Line #54 VideoGame/MakaiKingdom


1	[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cover_art_little_2_7750.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:268:[[DimensionLord The mighty overlords]]... [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and corn]].[[note]] Plus the [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Badass Freakin' Overlord's Daughter]][[/note]]]]
3
4	->''"There is, of course, more than one universe. In one such world, in the corner of a backwater galaxy, humans rule over a senseless planet. However, that's about as important as a speck of dust in this pluralistic cosmos. Well, here in the netherworld, things work in the same way. I wanted to tell him that... But he had enough problems with my prophecy already..."''
5
6	->''"Disperse, loyal battle monkeys! Do my bidding and BUST A CAP!"''
7
8	Continuing the tradition of wacky TurnBasedStrategy {{RPG}}s started by ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' and ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', [[Creator/NipponIchi Nippon Ichi Software]] released ''Makai Kingdom'' in 2005. It's the story of 'Badass Freakin' [[DimensionLord Overlord]]' Zetta, who [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds accidentally destroys his own Netherworld]] by torching a CosmicKeystone called the Sacred Tome. In order to save himself, he seals himself inside the book before it's completely ruined. Reduced to a sentient tome with no home, no resources, and no body, Zetta is forced to enlist the help of his fellow Overlords in a bid to get his netherworld back.
9
10	A [[UpdatedRerelease PSP port]] was released in 2011 that includes an [[AnotherSideAnotherStory alternate storyline]] involving a new character, Petta. However, this version did not get a western release [[LateExportForYou until 2022]], as part of the ''NIS Classics Vol. 2'' CompilationRerelease for consoles with a simultaneous PC release as ''Makai Kingdom: Reclaimed and Rebound''.
11	----
12	!!Provides examples of:
13	* AggressivePlayIncentive: With few exceptions, Nippon Ichi games favor the bold players that pump their own stats and cruise past Mooks. In fact, ''Makai Kingdom'' is probably the brand's most blatant example - Enemies (particularly casters) almost always have the ability advantage over the player and can wreck even a well-planned party if they unleash the right attacks, particularly if CosmicKeystone Zetta is caught in the crossfire. Between that and the inability to block enemy units or influence their movement, it's much safer to pump stats as high as possible and demolish high-Point enemies for easy map-clears than it is to participate in long, drawn-out sieges that give enemies attack opportunities. Hitting "End Turn" with enemies around almost always guarantees a party pulverized with HerdHittingAttack combos.
14	* AlternateTimeline: The PSP Petta storyline. The Petta storyline takes place in a universe where Zetta bites his tongue when he tries to confine himself into the Sacred Tome. Salome ends up saving him, but it takes Zetta 1000 years to recover...and he ''still'' gets stuck in the Sacred Tome. When Zetta finally wakes up, he finds that [[spoiler:''Alex'' has taken over all the other Netherworlds as the "Great Overlord". [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Oh and he has a daughter]]]].
15	* AntiGravityClothing: Then again, most of the characters featuring this are practically forces of nature themselves. Presumably gravity is hiding in a corner to avoid attracting attention.
16	* AntiVillain:
17	** Alexander conquered all of the known Netherworlds in the Petta Mode timeline. [[spoiler:He did this to prevent the other Overlords from killing Zetta during his 1000-year hiatus]].
18	** Micky. Micky himself is a NiceGuy and is only a villain by virtue of being an Overlord. Well that and his less-savory CognizantLimbs.
19	** Salome. She sees the other Overlords as "disgusting piles of sin" and is downright gentle towards Zetta. Even [[spoiler: her brief FaceHeelTurn is her wanting Zetta to put her out of her slowly-dying misery]].
20	* AntiWastageFeatures: Attempting to delete a unit/vehicle/facility equipped with items (or holding characters) will yield an error message, preventing the player from deleting the items they're holding too. This also applies to trying to delete equippable items - a confirmation pop-up will remind you that someone's using it then sending you back to choose another item, if you want.
21	* ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge: There are loads and loads of weapon types. There are modern weapons like rifles, bazookas, or flamethrowers available, but also classical weapons like swords and spears. Or [[ImprobableWeaponUser silly weapons]] like [=UFOs=], Pies, Syringes, or Paper Fans. Heck, there are even giant mechs available to ride.
22	* ArmoredButFrail: Mimics have insanely high DEF and RES but horrible HP. A stray paper-cut is enough to take them down.
23	* ArtificialStupidity: Buildings have an odd habit of borking the AI, as they may drop everything to take them over even if it means wading through your army as they get slaughtered. If the building isn't particularly strong in the first place you can potentially kill everyone who overtakes it inside by destroying it. Enemies will sometimes attempt to take over even if they have no hope of doing this. Healer classes are especially prone to this.
