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[[quoteright:145:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sequence-box-art-145x204_3127.jpg]]
Flagship title from Iridium Studios, ''Sequence'' is a [[StatGrinding RPG]]-[[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs Rhythm game]] hybrid that pits players in a struggle for survival against hordes of monsters, all the while to the beat of a catchy and often rock worthy soundtrack.
You are Ky, drugged and left to die on the main floor of a large tower with no means of escape except to follow the guidance of a [[DeadpanSnarker helpful]] [[ExpositionFairy voice on]] [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection the intercom]] (whose help has yet to be determined, since she could very well be alongside those responsible). You are jumped by a monster and without any knowledge on how to fight, saved by your new friend Naia when she uses one of her three 'saving grace' spells which pulls Ky out of the battle. After a brief introduction on how to fight, Naia sends you on a quest for the top of the tower with the only other option to wait and die.
''Sequence'' offers players a unique take on the two genres by wrapping the main elements of an RPG in a sea of falling arrows. During a battle, the player takes control of three different beat fields representing spells, mana and enemy damage which they are free to swap between at will:
* Defeating an enemy requires you to cast a variety of spells, all of which cost mana taken from your reserve. When a spell is cast, a pattern of arrows falls into the spell field. Successfully hitting, or 'clearing' the arrows will cast the spell in question. Different spells may be learned outside of combat and swapped into quick access slots in battles. Some will do damage to enemies, leech hp and return it to you, boost the power of the next spell cast or shield you from incoming damage. Depending on the effectiveness of the spell, the sequence of arrows that fall will become longer and more complex whereas simple spells may only require a few arrows. Fail the sequence and the spell's effect will be lost as well as the mana required to cast it.
* Since casting spells costs mana, the primary way to regain it is to move into the mana field. Here, arrows are constantly dropping and each successful beat will net you mana points. Failing to hit an arrow is not punished.
* You're facing off against any manner of abomination so self-defense is certainly encouraged. In this field, falling arrows represent your enemy's attacks. Every arrow which makes it by will damage your overall HP but may be repelled. The severity of the attack is represented by the colour of the arrow, gray dealing the least and red dealing the most.
Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out. Defeat enemies, use their drops to improve your equipment, and [[LevelGrinding repeat]] until you're powerful enough to take on the floor's boss.
----
!!This game provides examples of:
* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap - The game can be comfortably [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% completed]] at around the mid twenty level range. The actual technical level cap is thirty four, this takes ''ten billion experience points'' to reach.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The difficulty level can be changed freely until after the third floor. Useful if you picked [[NintendoHard spasmodic difficulty]].
* AntiVillain - [[spoiler:Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
** [[spoiler:This cause is proven false as of [[VideoGame/ThereCameAnEcho the sequel.]]]]
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she was abducted.]]
* AwesomeButImpractical - The final offensive spell you acquire from beating the final boss, Luminary Storm, is the most powerful, most expensive to cast, and has the longest cooldown time of any direct damage spell in the game. Unfortunately, on Hard/Spasmodic difficulty the casting pattern is very complicated, has no breaks, and takes a full 5 seconds from start to finish.
* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins - Even after learning about the true purpose of the tower, Ky and Naia decide to get together.]]
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course]]]].
* BonusBoss - [[spoiler: Virtual Ky.]]
* BoringButPractical - Arclight is the very first offensive spell you learn with low damage but a low mana cost, a short cool down time and simple arrow pattern. Above the third floor, the time limit for each battle becomes much more dangerous as the hp of your foes grows faster than the damage output of your new spells, and so Arclight becomes very useful as a backup spell that can be fired off between more damaging spells with little consequence. There is an achievement in the game for beating an enemy on the 7th Floor with ONLY Arclight.
** In the same vein is Barrier, which you start with along with Arclight and is the only spell in the game that defends you against enemy attacks. It's quick and easy to cast, and you'll probably have it on your spell wheel through the entire game.
* DamselInDistress - [[spoiler: Naia becomes this for a while on floor 5.]]
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy
* DeadpanSnarker - Both Ky and Naia.
* DrillSergeantNasty - Jane.
** Though she tones it down ''dramatically'' to the point where it's hard to tell if she's dropped the act, when it comes to talking to Naia, and after Ky defeats her - she explains to him that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority he's now her superior]], hence her changed attitude towards him.
* ExperiencePoints: Not only used to level up, but also used as currency for synthesizing items and attempting to learn new spells. How this actually works gets {{lampshaded}}.
