History Characters / PhantasyStarOnline2ARKSGuardians

* DynamicEntry: When Hagito is siccing his Phantasms on Hitsugi, the protagonist drops from the sky with a sword in hand and effortlessly wipes out Hagito's forces, including several T10 tanks, attack helicopters, and zombies, with a single swipe.

* CoolBigSis: Towards Sarah and Klariskrays III. Both are very fond of her and respect Matoi greatly. Matoi in turn tends to spend time with both, even helping Klariskrays out with her training by ''Episode 4''.

* OneManArmy: Was this during her time as Klariskrays II, facing off against entire armies of Falspawn and slaughtering them with such ease that other ARKS operatives are terrified to watch her work. Not so much during her amnesia phase, but she returns to being one after regaining most of power and later memories.

* TheArchmage: As the second Klariskrays, she's a former member of the Council of Six and one of the most powerful photon users to ever exist. Her photon affinity is so powerful that she can use Techniques will full combat effectiveness even while the ARKS Ship's limiter is placed on her, which is supposed to be impossible. In fact, she's so powerful that normal weapons can't handle her power, frying after a single use.
* ArtEvolution: Her outfit changes aside, it can be noted that Matoi's eye designs change by her ''Episode 4'' design. Prior to ''Episode 4'', her eyes were darker in color, but come ''Episode 4'' they're now much brighter. This can be taken as a sign of her growth from being a timid amnesiac to a confident operative of ARKS.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: The main heroine of the game in general. She's demoted from this in ''Episode 4'' and ''5'' as both Hitsugi and Hariette become the focus respectively, but returns to the role by ''Episode 6''.

* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Doesn't matter who they end up facing, the Protagonist will ''always'' protect Matoi.

* ArrestedForHeroism: In ''Episode 2'', thanks to Luther making it seem like the Protagonist was some sort of spy through falsified evidence, Regius puts out a hit order on them through "Code ABYSS" which makes the near entirety of ARKS go after them and Matoi. It takes Quna bringing forth proof of the Protagonist's innocence that "Code ABYSS" is rescinded.

* EnemyMine: Midway through ''Episode 2'', Dark Falz Elder puts on a BigDamnHeroes moment when Gemini sics some Luther and Apprentice clones on your party. He then allies with you as a partner in the ensuing fight.

* MysteriousPast: The story never really brings it up, given the player character is your own perspective into the story and all, but no one knows where this ARKS agent came from. Even Luther with his extensive knowledge has no clue who they are. [[spoiler:Turns out this is for a good reason; they're a [[ArtificialHuman lab-grown Photoner]] dropped into the timeline via the clone and human experimentation done by Luther and Xion, as a sort of brother/sister project to the creation of Shiva by the former. Luther doesn't remember them, and Xion specifically crafted them to fulfill the role of the Akashic Record yet they clearly had to be recruited into ARKS normally, meaning that aside from Ash's personal backstory in the anime, there can potentially be any past to ''no'' past.]]

* TheGift: Throughout the first three episodes, it becomes clear that the Protagonist has absurdly high photon affinity, being able to keep up to an extent with most of the Council of Six by ''Episode 2'' which is almost half a year of them being a full ARKS operative. By the events of ''Episode 4'', they're acknowledged as being pretty much the strongest operative that ARKS has, with Matoi as their only peer in sheer power. In ''Episode 5'', they single-handedly power multiple Buster Towers when Hariette can't even get one to activate. [[spoiler:''Episode 6'' makes it clear that this is not merely part of being TheChosenOne. They were tailor-made as a {{Tykebomb}} by Xion to thwart the rofound Darkness and gifted with immense potential as a result.]]

* TheGift: Throughout the first three episodes, it becomes clear that the protagonist has absurdly high photon affinity, being able to keep up with most of the Council of Six by ''Episode 3'' within almost half a year of just being a full ARKS operative. By the events of ''Episode 4'', they're acknowledged as pretty much the strongest that ARKS has, with Matoi as their only peer in sheer power. In ''Episode 5'', they single-handedly power multiple Buster Towers when Hariette can't even get one to activate. [[spoiler:''Episode 6'' makes it clear that this is not merely part of being TheChosenOne. They were tailor-made as a {{Tykebomb}} by Xion to thwart the rofound Darkness and gifted with immense potential as a result.]]
** In addition, they have the special ability to actively purify F-Factors, which they used to cure Hi'Roga from Falspawn influence in ''Episode 1''. While all ARKS operatives have the passive ability to absorb and purify F-Factors within their body, the Protagonist and Matoi are the only ones shown to have the ability to actively harness said ability as best seen when they make use of it to restrain Esca Falz Mother.

