History Videogame / LastScenario

* SolemnEndingTheme: ''"[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6iu5xGttrU Moji no dengon]]"'' by SoundHorizon.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: There are many strange random enemies, including mushrooms, dolls, wood walls[[note]]:which actually ''don't'' try to kill you, being the random encounter equivalent of a JokeCharacter. They have no attack and HP on par with a boss, so they just stand there while the heroes smash them[[/note]], moles, two very different types of idols, ''emoticons'', and in a BonusDungeon [[spoiler:biting "[[ChestMonster Killer Crystals]]" [[WallMaster disguised]] as save crystals with slightly different color]]. The bosses are even stranger: you will e.g. come to fight a wall with an engraved face, not to mention the [[GratuitousGerman Zeitgeist]], which is basically a big clock. Don't forget the Tomes and Keys (which are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) either.

* LimitBreak: Interestingly, the spells, not the characters, have these. Whenever a character's "Crisis" bar fills up from being whacked around enough, they can use a spell's special "Crisis" ability, though it usually costs a lot of MP. [[note]]Party members ''can'' attack each other, but to prevent abuse, this won't count into the crisis score.[[/note]]
** As a Franchise/FinalFantasy ShoutOut, one of these spells (Crisis cast of Bolster, a DesperationAttack) is ''called'' Limit Break.

* TheAce: Melchior.

* ActionInitiative

* AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler:[[PlayingThePlayer Subverted]].]]
* AnEconomyIsYou

* ArmorIsUseless: Due to an oversight in the way defensive stats are handled. Defensive stats on their own do nothing; they merely influence a ''second'' defense value that involves percentile reduction. However, due to the way this is scaled, defensive stats do virtually nothing until late in the game, and since armor only augments defensive stats it's nothing but a money sink for most of the game. (This may be a reason for the game's [[NintendoHard intense difficulty]].)

* [[spoiler:AssimilationPlot]]: The BigBad's goal.
* TheAtoner: All of the [[BonusBoss Elysium bosses]].

** The Fury spellcard heals your entire party, and pretty well, too. The problem? It makes them berserk. The crisis spell heals even more but causes ''confusion''. Again, though, it can become AwesomeYetPractical if you equip the right status protection...

* AwesomeYetPractical:
** The Enlight spell, which gives one character a buff that is similar to Regen, only it regenerates ''MP''.
** On a similar note, the Chi spell, which regenerates a percentage of the user's MP ''for free''. Can't be used outside of battle, though.
** On top of that, there's the X-Shield spell, which doubles both magical and physical defense for one character. The crisis cast makes ''the whole party'' take half damage from everything.
** Also Steal once you get the Thief Glove accessory, which makes the attempt almost 100% successful with some monsters - you really cannot refuse free Gold Dusts and Serpent Fangs.

* BagOfSharing

* ClicheStorm: Then proceeds to subvert everything. [[invoked]]

* DesperationAttack: [[LimitBreak Limit]] [[ShoutOut Break]].

* DualWielding: Flynn.

* DyingMomentOfAwesome: See HeroicSacrifice.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou:
** There are many strange random enemies, including mushrooms, dolls, wood walls[[note]]:which actually ''don't'' try to kill you, being the random encounter equivalent of a JokeCharacter. They have no attack and HP on par with a boss, so they just stand there while the heroes smash them[[/note]], moles, two very different types of idols, ''emoticons'', and in a BonusDungeon [[spoiler:biting "[[ChestMonster Killer Crystals]]" [[WallMaster disguised]] as save crystals with slightly different color.]]
** The bosses are even stranger: you will e.g. come to fight a wall with an engraved face, not to mention the [[GratuitousGerman Zeitgeist]], which is basically a big clock. Don't forget the Tomes and Keys (which are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) either.

* FightWoosh

* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: [[GoddamnedBats Flying Fish]]. ''In a forest''.

** Also, a small thing near the beginning: it is mentioned that dying people turning into spectres is an extremely rare case requires the person to be died under extreme regret. But a bit later, spectres are [[RandomEncounters randomly-encountered enemies]] in [[spoiler:Alexander's tomb]].

