History NightmareFuel / XenobladeChroniclesX

* Another horrifying episode comes from a mission given by an isolated Harrier outpost in Sylvalum. It starts out as a total milk run monster hunt, followed by comically looking after the squad princess's demands. [[spoiler:When your get back, the squad rookie is the only one left. He tells you the Prone killed their captain and dragged the other girls of the squad away. When you catch up, only one is left, beside herself with grief and fear. If you press her, she reveals her companion, the aforementioned diva, had nothing to live for with the captain dead and provoked the prone so she would die first... whereupon they started ''skinning her alive'' in preparation to ear her. And when they realize she's a Mimeosome, they started ''[[CruelAndUnusualDeath torturing her to death via dismemberment]]''. So not only do we have off-screen torture and dismemberment added to the pile, but this is where it's confirmed that the Cavern Clan Prone are, in fact, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals of non-Prone sentients]]. Missions likely encoutnered prior to this one will hint at the "hunting" nature of the Prone, but this makes explicit that the thing which makes the Caverns particularly savage is their willingness to consume other sentients.]]

* [[spoiler:Lao's final boss form is just a humanoid mess of various body parts, including the heads of various animals. [[http://i.imgur.com/vSxxCXw.png Take a look]]. Even worse, [[BodyHorror due to being merged with the DNA, memories and consciousness of Luxaar and several other Earth animals]], he's unable to control his own body while the other consciousnesses of feral creatures use it destroy everything around them. [[AndIMustScream The only thing he can do on his own volition is communicate]]. Unlike the previous game (and past Xeno games), you're not fighting a god. [[MercyKill You're putting an old friend out of his suffering]] while protecting the future of humanity.]]

* Enjoying Noctilum for it's beautiful colors, upbeat music and lively environments? Ready to fly up that waterfall and see the last of the cool stuff the continent has to offer? Because boy oh boy, once you reach the Divine Roost, it's all downhill. The music is flat out unsettling, the single tree in the center bears roots that wrap around the enviornment like tentacles, some of (including THE) most powerful Xenos hang out up there, and the whole place has a very eerie, disturbed feel. Oh yeah, and all the water looks like blood.

* Enjoying Noctilum for it's beautiful colors, upbeat music and lively environments? Ready to fly up that waterfall and see the last of the cool stuff the continent has to offer? Because boy oh boy, once you reach the Sacred Roost, it's all downhill. The music is flat out unsettling, the single tree in the center bears roots that wrap around the enviornment like tentacles, some of (including THE) most powerful Xenos hang out up there, and the whole place has a very eerie, disturbed feel. Oh yeah, and all the water looks like blood.

** Special mention goes to [[spoiler:The Murderess' ArchEnemy, Dale Gibbon, a serial killer and the one who killed her parents]]. He sounds like a pedophile and his delivery of his HannibalLecture really makes it clear that he's a threat to NLA's safety.

** The Enemy Index description for the Yggralith species reeks of CosmicHorrorStory. According to the description, Yggraliths are from the depths of outer space and come to feed on the world's Ether as well as any other creatures it may come across before leaving the world as a dead husk before flying off to another one, which sounds like a mix of what the Telethia of the original ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' and [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Lavos]] do. Worse, it is said that if two Yggraliths were to meet, they would engage in a battle that could potentially destroy the entire solar system they are in. FridgeHorror settles in when you realize that Pharsis isn't the only Yggralith you can fight on Mira. The battle with the Global Nemesis Yggralith Zero takes place far in Cauldros, but the fight with the squad mission-exclusive Tyrant, Phanatos, the Netherlord takes place in Sylvalum's Lake Ciel, which is not very far from Pharsis' nest in the Noctilucent Sphere.

* Even with the end of humanity looming if BLADE doesn't get its job done, some humans are still prone to [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters committing atrocities]], such as [[spoiler:[[FinalSolution purging NLA of (friendly) Xenos]]]], [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy being murderers in some other capacity]]]], [[spoiler:[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder betraying allies in the worst manner possible]]]], or [[spoiler:[[SnakeOilSalesman running scams for money]]]]. [[AdultFear It's safe to say that the realities of mankind can't be assumed to have improved in the wake of desperate times]].

