History YMMV / CodeNameSteam

* SurpriseDifficulty: Oh, this game is made by the same people as ''Fire Emblem'' - and they threw the NintendoHard aspects to harder mode after ''Radiant Dawn''. This game should be eas-OhCrap.

* EarWorm: The vocal theme.

** In the ''Film/WizardOfOz'' parody in [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Anthology of Interest II]], the Professor says to Zoidberg, "Who needs courage when you have a gun?" In this game, one Lion's lines is "I've got my courage. And my gun!"

* MostWonderfulSound:

* HeReallyCanAct: Jason Adkins gives a much more convincing delivery as Ike when compared to his previous portrayals of the character in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Smash]]'' series

** [[spoiler:Stovepipe]] has some of the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny funniest lines]] in the game-- [[BondOneLiner especially after killing an alien]].

** Nettlers are a prime example. Their attacks don't seem immediately harmful, doing 2 damage ''at most''... however, they will ''always'' stun you (excluding Scarecrow and Tin Man). On the enemy's turn, this means your Overwatch is negated and other enemies can deal double damage, during your turn they can go on Overwatch, which essentially turns their line of sight into a giant wall your units can't pass that turn. While you ''can'' kill them, it's very difficult, since they hover out of range of most weapons and are extremely small targets. At the very least they drop a large amount of gold when killed, to help lessen the pain of dealing with them in the first place.

** Creator/GreyDelisle, who played Carmalita Fox in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', here voices a character called "The Fox" who is ''also'' a DashingHispanic[=/=]SpicyLatina.

** [[spoiler:Stovepipe]] has some of the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny funniest lines]] in the game-- [[BondOneLinerespecially after killing an alien]].

** One surfaced regarding the art style as soon as the game was demo'd at E3. Some like it because they like American comicbooks (which the art style was based on), others hate it because they thought it would be similar to ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' based on the comparisons to its gameplay and due to the developers' existing library of games. More still hate it because it isn't using an anime/manga-inspired art style like both ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' and ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' are known for... and some love it for the same reason.

** Throughout your first playthrough, it's ''very'' hard to find yourself ''not'' picking Lion and Tiger Lily for almost every map. Lion because he is ''highly'' mobile, can endure a few hits, and provides a defense bonus for everyone. Tiger Lily meanwhile is a healer (which you ''NEED'') but she can also heal herself - the Medi-Carbine and Medi-Rifle can only heal others, meaning a unit wielding it will have to rely on either Tiger Lily, save points, or healing items if they want to recover their health.

** [[SandWorm Lurkers]] burrow under soft ground and burst up to attack, meaning they can move pretty much wherever they want to; [[ParanoiaFuel it's difficult to know where they are, and there always seems to be more where they came from.]] They have a variant of overwatch where one will [[JumpScare suddenly burst out under your characters]] upon stepping on the tile they're hiding under. It's very easy to trigger without slowing to a crawl, and you can't use overwatch against them. It's possible for one character to be hit by up to three of them in one turn if you're particularly unlucky. They also have a huge amount of HP for such a numerous enemy type, made worse by their ''incredibly small'' weak point that wiggles around far more than most other idle enemies. Even at point-blank range hitting it is a challenge, though there are points in all three of their animation cycles (healthy, stunned, and wounded) where their weak point stays still long enough for most weapons to be able to hit it.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Turn-based strategy, American comic books, steampunk, and characters from classic literature all thrown into a blender together. Regardless of how delicious the final product might be, that's still a very specific sell, as shown by the game's incredibly low sales numbers. And it didn't help that it was announced during a period of time where gamers were all clammoring for ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask 3D''.

** A similar gameplay style later appeared in the Switch game ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'', with a equally bizarre concept as Steam (Mario and Rabbids teaming up with guns).

** Henry shouting, "BOOM!" One word often says it all.

* SurpriseDifficulty: Oh, this game is made by the same people as Fire Emblem - and they threw the NintendoHard aspects to harder mode after ''Radiant Dawn''. This game should be eas-OhCrap.

** 5-3 has a confusing layout, practically ''requires'' you to run into enemy ambushes to proceed, and the enemies are ''entirely'' Prowlers which... well, see the DemonicSpiders entry. And it gets even worse once you reach the lowest level, where Prowlers infinitely spawn. Ironically, despite being a "defeat boss" mission, the boss in question is a total joke, [[CowardlyBoss hiding in the corner doing mostly nothing]]. It's ''getting'' to him that's the hard part.
** 6. It's the first chapter consisting of only one map. There's a ''[[ThatOneBoss very]]'' good reason. The map is full of Lurkers (see DemonicSpiders above) and unlike most later maps with them there's no way to avoid walking on the ground they emerge from. There are also Nettlers, making things even more annoying. When you finally get to the Queen alien you have to take down, you have a very limited area to fight in: get too close and its birthing scream will stun you, but the dense terrain prevents you from fighting effectively from a distance, ''and'' much of the ground in the area hides Lurkers, limiting where you can move. All the while, the Queen is spawning Slashers, normally TheGoomba but becoming outright DemonicSpiders here due to their massive movement range in such a cramped area, meaning they'll likely close in on you with enough movement left to hit you twice. And it spawns two per turn, which can move immediately. And reinforcements spawn the turn you first get near the Queen.

