Line #47 VideoGame/BattleBlockTheater


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8254.jpeg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:Give the performance of your life.]]
7	->''"What a strange, mysterious island! And what's this? The shore is riddled with little friend-sized footprints! Guess the tide brought them to land! How utterly CONVENIENT! But where have they gotten to? Who knows? I don't! Do you? I don't! Do you? I don't! Do- WELCOME TO BATTLEBLOCK THEATER! Go inside... the door."''
8	-->-- '''{{Narrator}}'''
9
10	''[=BattleBlock=] Theater'' is a 2D co-op style PuzzlePlatformer created by [[VideoGame/AlienHominid The]] [[VideoGame/CastleCrashers Behemoth]] for the Xbox 360 and Steam. Riding aboard the ''S.S. Friendship'', a crew led by the world's bestest friend Hatty Hattington soon finds itself caught in a storm. Thrown off-course and crashing on the island, Hatty is captured by the resident cat monsters and forced to wear a glowy red hat, turning him villainous. With the crew of hundreds imprisoned, they must fight like gladiators through numerous obstacle courses and rescue each other and Hatty.
11
12	The gameplay revolves around 'stages' in the decidedly gruesome prison/theatre that the game takes place in, where your character is currently locked up in, and the blocks that they are made up of. The game's co-op component is described as [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential "co-optional"]] (screwing each other over might as well be encouraged, or even mandatory), and there are many versus multiplayer gametypes, such as capturing tofu horses and shooting soccer balls into… basketball hoops. Based off their ''Alien Hominid'' PDA Games.
13	----
14	!!''[=BattleBlock=] Theater'' contains examples of:
15	* AbnormalAmmo: Weapons and tools can be a bit strange. Perhaps the toppers are a cannon that fires suction cup darts and the bubble blower… thing that shoots some sort of highly corrosive bubble.
16	* AchievementMockery: The "Consolation Prize" achievement, which is awarded for dying enough times.
17	* AffablyEvil: The entire theater, which runs on the brutality of colosseums but the charm and class of, well, theaters. Bonus points if you stick around until the Hall Of Dudes song loops:
18	-->[music cuts]\
19	'''Narrator:''' (cheery) Just a reminder: anyone caught trying to escape will be executed on the spot. Good day!\
20	[music resumes]
21	* AndIMustScream: Implied to be [[spoiler:Hatty's]] fate due to [[spoiler:wearing Purrham Furbottom's cursed hat for too long.]]
22	* AnthropomorphicFood: Walking toast enemies pop up in a few levels.
23	* ArtifactOfDoom: [[spoiler:Purrham Furbottom's]] hat, which the narrator quickly singles out as being ObviouslyEvil. The narrator also suggests that the reason it's resulted in Hatty barely moving at all is because it's haunted by the souls of all the previous owners of the hat, whom all have conflicting viewpoints and thus can't agree on anything, resulting in the current owner being unable to so much as ''move''. This all comes to a head when [[spoiler:the hat inexplicably fires a giant green laser that kills the space bear and sets up the events of [[VideoGame/PitPeople the next game]].]]
24	* ArtShift: While the cutscenes have the same art direction as the main game, they're represented in a [[PuppetShows puppet show]] style, with every character and object being an unmoving cardboard cutout on a stick or string, and end up getting shaken around a lot. This is only for main cutscenes, though; the smaller ones (such as when the cats capture the player in the intro) are animated regularly.
25	* AttractMode: Leave the game alone before bringing up the title screen and you'll see a fairly long gameplay video demonstrating various useful tricks. It's quite entertaining, since it shows some recurring characters screwing with each other.
26	* BattleBoomerang: A weapon both the player and enemy cats can use.
27	* BearsAreBadNews: In one area of the chapter hub, there's a poster that reads "Bear Hug is Nigh" and depicts a bear wearing star pasties. It's probably no big deal. [[spoiler:And then it shows up at the end of the game. Gigantic and living in space. The scene is ridiculous and set up in a way that makes you doubt that it is actually there, but no, it ''is'' there, and things only get more absurd as Hatty shoots it down with a huge laser. The icing on the cake is that this actually sets up the events of The Behemoth's [[VideoGame/PitPeople next game]]. Said game also implies that the bear was the NarratorAllAlong.]]