* So you've just gotten the flight module for your skells, and you've decided to take a flight around Sylvalum in order to reach some of the higher up probe sites, when you notice that one of those massive spheres hanging in the air has an opening in the side. Obviously you decide to take a look inside, and once you enter you notice the large amount of level 60+ indigens floating around. Rather disconcerting, but they're non-aggressive so you ignore them. And then you look up and notice the level 97... THING hanging from the roof of the sphere like a bat. Congrats, you've just met Pharsis the Everqueen, the second most powerful enemy in the game.

* Duoguills in general. From the top down they look similar to manta rays, but underneath their mouths look zombie faces.

* Sylvilum sometimes gets covered in a spore fog so thick it's near-impossible to see anything. [[ParanoiaFuel It's also home to a ton of]] JumpScare [[ParanoiaFuel monsters.]] They're normally fairly easy to see coming, but with this weather active...

* Duoguills in general. From the top down they look similar to manta rays, but underneath their mouths look zombie faces.

* The ending to Yelv's final Affinity Mission implies that [[spoiler: he's not even a mimeosone with human consciousness, but an ''android.'' He has a single minded desire to find his missing partner, something that leads him to becoming a Reclaimers. The theory being that these are false memories implanted into him to make him more efficient as a Reclaimer, and that Eleanora may be his handler.]]

** What's more, because of it's location atop the most striking landmark in Primordia, the player can actually catch a glimpse of the Talondrake very early on in the game - even before entering NLA for the first time. The player casually glances up at the rock formation looming over the city, only to see a giant monster floating away off in the distance. It really establishes the kind of world Mira is.

** Some more FridgeHorror comes in after completing Chapter 5 [[spoiler: when you learn that you and the human inhabitants of [=NLA=] are actually [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots android avatars that simulate being a human near-perfectly without aging]]. The simulation is done too well when you realize that mimeosomes still have some organic components and thus are not immune to biological illness, parasites and mutations. In the main story, the most apparent example of this is Lao in the final chapter, who gets mutated into a chimera. And what's not to say some of the other Cantors found in the northern continents of Mira are mutated mimeosomes gone feral too and not what the Enemy Index claims them to be?]]

** Some more FridgeHorror comes in after completing Chapter 5 [[spoiler: when you learn that you and the human inhabitants of [=NLA=] are actually [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots android avatars that simulate being a human near-perfectly without aging]]. The simulation is done too well when you realize that mimeosomes are not immune to biological illness, parasites and mutations. And what's not to say some of the other Cantors found in the northern continents of Mira are mutated mimeosomes gone feral too and not what the Enemy Index claims them to be?]]

* [[spoiler:Lao's final boss form is just a humanoid mess of various body parts, including the heads of various animals. [[http://i.imgur.com/vSxxCXw.png Take a look]]]]

* You know Talon Rock? That massive prominent geographical feature that dominates the Primordia skyline? Well it's home to one of the most powerful [[BonusBoss Tyrants]] in the game: Elvira, the Talondrake. It can often be seen floating above the summit during the daytime - only a thousand feet or so above NLA. If this monster wasn't just content to pace back and forth above Talon Rock, it could easily attack and destroy most of the city.

I hear voices, but no one's talkin' to me...

** The above also throws a key event early in the game into a whole new light: [[spoiler:Tatsu, in all likelihood, wasn't just being saved as a vegetable. The Prone at that base were perfectly aware he was sentient and really were going to eat him anyway, and simply stored him in a convenient place. Tatsu (as well as a few other NPCs) also mentions that they eat Nopon on a regular basis. Even worse, one of the holograms you can display in the BLADE barracks shows a Cavern Clan Prone trying to eat a Nopon alive by using his facial tentacles to force him into his gaping mouth.]]

* Another horrifying episode comes from a mission given by an isolated Harrier outpost in Sylvalum. It starts out as a total milk run monster hunt, followed by comically looking after the squad princess's demands. [[spoiler:When your get back, the squad rookie is the only one left. He tells you the Prone killed their captain and dragged the other girls of the squad away. When you catch up, only one is left, beside herself with grief and fear. If you press her, she reveals her companion, the aforementioned diva, had nothing to live for with the captain dead and provoked the prone so she would die first... whereupon they started ''skinning her alive'' in preparation to ear her. And when they realize she's a Mimeosome, they started ''torturing her to death via dismemberment''. So not only do we have off-screen torture and dismemberment added to the pile, but this is where it's confirmed that the Cavern Clan Prone are, in fact, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals of non-Prone sentients]]. Missions likely encoutnered prior to this one will hint at the "hunting" nature of the Prone, but this makes explicit that the thing which makes the Caverns particularly savage is their willingness to consume other sentients.]]
** The above also throws a key event early in the game into a whole new light: [[spoiler:Tatsu, in all likelihood, wasn't just being saved as a vegetable. The Prone at that base were perfectly aware he was sentient and really were going to eat him anyway, and simply stored him in a convenient place.]]

