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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/protectmeknight2_cover.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:Princess Lola's misfit ensemble of heroes protecting her and Magicadia.[[labelnote:Who?]]Counter-clockwise from the top: Fighter, Archer, Old Guy, Mage, Ninja, and Amazon.[[/labelnote]]]]
3->''"Save me... my hero! Defeat f$%kin' goblins!"''
4-->-- Princess Lola during the introduction sequence
5
6''Protect Me Knight''[[labelnote:JP]](''まもって騎士'', ''Mamotte Knight'')[[/labelnote]] is an indie TowerDefense game by Yuzo Koshiro's team of game developers at Ancient with Koshiro composing the game's music, first released on Xbox 360 through Platform/{{Xbox L|iveArcade}}IVE on May 14, 2010 under its Japanese name in the Xbox LIVE Indie Games section. The game pays homage to [[MediaNotes/The8bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames the classic 8-bit days of gaming]] with Platform/{{N|intendoEntertainmentSystem}}ES-styled visuals and MIDI chiptune music. The game's start-up sequence even has the player attempting to get the game's cartridge to work by blowing into it (you however can skip this sequence to avoid any frustration of getting into the game).
7
8The premise is simple: pick one of four character classes -- the [[BarbarianHero Fighter]], the [[BlackMagicianGirl Mage]], the [[CuteBruiser Amazon]], or the {{Ninja}} -- and protect the cute and happy-go-lucky Princess Lola from harm as you escort her back to her castle at Kingdom Magicadia. The problem: [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything is trying to kick her cute little butt]], and if she falls in battle, the Princess will let out a [[ApocalypseHow world-ending]] [[SuperScream shriek]] that destroys everything around her. All sorts of enemies, from goblins, zombies, minotaurs, demons, and even mischievous succubi will have at you for defending the Princess. If that wasn't enough, dragons, giant lizard men, and other bosses will show up on occasions to stomp down anyone ''and'' anything in their path. Luckily, our brave heroes can fight off these enemies with their weapons of choice and special abilities, and by spending Love Points, they can unleash [[SmartBomb a wide-area attack]]. Unlike other tower defense games, players can also move the Princess out of harm's way and to set up barricades in exchange for Love Points around her if things way out of hand. Up to four players can either participate in the Arcade Mode where they advance through the story with progressively difficult stages and use the leftover Love Points to level up their hero's abilities, or the Survival Mode to test their ability to withstand an endless wave of enemies. Unfortunately, after the Xbox LIVE Indie Games purge of 2017, the game is no longer available anymore. An old PC demo of ''Protect Me Knight'' can be still downloaded however on the game's Japanese website [[http://www.ancient.co.jp/~game/mamotte_knight/ here]].[[note]]Click around the floppy disc on the page to download the demo.[[/note]]
9
10A sequel called ''Protect Me Knight with Everyone: The Princess's Heart-throbbing Rhapsody''[[labelnote:JP]]''みんなでまもって騎士 姫のトキメキらぷそでぃ'', ''Minna de Mamotte Knight: Hime no Tokemeki Rhapsody''[[/labelnote]] was released for the Platform/Nintendo3DS in Japan on September 2014. After the Princess was rescued thanks to the efforts of the Gotta Protectors, a mysterious new threat emerges to threaten the realm of Magicadia. The game expands on the gameplay elements of its predecessor, introduces two new characters, [[KnightInShiningArmor Old Guy]] and Archer, features the ability to share and play user-created maps through QR codes, and post-release DLC such as an alternate FM synth soundtrack and the M.S.S Project collaboration expansion. On July 28, 2016, it was localized in North America under the name of ''Gotta Protectors'' with the FM synth soundtrack DLC. On September 7, 2017, to celebrate the three year anniversary of the Japanese release of the sequel, an "auto runner" mini-game called ''Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet''[[labelnote:JP]]''(みんなでまもって騎士 アマゾンのダイエット大作戦'', ''Minna de Mamotte Knight: Amazon no Diet Daisakusen'', EN: ''Protect Me Knight with Everyone: The Amazon's Great Diet Strategy'')[[/labelnote]] was released for free on the sequel's [[http://www.ancient.co.jp/~game/mamotte_knight2/ Japanese page]], in the form of .NES files which can be used in Famicom/NES emulators or through original hardware via flashcarts.[[note]]Links to the downloads for both English and Japanese versions are near the bottom of the page.[[/note]] Similarly to its predecessor, unfortunately, ''Gotta Protectors'' has been delisted due to the closure of the 3DS and Wii U [=eShop=] in 2023.
