| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/half_minute_hero_cover.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:Time waits for no man, unless you pay her enough.]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Describe Half-Minute Hero here in less than 30 seconds.]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ''Half-Minute Hero'' is a {{Retraux}} PuzzleGame / EasternRPG for the Platform/PlayStationPortable. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | You are [[TheHero a Hero]]. During an otherwise normal adventure, an [[DesignatedVillain Evil Lord]] attempts to cast a spell that will destroy the world. The spell takes thirty seconds to cast. Therefore, you have thirty seconds to SaveTheWorld. But you can't grind enough levels or even ''move'' fast enough to get to the Evil Lord in time! [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption You fail]], and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the world is destroyed]]. But that's when things change. As you lay dying, the Time Goddess appears to you and makes you an offer: she'll turn back the clock, give you another chance, and speed you up. In return, you save the world from the Evil Lord by preventing him from casting the Spell of Destruction...and also give her all your money. When you successfully do so, it turns out that there are other Evil Lords, and someone is giving them the Spell of Destruction. Your job has only just begun. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | This is the cornerstone of ''Half Minute Hero'', a game which condenses all of the standard {{RPG}} tropes into thirty frantic seconds of level grinding, side-questing and monster slaying. Do you rush through the map in order to reach the Evil Lord as fast as possible, at the risk of not being strong enough to defeat him? Or do you chance a time-consuming detour for that InfinityPlusOneSword? What about that QuestGiver who could possibly open a shortcut for you? Or the Time Goddess, from whom you can (literally) buy more time? You'll need to think fast if you want to succeed; no-one ever said being a hero was easy, but it ''is'' quick! |
| 11 | |
| 12 | In addition to this mode (known as "Hero 30"), there are five other modes of play available: |
| 13 | |
| 14 | * ''Evil Lord 30'' is a RealTimeStrategy game where you play as the Evil Lord, searching for a way to lift a curse on his beloved Millennia. In the process, you have to summon monsters to fight against the humans who stand in your way. |
| 15 | * ''Princess 30'' is a side-scrolling ShootEmUp where a cheerful princess is searching for items that could possibly cure her father's mysterious illness. |
| 16 | * ''Knight 30'' (which is only unlocked after the first three modes are beaten) is a HoldTheLine EscortMission where you, the Knight, has to protect a powerful sage so that he can cast a spell to wipe out all of the enemies in the area. |
| 17 | * ''Hero 300'', unlocked after completing Knight 30, is the climactic 5-minute finale. |
| 18 | * ''Hero 3'' is a '''3-second''' extra stage unlocked after finishing Hero 300. It's as hard as it sounds. |
| 19 | ::: Each "Something 30" mode has 30 missions. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | The original game got two [[UpdatedRerelease Updated Re-releases]], one for XBOX Live Arcade called ''Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax'', released on June 29th, 2011; and one for PC called ''Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy'', released in September 27, 2012 on Steam and Playism. A sequel under the title ''[[PunBasedTitle Yuusha 30 Second]]'' was released in Japan in August 2011. It was released on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} in April 4th, 2014, under the title ''Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming''. |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | ! Tropes that apply to the ''Half-Minute Hero'' games: |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:General]] |
| 28 | %% * AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and parodied throughout the series. Even if the shop is abandoned, hero leaves money there. |
| 29 | * AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Each of the game modes have its own protagonist, though Evil Lord shows up in a few others. |
| 30 | %% * ArcNumber: Guess. |
| 31 | %% * BigGood: The Time Goddess. Although she's more of a Big Neutral, since she only helps you for a fee, but she's still generally a nice, helpful person. |
| 32 | %% * EvilCounterpart: The Ultimate Evil Lord to the Time Goddess. |
| 33 | %% * EvilSorcerer: Noire, the game's BigBad. |
| 34 | * ExactTimeToFailure: It's [[RunningTimeInTheTitle right there in the title.]] |
| 35 | * ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: All of the main characters' "names", as well as the evil lord Badbat. |
| 36 | * ExcusePlot: You have 30 seconds to [do X] before your game is over. That's all you need to know, really. |
| 37 | * {{Fanfare}}: A fast-paced, but epic tune, as fitting this game. |
| 38 | * GraphicsInducedSuperdeformed: Somewhat parodied. Take a look at the concept art, and look how much detail is put into the character's clothings, accesories, etc. |
| 39 | * HelloInsertNameHere: The Hero, Evil Lord, Princess, and Knight are all nameable (when you play their respective modes), but everyone except the Hero has their name reset to its default during Hero 300. |
| 40 | * NobleDemon / TheDandy: The "Beautiful Evil Lord". Despite his designation as an Evil Lord, he doesn't show much interest in committing any kind of evil. |
| 41 | * OverlyLongGag: It's fair to say that each level of an individual game within Half Minute Hero is based around the lampooning the same tropes as many times as there are levels. |
| 42 | %%* RainbowSpeak |
| 43 | * {{Retraux}}: Most of the game's graphics are low-resolution sprites, but there are a few modern images shown in cutscenes. |
| 44 | %% * RunningTimeInTheTitle: If it ain't so obvious enough, 30 seconds. |
| 45 | %% * SavingTheWorld: Frequently. |
| 46 | %% * SayItWithHearts: The Time Goddess |
| 47 | * SequenceBreaking: The games run in chronological order, but the first three can be completed in any order. |
| 48 | * ShoutOut: The game is filled with them. For example, the item descriptions in the Goddess Room include references to ''Creator/MontyPython'', ''Manga/OnePiece'', and plenty of others. |