* DroneDeployer: Dark Blast Apprentice's abilities revolve around summoning insect Darker drones.

* TheGift: Throughout the first three episodes, it becomes clear that the protagonist has absurdly high photon affinity, matching the Council of Six blow for blow by ''Episode 3''(admittedly, it was implied that the protagonist was abusing the time travel ability granted by Xion to hone their combat skills). However, it was implied that without Quna's interference in ''Episode 2'', the protagonist could easily be killed by the Three Heroes, and the only reason why they were not, was because both Regius and Maria was holding back their full power, Casra was a double agent and Klariskrays III was still a child and inexperienced in combat (and outgunned by Huey). By the events of ''Episode 4'', they're acknowledged as pretty much the strongest ARKS has, with Matoi as their only peer in sheer power. In ''Episode 5'', they single-handedly power multiple Buster Towers when Hariette can't even get one to activate. [[spoiler:''Episode 6'' makes it clear that this is not merely part of being TheChosenOne. They were tailor-made as a {{Tykebomb}} by Xion to thwart the rofound Darkness and gifted with immense potential as a result.]]
** In addition, they have the special ability to actively purify corrupted photons, which they used to cure Hi'Roga from Darker influence in ''Episode 1''. While all ARKS have the passive ability to absorb (corrupted) photons and to purify it within their body, the protagonist and Matoi (and Harriet/Shiva), was the only ones shown to have the ability to actively harness it to absorb (corrupted) photons from others, and actively purify them.

* HelloInsertNameHere: Text dialogue uses your player name when needed, but any speech refers you as "you", "mate[=/=]partner" (by Afin), "boss[=/=]senpai" (by Io), "leader" (by the Darker Busters, Gene, More, Annette and Bruno), "Guardian" (by most of the people in Omega) and some of its variations like, "Guardian-kun" (by [[spoiler:Omega Luther]]) and "Guardian-dono" (by Valna).

* HeroicBSOD: Implied by Matoi to be going through this after the Darker invasion on Ship Themis in ''Episode 1'', but eventually pulled themselves together.

** At the beginning of ''Episode 5'', [[spoiler:the plot kicks off when the Protagonist saves Matoi which results in them being whisked away to the world of Omega by accident. In the finale of ''Episode 6'', the death of Shiva means you're the closest candidate for the Profound Darkness [[HistoryRepeats again]], except it's so much more powerful now that there is effectively nothing that can save you. Thus, in the Normal Ending the player character whisks themselves into a new StableTimeLoop - where they become the original Akashic Record by effectively resetting themselves at the start of creation, from which darkness will exist but the present didn't end. It takes S-Ranking the final mission up to Shiva's boss fight to still have the strength to resist, which gives Matoi, Harriet and Hitsugi enough time to save you so you can fight the [[TrueFinalBoss Primordial Darkness]] once and for all.]]

* ManaDrain: Ash is revealed to be able to absorb F-Factor from the Dark Falz and drain their powers. While normal ARKS can absorb and gradually purify Darker Factor naturally, the degree with which Ash is capable of doing so far exceeds that of the average ARKS, which is noticed by both Elder and Luther.

* MasterOfAll: In-game it's very possible for players to maximize levels for every single one of the available classes that they can choose from, though they're still limited to one main and sub class at a time (unless they use a Successor Class in which case they're only limited to just one).

** In addition, they have the special ability to actively purify corrupted photons, which they used to cure Hi'Roga from Darker influence in ''Episode 1''. While all ARKS have the passive ability to absorb (corrupted) photons and to purify it within their body, the protagonist and Matoi (and Harriet/Shiva), was the only ones shown to have the ability to actively harness it to absorb (corrupted) photons from other people, and actively purify them.