* The Millesaurus' long neck is actually an extended mouth they can use to feed and cutting it off reveals it's actual [[spoiler:[[http://i.imgur.com/PqkOyHN.jpg face]]]]

* The otherwise normal [[SideQuest side mission]] "Lakeside Getaway". It starts off as a mundane and petty request by [[ClingyJealousGirl Rosie]] to get some payback against Ajoa and Ian for setting up the Biahno Water Purification Plant in Primordia and running it without her (and suspecting that their relationship is more than just professional). But then things get really disturbing once you get to the plant. First off, it's being attacked by Cantors - four-armed humanoid creatures usually found in the northern continents of Sylvalum and Cauldros - except they are smaller (as opposed to being about the size of an adult Simius), have uncannily human-like skin tones that make them look like they came out of a horror game (as opposed to being really pale) and hatch out of cocoons. [[spoiler: As you look for other survivors besides Ajoa, the Cantors drop ID cards as you kill them (something that can make players of past Xeno games wary). Once you read Ian's ID card and look at the plant's security recordings, it is revealed that [[BodyHorror the Cantors there are actually the rest of the plant's staff mutated as a result of a previous Cantor laying its eggs in their bodies from its attack and being exposed to water from that point]] that reproduces in a way similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid_wasp parasite wasps]] from Earth. The ''really'' scary part can come off as a result of what you the player decide. Before checking the recordings, Ajoa will ask to take a shower while you check the recordings. Players wary enough of survival horror tropes will tell her [[NeverSplitTheParty not to be left alone for her safety]] as she was already attacked at least once when she did so (and she'll just go to a doctor in NLA to see if she's okay), but [[NiceJobBreakingItHero if you let her take a shower]], Ajoa will come back into the control room mutated into a Cantor and begging for water just after you finish watching the recording, forcing you to kill her in defense. That's right, you just caused an {{NPC}} death that could have been prevented from one dialogue choice with very little warning. Suffice to say, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Rosie becomes regretful for her earlier attitude]] once you tell her about this.]] Along with other side quests where you have the potential to get named [=NPCs=] killed as a result of your bad decision-making, the negative outcome of this side quest has prompted many players to [[SaveScumming to save their game before starting quest-related conversations that have player decisions with potentially fatal consequences]] (this game has only one save file).

* [[spoiler: Marcus]]' death scene during [[spoiler: the Ganglion's attack on NLA]]. Despite his best efforts, he could only stare helplessly at his monitor as repeatedly flashed: '''[[MacrossMissileMassacre WARNING: Incoming Missiles]]''' - which he could already see were gaining on him, directly below his cockpit. Half of it is shown from Irina's perspective, as she desperately tells him to evade them. The other half is from ''[[SecondPersonAttack his perspective]]'', with the monitor continuing to flash as the warning siren intensifies, until the inevitable impact.

* Sylvilum sometimes gets covered in a spore fog so thick it's near-impossible to see anything. [[ParanoidFuel It's also home to a ton of]] JumpScare [[ParanoiaFuel monsters.]] They're normally fairly easy to see coming, but with this weather active...