| 49 | * TalkingIsAFreeAction: |
| 50 | ** The story dictates that the objective must be accomplished in 30 seconds, but the timer stops during dialogues and in towns (in Hero 30 Normal difficulty only). |
| 51 | ** If you use your [[DesperationAttack desperation maneuver]] in Hero 30, giving the Time Goddess all your money without actually having enough to rewind time, then she'll still rewind time. However, time ''doesn't'' stop anymore, and when you get down to 10 seconds, you lose ''all'' of your equipment. Used carefully, it can win the stage. Used stupidly, well, there's always that "retry" button. |
| 52 | * TimedMission: The central mechanic of the game, you have to save the world within the time limit. |
| 53 | * TimeTitle: The titular protagonist dies after that amount of time. |
| 54 | %% * {{Troperiffic}}: Arguably what the game is most about. |
| 55 | %%* WalkLikeAnEgyptian: The Time Goddess |
| 56 | * WordSaladTitle: |
| 57 | ** The Platform/Xbox360 port is called ''Half-Minute Hero - Super Mega Neo Climax''. |
| 58 | ** The PC port extends it further: ''Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy''. |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Hero 30]] |
| 62 | * AcceptableBreaksFromReality: Some standard video game examples are {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the post-quest summaries, such as [[MagicTool a carpenter fixing a bridge with just a hammer]] or [[HealingPotion a soldier recovering from serious wounds by taking medicine]]. |
| 63 | * AnimeHair: Especially in the case of the twins Kalfa and Polter. They each have hair shaped like one wing on opposing sides. |
| 64 | * ArbitraryHeadCountLimit: In "Another Goddess", you're limited to three allies, most of whom require payment to use their services. No such limit exists in Quests 19 and 30, where all of the characters you've met up to that point will lend a helping hand. |
| 65 | * BadassCape: Lord Bosch sports a tattered, purple cape. |
| 66 | %%* BagOfSpilling |
| 67 | * BarbarianHero: Donovan, the axe-wielding bandit leader. |
| 68 | * TheBard: Richard. His music doesn't actually ''do'' anything, but he's got a wolf to make him slightly more useful as an ally. |
| 69 | %%* BatOutOfHell: Lord Badbat. |
| 70 | %%* BlackKnight: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Black Knight]] Lord Zain. |
| 71 | * BlingOfWar: There are multiple pieces of golden equipment. In a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion of the usual video game variety of this trope, they are really expensive but absolutely useless as equipment, just like real solid gold armor would be. |
| 72 | * BonusDungeon: [PSP version] Quest 25 "Another Goddess" will likely not be available when you first reach it, as the stage will end immediately after starting. When you do get to access it, it has a completely different format than all of the other stages. [[MarathonLevel The par time is 4'30" for a very good reason.]] |
| 73 | %%* BrattyHalfPint: Larrie. |
| 74 | %%* BrokenBridge: "I broke the bridge so no one can interfere with me!" |
| 75 | * BubblegloopSwamp: Swamp and Witch contains sticky spots in the swamp that require a few attempts to get out of. |
| 76 | * ButThouMust: Lampshaded when you meet the Time Goddess for the first time. She says, "Has there ''ever'' been an RPG that begins when you say 'no'?" Incidentally, you can. The world ends because nobody took her up on her offer. |
| 77 | * CampGay: Older Brother(?) . . . ''if'' [[AmbiguousGender he's a man.]] |
| 78 | * CashGate: In The Have-Nots, all the RandomEncounter enemies are flat broke, and you have to perform various jobs to earn enough money to buy your way past a guard. [[spoiler: That is, unless you can find another path...]] |
| 79 | * CastFromHP: Hero's Dash ability. It [[SprintShoes speeds you up]] ''and'' prevents random encounters, so in a game where time is critical, it's certainly [[BoringYetPractical worth the HP loss.]] |
| 80 | * CerebusSyndrome: As fun as the game is most of the time, [[spoiler:things get really bittersweet in the last two missions.]] |
| 81 | * ClosingCredits: To an excessive degree... the credits roll after ''every single level''. Thankfully they can be sped through by holding X. |
| 82 | * CollisionDamage: Battles are conducted by ramming the hero(es) into the enemy. Both parties take damage on contact, similar to ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}''. |
| 83 | * CombatSadomasochist: When the Catfish Evil Lord is defeated, says that it feels "gooooood". He even ends his sentence with a heart emoji. |
| 84 | * CoolHorse: Hero can get a horse in some levels, which allows him to dash without consuming HP. Also, Black Knight Lord Zain, in addition to wearing all black, and wielding a black sword, has a black horse. |
| 85 | * TheDandy: In addition to the Beautiful Evil Lord, there's also Lord Dantes, who even sports a top hat! |
| 86 | * DealWithTheDevil: One path has the Hero making a deal with a powerful demon and gaining huge stat and HP boosts. For the rest of the mission and the next three in the path, this power makes the Hero nearly unstoppable. In return, the Hero must give the demon his soul at the end of final mission in the path. The Time Goddess saves him from this fate (at a hefty price, naturally). |
| 87 | * DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: If you die, you're teleported to the start of the map with 10 HP and no further penalty. The only way to lose in most cases is to run out of time. |
| 88 | * DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Evil Lord Dantes mentions destroying the bridges around his castle with his 'Electrical Thunder'. |
| 89 | * {{Determinator}}: The Beautiful Evil Lord. Even if you defeat him in battle (which takes ridiculous amounts of grinding), he still refuses to stop the spell [[spoiler:until he gets Millenia back.]] |
| 90 | * DragonRider: Lord Papillion. [[spoiler: And ''you,'' for a while, once you meet Syldonix.]] |
| 91 | * DualBoss: Kalfa and Polter, Evil Lord Gemini. |
| 92 | * DualWielding: Barbara carries two spears with her to combat. |
| 93 | * EarthShatteringKaboom: The Spell of Destruction causes one of these. And takes thirty seconds to cast. Best start running... |