11
12A third installment, titled ''Let's Go!! Protect Me Knight: Assault of the Princess's Serenade''[[labelnote:JP]]''すすめ!!まもって騎士 姫の突撃セレナーデ'', ''Susume!! Mamotte Knight: Hime no Totsugeki Serenade''[[/labelnote]], was released for Platform/NintendoSwitch on October 10, 2019 in Japan, with an English version released on April 14, 2022 under the name ''Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness''. The plot this time around involves the Princess receiving a prophetic message from a Sprite who warns her about the emergence of the [[DigitalAbomination Glitch Heart]], a monster from one of Magicadia's oldest fairy tales, and a mysterious Black Knight who threatens to plunge all of Magicadia into darkness and despair. The gimmick this time around is that the Princess's castle has become mobile due to being placed on a railcart, and the Gotta Protectors must protect the castle and the Princess as it traverses the tracks in a collision course with the enemy fortress. It streamlines the gameplay elements introduced in the previous game while promoting Princess Lola's brother [[MagicKnight Prince Mars]] and the [[{{Miko}} Oracle]] as playable characters. Throughout the course of each mission, players can uncover mystical cartridges by meeting certain objectives, each one housing the power of the Sprites which grants the Gotta Protectors various buffs and effects when equipped. Post-release DLC packs this time around not only gave players even more retro soundtrack options, but also includes their own bonus scenarios and additional skill sets for certain characters.
13
14----
15!!The ''Protect Me Knight'' series provides examples of:
16* AbsurdlyLowLevelCap: In ''Gotta Protectors'', a player can level up during battles at the castle in exchange for gold, but the level cap is locked at Lv. 10 and resets afterwards. The Excel auto-ability however can lift this limitation during battles once learned and equipped. The Shoppe and Dojo also cap out at Lv. 9.
17* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: The Guardian Banner and castle defenses however in ''Gotta Protectors'' have a level cap of Lv. 99. A player's initial playthrough would usually have them boosted to around the Lv. 20-30 range. In ''Cart of Darkness'', players can level up the castle and equipped cartridges during missions, both of which have a level cap of 99. An initial playthrough on Normal can end with the castle around the 30-40 range and the cartridges around 40-50.
18* AchievementSystem: This feature is present in ''Gotta Protectors'' as "Awards", but it's only visible after you cleared the game for the first time. Many of the in-game achievements include "Defeat X boss with Y character on Z difficulty" and "Level up X facility to Lv.XX". Completing these Awards will expand the number of available tracks that can be heard in the unlockable Sound Test.
19* {{Acrofatic}}: In ''Amazon's Running Diet'', the Amazon can pull of acrobatic feats such as sliding, blackflips, and aerial kicks that give her extra height and airtime despite all while running being pudgy.
20* AffectionateParody: Of the NES era of video games, while the sequels adds in some references to 80's Japanese pop-culture.
21* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:In ''Cart of Darkness'', the game is revealed to take place within a fictional video game called ''Dragon Legend 3'' that once belonged to a school boy until his laziness and obsession for the game caught up with him that resulted in his copy of the game being accidentally broken by his mother when she was cleaning his room, destroying countless hours he poured into the game and put the boy in such despair that he never put effort into anything in his life again. His grief later manifested into Magicadia by the Glitch Heart as the Black Knight.]]
22* AllThereInTheManual: ''Gotta Protectors''[='=]s plot is quickly summed up in the in-game manual on the bottom screen in a few quick sentences.
23* AmazonianBeauty: Subverted with the Amazon due to her lack of muscular features and sometimes portrayed as having a chubby physique.
24* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: Parodied with the game's "packaging" to reflect the box-art of old NES games such as the original NES ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man|1}}''. Take a gander at the [[http://i.imgur.com/dlWKn.jpg English]] [[http://i.imgur.com/UY2Um.jpg box-art]] and its [[http://i.imgur.com/alZuB.jpg Japanese]] [[http://i.imgur.com/Et7u1.jpg one]].
25* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
26** In the spirit of classic video games released on cartridges, the player is greeted with a player within the game trying to blow the game's cartridge and inserting it into the console in the first two installments, which may or may not run the game. However, the player can easily press Start to skip this scene. Similarly in the third game, the player must (virtually) hit a part their screen with the A button until the picture is fixed, which can also be skipped by pressing Start.
27** In ''Cart of Darkness'', should the player manage to uncover a hidden cartridge but couldn't reach the treasure as it spawns just as the stage is ending, the game allows the player to claim their reward. If the player also picks up a duplicate of the same cartridge that they already have, it gives that cartridge 5 free level ups.