28	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:After you've rescued Hatty and begun your escape, the other prisoners you've released show up with rifles and kill all the cats chasing you as you flee back to the now-repaired boat.]]
29	* BigNo: ...But in this case, it's "Lo," as the narrator was softly singing a stream of "Lo"s which turns into "Lo"s sounding like big "NO"s when, [[spoiler:at the end, Perham Furbottom's Hat suddenly fires a laser that kills a giant space bear. Justified, since in the sequel, ''Pit People'', Honey Hug the space bear's mate, Honey Kiss, ''was'' the narrator — of course he'd scream in protest if a giant laser was about to kill his companion]].
30	* BindleStick: Pops up in one cutscene, when the Narrator is explaining how he'd end up abandoning the friends if he was in the player's place.
31	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:You make it off the island! However, no one is the happy, cheery person they were from the beginning, and Hatty seems to have become permanently vegetative. ...Or does he?]]
32	* BlatantLies: The game's Steam trailer may be stretching the truth a bit, proudly boasting 1,000,000,000p graphics, 21,000 frames per millisecond, and Platform/OculusRift support... for up to five simultaneous "Oculuses".
33	* {{Brainwashed}}: Hatty Hattington, normally the friendliest of the friends, has become an assistant of the cats thanks to the top hat they gave him.
34	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs:
35	** From the intro:
36	-->"Now one fine morning Hatty and pals set out for a new and exciting adventure! What fantastic wonders would they discover this time? Perhaps they would come across a scary ghost ship! Perhaps they would find an island made entirely of candy! Perhaps they would meet a band of swash-buckling pirates! And join forces to find an island made entirely of candy!"
37	** When the Narrator is explaining [[spoiler:the opening night of the theater while under Furbottom's managing]]:
38	--> '''Narrator:''' There was explosions and dancing girls! Dancing girls who exploded! Exotic animals! Exotic animals who exploded!
39	* BuffySpeak: The Narrator indulges in this.
40	* BulletHell: Episode 8 - Encore 3, has you jumping from one exploding platform to another while constant shots [[DeathFromAbove rain from above]].
41	* CallASmeerpARabbit:
42	** In this game, "horses" are cubes with four feet and a few tail-hairs, and have a face similar to Hatty's.
43	** "Sharks" are green penguin-like birds that eat you and shoot you out as an egg. [[spoiler:Although in the credits, one of these "sharks" puts on a pair of pants and turns into an actual shark.]]
44	* CatsAreMean: Cats are the ones running the theatre, responsible for keeping you locked up, and watching you traverse the dangerous obstacles they set for you. They are sticklers for yarn, however, and you can make shady trades with the security to give you extra weaponry or tools.
45	* TheCameo: Pipistrello and the [[LateArrivalSpoiler Orange Princess]] from ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers'' appear in cutscenes; the Sockpuppet also appears as one of the portraits of the previous managers. The alien from ''VideoGame/AlienHominid'' briefly appears during the ending. Both him and the knight from ''Castle Crashers'' can be used as avatars if you own their games. Other playable cameos include more characters from both games and the ''Madness Combat'' version of Tricky the Clown.
46	* CharacterCustomization: You keep gems you earn, and you can spend them to let security free some prisoners. These prisoners are actually what consists of your customizable appearance, and each one gives you a head as a prize. That's as far as it goes, however. The Narrator lampshades that much.
47	-->'''Narrator:''' Maybe you should invest in some clothes. You're awfully naked.
48	* CherryTapping: Most attacks performed with the X button don't do damage, and just push people around. That being said, it is effective for, say, moving enemies into the insta-kill trap directly behind them…
49	* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Teams have self-picked colors. Players and other team-related assets use those colors.
50	* ContinuingIsPainful: Insane mode's deal is that it disables checkpoints. Also, while a player in co-op would normally be allowed to continue if their partner died, the death of either one in Insane mode resets the level.