| 94 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: "My name is Knowsall XXX! Everyone calls me Professor!" |
| 95 | * EvilIsPetty: More than a few of the evil lords have extremely trivial reasons for attempting to destroy the world, which the Time Goddess will often lampshade. |
| 96 | * ExcaliburInTheRust: Appears in mission 29. [[spoiler:It turns into the ultimate weapon if you refuse to kill Sasha]]. |
| 97 | %%* FlunkyBoss: About a third of them. |
| 98 | * ForgedByTheGods: The Brave Sword, along with the Brave Crown and the Brave Vest, which are all obtained in the last quest. |
| 99 | * FridgeLogic: In-universe example: "The giant evil lord's weak point is his feet?! Why was Sebastian having such a hard time?" |
| 100 | * GenreDeconstruction: Makes you wonder why you spend hours and hours grinding in almost any other RPG. Takes the OverworldNotToScale trope and its apparent ultrafast travel to its logical conclusion, by allowing the hero to cross whole continents in less than 30 in-universe seconds. |
| 101 | %%* GiantEnemyCrab: Lord Grabcakes. |
| 102 | * GlobalAirship: Can't have a console [=JRPG=] without one! Only in this case, it doesn't prevent random encounters [[spoiler:and it's actually a dragon]]. |
| 103 | %%* GoldfishPoopGang: The Bandit Trio. |
| 104 | %%* GoshDangItToHeck: "Darn you to heck!" |
| 105 | * GreenHillZone: Hero's Departure is set in a nice grassland, and has you start off killing fairly weak Grass Fiends. |
| 106 | %%* HealingHerb: The only portable healing item. |
| 107 | * HeroicMime: Notably, Hero is the only one of the game's four main protagonists who exhibits this trope. |
| 108 | * HopelessBossFight: [XBLA/PC versions] The first encounter with Demon Overlord Hol (who appears at the same relative time as the PSP's Goddess of Judgment). Regardless of how much grinding you've done, you'll still get killed in one hit. |
| 109 | * HumanPopsicle: In the ending, [[spoiler:the Hero asks to be sealed by the Time Goddess [[BagOfSpilling at the cost of everything he acquired on his journey]]. He is awakened 400 years later by the Sage from Knight 30 in response to the Ultimate Evil Lord's revival, thus starting Hero 300.]] |
| 110 | * IndenturedServitude: One scenario has the player forced to enter into one of these arrangements via ButThouMust means. The town you're sent to is a scam with a system that makes it impossible to make enough money to leave, ideally keeping you a slave forever. Of course, your TimeyWimeyBall abilities make the scam breakable. |
| 111 | * InfiniteStockForSale: |
| 112 | ** Possibly averted in the multiplayer; you can set shops to have their stock limited to one item, forcing people to race for them. |
| 113 | ** In single player, generally averted for gear and played straight for herbs and food. There are a few occasions where it is averted for herbs and/or food as well. |
| 114 | * InformedEquipment: Averted, despite the very low-resolution sprites. Your character can be reduced to his underwear if he loses his equipment or starts without any. |
| 115 | * ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: You're going to have to scale a tower in The Nun and The Devil if you want to get the Dragon Egg. |
| 116 | * LampshadeHanging: A lot of them. "This is a large battle axe. [[GirlWithPsychoWeapon Wielded by cute little girls more and more these days]]." |
| 117 | * LethalLavaLand: Fire Mountain deals with a village situated directly below an active volcano. |
| 118 | * LevelDrain: As a side effect of the Time Goddess using her power to shorten your grind time, the hero's level is reset to 1 after each level. |
| 119 | * LevelGrinding: A core game mechanic, but extremely accelerated compared to other role-playing games. It's not unusual to gain a dozen of levels within a minute. Missions can generally be completed with minimal grinding, but getting certain items, titles, and alternate routes effectively requires spending a few loops grinding. |
| 120 | * LimitedWardrobe: The Time Goddess complains how her only outfit is unsuitable for the snow-covered northern region. |
| 121 | * LoinCloth: One piece of body gear. When Hero gets it, the Time Goddess asks if he's [[YouMustBeCold cold]]. |
| 122 | * TheLostWoods: In "Through the Forest", there's a patch of forest containing monster encounters that you can't skip using your Dash ability. |
| 123 | * LoveMakesYouCrazy: The Beautiful Lord went nuts after Millennia was kidnapped. |
| 124 | %%* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Sebastian's purpose as an ally. |
| 125 | %%* TheMedic: Elena's purpose as an ally. |
| 126 | * MetalSlime: A few maps have a rare monster in a specific tile that drops huge amounts of gold. The money is usually for an expensive piece of equipment in the same level. |
| 127 | * MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: A few of the Evil Lords are using the spell of destruction [[ObliviouslyEvil to find out what it does]]. And some of the CardCarryingVillain type have rather silly reasons for destroying the world. |
| 128 | * MoneySpider: Played straight in all but two quests: "The Have-Nots", where you can only earn money from completing quests (and even then, only up to 10 times each), and "Turtle and Hermit", the only quest without any RandomEncounters at all. |
| 129 | * MuckMonster: Lord Sludgy, as well as a few overworld monsters. |
| 130 | * Mystical108: The number of evil lords you need to defeat to unlock [[BonusDungeon Quest 25: Another Goddess]] in the original PSP version. |
| 131 | * NonStandardGameOver: |
| 132 | ** A few instances can lead to a premature end of your journey, such as not breaking the dam in "Change the Current" to regulate the currents, or not giving the Goddess the money she requires to break your DealWithTheDevil. |
| 133 | ** There is at least one voluntary NonStandardGameOver, in the level "Treasure Island," you can decide to just end your quest there and [[PooledFunds bathe in the riches]]. |
| 134 | %%* NostalgiaLevel: See ShoutOut, below. |
| 135 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:The final boss tells Hero, right after he defeats him, that he isn't so different from the Evil Lords.]] |
| 136 | * PaletteSwap: A few Evil Lords on the southern continent share sprites with earlier Evil Lords. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d for all its worth. |