* The otherwise normal [[SideQuest side mission]] "Lakeside Getaway". It starts off as a mundane and petty request by [[ClingyJealousGirl Rosie]] to get some payback against Ajoa and Ian for setting up the Biahno Water Purification Plant in Primordia and running it without her (and suspecting that their relationship is more than just professional). But then things get really disturbing once you get to the plant. First off, it's being attacked by Cantors - four-armed humanoid creatures usually found in the northern continents of Sylvalum and Cauldros - except they are smaller (as opposed to being about the size of an adult Simius), have uncannily human-like skin tones that make them look like they came out of a horror game (as opposed to being really pale) and hatch out of cocoons. [[spoiler: As you look for other survivors besides Ajoa, the Cantors drop ID cards as you kill them (something that can make players of past Xeno games wary). Once you read Ian's ID card and look at the plant's security recordings, it is revealed that [[BodyHorror the Cantors there are actually the rest of the plant's staff mutated by a previous Cantor laying its eggs in their bodies from its attack]] that reproduces in a way similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid_wasp parasite wasps]] from Earth. The ''really'' scary part can come off as a result of what you the player decide. Before checking the recordings, Ajoa will ask to take a shower while you check the recordings. Players wary enough of survival horror tropes will tell her [[NeverSplitTheParty not to be left alone for her safety]] as she was already attacked at least once when she did so (and she'll just go to a doctor in NLA to see if she's okay), but [[NiceJobBreakingItHero if you let her take a shower]], Ajoa will come back into the control room mutated into a Cantor and begging for water just after you finish watching the recording, forcing you to kill her in defense. That's right, you just caused an {{NPC}} death that could have been prevented from one dialogue choice with very little warning. Suffice to say, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Rosie becomes regretful for her earlier attitude]] once you tell her about this.]] Along with other side quests where you have the potential to get named [=NPCs=] killed as a result of your bad decision-making, the negative outcome of this side quest has prompted many players to [[SaveScumming to save their game before starting quest-related conversations that have player decisions with potentially fatal consequences]] (this game has only one save file).

* The otherwise normal [[SideQuest side mission]] "Lakeside Getaway". It starts off as a mundane and petty request by [[ClingyJealousGirl Rosie]] to get some payback against Ajoa and Ian for setting up the Biahno Water Purification Plant in Primordia and running it without her (and suspecting that their relationship is more than just professional). But then things get really disturbing once you get to the plant. First off, it's being attacked by Cantors - four-armed humanoid creatures usually found in the northern continents of Sylvalum and Cauldros - except they are smaller (as opposed to being about the size of an adult Simius), have uncannily human-like skin tones that make them look like they came out of a horror game (as opposed to being really pale) and hatch out of cocoons. [[spoiler: As you look for other survivors besides Ajoa, the Cantors drop ID cards as you kill them (something that can make players of past Xeno games wary). Once you read Ian's ID card and look at the plant's security recordings, it is revealed that [[BodyHorror the Cantors there are actually the rest of the plant's staff mutated by a water-based Miran parasite]] that reproduces in a way similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid_wasp parasite wasps]] from Earth. The ''really'' scary part can come off as a result of what you the player decide. Before checking the recordings, Ajoa will ask to take a shower while you check the recordings. Players wary enough of survival horror tropes will tell her [[NeverSplitTheParty not to be left alone for her safety]] as she was already attacked at least once when she did so (and she'll just go to a doctor in NLA to see if she's okay), but [[NiceJobBreakingItHero if you let her take a shower]], Ajoa will come back into the control room mutated into a Cantor and begging for water just after you finish watching the recording, forcing you to kill her in defense. That's right, you just caused an {{NPC}} death that could have been prevented from one dialogue choice with very little warning. Suffice to say, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Rosie becomes regretful for her earlier attitude]] once you tell her about this.]] Along with other side quests where you have the potential to get named [=NPCs=] killed as a result of your bad decision-making, the negative outcome of this side quest has prompted many players to [[SaveScumming to save their game before starting quest-related conversations that have player decisions with potentially fatal consequences]] (this game has only one save file).

* The lyrics of the standard battle theme "Black Tar", which tells of an alien lifeform killing off soldiers, taking over their bodies, and forcing them to fight amongst one another.

Maybe no more sleep!

** Another horrifying one is a mission given by an isolated Harrier outpost in Sylvium. It starts out as a total milk run monster hunt, followed by comically looking after the squad princess's demands. [[spoiler:When your get back, the squad rookie is the only one left. He tells you the Prone killed their captain and dragged the other girls of the squad away. When you catch up, only one is left, beside herself with grief and fear. If you press her, she reveals her companion, the aforementioned diva, had nothing to live for with the captain dead and provoked the prone so she would die first... whereupon they started ''skinning her alive'' in preparation to ear her. ...Right up until they realized she was a Mimeosome, at which point they started ''torturing her to death via dismemberment''.]]