28* AntiHoarding: The value of Gold in ''Gotta Protectors'' and ''Cart of Darkness'' gradually diminishes as the player continuously defeats the same enemy over and over again. The latter game however has some cartridges that provide the "Obtain Gold" effect, increasing the payout of Gold from slain enemies.
29* ArtEvolution: The sequel has some visual improvements over its predecessor with some extra details in the sprite work while retaining the 8-bit flair, and the cast from the previous games also feature such improvements and more use of colors in their character portraits as well. This also carries through with ''Cart of Darkness'' with improved animations.
30* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Bosses in these games tower over the players, often being 4-8 times their size and have the destructive power to back it up.
31* AutoSave: The sequel automatically saves progress in between battles and operating around the town.
32* BarbarianHero: The Fighter, complete with an axe and an upgradable SpinAttack.
33* BigBeautifulWoman: The Amazon is often portrayed with a chubby figure, even moreso in the sequel and ''Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet'', yet she is as cute as she is powerful.
34* BlackMagicianGirl: The Mage, and she specializes in [[PlayingWithFire fire magic]]. In the sequel, she also gets other elemental magic.
35* BladeSpam: The Amazon's combo finisher has her stabbing with her spear in quick succession. Prince Mars also does this with his rapier attacks and it can be used to traverse areas [[RunDontWalk quicker]] than his standard movement speed.
36* BlushSticker: Many of the female characters have these as well as the Prince in ''Gotta Protectors''.
37* CartoonBomb: Common used by the Werebears in addition to throwing junk at the player in small and large sizes that countdown from 3 unless destroyed. In ''Cart of Darkness'', certain tanks and the Minotaur Queen can unload cartoony bombs against the player as well.
38* ChainmailBikini: The Amazon wears one of these, and the succubi who are sporting equally skimpy outfits.
39* ChargedAttack: In ''Protect Me Knight'', players can expend some of their Love Points to perform a SmartBomb attack to damage enemies surrounding them. This ability returns in ''Gotta Protectors'', however this attack is gained from defeating enemies, clearing them in quick succession can build up power faster, and each class have a unique version of their charged attack.
40* CheatCode: In ''Protect Me Knight'', entering ↑ ← ↓ → ↓ ↑ → ← at the Title Screen will make all characters have maxed out skills. This cheat also appears in ''Gotta Protectors'', but must be done at the Castle Menu screen, and inputting the same code again will deactivate the cheat.
41* ContinuingIsPainful: The game doesn't end of the players' character is defeated by the enemy, but they do lose some Love Points when they respawn. This is even less forgiving in ''Gotta Protectors'' as they lose half of their accumulated gold in battle, and in ''Cart of Darkness'' 5,000 points are also deducted from their stage score every time a character is defeated.
42* ContinuityNod: [[spoiler:Princess Lola's musical career is referenced in the sequel at the castle's town square with a sign advertising her new single, ''Love for Me''.]]
43* CoOpMultiplayer: Those with extra controllers can play cooperatively together in ''Protect Me Knight''. ''Gotta Protectors'' also feature co-operatively gameplay either through local wireless connection with other players with the game or through 3DS Download Play for those without it which they are limited to using the Fighter and Mage with preset abilities. ''Cart of Darkness'' supports co-op multiplayer as well, either locally or online.
44* DarkIsEvil: In the second game, there's the Monster Princess [[spoiler:(a.k.a. Princess Maria)]], who is clad in a dark dress with brooding, aloof personality. In ''Cart of Darkness'', there's the Glitch Heart and the Black Knight, the latter is a shadowy monster and the latter is a knight clad black armor with a domino mask that obscures his eyes.
45* DamselInDistress: Princess Lola in the first game, and it's your job to protect her after rescuing her from the goblin army.
46* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: If a player is defeated by the enemies, they'll soon respawn shortly after, however, if Princess Lola were to be defeated, then its Game Over from there.
47* DifficultyLevels: ''Protect Me Knight'' has the difficulty levels of Easy, Normal, Hard, and Hell, each varying on which types of mobs will encounters and how many the game throws at you. ''Gotta Protectors'' and ''Cart of Darkness'' only have Easy and Normal from the beginning, though higher difficulty levels can be unlocked after beating the game.
48* DigitalAbomination: The Glitch Heart is a monster created from the corrupted game data and game-breaking bugs that seeks out to corrupt Magicadia [[spoiler:and all video games in the world]] with glitches.
49* DoNotRunWithAGun: Or bow rather with the Archer in the second game, as she cannot move while shooting her bow. In the third game, however, she can move while using normal attacks with her bow but not with her special skills.