| 137 | * [[PalsWithJesus Pals with the Time Goddess]]: Besides gladly taking your money to reverse time, she's also a member of your caravan. |
| 138 | * PokeThePoodle: In addition to casting the spell of destruction Lord [[VideoGame/ZeroWing CATS]] is spreading UsefulNotes/GameBoy-esque graphics across the land. Nobody really seems to think of it as a real threat. |
| 139 | * PowerupMount: The horse, and later on [[spoiler:Syldonix the dragon]]. |
| 140 | * RandomEncounters: There are actually a couple of quests without them, and it's a ''problem'' because you need them for money and experience. |
| 141 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: One of the (joke) endings is Hero and Goddess retiring mid-adventure to recline on piles and piles of money. |
| 142 | * ShiftingSandLand: Infinite Desert is set in an ImpassableDesert. |
| 143 | * ShockAndAwe: A few Evil Lords use lightning-based attacks. |
| 144 | * ShoutOut: |
| 145 | ** One retro-themed level has a boss named [[VideoGame/ZeroWing CATS]] quoting the infamous ''VideoGame/ZeroWing'' opening and changing the graphics to be reminiscent of the original green-screened Game Boy. |
| 146 | ** One path provides references to [[Manga/DragonBall Turtle Hermit and Catherine the witch]]. |
| 147 | ** The PSP game's hidden quest "Another Goddess" changes the "Hero 30" logo to "Valhalla Knights 30", and the enemy in this mission is not a Dark Lord but the other game's Goddess of Judgment. |
| 148 | ** In Quest 14 (on the Demon Route), [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger you defeat monsters in desert whirlwinds to restore a forest.]] |
| 149 | * SlippySlideyIceWorld: Avalanche Pass is set on a snowy, avalanche-prone mountain. Getting caught in the avalanche [[NoGearLevel strips you down to your briefs.]] There's even some [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Yeti]] living in the mountain! |
| 150 | %%* SprintShoes: Hero's Dash (see CastFromHP above) and the horse (see CoolHorse above). |
| 151 | * SuperSwimmingSkills: If Hero doesn't have a boat, he'll just swim across the ocean. |
| 152 | * TakenForGranite: [[spoiler: All your allies are turned to stone to form the PointOfNoReturn in the hidden side-path quest The Return Of Hol.]] |
| 153 | * TemporalParadox: If you retry a stage you've already cleared, you're [[CantTakeAnythingWithYou limited to using only equipment you got before reaching that point]]. The Time Goddess notes that taking items from future stages will cause a time paradox. Trying to play the stage anyway will start you [[InformedEquipment with no equipment]]. |
| 154 | * ThemeNaming: The Bandit Trio are named [[Film/TheThreeStooges Larrie, Mo and Cully]]. |
| 155 | %%* ThisCannotBe: Many evil lords, when defeated. |
| 156 | * TimeKeepsOnTicking: Hard difficulty keeps the countdown running inside towns. |
| 157 | * TimeyWimeyBall: The Time Goddess seems to be able to selectively turn back time to the Hero's benefit. Destroyed villages are restored, avalanches are reversed, and forest fires are reset, but the Hero's own hard work is generally unaffected. You get to keep your gold, experience, and items, {{Non Player Character}}s you've rescued stay rescued, minibosses you've defeated don't return, etc. This is used to great effect in one plot branch: if you pay her enough, the Time Goddess erases your DealWithTheDevil, but not anything you did with the Devil's power. |
| 158 | * VideogameCrueltyPunishment: If you try to go to the Goddess Statue without enough money to pay for a time reversal, you'll still get the clock reset to 30 seconds, ''but'' you'll lose all of your equipment after 20 seconds, and the timer no longer stops while you're exploring towns. Good luck trying to finish a level after ''that'' happens without doing a lot of LevelGrinding beforehand. |
| 159 | * WalkingArmory: Lord Francisca. She's actually out to get ''more'' weapons, and will steal the purchasable weapons in that quest if you aren't quick enough. |
| 160 | * WeaksauceWeakness: The giant evil lord Degash's weak spot...is his feet. Given a massive lampshade, of course. |
| 161 | %%* WhatTheHellPlayer: Quest 29. [[spoiler: Li...ar...]] [[spoiler: You can avert this by holding back on the last zombie for a few seconds.]] |
| 162 | * WhenTreesAttack: Lord Madwood and Lord Sarasenis. |
| 163 | * WithThisHerring: You start the game with nothing more than the clothes on your back, are told the world is going to be destroyed in thirty seconds and find out that you're going to have to pay for the privilege of granting yourself the time to save the world. Does the king offer to help in any way? Ha, no. |
| 164 | * TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed: You can't seem to go anywhere without coming across someone threatening to destroy the entire world within the next minute. |
| 165 | %%* WorldWreckingWave: The spell of destruction. |
| 166 | [[/folder]] |
| 167 | |
| 168 | [[folder:Evil Lord 30]] |
| 169 | %%* TheBeastmaster: You. |
| 170 | %%* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Most of the villagers, after coming in contact with Noire's statues. |
| 171 | * BreakingTheFourthWall: When you first meet the Time Goddess, she'll tell you to play Hero 30 if you want to know about her and Noire. |
| 172 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: The Evil Lord is a vain idiot obsessed with his looks and beauty, but hes also a force to be reckoned with, as anyone who underestimates him soon learns. |
| 173 | %%* EliteFour: The Evil Lord's Fabulous Four. |
| 174 | * FourIsDeath: The Evil Lord states that all in his profession [[LampshadeHanging must have]] [[EliteFour four attendants]]. |
| 175 | * LittleBitBeastly: [[spoiler:Since Millenia's curse isn't broken all at once, she ends up as this once Noire is defeated.]] |
| 176 | * LoveRedeems: Millenia is responsible for turning him from an actual Evil Lord into a vain protector. |
| 177 | * MadeOfIron: Your Evil Lord can't be killed, but [[CollisionDamage colliding with enemies]] will reduce the size of his mana circle. If it gets too small, he will only be able to summon weak monsters until the stage ends. Or you reset the time. |
| 178 | * MoralityPet: Millenia is one of the main things preventing the Evil Lord from actually being evil. |
