History YMMV / NaziZombies

* ''YMMV/CallOfDuty''
* ''YMMV/ModernWarfare''
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* AssPull:
** Retconning Tank Dempsey into Verruckt. Unless that was the original idea, but there's little evidence.
** The two minute cutscene ending ''Revelations'' and presumably the entire saga, which still leaves countless questions, and doesn't completely resolve everything that's been brought up in the saga since 2008.
* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The storyline initially started as something that came to us through little Easter eggs and audio logs, leaving us to piece together the majority of the story by ourselves. Starting with "Moon" in ''Black Ops'', the story has been becoming more and more openly told, and in ''Black Ops III'', we get numerous cinematics to help move the story along in a much more coherent manner.
*** On the same beat, the announcement of a comic detailing the further adventures of the ''Black Ops II'' crew when they had been completely abandoned by ''Black Ops III''.
* ChekhovsGun: Remember the "normal" Samantha room in Kino der Toten? Now think about Origins ending...
* CrazyAwesome - The characters are amazing zombie killers... and are batshit insane.
** Dempsey, for one, laments he can't rip off a zombies arm and beat it to death with it. He escaped from a Japanese prison camp by gnawing through the bamboo cage and killing his captors with a medal of honor he... hid in a very particular spot.
** Nikolai constantly talks about how he is drunk, and has apparently killed his wives before marrying a new one.
*** In Gorod Krovi, how does Nikolai 1.0 get reintroduced? Piloting a mech, while drunk! You can't make this shit up if you tried, considering that the map also introduced [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragons!]]
** Takeo is probably the least batshit insane, but still is completely devoted to killing and improving from that, is not uneased by fighting zombies at all, and has no reservations of the possibility of dying to the zombies. His original bio stated he tattooed the insides of his eyelids with the Japanese for "honor".
** Richtofen hears voices, has tortured many people to death, and verbally, orgasmically revels in bloodshed against the zombies. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He also sounds somewhat high-pitched]].
*** [[spoiler: His insanity actually has a back story, according to radios and film reels on the Moon. Note to self: do ''[[ShmuckBait NOT]]'' poke objects with an obvious alien origin.]]
* CreatorsPet: An odd example in which this applies to fan favorites as well. During the ''Black Ops II'' season, Word of God asked fans to voice what they wanted to be the ultimate fate of the ''Green Run'' crew. By that point, the four had been RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap and had a following, but the game designer in question retweeted many people expressing a desire to kill off the group and bring back the original cast. While people missed the original characters, nobody was too pleased that the ''Black Ops II'' characters and their story arcs were dropped like day-old pizza.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: In addition to the common in-game Crowning moments, in the cut scene right before the map "Five" Zombies bust into the Pentagon with Robert [=McNamara=], Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon and JFK in it. Everyone starts panicking. But then JFK pushes a button to casually reveal a hidden wall the guns on it, and then says "lock and load". Everyone then grabs a weapon, and prepares to kick some zombie ass.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: A few, triggered by the characters automatic in-game responses
-->'''Nikolai''':''(gunning down zombies)'' NO! GET AWAY! '''IT'S MY VODKA! MINE!'''
** Pretty much all the editions from Shi No Numa onward have been running on DenserAndWackier, with the characters spouting off hilarious one-liners after running low on ammo, getting downed, and killing in any conceivable fashion (and increasingly started BreakingTheFourthWall as well). And, from around Ascension on, even StraightMan Takeo has become the ComicallySerious.
-->'''Takeo''':''(running low on ammor)'' [[FauxlosophicNarration Confucius say...]] '''[[SophisticatedAsHell GET MORE]] [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny BURRETS]], [[PrecisionFStrike DAMNIIIIT!!!]]'''
** This [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOGsjSRwB2I just this.]] Even better since they got the voice actors!
** In ''The Giant'' 's intro, WW2!Richtofen takes off his hat when he sees what appeard in the teleporter, seemingly exactic to [[spoiler:meet himself, only for Origins!Richtofen to shoot him in the head without saying anything]]. It's so unnexpected it might bright a few chuckles.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkMoingR1p0 Half of the things JFK says]].
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: [[AwesomeMusic/NaziZombies Has its own page]].
* CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming: The beggining of ''Revelations'' ' intro, the Four end up in the House, Monty congratulates them, Richtofen hugs Maxis, everything's well. [[spoiler:And then Maxis fucked up.]]
