Line #59 VideoGame/MetalWalker


1	[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/metalwalker_2801.JPG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:349:Lots of metal, lots of walking.]]
3
4	''Metal Walker'' is an ActionRPG developed for the Platform/GameBoyColor by {{Creator/Capcom}} at the tail end of 1999.
5
6	It's also [[NintendoHard very hard]].
7
8	The story is set in the Rusted Land, a {{Dystopia}} of metal and machines. Once it was a pristine place, but it all changed due to a huge explosion 50 years ago. As a result, the landscape became barren, and [[KillerRobot Killer Robots]], Metal Busters, populate the land. Your character finds himself searching for clues to the whereabouts of his missing father, aided by the kindly Professor Hawk, and his {{Mon}}, Meta Ball. Along the way he finds Core Units to power up his Metal Walker and further explore the land. A dark secret lays at its center...
9
10	While the overworld is similar to most [=RPG=]s, the battle system is where the action comes in. Rather than selecting commands, you bounce your Walker around like a pinball to inflict damage. Depending on what form your partner takes, it can bounce for more damage and speed. Bouncing off walls is key to victory. Capsules are also thrown into the battlefield every turn, and may help or hurt you depending on what they do. At first Capsules are thrown in randomly, but later you can choose which ones appear.
11
12	Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''.
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15
16	!!This game contains examples of:
17
18	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: It's not particularly egregious, but the game is set at 'the end of the 21st century,' implying it to be around the 2080s to 2090s. Even accounting for the fact the Rusted Land has been left in ruin for fifty years, tower computers are the norm in the various installations. Communications technology is similarly outdated by today's standards, as bulky, clunky 'communicators' take the place of smart technology. The only advancements that would be considered high-tech by today's standards are the evolving Core metal and the legions of robots it was capable of producing when utilized.
19	* ActionRPG: The battle system is pinball-based rather than turn-based.
20	* AfterTheEnd: The explosion turned the landscape into an unforgiving desert populated by killer robots.
21	* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: The evil HEX System can be stopped by the peaceful Eriko program]].
22	* AllThereInTheManual: The manual gives more backstory on the setting, and your character's name, Tetto. Metal Walkers and Busters were originally created as mining robots.
23	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Actually quite a few, for how brutally difficult the game is.
24	** Money is very plentiful and easy to come by. Since most of the difficulty in the game revolves around maintaining your resources as you explore new areas, the ease by which you can make money back to get more items even after you suffer defeat means you won't be unable to make meaningful progress for long.
25	** Capsules that have effects outside of battle typically don't require you to use Analyze on the enemy holding their data. Most of these capsules have their data hidden away in chests in dungeons and locales throughout the overworld, and these chests typically show up well before the regular enemy with the data for these capsules do. This means you won't accidentally screw yourself over if you progress too far into the game without updating the strength of your healing items; the chests to upgrade those are always along paths that you typically can't miss while you're progressing through the game.
26	** Once you've cleared a dungeon of its boss or retrieved the Core unit inside, encounter rates drop to zero. This allows you to get outside so you can make it back to base camp even if you're significantly weakened.
27	** There's always a console or a person who will tell you directly what an upcoming boss is weak to, capsule-wise. Because the capsules they are weak to coincide with the standard weakness triangle of all Metal Walkers, these hints more or less tell you what Core Unit combination will be advantageous for the fight at hand. This means you don't have to guess before a fight whether to use a Land, Marine, or Sky configuration so long as you can figure out what weakness the capsule mentioned hits.
28	** You can set capsules so that they'll never be employed in battle. This is fantastic if you want to keep healing capsules in reserve or wish to put Get Blown to use outside of combat without risking it being deployed in a fight and being used up.
29	** The game keeps track of how many capsules you have in your inventory so you can better plan out what capsules you'll buy at the shop in regards to the thirty capsule limit, though disabling a capsule so it doesn't work in battle manipulates the number given.
30	* ApatheticCitizens: Averted. While the citizens don't have Metal Walkers, they're more than happy to give you help. They point out which areas are where with directional arrows, dispense hints freely, and in the very beginning of the game, a citizen saves your life.
31	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Core Units are used to power up your Walker, letting you explore more of the map.
32	* ArmiesAreEvil: In contrast to the peaceful Professor Eriko, Professor Xenon wanted to use Cores for military purposes. Cue explosion and a ruined landscape.
