History VideoGame / ZeroRanger

* GiantEnemyCrab: One is encountered in Stage 2-3 in place of the serpent midbosss if certain conditions are met. It's a huge orange crab that chases you up the tower and which you can only reliably and safely damage with either rear-firing weapons or the bombs that spawn as you go up.

* BroughtDownToNormal: Meta example. [[spoiler: After the story is "beat" by going back in time and defeating the Lotus Jewel, the game's interface and imagery lose all its aesthetics referencing the Lotus Jewel (for example, it is not used for continues anymore) and it is no longer discussed. The game also gets a more subdued orange and black color scheme (which can be reverted under Options.)]]

* TriumphantReprise: If certain conditions are met [[spoiler:in the post-Green Orange timeline]], then [[spoiler:during the EscapeSequence]] at the end of the game, [[spoiler:the track "Crisis" (which had also played during the Stage 2-1 boss's OneWingedAngel form) is replaced by a longer and more triumphant version, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaBIZg1rR0w "Now or Never, Get Fired Up!!"]]]]

* OminousPipeOrgan: The track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot21zhH7uXk "Crisis"]], which plays during [[spoiler:the Stage 2-1 boss's OneWingedAngel form]] as well as [[spoiler:the EscapeSequence at the end of the game]], is backed by a pipe organ, adding to the urgency of the sitatuion

* GetOut: [[spoiler:Completing Light Mode in the Great Oppressor timeline with a Z rank results in G.O. awarding you "your greatest reward": her "eternal gratitude". [[{{Beat}} The dialogue pauses]] with several lines of VisibleSilence, anticipating that the player expects an actual reward, before G.O. tells the player to get out and unceremoniously closes her dialogue window's shutters.]]

* DynamicDifficulty: There's a hidden "Rank" system that makes bullets faster, more frequent, and replaces enemy patterns with more dense ones the higher it is. Your Rank goes up over time in proportion to how many hitpoints you have, and decreases whenever you get hit or lose your multiplier. When starting a new game from any stage other than 1-1, mashing the Fire 1 button during the transition to gameplay will force your Rank to the highest level.

* MercyMode: The game is more likely to randomly spawn OneUp items if you are low on shields.

** In White Vanilla / Light Mode, the TrueFinalBoss fight [[spoiler:inexplicably activates the "Boss Break" ScoreMultiplier system, which is otherwise only seen in Green Orange / Normal mode]].

** [[spoiler:A similar incident happens in Stage 2-2. The boss has a different-looking skull face embedded in its "core". When you defeat the boss, the warning sequence plays out again, the boss's face shoots back up, the lights go out, a previously-unseen onion-headed giant humanoid shows up to devour the boss's face, and the onion-headed monster is your next target.]]

* DynamicDifficulty: There's a hidden "Rank" system that makes bullets faster, more frequent, and replaces enemy patterns with more dense ones the higher it is. Your Rank goes up gradually in proportion to how many hitpoints you have, and decreases whenever you get hit or lose your multiplier.

** White Vanilla / Light Mode is counted as a clear as long as you beat the four main stages, even if you unlock and lose to the TrueFinalBoss.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: [[spoiler:After getting to Erasure a second time, they give you a lotus jewel that gives a fake-out ending and changes the game to [=FinalBoss=], a one-stage Creator/{{Cave}}-esque bullet hell shooter with bombs and many more bullets flying at you.]]

* SpeedrunReward: One of the achievements for White Vanilla / Light Mode requires you to beat the game in 15 minutes or less.

* DeletionAsPunishment: [[spoiler:Should you die fighting the [[TrueFinalBoss Lotus Jewel]] you will lose all your progress and will have to start over from the beginning. You are given ample warning of the consequences of failure beforehand though]].

** Bad Ending: [[spoiler:Defeat Despair but get defeated by the TrueFinalBoss in the past, which loops into the intro cinematic and completely wipes all progress.]]

* NonstandardGameOver: Lose during the TrueFinalBoss sequence and [[spoiler:[[DeletionAsPunishment your progress is erased]] as you get the cutscene you get when you first start the game. Turns out, said cutscene is Mido or Dori failing to stop the Lotus Jewel in the past, which is what just happened.]]

** Green Orange Mode: [[spoiler:Despair's original form as the goddess born of the Lotus Jewel, and the Jewel itself. You can only face this by accepting Erasure's offer to take you back in time to fight it at the risk of losing your existence (i.e. [[DeletionAsPunishment your save data]]).]]

--> [[spoiler:THE ABADDON FIGHTER \\
"GRAPEFRUIT"]]

* WaveMotionGun: If you equip Charge Shot and leave it charging for more than 1 minute, your shot will become a huge deathray that will obliterate all enemies in its path. [[AwesomeButImpractical This is really cool, but not that useful]], since in the time it takes for it to charge, you can easily destroy many more enemies with thoughtful use of your other shots; it's only ever practical to do if the player has an extended period of time where nothing at all is happening.
* WithThisHerring: The player ships start out without their secondary weapons, have no bombs, and can't access [[HumongousMecha Zero Ranger]] mode before a certain plot event occurs. They are expected to take on both the alien and subverted planetary defense forces by themselves.

* OutrunTheFireball: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, after destroying Despair, you have to escape the alien planetoid as it explodes. As the explosion gets closer and closer, your ship starts to shed its weapons in order to go faster.]] Depending on whether you've already beaten the game at least once, [[spoiler:your ship either [[HeroicRROD gets crippled as it flies out into space]], or survives the escape]].