| 179 | * MrViceGuy: Evil Lord is JustForFun/{{Egregious}}ly vain, but he's still one of the good guys. |
| 180 | * ThePowerOfFriendship: "Is this what they call 'friendship'? I must admit, it is quite beautiful!" |
| 181 | * SunglassesAtNight: The Time Goddess wears shades in this mode only, in which stages start in the night and end at sunrise as time runs out. |
| 182 | %%* TacticalRockPaperScissors |
| 183 | * WalkingShirtlessScene: Bill the Assassin . . . [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed probably.]] The effect is rather spoiled by the low-res sprites, anyway. |
| 184 | * WeakenedByTheLight: Millenia is averse to sunlight. |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Princess 30]] |
| 188 | %%* AndYourRewardIsClothes |
| 189 | * AsteroidsMonster: The [[BlobMonster giant slime]] boss. |
| 190 | * ExactWords: The Princess promises that she will absolutely not read the secret Ninja Scrolls. She has guards to do that for her! |
| 191 | * ExtraEyes: [[spoiler:The King apparently has a Third Eye that sees everything.]] |
| 192 | * FairyCompanion: There are four different-colored fairies that act as {{Power Up}}s. |
| 193 | * HeroicSacrifice: Max. He survives, though. |
| 194 | * HighlyVisibleNinja: [[ThemeTwinNaming Shinobu and Shinobi]]. The only reason the Princess is surprised to learn that they're ninja is that she doesn't know what ninja are. |
| 195 | %%* LevelInTheClouds: Some of the levels in the 20's take place in the sky. |
| 196 | * MoreDakka: When armed with an AutomaticCrossbow she has a ridiculously high fire rate. One particular fairy power-up allows her to deal [[SpinAttack death in all directions]] for a few seconds. |
| 197 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The Princess after Max's HeroicSacrifice. |
| 198 | * NoSenseOfDirection: The Lumberjack's wife. |
| 199 | * PimpedOutDress: The princesses' dresses are quite elaborate. |
| 200 | * PrecisionFStrike: |
| 201 | ** "Woohoo! Feel the power!! Now I can tear everyone a new ***!" |
| 202 | ** More generally, the Princess in "Crossbow Mode" is a PrecisionFStrike for the rest of the game. |
| 203 | * PrettyInMink: The princess's dress in the sequel is trimmed with white fur. |
| 204 | * RealMenWearPink: The King is a huge, buff, giant of a man . . . who wears pink flowery pajamas. |
| 205 | * RichInDollarsPoorInSense: The Princess has hardly ever left that castle before, so she has only a blurry picture of the outside world. |
| 206 | * RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: You play as the Princess, armed with a crossbow, and escorted by the knights in order to accomplish the quests. |
| 207 | * ShoutOut: [[WesternAnimation/TheTick SPOON!!!]] |
| 208 | * SuperStrength: The crossbow also seems to have this effect on the Princess, as she can carry the Hard Mineral effortlessly. |
| 209 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Hugh, for Max. {{Justified|Trope}}, since the two are brothers. |
| 210 | * ThoseTwoGuys: Johnny and Max[=/=]Hugh. |
| 211 | %%* TwinStickShooter: In the PSP version, the D-pad moves the princess and the buttons shoot in the four cardinal directions. In the PC version, the arrow keys move and SZXC shoot in cardinal directions. It's similar in feel to a twin-stick shooter. |
| 212 | * UpgradeArtifact: The crossbow radically alters the Princess' personality to make her more arrogant when she holds it. The "Hard Material" and "Very Hard Material" make your crossbow more powerful. |
| 213 | [[/folder]] |
| 214 | |
| 215 | [[folder:Knight 30]] |
| 216 | * AfterTheEnd: The scenario begins with [[spoiler:Noire killing the Time Goddess, ushering in two centuries' worth of darkness]]. |
| 217 | * BackFromTheDead: Your knight. |
| 218 | * BoxAndStickTrap: How [[spoiler: the Time Goddess]] is captured in the opening cutscene. |
| 219 | %%* BreakableWeapons |
| 220 | * CerebusSyndrome: This scenario marks where the game gets DarkerAndEdgier. |
| 221 | * CollisionDamage: The only way to defend the sage initially is to get yourself killed by colliding into the enemy. |
| 222 | * DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: If you die, you need to return to the Sage to get revived. This happens as the clock runs down, so it's possible to finish a stage while walking around as a ghost. |
| 223 | * DumbMuscle[=/=]GoodIsDumb: Knight. |
| 224 | * EnfantTerrible: Rosier. |
| 225 | %%* EscortMission |
| 226 | * GeoEffects: Some maps have special tiles that amplify the Sage's magic, making the countdown run at double rate. |
| 227 | * HoldTheLine: Unlike other modes, this is the only mode of the game in which running out of time is a good thing, as the sage's spell of destruction wipes out every enemy in the level. |
| 228 | * ImplacableMan: Bullwood. |
| 229 | %%* ImprovisedWeapon |
| 230 | * OneHitKill: If Bullwood gets her hands on the Sage, it's instant death for him, and GameOver for you. |
| 231 | * PrettyBoy: The Sage. Not to the same ridiculous extent as Evil Lord, but multiple characters refer to him as "pretty". [[spoiler:He is a goddess, after all.]] |
| 232 | %%* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Grillade. |
| 233 | %%* SealedGoodInACan: [[spoiler:Hero.]] |
| 234 | * SprintShoes: Like Hero, Knight has a Dash ability. In his case, it depletes stamina instead of HP, and stamina regenerates quickly, so it's less of a trade-off. However, it does have the downside that if Knight completely runs out of stamina, he'll fall on his face. |
| 235 | %%* SquishyWizard: Sage. |
| 236 | %%* TheStoic: Sage. |
| 237 | %%* WingedHumanoid: Grillade. |
| 238 | [[/folder]] |
| 239 | |
| 240 | [[folder:Hero 300]] |
| 241 | %%* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Noire, especially when he becomes one in truth.]] |
| 242 | * BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:When you lose the first fight with the Ultimate Evil Lord, you're teleported to a small island with no exit. Syldonix, the dragon you rescued in Hero 30, arrives shortly after to return you to the battle to try again.]] |
| 243 | * BishonenLine: A lot of the evil lords are pretty ugly and/or inhuman, especially the higher-level ones likes Noire and Overlord Hol. [[spoiler:The Ultimate Evil Lord, on the other hand, looks like a more colorful version of the Time Goddess.]] |