* TheGift: Throughout the first three episodes, it becomes clear that the protagonist has absurdly high photon affinity, matching the Council of Six blow for blow within half a year of starting official work as an ARKS operative. By the events of ''Episode 4'', they're acknowledged as pretty much the strongest ARKS has, with Matoi as their only peer in sheer power. In ''Episode 5'', they single-handedly power multiple Buster Towers when Hariette can't even get one to activate. [[spoiler:''Episode 6'' makes it clear that this is not merely part of being TheChosenOne. They were tailor-made as a {{Tykebomb}} by Xion to thwart the rofound Darkness and gifted with immense potential as a result.]]

* HeroesPreferSwords: Although you wield a variety of weapons based on your class, the protagonist is almost always depicted wielding a sword or a double saber in cutscenes.

* ItsUpToYou: In story missions, the player does everything, because frankly, [[ArtificialStupidity your allies suck.]] If you die, have fun starting from the beginning (unless there's checkpoints)!

* MoralityChain: To a number of characters in-universe. The most obvious of these would have to be Quna, where the normally stoic assassin ends up befriending Protagonist and they proceed to become her closest friend after they help Quna finally end the issue with Haddred. Even the trigger happy Risa ends up being affectionate with them than she is with most others. Even Casra can't help but act nicer when they're around.

** During the [[TimeSkip interim]] between ''Episode 3'' and ''Episode 4'', Xiao gave you the power to purify corrupted Photons, an ability previously limited to the Clarissa.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: By ''Episode 3'' they've taken down Falspawn by the legions, Dark Falz, and even helped seal the Profound Darkness away. Once they reawaken from cryo-stasis at the beginning of ''Episode 4'', they're informed by Xiera about their new rank which is "Guardian", a title specifically created for both the Protagonist and Matoi in light of their feats which allows them free reign as operatives of ARKS, with only Xiao, the Council of Six, and Ulku having equal or greater authority.

* SecretKeeper: One of the few people to actually know about the Idol Quna's true identity as Zelsius Quna, the secret 0th member of the Council of Six and leader of the Death Squad. They also helped to keep Echo and Theodor in the dark about Zeno and Ulku's survival in ''Episode 2'' to prevent Luther from finding out and thus adjust his plans accordingly.

* ShipperOnDeck: For Ulku and Theodore to a degree, Zeno and Echo when it comes up, Oza and Marlu with some help from Azanami, and even Sarah and Xiao. Basically if there's anyone with chemistry around the protagonist that even they can notice in a cutscene, there's almost always an opportunity to point it out or end up helping it along.

* TimeTravel: An ability you gain from Xiao in ''Episode 2''. They use it go back in time to save Zeno from Elder, and again when use it to save Ulku which later allows her to convince Theodore to stand down during the fight against Luther.
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Against Deus Hyunal, the protagonist throws their sword like a buzzsaw at the self-proclaimed god. Then then finish it off by throwing their sword like a javelin through it, leaving it open to getting bisected by Hitsugi.

* PhysicalGod:
** [[spoiler:By the end of the story, Xion refers to the player as the "Great Light", the true and ultimate antithesis to the Profound Darkness.]] Given your laundry list of accomplishments up to this point, being on a god-like level isn't that much of a stretch (although you'll probably still lose to [[NintendoHard Phaleg]] in a fair fight).
** As if to emphasize this point, you open ''Episode 5'' [[spoiler:by confronting the Profound Darkness' latest reappearance]] with Matoi. Together you utterly curbstomp it, the boss having almost laughably low amounts of HP to emphasize how badly you're kicking its ass.

* SecretKeeper: Works with the PlayerCharacter's role as TheConfidant, the PlayerCharacter knows quite a few of the darkest secrets, such as the existence of the Death Squad, Quna's true role and position in ARKS, the events of Ten Years Ago and Matoi's true identity, Professor Aki's role in the Rampaging Dragon Incident, Zeno's survival, Dark Falz Apprentice's true identity - a secret which the PlayerCharacter kept until the mass Dark Falz face-off and cannot be kept under covers, Luther's plans and machinations and many more.