** 10. It starts with the team at the bottom of a canyon. It's automatically difficult since Crashers will ambush the squad from above. It's entirely possible that, until all four members reach the first cliff above the canyon floor, at least one S.T.E.A.M. member may be taken out. It doesn't get much easier upstairs, either, since Lurkers prowl the grounds above.

** 15-2. Three Gunners ''with their weak points hidden'' make it very difficult to progress without getting hit by them. Eyestalkers constantly spawn, so there's always a danger of being bombarded -- possibly for character to get hit three times in one turn (for around 70 damage each). Thought taking out one of them reduces the number of shots you have to endure? Nope, they can each shoot twice if enough Eyestalkers can see you. Alternately, you can choose to take the lower route to avoid dealing with the second artillery... [[SadisticChoice if you feel like fighting two Queens and a ton of Lurkers instead.]] There's a good reason Tiger Lily is on the recommended team for the level, it's ''damn near impossible'' without her on the first playthrough.

** Tom Sawyer has among the highest mobility in the game, and his Punch Gun is ''very'' good for only costing 1 Steam to fire: having major knockback, decent range and a chance of Stun. Its weak power isn't much of an issue either since, again, it only costs 1 Steam and stunned enemies take double damage. When spammed even bosses take major damage. This only gets better once you unlock the boiler that fully recharges his steam every turn. Not only that, but combine this with another unit laying down mines (or Tom's "hijinks" ability), and you can knock enemies ''into'' the mines.

** Randolph Carter's notes contain lots of obscure references to the ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' that will probably go over most players' heads. S.T.E.A.M's first assignment was investigating a [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth "shadow" that had fallen over Innsmouth]] and the game's most basic (and numerous) enemies are apparently the offspring of The Black Goat of the Woods with A Thousand Young, to name a few examples.

** Nettlers are a prime example. Their attacks can't harm you at all, doing 2 damage ''at most''... however, they will ''always'' stun you (excluding Scarecrow and Tin Man). On the enemy's turn, this means your Overwatch is negated and other enemies can deal double damage, during your turn they can go on Overwatch, which essentially turns their line of sight into a giant wall your units can't pass that turn. While you ''can'' kill them, it's very difficult, since they hover out of range of most weapons and are extremely small targets. At the very least they drop a large amount of gold when killed, to help lessen the pain of dealing with them in the first place.

* HeReallyCanAct: Jason Adkins gives a much more convincing delivery as Ike when compared to his previous portrayals of the character in the Fire Emblem and Smash series

** Creator/GreyDelisle, who played Carmalita Fox in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', here voices a character called "The Fox" who is ''also'' a DashingHispanic.

* SurpriseDifficulty: Oh, this game is made by the same people as Fire Emblem - and they threw the NintendoHard aspects to harder mode after Radiant Dawn. This game should be eas-OhCrap.

** 10. It starts with the team at the bottom of a canyon. It's automatically difficult since Crashers will ambush the squad from above. It's entirely possible that, until all four members reach the first cliff above the canyon floor, at least one S.T.E.A.M. member may be taken out. It doesn't get much easier upstairs, either, since Lurkers prowl the grounds above

* BoxOfficeBomb: Lukewarm sales (Japan had the worst of it) may have either killed this franchise or put it on the backburner for a long time.

** Creator/GreyDelisle, who played Carmalita Fox in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', here voices a character called "The Fox" who is ''also'' a SpicyLatina.

** ...[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Ike]], who is generally considered to be the worst {{amiibo}} unit, and worst character, in the game. His ranged attack does only 5 damage (in a game where cheaper attacks regularly do around 50), his melee attack (which is problematic to begin with since unlike Marth he has to watch out for overwatch attacks) causes knockback (making it cost an absurd amount of steam to simply do two attacks to the same enemy), he cannot do Overwatch attacks, and like the other [[GuestFighter amiibo characters]], he doesn't have a better boiler or better subweapons that he can use and can't revive mid-battle.