24	** Pie Wielding enemies will simply stand there and take hits (or confusingly, even [[ViolationOfCommonSense heal the people killing them]]) instead of throwing the pie away and fighting unarmed. It's not like the AI doesn't know HOW to do this either, but...
25	** [[VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Prinny]] AI usually consists of the Prinny throwing whatever weapon or item it's carrying in a random direction. If it has no item, it will pick up the nearest one and throw it. If there is no item in walking distance, it stands there until killed. On rare occasions Prinnies may move towards or even attack your units, but KEY Prinnies usually mean you can move in position for the next area. This also makes Petta mode's 1-2 [[SurpriseDifficulty a surprising kick to the pants]], as the (almost entirely Prinny) army is significantly more competent than average.
26	* ArtShift: The beginning and ending of the game features a different pool of sprites for the characters; they're highly detailed and proportional to their official art, very different from how they appear in the main game, looking like something straight out of ''VideoGame/OdinSphere''.
27	* AscendedMeme: Zetta's nickname for Alex, "Asshat."
28	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Slash his throat! Eat his eyes!! STEAL HIS SHOES!!!"
29	* AwesomeButImpractical:
30	** Balloons. They use the game's easiest-to-increase stat (SP) to attack, but [[RingOut fling the character using it out-of-bounds]] just for using it once; ignoring the fact that using their special attacks take SP away, thus making them weaker with every use. And if the enemies use Balloon attacks, [[FakeDifficulty they level their friends up upon being thrown Out-Of-Bounds]]. Unique units mitigate the Out of Bounds penalty, but since it still relies on SP it will still go down in damage unless you stick to its basic attack. Even worse, the only Unique unit that can learn balloon skills is [[JokeCharacter King Drake the Third]].
31	** Remotes. They increase both INT and TEC, but only two (three in the ports) SquishyWizard units in the game can use them at all, learning their only skill requires a whopping '''ten levels of Weapon Mastery''' and both attacks require the user to be at close-range; guaranteeing that character's death if their targets aren't gone when it pops.
32	** The Hammer weapons also count. Not only are they the weakest weapon type in the game, but an allied character hit with a Hammer '''[[LevelDrain gets a full Level Down]]''' as well as losing any pending experience they've acquired during the battle. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Of course]], PlayerMooks using Hammers on enemies don't have this effect.
33	** Most of the Warrior-type classes can learn special skills for use when they don't have a weapon in their hands. Most of these are ironically Multi-target skills, too. Unfortunately, no unit in the game, Generic or Unique, has the stat growth needed to rock such a style unless max Reincarnation levels are achieved; and if one can achieve max levels, then why would you be using Unarmed skills at all?
34	* AxCrazy: Dryzen.
35	* BadassBoast: Combined with MundaneMadeAwesome with Zetta's threats against the corn people.
36	-->"I, the mighty Overlord Zetta, do not fear corn, kettle or otherwise!"
37	* BattleButler: The thunder god Raiden is Alexander's right-hand man. You face him three times during the game: once during the intro, and again at the end of chapters 4 and 6.
38	** In the PSP port's new story, Petta's [[spoiler:working for Alex]] and you fight her more than a few times.
39	* BishonenLine: The larger overlords like Babylon and Valvolga condense themselves into humanoid form before fighting. They don't get any ''more'' powerful from this, though.
40	* BookEnds: The game begins and ends with Zetta consulting the Sacred Tome. The difference is that while he's using the Sacred Tome at the beginning to confirm the prophecy of his Netherworld's destruction, the Normal Ending has him using the Sacred Tome [[spoiler:to bring Salome back to life]].
41	* BuffySpeak!
42	-->"Sacred Tome? More like...sucky...dumb...thing!"
43	* CardCarryingVillain:
44	-->"Evil is actually in my job description."
45	** If this isn't a one-off gag (probably not, since Zetta was being rather blunt here), then this line applies to all Overlords.
46	* ChangingGameplayPriorities: The main story is manageable solely through maintaining character equipment and adding to your ranks. Once the post-game hits and Reincarnation and Random Dungeon-spelunking become more important, raw damage output becomes the typical player's priority; as enemies that can one-shot you become the norm, rendering DEF into a DumpStat.
47	* CantCatchUp:
48	** TEC-users are gimped by this. Post-Game bosses and high-level Dungeon characters tend to have above-average defenses. Unless over-levelled, Support spells will usually come into play to assist. However, there are no spells for buffing the TEC stat. What doesn't help is that ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' chose to do away with item-leveling, which makes Accessories static. Long story short, a TEC-user with 3000 TEC and three Glasses is nothing compared to a Mage with 3000 INT that's been boosted by five Magic Boost spells, turning that 3000 into 5000.