* AdaptationExpansion: Matoi's role in ''Episode 1'' is greatly expanded in ''Episode Oracle'', accompanying Ash and Afin on their first official expedition as ARKS to Naverius.

* CurbStompBattle: Back when she was still Klariskrays II, she utterly dominated Dark Falz Apprentice in every single one of their encounters that Apprentice had to rely on using ARKS operatives as puppets to even hurt her as Matoi couldn't bring herself to attack her ARKS comrades.

* DemotedToExtra: In ''Episode 4'' where Matoi doesn't really appear until late in the story, and even after she does she doesn't do much as the primary focus is on the Protagonist and the Earth characters.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Becomes this in ''Episode 2'' and ''3'', when a lot of the story that isn't related to a subplot begins to revolve around her.

* HeroicBSOD: Suffers from one during Apprentice's fight with her in the climax of Chapter 2, as Matoi realizes that she doesn't have much of a reason to be fighting other than because she was told to do it and begins questioning her own existence as a result.

* HypocriticalHumor: When Klariskrays says she'll strip down in order to increase her Photon abilities, Matoi says that a young girl shouldn't show too much skin. Sarah is quick to point out that [[MsFanservice Matoi]] isn't really one to talk.

* OneManArmy: As Klariskrays II, she was continuously sicced at entire armies of Falspawn, slaughtering them with such ease that other ARKS operatives are terrified to watch her work.

* PhysicalGod: She's one of the few ARKS operatives to be on the Protagonist's level by the events of ''Episode 4'', and she's so powerful that she single-handedly curbstomped Dark Falz Apprentice with ease back when she was still Klariskrays II. At the beginning of ''Episode 5'', [[spoiler:she and the protagonist easily defeat the Profound Darkness' latest reappearance while trying to separate Persona from it.]]

* WeaponOfChoice: Rods. Aside from Clarissa the White, this was her primary weapon of choice during her fight against Apprentice during the Falspawn Invasion of ARKS in AP 228. After Clarissa disappears once more, she's given a replacement weapon called Clarissa III.

* {{Workaholic}}: Like the Protagonist, characters in the story tend to note that Matoi is as much of a hard worker as the Protagonist is and people, Sarah especially, keep reminding her that she should take breaks once in a while so that she doesn't ruin her health.

** In ''Episode 4'', they shrug when Enga asks if ARKS is run by weirdos. [[spoiler:In ''Episode 5'', they're scratching their heads and sighing while dealing with the Dark Falzes in their head. They're especially snarker with Apprentice, casually referring to her as "Mar" and rolling their eyes at her {{Tsundere}} mannerisms with a "Whatever you have to tell yourself."]]

* TheAce: From the get-go, the Protagonist is established as being a very promising recruit for ARKS. This is best seen by ''Episode 2'' where they've become so skilled that they have little to no issue taking on legions of brainwashed ARKS operatives with just Matoi for support and defeats them all without taking a single life.

* DeadpanSnarker: For every kind conversation option that Sega gives out, 90% of the time, there would definitely be a snarky response. In-universe, the Protagonist tended to be rather indifferent and somewhat cynical towards the interactions with the more... exuberant {{NPC}}s (Katori and Pietro, among others), which can be seen via their body language as well as their reactions even when they were not given a conversation option. Said body language includes nodding, outright ignoring, and simply staying quiet, looking to the heavens or rolling their eyes.

* InstantExpert: Huey notes that even among Third Generation ARKS, who have the ability to swap between classes without penalty, the protagonist has a special knack for mastering any class they pick up. This is why he asks you to help Stratos develop the Hero class, and your combat experience and tips proves essential for it to be authorized as a new class.

* LivingLegend: You more or less attain this status by ''Episode 4''. A few characters are seen geeking out when they meet you for the first time.

* OneManArmy: The Protagonist quickly gains renown as a standout ARKS operative because of the sheer amount of ass they're able to kick, to the point that "Code: Attack" orders often involve you coming to the aid of one of your own trainers as they flee from a horde of foes. Even when all of ARKS is turned against them by Regius' "Code ABYSS" order, they manage to plow through every operative they encounter without killing them. Xiao refers to the number of Falspawn you've killed as "astronomical".