51	* CoolBoat: The S.S. Friendship. Too bad it gets shipwrecked.
52	* CosmeticAward:
53	** The only thing you can spend gems on are prisoners that give you extra heads. There are, however, many, many of these. You'll likely have purchased all of the weapons well before finishing the story mode, while your head collection won't even be a quarter complete. You can also trade these with other people, so if people are willing, they also have potential extra value too.
54	** After completing the game, your character will walk around with a trophy on his back at all times (well, unless you toggle it off, anyway).
55	* CrapsaccharineWorld: Everything's so bright, colorful, and [[WorldOfHam ridiculous]] that it's almost enough to make you forget that you're trapped on an island run by [[ANaziByAnyOtherName fascist]] cats that force you to throw yourself into horrific death courses for the entertainment of the public.
56	* CrossPromotion: Not only do you gain additional bonus heads for having saves from both ''Castle Crashers'' and ''Alien Hominid'' with at least one achievement, the game itself provides a character for ''Castle Crashers''.
57	* CuteIsEvil: The villains in this game just so happen to be adorable cats.
58	* DeadlyDisc: Both the player and the cats can use them. The disc isn't the dangerous part, though; it's the fact that they ''explode''.
59	* DeathCourse: Pretty much everything outside of arena mode. Most of the stages have you running from point A to point B, all while saws, spikes, lasers, and numerous other things try to take you out.
60	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: During single player, death plants you at the latest checkpoint with no lives to consider. During co-op, it is even less of an inconvenience, as dead partners tend to respawn on nearby safe surfaces. It is ''not'' a slap on the wrist in two instances — when you are finishing a level against the clock, and when it is on insane mode, where checkpoints do not exist.
61	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: A favorite of the narrator.
62	-->'''Narrator:''' Will you uncover the [[ShapedLikeItself mysterious mystery]] of the island?
63	* DirectionallySolidPlatforms: Cloud platforms are only solid from above. However, heavy objects will fall through them.
64	* DoubleJump: The game includes one for extensive platforming. What's notable about this particular iteration is that dropping off an edge of a climbable object does not consume the first jump, allowing for you to cross a major distance without touching the ground.
65	* EmptyShell: [[spoiler:Hatty is reduced to a seemingly permanent vegetative state by the end of the game.]]
66	* FauxHorrific: The Narrator exaggerates the scariness of certain parts of the story, including a smiling golden whale in the intro, as well as this part of Chapter 2's end cutscene:
67	-->'''Narartor:''' While talking about the theater's age I mean, avert your eyes, children, avert them! A cardboard cartoon skeleton flies down onto the screen There's bony people skeletons everywhere! Zoom in on skull Scary, right?
68	* FlippingTheBird: Subverted in one cutscene, where the Narrator states he'd show the cats "his favorite finger" before leaving. [[spoiler:He's referring to his thumb.]]
69	* GainaxEnding: The stinger. [[spoiler:Hatty is dumped overboard, and that infernal top hat lands on his head. It glows green instead of red... and then a laser shoots upwards from it, apparently knocking the boat away and destroying numerous other things in its path.]] This is even touched on by the narrator, [[BlatantLies who says "It all makes sense now!"]]
70	%%** [[spoiler:This eventually comes to light in [[VideoGame/PitPeople the next Behemoth game]].]]
71	* GenreSavvy: The Narrator, once again. When touching upon the top hat on Hatty's head, the Narrator makes mention of the fact that it glows red. As everyone knows, glowy red stuff is ''always'' bad.
72	* GoombaStomp: Not present in the main game, but is present in others in the multiplayer. In some, it only counts as a non-lethal hit; in others, it is an instant kill.
73	* GotTheWholeWorldInMyHand: There is imagery of [[spoiler:Purrham Furbottom]], a cat, and Hatty standing over the Earth in this fashion during the ending, [[GainaxEnding for whatever reason]].