49	** Downplayed once you start recruiting post-game characters. Post-Game characters have astounding stat-growth compared to even the EliteMooks, making them ideal for (more of) the Post-Game. Generic characters can come close to this level of power if the time is dedicated to them, but they'll require way more work than just boosting up the secret units.
50	* CerebusSyndrome: Outside of a few moments with Salome, the story has generally been comedic, with episode 7, involving ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''-inspired corn, easily being the funniest. Then, that episode ends with Zetta, upon meeting with the other Overlords, roasts a nearby corn with a Zetta Beam, said corn having been implied to be The One. While the laughs continue for a bit with King Drake trying to use the dead The One as a puppet, all comedy is sucked dry as Zetta has to contend with the fact that he might die or lose all his mana.
51	* ChewToy: Asagi, who debuted in this game and has been wandering around the Nippon Ichi-verse ever since.
52	* CognizantLimbs: Spoofed. The demon lord Valvoga is made up of three parts — the four-armed AmbiguouslyGay Micky, the ManipulativeBastard Ophelia, and the AxCrazy Dryzen — but they function as one person in battle.
53	* CombatMedic: A playable class, one of the Soldier classes, functioning as a healer with gun proficiency. Healers are also surprisingly powerful in this game if you put a syringe into their hands.
54	* CoolStarship: The battleship Yoshitsuna, piloted by OptionalBoss Prinny Baal, which can be yours if you can defeat it.
55	* CripplingOverspecialization:
56	** Gobblers and Evil Eyes have pitiful stats in every category except HP and SP, respectively. Their weapon proficiencies are either suited to better classes with the stats to use them or work against their one strength.
57	** Idols and Heaven's Blisses are amazing healer-types with an overabundance of RES, MV, and SP. They're also amazingly useless at every form of combat. [[LethalJokeCharacter Unless you happen upon a Syringe and have some Mana to spare]]...
58	** Guardians and Iron Golems are [[StoneWall immensely tough to hurt but can't really deal any damage]]. This is especially bad since the game prevents units from blocking one another, turning the heavily-armored tanks into paperweights. Guardians are however one of the two generic classes that can use a Beam Sword - Something to consider for Reincarnation.
59	* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Zetta, even in book form, is still the most powerful overlord in the cosmos. In his appearances as a {{Superboss}} in later games, as well as in one cutscene here, he still has the power to obliterate things with tremendously powerful eye beams. He does not use this power in this game's gameplay, however.
60	* CurbStompBattle: Pram's attempts to [[spoiler:defeat Alex]] in Petta Mode go sour when the titular character displays [[spoiler:her restored Mana power]], which rivals even Zetta's. The only clue as to Pram's fate is an explosion sound.
61	** Most of the post-game bosses are designed around this; the simplest strategy being to put a few characters in a Fortress, buff them with Healers and Combo the boss before they get a single turn in.
62	* DecoyProtagonist: Played with. While Zetta is indisputably the main character of the game's storyline, the player never directly controls him (save in one fight where you get ATasteOfPower). This is even lampshaded in one of the random lines your troops can say, when they point out that the real main character is whichever random soldier the player has chosen to control.
63	* DefeatMeansFriendship: How all the optional characters join your team.
64	* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: ''Literally'' everybody.
65	* DimensionLord: All of the main characters are rulers of a Netherworld (or the Underworld in Seedle's case). Trenia is the only exception [[spoiler:and she's the spirit of the Sacred Tome, which may qualify her as one anyway]].
66	* DirtyCoward: King Drake III.
67	* TheDitz: Trenia. Zetta wakes up early in one chapter to find that Trenia has set him on fire and is using it to roast a marshmallow. [[spoiler:This borders on FridgeBrilliance when you find out that she's the spirit of the Sacred Tome and is actually practicing ObfuscatingStupidity... REVENGE!!!!]]
68	* DoubleEntendre: In an optional boss battle, King Drake claims that the only reason he snuck up on Zetta in his sleep was to steal his "junk". King Drake meant money and valuables. Zetta thought differently.
69	-->'''Zetta:''' You sick bastard... I didn't know you swung that way.
70	* DrillTank: Driller-G tanks function like this.
71	* DumpStat: DEF, upon hitting the Post-Game. Per the norm for Nippon Ichi titles, post-game battles are made excessively easy by grinding for the best weapons and achieving levels that are at least half of the target bosses'. This turns most post-game bosses into OneHitKO affairs, especially if one has enough Support Spell-casters.
72	* EarlyBirdCameo: The wolf-like Mystic Beasts appear in Asagi's pre-fight cut scene before they make their proper debut in ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories''.
73	* EpicFlail: The Morningstar's final skill ''swings the entire map around''.
74	* EtTuBrute: In Petta Mode, she [[spoiler:turns on Alex after getting rid of Pram]] to protect Zetta's interests. Alex repeatedly refuses to attack her despite her not hesitating to do the same. Zetta [[spoiler:hijacks their fight]].
