History VideoGame / LoveAndWar

* BadassGrandpa: Ryan's late grandfather, Gustav Eramond, who was a war hero, and Colonel Whitworth, who is still thrashing far younger trainees well into his seventies.

''Love and War'' is a [[FreewareGames freeware]] [[EasternRPG RPG]], created by Admiral Styles, using VideoGame/RPGMaker 2000.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: After beginning with apparently [[IrrelevantSidequest trivial high-jinks]] aboard a ship, interspersed with [[MoodWhiplash dramatic cutscenes of events back in Davenport]], the tempo of the story truly picks up once Princess Carranya makes her entrance.

** In the Ozunhold quest, after the Three Compadres first encounter the [[NobleBirdOfPrey Crowled Eagle]], Armin says - sarcastically - "How sweet it is..." This happens to be one of the catchphrases of Rhue, the protagonist of another classic RPG Maker game, VideoGame/TheWay.

** VideoGame/TheWay also makes several other appearances. One of the wanted posters in the Glendale police station is for a criminal whose name is an anagram of Lun Calsari, creator of ''The Way''. A book in the Alton library has an author whose name sounds suspiciously close to Lun's. And in Gerald Lancaster's love poem, he writes, "I must find The Way", with the capitalization being a clue that it's a ShoutOut.
** ''Love and 24'' also has two references to VideoGame/TheWay. First, in the opening scene where Ryan is on trial, one of the jury members is Alanthreonus, who acts as a lawyer for ''The Way'''s protagonist in its final episode. Later, there's a scene where Ryan has an assistant named Kloe - a double reference to both the ''24'' character Chloe O'Brien, and Kloe, a [[ActionGirl memorable character]] from ''The Way''.

''Love and War'' is set in the world of Terra, an AlternateReality Earth which has been ravaged by war for centuries. The people of Terra have assembled into five nations, which are more or less constantly in conflict, until the Crown Prince of the Zion Empire, [[TheGoodKing Lord Geraud Valtemond]], convinces the countries to unite in the cause of peace. His ideals lead to the formation of [[OneWorldOrder the Commonwealth]], a multinational body which - after some false starts - manages to keep the peace for over three hundred years.

* CoolSword: The protagonists encounter several in the course of the game: the Claymore, the Galvenian Sabre and the Giant Sword. The crowning example is [[spoiler: Eramond's Legacy, which belonged to Ryan's grandfather, and which he receives as a coming-of-age gift at the very end.]]

* IHaveToWashMyHair: Lavie uses this excuse, word for word, when repelling the ham-fisted and [[AbhorrentAdmirer unwanted]] advances of Sheri's boyfriend Greg. When Greg tries to [[LampshadeHanging get trope-savvy]] by suggesting that they meet up the next day, Lavie comes up with: [[CrowningMomentOfFunny "My hair needs a lot of attention!"]] This is actually a JustifiedTrope, in that Lavie canonically has [[RapunzelHair quite a lot of hair.]]

-->'''Carranya:''' ''(annoyed)'' "I look '''that''' old?"
-->'''Ryan:''' ''(apologetic)'' "Er....Not at all! I just remembered reading that somewhere, I think..."
* MoodWhiplash: Day 3's gameplay alternates between [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious sequences, especially in the play]], and tender moments in which Carranya and Ryan get to know each other. Then [[ChaoticEvil Blackheart's Cutthroats]] attack the ship, and all hell breaks loose.

--> '''Prince Derren:''' ''(shocked)'' [[{{Squick}} "Lady Penelope, that's....that's sick!"]]
--> '''Lady Penelope:''' ''(taken aback)'' "What?"
--> '''Prince Derren:''' "My father is, like, four times older than you! Trust me, becoming Queen like that is not something that you want to..."

* JapaneseSiblingTerminology: Apparently used in the Zion Empire, as seen during the play - a little girl asks the protagonists if they know where ''Oniisama'' (her elder brother, who was forcibly recruited by the Zion army) is, and whether he will come back.

* XMeetsY: The Varald Directorate is basically "UsefulNotes/NaziGermany meets GloriousMotherRussia" - in an AlternateReality version of Earth!

** Several of the items in Ryan's room, and early on in Davenport, are allusions to the fan community of ''The Antioch Chronicles,'' a fan-made StarCraft campaign that attracted quite a following in the early 2000s--including the game's author, Admiral Styles.

** A young mother and her daughter in Westchester, who are friends of Lavie's, are named [[ArchieComics Veronica and Betty Taylor.]]

--> '''Ryan:''' ''(amused)'' "Wow! [[BonJovi Shot through the heart, and Lavie's to blame!]]"

** A couple of books in the Military Academy at Lorean are by an author named CormacMcCarthy, and "Cormac McCarthy Jr.", respectively.

'''Love and War''' is set in the world of Terra, an AlternateReality Earth which has been ravaged by war for centuries. The people of Terra have assembled into five nations, which are more or less constantly in conflict, until the Crown Prince of the Zion Empire, [[TheGoodKing Lord Geraud Valtemond]], convinces the countries to unite in the cause of peace. His ideals lead to the formation of [[OneWorldOrder the Commonwealth]], a multinational body which - after some false starts - manages to keep the peace for over three hundred years.

* EverythingsFunkierWithDisco: The HMS Paradiso has a [[{{Disco}} discotheque in the classic mould]], headed by the appropriately-named Beatmaster Donald James. On Day 3, Ryan and Carranya share a [[ConvenientSlowDance memorable moment]] here.
--> '''DJ:''' "I'm Beatmaster Donald James, and people call me DJ DJ!"