* AmericansHateTingle: Inverted: the game did [[BoxOfficeBomb even worse in Japan]] than in the States. Not even [[Franchise/FireEmblem Fire Emblem cameos]] saved this game.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The game's sales were passable at best in the West and Europe. Japan? ''Not even close to 2,000 units sold in its first week''.

** Robin and Lucina are this for people who own their Amiibo; unlike Marth and Ike, they have useful, low-cost ranged attacks as well as abilities that boost the stats of the entire team.

** 9-2 involves the characters walking along a catwalk in a warehouse. The only obstacle of concern are easily-noticeable weak panels that the enemies will inevitably walk on and fall to the lower level. Especially easy considering the [[ThatOneLevel previous level.]]

** It's ''very'' hard to find yourself ''not'' picking Lion and Tiger Lily for almost every map. Lion because he is ''highly'' mobile, can endure a few hits, and provides a defense bonus for everyone. Tiger Lily meanwhile is a healer (which you ''NEED'') but she can also heal herself - the Medi Carbine can only heal others, meaning a unit wielding it will have to rely on either Tiger Lily, save points, or healing items if they want to recover their health.
** Robin and Lucina are this for people who own their amiibo; unlike Marth and Ike, they have useful, low-cost ranged attacks as well as abilities that boost the stats of the entire team.
** The Fox also applies. Combine her rifle's long range, its potent shot power, and a strategic position overwatching enemy spawn points, she can easily take out enemies from a safe distance.

** Eyestalkers can't be killed, and being in their line of sight means you're the target for an artillery strike. If several Eyestalkers can see a character, they could be hit by artillery multiple times. And artillery fire can knock you back into the range of another Eyestalker you thought you were safe from.

** The Tin Man being Japanese seems like an odd design choice until one considers how prominent woodcutters were in Japanese folktales, as well as how Japan frequently asserts HeartIsAnAwesomePower .

** Nettlers are a prime example. Their attacks can't harm you at all, doing 2 damage ''at most''... however, they will ''always'' stun you. On the enemy's turn, this means your Overwatch is negated and other enemies can deal double damage, during your turn they can go on Overwatch, which essentially turns their line of sight into a giant wall your units can't pass that turn. While you ''can'' kill them, it's very difficult, since they hover out of range of most weapons and are extremely small targets. At the very least they drop a large amount of gold when killed, to help lessen the pain of dealing with them in the first place.

** Creator/LauraBailey reprises her role as [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Lucina]] for this game, and appears alongside [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz Dorothy Gale.]] Then, in ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions,'' Laura voices [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Dorothy]].

** Early players are complaining about the fact that when the enemy makes a turn, it can't be skipped - A major problem, as they can go on for quite a while. Some point out this ''does'' make for a nice slow-paced game for a change, but it ''can'' go on for awhile, especially early on. Thankfully, an update allows players to speed up the enemy's turn, topping at 2x speed for the regular 3DS and 2DS, and 3x for the New 3DS.

** With a {{Steampunk}} world and a cast of literary {{Public Domain Character}}s, this game is probably the closest thing to a video game version of ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' that we'll ever get.

** 6-1. It's the first chapter consisting of only one map. There's a ''[[ThatOneBoss very]]'' good reason. The map is full of Lurkers (see DemonicSpiders above) and unlike most later maps with them there's no way to avoid walking on the ground they emerge from. There are also Nettlers, making things even more annoying. When you finally get to the Queen alien you have to take down, you have a very limited area to fight in: get too close and its birthing scream will stun you, but the dense terrain prevents you from fighting effectively from a distance, ''and'' much of the ground in the area hides Lurkers, limiting where you can move. All the while, the Queen is spawning Slashers, normally TheGoomba but becoming outright DemonicSpiders here due to their massive movement range in such a cramped area, meaning they'll likely close in on you with enough movement left to hit you twice. And it spawns two per turn, which can move immidiately. And reinforcements spawn the turn you first get near the Queen.

** 10. It starts with the team at the bottom of a canyon. It's automatically difficult since Crashers will ambush the squad from above. It's entirely possible that, until all four members reach the first cliff above the canyon floor, at least one STEAM member may be taken out. It doesn't get much easier upstairs, either, since Lurkers prowl the grounds above
** 15-2. Three Gunners ''with no weak points'' make it very difficult to progress without getting hit by them. Eyestalkers constantly spawn, so there's always a danger of being bombarded -- possibly for character to get hit three times in one turn (for around 70 damage each). Thought taking out one of them reduces the number of shots you have to endure? Nope, they can each shoot twice if enough Eyestalkers can see you. Alternately, you can choose to take the lower route to avoid dealing with the second artillery... [[SadisticChoice if you feel like fighting two Queens and a ton of Lurkers instead.]] There's a good reason Tiger Lily is on the recommended team for the level, it's ''damn near impossible'' without her on the first playthrough.