75	* EvenEvilHasStandards: None of the Overlords are having King Drake's [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder constant scheming]].
76	* EvilLaugh: Zetta is big on this trope. He's very good at it too, even as a book.
77	* EvilTaintedThePlace: When [[spoiler:Salome is introduced in Chapter 5]], we see a regal, angelic-looking Netherworld presumed to be hers. When the Final Chapter rolls around and Salome [[spoiler:slams Zetta's Netherworld into hers]], the resulting stages look like dead wastelands that are about to ooze LovecraftLite from their seams.
78	* EyeBeams:
79	-->Zetta '''BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM'''!
80	* FauxAffablyEvil: Most of the overlords except Babylon, who has grown genuinely affable in his old age and isn't really evil anymore anyway, and Seedle, whose outright hostility subverts the "affably" part. Dryzen is probably the most prominent example.
81	* GameBreakingBug: Characters can sometimes get stuck in vehicles and facilities with no way of getting them out. Death is often one of the triggers, but not always. It's unfortunately very random and the only way around it is to reload a previous save.
82	* GameplayAndStoryIntegration:
83	** Because the Sacred Tome is a CosmicKeystone linked to the existence of everything, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou destroying it nets you an immediate game over]], even if one of your characters somehow survives the backlash.
84	** The background music and faced enemy types of an episode's randomized maps is dependent on which Overlord Zetta chose as that episode's sponsor.
85	* GenreBusting: The game is a weird mixture of ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' and ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave,'' revolving around summoning allies in the middle of the battlefield but less dependent on objects already on the field. There's nothing exactly like it. (Then again, there was nothing exactly like ''Phantom Brave'' either.)
86	** The game's original Japanese name is ''Phantom Kingdom'', making the ''Phantom Brave'' connection more obvious.
87	* GiantMedicalSyringe: One of the weapon types is giant Syringes. These weapons are particularly useful for healers, because their damage is based on the Resistance stat, which also determines the power of healing spells. A Syringe allows your healer to deal ample damage without sacrificing their healing capabilities.
88	* GlassCannon:
89	** Enforced for the game's mage classes, by design: A light breeze can down most mages, but the range of their Magic is ''insane.'' A spell's area-of-effect and the potentially-generous randomness of enemy element resistances are the ingredients for a cocktail of pain. Of course, this applies to ''you too.''
90	** Samurai, Hell Sabers, Professors, and Archers all have one thing in common: High attacking stats and pitiful HP growth.
91	** Katanas and Bazookas turn their wielder into this, lowering DEF and RES, respectively.
92	** Nearly all characters in the player's party turn into this come Post-Game due to defenses becoming a DumpStat against higher-levelled foes, typical for [[Creator/NipponIchi Nippon Ichi]] games.
93	* GodWasMyCoPilot: Turns out that "The One", an entity responsible for helping the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil is really [[spoiler:Ophelia... Although this ''might'' have been a gag]]. [[spoiler:Also, Trenia was the original spirit of the Sacred Tome.]]
94	* HardModePerks: In both the PSP and the ''Reclaimed & Rebound'' ports of the game, choosing to play Petta Mode from the beginning unlocks almost every generic unit from the start and give you three-or-so of their tiers for free. Petta Mode isn't that much harder than the main story, but it expects you to be savvy about the game's mechanics and enemy levels shoot into the stratosphere faster since the Mode is only four episodes long. You'll be using its generously-provided LevelGrinding maps a lot.
95	* HarmfulHealing: The Syringe can heal the target for free with its basic attack, but the more advanced attacks all cause harm (and replenishes the user's health by an equal amount — it essentially drains away life). Furthermore, it uses the RES stat (which Healers and Medics tend to focus on) to determine its effectiveness, so it can become a very powerful weapon for a class that usually hangs back in the rear.
96	* HealingShiv: Syringes and pies allow you to heal allies with "attacks."
97	* HeartBeatDown: The Staff weapon is a Magical Girl-style sceptre that summons hearts and ribbons for its moves.
98	* HellHasNewManagement: Seedle is the ruler of the afterlife. How did he come by this position? He was a human warrior who died, went there, and in Zetta's words, "kicked so much ass that they made him the boss."
99	* HeroicComedicSociopath: Zetta makes no bones about letting others know that he's the strongest, and does so constantly. At one point he actually was, until he [[EarthShatteringKaboom blew up everything]].
100	* HowDareYouDieOnMe: A rare pre-mortem example: [[spoiler:After Zetta is cursed to die in two days, Alexander confronts Zetta with these words, furious at the prospect of losing his rival... And then tries to beat the curse to the punch.]] This comes, naturally, with a huge dose of HoYay.
101	* InnerMonologue: Zetta does this a lot; one time, Pram even calls him out on it.