* GratuitousGreek
* GreenRocks: Biorite.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Alison]] throwing [[spoiler:herself and Tiamat]] out of the [[spoiler:Lemuria]] to save the party from the explosion.

* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence

* LawOfCartographicalElegance
* LazyBackup

* PermanentlyMissableContent: Several items that you can only get by stealing from bosses, as well as anything in [[spoiler:the Biorite Facility]], since you blow it up on your way out.
%% Type Labels Are Not Examples * LuckStat: Type 6.

* MinorMajorCharacter: The Chancellor of the Republic.

-->''Gunther'': What are you worried about, with no enemies in sight? You think they're just going to drop down from the sky?\\
(ladder drops and Matilda's team climbs down)

* ThrivingGhostTown

* TraumaInn

* [[spoiler:TheUnchosenOne]]
* UndergroundCity: Entalar.
* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:The ''OpeningScroll'' lies to you!]]

* WhamEpisode:
** [[spoiler:The Entalar arc.]]
** The second trip to the Ether Well and conversation on the ship afterward pretty much mark the point where the plot makes a sharp turn into "Subvert ALL the tropes!" territory.

** Inverted and then played straight with Felgorn (jusified, he spared them before, so they did the same)

* LostForever: Several items that you can only get by stealing from bosses, as well as anything in [[spoiler:the Biorite Facility]], since you blow it up on your way out.
* LuckStat: Type 6.

** The [[spoiler:Biorite Facility]]. Unusual for a game in which hardly anything is LostForever.
** Also [[spoiler:Helio's VillainousBreakdown[=/=]PsychoSerum freakout.]]

* OurMonstersAreWeird:
** And how. The random enemies [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Yin and Yang]], [[StandardStatusEffects Belgugon]], [[NighInvulnerable Ectoplasm]], [[ChargedAttack Starshine]]/Sirius Lux, [[GlassCannon Ripper]], Belgugon, Tiahaunacu, Gerethog, and many others will make you say "What the heck was ''that''?". Not to forget the '''Land Sharks''', though ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' had this kind of creature first.
** Many bosses are even weirder, like the Riftgate, Erdgeist, the Viviones, Yad-al-Jauza and the Strangelets.

The basic premise of '''''Last Scenario''''' is to start out with the most cliched CRPG plot imaginable, and then twist it into something else. Before long, the cliches start to fall apart at an alarming rate, and what emerges is a long, compelling plot involving (among other things) international politics, betrayal, and the occasional bit of geology.

* CardboardObstacle: Crystallized energy, which requires the Bergheim Ray to be destroyed.

The basic premise of ''Last Scenario'' is to start out with the most cliched CRPG plot imaginable, and then twist it into something else. Before long, the cliches start to fall apart at an alarming rate, and what emerges is a long, compelling plot involving (among other things) international politics, betrayal, and the occasional bit of geology.

** The rare Smiley enemies are from SomethingAwful.

** The bosses are even stranger: you will i. e. come to fight a wall with an engraved face, not to mention the [[GratuitousGerman Zeitgeist]], which is basically a big clock. Don't forget the Tomes and Keys (which are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) either.

* ThirtyXanatosPileup: There's lots and lots of people manipulating things from behind the scenes for their own gain, though this trope lessens as the series goes on and most of them start dropping dead.

** [[LegendOfGalacticHeroes Mittermeyer and Reuental]] stand around discussing fallen heroes, ambition and seizing power in the castle of Germany-inspired Herzog.
** Drakovic's lecture on the importance of protecting democracy in the face of a benevolent autocracy is straight from the notes of [[LegendOfGalacticHeroes Yang Wen-Li]], as are his strategies and tactics.

** And how. The random enemies [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Yin and Yang]], [[StandardStatusEffects Belgugon]], [[NighInvulnerable Ectoplasm]], [[ChargedAttack Starshine]]/Sirius Lux, [[GlassCannon Ripper]], Belgugon, Tiahaunacu, Gerethog, and many others will make you say "What the heck was ''that''?". Not to forget the '''Land Sharks''', though DungeonsAndDragons had this kind of creature first.

* CryForTheDevil: You ''will'' feel sorry for [[spoiler:Ortas after he dies]].