| 244 | * TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: For serious this time. The world will be destroyed in 5 minutes, and since [[spoiler:the Time Goddess was killed,]] you don't get to turn back the clock ''at all''. [[spoiler:She gets better, but not until the ending.]] |
| 245 | * GodInHumanForm: [[spoiler:The sage is actually a mortal incarnation of the Time Goddess.]] |
| 246 | %%* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sage.]] |
| 247 | * HopelessBossFight: [[spoiler:Noire, the first time. His attack and defense are pretty much unbeatable until after you lose, and the sage weakens him for the next round.]] |
| 248 | * InformedEquipment: Averted again. You start with no equipment ([[spoiler:[[BagOfSpilling having lost it all in the ending of Hero 30]]]]) and have to fight your first few battles in briefs. |
| 249 | * MarathonLevel: The world this time is a collection of compressed areas representing the continents of each main character. Each area has a hard time limit. At certain points in the timer, time freezes in each area and you lose if you don't escape it before then. |
| 250 | * MoralityChain: [[spoiler:When Millenia's curse suddenly worsened, Evil Lord lost his mind and went on a rampage.]] |
| 251 | %%* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Noire.]] |
| 252 | %%* PhotoMontage: During the ending. |
| 253 | * PuttingTheBandBackTogether: A variation, as the band [[spoiler:all lived in different eras and never previously lived at the same time, save for the Evil Lord.]] |
| 254 | * TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Noire. After you defeat the Ultimate Evil Lord, Noire absorbs her power and becomes a god.]] |
| 255 | * ThemeMusicPowerup: the final battle with [[spoiler:Noire]] |
| 256 | * TimeKeepsOnTicking: Just as in ''Hero 30''. |
| 257 | * TrippyFinaleSyndrome: As opposed to the ocean or mountains usually serving as non-land background, everything below land in Hero 300 is a swirly space-like void. |
| 258 | [[/folder]] |
| 259 | |
| 260 | [[folder:Hero 3]] |
| 261 | * BrutalBonusLevel: Go on, try if you have the skills to save the world in 3 seconds. |
| 262 | * NoPlotNoProblem: Most of the game was composed of only ExcusePlot, but ''Hero 3'' has ''absolutely no plot''. It's just the Time Goddess daring you to beat this level. |
| 263 | * RedSkyTakeWarning: In ''Hero 30'', the sky gradually turns red as time runs down. Here, it's red ''all the time''. That is, all the time when it's not purple which is an even more threatening situation. |
| 264 | * RidiculousFutureInflation: Since the world is going to end in such a short time, all of the vendors happily gouge their prices by 500% or more. Good thing all of the monsters in this mode are {{Money Spider}}s. |
| 265 | [[/folder]] |
| 266 | |
| 267 | [[folder:''The Second Coming'']] |
| 268 | * AmazonBrigade: The [[spoiler:Venus Seven]]. |
| 269 | * AntiClimaxBoss: [[spoiler: [[InvokedTrope The game attempts to invoke]] this on the 100th boss in Infinite Battle mode: Francisca. Subverted that she's actually hard to due to [[RandomlyDrops random equipment shops sell]] and the increasing gold cost to rewind time.]] |
| 270 | * AscendedExtra: |
| 271 | ** Francisca was simply one of the many Evil Lords you fought in the last game with very little importance. Here, she's an ally and forges weapons for you. |
| 272 | ** Reaper Lord Lamde also has a much larger role in this game than he did in the first. [[spoiler:He's responsible for manipulating Yusha into destroying the eight Elements, releasing the Evil Lords in the process. He also turns Yashu against Yusha.]] |
| 273 | ** In the original game, Sasha was simply an optional sidequest NPC [[spoiler:whose survival wasn't even necessary to complete the stage she's present in]]. Here, [[spoiler:she is now an Angel and Hero/Geezer's wife, making her Yusha's mother.]] |
| 274 | * AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Giant enemies and bosses start appearing from Judgement onward. These defeat the normal-sized hero immediately upon contact and can only be fought by the mobile Hero Castle. |
| 275 | * BabiesEverAfter: Retroactively for [[spoiler:Hero and Sasha. Sadly, "ever after" lasted only until the backstory for the game saw the barrier between the human and demon worlds breached.]] |
| 276 | * BackFromTheDead: |
| 277 | ** [[spoiler:Several Evil Lords that were in the first game]] were revived in order to take out Yusha. |
| 278 | ** [[spoiler:In the Destiny chapter this is the case for Yusha himself, and after a particular scene you can reverse the plot mandated deaths of a dozen NPC allies.]] |
| 279 | ** Since the Timestream is the same thing as lifeforce, the Time Goddess can essentially revive people at will [[spoiler:as demonstrated with Coo]]. |
| 280 | * BackgroundMusicOverride: [[spoiler:The final chapter of Ragnarok will always play Coo's Song, even if you have the music player unlocked and set to a different song.]] |
| 281 | * BadassFamily: The hero's descendants. [[spoiler:Hero's no slouch himself, and neither is his wife.]] |
| 282 | * BananaPeel: One can be used as a "death trap" to weaken the Evil Lord Weapon in a Revolution quest. |
| 283 | * BettingMiniGame: The casinos have slot machines which require you to buy in with [[GlobalCurrencyException Goddess Coins]]. |
| 284 | * BishonenLine: At first, your opponents become more and more monstrous as the game wears on. However, this begins to reverse in the Ragnarok scenario; most members of the [[spoiler:God Nine]] are humanoids, and the [[spoiler:Venus Seven]], who you fight right afterwards, are all {{Cute Monster Girl}}s. |
| 285 | * BonusDungeon: Global dungeons are scattered across the overworld that you can enter to gain some powerful items. |
| 286 | * BreakingTheFourthWall: Ragnarok [[spoiler:ends on a depressing note, with quite a few sacrifices made. During the credits, the Time Goddess suddenly interrupts the roll and declares that it can't end this way. She turns time back, with the credits scrolling back as a rewind symbol appears on-screen.]] |
| 287 | * BrutalBonusLevel: There's a Hero 3 quest in this game too, and once again gives you just ''three seconds'' to save the world. [[spoiler:Even worse is the following quest and true final challenge of the game, ABYSS, which follows the standard format but is populated by fiendishly tough monsters and requires you to gather the maximum amount of gold possible before you can even face the boss.]] |