50* DownloadableContent: Averted in the first game, but ''Gotta Protectors'' features two [=DLCs=], an FM synth music pack and, only in Japan, a collaboration pack with M.S.S Project. ''Cart of Darkness'' has four DLC packs, each consisting of alternate retro soundtracks, a bonus scenario, and new skill sets for two characters.
51* DoppelgangerAttack: The Ninja can upgrade his attacks to use one in ''Protect Me Knight''. It becomes his combo finisher in ''Cart of Darkness''.
52* DragonsVersusKnights: The Dragon bosses versus the Gotta Protectors protecting the Princess.
53* EndlessGame:
54** Survival Mode in the first game, where you fight many waves of enemies and your heroes randomly gets an upgrade after completing a wave. This mode returns in the sequel.
55** ''Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet'' is an endless runner where you try to keep the Amazon hydrated as long as possible as she runs through the plains while avoiding cakes.
56* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The main characters of the game are generally named after their profession, however, the Princess did eventually get an actual name as Lola in ''Gotta Protectors''.
57* [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Everything Is Trying To Kill You and The Princess]]: Goblins, the undead, demons, dragons, and more want a piece of her and you if you get in their way.
58* ExcusePlot: All you need know about the first game is that our heroes rescued the Princess from goblins and are trying to return her to her castle. The sequel however have cutscenes with the protagonists and the Four Fiends to flesh them out, but still ultimately boils down to "stop the evil monsters from taking over the kingdom". Downplayed by the third game which has a more involved story.
59* ExpositoryThemeTune: The sequel's opening theme, aptly-named "''GOTTA PROTECTORS''", describes what the Gotta Protectors team are about as well as what to expect from the gameplay in an anime-styled theme song.
60* FantasyCharacterClasses: The games' heroes as follows:
61** Fighter Class: the [[BarbarianHero Fighter]] and {{Amazon|ianBeauty}}. The second game also has the [[KnightInShiningArmor Old Guy]].
62** Magician Class: the [[BlackMage Mage]]. The third game has [[MagicKnight Prince Mars]] the [[SummonMagic Oracle]].
63** Rogue Class: the {{Ninja}}.
64** Ranger Class: the second and third games has the Archer.
65* FairySexy: Chrysalis and Pupa in ''Gotta Protectors'', two cute and scantly-clad fairies that run the Choppe Shoppe whom named after the third metamorphosis stage of a caterpillar. The third game main story also introduces another gold-colored fairy named Larvelle, while Bonus Scenario A features a lost teal-colored fairy who would be named Maggotha by Lola.
66* FictionalVideoGame: [[spoiler:In ''Cart of Darkness'', the cutscene that follows after Mission 20 reveals that ''the entire game'' is set within a fictional Japanese game called ''Dragon Legend 3'' from the perspective a school boy gamer whose copy of the game was accidentally crushed by his own mother when she was cleaning his room, which kickstarted the events of the game.]]
67* FireBreathingWeapon: An attack upgrade for the Mage allows her to fire a stream of flames from her staff and becomes a combo finisher for her in the sequel. The Old Guy gets a similar attack with the Potty Maw's auto-ability in the second game.
68* FireIceLightning: The sequel features the ability to add fire, ice, and lightning elemental spells that can either burn enemies overtime, freeze them to hinder their mobility, or stun them prevent them from acting respectively. These effects can be added to your basic attacks with the elemental-fend abilities, which can also provide resistance to them as well.
69* FiveManBand:
70** The Gotta Protectors, the heroes of this series protecting the kingdom as well as Princess Lola.
71** The Four Fiends, the main antagonists from ''Gotta Protectors'', whom are lead by the princess of all monsterkind.
72* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''Gotta Protectors'', in Lola's Room, there's a picture frame on a dresser with two princesses. [[spoiler:The other princess is Maria, Lola's long-lost sister.]]
73* FragileSpeedster: The Ninja is one of the fastest characters but has weak defense. The Archer in the sequel is fairly quick as well and have abilities that allow her to attack wide-spread of enemies and/or shoot over walls, but her attack strength and durability's also weaker than some of the other classes. Prince Mars can dart around levels with this fast rapier attacks and has access to magic attacks, but also can't take much punishment compare to the other characters.
74* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of the Arcade Mode in the first game, it ends with our four heroes and Princess Lola putting on a concert show at her castle, with the Princess as the IdolSinger, the Barbarian and Amazon playing the guitar, the Mage on keyboard, and the Ninja playing the drums.]]
75* GiantEnemyCrab: Huge Crab monsters are introduced in ''Cart of Darkness'' that are capable of jumping from one area to another crushing anything underneath them while ransacking areas and Princess Lola with their pincers and spitting out icicles.