33	* ArtificialStupidity: Some enemies in the game are programmed to go after nearby powerups, regardless of the effect. This often leads to them purposefully slamming into a harmful powerup that can cause them to [[TooDumbToLive self-destruct.]]
34	* AwesomeButImpractical:
35	** Marine Cores have good attack and defense, but can only move well underwater. Coupling that with the fact that their weakness, Sky Cores, can move well on any field, you'll likely switch to something else as soon as you hit land.
36	** The Lava Drop, which you can get off the B. Dragon. It's an awesome concept - you can completely dry out a bit of the ocean or the various lakes so you can fight marine enemies in a land environment. There are several flaws with the concept, though. First, there aren't any boss fights that take place underwater, making the maneuver needlessly convoluted for something you'll only be doing on a casual basis. Second, the water only makes a ''tiny'' difference regarding the sort of Metal Walkers you run into. This means you can accomplish what you use the Lava Drop to facilitate simply by getting out of the water and moving until you find an encounter with your Land and Sky evolutions. Finally, to even walk ''into'' the water to have underwater fights, you ''must'' have a primarily Marine evolution active, and can't change it underwater. Marine evolutions thrive in underwater environments and flounder outside of them, meaning you would only handicap yourself by changing the battlefield in this given scenario. Beyond using Lava Drop once simply to see the effect, there's never a good reason to utilize it seriously.
37	* BigBad: [[spoiler: The HEX System]].
38	* BoringButPractical: Status buff capsules render most boss fights nonthreatening. The game is rather good about keeping you near a level where you're expected to face the next given challenge, but that means even a simple buff in your favor, which gives you ''more'' of a buff the higher your attack and defense are, leaves most bosses incapable of seriously threatening you by ramming you. Capsules can still dish out some serious damage, but most bosses don't think to run for capsules, and nothing is stopping the player from gunning for those, too. They might not be as flashy as the bubble missiles or mines you can use to waylay your opponents, but one or two buffs at the start of a fight can leave bosses incapable of threatening you.
39	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: The Metal Masters, including your character's father, and Professor Xenon were all brainwashed by the HEX System to do its bidding]].
40	* CharacterDevelopment: Emil has a dedicated character arc throughout the game where she comes face-to-face with her haughty, spoiled nature and realizes just how detrimental that is to both surviving in the Rusted Land and making friends. Though she never abandons her privileged lifestyle and continues to be more than a little stuck up, she gradually warms up to the player character and Badoh as the adventure continues, especially [[spoiler:when the protagonist rescues her from a kidnapping that her father refuses to pay the ransom for. This causes her to open up and admit how much she hates the man who raised her.]] It's telling that eventually ''she'' directs ''the protagonist'' back onto the main thrust of his quest to find his missing father, and uses what gadgets she has on hand and a [[HiddenDepths surprising amount of pluck and ingenuity]] to contribute to the effort of tracking Tetsuo down.
41	* {{Combos}}: Destroying two or more enemies in a single move will get you bonus experience points.
42	* ContinuingIsPainful: Dying cuts your money (Scrap Iron, in this case) in half.
43	* CoolOldGuy: Professor Hawk is quite a bit up there in the years, but he's a very accomplished scientist. Though he started the main character's problems by sending them and their father, Tetsuo, to the Rusted Land in the first place, he's legitimately helpful and gives occasional advice to help the main character find Tetsuo once the two are separated. Additionally, he decided to investigate the Rusted Land when no one else was willing to try purely because he believed the Cores could help usher in peaceful progress throughout the world. He's the entire reason mercenary-treasure hunters even came to the Rusted Land, since his initial attempts to find Cores were successful.
44	* CriticalAnnoyance: A new, frantic tune is heard during battles when your HP falls below half. Also, the main boss theme is this song.
45	* CuteMachines: Meta Ball and B. Minion.
46	* CyberCyclops: Most, if not all, of the Walkers and Busters are these.
47	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Outside the last dungeon and in said dungeon's boss battles, [[spoiler: the walls are electrified and will hurt you]]. It's easy to forget this.
48	* DeconstructedTrope: Of the empty overworld found in many [=RPGs=]. Besides your character and a select few [=NPCs=] with {{Mons}}, no one is outside, even in towns--because [[KillerRobot killer robots]] populate the landscape, ''including'' the towns. Since you yourself are attacked very frequently, you can imagine why defenseless humans don't go out.