| 288 | * ButThouMust: Lampshaded again--you can say "no" to the Time Goddess a ridiculous amount of times, even earning you a title if you do it enough times, but she still refuses to take "no" as an answer. |
| 289 | * CaptainErsatz: |
| 290 | ** Nanako and Tetsu are essentially [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Lucca and Robo]]. |
| 291 | ** Silveria is an amalgamation of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI General Leo and Celes]]. |
| 292 | ** Emperor Golvadis is [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Emperor Gestahl]] in all but name... [[spoiler:except there isn't a Kefka around to hijack his plan.]] |
| 293 | ** [[http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=246698074 General Richter]] is the spitting image of CATS, from Zero Wing. |
| 294 | * TheCameo: Several characters return from the first game. |
| 295 | * {{Cap}}: Level is capped at 255, HP is capped at 999, and gold is capped at 99999. |
| 296 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Enemies far above your level flash red, enemies that pose some challenge to fight flash yellow, and enemies far below your level and can be defeated by just walking into them flash blue. |
| 297 | * CuttingOffTheBranches: To nobody's surprise, [[spoiler:the good ending to the first game's Quest 29 is canon]]. |
| 298 | * DarkerAndEdgier: The overall tone of the story is far more serious than its predecessor, though there are still plenty of comical moments. |
| 299 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Following Mestvolos's death, the demons emerge from the Dark World and make peace with the humans. |
| 300 | * DeathIsCheap: [[spoiler:Thanks to everything in the universe being comprised of the Timestream, fallen characters, both good and evil, can be brought back through proper manipulation of it. See BackFromTheDead above.]] |
| 301 | * DefectorFromDecadence: Brave General Silveria of the Empire, in a scenario near identical to that of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Celes Chere]]. |
| 302 | * DesperationAttack: When your HP is flashing, a skill activation will cause a "Hero Chain" where your party uses their skills all at once. |
| 303 | * DemotedToExtra: Beautiful Evil Lord had his own chapter in the first game. In the sequel he has a purely supporting role handing out rewards for completing achievements. [[spoiler:However, one of the rewards in question is him joining as a party member.]] |
| 304 | * DontTryThisAtHome: In Revolution, the Time Goddess will say this after you trip an Evil Lord Weapon with a banana peel. |
| 305 | * EleventhHourSuperpower: |
| 306 | ** In the last fight of Judgement, you are unable to be defeated, as shown by your HP staying at one despite walking through lava. |
| 307 | ** In the last battle of Revolution, you become invincible. |
| 308 | * EliteFour: The Four Ultimate Kings. |
| 309 | * TheEmpire: The antagonists of the Revolution chapter. |
| 310 | * EndlessGame: Infinite Battle mode, where the goal is to defeat as many Evil Lords as possible before you run out of time. You get a title for defeating the final boss: Infinite Lord #100, but then it sends you back to start all over again on the first map with all your levels and equipment. |
| 311 | * EvilKnockoff: Inverted with No. 30, an android replica of the Time Goddess. In spite of General Richter's intentions, she was so perfect a copy that she would only aid a hero. [[spoiler:A good thing too, since the real deal has gone completely off the deep end during Ragnarok.]] |
| 312 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 313 | ** The major characters to the main characters from the first game. Yusha is Hero, Yashu is Evil Lord, Yushia is Princess, and Yuja is Knight with Coo as his Sage. |
| 314 | ** [[spoiler: Cozain seems to be one for Grillade, at least in terms of the role he plays in the story (i.e. a persistent opponent who eventually goes through a HeelFaceTurn after being bested several times). Lampshaded with the Steam achievement unlocked through his recruitment; rather than a picture of him with Yuja and/or the rest of the heroes, it is a picture of Knight, Sage, and Grillade.]] |
| 315 | * FaceHeelTurn: |
| 316 | ** [[spoiler:Yashu, due to a horrific misunderstanding caused by Lamde.]] |
| 317 | ** [[spoiler:The Time Goddess goes insane during Ragnarok due to a dearth of Timestream energy caused by the God Nine, and sets out to destroy the world herself.]] |
| 318 | * FauxSymbolism: Invoked. The boss of one of the last stages is a headless angel statue that's half deep purple, half gold, and its gallery description notes that "the artistic symbolism is too deep for you." |
| 319 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: At the end of the first scenario, [[spoiler:Yusha swears vengeance upon the one who betrayed him, and against fate itself]]. It isn't until the very last storyline that we learn that [[spoiler:he was ''not'' being metaphorical when he spoke of getting revenge against Fate]]. The images shown in that scene also show future events that don't necessarily make sense until you actually get there. |
| 320 | * GiantMecha: Hero Castle qualifies, though it doesn't look very impressive (until you start stacking castle tops on top of each other). |
| 321 | * GlobalCurrencyException: The casinos, which require you to use Goddess Coins instead of gold. |
| 322 | * HeroicMute: Geezer. [[spoiler:After all, Hero didn't talk in the first game.]] |
| 323 | * HeroicSacrifice: Being inspired by classic era [=JRPGs=] it's only to be expected, but it's no less gut-wrenching for it. |
| 324 | * {{Homage}}: The game itself is one to SNES and PSX [=RPGs=]. |
| 325 | ** The entire Revolution scenario is a clear one to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. |
| 326 | ** Ragnarok can be said to take cues from the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series. |
| 327 | ** The last two Elements in Prelude are a Physical dragon and a Magical dragon, housed in matched towers. This is nearly identical to the Fork Tower scenario in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. The special moves used by the dragons are Physic Holy and Magic Flare, a reference to the Holy and Flare spells earned in Fork Tower's physical and magical sides, respectively. |