74	* GottaCatchThemAll: Not a major part of the game, but something many players feel they should do. Not too hard as on the PC heads are cheap (except for a certain summer sale exclusive one). The Xbox in contrast has repeat runs periodically for any head (even the one that's summer sale exclusive on Steam).
75	* GoshDarnItToHeck: The narrator tries to avoid profanity when possible.
76	-->'''Narrator:''' They're sick of Hatty's bullsh- be e- NONSENSE!
77	** The only time the narrator properly swears (if you can call it that), it's when he's describing how the theater had declined in quality over time.
78	--->'''Narrator:''' For thousands of years, Purrham's hat passed from head to head — leader to leader — and the theater still operates to this very day... and what a piece of '''crap''' it's become!
79	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Even before they become disgruntled, they are audaciously corrupt. They run "gift shops" that sell you weapons and even have vending machines for you to pay to free prisoners. Also, the narrator calls them [[GoshDarnItToHeck "bat-poop crazy"]].
80	* HarmlessFreezing: Being hit by an ice cube does no damage, only slowing the character hit and preventing them from jumping.
81	* HelpfulMook: There are plenty of ways enemies can help the player: lighting them on fire so water can be jumped on, eating other enemies, providing projectiles to get jump boosts from, hitting switches, pulling them to a certain spot with a vacuum...
82	* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Hatty appears to have been so deeply traumatized by his endeavor by the end of the game that he has given up on attempting to move from his seat, and remains unresponsive even in the presence of any of his friends.]]
83	* HollerButton: Left Trigger allows you to cry for help (like a little baby). While it has the hypothetical purpose of alerting co-op partners to your presence, it can be used to call horses towards you if you need them and they are not nearby.
84	* HollywoodAcid: The Acid Bubble projectiles will cause anything that touches them to be StrippedToTheBone. [[GoombaStomp Jumping on them is fine, though.]]
85	* HyperspaceArsenal: Gems and yarns appear roughly around the same size as the player character. At most, they can collect seven gems and one yarn per levels, and then they can carry so much more in the lobbies. This also includes the weapon they are currently using, which can also be as large as the player.
86	* IAmNotWeasel: The narrator has a bad habit of referring to the Ducks (which are barely ducks) as sharks. This means we get to see [[spoiler:Purrham Furbottom's corpse]] get devoured by the silhouettes of ducks.
87	* AnIcePerson: Some cats can shoot freezing ice cubes, and a cannon that shoots them can be unlocked as a weapon.
88	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Both the prisoners and the cats can utilize an arsenal of unconventional weapons, ranging from exploding Frisbees to poisonous air bubbles to paper airplane bombs...
89	* IncendiaryExponent: There are a few ways to set things on fire: With the fireball weapon, or if [[MakesSenseInContext toast and lasers get involved]]. You live for a short amount of time after being ignited, and are still capable of fighting to your last breath, or even beyond if you find water, which launches you back into the air extinguished.
90	* InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt: Conveyor belts act as a stage hazard, carrying things in the direction they're facing.
91	* InvincibleMinorMook: The Raccalope monsters that appear a few times are immune to all player attacks. Since they can one-hit kill the player, they're to be avoided at all costs. They can be killed by sawblades, but only a few times are they in a position to be killed that way.
92	* KindheartedCatLover: [[spoiler:Purrham Furbottom, the theater's creator,]] really loved cats, explaining why they're still at the theater. Too bad the cats themselves aren't as nice.
93	* LargeHam: The Narrator loves to be ridiculously over the top and hammy.
94	* LemonyNarrator: [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Extremely lemony.]]
95	* LudicrousGibs: Explosive weapons do this to anything they hit. No blood, but plenty of bones and a disembodied head.
96	* ManOnFire: Characters hit by the fireball weapon will scramble around in flames until they die or jump into a body of water. As fun as it is to kill people with it, [[CollisionDamage it's not hard]] [[TakingYouWithMe for the victim to set you ablaze as well.]] It also has a purpose for exploration, since water will put out the fire and launch the character upwards instead of drowning it.
97	* MixAndMatchCritters: One recurring enemy, the Raccalope, has antelope antlers and a racoon tail, but acts more like a bear.
