Steambot Chronicles: Difference between revisions

''A relaxing non-linear adventure! Get ready for... [[Title Drop|STEAMBOT CHRONICLES]]!!''

 

 

Said to be like [[Grand Theft Auto]] [[Lighter and Softer|if you removed every shred of psychopathy from the mix]], [[Steambot Chronicles]] offers a cheery [[Cel Shaded]] world with a massive amount of [[Sidequest|SideQuests]], [[Mini Game|MiniGames]], fashion, [[Rhythm Game|music]], and myriad other ways to completely waste your time. The game has a massive array of choices, [[Dialogue Tree|from what Vanilla says]], [[Virtual Paper Doll|to what Vanilla wears]], [[Karma Meter|to what Vanilla does]], ninety percent of which does not actually matter as far as plot is concerned, but are quite effective as a means to... [[Now Where Was I Going Again|completely waste your time.]]

 

A proper sequel, BumpyTrot 2, was announced in 2006. It was in [[Development Hell]] for years before finally getting cancelled shortly after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

* [[Adam Smith Hates Your Guts]]: The Bloody Mantis takes over the only oil refinery, sending prices for fuel, parts, and repairs sky-high.

* [[An Interior Designer Is You]]: Halfway through the game, you're given the opportunity to rent one of several apartments, which you can decorate at your leisure. Although you can just ''buy'' furniture, you can make them really fancy if you're willing to tromp around some optional dungeons for treasure ([[It Belongs in A Museum|and don't plan on handing them to the museum]]).

* [[Dead Little Sister]]: Actually Dead Little ''Brother'', late band member Chicory's death caused a pretty huge ripple of dysfunction through its members... {{spoiler|some ''[[Ax Crazy|way]]'' more than others.}}

* [[Dialogue Tree]]: Everything Vanilla says is selectable, although most of it doesn't actually matter. It does, however, provide you the ability to make him anything from [[The Messiah|a pure hearted hero]] to a [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold|vaguely heroic jerk]] to a [[Punch Clock Villain|disaffected villain]] to a [[Ax Crazy|complete psychopath]]... [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|through dialogue]].

** A serious example - when Vanilla and Connie have to go through the shack to reach the trotmobile, Connie seems very unhappy to be in, near, talk, hear or even think about the shack. It has very little connection with {{spoiler|Chickory's death by getting hit by a car}} and if you ask her some more about it, she'll say she used to basically play with her dolls in the shack, but "a lot of things happened" and now she doesn't like going in there. Other than some old memories of {{spoiler|Chickory}} being in there, to someone who isn't hip to the plot it almost looks and sounds like a setup for some Lifetime movie type of story about a little girl being raped by some pedophile. Though nothing like that ever happens in the game. Especially with it being a rated T game.

* [[Downer Ending]]: {{spoiler|The hero ending}}, believe it or not. Even though you've saved the country from certain doom {{spoiler|Savory is shot dead by Bergamot, and Dandelion is executed for his attempted coup.}}

* [[Dropped a Bridge On Him]]: For all his importance to the story, you only find out that {{spoiler|Dandelion}} was executed for his crimes in your absence through an offhand remark and a new grave site.

* [[Edible Theme Naming]]: Many of the main characters are named after herbs and spices (Vanilla, Coriander, Dandelion, Savory, etc.).

* [[Face Heel Turn]]: {{spoiler|Savory}} if you decide to stay on the hero path, or ''you'' if you decide to join up with the Bloody Mantis gang halfway through the game.

* [[Floral Theme Naming]]: Virtually every character of any significance is named after some sort of plant -- most are also seasonings, as mentioned above, but some are just plain old plants.

* [[Funny Afro]]: One of the barbers gives only funny afros to his customers.

* [[Guide Dang It]]: You WILL NOT be able to get 100% on your first try. Items can be [[Lost Forever]], quests can become [[Unwinnable]], and the game can become [[Nintendo Hard]] when trying to find all the trotmobile parts, plates, CHILDREN'S STORY BOOKS, instruments and so on.

** Did you know that you can unlock a hotsprings area? Cause you can. How? If you have to ask you might as well forget about it...

* [[Hot Coffee Minigame]]: Sort of. You can invite a girl over to your appartment for a date and the minigame begins when she arrives. You start with a set number of hearts and various actions use up hearts. If you increase the number of hearts enough and select the right actions the screen will go blank while a short "hot coffee cutscene" plays.

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: Powered by [[Steampunk|STEAM!]]

* [[Mask Power]]: Elder, the "White Phantom", hides the upper half of his face, and holds the championship title for mech battling. His Reveal as {{spoiler|Dandelion}} marks a surprising shift in personality as he reveals his [[Axe Crazy]] goal.

* [[Mini Mecha]]: The Trotmobiles. [[Humongous Mecha|Most emphatically not the bosses.]]

* [[Nintendo Hard]]: The instruments, believe it or not. While the Harmonica and Trumpet are so simple you could play them with one hand (almost), things like the Accordian, Organ, Piano, and Electic Guitar will likely test even some of the die hard [[Rock Band]] players.

* [[Now Where Was I Going Again]]: In case the article didn't clue you in, it is entirely possible to end up with five different [[Sidequest|SideQuests]] active, get distracted playing music on the street corner for half an hour, and end up with no idea what the ''[[Quicksand Box|hell]]'' you were supposed to be doing for any of them. The game does have an in game journal for this purpose, but it's not at all organized or helpful with hints.

* [[Tragic Villain]]: {{spoiler|Dandelion founded the Bloody Mantis and donned the identity of Elder out of anger at an apathetic technology-dependent society and revenge against the one he deems responsible for Chicory's death.}}

* [[Virtual Paper Doll]]: Vanilla, your avatar, can mix and match various clothes, accessories, and hairstyles to create a variety of styles. Occasionally, NPCs will even comment on them.<br /><br />For example, if you wear a full set of Cowboy clothing (clothes, boots, and hat), Coriander will remark positively on how you look in them if you talk to her.

* [[Wide Open Sandbox]]