| 328 | * HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Francisca, Cozain, the 3rd Slaughter Daughter (aka Sach), and Asura Nadeshiko]] all end up joining the party, though [[spoiler:Cozain and Asurako]] are optional and while [[spoiler:Francisca]] joins the good guys early on, she doesn't become a full-fledged party member until the Ragnarok chapter. |
| 329 | * HumanPopsicle: Geezer is found in one on two separate occasions. [[spoiler:Much like how in the first game Hero sealed himself in case the world needed him, he did so again such that a hero in need could revive him, guessing (correctly) that his time-shifted son would find him.]] |
| 330 | * InterfaceScrew: |
| 331 | ** One quest in the Ragnarok scenario places you in a mirror world that not only reverses your controls at certain points but ''literally'' mirrors the entire screen, HUD included. |
| 332 | ** A foe in Ragnarok will completely cover the screen in white at times, preventing you from seeing the terrain. |
| 333 | ** The last quest in Ragnarok [[spoiler:gives you a ludicrously huge time limit of three ''billion'' seconds... but it counts down extremely quickly not too long into the quest.]] |
| 334 | * KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Geezer, if you choose to leave early at the end of ''Revolution''.]] |
| 335 | * KnightOfCerebus: [[spoiler:Reaper Lord Lamde.]] He's the one who [[spoiler:causes you to take out the Eight Elements, which causes the Evil Lords who were sealed away, to break free, and he turned Yashu against Yusha]]. |
| 336 | * LevelDrain: Works a little differently in this game. The protagonists can grind without the help of the Time Goddess (very slowly), and the level they reach becomes the level they start at for any quests that are encountered, instead of just being reset back to level one after a quest. |
| 337 | * LevelEditor: A simple one is present for you to make your own maps and quests. |
| 338 | * LightIsNotGood: The [[spoiler:Gods]] in Ragnarok are colored in whites and golds, bear halos and white wings, and generally exhibit all the outward signs of holy, light-aligned deities. They also want to kill every last living thing on the planet. |
| 339 | * LoanShark: Goddess Loans, with a [[BlatantLies perfectly reasonable]] interest rate of 3% ''per second''. |
| 340 | * LuckBasedMission: Nothing within the quests themselves, but the slot machines in the casino are, of course, random. |
| 341 | * MeetTheNewBoss: Not only do the [[spoiler:Gods]] fought in the Ragnarok scenario also use a 30 second doomsday spell, but a few of them are near-{{Palette Swap}}s of Evil Lords seen in previous chapters. In fact, no matter what threat is currently being faced, from Elements to Evil Lords to Empire, the basic setup of the game remains the same. |
| 342 | * MotiveRant: [[spoiler:Yashu]] in ''Revolution'' and ''Ragnarok'' will always open the battle by [[spoiler:reminding Yushia and Yuja of Yusha's "treason".]] |
| 343 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Destroying the Eight Elements releases the seal on the Evil Realm, which contained all the Evil Lords that Hero fought in the past, and forces Yusha to start casting the Spell of Destruction involuntarily.]] |
| 344 | * NighInvulnerability: Yusha becomes completely invincible in quest 12. He can't lose HP from dashing or fighting, [[spoiler:which is a bad thing, because the objective of that quest is to kill yourself in order to stop yourself from casting the Spell of Destruction.]] |
| 345 | * NostalgiaLevel: Infinite Evil Lord mode uses maps from the first game, with pretty much the same stage gimmicks as well. |
| 346 | * TheNotableNumeral: Nearly all of the major villainous groups in the game are presented this way. |
| 347 | * OptionalPartyMember: Most of them come from Yuja's story. Two more can be found in the Demon's Maze global dungeon. |
| 348 | * OverlyLongFightingAnimation: The summons you can do with elemental stones parody this. They only take about ten or fifteen seconds... that the timer ''doesn't pause for'', so you can easily run out of time if you try to use them without rewinding time before the battle. |
| 349 | * PunBasedTitle: Second refers to this being the second game, and a play on how you usually have seconds to finish a stage. The localized title keeps the pun and throws in some dramatic flair by calling it ''The Second Coming''. |
| 350 | * PreExistingEncounters: The game uses these instead of the RandomEncounters of the first game. |
| 351 | * RareCandy: One of the casino prizes is an item that instantly raises your global level by one. There's also the [[InvertedTrope inverse]]; an item that ''lowers'' your global level. A later venue has upgraded versions that add/subtract three levels. |
| 352 | * RunningGag: The Time Goddess always falls for the most obvious traps in the universe. |
| 353 | * TheRival: Yashu becomes this to Yusha [[spoiler:and his descendants.]] |
| 354 | * ScrewDestiny: The final storyline has our heroes [[spoiler:take up arms against Fate itself]]. |
| 355 | * SequentialBoss: [[spoiler:The final battle with Fate has three phases.]] |
| 356 | * ThemeMusicPowerUp: The game's main theme plays during the final sequence of Judgment, [[spoiler:where Yusha [[{{Determinator}} drags himself through a hall of scorching lava]] to face the Ultimate Evil Lord and finish him for good.]] In addition, [[spoiler:the final boss music is a remix]]. |
| 357 | * TimeCrash: [[spoiler:In the final quest of Ragnarok, the Dark Time Goddess's ultimate plan, similar to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Ultimecia]]'s Time Compression, is to compress all of reality, past present and future, into a single crystal. An [[RealityBreakingParadox irresolvable time paradox]] that also results in a TimeCrash occurs if you fail to stop Yashu from interfering in Yusha's duel with Metsvolos.]] |
| 358 | * UndyingLoyalty: Yashu to Queen Maria, and also the heroes' allies to the heroic bloodline. |
| 359 | * WellDoneSonGuy: Cozain at first claims he's attacking the party out of obligation, but with each defeat more of his rage and sorrow shows through. After Yuja defeats him, Zain's shade appears to soothe his son's soul. |
| 360 | [[/folder]] |
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