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Ever since ''Black Ops II'', the maps have slowly been getting more and more serious and the storyline becomes more and more depressing, with several DownerEnding's (like [[spoiler: the Green Run group presumably being killed after losing hope, each original cast member dying, etc]]).
* EnsembleDarkhorse - What started out as just an extra mode became the real focus of the downloadable content of ''World at War''.
** A MemeticMutation with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'', ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', and ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2'' is "[[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer I bought (this game) to play Nazi Zombies.]]"
** Der Riese remains the most popular ''World at War'' map, for the character development, Easter egg song, introduction of teleporters and Pack-A-Punch, and for just being a fun map in general.
** Kino der Toten still gets many players, for being a fun map with cool traps, a teleporter, a kickass Easter egg song, and classic moments of comedy from the original crew.
** Call of the Dead, for it's being a love-letter to horror fans with veteran horror actors as playable characters, an original Zombies song from Avenged Sevenfold, and freaking George Romero himself as a boss zombie!
** Mob of the Dead is a very popular map for its' deep and complex story, well-written characters, its' all-star cast who deliver excellent performances, the map's huge size, the genuinely scary atmosphere, improvements to the building system, it's Easter Egg song, the Easter egg itself (Holy crap, you can actually win!), the return of purchasable traps, and for story guru's, seemingly confirming the involvement of [[spoiler: Satan]].
** As far as characters, we have:
*** Richtofen, for his being batshit crazy and his importance to the overall plot. Even when he's revealed as the [[spoiler: BigBad and tries to take over Earth, you can't help but love the guy.]]
*** Misty, for being a tough, kickass female character. Her status as MsFanservice helps a lot too.
*** The Call of the Dead celebrities.
** In terms of weapons:
*** The Ray Gun. What started out as a small easteregg gun in World At War became one of the most sought after weapons in Zombies for its InfinityPlusOneSword status.
*** The Wunderwaffe DG-2 for being not only the second wonder weapon in the series, but also for being absurdly powerful. It even makes a reappearance in Black Ops zombies.
*** The Monkey Bomb for its reliability and its sheer ridiculousness.
* FridgeBrilliance: Five was the first map which allowed players to play as popular real-life historical figures. It also ended up as the first map to use a RealSongThemeTune thanks to Eminem.
* GeniusBonus: Loads of them in Five, mostly in the form of HistoricalInJoke dialogue.
** Call of the Dead counts as well, with allusion after allusion after allusion to roles the actors have played.
** One could probably count some of Marlton's quotes in Tranzit; he often rattles off quite accurate real-life facts about the guns he picks up. It's such a shame he hates half of them.
*** And even HE'S wrong. He identifies that MTAR as an X95L. This is slightly incorrect: the MTAR in game is actually just a normal X95. The L varient has a two step rail the "MTAR" lacks.
* GoddamnedBats: The hellhounds. Most servers and custom maps will disable them because of just how hated they are - under-equipped players at round five or so can easily die when the round comes up.
** The zombies themselves become this at higher rounds due to them getting more health per round.
** Gas zombies. Not a problem in Kino, where the stage is a great area to hold them off due to being a wide open spot, but Level 3 of the Pentagon is a death trap, thanks to these guys.
** Space Monkeys that are able to '''throw your grenades back at you''' in Ascension. This is made worse if you like to cook your grenades before throwing them. Oh, and the round they spawn on forces you to defend the Perk-A-Cola machines or you lose the first perk you bought or the other perks that your fellows probably bought first (ie. Juggernog).
** And zombie monkeys return in Shangri-La. This time stealing power ups, and then changes the power up randomly.
** Those damn Deniziens of the Forest in Green Run. Arsehole players keep you off the Bus? Good job walking through the fog with these goblins latching onto you every FIVE SECONDS.
** The spiders in Zetsubou No Shima have such a low hitbox you simply can't knife them while standing - attempting will most likely result with a hilariously innacurate miss - but the colision hitbox is high enough that you can't jump over them from the same height, and they deal the same amount of damage as normal zombies. They also can take a lot of bullet damage somehow. Getting downed by them usually results in screaming and a probably broken controller - and they're supposed to be easier to deal with than zombies!
* GenreTurningPoint: For the series itself. After a highly enthusiastic reception to the deeper plot, cast, and mechanics of ''Mob of the Dead'', every single map has followed suit and the story itself has gotten more praise since it's gotten more coherent presentation.