--> '''Penelope:''' "If we don't stay together, it'll arouse... I mean, people will get suspicious!"

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Events in the world of Terra have many parallels with the real world, some played for laughs, some serious. Examples include a military traitor named [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution Benedict Reynold]], the battle of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution Chespa Bay]], a Galvenian king named [[TheCrusades Richard Lionheart]], and a Church whose leader is called [[ChristianityIsCatholic Pious XXI.]]

** RonaldReagan gets a humorous mention, listed above.

* {{Gestapo}}: The [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Varald Directorate]] has a secret police called the ''Geheimpol''. (This is actually a [[BilingualBonus clever modification of the actual German]]; "Gestapo" is a portmanteau of "Geheime Staatspolizei", or Secret State Police, while "Geheimpol" would just mean "Secret Police".)

* BilingualBonus: In-universe examples: though the commonest language on Terra is "Common" (English), there are characters who speak other languages. For example, Hamid, a trader from the Republic whom Ryan meets in Davenport, speaks Arabic (and teaches Ryan a bit of his language). The Varald Directorate apparently also uses a language akin to German, if we go by the name of their [[{{Gestapo}} secret police.]]

* XMeetsY: The Varald Directorate is basically "NaziGermany meets GloriousMotherRussia" - in an AlternateReality version of Earth!

** Though this isn't done too obviously, Ryan and Carranya's relationship brings ''Film/{{Titanic}}'' to mind. More overtly, an elderly female passenger on the lower decks worries about the Paradiso colliding with an iceberg after the first day.

* UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan: Gets a ShoutOut in a library where Ryan comes across a book on "Reaganomics". His response? [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush "Sounds like voodoo to me!"]]

* ActorSharedBackground: [invoked] Princess Carranya plays her own ancestress, Lady Penelope, in a play about the Galvenian War of Independence.

* BigBadassBirdOfPrey: The Crowled Eagle, which attacks the Three Compadres several times as they investigate the ruined fort of Ozunhold.

* LighterAndSofter: After quests that involve fighting off giant reptiles, a BigBadassBirdOfPrey and [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent a mysterious beast]], and putting [[MayorPain a corrupt mayor]] in jail, the game takes a lighter turn when you play as Lavender Regale. This is essentially a CharacterDevelopment sequence for Lavie subtly cloaked in challenging but non-violent tasks, such as a [[GameShowAppearance quiz show]] and a treasure hunt.

** In the Ozunhold quest, after the Three Compadres first encounter the [[BigBadassBirdOfPrey Crowled Eagle]], Armin says - sarcastically - "How sweet it is..." This happens to be one of the catchphrases of Rhue, the protagonist of another classic RPG Maker game, VideoGame/TheWay.

* EverythingsFunkierWithDisco: The HMS Paradiso has a discotheque in the [[StandardDiscoEquipment classic mould]], headed by the appropriately-named Beatmaster Donald James. On Day 3, Ryan and Carranya share a [[ConvenientSlowDance memorable moment]] here.

* ActorSharedBackground:[invoked] Princess Carranya plays her own ancestress, Lady Penelope, in a play about the Galvenian War of Independence.

* ActorSharedBackground: Princess Carranya plays her own ancestress, Lady Penelope, in a play about the Galvenian War of Independence.

* RonaldReagan: Gets a ShoutOut in a library where Ryan comes across a book on "Reaganomics". His response? [[GeorgeHWBush "Sounds like voodoo to me!"]]

''Love and War'' is a [[FreewareGames freeware]] [[EasternRPG RPG]], created by Admiral Styles, using RPG Maker 2000.

** Rinoa may be named after a main character in FinalFantasyVIII. She [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by saying that only her parents call her that, when they're mad at her, and she prefers to go by "Rin".
** Lanat, the actor, is a tribute to Talan, the protagonist of the RPG Maker classic VideoGame/ABlurredLine: they share the same sprite, and Lanat is an anagram of Talan. This explains why Ryan does a double-take on hearing his name.

** Though this isn't done too obviously, Ryan and Carranya's relationship brings ''Titanic'' to mind.
** More overtly, an elderly female passenger on the lower decks worries about the Paradiso colliding with an iceberg after the first day.
** The ShowWithinAShow starring Ryan, Carranya and Rinoa is a nod to VideoGame/TheWay, in which the protagonist and two of his allies also perform in a grand stage production.
** Two minor characters, the obnoxious Duke Browne and Duchess Faye, are references to characters from another classic RPG Maker game, ''Three The Hard Way''.
** Ryan and Carranya's initial encounter - involving a literal CrashIntoHello, a concealed royal identity and a lost necklace - is an affectionate tribute to the classic Super Nintendo RPG, VideoGame/ChronoTrigger.
** A sleeping boy in one of the cabins seems to be dreaming about VideoGame/XenoGears.
** A woman Ryan meets on the ship encourages him to try a [[GargleBlaster Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster]], in a neat tribute to Douglas Adams.
** Caris Burnfist, a character from VideoGame/RomancingWalker, appears as one of the guards on the ship.
** In the fancy restaurant on the ship's top deck, Ryan and Carranya admire a painting called [[SunsetOverImdahl "Imdahl's Sunrise"]].

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Events in the world of Terra have many parallels with the real world, some played for laughs, some serious. Examples include a military traitor named [[TheAmericanRevolution Benedict Reynold]], the battle of [[TheAmericanRevolution Chespa Bay]], a Galvenian king named [[TheCrusades Richard Lionheart]], and a Church whose leader is called [[ChristianityIsCatholic Pious XXI.]]