76* GirlishPigtails: The weakest variant of the succubus have them.
77* GlassCannon: The Mage, who can be an efficient damage dealer but can't take much punishment herself.
78* GenkiGirl: The succubi. They are upbeat about shooting magical energy (and later fire) at the Princess and anyone protecting her.
79* GrenadeSpam: The Old Guy's Seed Bomb skill, which he tosses out as many seedlings as his MP can provide that quickly grow into plant bombs that explodes onto enemies. Enemies such as the Werebears, as well as Queen Mamataur, Squids, and certain tanks in ''Cart of Darkness'', also have a tendency of throwing many bombs at once towards the players or structures.
80* GuideDangIt: In ''Gotta Protectors'', it can be difficult to keep track of food and material items used for crafting gear, learning skills, and forging rings since there are dozens of items dropped by enemies in various stages, with a few being obtainable through as a Bonus Chance prize. There is a thankfully Website/GameFAQs [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/3ds/832849-gotta-protectors/faqs/73721 guide]] that helps with the item drops. In ''Cart of Darkness'', it's the objectives of each mission stages required to drop its cartridge, of which there are over ''900'' to collect in the game, and each cartridge drop are randomized at that. Likewise, users of [=GameFAQs=] has put together a [[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mk2iBm5WyNxqXvr8laAHN_IgcE0GIbY5PMOJDX8SxzM/edit?pli=1#gid=908715168 spreadsheet]] that uncovers how to unlock them.
81* HarderThanHard: These games have an extra Hell difficulty above Hard, where players face off much more powerful and aggressive enemies than the previous difficulties.
82* HaveANiceDeath: If Princess Lola is defeated in ''Gotta Protectors'', you'll be greeted with the message "Lola's shriek blasted the world apart." In ''Cart of Darkness'', the continue screen features the word "Shriekageddon".
83* HealingFactor: One of the Mage's MP upgrades in the first game lets her regenerate HP as long as her MP meter is full.
84* HighlyVisibleNinja: The Ninja, and he's not afraid to provide some [[MrFanservice eye-candy for the ladies]].
85* HypocriticalHumor: In the opening act of ''Cart of Darkness'', Chrysalis called out Fighter for mentioning the previous game in how they handled the Chope Shope so they can look professional, which soon followed up by Chrysalis chewing out Amazon for wanting to buy sweets off of them by acknowledging her own mini-game with ''Amazon Running Diet'', which Fighter called her out on.
86* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: The game parodies the poor Japanese-to-English translations commonly found in some Japanese NES games localized to English-speaking territories.
87* ItsAWonderfulFailure: If the Amazon runs out of stamina in ''Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet'', she falls down on her butt, then the game cuts to a scene of [[EarthShatteringKaboom the Earth exploding in half]] with a "Game Over -Falling Ass Bomb-" message, accompanied with Game Over music from the first game. The mood is also lightened by the game letting the player know to buy ''Gotta Protectors'' on the [=3DS=] [=eShop=].
88* JackOfAllStats: The Amazon, who has balanced stats all around.
89* KatanasAreJustBetter: The Ninja's go-to weapon.
90* KeystoneArmy: Killing certain enemy generators such as Vampires or Necromancers will instantly kill off their minions too.
91* KillStreak: In ''Gotta Protectors'', a combo meter appears when the player take down enemies in quick succession which also boosts the amount of gold they'll give out, but it also goes down faster with each kill (e.g. a combo around ~30 enemies will drop at an average rate while a combo at ~200 enemies will drop in less than a second).
92* LevelEditor: The sequel features a map editor that allows players to create their own levels and share them with the community via QR codes.
93* LifeDrain: One of the Amazon's upgrades in the first game lets her absorb the damage she deals to her enemies.
94* LightIsGood: Princess Lola is a cheerful and happy-go-lucky princess who, since the second game and onwards, devotes herself in protecting her kingdom with the help of the Gotta Protectors and she wears a bright white/pink dress. ''Cart of Darkness'' also has the White Knight, a heroic knight with flowing blonde hair clad in shining gold armor who helps the Gotta Protectors in stopping the Black Knight and the Glitch Heart.
95* LongLostRelative: The Monster Princess in ''Gotta Protectors'' [[spoiler:is Princess Lola's lost older sister who went missing after being accidentally thrown out the kingdom by Lola's shriek when they were younger]].
96* {{Mooks}}: And they come in these varieties.
97** CuteMonsterGirl: The succubi wants ruin the Princess' day. ''Cart of Darkness'' introduces the Queen Mamataur who spawn Minotaur Girls to fight alongside the enemies.