-->'''Ky:''' Wait, what? How does "paying" experience points make any sense?\\
'''Naia:''' Does it make any less sense than one single, quantitative value accurately representing the whole of your fighting abilities and knowledge?
* ExpospeakGag: Percival introduces himself with these.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption - The first two fights where Naia uses a saving grace.
* GenreSavvy
* HopelessBossFight - [[spoiler: Aaron, the guardian of the Floor the Seventh, appears when you first get to Floor the Fourth. He has over 200 HP, and sends a constant stream of red gems in the defense field.]] Luckily, [[spoiler: Naia uses her second Saving Grace to stop the fight.]]
* HurricaneOfPuns - Almost every item contains a horrid pun in the description.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels - Easy, Medium, Hard, ''Spasmodic''
* InterfaceScrew - '''Guardian Effects'''. Ranging from rendering you unable to switch fields to swapping the position of your left/right and up/down arrows, these limited-time effects are either mildly annoying or your worst nightmare.
* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Mir, and by extension, ''everyone'' involved in the Tower organization. Their supposed intent is to make people of the finest intellectual and genetics fall in love so they can continue their lineages and produce offspring of the highest caliber. However, they are quite frankly rather benign as far as this trope goes - Mir explains that the intent is not any kind of genocide, but to improve the human race genetically simply through superior breeding, and Naia points out to Ky that their methods ultimately don't hurt anyone.]] And, to boot, [[spoiler:their true plans apparently involve Ky and Naia saving the world, but from what, is not explained.]]
* LampshadeHanging: Several typical RPG tropes have this done to them throughout the course of the dialogue.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Frequently.
* LevelGrinding
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:Ky and Naia are actually prisoners in a computer simulation designed to pair up intellectually superior humans to further the human race. In fact, the cultivation of Ky and Naia's relationship is even more important than that, according to the secret ending - apparently, they're meant to save the world. From what, however, is left unstated.]]
* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler: The post-game boss.]]
* MissionControl: Naia, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment again]].
* ''[[QuirkyMinibossSquad Extremely Quirky]]'' [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Miniboss Squad]]: Seriously, by the standards of this trope, the Guardians go above and beyond. [[spoiler:They're all acting, of course, but still.]]
** Percival is pretty much a Victorian stereotype.
** Donaldo is a matador who has a love for Mexican food. He's even tempted by Ky's attempt to bribe him!
** Caleb is a walking [[InteractiveFiction text adventure game]]. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Seriously. He has to be seen to be believed.]]
** Jane is a DrillSergeantNasty towards anyone who she considers her 'subordinate' (with the exception of Naia), though she does tone things down considerably after the fight.
** Eddie take the ThirdPersonPerson trope to whole new levels, talking like a ''narrator''.
** Adelle is ''way'' into Astrology.
** And Aaron is... Well, he's actually pretty normal compared to the others, really, being the leader, though he does show some BloodKnight tendencies, where he attacks Ky ''long'' before the latter is supposed to fight him, partly due to orders from higher up, and because he's curious about Ky's abilities.
* NonIndicativeDifficulty: Both hard and spasmodic difficulties give one mana point per gem hit in the mana field, but spazmodic has more gems than hard, meaning that a skilled player has to worry less about running out of mana on spasmodic.
* RandomDrop - The source of your synthesis materials and likely the most prevalent enemy in the game. Equipment exists to boost the odds in your favor, though it [[InsertPaymentToUse physically cripples you]] in exchange. [[spoiler: Barring the [[BraggingRightsReward Imaginary Number Pod]] of course.]] Being able to desynth the excess materials found in your wanton farming for extra EXP takes away some of the sting.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* SequelHook - Combined with TheStinger.
** Though it's unclear if we'll ever actually get a sequel. When asked, Jason (the lead dev) said simply "What's a sequel?" Though he was probably just being sarcastic.
*** ''Definitely'' sarcastic. Someone also asked about a sequel on the Steam forums, and Jason's response was shifty-eye emotes. The writing on the wall is pretty clear, a sequel is probably (if not definitely) in the works.
* ShoutOut - Item descriptions, once again often contain these.
* TheSmartGuy - Ky has an undergrad in computer engineering, and it definitely shows in his dialogue.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat - Ky and Naia during most of their dialog.
* TheStinger - If you beat the secret boss, then there's one after the credits.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection - Naia.
* WriteWhoYouKnow - Ky is a college student from the University of Florida who is majoring in electrical and computer engineering...just like what his voice actor (and the co-founder of Iridium Studios), Jason Wishnov, was before graduating.
