History NightmareFuel / BreathOfFireII

** Speaking of which, those folks in Evrai? When you first meet them, they seem rather pleasant, happy-go-lucky sorts. They speak of how happy and content they are, and the reflecting gem shows them all with peaceful colors. Try to leave, though, and you get trapped inside the town... Where the townsfolk are suddenly muttering and babbling and laughing incoherently, showing only faint, tormented vestiges of any awareness whatsoever, and the gems shows dark, cold colors for all of them.

* The concept of the story, given this was one of the first games to really pull off the CorruptChurch in the mainstream, where even ''Franchise/DragonQuest'' isolated it to a specific antagonist. Not only is it the primary religion spread across the world by the time the story kicks into gear, but the Church of St. Eva has their hands ''everywhere''. Don't want to play ball with them? [[IHaveYourWife They'll kidnap your family for blackmail.]] They grab people in masses to brainwash them into broken slaves. They use not only [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly people's prayers]] but even go the extra mile to [[HumanResources harvest their bodies for power.]] And all of it is a front for an army of endless demons from Hell, waiting and planning so they can finally take over the world and wipe out all life. Almost the ''entire game'' is plagued with an overwhelming sense of dread usually fit for horror games because of how depraved and monstrous the antagonists are, and how much of a challenge Ryu and friends have to fight through stop them.
** It isn't helped by the fact that the further you get into the game, the worse things you encounter. Simple monsters and criminals give way to downright alien-esque demons or those corrupted by them, as Ryu effectively pisses off the church and causes them to throw ''everything'' they've got at him.
* In the Grand Church, the mob amassed. You have a gem that reflects a person's feelings toward you. As they are baying for your blood, the gem turns '''pitch black'''.

** It isn't helped by the fact that the further you get into the game, the worse things you encounter. Simple monsters and criminals give way to BodyHorror and explicit demons or those corrupted by them, as Ryu effectively pisses off the church and causes them to throw ''everything'' they've got at him.

--> ''We still do not have enough strength... ...give yourself to God... Pray to God! Praise God! You must become God's strength...!''

* The FIRST thing that happens in the game. Kind of unfair really.
** ''Pray to God! Praise God!''

* In the Grand Church, the mob amassed. You have a gem that reflects a person's feelings toward you. As they are baying for your blood, the gem turns PITCH BLACK.

* Shupkay's fate in Highfort. She unearths a mechanism that pops up a few times throughout the game, a device created to use a person's life energy as fuel for whatever purpose it was designed for. In this case, she intended to utilize Highfort itself as a massive floating weapon to wage war, and use Highfort's princess, Elforan (Sten's love interest), as the energy source. She also planned to kill Sten in front of Elforan to further amplify her energy. Instead, Shupkay ends up inhabiting the machine herself... Which, due to malfunctions, causes the machine to pump energy INTO her body. She explodes. Granted, she was an AssholeVictim, but still: Ouch.

* Inside the Wise Tree's mind, you can find a man named Barose and recruit him for your town. He'll offer to teach the front character in your lineup magic if they have no AP left. What makes him creepy is that the Dragon's Tear is ''permanently locked'' on dark red (animosity) with him. For some reason, this guy ''hates'' you. [[RedHerring He has no impact on the game at all.]]

* The FIRST thing that happens in the game. Kind unfair really.

** Speaking of which, those folks in Evrai? When you first meet them, they seem rather pleasant, happy-go-lucky sorts. They speak of how happy and content they are, and the reflecting gem shows them all with peaceful colors. Try to leave, though, and you get trapped inside the town... where the townsfolk are suddenly muttering and babbling and laughing incoherently, showing only faint, tormented vestiges of any awareness whatsoever, and the gems shows dark, cold colors for all of them.
*** And finally, once you defeat the LoadBearingBoss in Evrai and make your escape as the city and the church crumble and explode, St. Eva's victims all sit in the pews... simply chanting/praying mindlessly, over and over again, as they're all about to die (if they weren't already dead in the first place). It's hard to say whether they're even aware of anything anymore at this point.
* Shupkay's fate in Highfort. She unearths a mechanism that pops up a few times throughout the game, a device created to use a person's life energy as fuel for whatever purpose it was designed for. In this case, she intended to utilize Highfort itself as a massive floating weapon to wage war, and use Highfort's princess, Elforan (Sten's love interest), as the energy source. She also planned to kill Sten in front of Elforan to further amplify her energy. Instead, Shupkay ends up inhabiting the machine herself... which, due to malfunctions, causes the machine to pump energy INTO her body. She explodes. Granted, she was an AssholeVictim, but still: Ouch.

*** And finally, once you defeat the LoadBearingBoss in Evrai and make your escape as the city and the church crumble and explode, St. Eva's victims all sit in the pews... simply chanting/praying mindlessly, over and over again, as they're all about to die (if they weren't already dead in the first place). It's hard to say whether they're even aware of anything anymore at this point.

* In the Grand Church, the mob amassed. You have a gem that reflects a person's feelings toward you. As they are baying for your blood, the gem turns PITCH BLACK.

* Coming back to your hometown with no one having any recollection of you or your family having lived there is pretty horrifying.

** 'Pray to God! Praise God!'