* FixedDamageAttack: A mushroom PaletteSwap in the Entalar Caves has an attack called "[[ShoutOut One-Hundred]] [[FinalFantasy Spores]]".

** As a FinalFantasy ShoutOut, one of these spells (Crisis cast of Bolster, a DesperationAttack) is ''called'' Limit Break.

** The title of the game is a play on "FinalFantasy".

[[PlayingWithATrope From there the story goes pear shaped]].

* PowerTrio: The first three party members ([[TheMcCoy Hilbert]], [[TheSpock Thorve]], [[TheKirk Matilda]]) could qualify as this, as well as the Omega Team.

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Omega Team. [[spoiler:Ethan used to be the leader]].

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: An [[WideEyedIdealist idealistic]] IdiotHero, a bad-tempered female SergeantRock, a [[DarkAndTroubledPast traumatized]] [[TheMedic healer]], an 18-year-old [[OurElvesAreBetter Havali]] girl, an [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] who's been locked up for the last three years, an elderly geologist, and [[spoiler:an [[TheSpock unflappable]] LadyOfWar who wants to help the BigBad]]. Lampshaded:
-->"You are... not a very inconspicuous group."

* TakeYourTime: The BigBad is quite content to sit in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon while you run around clearing out {{Bonus Dungeon}}s and playing Hex. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], though; he's literally waiting for the heroes.
** Played straight on several other occasions, though. No matter how much time it takes you to get through the Serinal Woods, the [[spoiler:Omega Team]] will always be on the run at the exact same spot.
* TakingYouWithMe: Subverted. [[spoiler:Tiamat]] tries to do this, but [[spoiler:gets hauled out of the ship by Alison in a HeroicSacrifice]] before anyone else is killed.

* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler:Esmerelda is dead. Tiamat killed her]]. Which makes the artwork image you can see after completing the game where [[spoiler:Esmerelda says goodbye to Barasur before departing with the ship]] a real TearJerker.
** A similar phrase is also used by [[spoiler:Alexander]] when Ortas takes him from his prison cell.

* TragicMonster: Tiamat to Barasur.

* TreacheryCoverUp: Subverted. Despite the suggestion, Wilhelm refuses to hide [[spoiler:Felgorn's murder of Emperor Leopold]], choosing instead to reveal it to the public while still honoring the culprit's good deeds [[spoiler:and ultimate HeroicSacrifice]].

* TryNotToDie
-->'''Matilda:''' You'd better come back alive. Otherwise I'll have no one to blame for this mess.
* TwentyFourHourArmor: Matilda.

* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: {{Invoked}}:
-->'''Drakovic:''' Ah, but a good strategist never reveals his most daring plans.\\
'''Matilda:''' ...Why?\\
'''Drakovic:''' That way... you don't look as bad if they fail.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Felgorn]], we're looking at you. [[spoiler:And Hilbert, at first. The SpannerInTheWorks comes when he meets Ethan.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Tazar]], [[spoiler:Helio]], [[spoiler:Castor]].
** The party actually knows about [[spoiler:Castor]]'s potential breakdown long before it happens, and tries to prevent it. [[spoiler:Helio]], on the other hand, doesn't "break down" so much as take a few moments to get some things off his chest before his [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice "Heroic" Sacrifice]]]].

* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler:The Entalar arc.]]

* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"Call for Zawu." Wait, the MysteriousInformant is working for the creepy guy who Augustus is reporting to? OhCrap.]]

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Castor, if you go by his CharacterPortrait. Otherwise, BlondGuysAreEvil.

* WideEyedIdealist: Hilbert, particularly at the beginning. [[spoiler:Deconstructed, as it gets him in trouble from time to time. Then Reconstructed when Hilbert adds a little realism in without losing his overall idealism and turns into a damn fine example of TheMessiah.]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Tiamat.

* WolverineClaws: Helio.
** Thorve's "clawgems" are something vaguely similar.