49	* DegradedBoss:
50	** B. Panther, the first boss, is fought as a regular enemy later, as is B. Eel, the second boss. And B. Dragon, who shows up as an encounter shortly after you defeat him.
51	** This is also a viable combat strategy--most of the Busters are upgraded forms of each other. If you happen to have a [[DevolutionDevice Skullia capsule]] and use it on a B. Panther, for example, it downgrades him into B. Kong, a {{Mook}}. The downside is you don't get as many Experience Points for doing this.
52	* DevelopersForesight: Quite a bit of it. Certain events will cause people you've met to update their dialogue, but these characters are typically the last town over from where you are. Given the high encounter rate and the game's brutal difficulty early on, very few people would bother to check back in, but a particularly dogged player can do so nonetheless. In particular:
53	** The family that takes the protagonist in in the Chemical Plant region will have new things to say once the player meets up with Emil in the Command Base region, accounting for the fact Emil has spent the night and the protagonist is looking for his father.
54	** The citizenry in the Army Area will have dialogue relating to the fact Emil has been kidnapped and taken to Air Front. If you return after rescuing her, [[VideoGameCaringPotential the citizenry will by and large thank the protagonist for the work they put in to helping Emil.]]
55	** Following [[spoiler:Marina's capture]], you can actually make the dangerous trek through Bronze Rocks back to Ever Green just to [[spoiler:speak with Dolfi on the matter. Turns out Emil really ''did'' make the trek on her own just to get Dolfi's help, but his hands are tied since he can't risk leaving Ever Green alone without Marina to guard it.]]
56	* DifficultButAwesome: Aquazone builds. Using Aquazone capsules, you can make even land maps into aquatic maps, which give Marine Core evolutions distinct advantages. This means making space for Aquazone capsules and bringing Marine Core evolutions into battle fields they'll initially struggle in, but if this tactic is utilized effectively, you'll have a ''massive'' advantage against most boss fights, given they generally skew towards Sky and Land units that face great difficulty beneath the waves.
57	* DisappearedDad: Your character's father. Finding him is the goal of your quest.
58	* DistressedDamsel: Emil Crowzer. And [[spoiler: Marina]].
59	* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Tetsuo Kurama to Xenon, and Xenon to the HEX System]].
60	* {{Dystopia}}: The Rusted Land is a terrible place to live. Nearly every area is a desert, the parts that aren't desert are polluted beyond repair, killer robots are everywhere, and there are men hunting for Core Units for evil purposes. It's hinted that the rest of the world may not be better off, as apparently a lot of the Core Hunters that arrive on the island are apparently out to use the metal for world domination.
61	* EekAMouse: Deconstructed and then later averted. Emil has a ''lot'' of pluck and manages to survive the Rusted Land on her own merits, but has massive anxiety attacks once she ends up in a dirty warehouse, progressively losing her nerve the further in she goes. This anxiety leaves her in a rough situation that ends with her kidnapped. After she's rescued, Emil takes steps to address her anxiety with uncleanliness and insects, and, following Desert Land, manages to overcome her fears such that they're never addressed any further. She's even able to function in Bronze Rocks, a dusty, dirty mining facility.
62	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Land beats Marine beats Sky beats Land. Interestingly, this also applies to the battlefield; Marine Cores move much faster on water than land.
63	* {{Engrish}}: "Meta Ball's HP becomes to 30!"
64	* EscapeRope: Some capsules, if used outside battle. Examples include Crane and the rather unfortunately named Get Blown. When used, they will return you to the last camp you entered.
65	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: The second the hero starts showing romantic affection for Marina, ''everyone'' in his inner friend circle catches on and either teases him for it, encourages them to become a couple, or chides him for not finishing the quest yet.
66	* EvolutionaryLevels: Your Metal Walker can assume different forms, each of which lets you progress further. The form accessed with the Marine Core, for example, lets you go across water.
67	** You can also level up the Cores by finding more of each type. 2 Marine Cores will let you go further in water. You can mix and match for different types of Walkers.
68	** Medalia is a capsule allows enemies to level up into more powerful (yet rarer to encounter) forms, making them available to scan for access to more powerful capsules.
69	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Many area names. Army's Area, Chemical Plant, and Muddy Lake are just a few.