98** DegradedBoss: Bosses fought in one stage such as the Minotaurs and Dark Knights become common enemies later in the first game.
99** DemBones: The Skeleton enemies, which attack enemies with melee attacks or [[BadToTheBone throwing bones]] at them.
100** EliteMooks: Usually the third palette swapped version of the enemies.
101** TheGrimReaper: The Ghost type enemies, which also cast fire magic.
102** KingMook: The first game has the Master Goblin, and gigantic goblin who stomps around the area and spews out the enemies to fight by his side. ''Cart of Darkness'' has Queen Mamataur, the queen of Minotaurs who spewing many Minotaur Girls to fight by her side and attacks with bombs and {{ground pound|}}s.
103** NightOfTheLivingMooks: Did we mention that zombies, vampires, skeletons, and ghosts are also after the Princess?
104** SmashMook: The goblins, the very same goblins the Princess wants you to "f$%kin' defeat". The Minotaurs and Minotaur Girls means of combat is simply punching things to death.
105* MightyGlacier: The Fighter is somewhat slower than the other classes but has powerful attacks and high HP.
106* MiniGameCredits: [[spoiler:In ''Protect Me Knight'', players can operate the pyrotechnics of the Princess' concert during the credits to blow up the audience of goblins and minotaurs.]]
107* MookMaker:
108** On occasions, a goblin-like UFO appears to spew more goons for our heroes to tackle in ''Protect Me Knight'' and its sequels. The [[FinalBoss Master Goblin]] will spew goblins and other enemies for you to deal with.
109** In ''Gotta Protectors'', the game features enemy generators, which either resembles the enemy type they spawn or a symbol. These were also carried into ''Cart of Darkness''.
110* MrFanservice: The Ninja, clad in mask and a thong and not much else. In the trailer of ''Gotta Protectors'', there's a portrait of the Ninja wearing a sling bikini.
111* MsFanservice: The Amazon and the succubi. The Mage and Princess are depicted as one in the parodied Japanese and U.S. packaging respectively. Princess Maria in ''Cart of Darkness'' is clad in ChainmailBikini.
112* MysticalWhiteHair: The Princess in the parodied U.S. styled packaging, except in the game her hair is actually purple.
113* NoFourthWall: The sequel features the player blowing into the cartridge again, except this time the player can literally blow into the microphone of the 3DS to blow into the cartridge. Princess Lola also talks directly to the player in ''Gotta Protectors'' during gameplay on the touch screen or in the map editor.
114-->''[the player examining the fence decoration in the Map Editor]''\
115'''Princess Lola:''' "You'd think these fences would make for good barricades. I mean, [[MediumAwareness look at those pixels]]! ...Sorry, what? ...What's a 'Fourth Wall'?"
116* PaletteSwap: In true old-school fashion, enemies come in different palettes. Players can also change their color palettes before starting a game as well.
117* PlayingWithFire: The Mage and most of the enemies of the first game abuse fire-based attacks.
118* PercussiveMaintenance: In the games, players can repair their barricades and turrets by simply attacking them, be it a swing from Fighter's axe, Mage's flame-throwing staff, Amazon's boomerangs, or Ninja's katana slices. In ''Cart of Darkness'', the game starts up with a static and distorted screen of Ancient's logo, similarly to an old CRT TV set with a busted signal, and the player must move a cursor around and press the A button to hit the screen to find a sweet spot to fix it which simulates slapping the TV around in order to get the signal working.
119* PornStash: In ''Cart of Darkness'', there's a "Toilet Break" splash screen that features an all-male pin-up magazine with Fighter on the cover, next to a box of tissues.
120* RandomEffectSpell: ''Cart of Darkness'' has cartridges that provide the "Random Effect" ability, which, as its name suggests, can provide the user a random buff in battle, ranging from boosting their attack power, to the Sprite providing cover fire, or even reducing MP usage.
121* RareRandomDrop: In ''Gotta Protectors'', slain monsters sometimes drop food or materials that can be used for crafting weapons, unlocking skills, or forging rings. In ''Cart of Darkness'', there are cartridges that can be uncovered in each stage by performing certain feats, and which ones are dropped are random and vary by the stages. Each cartridge in the game are also divided in three rarities: Common, Rare, and Special.
122* {{Retraux}}:
123** The series features classic 8-bit visuals and chiptune music that wouldn't be out of place within the Famicom/NES era. The players can even construct their faux Famicom/NES box for the first game. Get the print-outs [[http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/05/print_your_own_protect_me_knig.php here]].