* [[spoiler: YourMindMakesItReal]]
----
Flagship title from Iridium Studios, ''Sequence'' is a [[StatGrinding RPG]]-[[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs Rhythm game]] hybrid that pits players in a struggle for survival against hordes of monsters, all the while to the beat of a catchy and often rock worthy soundtrack.
You are Ky, drugged and left to die on the main floor of a large tower with no means of escape except to follow the guidance of a [[DeadpanSnarker helpful]] [[ExpositionFairy voice on]] [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection the intercom]] (whose help has yet to be determined, since she could very well be alongside those responsible). You are jumped by a monster and without any knowledge on how to fight, saved by your new friend Naia when she uses one of her three 'saving grace' spells which pulls Ky out of the battle. After a brief introduction on how to fight, Naia sends you on a quest for the top of the tower with the only other option to wait and die.
''Sequence'' offers players a unique take on the two genres by wrapping the main elements of an RPG in a sea of falling arrows. During a battle, the player takes control of three different beat fields representing spells, mana and enemy damage which they are free to swap between at will:
* Defeating an enemy requires you to cast a variety of spells, all of which cost mana taken from your reserve. When a spell is cast, a pattern of arrows falls into the spell field. Successfully hitting, or 'clearing' the arrows will cast the spell in question. Different spells may be learned outside of combat and swapped into quick access slots in battles. Some will do damage to enemies, leech hp and return it to you, boost the power of the next spell cast or shield you from incoming damage. Depending on the effectiveness of the spell, the sequence of arrows that fall will become longer and more complex whereas simple spells may only require a few arrows. Fail the sequence and the spell's effect will be lost as well as the mana required to cast it.
* Since casting spells costs mana, the primary way to regain it is to move into the mana field. Here, arrows are constantly dropping and each successful beat will net you mana points. Failing to hit an arrow is not punished.
* You're facing off against any manner of abomination so self-defense is certainly encouraged. In this field, falling arrows represent your enemy's attacks. Every arrow which makes it by will damage your overall HP but may be repelled. The severity of the attack is represented by the colour of the arrow, gray dealing the least and red dealing the most.
Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out. Defeat enemies, use their drops to improve your equipment, and [[LevelGrinding repeat]] until you're powerful enough to take on the floor's boss.
----
!!This game provides examples of:
* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap - The game can be comfortably [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% completed]] at around the mid twenty level range. The actual technical level cap is thirty four, this takes ''ten billion experience points'' to reach.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The difficulty level can be changed freely until after the third floor. Useful if you picked [[NintendoHard spasmodic difficulty]].
* AntiVillain - [[spoiler:Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
** [[spoiler:This cause is proven false as of [[VideoGame/ThereCameAnEcho the sequel.]]]]
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she was abducted.]]
* AwesomeButImpractical - The final offensive spell you acquire from beating the final boss, Luminary Storm, is the most powerful, most expensive to cast, and has the longest cooldown time of any direct damage spell in the game. Unfortunately, on Hard/Spasmodic difficulty the casting pattern is very complicated, has no breaks, and takes a full 5 seconds from start to finish.
* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins - Even after learning about the true purpose of the tower, Ky and Naia decide to get together.]]
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course]]]].
* BonusBoss - [[spoiler: Virtual Ky.]]
* BoringButPractical - Arclight is the very first offensive spell you learn with low damage but a low mana cost, a short cool down time and simple arrow pattern. Above the third floor, the time limit for each battle becomes much more dangerous as the hp of your foes grows faster than the damage output of your new spells, and so Arclight becomes very useful as a backup spell that can be fired off between more damaging spells with little consequence. There is an achievement in the game for beating an enemy on the 7th Floor with ONLY Arclight.
** In the same vein is Barrier, which you start with along with Arclight and is the only spell in the game that defends you against enemy attacks. It's quick and easy to cast, and you'll probably have it on your spell wheel through the entire game.
* DamselInDistress - [[spoiler: Naia becomes this for a while on floor 5.]]
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy
* DeadpanSnarker - Both Ky and Naia.
* DrillSergeantNasty - Jane.
** Though she tones it down ''dramatically'' to the point where it's hard to tell if she's dropped the act, when it comes to talking to Naia, and after Ky defeats her - she explains to him that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority he's now her superior]], hence her changed attitude towards him.
* ExperiencePoints: Not only used to level up, but also used as currency for synthesizing items and attempting to learn new spells. How this actually works gets {{lampshaded}}.