102	* ItemCaddy:
103	** Downplayed with Thieves. A Thief's primary function is ''technically'' to steal from enemies with [=UFOs=]. However, their extraordinary movement range and impressive number of item slots make them one of the best characters to ferry people and supplies around the maps. It doesn't help either that post-game dungeons and maps are very generous with Bonus List item-handouts, which will eventually include elite weapons and gear - thus, even the act of stealing stops mattering.
104	** Played straight with Chefs. Any character can equip food items and feed them to anybody without consuming their turn (which increases the diner's Experience gains/handouts), but Chefs have the distinction of doubling the effects of said items if they're the feeder; making this their primary role in an army.
105	* JokeCharacter: King Drake upon recruiting him. His poor Aptitudes prevent him from properly using three out of the four weapons he's good with, and the one weapon type he ''can'' properly use happens to be the weakest in the game. Just stack him full of shoes and use him to throw people around. That's as useful as he's gonna get.
106	* LargeHam: King Drake the Third. Zetta is a distant second-place.
107	* LaserBlade: One of the special weapon types that can ''demolish'' vehicles. Only two classes in the game can use it inherently, but Reincarnation can solve that.
108	* {{Leitmotif}}: Each of the Overlords has their own theme music. When their Netherworld is selected at the beginning of each chapter, the music changes, as well.
109	* LethalJokeCharacter: Idols and the Heaven's Bliss both seem like absolutely horrid classes with everything but their RES and their Healing spells working against them. And they are. Unless you've given them a Syringe through Reincarnation, that is.
110	* LongSongShortScene: Devil's Descent, Valvoga's theme, only plays twice, during its introduction and as the {{Superboss}} music against him.
111	* LordBritishPostulate: A strong-enough character ''can'' in-fact destroy the Sacred Tome wholesale. It's an instant game over if you pull it off, whether one of your units survives the backlash or not.
112	* LoveMakesYouCrazy: Salome. Salome's love for Zetta consumes her in the final chapter, leading to her [[spoiler: subjecting Zetta's Netherworld to a ColonyDrop and turning on him. Then it's revealed to be a subversion, as she was ObfuscatingStupidity so she could give Zetta the rest of her power via SuicideByCop]].
113	* LoveMartyr: Salome's entire plan hinged on [[spoiler: Zetta killing her so she could give him the rest of her power in one lump sum instead of dying a slow, poisoned death at its hands]].
114	* MagicKnight:
115	** Reincarnation and some effort can make any character into this; though the Vampire, Specter and Shadow classes act as this by design.
116	** Daggers in particular are designed specifically for this, increasing ATK and INT simultaneously.
117	** Out of the recruitable post-game characters, [[spoiler:Salome]] and [[spoiler:Valvoga]].
118	* ManaDrain: An in-story example. Salome's power is waning due to circumstances beyond her control or understanding. Turns out [[spoiler: she's been feeding Zetta her Mana since he became Overlord and it's been slowly killing her]].
119	* MagikarpPower: More than a few of the game's weapons such as Morningstars and Bazookas compensate for their decent stats with weak attack ranges, a paltry number of abilities and a ''massive'' gap in the weapon levels needed to unlock said abilities. Reaching these levels however makes these weapons drastically more effective; usually through unlockable HerdHittingAttack[=s=]. Special mention goes to the Remote, which only has ''one ability'' after its default attack - but reaching Level 10 in its Mastery unlocks an ability that turns the character into a close-range KillSat.
120	* MarketBasedTitle: The fully English name ''Phantom Kingdom'' got renamed to the partially GratuitousJapanese name ''Makai Kingdom'' when it was ported to Europe and North America. It was likely a marketing move to emphasise the connection to the better known ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' (which it shares more with thematically) over ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'' (which it shares more with mechanically), though it depends on ViewersAreGeniuses to catch the BilingualBonus. The name change was also lampshaded by Asagi:
121	-->'''Asagi:''' I hope you enjoy your summer with Makai... Phantom... whatever.
122	* MasterOfNone: Mimics, Idols and Heaven's Blisses have Weapon proficiencies across the offensive board but suck with absolutely all of them.
123	* MightyGlacier:
124	** Morningstars invoke this by design - Increasing a character's HP and ATK at the expense of their movement range.
125	** While the Corn Man's SP and INT are a notch smaller than Witches and Wizards', its HP outshines every other mage by a country mile. In a game where mages already put the "Cannon" in "GlassCannon," Corn Men add deceptive sturdiness to that; effectively making them the best of both worlds. This also makes them annoying to fight as enemies for the exact same reason.
126	* MistakenForGay: Zetta is sickened when Drake tells him that he wanted his junk. Drake naturally meant Zetta's money and valuables and not... ''that''.