124** ''Gotta Protectors'' features a digital in-game manual on the [=3DS=]'s bottom screen while at the kingdom's gates, which the player can flip through using the touch screen or the shoulder buttons, which progressively gets worn and dirtier as pages are flipped through. It also provides a throwback to FM synth music commonly heard on the Platform/SegaGenesis with the FM Soundpack DLC.
125** The third game, ''Cart of Darkness'', goes even further with its suite of soundtrack [=DLCs=], composed using real hardware of classic 8-bit and 16-bit consoles, handhelds, and the PC-88, players can treat themselves to FM synthesis (Mega Drive/Genesis, Platform/PC88), Famicom Disk System and [=VRC6=] (the soundchip used in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse Akumajou Densetsu]]''), Platform/GameBoy, Platform/WonderSwan, and [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom/Nintendo]] styled renditions of the game's music. There's also an option to toggle 8-bit voice sample compression.
126* RaisedByWolves: In ''Gotta Protectors'', [[spoiler:Princess Maria, after she was accidentally thrown out of Magicadia after a baby goblin injured Lola and caused her to shriek when she was little, was then raised by the monsters who looked after her and would later become the Four Fiends]].
127* RPGElements: In the first game's Arcade Mode, the leftover Love Points that weren't used or lost can be spent to upgrade your heroes' abilities. This gets expanded on in ''Gotta Protectors'' as players can gain food and materials to craft newer weapons, gain new skills (both usable in battle and passive abilities), upgrade said weapons and skills, and use gold to improve facilities around the town square, power-up the castle's defense, and improves Princess Lola's supportive abilities. ''Cart of Darkness'' simplifies the mechanics in the previous game where Gold can be spent to unlock skill sets for each character, upgrade the castle, or donate it to the town square, while players can level up various cartridges they can discover throughout the game.
128* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: In the first game, Princess Lola doesn't do much outside standing around and looking cute while giving players extra Love Points when players do well. In the second game, she can use the Guardian Banner to heal the player when they're next to her, and after reaching a high enough level, use magic to attack enemies at certain intervals. In the third game, it's required for Lola to be in a mobilized castle cart in order to wreck the enemy's fortress, but she can also heal players like in the previous game. Prince Mars in the third game can also fight alongside the Gotta Protectors.
129* SaveThePrincess: It's what the first game's plot is all about.
130* SceneryPorn: The background in ''Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet'' is impressively detailed with a wonderful 8-bit reflection of the mountains shown on the lake.
131* SerialEscalation: The original ''Protect Me Knight'' was a simplistic tower defense-styled game little in the way of a story, whereas ''Gotta Protectors'' expands the core gameplay of the original, made robust changes to the RPG elements, features larger expansive maps, and a much more narrative-driven story that parodies old-school video games and pop-culture. ''Cart of Darkness'' downplays this as many of the concepts and mechanics introduced in the last game are simplified and the gameplay resembles its first installment.
132* ShoutOut: With this series being an AffectionateParody of retro video games and 80's Japanese pop-culture, shout outs to these works (and more) are bound to happen.
133** The strongest turret players can build in the second and third games is an expy of the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam RX-78-2 Gundam]] that resembles Old Guy. There's also a parody advert of the 1980 1/144 scale model kit's box art of the RX-78-2 submitted by a fan to Ancient featured in the second and third games.
134** The way the Four Fiend bosses are rendered in-game in ''Gotta Protectors'' is a nod to ''Platform/{{MSX}}'' games such as ''VideoGame/KnightmareIITheMazeOfGalious''.
135** In ''Cart of Darkness''[='=]s opening act, Princess Lola claims the moving castle is [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog rolling faster than a hedgehog on blast processing]].
136** One of the "Toilet Break" pause screen images in ''Cart of Darkness'' features a parody of the ''EGM'' AprilFools 1992 article of unlocking Sheng Long in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', another featuring a parody of ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' in the form of ''Preteen Emo Ninja Hippos'', a ''ComicStrip/TheWizardOfId'' parody featuring Princess Lola and Old Guy, and a book profile of Succubi and Werebear done in the style of ''Monster Girl Encyclopedia''.
137* ShowWithinAShow: One of the artworks that appear on the touch screen during the Results Screen in ''Gotta Protectors'' features an in-universe anime called "''Barbarian Princess Amazonia''", which features the Amazon in a magical girl-esque costume with a pig-like animal side-kick, which airs on [=AncientTV=] on Fridays at 5 PM / 4 PM Central Time.
138* SmartBomb: In ''Protect Me Knight'', players can use some of their Love Points to perform a smart bomb attack against enemies.