-->'''Ky:''' Wait, what? How does "paying" experience points make any sense?\\
'''Naia:''' Does it make any less sense than one single, quantitative value accurately representing the whole of your fighting abilities and knowledge?
* ExpospeakGag: Percival introduces himself with these.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption - The first two fights where Naia uses a saving grace.
* GenreSavvy
* HopelessBossFight - [[spoiler: Aaron, the guardian of the Floor the Seventh, appears when you first get to Floor the Fourth. He has over 200 HP, and sends a constant stream of red gems in the defense field.]] Luckily, [[spoiler: Naia uses her second Saving Grace to stop the fight.]]
* HurricaneOfPuns - Almost every item contains a horrid pun in the description.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels - Easy, Medium, Hard, ''Spasmodic''
* InterfaceScrew - '''Guardian Effects'''. Ranging from rendering you unable to switch fields to swapping the position of your left/right and up/down arrows, these limited-time effects are either mildly annoying or your worst nightmare.
* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Mir, and by extension, ''everyone'' involved in the Tower organization. Their supposed intent is to make people of the finest intellectual and genetics fall in love so they can continue their lineages and produce offspring of the highest caliber. However, they are quite frankly rather benign as far as this trope goes - Mir explains that the intent is not any kind of genocide, but to improve the human race genetically simply through superior breeding, and Naia points out to Ky that their methods ultimately don't hurt anyone.]] And, to boot, [[spoiler:their true plans apparently involve Ky and Naia saving the world, but from what, is not explained.]]
* LampshadeHanging: Several typical RPG tropes have this done to them throughout the course of the dialogue.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Frequently.
* LevelGrinding
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:Ky and Naia are actually prisoners in a computer simulation designed to pair up intellectually superior humans to further the human race. In fact, the cultivation of Ky and Naia's relationship is even more important than that, according to the secret ending - apparently, they're meant to save the world. From what, however, is left unstated.]]
* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler: The post-game boss.]]
* MissionControl: Naia, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment again]].
* ''[[QuirkyMinibossSquad Extremely Quirky]]'' [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Miniboss Squad]]: Seriously, by the standards of this trope, the Guardians go above and beyond. [[spoiler:They're all acting, of course, but still.]]
** Percival is pretty much a Victorian stereotype.
** Donaldo is a matador who has a love for Mexican food. He's even tempted by Ky's attempt to bribe him!
** Caleb is a walking [[InteractiveFiction text adventure game]]. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Seriously. He has to be seen to be believed.]]
** Jane is a DrillSergeantNasty towards anyone who she considers her 'subordinate' (with the exception of Naia), though she does tone things down considerably after the fight.
** Eddie take the ThirdPersonPerson trope to whole new levels, talking like a ''narrator''.
** Adelle is ''way'' into Astrology.
** And Aaron is... Well, he's actually pretty normal compared to the others, really, being the leader, though he does show some BloodKnight tendencies, where he attacks Ky ''long'' before the latter is supposed to fight him, partly due to orders from higher up, and because he's curious about Ky's abilities.
* NonIndicativeDifficulty: Both hard and spasmodic difficulties give one mana point per gem hit in the mana field, but spazmodic has more gems than hard, meaning that a skilled player has to worry less about running out of mana on spasmodic.
* RandomDrop - The source of your synthesis materials and likely the most prevalent enemy in the game. Equipment exists to boost the odds in your favor, though it [[InsertPaymentToUse physically cripples you]] in exchange. [[spoiler: Barring the [[BraggingRightsReward Imaginary Number Pod]] of course.]] Being able to desynth the excess materials found in your wanton farming for extra EXP takes away some of the sting.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* SequelHook - Combined with TheStinger.
** Though it's unclear if we'll ever actually get a sequel. When asked, Jason (the lead dev) said simply "What's a sequel?" Though he was probably just being sarcastic.
*** ''Definitely'' sarcastic. Someone also asked about a sequel on the Steam forums, and Jason's response was shifty-eye emotes. The writing on the wall is pretty clear, a sequel is probably (if not definitely) in the works.
* ShoutOut - Item descriptions, once again often contain these.
* TheSmartGuy - Ky has an undergrad in computer engineering, and it definitely shows in his dialogue.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat - Ky and Naia during most of their dialog.
* TheStinger - If you beat the secret boss, then there's one after the credits.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection - Naia.
* WriteWhoYouKnow - Ky is a college student from the University of Florida who is majoring in electrical and computer engineering...just like what his voice actor (and the co-founder of Iridium Studios), Jason Wishnov, was before graduating.
