ago.''

#'''[[Logan's Run]] [[Competence Zone|Rule]]:''' ''RPG characters are young. [[Kid Hero|Very young]]. The average age seems to be 15, unless the character is a decorated and battle-hardened soldier, in which case he might even be as old as 18. Such teenagers often have [[Instant Expert|skills with multiple weapons and magic, years of experience]], and never ever worry about their parents telling them to come home from adventuring before bedtime. By contrast, characters more than twenty-two years old will cheerfully refer to themselves as washed-up old fogies and be eager to make room for the younger generation.'' (See also [[Most Writers Are Adults]])

#'''[[Parental Abandonment|Single Parent Rule]]:''' ''RPG characters with two living parents are almost unheard of. As a general rule, male characters will only have a mother, and female characters will only have a father. The [[Missing Mom|missing]] [[Disappeared Dad|parent]] either vanished mysteriously and traumatically several years ago or is never referred to at all. Frequently the main character's surviving parent will also [[The Plot Reaper|meet an awkward end just after the story begins]], thus [[Conveniently an Orphan|freeing him of inconvenient filial obligations]].''

#'''[[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.''

#'''[[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 Continent|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.)''

** 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|gothy]] swordsman [[Troubled but Cute|who is riven by inner tragedy.]]

** 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 [[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 (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.

#'''[[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]])

#'''[[Unusually Uninteresting Sight|Just Nod Your Head And Smile]]:''' ''And no matter how big that [[BFS|big-ass sword]] is, you won't stand out in a crowd. Nobody ever crosses the street to avoid you or seems to be especially shocked or alarmed when a heavily armed gang bursts into their house during dinner, rummages through their possessions, and demands to know if they've seen a [[Black Cloak|black-caped man]]. [[Seen It All|People can get used to anything, apparently]].''