70	* FauxActionGirl: Marina is introduced to the player with a boss fight where she effectively utilizes a powerful M. Vedus. She's even more competent on the gameplay side of things than Badoh, given her effective usage of more varied and powerful capsules. However, beyond her introduction, her ''only'' impact on the story is to be a captive the Metal Masters dangle in front of the three male combatants and singular female support. Not only that, the game goes out of its way to establish that Marina is inferior to her brother, Dolfi, in terms of combat prowess.
71	* {{Fembot}}: M. Vedus, made by combining all three Core types.
72	* FixedDamageAttack:
73	** What makes capsules so dangerous against the player is the fact they deal fixed damage, typically in multiples of twenty-five. The Metal Walker you're using will typically have far, far higher stats than the Busters and Masters it faces, except for [=HP=]. As gameplay progresses and enemies get ridiculously high health totals, damage capsules become progressively less useful (but are always far from useless, given they can add damage to enemies and hit multiple enemies at once) for the player and progressively more deadly for the AI to exploit against you.
74	** Damage capsules notably have a place in the weapon triangle as well - if used against an enemy with an advantage against the type being used, the damage is reduced by 1.5. The reverse is true for capsules with an advantage over the target being hit. Some capsules can also only deal damage to a specific type of Metal Walker, and typically deal incredibly heavy damage as a trade-off.
75	* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: Before Professor Eriko perished, she made great strides in creating the Eriko program, a sentient[[note]]The Eriko program notes after the final battle that she considers Professor Hawk to be a friend, and despite the protagonist never ''directly'' interfacing with her, she knows his name and can feel appreciation enough to thank the protagonist for his efforts.[[/note]] computer program capable of interfacing itself with several computers in the Rusted Land that [[spoiler:acted as a venom for the corrupt, evil HEX program.]] Unfortunately, [[spoiler:Professor Xenon activated the HEX program before the Eriko program was finished,]] and the ensuing cataclysmic event saw Professor Eriko as one of the casualties, but Eriko ''did'' manage to have her program uploaded into [[spoiler:Meta Ball,]] and Professor Hawk finished the last few steps needed to activate the program shortly thereafter. It is with the Eriko program the protagonist [[spoiler:manages to avert another catastrophe at the hands of the HEX system.]]
76	* ForcedTransformation: In battle, the Metamorit Capsule changes whoever hits it into an object.
77	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Speaking to [=NPCs=] leads to much foreshadowing for later plot developments.
78	** "I heard that [[spoiler: the program Professor Eriko created was installed in a Metal Walker]]."
79	** "Professor Xenon and his colleagues were killed in a lab accident 50 years ago. [[spoiler: But, some people say they've seen Professor Xenon]]..."
80	* GaiasLament: The Rusted Land used to be pristine, but after the disaster the world is mostly desert and destroyed towns, with lakes full of mud or acid.
81	* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: In the lead-up to the final battle, Badoh promises to hand over his Core Unit to the protagonist if the protagonist makes it out alive. The singular noun may be written off as {{Engrish}} considering 'Core Unit' has been used to indicate multiple Core Units before, but it's actually intentional here; if the player ever challenges Badoh, they'll find his primary Metal Walker is an M. Kite, which is the evolution gained by applying one Sky Unit to a Meta Ball.
82	* GenderBlenderName: Emil is universally a male given name. It ''could'' be short for Emily, but even her fastidious and formal butler refers to her unflinchingly as 'Mademoiselle Emil' in every conversation with him.
83	* TheGhost: Emil's parents are mentioned but never seen.
84	* GogglesDoNothing: Your character wears goggles for no real reason.
85	* GottaCatchEmAll: Not really, as you can't actually recruit other machines. What you ''do'' get is their Scan Data, which lets you use their weapons and unique Capsule data.
86	* GreenAesop: [=NPCs=] will tell you the land has become terribly polluted following the disaster 50 years ago, with Acid Lake being a prime example. [[spoiler: There is ''one'' area in the entire game with trees and grass, aptly named Ever Green, and it's actively being protected from destruction]].
87	* GrimyWater: Subverted; while Acid Lake and Muddy Lake are acidic/muddy, going in doesn't harm you or your Walker. Metal Busters can even be found there.
88	* GuideDangIt: Figuring out where to go next can be quite a pain at times, and some battle commands are only in the manual.
89	** To get to [[spoiler: Radar Base A]], there's a path that's easy to get to, but it's blocked by a rock that at this point you can't move. It's possible to wander around for a half-hour before realizing you have to go ''around'' the rock by jumping down from ledges a few screens below, then wander left and up.