* [[spoiler: YourMindMakesItReal]]
----
to:
Flagship title from Iridium Studios, ''Sequence'' is a [[StatGrinding RPG]]-[[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs Rhythm game]] hybrid that pits players in a struggle for survival against hordes of monsters, all the while to the beat of a catchy and often rock worthy soundtrack.
You are Ky, drugged and left to die on the main floor of a large tower with no means of escape except to follow the guidance of a [[DeadpanSnarker helpful]] [[ExpositionFairy voice on]] [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection the intercom]] (whose help has yet to be determined, since she could very well be alongside those responsible). You are jumped by a monster and without any knowledge on how to fight, saved by your new friend Naia when she uses one of her three 'saving grace' spells which pulls Ky out of the battle. After a brief introduction on how to fight, Naia sends you on a quest for the top of the tower with the only other option to wait and die.
''Sequence'' offers players a unique take on the two genres by wrapping the main elements of an RPG in a sea of falling arrows. During a battle, the player takes control of three different beat fields representing spells, mana and enemy damage which they are free to swap between at will:
* Defeating an enemy requires you to cast a variety of spells, all of which cost mana taken from your reserve. When a spell is cast, a pattern of arrows falls into the spell field. Successfully hitting, or 'clearing' the arrows will cast the spell in question. Different spells may be learned outside of combat and swapped into quick access slots in battles. Some will do damage to enemies, leech hp and return it to you, boost the power of the next spell cast or shield you from incoming damage. Depending on the effectiveness of the spell, the sequence of arrows that fall will become longer and more complex whereas simple spells may only require a few arrows. Fail the sequence and the spell's effect will be lost as well as the mana required to cast it.
* Since casting spells costs mana, the primary way to regain it is to move into the mana field. Here, arrows are constantly dropping and each successful beat will net you mana points. Failing to hit an arrow is not punished.
* You're facing off against any manner of abomination so self-defense is certainly encouraged. In this field, falling arrows represent your enemy's attacks. Every arrow which makes it by will damage your overall HP but may be repelled. The severity of the attack is represented by the colour of the arrow, gray dealing the least and red dealing the most.
Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out. Defeat enemies, use their drops to improve your equipment, and [[LevelGrinding repeat]] until you're powerful enough to take on the floor's boss.
----
!!This game provides examples of:
* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap - The game can be comfortably [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% completed]] at around the mid twenty level range. The actual technical level cap is thirty four, this takes ''ten billion experience points'' to reach.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The difficulty level can be changed freely until after the third floor. Useful if you picked [[NintendoHard spasmodic difficulty]].
* AntiVillain - [[spoiler:Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
** [[spoiler:This cause is proven false as of [[VideoGame/ThereCameAnEcho the sequel.]]]]
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she was abducted.]]
* AwesomeButImpractical - The final offensive spell you acquire from beating the final boss, Luminary Storm, is the most powerful, most expensive to cast, and has the longest cooldown time of any direct damage spell in the game. Unfortunately, on Hard/Spasmodic difficulty the casting pattern is very complicated, has no breaks, and takes a full 5 seconds from start to finish.
* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins - Even after learning about the true purpose of the tower, Ky and Naia decide to get together.]]
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course]]]].
* BonusBoss - [[spoiler: Virtual Ky.]]
* BoringButPractical - Arclight is the very first offensive spell you learn with low damage but a low mana cost, a short cool down time and simple arrow pattern. Above the third floor, the time limit for each battle becomes much more dangerous as the hp of your foes grows faster than the damage output of your new spells, and so Arclight becomes very useful as a backup spell that can be fired off between more damaging spells with little consequence. There is an achievement in the game for beating an enemy on the 7th Floor with ONLY Arclight.
** In the same vein is Barrier, which you start with along with Arclight and is the only spell in the game that defends you against enemy attacks. It's quick and easy to cast, and you'll probably have it on your spell wheel through the entire game.
* DamselInDistress - [[spoiler: Naia becomes this for a while on floor 5.]]
* DangerouslyGenreSavvy
* DeadpanSnarker - Both Ky and Naia.
* DrillSergeantNasty - Jane.
** Though she tones it down ''dramatically'' to the point where it's hard to tell if she's dropped the act, when it comes to talking to Naia, and after Ky defeats her - she explains to him that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority he's now her superior]], hence her changed attitude towards him.
* ExperiencePoints: Not only used to level up, but also used as currency for synthesizing items and attempting to learn new spells. How this actually works gets {{lampshaded}}.