* GrowingTheBeard: The ''Black Ops II'' season had a rough time getting off of the ground largely due to its' initial reception as a ReplacementScrappy. ''Mob of the Dead'', however, was seen as a major turning point for the season and the series in general as the maps become much more complex, deep, and have much more fleshed out characters and a far better received soundtrack (with Malukah becoming a fan-favorite singer).
* HarsherInHindsight: One of the funniest RunningGag's of the series has been Nikolai complaining about all of his ex-wives. [[spoiler: ''Gorod Krovi'' reveals that he only ever had one wife, and became a drunk so that he could forget the pain of losing her in an air raid.]]
* HilariousInHindsight:
** So just what does Creator/DannyTrejo do after fighting off George Romero. He becomes a [[Series/SonsOfAnarchy drug kingpin]] named...Romero.
** Creator/MichaelRooker was known for playing Merle Dixon in ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' at the time of the release of ''Call of the Dead''. During the map's opening cinematic, Rooker was criticized by his director for continuously missing when he tried to strike a zombie actor. A few years later, Merle returned to ''The Walking Dead'', and ultimately when he failed to shoot [[BigBad The Governor]], [[spoiler: it got him killed!]]
* JustHereForGodzilla: Many people bought ''Call of Duty: World at War'' and ''Black Ops'' just to play this game.
** SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer: See above.
* MostAnnoyingSound - Samantha's laughter upon getting the Teddy Bear from the random weapon generator (it moves the box to a different location, forcing players to have to wait until there are few zombies to get better weapons). It's actually lampshaded by the characters.
--> '''Nikolai''': "Why does no one try nailing this down?!"
--> '''Dempsey''': "Aww, just when I thought we were getting along, box!"
* NightmareFuel: This is probably more ParanoiaFuel, but just try playing the game with minimal brightness settings on your game and TV. On top of all of the vision issues, all of the maps get darker and scarier. ''Especially'' Verrückt.
** As of Buried. Help Richtofen? He still runs the world. Help Maxis? You destroy everything.
* NightmareRetardant: [[spoiler: Richtofen now controls the zombies?]] Terrifying! Wait, he's now in the body of a little girl? Hilarious!
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Reactions to ''Advanced Warfare'' zombies mode can be summed up as "not a zombies mode as great as Treyarch's".
** Probably gonna come up with ''Infinite Warfare's'' zombies. Unless the trippiness was deliberately to separate the two.
* PlayerPunch: Aside from the whole [[spoiler:killing the original characters]] thing, there's another in ''Gorod Krovi''. Remember Gersh, who you freed from the black hole he was trapped in in ''Ascencion''? He remember you and plead for mercy and asks why you're [[spoiler:shooting him to lead him to S.O.P.H.I.A who then tortures him]] as part of the EasterEgg.
* ReplacementScrappy: The changes to the game in ''Black Ops II'', namely the new cast, new Easter Egg song performers, and mechanics, had a hard time winning people over at first.
* TheScrappy:
** Out of the Original Characters, Takeo was NOT loved at the time of his introduction, probably because none of his lines were PlayedForLaughs like the others. Lampshased by Dempsey in Ascension:
--> '''Dempsey''': "People say Tak is boring, and maybe he is, but you need that one guy to make the others look cool."
*** This has started to change after he became TheComicallySerious in Ascension [[spoiler: and is revealed to be [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating]] [[FakeDefector Brainwashing]], looking to punish Richtofen soon.]]
*** If you're not growing on him after that, he [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] in the Black Ops 3 maps with the simple addition of a katana, using it in cutscenes to cut through waves of people both zombie and human.
** Among musical Easter egg songs, ''Coming Home'' from Moon by Elena Siegeman seems to be the least favorite of most fans. It wasn't helped by the fact that Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare is also available as an Easter egg.
*** This is a stretch but this could represent Samantha's (most of Elena's songs revolve around her viewpoint) reign over the Zombies coming to an [[spoiler:end, with fan-favorite Richtofen coming to power]].
** Out of all the maps that have been released, most of the players will say that Tranzit (or Green Run, depend on what you want to call) as the worst map ever. First, the power location, apart from being annoyingly far from the starting point, ''had to be built'' first. ''Then'' there's the Denizens attacking you whenever you run between the landmarks every 5 seconds. ''Then'' the new perk introduced here, Tombstone Soda, is pretty much useless. ''Finally'', the map's Wonder Weapon, the Jet Gun, is considered one of the weakest one in the entire Nazi Zombies history because Jet Gun had to be built and will eventually ''break''. The fact that there's a recreation of Nacht der Untoten hidden in this map didn't give this map as a plus. In fact, perhaps the only saving grace in this map is that this map introduces the Zombie Shield.
