The Reconstruction: Difference between revisions

{{work}}

 

 

The story is set in a seemingly-peaceful world that is full of turmoil under the surface. Three species live in a rough and unhappy coexistence in the world along with humans: fih'jik, cat-like humanoids who are very religious and devoted to [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|the Supreme One]], despite her apparently turning her back on them in a catastrophe known as "the Blackening"; fortians, similar to humans in appearance, but extremely stoic and scientifically-minded, with exceptional magical talent; and shra, [[Lizard Folk]] who cannot use magic, and are [[Fantastic Racism|reviled and enslaved]] because of it.

The story focuses on Dehl Sikohlon, a shra of the peaceful Sikohlon clan. He's devoted his life to repaying the kindness the city of Wadassia has shown him with civil service as a city guard. To further this goal, he comes up with the idea to make a guild -- a band of heroes -- who go around doing tasks that ordinary people cannot, such as slaying monsters. Dehl's guild eventually traverses the entire world, exposing and mitigating the problems that each species face, with varying results. Further compounding problems is the existence of a [[Mysterious Informant|mysterious woman]] known as Fell, who claims to receive messages from a divine being she calls "The Voice Himself". She seems to have even greater plans in store for Dehl and his guild, dispersing [[Cryptic Conversation|cryptic clues]] throughout his journey. But can she be trusted, and does she really know as much as she claims?

 

 

 

== Narrative ==

* [[Accidental Murder]]: {{spoiler|Dehl killing [[Self-Made Orphan|his father]]. After Father Sikohlon went insane and tried [[Offing the Offspring]], Dehl's pseudo-magic powers manifested for the first time, and he spirit-crushed Father Sikohlon right before he would have been killed himself.}}

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: By the end of the game, {{spoiler|1=Vasra, Skint, Aryn, Cort, Adi, Metzino and literally ''millions'' of unnamed NPCs}} all bite it.

* [[Arc Words]]: "Scope". Fitting, since it's the game's [[Central Theme]].

** In fairness, {{spoiler|he looks and acts ''completely'' different than how the legendary Tezkhra is described}}.

* [[Back for the Finale]]: Though it's done in a rather depressing manner. {{spoiler|Yacatec}} appears in the final dungeon as [[Poetic Justice|a slave]], and helps you get through said dungeon after you free him.

* [[Bad Powers, Bad People]]: Discussed -- the "Noxious" element is directly opposed to the "Holy" one, and it's generally perceived as purely destructive, so the character who specializes in it tends to worry about whether it will corrupt him. He's one of the nicer folks around, though, and eventually he decides that [[Dark Is Not Evil]].

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Brutally subverted. {{spoiler|After the world is destroyed in chapter 6 and the [[Big Bad]] kills or enslaves everyone, Dehl's guild is the people's only hope...but they aren't able to come until it's ''far'' too late.}}

* [[Bloodless Carnage]]: The game isn't afraid of showing blood in some of the monsters' [[Character Portrait|Character Portraits]], but avoidance of blood in cutscenes is the norm. The trope is, however, averted in a few instances, usually as a sign that [[Wham! Episode|things just got really serious]].

* [[Brain Bleach]]:

'''Qualstio''': "No, but, it's pretty creepy. I wish I could un-hear it." }}

* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: In the opening cutscene of chapter 1, Fell talks to the player directly. Justified in that she ''is'' some sort of demigod.

* [[Break the Cutie]]: {{spoiler|Dehl}}'s [[Dark and Troubled Past]] has this, ''in spades''. Possibly subverted, though, as it's part of the [[Backstory]] that is only revealed near the end of the game; most of what we see of him is after the fact.

** Happens to {{spoiler|Xopi}} as well, who, as {{spoiler|another Sikohlon child}}, is quite identical to how {{spoiler|Dehl}} used to be.

* [[Brick Joke]]: At the beginning of the game, Qualstio complains about [[Sorry I Left the BGM On|the fanfare that plays when characters join the guild]]. Much later on, another character comments on it after joining.

* [[Central Theme]]: Scope; the necessity to understand all sides of the story and the full truth before one can make the correct decision, and the danger of jumping to conclusions. However, you must acquire the necessary knowledge without also losing sight of what is truly important.

** This is strongly represented by the [[Multiple Endings]]; {{spoiler|if you get the normal ending, your scope stays in place, and does not expand. In the [[Golden Ending]], your scope explodes, as you realize the story was [[Science Fiction]] all along, not [[Fantasy]].}}

** It seems like ''[[I Miss the Sunrise]]'' is continuing in this vein. It is likely to be the theme that ties together the trilogy.