127	* MythologyGag: Being a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Phantom Brave'', there's the "Confine" ability. It doesn't work the same way here, with Zetta being literally confined to The Sacred Tome. [[spoiler:More notable is when Trenia returns to the Sacred Tome, she says out "Confine".]]
128	** This is also how Zetta gets PlayerMooks in the game mechanics; by Perma-confining their Phantoms to the leftover rubble.
129	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Zetta does this to ''his entire netherworld''. Oops.
130	* NobleDemon: Downplayed with the Overlords. Despite being a CardCarryingVillain DysfunctionJunction, the majority of the Overlords are nice by Nippon Ichi standards; veering close to LovableRogue territory. [[OracularUrchin Pram]], [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Seedle]] and [[GoldfishPoopGang Drake]] are the only ones with straightforward malicious intent and [[spoiler: [[TookALevelInKindness the first of those three gets better]]]].
131	* NoIndoorVoice: Dryzen, so very much.
132	* NonStandardGameOver: Some of the post-game battles [[note]]Specifically the fight against Alexander unlocked from Salome dying in 8-8, the battle against Pram unlocked by killing 50 of your own units during a cycle and Salome's Event Dungeon unlock[[/note]] typically resulting in a DownerEnding that forces the entire game to restart. (Though you usually get an OptionalPartyMember for your time) Others just give you an outright GameOver.[[note]]Making the wish for [[spoiler:Prinny Overlord Baal]]'s fight using Laharl results in [[spoiler:the destruction of Zetta's body]] after you win, giving you a Game Over. Losing to [[spoiler:Flonne]], [[spoiler:Etna]] or [[spoiler:Baal]] also Games you Over, though you get a cutscene for it.[[/note]]
133	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Trenia for two-thirds of the game [[spoiler:per her position as spirit of the Sacred Tome]], knows a lot more than she shows.
134	** Salome in the Final Chapter. In a desperate attempt to get Zetta to [[spoiler:kill her before her Mana is completely drained]], Salome adopts a {{Yandere}} persona to get Zetta to pursue her.
135	* ObligatorySwearing: The champion of TheMultiverse by a long shot, even though it holds the same teen rating [[VideoGame/LaPucelle as]] [[Franchise/{{Disgaea}} the]] [[VideoGame/PhantomBrave others]], the localization is riffled with: Bitch, Slut, Asshat, & etc.
136	* OneWingedAngel:
137	** Valvoga's regular form — a multi-armed demon, an angel head, and a dragon skull mashed together into one being — is intended to be evocative of this trope, which is why he's often referred to as "The Last Boss" (of other games).
138	** Subverted by King Drake's... Snicker ''true'' form...
139	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Alexander, God of Destruction, won't allow anyone to defeat Zetta except him. Apparently, their personal feud is at a stalemate, and he's [[EvasiveFightThreadEpisode waiting for the perfect opportunity to even the score.]] Zetta [[UnknownRival couldn't care less]].
140	* OracularUrchin: Pram and [[spoiler:Trenia]]. Later, it turns out that [[spoiler:Pram doesn't have the power of precognition after all. She was just reading from the Sacred Tome, which recorded the entire past, present, and future, the whole time. Also, the Sacred Tome, or rather spirit of it, is actually Trenia, which explains her own power of precognition]].
141	* PercussiveMaintenance: The wrench skill Tech Bash repairs vehicles.
142	* PigeonholedVoiceActor:
143	** Creator/CrispinFreeman as Badass Freaking Overlord Zetta.
144	** Creator/NorioWakamoto providing heaping dishes of ham with King Drake.
145	* PlantPeople: Apple Kids, Corn Men, pumpkin heads, and carrots.
146	* PlayerMooks: Notably, this game is almost ''all'' PlayerMooks. It's not until the postgame that you recruit any story characters.
147	%%ZCE* PrescienceIsPredictable
148	* RandomlyGeneratedLevels: Some storyline levels contain portions that change every time you enter them, but those created through the Sacred Tome are almost fully randomized.
149	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Seedle [[spoiler: forced himself onto Salome back in his adventuring days]]. When even demons (Overlords at that) are disgusted with you for doing it, you know you're a bastard.
150	* RealityWritingBook: Zetta becomes a type III book.
151	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: According to King Drake, he and Zetta only ''met'' about 10,000 years ago, so imagine how old they must be. In fact, the majority of the game's cast is full of long-lived Overlords.
152	* RecurringBoss:
153	** Raiden. Other than Alexander and [[spoiler:Salome]], he's the only true "boss" you fight during the normal quest.
154	** In Petta Mode, the girl herself. You fight her multiple times throughout the scenario.