** Dorothy is probably the closest the game comes to this, if only because taking advantage of her gimmick (being close to the enemy) requires players to either be a little more careful or combine with Randolph Carter (or anybody with a stun weapon). She's also very squishy, meaning that if she gets caught she will require Tiger Lily or someone with the Medi carbine to heal her ''immediately''. However she can scare Eyestalkers away ''very'' well, can utterly obliterate the Gunners' weakpoints in a single hit, and being a light unit she's an amazing candidate for the [[LethalJokeWeapon crossbow]], especially since you'll probably be bringing a stun weapon around her if you're going to use her. At any rate she's agreed to not be as bad as...

* GoddamnedBats: Nettlers are a prime example. Their attacks can't harm you at all, doing 2 damage ''at most''... however, they will ''always'' stun you. On the enemy's turn, this means your Overwatch is negated and other enemies can deal double damage, during your turn they can go on Overwatch, which essentially turns their line of sight into a giant wall your units can't pass that turn. While you ''can'' kill them, it's very difficult, since they hover out of range of most weapons and are extremely small targets. At the very least they drop a large amount of gold when killed, to help lessen the pain of dealing with them in the first place.

* HilariousInHindsight: In the ''WizardOfOz'' parody in [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Anthology of Interest II]], the Professor says to Zoidberg, "Who needs courage when you have a gun?" In this game, one Lion's lines is "I've got my courage. And my gun!"

* MostWonderfulSound: "DISTRACTED, were you?" and The Fox's other kill lines, since they usually follow a BoomHeadshot OneHitKill. Especially awesome if it was [[ImprobableAimingSkills a particularly difficult weak-point hit from extremely far away.]]

* TierInducedScrappy: Dorothy is probably the closest the game comes to this, if only because taking advantage of her gimmick (being close to the enemy) requires players to either be a little more careful or combine with Randolph Carter (or anybody with a stun weapon). She's also very squishy, meaning that if she gets caught she will require Tiger Lily or someone with the Medi carbine to heal her ''immediately''. However she can scare Eyestalkers away ''very'' well, can utterly obliterate the Gunners' weakpoints in a single hit, and being a light unit she's an amazing candidate for the [[LethalJokeWeapon crossbow]], especially since you'll probably be bringing a stun weapon around her if you're going to use her. At any rate she's agreed to not be as bad as...

* OlderThanTheyThink: [[Franchise/FireEmblem Marth]] has actually spoken audible English before - in an old ''Fire Emblem'' OVA that was dubbed into English.

* LoopholeAbuse:
** Missions in which enemies spawn infinitely can be taken advantage of for increased medal counts. Likewise, if a kill shot hits an alien's glowing purple weak point, enemies will drop extra medals to collect.
** Eyestalkers can also be toyed with, since they will only disappear if they don't have a target within their lines of sight. Wise players can exploit this by leaving one squad member positioned under a roof-like structure, thus resulting in a Gunner's missiles harmlessly shattering on the overhanging surface.

** Lion's [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Lion]] Launcher allows him to jump much farther than he would normally be able to walk. Not only can this be used to save steam, it can also help to end difficult levels early.

** [[SandWorm Lurkers]] burrow under soft ground and burst up to attack. They can move pretty much wherever they want to; [[ParanoiaFuel it's difficult to know where they are, and there always seems to be more where they came from.]] They have a variant of overwatch where one will [[JumpScare suddenly burst out under your characters]] upon stepping on the tile they're hiding under. It's very easy to trigger without slowing to a crawl, and you can't use overwatch against them. It's possible for one character to be hit by up to three of them in one turn if you're particularly unlucky. They also have a huge amount of HP for such a numerous enemy type, made worse by their ''incredibly small'' weak point that wiggles around far more than most other idle enemies. Even at point-blank range hitting it is a challenge, though there are points in all three of their animation cycles (healthy, stunned, and wounded) where their weak point stays still long enough for most weapons to be able to hit it.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome:
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpcTwOHXdqw Code Name: T.H.E.M.E.]]
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4TIH3ppcxs Deadly Dance II]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeynsSoq3NQ Blessings]], the song that plays during the [[spoiler: final non-mecha battle of the game, against [[TheDragon Starface]]]]

* AmericansHateTingle: ''Code Name S.T.E.A.M'' sold miserably in Japan during its first week on sale. It didn't even manage to sell ''2,000'' copies. This is likely due to the [[PatrioticFervor extremely American]] nature of the game as far as its story, characters, and art style goes, but see BrokenBase below for further elaboration on that.