* [[Darkest Hour]]: {{spoiler|[[Wham! Episode|Chapter 6]]. The Watchers are dead, the world is in ruins, and an all-powerful "Lord-God" is sweeping up what little remains.}}

* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]: Most of the characters are perfectly okay with slavery, and even those who don't treat the shra like dirt are prone to using racial slurs or calling them out on their smell.

* [[Double Entendre]]: Almost every sentence Kidra says.

* [[Driven to Suicide]]: {{spoiler|Rehm}}, though some Nalian officers catch him before he can finish it.

** In fact, [[Serial Escalation|there's so much of it]] that it requires [[The Reconstruction/Foreshadowing|its own page]]!

* [[The Fundamentalist]]: Most Kir'Sshans. The Blessed Corps in Do'Ssha are extremely dogmatic as well.

* [[Healing Factor]]:

** Shra have very high rates of bodily regeneration, though not to the extent of most Healing Factors. This is [[Deconstruction|deconstructed]] with Skint (who ''does'' have a very potent Healing Factor), who got stabbed in the back with a large sword...and his body healed the wound, ''with the sword still in''. To make things worse, the sword was lodged through his heart, making it impossible to take out without killing him. It also means he can [[24-Hour Armor|never take off his armour]], which must make sleeping pretty difficult, too.

* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: Partly because you end up having humans, [[Catgirl|fih'jik]], [[Lizard Folk|shra]], and fortians all in the same group, but also, pretty much all the optional party members are just random people off the streets, some of which have rather weird class names. While one can probably guess that "Spectrumancer" and "Whiteblade" are legitimate classes, what in the world is a "Flashcurve" or "Whitewind"?

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Qualstio and Dehl. Lampshaded by Qualstio with their support quote.

* [[The Reveal]]: The revelation of who the [[Big Bad]] is doesn't come until ''the cutscene before the [[Final Boss]]''. {{spoiler|And your jaw is guaranteed to drop when you find out that it's ''Havan''.}}

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: {{spoiler|Dehl}} goes on one in chapter 6. His temporary personality change makes some of his skill descriptions read almost like black comedy.

* [[Sacrificial Lion]]: {{spoiler|Skint, Aryn, and the Watchers}}.

** [[Sacrificial Lamb]]: {{spoiler|Metzino}} is either this or the above; though they only appear for one chapter and are killed off long before the [[Sacrificial Lion|Sacrificial Lions]], they are only killed off at the very end of the chapter they appear in.

** Although, it could be a way of showing that {{spoiler|the extremely dark tone of chapter 6 is finally over, and that the story is now going to return to a more lighthearted state}}.

* [[Strength Equals Worthiness]]: {{spoiler|Moke}} assumes this when he is told he will be put through a "test" by a mysterious stranger; he quickly objects, but it turns out [[Subverted Trope|the test is of a different nature]].

* [[Things Man Was Not Meant to Know]]: Falitza allegedly destroyed her mind by "peering into the unknown". {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope|Subverted]], though -- it's [[Obfuscating Insanity]]. She was so sick of being "little miss perfect" that she staged the whole thing to get thrown into Sanctifel.}}

* [[Title Drop]]: The First and Second Reconstructions. Subverted in that they're only minor backstory events that are only briefly mentioned once each throughout the entire game (and you won't get any details unless you read Ques' glossary).

** And then played straight in chapter 6:

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Prowlers Tamo and Teno in Chapter 4.

* [[To Be Lawful or Good]]: The player themselves must make this choice at the end of one quest -- after you see a bunch of criminal shra run out of the city, you have the option of pointing the Nalian Officers in the right or wrong direction.

** Chapter 6 is also pretty shocking, though it comes quite late in the story.

* [[Wham! Line]]:

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: {{spoiler|[[Technical Pacifist|Dehl]]}} receives an indignant speech from {{spoiler|[[Actual Pacifist|Mahk]]}} after he {{spoiler|kills (or at the very least, severely injures) two Nalian slavers in front of Xopi}}. He {{spoiler|becomes an outcast of the Sikohlon family}} because of this.