90	** Some Capsules can be used outside of battle, even ones that don't heal you. In particular, Metamorit acts as a much-needed Repel, and Get Blown and Crane return you to your Command Base.
91	** Finding the special Core Units.
92	** Pressing B when in battle lets you look at yourself, capsules, and enemies.
93	* HardLevelsEasyBosses: The main difficulty with boss fights isn't the boss themselves, who tend to be fairly easy; it's ''getting'' to the boss and outlasting it, especially once the last few dungeons fall right into MarathonLevel territory. Because you can only carry thirty capsules, the game ends up being focused on resource management - making it to the boss fight with as many healing items as possible while still carting around any useful buffs you can have to make the fight easy. This is especially true very early and very late into the game, where random enemies have the highest chance of actually being able to do serious damage to you as you make your way to the boss.
94	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Professor Xenon]] turns good at the end to help save the heroes when [[spoiler:the HEX System]] attacks them.
95	* HeroicBystander: The citizen who saves your character and Meta Ball in the beginning.
96	* HomeBase: Your base camp is apparently portable or flying, as it crashes down in front of signs when you place it.
97	* ImpliedLoveInterest: Emil and Badoh both note that the hero is ''particularly'' interested in Marina and her wellbeing, and may even be tongue-tied around her. The ending [[spoiler:has the protagonist reside in Ever Green with Marina and Dolfi to help bring nature back to the region, at Dolfi and Marina's request if you visit them after rescuing Marina, implying the interest is reciprocated by Marina and welcomed by Dolfi.]]
98	* InexplicablyAwesome: Emil's butler. Despite the fact [[spoiler:Emil's dad cuts Emil off after Emil is kidnapped and brought to be ransomed at Air Front]], Emil's unnamed butler never ceases to serve her faithfully. Though he makes a point of needing the protagonist to help Emil out due to his inability to assist her, lacking the capability to take on Metal Busters and Masters, he nonetheless shows up ''everywhere'' in the Rusted Land despite how dangerous the island is, just to look after his charge.
99	* InfinityPlusOneElement: Sky Cores can move well on any kind of field, have the highest bounce range, and their weakness, Marine Cores, only move well on water.
100	* InfinityPlusOneSword: The special Marine and Land Cores are only accessible once you have all 3 Marine Cores. The special Sky Core needs all 3 Marine and 3 Sky Cores.
101	* InsaneTrollLogic: Early on, an NPC drops an incredibly rare, valuable Core Unit into a lake with the justification that they thought it'd become clean again if they did so.
102	* ItsUpToYou: Expect this to happen when Emil or Badoh tags along, as you're expected to handle the bosses and other encounters.
103	* KidHero: Tetto is pretty young even by RPG protagonist standards, as are his friends.
104	* KillerRobot: Metal Busters are outright described as evil robots who hurt humans.
105	* LastFertileRegion: The Rusted Land is a polluted, rusting cesspool. [[spoiler: However, there's one spot in the game with trees and plants, aptly named Ever Green, and protecting it no matter the cost is Marina and Dolfi's mission]].
106	* LethalJokeCharacter: You probably wouldn't think to use Meta Ball or M. Vedus much since they have no abilities or type advantages. However, ''because'' they are typeless, they don't have weaknesses either, which makes defeating the final boss less of a chore.
107	* LevelGrinding: You'll need to do this a lot.
108	* LonelyRichKid: Emil. It's so bad her parents ''refuse to pay ransom'' when she's kidnapped.
109	* LongSongShortScene: Bronze Rocks' theme is only played outside its caves; said caves make up most of the area.
110	* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: One of the highest-ranked Metal Masters is your missing father]].
111	* MacGuffin: The Core Units, which power up your Walker. All the bad guys are after them.
112	* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: The HEX System to Professor Xenon]].
113	* MarathonLevel: Starting after Radar Base α, all dungeons become protracted slogs to get to the boss at the end with as many resources possible. Desert Land and Ever Green aren't ''too'' bad, even if the latter is so long it has a boss halfway through, but Bronze Rocks, Power Plant, and Neo City carry on for quite a while, incorporating both the dungeons themselves and lengthy outdoor components.
114	* MasterComputer: [[spoiler: The HEX System]].
115	* MeaningfulName:
116	** Ever Green is the one place in the game where grass and trees grow.
117	** Professor Green planted Ever Green's trees.