98	* MoodWhiplash: The final cutscene goes from bittersweet to peppy to weird all within the space of a few minutes.
99	* MookMaker: Toaster blocks shoot out toast enemies to replace any that die.
100	* MotorMouth: The Narrator. All the way.
101	* MundaneMadeAwesome: Most of the Steam trailer is this.
102	-->'''Narrator:''' SOUND EFFECTS WHEN CHARACTERS DO STUFF! THE FUTURE IS NOW!
103	* {{Narrator}}: Voiced by [[https://www.youtube.com/user/StamperTV Will Stamper]]. He's the only one who talks, and ''boy'' does he talk. [[spoiler:''VideoGame/PitPeople'' implies that the narrator was the space bear seen in the ending.]]
104	* NonIndicativeName: Hatty Hattington didn't wear any hat at all prior to the cats forcing the cursed hat upon him.
105	* OcularGushers: While Hatty doesn't exactly cry a river, his tears are a permanent fixture of his face while under control of the top hat.
106	* OneHitPointWonder: Most attacks don't deal damage to the player. But if it does deal damage, they're dead on the spot.
107	* PainPoweredLeap: This is what happens if you step on [[ConvectionSchmonvection lava blocks]]. Unusually, they don't actually harm you if you do this, and this feature is actually necessary to progress through the levels.
108	* PinballProjectile: A few weapons bounce off surfaces, with the Dodgeball being the most apparent one.
109	* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Hatty seems to have been made a theater manager by the cats, but even under mind control, all he really does is sit in the room overlooking the gift shop, motionless for days on end. This doesn't go unnoticed by the Narrator [[spoiler:or the cats, as Hatty's uselessness starts to directly affect the theater]].
110	* PowerUpMount: The "horses" in some levels. They automatically jump up one-block heights, and can walk over spikes and water.
111	* PressXToDie: You need to press a certain key to enter doors in the HubLevel. If you [[ContextSensitiveButton press it anywhere else]], it will make your character start trembling and eventually explode[[note]]though the explosion doesn't happen if you release the button first[[/note]]. It actually comes in handy in the Insane Mode if you want to quickly restart the level.
112	* PretentiousPronunciation: The Narrator's description of the game's content rating in the trailer.
113	-->'''Narrator:''' Rated T for Blude, Veowlunce and Crud Hoomaw! Crud Hoo... what's that — like French, or something?
114	* ProjectilePocketing: The boomerang weapon has this trait.
115	* PungeonMaster: The narrator.
116	-->'''Narrator:''' I see them lurking in the shadows… lurking hard! Or hardly lurking, see?
117	* RevivingEnemy: Missile Bots can be hit until they shut down, but they start back up in only a few seconds.
118	* {{Rimshot}}: Happens in one cutscene after the Narrator makes a (unintentional) joke.
119	-->'''Narrator:''' SAY SOMETHING, HATTY! incoherent babbling Cat got your tongue? rimshot Shut up.
120	* RocketJump: Some weapons have explosive abilities that can do this. Since most of those explosions are deadly if you're ''too'' close, the only one that it really works for is the Forceball.
121	* SawBladesOfDeath: Later stages feature floor- or ceiling-mounted circular saws. Those saws move back and forth, changing direction after they hit the end or another saw blade.
122	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: The narrator, particularly in the intro. At one point, he ends up making the ''wrong'' sound effect (a lighting explosion for wind sounds), and clearly backtracks to fix it.
123	* {{Scatting}}: The song for the secret areas is clearly the narrator making just about any sound he can make, with occasional shouts of "It's a secret!". It's as silly as it sounds.
124	* SecretLevel: One in every world, gotten to from certain spots in levels. While they don't count towards completion, they all contain seven gems, a yarn ball, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and the narrator scatting about it being a secret area]].
125	* SentryGun: Floor-mounted sentry guns move aim left and right, shooting out red cubes.