* [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]]

* [[You Monster!]]: Dehl's response to learning that {{spoiler|Havan tortured Donz to death.}}

* [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle]]: The game doesn't actually wrap everything up when the twist is pulled, but it looks like it's on a fast track towards doing so. However, just when it looks like you're about to have some climactic final boss fight and [[Save the World]], {{spoiler|Qualstio screams in horror as he finds that the Watchers have all been slaughtered. Also, you failed to stop Donz from activating the pillars, so civilization has been nearly wiped out. So, instead of going along with Fell's advice, the rest of the game revolves around stopping the [[Big Bad]] and trying to [[Title Drop|reconstruct]] civilization.}}

 

== Gameplay ==

*** An enemy example: Slashlings. They have ''abysmal'' defenses, but a whopping Agility of ''fourty-two''.

** [[Stone Wall]]: {{spoiler|Lani}}, oh so very much. Unfortunately, in this game, the best defense is a good offense, so her talents are not particularly useful.

*** {{spoiler|Sirush}}, sort of. Due to the way stat gains are handled, one can simply upgrade his defense, so that isn't a problem. However, all his skills consume very high amounts of health, and all of them are short-range, causing him to get attacked a lot as well.

*** Also Tehgonan, who has the potential to be extremely powerful if you're good at setting up elemental enchantments. However, all of his stats are pathetically low and his skills have high costs.

* [[But Thou Must!]]: At one point, a character asks you if you are serious about something. Your choices are: "Quite serious," "Dead serious," and "Serious as a heart attack."

* [[Can't Drop the Hero]]: [[Averted Trope|Averted]]. There's even one storyline quest where you can't use any shra at ''all'', so you're actually ''required'' to drop him. There's also one sidequest where you can only use characters with high charisma (a qualifier that Dehl lacks without major support bonuses), and {{spoiler|Falitza}}'s recruitment quest, where you can only use casters (you don't need to kick Dehl out of your party, though).

* [[Character Level]]: [[Averted Trope|Averted]]! Essence gains from monsters are used to upgrade stats directly.

* [[Character Portrait]]

* [[Contractual Boss Immunity]]: Completely averted; ''nothing'' is immune to status effects. Skills that inflict Disable are a bit of a [[Game Breaker]] because of this.

* [[Classic Cheat Code]]: At least three: Naming you guild after {{spoiler|the numbers from ''[[Lost]]''}}, {{spoiler|the first digits of pi}}, or {{spoiler|the first digits of Euler's number}} will give 50000 essence of every type and 5000 skill/mana points to every character when you start the game. Space Lizard says there might be more, though (he can't remember, and doesn't have access to the source code anymore).

* [[Convection, Schmonvection]]: In chapter 3, since you're on a volcano, there are numerous magma lakes and streams that even have bridges over them. You can go right up to the lava without harm. [[Averted Trope|Averted]] in one quest, though, as you need someone alone and wearing heavy armour to cross a certain passage.

* [[Crippling Overspecialization]]: Zargos is really good at inflicting Body damage...but that's the only type of damage he can inflict. Since everyone else except Tehgonan can damage at least two of the three life bars, he's not that great at working in conjunction with other characters. As such, most players will probably drop him from their party early on. His main speciality seems to be the addition of Rush to normal attacks, but he develops most of it after being likely considered underwhelming and dropped.

* [[Videogame Set Piece]]: The [[Final Boss]] doesn't exactly play by the rules. He himself {{spoiler|cannot be defeated until all three of his [[Life Meter|Life Meters]] are depleted}}, and also, his attack deals a random type of damage instead of being set. In addition, one of his flunkies changes their elements randomly every turn, and actually has an attack that ''inverts'' the normal [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors]].

* [[Violence Is the Only Option]]: Two innocent and possibly brainwashed characters are part of the final boss fight. You have no choice but to kill them. See [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]] on [[The Reconstruction/YMMV|the YMMV page]].

 

== Meta ==

** Though not quite the trope, the [[Leitmotif]] of the story's [[Mysterious Informant|Mysterious Informants]] sounds very similar to the title theme as well.

* [[Unlucky Thirteen]]: [[Lampshaded]] by Ques, [[Deadpan Snarker|as usual]].

* [[Whatevermancy]]: Tehgonan is a "Spectrumancer", and {{spoiler|Moke}} is a "Fetormancer".

** There's also "The Cryomancer".

----

''"[[Central Theme|How far back must we stand before we can see everything ahead]]? And...[[I Miss the Sunrise|does that mean we must lose sight of what was closest to begin with?]]"''

 

[[Category:The Reconstruction]]

[[Category:Video Game]]