118	** The decision to use the term 'the Rusted Land' to describe the island the game takes place on was a conscious choice by citizens of the world government after the accident that blew up much of the island left it a broken ruin, invoking the trope. This even extends to the naming conventions of the various towns now situated on the island. Because it was originally used as a military installation to test the Core metals, various sites were built across the island to manage the project. Almost all the installations left behind are referred to by what they were while the installation was intact, such as 'Air Front' for the airfield-turned shantytown, and the 'Command Area' that is implied to have been the original main base of the overall project.
119	* MechaGame: Like ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'', this game has robots as its mons.
120	* MegaManning: Analyzing Busters gets you their Scan Data, used to make the Capsules that they hold.
121	* TheMentor: Professor Hawk.
122	* {{Metroidvania}}: Returning to previous areas with more Cores can get you items.
123	* {{Mons}}: A subversion since you can't actually catch Busters. Your Walker can evolve, though.
124	* NeverFoundTheBody: Professor Xenon.
125	* NoNameGiven: Your character.
126	** In the manual his name is "Tetto". This is never brought up in-game; on the name selection screen he doesn't even have a default name.
127	* NoOntologicalInertia: [[spoiler: When you defeat the HEX System and shut it down, all the Metal Busters stop working. Possibly {{justified\|Trope}} as they're machines]].
128	* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: Professor Xenon]].
129	* OhCrap: Everyone's reaction when [[spoiler: Marina is kidnapped instead of Emil]].
130	* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: While only one version was made, the color of the communicator you select at the beginning determines which enemies you run into. To collect all the Scan Data you'll need a friend, or two copies of the game.
131	* OneHitKO: Being hit by harmful Capsules when you have less than the amount of HP they takes off. This can happen a lot in the beginning.
132	* OneWorldGovernment: A background detail in the manual is that the earth has unified under a single government. What that government originally was is left ambiguous.
133	* OpeningTheSandbox: Obtaining M. Frog and its ability to destroy oil canisters opens up a lot more of the map.
134	* OrcusOnHisThrone: [[spoiler: The HEX Sytem]] uses Metal Masters to do [[spoiler: its]] bidding. [[spoiler: {{Justified\|Trope}} since it's a supercomputer and can't exactly ''walk'']].
135	** Somewhat lampshaded in the pre-fight conversation:
136	-->''Be my servant and conquer the world'' '''for''' ''me!''
137	* OvershadowedByAwesome: Land Cores get the short end of the stick typewise. Since they're the first you level up fully, they have acceptable bounce range but so-so defense and attack, and their weakness, Sky types, are plentiful. In contrast, Sky is a perfect cookie-cutter type to use in any given area given the fact its weakness, Marine, rarely shows up on Land, and Marine excels in boss fights by using certain capsules, like Aquazone, and bringing some of the best stats to bear against the threats they face.
138	* ParentalAbandonment: Emil's parents are alive, but they've basically abandoned her.
139	* PlayerHeadquarters: The various base camps. Some are in fixed locations, but most are free to place. You can only have one active at a time, however.
140	* PluckyGirl: Emil is somewhere between this and SpoiledBrat. She wants to find Core Units before you do, using super technology to do so, but freaks when she's in a dirty warehouse and leaves you to find it. [[DistressedDamsel Then she gets kidnapped]].
141	* PollutedWasteland: The Rusted Land.
142	* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler: Professors Green and Eriko]].
143	* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The enemy Metal Masters, who are after the Core Units.
144	* RandomEncounters: Quite possibly one of the highest encounter rates in any RPG. This is mainly why it's hard. What makes it worse is that the ''towns aren't safe''. You can be attacked one step outside a building, and sometimes ''in'' the buildings. Also, in buildings and caves the encounter rate is increased.
145	* RandomlyDrops: There's a chance after a battle to get an enemy's Capsule, even if you haven't scanned it.
146	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Meta Ball is a walking head with legs and is very cute.
147	* TheRival: Badoh. He rather cheekily lampshades it when he decides you'll make a decent rival, making it sound like he's setting up a rivalry with you purely because he's got nothing better to do.
148	* RobotBuddy: Meta Ball starts as your constant companion and friend.
149	* SaveGameLimits: There's only one file. This is bad if the game erases your data.
150	* SaveScumming: Saving near buildings is a good tip since you can be attacked and potentially scrapped before you reach them, and since you can't save inside buildings.