* TheWrongfulHeirToTheThrone: The capriciously cruel and terribly incompetent Empress Helga.
* XanatosGambit: Drakovic lives off of these, as he always has a backup plan. About the only time attempts to foil his machinations don't average out in his favor is when [[spoiler:Castor took over the Republic while he and his army were busy with the Empire.]] DidntSeeThatComing.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Drakovic is good at these too, like when [[spoiler: The empire holds 500 of his men as P.O.W.s and he waits to ask for them to be released. He does this in case they'll be needed to free his country, but when they aren't he has them released to capture a nearby port friendly to the Kingdom out of nowhere]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: While it's mostly averted with major characters, a lot of the minor characters have sprites with crazy-colored hair. But even if you assume that Matilda's apparently pink hair is just stylized auburn and Felgorn's purple hair is actually black, Flynn definitely qualifies.
* YouShallNotPass: A VillainousValor example, when [[spoiler:Helio takes his own PsychoSerum to delay the heroes while Flynn and Earp get Castor somewhere safe.]]
* ZenSurvivor: Phantom.

* PoisonMushroom: Subverted by the Trick and Gamma spellcards, which are, in a way, two sides of the same coin. Trick's abilities are purely detrimental, with the base confusing the character and the Crisis cast ''killing'' them. However, it grants a huge boost to almost all of your stats. Gamma's abilities, on the other hand, are the strongest offensive spells in the game (see AwesomeButImpractical, above), but decrease most of a character's stats.

* PosthumousCharacter: Meodar and Wolfram.

* PreemptiveApology: Hilbert, to a {{Mook}} at [[spoiler:the Third Entalar Seal]].

* PsychoSerum: [[spoiler:Biorite, when used improperly, has this effect.]].

* TheQuietOne: Ethan, especially in the first half of the game.

* [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really Three Hundred Years Old]]: [[spoiler:Lorenza and the rest of the Havali, though they normally live as long as humans]].
* RecurringBoss: [[spoiler:Tiamat, the Omega Team, and Castor.]]
* RedemptionDemotion: [[spoiler:Zawu joins your party ''immediately after you fight her'' on Lux Island. She loses all her awesome skills and about nine-tenths of her uber-high stats in the process. Weakly justified, as she says that she was "using the last of the shield's power".]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Tiamat, along with [[EvilRedhead red hair]].
* ReviveKillsZombie: Although it won't cause a OneHitKill, there's often a specific spellcard that makes taking down a boss enormously easier. Perhaps most {{egregious}}ly, [[spoiler:the Riftgate]] is [[ThatOneBoss about three steps away from unbeatable]] unless you [[spoiler:move Ethan's Laser spellcard to one of the mages and BeamSpam away]]. More literally, there are also several undead monsters that are weak to recovery magic.
** [[spoiler: The Riftgate]] is made much easier by doing an another tactic suggested in ThatOneBoss entry. (See the [[YMMV/LastScenario Your Mileage May Vary]] page for details.)
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Subverted; despite being a DirtyCoward and [[spoiler:selling out all his men so he alone would survive]], [[spoiler:Tazar]] is given a high rank in the Herzog army despite misgivings. [[spoiler:However, this is double subverted after Helga dies; Augustus demotes Tazar. Taken even further when, after the civil war, Helio sends Tazar to be a guinea pig for PsychoSerum at the Biorite Facility.]]
** Or played damn straight: He was never a warrior, always wanted to drop out of republican army, didn't participate in any battles, and asked for a position of [[spoiler: Imperial Prime Minister]], but was [[BlatantLies "promoted"]] to [[spoiler: Commander-in-chief]] as an ironic punishment for doing absolutely nothing except for the aforementioned. And after that they made him [[spoiler: lead the army to defend the Capital, all to his panic and depression]]. And only after that was he able to continue his career [[spoiler: as a Biosynthetic Mutant]]. He literally gained nothing from his betrayal.
* RushBoss: [[spoiler:Hyperion]]. If you're lucky, you'll kill him without being attacked with anything remotely menacing. If you're less lucky, though, he gets off ThatOneAttack often enough to kill you despite his low HP and defense.
* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Selene and Jord. The big tip-off there is that they never fight along with you.]]
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:''Alexander himself''.]]