-->'''Ky:''' Wait, what? How does "paying" experience points make any sense?\\
'''Naia:''' Does it make any less sense than one single, quantitative value accurately representing the whole of your fighting abilities and knowledge?
* ExpospeakGag: Percival introduces himself with these.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption - The first two fights where Naia uses a saving grace.
* GenreSavvy
* HopelessBossFight - [[spoiler: Aaron, the guardian of the Floor the Seventh, appears when you first get to Floor the Fourth. He has over 200 HP, and sends a constant stream of red gems in the defense field.]] Luckily, [[spoiler: Naia uses her second Saving Grace to stop the fight.]]
* HurricaneOfPuns - Almost every item contains a horrid pun in the description.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels - Easy, Medium, Hard, ''Spasmodic''
* InterfaceScrew - '''Guardian Effects'''. Ranging from rendering you unable to switch fields to swapping the position of your left/right and up/down arrows, these limited-time effects are either mildly annoying or your worst nightmare.
* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Mir, and by extension, ''everyone'' involved in the Tower organization. Their supposed intent is to make people of the finest intellectual and genetics fall in love so they can continue their lineages and produce offspring of the highest caliber. However, they are quite frankly rather benign as far as this trope goes - Mir explains that the intent is not any kind of genocide, but to improve the human race genetically simply through superior breeding, and Naia points out to Ky that their methods ultimately don't hurt anyone.]] And, to boot, [[spoiler:their true plans apparently involve Ky and Naia saving the world, but from what, is not explained.]]
* LampshadeHanging: Several typical RPG tropes have this done to them throughout the course of the dialogue.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Frequently.
* LevelGrinding
* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:Ky and Naia are actually prisoners in a computer simulation designed to pair up intellectually superior humans to further the human race. In fact, the cultivation of Ky and Naia's relationship is even more important than that, according to the secret ending - apparently, they're meant to save the world. From what, however, is left unstated.]]
* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler: The post-game boss.]]
* MissionControl: Naia, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment again]].
* ''[[QuirkyMinibossSquad Extremely Quirky]]'' [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Miniboss Squad]]: Seriously, by the standards of this trope, the Guardians go above and beyond. [[spoiler:They're all acting, of course, but still.]]
** Percival is pretty much a Victorian stereotype.
** Donaldo is a matador who has a love for Mexican food. He's even tempted by Ky's attempt to bribe him!
** Caleb is a walking [[InteractiveFiction text adventure game]]. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Seriously. He has to be seen to be believed.]]
** Jane is a DrillSergeantNasty towards anyone who she considers her 'subordinate' (with the exception of Naia), though she does tone things down considerably after the fight.
** Eddie take the ThirdPersonPerson trope to whole new levels, talking like a ''narrator''.
** Adelle is ''way'' into Astrology.
** And Aaron is... Well, he's actually pretty normal compared to the others, really, being the leader, though he does show some BloodKnight tendencies, where he attacks Ky ''long'' before the latter is supposed to fight him, partly due to orders from higher up, and because he's curious about Ky's abilities.
* NonIndicativeDifficulty: Both hard and spasmodic difficulties give one mana point per gem hit in the mana field, but spazmodic has more gems than hard, meaning that a skilled player has to worry less about running out of mana on spasmodic.
* RandomDrop - The source of your synthesis materials and likely the most prevalent enemy in the game. Equipment exists to boost the odds in your favor, though it [[InsertPaymentToUse physically cripples you]] in exchange. [[spoiler: Barring the [[BraggingRightsReward Imaginary Number Pod]] of course.]] Being able to desynth the excess materials found in your wanton farming for extra EXP takes away some of the sting.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* SequelHook - Combined with TheStinger.
** Though it's unclear if we'll ever actually get a sequel. When asked, Jason (the lead dev) said simply "What's a sequel?" Though he was probably just being sarcastic.
*** ''Definitely'' sarcastic. Someone also asked about a sequel on the Steam forums, and Jason's response was shifty-eye emotes. The writing on the wall is pretty clear, a sequel is probably (if not definitely) in the works.
* ShoutOut - Item descriptions, once again often contain these.
* TheSmartGuy - Ky has an undergrad in computer engineering, and it definitely shows in his dialogue.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat - Ky and Naia during most of their dialog.
* TheStinger - If you beat the secret boss, then there's one after the credits.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection - Naia.
* WriteWhoYouKnow - Ky is a college student from the University of Florida who is majoring in electrical and computer engineering...just like what his voice actor (and the co-founder of Iridium Studios), Jason Wishnov, was before graduating.