151	* SayingTooMuch: Professor Hawk gets Metal Master Dick to talk a little more about Metal Master Kurama by praising Dick's intellect. This gets Dick to even name drop Professor Green, which leads the hero to discover and navigate Ever Green.
152	* SceneryGorn: The overworld contains plenty of [[http://i.imgur.com/8cefv4E.png destroyed buildings]] and [[http://i.imgur.com/KR43Od5.png acidic lakes]].
153	* SceneryPorn: For what the graphics are capable of, the game goes out of its way to make Ever Green into a beautiful arcadian bastion of nature and clean water situated near the center of an island of rust and ruin.
154	* ShiftingSandLand: Areas on the west side of the overworld are this, complete with desert cacti.
155	* ShoutOut:
156	** Meta Ball, your partner's first form, looks like a mix between a [[VideoGame/MegaMan Sniper Joe and a Metool]]; both series are made by Creator/{{Capcom}}.
157	** Upon learning your father wasn't where you thought he was, the Magazine/NintendoPower walkthrough says "[[Film/ArmyOfDarkness It's a trick. Get an axe.]]"
158	* SoundTest: In the area where you get the special Land Core, there's a guy who has all the songs in the game, even ones you may not have heard yet. To reach him you need 2 Sky Cores, though.
159	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Emil's name in the manual is Emiru, her Japanese name.
160	* SpoiledBrat: Emil ''hates'' unclean places and people, kicking Badoh out when he tries to save her. She's happy to help you, though.
161	* StarterMon: Meta Ball, your good friend and partner, starts in his basic form and gains typed evolutions later.
162	* TechnoWizard: Turns out that being the daughter of the Crowser Corporation's President gave Emil plenty of time to brush up on communications technology and analysis devices. Once rescued, Emil primarily contributes to the team by using her various devices to either track down the next Core Unit or find out where Tetsuo might be. Especially notable because she comes up with the idea to link the protagonist's communicator to Tetsuo's before Professor Hawk, a gifted machinist, does.
163	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler: The tower in Neo City]]. Professor Hawk {{lampshades}} this by outright saying it's the last dungeon, and advises you to save.
164	* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Almost literally. Marine Core evolutions are the only way to traverse water, and are excellent warriors in the drink, but are incredibly slow on land.
165	* ThrowTheDogABone: After spending the entire game getting pushed around by Metal Masters and always ''just'' missing the opportunity to get his next Core Unit due to the protagonist upstaging him, [[spoiler:Badoh ''finally'' gets a Core Unit following the final battle.]]
166	* UndyingLoyalty: Emil's butler, to Emil. [[spoiler:About a third of the way into the game, Emil's father cuts her off, effectively leaving her in the Rusted Land. This precludes the butler's paycheck. Despite this,]] Emil's butler serves Emil through thick and thin, braving a terrifying hellhole of an island for the sole purpose of helping his charge - and, if one is to believe the two of them, his friend. Most of his actions regarding the protagonist stem from him wanting to help Emil make friends so she won't end up lonely.
167	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Professor Hawk gets actively involved in the adventure, as he uses the communication device Tetsuo's child picks to keep in touch with the boy. This allows Professor Hawk to occasionally give the player tutorials and act as the main character's voice when diplomacy is necessary.
168	* VirtualGhost: Professor Eriko, a scientist who died 50 years ago, seems to have a literal ghost in various computers. [[spoiler: Turns out that Eriko is a computer program]].
169	** The owners of said computers [[WeirdnessCensor aren't very perturbed by this]]. In fact, they seem more curious than anything.
170	* WakeUpCallBoss: B. Panther, the first boss, not only has decent health, strength, and speed, but he also has a wicked rebound--if he bounces off a wall, he'll crash into you for sure. The fight teaches players to strategize by bouncing at angles and use Capsules effectively; if you took him head-on you'd die pretty easily unless you [[LevelGrinding grinded]].
171	* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler: The HEX System makes this offer to the player after seeing how you beat Xenon]].
172	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: [[spoiler: Emil is being her usual, spoiled self, taking a walk outside when her parents ignored her again. Badoh is hunting for Core Units [[ThrowTheDogABone and found one]]! Professors Hawk, Xenon, and Kurama are working to use Cores for peaceful purposes. And your character is working with Dolfi and Marina to make the Rusted Land a beautiful, green place again]].
173	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: The HEX System says this to Xenon before the final battle. Interestingly, it doesn't attempt to kill him]].

Context VideoGame / MetalWalker