126	* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Frequent with the narrator, such as in his gem lines:
127	-->''"Toot-toot! All aboard the gem train! U-uh, next stop… Rich Town! Have your ticket ready."''\
128	''"Lets pile all of these into a big mountain, and call it "Gem Mountain"! And then go sledding down Gem Mountain on our toboggans! And then— uh— maybe go eat something, and— g— sh— and get some cocoa… so— w-with, uh, marshmallows."''\
129	''"Why don't you treat yourself and go out for cheeseburgers and chocolate milkshakes and take me with you and treat me too?"''
130	* SignificantAnagram: "Even the word 'hopeless' has 'hope' in it! And if you rearrange the letters, you get 'peeslosh'! …The last part was probably unnecessary."
131	* SolidClouds: Clouds in this game can be walked on, acting as DirectionallySolidPlatforms.
132	* SpikesOfDoom: What would a platformer be without them?
133	* SpringsSpringsEverywhere: This game's version of springs are lava blocks, which bounce you in the opposite direction you touch them.
134	* StuffBlowingUp: A lot of weapons explode in some way, from logical grenades to the odd rigged paper airplanes.
135	* SuddenMusicalEnding: [[spoiler:First comes the moving tribute to Hatty… and then an upbeat song about buckling your pants.]]
136	* SuperDrowningSkills: To a point that they're basically puddles, yet they're still deadly should you fall in.
137	* SuperPersistentMissile: Missile Bots fire missiles that have very good homing capabilities. At least they're slow.
138	* SurrealHumor: [[spoiler:The ending.]]
139	* TimedMission: The Finale and Encore levels in each world do this. The time limit is extended by touching checkpoints, but if it runs out, the level must start over.
140	* ToiletHumour: [[spoiler:Purrham Furbottom, the man who created Battleblock Theater (In-Universe, of course), died because he couldn't reach the bathroom in time to take a dump, due to an illogical hatred of intermissions.]]
141	** The Narrator is also fond of making such jokes.
142	--->'''Narrator:''' [[SuperDrowningSkills Careful not to fall in that water.]] I saw somebody peeing in it.
143	* TokenHuman: [[spoiler:Purrham Furbottom]] is the only human in the game, as the friends are AmbiguouslyHuman at best, and everything else is an animal, robot, or piece of toast.
144	* TreasureIsBiggerInFiction: Green collectable gems are as big as players themselves.
145	* UnreliableNarrator: Surprisingly averted by the, ahem, eccentric narrator in general. Whatever he's saying seems to legitimately be what's going on in the game.
146	** This also helps show just how GenreSavvy the Narrator is: he's aware the player probably thinks this about him. This means that even when he's saying what's probably the truth (most notably, what's wrong with the hat), he says he doesn't expect you to believe him.
147	* UtilityWeapon: Several of the weapon/tools have this quality. For example, the boomerang will stun enemies but also retrieve objects for the player. Also, the dart gun will stun enemies it hits, but the darts also stick in the wall, where you can jump off them.
148	* VentPhysics: Eventually, fans start appearing as an obstacle, producing winds that blow the players away.
149	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The Vault.
150	* VideoGameFlight: There's three items that allow for flight in some way; the jetpack, which gives three fixed-angle jumps that can be used consecutively, the propeller or "whirlybird", which gives more horizontal distance than vertical, and the wings, which gives a lot of small jumps in the air until it runs out.
151	* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:As the story goes on, the cats become increasingly aggressive and outright ''insane'' as it becomes more and more clear that Hatty completely sucks at his new job.]]
152	* XRaySparks: Touching a laser causes the character to be electrocuted to that extent.
153	----
154	->''So, your best friend's a vegetable now,\
155	Blah, blah, blah. But, you know what they say,\
156	"When life gives you potatoes, you make potato salad."\
157	And I got just the recipe. Hit it!\
158	Buckle your pants! Buckle your pants!\
159	Buckle your pants, or your pants will fall to the ground!\
160	Buckle your pants!\
161	Just buckle them babies nice and tightly!''
162	-->-- '''Stamper''', "Buckle Your Pants"

Context VideoGame / BattleBlockTheater