* SatelliteLoveInterest: Valentin, Matilda's husband. Although sometimes adorable, he doesn't get much dialogue or personality and seems to exist just to avoid any thoughts of possible romantic involvements between her and Thorve or Drakovic. Even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in a dialogue where Matilda warns Drakovic that she's a married woman. It's worst at the end of the game when she returns home only to sit down for a drink instead of embracing him or doing something affectionate.

* SergeantRock: Matilda.
* SeriousBusiness: Hex. No, really - it's all part of a crazy GambitRoulette by [[spoiler:an ancient sorcerer to obtain immortality]].

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Ethan was ''not'' supposed to be woken up early, and certainly not supposed to run into Hilbert.]]
* SquishyWizard: Lorenza and Thorve.
** Randolph is a subversion. When you meet him, he totally seems to be a "squishy scientist", but in fact, he is a StoneWall character without a really special degree of skill in magic.
* StandardFemaleGrabArea: In Lorenza's introductory cutscene, one of the soldiers trying to capture her grabs her arm. [[SubvertedTrope So she vaporizes him with a lightning bolt]].

* StoneWall: Randolph.
* TheStrategist: Drakovic may not be much good in a hand-to-hand fight, but he sure as hell knows what he's doing.

* GoingDownWithTheShip: Lampshaded and defied. When Matilda sardonically asks Moritz about this, he replies that after losing the first ship, you get used to it.

* MinorMajorCharacter: The king of Roseheart and the Chancellor of the Republic.

* MookFaceTurn: Borderline case: [[spoiler:After Castor starts to ''really'' [[VillainousBreakdown lose it]], Flynn tips the party off to what he's doing because she thinks they're the only ones who have a chance of getting him to see sense.]]

* MotiveRant:
** [[spoiler:After he poisons Helga, Augustus gives one of these, calmly explaining to her as she's dying that he hates her and everything about her because while he had to work his way up from the gutter to reach his position, she had everything given to her and takes it for granted.]]
** Before the last fight with [[spoiler:Helio]], he takes a minute to deliver a speech about why he has it in for [[spoiler:Ethan]].

* MysteriousInformant: Zawu.
* MysteriousWaif: Lorenza.

* NiceHat: The only time Ethan is ever hatless is in flashbacks. Flynn has a Nice Beret, too.

* NoPeripheralVision: At least once, Augustus fails to see someone ''in front of him'' because the distance is greater than the size of the screen.
* NonActionGuy: Matilda's husband Valentin.

* NotSoDifferent: Hilbert and [[spoiler:Castor]] have a lot of this going on.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Ethan is 28 ([[spoiler:physically 25]]) and looks closer to 20. On the more extreme end, Castor is 30 but looks younger than 19-year-old Hilbert.
* OmnicidalManiac: [[spoiler:Tiamat]].

* OneManArmy: Felgorn has literally taken down entire armies by himself.
* OneTimeDungeon: The [[spoiler:Biorite Facility]]. Unusual for a game in which hardly anything is LostForever.
* OneWingedAngel: The FinalBoss does this ''twice'', and his final form actually does look slightly angelic. It even has two [[FlunkyBoss helpers]] called [[GeniusBonus "Throne" and "Dominion"]].)

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Castor and Hilbert.

* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:Ortas]], very, ''very'' badly.

* ParentalAbandonment: Hilbert, Lorenza, [[spoiler:Ethan]], and [[spoiler:Castor]] all lost their parents at a young age.
* ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler:Zawu to Ethan and Castor.]]

* PerpetualFrowner: Thorve. It's shocking when he actually smiles for the first time.
* PersonalityPowers: Combined with MeaningfulName: Among others, Castor, whose name means "he who shines/excels", has a "Blinding Flash" attack.
* PhlebotinumRebel: [[spoiler:Ethan]] borders on this.
* PietaPlagiarism: [[spoiler:Ortas with his murdered wife in a backstory scene. [[http://socran.webs.com/Cacame%20Ortas.PNG]]]]
* PlatonicLifePartners: Thorve is absolutely inseparable from Matilda, since she basically dragged him back into doing something with his life after [[spoiler:Wolfram died]]. But she's married and he's quite happy as nothing more than her second-in-command and good friend.
* PlayingBothSides: [[spoiler:The conflict between the Republic and the Empire was entirely the Kingdom's fault.]]