155	* RewritingReality: Literally. The Sacred Tome creates whatever is written down in it, but takes the {{mana}} of whoever wrote it down to fuel the creation. Overlord-level demons can create entire Netherworlds and just get a little tired, but the mook-level demons you control get killed by the backlash of creating anything. (However, this is a great way to get them to reincarnate if their initial item for creation didn't have any stars.)
156	* SchizoTech: None of the Netherworlds appear to be very advanced technologically, but the demons fight with all kinds of futuristic weapons — guns, tanks, ''[=UFOs=]''...
157	* ScrewDestiny: Attempted; backfires ''[[HilarityEnsues spectacularly]]''.
158	* SealedEvilInACan: Zetta. Parodied.
159	** This is how Trenia explains [[spoiler:Baal]] to Zetta in an Event Dungeon cutscene.
160	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: This is how the game is started. The Sacred Tome reveals that Zetta's stupidity will doom the Netherworld. Insulted, Zetta burns the book, destroying everything and proving the prophecy right.
161	* ShoutOut: Like all good Nippon Ichi games, there's plenty — [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail "I didn't know we had an overlord. I thought we were an autonomous collective."]] springs to mind...
162	** In the Japanese audio, whenever Zetta fries someone with his EyeBeams, he calls out [[strike:[[Manga/GetterRobo Getta Beeeeaam!]]]] "ZETTA BEEEEAAM!"
163	** The Mechanic class is wearing headgear straight from ''Manga/AlienNine''.
164	** Many of the vehicles, like the [[VideoGame/MetalGear Gear Metal LEX]], or the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam RX66 Helldam]].
165	** One of Zetta's powers at the start, Darkness Falls, causes the wall behind the user to turn red. Swords then emerge, leaving ripples behind, and then the swords are launched at the target. [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Faking Mongrel!]]
166	** Hitting select to cycle through a list of random names when making a character will turn up a lot of {{Shout Out}}s. The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series seems to get a huge number.
167	** VERY frequently, characters will insist "go play Phantom Brave", sometimes with "instead of this game!" thrown in. Hilariously, Zetta, upon entering Asagi's world, begs to differ.
168	--->'''Zetta:''' ...The next game is not another serious drama, is it? [...] If people wanted drama, they would have bought VideoGame/PhantomBrave!
169	** King Drake's OneWingedAngel form is a shout-out to ''Manga/SazaeSan'', a reference ''no-one'' outside of Japan is likely to get.
170	* ShootTheMageFirst: The game incentivizes this approach - Magic in ''Makai Kingdom'' is HerdHittingAttack incarnate, especially late-game. Given how liberal the game can be with elemental resistances (for good '''and''' ill), prioritizing enemy mages can save your units heaps of trouble. It's also the ideal strategy for the FinalBoss of the main story, given [[spoiler: the MagicKnight Salome is the only unit you need to actually destroy and she has just enough open space around her for a ComboAttack setup]].
171	* ShovelStrike: Shovels are among the less weird weapons in this game.
172	* SIPrefixName: Zetta himself, whose name is based on the prefix ''zeta''. In keeping with the ThemeNaming, his daughter in the UpdatedRerelease gets the name "Petta", based on ''peta''.
173	* SmugSnake: Zetta, even though he started out as a HeroicComedicSociopath. King Drake III definitely falls into this trope, combining it with DirtyCoward.
174	* SnotBubble: Babylon.
175	** King Drake once Zetta and Pram [[spoiler:foil his doomed-from-the-start plan to re-write the Sacred Tome]].
176	* SpiritualSuccessor: As evidenced by its domestic name ''Phantom Kingdom'', it's this to ''Phantom Brave''.
177	* StableTimeLoop: The battle against Babylon.
178	* StoneWall: Guardians, Golems, Gourmet Ogres and Mimics are designed to soak up punishment with their high DEF and RES. Don't expect them to be able to actually damage the enemy, though.
179	* {{Superboss}}:
180	** Like all Nippon Ichi games by this point, Baal is a difficult optional boss (plus [[VideoGame/PhantomBrave Castille]] and the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' crew). Zetta even [[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaks The Fourth Wall]] by calling him out, knowing the trend.
181	** This is also the first appearance of Asagi as a difficult optional boss.
182	* SuperRobot: The aptly named Robosuit is an OptionalBoss that you gain control of after defeating it. Comes with RocketPunch and a V-shaped laser ChestBlaster.
183	* TakeThat: "...The next game is not another serious drama, is it? [...] If people wanted drama, they would have bought VideoGame/PhantomBrave!"
184	* TankGoodness: Gear Metal LEX.
185	* ATasteOfPower: Zetta starts the game in humanoid form at level 2000 and with a host of very powerful Sword techniques. After ''that'', however...
186	* ThemeNaming: Zetta and Petta are both obscure numerical prefixes, meaning "Septillion" and "Quintillion", respectively.
187	* ThisIsADrill: Massive drills make great weapons, though they do reduce your movement range.