* [[spoiler: YourMindMakesItReal]]
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X Meets Y is not collected on examples pages, and is about compairing pairs of works, not genres.
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* XMeetsY - RPG meets rhythm game.
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* NonIndicativeDifficulty: Both hard and spasmodic difficulties give one mana point per gem hit in the mana field, but spazmodic has more gems than hard, meaning that a skilled player has to worry less about running out of mana on spasmodic.
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** [[spoiler:This cause is proven false as of [[VideoGame/ThereCameAnEcho the sequel.]]]]
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** In the same vein is Barrier, which you start with along with Arclight and is the only spell in the game that defends you against enemy attacks. It's quick and easy to cast, and you'll probably have it on your spell wheel through the entire game.
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* ExperiencePoints: Not only used to level up, but also used as currency for synthesizing items and attempting to learn new spells. How this actually works gets {{lampshaded}}.
-->'''Ky:''' Wait, what? How does "paying" experience points make any sense?\\
'''Naia:''' Does it make any less sense than one single, quantitative value accurately representing the whole of your fighting abilities and knowledge?
-->'''Ky:''' Wait, what? How does "paying" experience points make any sense?\\
'''Naia:''' Does it make any less sense than one single, quantitative value accurately representing the whole of your fighting abilities and knowledge?
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Removed the \"Incredibly Lame Pun\" pothole.
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* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap - The game can be comfortably [[{{HundredPercentCompletion}} 100% completed]] at around the mid twenty level range. The actual technical level cap is thirty four, this takes ''ten billion experience points'' to reach.
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* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap - The game can be comfortably [[{{HundredPercentCompletion}} [[HundredPercentCompletion 100% completed]] at around the mid twenty level range. The actual technical level cap is thirty four, this takes ''ten billion experience points'' to reach.
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* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she was abducted]].
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she was abducted]].
to:
* AntiVillain: AntiVillain - [[spoiler:Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she wasabducted]].abducted.]]
* AscendedExtra - [[spoiler: Jane, the fourth floor guardian takes Naia's place as MissionControl after she was
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* BonusBoss - [[spoiler: Virtual Ky]]
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* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins - Even after learning about the true purpose of the tower, Ky and Naia decide to get together.]]
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course]]]].
* BonusBoss - [[spoiler: VirtualKy]]Ky.]]
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course]]]].
* BonusBoss - [[spoiler: Virtual
* DamselInDistress - [[spoiler: Naia becomes this for a while on floor 5.]]
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* DistressedDamsel - [[spoiler: Naia becomes this for a while on floor 5]].
* DrillSergeantNasty - Jane
** Though she tones it down ''dramatically'' to the point where it's hard to tell if she's dropped the act, when it comes to talking to Naia, and after Ky defeats her - she explains to him that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority he's now her superior,]] hence her changed attitude towards him.
* DrillSergeantNasty - Jane
** Though she tones it down ''dramatically'' to the point where it's hard to tell if she's dropped the act, when it comes to talking to Naia, and after Ky defeats her - she explains to him that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority he's now her superior,]] hence her changed attitude towards him.
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** Though she tones it down ''dramatically'' to the point where it's hard to tell if she's dropped the act, when it comes to talking to Naia, and after Ky defeats her - she explains to him that [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority he's now her
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* IncrediblyLamePun - The Item descriptions often contain these.
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* RandomlyDrops - The source of your synthesis materials and likely the most prevalent enemy in the game. Equipment exists to boost the odds in your favor, though it [[InsertPaymentToUse physically cripples you]] in exchange. [[spoiler: Barring the [[BraggingRightsReward Imaginary Number Pod]] of course.]] Being able to desynth the excess materials found in your wanton farming for extra EXP takes away some of the sting.
to:
* RandomlyDrops RandomDrop - The source of your synthesis materials and likely the most prevalent enemy in the game. Equipment exists to boost the odds in your favor, though it [[InsertPaymentToUse physically cripples you]] in exchange. [[spoiler: Barring the [[BraggingRightsReward Imaginary Number Pod]] of course.]] Being able to desynth the excess materials found in your wanton farming for extra EXP takes away some of the sting.sting.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* TheSmartGuy - Ky has an undergrad in computer engineering, and it definitely shows in his dialogue.
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* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins - Even after learning about the true purpose of the tower, Ky and Naia decide to get together.]]
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course.]]]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* TheSmartGuy - Ky has an undergrad in computer engineering, and it definitely shows in his dialogue.