* HowDareYouDieOnMe: Matilda freaks out when [[spoiler:Selene]] dies.
* HPToOne: [[spoiler:Zawu]] has an attack that does this when you fight her, and Thanatos has one that hits your ''entire party''. So do the [[BonusBoss Black King]] and the third Elysium boss. The King's one even ignores all shielding spells.

* IdealHero: As you can see from the page quote, this is one of the most prominent tropes the game [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]]. In a more general example, Hilbert wants to be one, and [[ReconstructedTrope has arguably succeeded]] by the end of the game.
* IdiotHero: Hilbert borders on this, especially at the beginning. [[spoiler: Then CharacterDevelopment or possibly HiddenDepths step in and he shows off a certain cleverness in various scenes and a penchant for {{Batman Gambit}}s.]]
* ILied:
** [[spoiler:When Augustus kills Helga.]] "I- I trusted you!" "[[MagnificentBastard Well, that was a stupid move.]] But then, you never were very bright, were you?"
** [[spoiler:When Castor [[InTheBack (literally)]] backstabs Ortas in the Temple of Gaia.]]

* IncomingHam: Not that he actually ''is'' a LargeHam, mind you, but the principle is the same:
-->That's right! You're a liar, [[spoiler:Zawu]]!

* IRegretNothing: [[spoiler:Augustus's last words.]]

* InTheBack: How the [[TheManBehindTheMan real]] BigBad finally reveals himself.

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Helio, who used dozens of people as guinea pigs for Biorite experiments, uses it on himself in a YouShallNotPass moment and dies as a [[BodyHorror disfigured mutant]].]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Helio. [[spoiler:When [[DirtyCoward Tazar]] goes to him for help assuming he'll be protected even though he proved incompetent at every turn, Helio tells him he can have a job at a secret research facility. He does not mention that said job is as [[BodyHorror a test subject]].]] Quoth Earp: "That was cruel even for you."

* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Ortas]]
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: PlayedWith. [[spoiler:A lot of Castor's issues stem from Ethan constantly trying to protect him, but no one but Castor seems to think he's particularly extreme about it. Also, Ethan's the younger of the two]].
* LadyOfWar: Zawu, and maybe Matilda.
* TheLancer: Usually Matilda, though Thorve is this at times as well.

--> [[spoiler:Drakovic]]: If [[spoiler:the Kingdom]] thinks they can take control of our country, I'll make their lives as miserable as possible.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Biorite can do this to humans, though specifically Ethan and [[spoiler:Phantom. Ethan pretends to have lost many more memories than he actually did, though, and the ones that he did forget he remembers eventually.]]

* {{Leitmotif}}: Thorve, Lorenza, Zawu, Ortas, and [[spoiler:Alexander]].
** And Bergheim gets one that [[SoundtrackDissonance doesn't fit his personality in the slightest.]]

* TheLifestream: [[spoiler:Biorite. Castor states that it's where all life originated.]]

* LightningBruiser: Hilbert, though he's possibly more of a JackOfAllStats that sacrifices intellect for speed.

* LooksLikeCesare: Ethan.

* TheManBehindTheMan: This happens a quite a few times... [[spoiler:Castor behind Ortas behind Augustus behind Helga]].

* MightyGlacier: Matilda.

* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Shown by Hilbert during his HeroicBSOD and by Lorenza at another point on their sprites.

* EarlyBirdCameo: About one hour into the game, you can see and talk to Drakovic, but he won't have much relevance until halfway through the game.

* EnigmaticMinion: Castor and the Omega Team, at first.

* ExplosiveOverclocking: [[spoiler:Tiamat's death.]]
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: [[spoiler:Inverted.]]
* [[EvilChancellor Evil Prime Minister]]: [[spoiler:Augustus.]]
* EvilRedhead: Tiamat. [[spoiler:But she wasn't always evil...]]

* EyesAlwaysShut: Helio. When they open, it's... a [[VillainousBreakdown bad sign]].

* FieryRedhead: Matilda and Tiamat.