* MindHive: [[spoiler:In ''Episode 5'', every Dark Falz host liberated from Omega becomes a passenger in the player's mind, giving them access to their respective battle forms as a SuperMode. Unfortunately for the Protagonist however the Dark Falz don't really get along which leads to frequent arguments within their mind that they sometimes have to break up personally. They can even briefly take over the Guardian's body, leading to some awkward [[CringeComedy and hilarious]] moments of them scuttling about while Gettemhult walks them over to someone.]]

** As if to emphasize this point, you open Episode 5 [[spoiler:by confronting the Profound Darkness' latest reappearance]] with Matoi. Together you utterly curbstomp it, the boss having almost laughably low amounts of HP to emphasize how badly you're kicking its ass.

* TookALevelInBadass: At the start of the game during your ARKS initiation, story-wise you have a hell of a lot of trouble with base level Falspawn and a Dark Ragne in particular. By Episode 3's conclusion, you fight the Profound Darkness, the ''origin'' of Falspawn altogether, and defeat it by yourself. And that's only the halfway point of the overall story.

* ArtEvolution: Her outfit changes aside, it can be noted that Matoi's eye designs change by her Episode 4 design. Prior to ''Episode 4'', her eyes were darker in color, but come ''Episode 4'' they're now much brighter. This can be taken as a sign of her growth from being a timid amnesiac to a confident operative of ARKS.

* MindHive: [[spoiler:In ''Episode 5'', every Dark Falz host liberated from Omega becomes a passenger in the player's mind, giving them access to their respective battle forms as a SuperMode. Unfortunately for the Protagonist however the Dark Falz don't really get along which leads to frequent arguments within their mind that they sometimes have to break up personally.]]

** They're also literal to the trope name, as for all the times allies like Matoi or other ARKS operatives accompany them into battle, there's a staggeringly high number of situations where they handle some of the deadliest threats such as the Dark Falz battles singlehandedly. Even when other characters are supposed to be helping them, it culminates in several major fights being resolved by the protagonist charging in like an unstoppable juggernaut. And the story does not take into account any aid for Buster Quests, all but stating that they're capable of fighting ''an entire army'' by themselves and winning, repeating this over a dozen times as they tear apart Demon Castles across Omega.

[[center: [- [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2 Main Page]] | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2ARKS ARKS]] ('''Guardians''' | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2ARKSCouncilOfSix Council of Six]] | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2Classes Classes]]) | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2Earth Earth]] | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2OtherPlanets Other Planets]] | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2Enemies Enemies]] ([[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2EnemiesFalspawn Falspawn]]) | [[Characters/PhantasyStarOnline2es 2es]] -] ]]

* DemotedToExtra: In ''Episode 4'' where Matoi doesn't really appear until late in the story and even then she doesn't do much as the primary focus is on the Protagonist and the Earth characters.

* PhysicalGod: She's one of the only ARKs operatives to be one the protagonist's level by the events of Episode 4, and she's so powerful that she single-handedly curbstomped Dark Falz Apprentice. At the beginning of Episode 5, [[spoiler:she and the protagonist easily defeat the Profound Darkness' latest reappearance while trying to separate Persona from it.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: She's unusually proficient with Megid Technics. This is her most-used Technic element, aside from support Technics.

* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: Her ability to use photons is described as being the highest that anyone in ARKS has ever seen. Probably the only person who could actually rival Matoi in power would have to be the Protagonist themselves, as they're capable enough that they can use any class with ease. It also comes at a price as Matoi at full power can't use regular ARKS weapons without breaking them almost instantly.
** She's also so powerful that she can use technics rather easily aboard the ARKS ship, this in spite of the fact that each ship in the fleet has a special dampening field that weakens operatives aboard to prevent conflict. This surprises Filia when Matoi one day picks up a rod and proceeds to use it just fine. [[spoiler:This also lets her fight off the Mother Corps assault in ''Episode 4'' until the Protagonist arrives to back her up]].

* As if to emphasize this point, you open Episode 5 [[spoiler:by confronting the Profound Darkness' latest reappearance]] with Matoi. Together you utterly curbstomp it, the boss having almost laughably low amounts of HP to emphasize how badly you're kicking its ass.