*** It's telling when people would rather just survive in the Town than attempt to ride the damn bus.
** Die Rise, ''hoo boy'', Die Rise. First, you can fall off rather easily, no revive. Second, the Jumping Jacks. Third, the elevators. Once MOtD, Buried, and Origins dropped, everyone who got them moved on, and Green Run only has the most players due to being on-disc already.
* ScrappyWeapon: The [=SMR=], with excellent reason. Bad power, low capacity, arduous reload speed, semi-automatic and worst of all, it has a glitch that makes aiming down the sights exactly the same as hip firing, giving it almost nonexistent accuracy. It's been almost a year since Black Ops 2's release, and Treyarch has yet to patch it.
** [[SchmuckBait Yeah, good luck aiming down the sights across 50 feet.]]
** As of a recent update, the SMR has FINALLY started to redeem itself in its Pack-a-Punched form, which now has improved accuracy.
** The V-R11 is probably the most disliked wonder weapon of the series mostly for the ArtificialStupidity of a zombie turned human can achieve. There's even a chance where the human AI, whose sole purpose is to lure the horde of zombies away from you, will sometimes either run towards you or just stand there. It's only saving grace, however, is the fact that it can give your teammates invincibility.
*** As mentioned above, the Jet Gun from Tranzit is also another Wonder Weapon that is hated by players.
** If it can be classed as a weapon, the Impatient Gobblegum from Black Ops 3. It allows someone who bleeds out to respawn at the end of a round rather than at the start of the next. While on paper this sounds great, spawning you in when no other zombies are spawning; the spawn logic itself is abysmal. It places you near an ally, who will more than likely be running around with a horde of undead following them. Spawn into the train of zombies, and watch the quickest down ever occur.
*** Related, rather unfortunately, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks The Wunderwaffe DG-2 from The Giant in Black Ops 3.]] The lighting now chains '''slower''' than usual, making wiping entire hordes much more slower. [[ZergRush This is bad in a game like this.]]
* SignatureSong:
** Each map's Easter Egg song serves as this for the map, with the notable exception of ''Moon''. "Coming Home" wasn't well-received, and the extra song, "Nightmare" by Avenged Sevenfold, became far more popular.
** "Damned" (and its remixes) is the main theme song of the series, though "Beauty of Annihilation" serves as this for the ''World at War'' season and perhaps the entire series as a whole. "Samantha's Lullaby" also begins to pop up infrequently after ''Moon''.
** "115" for the ''Black Ops'' season.
** "Always Running" for the ''Black Ops II'' season.
** "The Gift" for the ''Black Ops III'' season.
* SpiritualSuccessor: PlayedWith in ''Shadows of Evil''. While it seems like a second ''Mob of the Dead'', what with four bad people being brought to a hellish verison of their home [[spoiler:to atone for their sins]], the reason why the four are there is ultimately quite different.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: "Damned" has been noted to sound similar to the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' theme, especially the original and ''Black Ops III'' arrangements.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: In The Giant in Black Ops 3, the Wunderwaffe has gotten this treatment, as seen in ScrappyWeapon above.
* TheWoobie: Oh wow, despite the CrazyAwesome, there's plenty to go around.
** Samantha Maxis. A brief list of things that happens to her, Richtofen tries to kill her and her father, gets stuck in a machine that controls zombies, and watches her father get killed. No wonder she goes WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.
** Dr. Maxis. Along with the above mentioned list of things that happened to his daughter, [[spoiler:[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds he also attempts to destroy the world in a vain attempt to reunite with his daughter]], [[ShaggyDogStory which fails.]] He also realizes that what he had done was horrible and [[TheAtoner seeks to redeem himself by helping the Origins versions of the Original Characters.]]]]
** [[spoiler:Takeo Masaki. His UndyingLoyalty to the Emperor of Japan gets crushed when his older self explicitly states that it was the him that put his older self in such horrible conditions. [[HeroicBSOD He doesn't take it well]], but sucks it up enough to let his future self [[MercyKill find peace]], via {{Seppuku}}, while acting as the kaishakunin.]]
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** It's telling when people would rather just survive in the Town than attempt to ride the damn bus.
* Die Rise, ''hoo boy'', Die Rise. First, you can fall off rather easily, no revive. Second, the Jumping Jacks. Third, the elevators. Once MOtD, Buried, and Origins dropped, everyone who got them moved on, and Green Run only has the most players due to being on-disc already.