* FragileSpeedster: [[spoiler:Zawu]] has the highest speed stat of any player character, but their defense is barely better than [[SquishyWizard Thorve]]'s. Also something of a GlassCannon, though, as their offense is pretty high.
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Castor, whose feelings of helplessness and inadequacy from having his hometown destroyed and having to rely on his little brother for protection led him to go to any lengths for power.]] When he [[spoiler:''still'' can't beat Hilbert and company]], this causes him to ''[[VillainousBreakdown really]]'' snap.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The Marid King, the Viviones, the Earth Golem, Pestilence... the list goes on. There are many, many [[Vidoegame/{{Mardek}} plot-unrelated boss monsters]] in this game.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Empress Helga singlehandedly threw her country into complete chaos.

* GoMadFromTheIsolation: [[spoiler:Tiamat]], though she wasn't entirely sane when she was locked.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[GrayAndGreyMorality Arguably]], [[spoiler:Zawu]].

* HeroicBSOD: Hilbert briefly goes through this after learning that [[spoiler: he isn't actually related to Alexander]]. And then there's [[spoiler:Ethan]], who actually ''[[AngstComa passed out on the floor]]'' when [[spoiler:he remembered that Castor was his brother.]]
* HeroicLineage: The plot starts when Hilbert is told he is a descendant of Alexander. [[spoiler:Subverted; he's not, and Zawu was just playing on his gullibility as part of an unsuccessful BatmanGambit.]] But in an awesome usage of PlayingWithATrope, [[spoiler:Alexander later declares the entire party his descendants, not in blood but in spirit. Heroic Adoption?]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Felgorn, Alison, and Barasur]]. [[spoiler:Helio]]'s death can also be counted as one of these, although [[VillainousValor he does it for the other side]].
* HeroicWannabe: Hilbert, especially in the beginning when he has the manic wish to be the "protector of his village".
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:Ortas]].

* HopelessBossFight: The first encounter with [[spoiler:Felgorn]]. Arguably the solo fight with [[spoiler:Helio]], although that one can be beaten on a NewGamePlus ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation not that the game notices]]).
** Melchior is level 99, either immune to or absorbs every element, does thousands of HP worth of damage with his normal attacks, and his Regen spell restores HP in the tens of thousands per round. It ''is'' possible to beat him (though very, very, ''very'' unlikely), but you're supposed to [[spoiler: flee the battle, after which he gives the party a special, unique spellcard.]]

* BrokenAce: Augustus, Castor, and, to a degree, Felgorn.

* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:Ethan and Phantom, in biorite.]]
* CainAndAbel:
** [[spoiler:Ethan and Castor]]
** Helga and Wilhelm.

* ChallengeSeeker: Despite having ulterior goals, [[spoiler:Augustus]] treats his striving for power like a game.
--> I proved my superiority. I have already won. {{I regret nothing}}.

* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:Phantom, first spotted right near the beginning as a crazy old guy wandering into a Pargon base. Turns out that he's ''Alexander'' and has been stuck in biorite for the last three hundred years.]]

* TheChosenOne: Hilbert. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, then reconstructed as TheUnchosenOne.]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: This gets Hilbert in a ''lot'' of trouble several times near the beginning of the game, and while it never really goes away, he eventually learns to temper it with a little bit of common sense. [[spoiler:Then it comes back full force at the very end, when he decides to [[SaveTheVillain stay behind to rescue Castor]] when even [[KnightTemplarBigBrother Ethan]] and [[ParentalSubstitute Zawu]] have given up]].

* ClimaxBoss: Almost everything that isn't a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere. [[spoiler:Felgorn]] and [[spoiler:Ortas]] in particular, however.
* CoDragons: The Omega Team (Helio in particular) and Tiamat to Castor.

* ColonelBadass: Drakovic, after a couple well-deserved promotions.

* ContrivedCoincidence: [[spoiler:Ethan just happened to be the one that killed Thorve's friend.]]

* CoolOldGuy: Randolph makes a decent case for this.

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: On more than one occasion, Matilda threatens to [[OffWithHisHead rip someone's head off]]. Of course, given that this is ''Matilda'', it's quite likely she means it.

* CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler:Ortas's ''entire family'' died.]] No wonder he went [[KnightTemplar a little nuts]].

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Ethan, Thorve and Hilbert.
* DarkMessiah: [[spoiler:Ortas and to a lesser extent Augustus. Castor later gets shades of this as well.]]
* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:Augustus, the scheming, traitorous [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], is killed by Felgorn, the one person who he trusted completely.]]
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: [[spoiler:Felgorn's death is implied to be one of these - he died from his wounds after [[OneManArmy defeating dozens of enemy soldiers.]]]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship: People will play Hex with you in areas you just conquered; most notably, [[spoiler:Flynn and Earp]] are really quite friendly after their country is invaded.
** Also [[spoiler:Zawu]], who joins you immediately after you fight her.

* DegradedBoss: The Prototypes (presumably subjects of the Artificial Key project).

* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler: Tazar.]]

* DiseaseBleach: Inverted. [[spoiler:Ethan was blond until he got buried in biorite for three years.]]

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Ortas may have been a genocidal, racist dictator, but it's almost impossible not to feel sorry for the guy when you realize just ''why'' he turned evil and that in the end, he was just another one of Castor's pawns.]]

* AngstComa: [[spoiler:Ethan, who passes out after Castor calls him "brother."]]
** [[spoiler:And Castor, after he's defeated by the heroes. He may have simply been knocked out, but the realization that he was weak kept him from getting up for a long time.]]

* AntiVillain: Felgorn, Flynn, and Earp in particular, though most of the villains are at least somewhat sympathetic.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Alexander]].
** [[spoiler:All of the Elysium bosses.]]
** [[spoiler:Zawu after realizing Ethan is alive, but particularly after the Entalar arc.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Castor and Ortas, in particular. Subverted with Drakovic, who, smart, talented leader though he is, is a bit of a pushover in a fight.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Gamma spellcard deals huge damage, but is rather unreliable and has a huge MP cost and an unpleasant stat malus.
** Also, the Fury spellcard, which heals your entire party, and pretty well, too. The problem? It makes them berserk. The crisis spell heals even more but causes ''confusion''. Again, though, it can become AwesomeYetPractical if you equip the right status protection...
** The Ruin equipment that you can steal from smilie type enemies are all phenomenally powerful, but are all cursed in some way or another. (the Ruin Mask is poisoned, for example.)

* AwesomeYetPractical: The Enlight spell, which gives one character a buff that is similar to Regen, only it regenerates ''MP''. On a similar note, the Chi spell, which regenerates a percentage of the user's MP ''for free''. Can't be used outside of battle, though. On top of that, there's the X-Shield spell, which doubles both magical and physical defense for one character. The crisis cast makes ''the whole party'' take half damage from everything.

* BadassCape: [[http://blog.scfworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/sk_111009.jpg Zawu]]. Take that, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Golbez]]. Over-the-top perma-DramaticWind is unnecessary.
* BadassMustache: Drakovic.

* BaitAndSwitchBoss: Subverted when [[spoiler:Castor backstabs Ortas. Instead of him fighting the main characters, Ortas [[{{Determinator}} fights them despite being near death.]]]]

* BigBrotherInstinct: Although in this case, it's the younger brother who was determined to protect the older one. [[spoiler:Does not end well; Ethan's constant attempts to keep Castor safe gave him a bit of a complex that led him to seek power at all costs.]]
** Ethan is extremely close to and protective of Lorenza, as well, to the point where [[spoiler:when she's captured by Ortas, he heads off on his own and starts cutting a bloody swath through the castle trying to find her]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Antagonist example: [[spoiler: Matilda is about to kill Tazar]], [[spoiler:Felgorn]] arrives in a flash of light and strikes her down.

* BladeSpam: Felgorn and Flynn are fond of this.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Augustus and Castor. On the other hand, Hilbert, Thorve, and Wilhelm are all blond. And ''something'' like this is at play in the fact that [[spoiler:Ethan was blond when he was working for the Kingdom, but has black hair now.]]

* OurElvesAreBetter: Partially averted with the Havali since they're missing a lot of the standard elf traits, but the ears make the comparison inevitable.