188	* ThunderDrum: One of the less common weapon types, these take the form of a ring of six drums mounted on the user's back. Hitting the drums activates various skills that mostly deal electrical damage. Alexander and his subordinate Raiden are the most prominent users.
189	* TomeOfFate: The Sacred Tome.
190	* TooDumbToLive:
191	** Zetta ''forgot'' about the book that bound together the fabric of his very universe. And then he set it on fire. He also didn't pay that much attention to how he became Overlord the first time.
192	** The game will lampshade this in one of the NonStandardGameOver scenarios where [[spoiler:Zetta can go challenge Salome in her prime. Upon defeating her, he starts losing his powers, as Salome was the source of his power. A ''hint'' pops up saying what you did wrong to get the game over, which effectively states "Be careful what you wish for, because you may end up feeling stupid afterwards."]]
193	* TookALevelInBadass:
194	** [[spoiler: Micky]]'s Post-Game battle is about him trying to invoke this in himself. He succeeds and gives you his double for your time.
195	** In the Petta Mode timeline, Alex has [[spoiler:overthrown all of the other Overlords]].
196	* TotalPartyKill: As the Sacred Tome, damage done to Zetta gets applied to everything else on the map. If a lucky enemy (or clumsy ally) gets a powerful shot on him, it's GameOver. This applies to healing and stat-altering spells too, which can have its uses.
197	* TheUnderworld: Seedle is its Overlord.
198	* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: You get stronger throughout the game. Zetta (as the Tome) does not. You [[LordBritishPostulate can destroy the Sacred Tome]] once your stats are high enough, [[TotalPartyKill but the obvious]] [[GameOver happens]].
199	* UselessUsefulSpell: The game's two Magic-using classes (the Witch and Sorcerer, obviously) gain access to spells meant to weaken the stats of enemy units, which in theory should make them the opposite of a Healer. However, the spells will never work on enemy units, whether you are overleveled or underleveled. [[GoodBadBug However, they WILL work on your own forces half of the time, which is actually useful when grinding for Weapon Mastery;]] as you can attack your own teammates to gain Weapon Mastery while also being unable to accidentally kill them if you're extremely strong.
200	* UtilityPartyMember:
201	** Merchants and Thieves have crud Aptitudes, but are designed for item collection. Merchants sell you stuff while Thieves are the only class in the game that use [=UFOs=] to steal Items from enemies; having the maximum chance they can to do so.
202	** Professors and Engineers are Vehicle-management classes - Profs make your vehicles stronger while Mechanics repair them and sell you vehicle parts. Amusingly, having a Professor in your party expands the Merchant's shop inventory too; thus it pays to have one of each.
203	** The Chef's stats are sub-par for a warrior class, but once the player learns about food's hidden utility[[note]]Food increases [=EXP=] Growth (for allies) and [=EXP=] payouts (for enemies), with an extra percentage if a Chef is the one feeding the target.[[/note]], they'll become an essential toolkit for most of the player's post-game grinding.
204	** Downplayed with Carrots. They're mediocre warrior-types at the start of the game, but exist almost solely to be reincarnated into better classes that can benefit from their passive [=EXP=] and Mana bonuses come the post-game.
205	* VisibleSilence: Lampshaded by Alex.
206	-->"Ellipses are for chumps — say something!"
207	* WeaponsKitchenSink: Everything from swords to [[ThunderDrum drums that shoot electricity]] to wrenches to ''balloons'' can be used as a weapon.
208	* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Justified. Zetta ''is'' the Book that controls the nearby reality. If he dies, the dimension collapses. In fact, if he gets hurt, ''everyone'' gets hurt. You can actually manipulate this, too; while injuring Zetta will cause you to be unable to summon any more units, you can quickly heal or buff your entire team by tossing the appropriate spells at him, so long as you're prepared to deal with the enemies getting the same effects.
209	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "Who's the Overlord now, bitch?!"
210	* WhoWritesThisCrap: "Who the hell writes this crap?" asks Zetta.
211	* WorldOfHam: Good ''Overlords''. Even by the standards of other Nippon Ichi games, this is a hammy game. Every single one of the dub actors go completely overboard with lines, screaming out their {{Badass Boast}}s and war cries before each fight... and even when there ''isn't'' a scrap going on, everybody seems to be taking bites out of the scenery. Creator/CrispinFreeman and Creator/JamiesonPrice masticate an entire set between them as Zetta and King Drake respectively.
212	* VictoryIsBoring: In Alex's ending, where [[spoiler:he kills Zetta]] and then wallows in boredom as [[spoiler:Zetta]] was the only one that offered a challenge to him.
213	* {{Yandere}}: Salome[[spoiler:, especially in the final chapter]].

Context VideoGame / MakaiKingdom