** Though, this could be a subversion, depending on how you interpret [[spoiler:the secret ending's revelations, that Ky and Naia are apparently meant to save the world. The "antagonist"'s MotiveRant may in fact be a ''complete lie in itself'', and his true intentions may be entirely benevolent. [[KnightTemplar His methods still may be ethically questionable, of course.]]]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech - Ky and Naia give a rather brutal one to the Sixth Guardian about how and why Astrology is a load of crap.
* TheSmartGuy - Ky has an undergrad in computer engineering, and it definitely shows in his dialogue.
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Convert exists
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* Since casting spells costs mana, the only way to regain it is to move into the mana field. Here, arrows are constantly dropping and each successful beat will net you mana points. Failing to hit an arrow is not punished.
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* Since casting spells costs mana, the only primary way to regain it is to move into the mana field. Here, arrows are constantly dropping and each successful beat will net you mana points. Failing to hit an arrow is not punished.
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* [[spoiler:AntiVillain - Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
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* [[spoiler:AntiVillain - Mir AntiVillain: [[spoiler:Mir and company. Their heinous plan ultimately boils down to elaborate matchmaking, all for a good cause.]]
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* [[spoiler:KnightTemplar - Mir, and by extension, ''everyone'' involved in the Tower organization. Their supposed intent is to make people of the finest intellectual and genetics fall in love so they can continue their lineages and produce offspring of the highest caliber. However, they are quite frankly rather benign as far as this trope goes - Mir explains that the intent is not any kind of genocide, but to improve the human race genetically simply through superior breeding, and Naia points out to Ky that their methods ultimately don't hurt anyone.]] And, to boot, [[spoiler:their true plans apparently involve Ky and Naia saving the world, but from what, is not explained.]]
to:
* [[spoiler:KnightTemplar - Mir, KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Mir, and by extension, ''everyone'' involved in the Tower organization. Their supposed intent is to make people of the finest intellectual and genetics fall in love so they can continue their lineages and produce offspring of the highest caliber. However, they are quite frankly rather benign as far as this trope goes - Mir explains that the intent is not any kind of genocide, but to improve the human race genetically simply through superior breeding, and Naia points out to Ky that their methods ultimately don't hurt anyone.]] And, to boot, [[spoiler:their true plans apparently involve Ky and Naia saving the world, but from what, is not explained.]]
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* [[spoiler:LotusEaterMachine - Ky and Naia are actually prisoners in a computer simulation designed to pair up intellectually superior humans to further the human race.]]
** Well, not ''quite''. [[spoiler:Apparently, the cultivation of Ky and Naia's relationship is even more important than that, according to the secret ending - apparently, they're meant to save the world. From what, however, is left unstated.]]
* MirrorMatch - [[spoiler: The post-game boss.]]
* MissionControl - Naia, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment again]].
** Well, not ''quite''. [[spoiler:Apparently, the cultivation of Ky and Naia's relationship is even more important than that, according to the secret ending - apparently, they're meant to save the world. From what, however, is left unstated.]]
* MirrorMatch - [[spoiler: The post-game boss.]]
* MissionControl - Naia, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment again]].
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* [[spoiler:LotusEaterMachine - Ky LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:Ky and Naia are actually prisoners in a computer simulation designed to pair up intellectually superior humans to further the human race.]]
** Well, not ''quite''. [[spoiler:Apparently,race. In fact, the cultivation of Ky and Naia's relationship is even more important than that, according to the secret ending - apparently, they're meant to save the world. From what, however, is left unstated.]]
*MirrorMatch - MirrorMatch: [[spoiler: The post-game boss.]]
*MissionControl - MissionControl: Naia, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment again]].
** Well, not ''quite''. [[spoiler:Apparently,
*
*
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* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The difficulty level can be changed freely until after the third floor. Useful if you picked [[NintendoHard spasmodic difficulty]].
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Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out. Defeat enemies, use their drops to improve your equipment, and [[{{Grinding}} repeat]] until you're powerful enough to take on the floor's boss.
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Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out. Defeat enemies, use their drops to improve your equipment, and [[{{Grinding}} [[LevelGrinding repeat]] until you're powerful enough to take on the floor's boss.
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Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use the that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out.
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Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use the that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out.out. Defeat enemies, use their drops to improve your equipment, and [[{{Grinding}} repeat]] until you're powerful enough to take on the floor's boss.
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Within each beat field, the gameplay is a four-arrow rhythm game, most popularly seen in ''DanceDanceRevolution''. Switching between beat fields rapidly is a must; the defense field to keep yourself alive, the mana field to build up your magic, and the spell field to use the that magic to defeat the enemy before time runs out.