139* SoundTest: One is immediately available in ''Protect Me Knight'' from the title screen. It returns in ''Gotta Protectors'' but it needs to be unlocked first and many tracks must be unlocked by earning Awards in the game. ''Cart of Darkness'' has a music player that's immediately available but the music tracks are unlocked as the player progresses through the game.
140* StatMeters:
141** AwesomenessMeter: The Princess' Heart Meter, which gives you extra Love Points for doing well in battle. The sequels substitutes this by allowing players to gain a powerful charged attack from Princess Lola by filling the Heart Meter.
142** LifeMeter: The HP meter.
143** ManaMeter: The MP meter.
144* StatusEffects: Throughout the series, the enemies and players can inflict status aliments that can hinder the opposition.
145** [[ManOnFire Burn]]: Inflicts DamageOverTime.
146** [[HarmlessFreezing Frozen]]: Slows down movement.
147** [[TheParalyzer Paralysis]]: Reduces attack power.
148** [[UniversalPoison Poisoned]]: Reduces damage resistance.
149* StoneWall: Old Guy is even slower than the other classes but he can tank much more punishment.
150* {{Stripperiffic}}: The Amazon and the succubi. The Ninja serves a [[DistaffCounterpart male equivalent]] to this. The Mage and the Princess also wear revealing outfits respectively in the game's parodied Japanese and English packaging.
151* SymbolSwearing: Princess Lola, despite being a viewing herself as a dignified princess, isn't above dropping a F-bomb or two which are censored with symbols. In ''Cart of Darkness'', she ''describes'' the symbols in place of profanity.
152* TimedMission: Players must clear the stage within a time limit of 999 seconds in the sequel, otherwise they'll be swarmed by powerful demons when the timer reaches 0.
153* TitleScream: Moving the cursor to the sequel's game icon on the [=3DS=] Home Menu will cause the Princess to say the game's Japanese name.
154* ToiletHumor: A signpost in ''Gotta Protectors'' and ''Cart of Darkness'' has a picture resembling a piece of poop in the "mud" terrain, and in the former, there's a Bonus Chance roulette sequence after clearing a level, there are pink turds that give the players nothing if their cursor lands on one. The Old Guy's "steed" is a horse potty.
155* TotallyRadical: Invoked in ''Cart of Darkness'' as most of Lola's voiced lines are slang and phrases that were popular during the [=80s=], including "Righteous!" "Way cool!" "Cowabunga!" and the fairly rare, "ByThePowerOfGreyskull"
156* TragicMonster: Happens in Bonus Scenario A. [[spoiler:A lost sprite who would later be named "Maggotha" by Princess Lola gets turned into a towering demoness by the BigBad of the DLC campaigns. She gets better after the Gotta Protectors defeated her and returns to her original form.]]
157* VideoGameDashing: The Dash skill in the second and third game allows characters to quickly dash around the area in any direction while providing brief invincibility frames, but it consumes MP.
158* WalkingShirtlessScene: Try "Walking In Your ThongOfShielding Scene" as the Ninja.
159* WeCanRuleTogether: Happens twice in ''Cart of Darkness''. [[spoiler:First with the Glitch Heart, after manifesting from the school boy's broken ''Dragon Legend 3'' cartridge, who temps the grieving schoolboy to join him in corrupting all of Magicadia and all video games beyond repair, which he accepts and his inner grief became the Black Knight. The Black Knight himself later offers Princess Maria to join his side and help the Glitch Heart regain its power, in which does but [[EvilIsPetty only because she was bored]] and fed up with Lola not willing to give her the Guardian Banner; after the Glitch Heart was beaten and Black Knight reunites with White Knight, Princess Maria goes back to the good guys.]]
160* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Black Knight's reasons for working with the Glitch Heart in reviving its powers? [[spoiler:Because the school boy in the real-world who felt so much despair after his mom accidentally broke his cartridge of ''Dragon Legend 3'' while cleaning his room when he was close to beating the game, his inner darkness gave into the Glitch Heart's demands so he can help rid the world of functioning video games so no one can ever experience such soul-crushing pain again.]]
161* WritingAroundTrademarks: Gotta Protector's [=DLCs=] and their trailers often skid around names of the systems the music was composed on such the "Mega Blastin'" referring to the Platform/SegaGenesis and Platform/PC88, "Japamicom" referencing the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], and "Super Wavetable" referring to the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]]. The in-game music options for each DLC installed refers each system by abbreviations (e.g. "FC", "WS", "MD", "SFC").
162* ZergRush: A common tactic from the enemies as they fight their way through your defense in order to harm the Princess.

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