Line #59 VideoGame/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rhythm_thief_2.png]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Feel the Rhythm, Beat the Mystery!]]]]
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8
9	->''"It's Showtime!"''
10	-->-- '''Raphael/Phantom R'''
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12	''Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure'' (''Rhythm Thief R: Emperor Napoleon's Legacy'' in Japan) is a rhythm game unlike any other. Released in 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS, this game by Creator/{{Sega}} [=CS2=] (Creator/SonicTeam) and xeen Inc essentially combines the exploration gameplay of the renowned ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' series with ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven''-esque minigames.
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14	The game follows the protagonist Raphael in his day-to-day life, as world-renowned art thief Phantom R. He faces off against Inspector Vergier of the Paris Constabulary, meets a mysterious man who claims to be UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte and pursues his {{Disappeared Dad}}, doing so in style the entire time.
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16	An iOS adaptation titled ''Rhythm Thief and the Paris Caper'' was launched in 2014, but its service was terminated mid-2015.
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18	Now has a [[Characters/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure Character Sheet]]. Please contribute and put character-specific tropes under that specific character entry.
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20	!!This game contains examples of:
21	* AbnormalAmmo: In R31 [[spoiler: Charlie shoots down evil minions with soccer balls. On a hang glider.]]
22	* AnachronismStew:
23	** At first, the plot seems to just be about stopping Napoleon, who seems to have been [[UnexplainedRecovery brought back to life]], from taking over France. Then [[spoiler:Napoleon retrieves an ancient treasure from under Paris. Which turns out to be the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Which is a flying stone spaceship ''with a nuclear reactor in the center''.]]
24	** The story is supposed to take place in the present day, but several NPC characters have very outdated names such as Urbain or Auban.
25	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: While you'll use Raphael/Phantom R most of the time, you will occasionally control Fondue, Marie, Charlie, or Vergier. Each of them also receives a bonus chapter starring them, with Charlie and Vergier sharing one.
26	* ArmorIsUseless: The chevaliers have full plate armor but still go down in one palm strike each.
27	* AtTheOperaTonight: This is where Phantom R and Marie first meet Duchess Elisabeth, and where Phantom R gets the Queen's Tear.
28	* BilingualBonus: [[GratuitousFrench Lots of them.]] For example, if you read the newspaper article (or what's shown on screen of it) that Phantom R holds up in the first chapter, you can read a number of amusing details, such as that some people think Phantom R might be a woman posing as a man and that he can "hypnotize people with his dance moves".
29	* BloodlessCarnage: Various characters get shot at or stabbed with no visible signs of injury.
30	%%* BookcasePassage: In [[spoiler: Raphael's apartment.]]
31	* BookEnds: The first plot-related rhythm game involves Phantom R dancing with two dancers and the player is required to slide the stylus in a direction corresponding to the dancers' moves at the right time. [[spoiler: The last plot-related rhythm game is a souped up version of the same game.]]
32	* BottomlessMagazines: In R35, Inspector Vergier guns down countless chevaliers, yet never has to reload.
33	* CallingYourAttacks: Napoleon will tell you the sequence he'll attack with in sword fights.
34	* ChevalierVsRogue: In this game we get a PhantomThief as TheProtagonist and a villain with Chevaliers.
35	* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: It's a rhythm game, so naturally this pops up: [[spoiler:Phantom R channels the energy of everyone in Paris who desires the Hanging Gardens to stop]].
36	* ClimaxBoss: R31, 'Gone With the Wind', happens as [[spoiler:Charlie transports Phantom R to safety after the latter is '''shot''']]. It's also one of the few rhythm games that doesn't have a harder variant with the same mechanics later on.
37	* CompanyCrossReferences:
38	** Several levels behave similarly to Sega's previous rhythm games.
39	*** R23 and R28 use the same kinds of prompts from ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5''. R23 uses the menu theme from the first game while R28's music samples from the soundtrack of ''Space Channel 5: Part 2''.
40	*** R13 and R29 use prompts from ''VideoGame/SambaDeAmigo''. R29 also uses music from ''Feel The Magic: XY/XX''[=/=]''Project Rub''.
41	** The carousel sound in Tuileries Garden is a clip of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZHROjpfSI Merry Memory-Go-Round]]" from ''VideoGame/NiGHTSJourneyOfDreams'' (begins at about 1:45).
42	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: In the chevalier fights, Phantom R and [[spoiler:Vergier]] mow down tens of them per minigame. [[spoiler:The true Chevaliers force Phantom R to [[EnemyMine team up with Charlie and Vergier]], but still go down with one hit each.]]
43	* ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding: Even when Phantom R goes to world-famous Parisian landmarks like Notre Dame, Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower ''mid-day'', absolutely no tourists or civilians are around to see him do things like find the Dragon Crown or a secret entrance into the catacombs or fight with the Chevaliers Diaboliques. [[spoiler: Even when the Eiffel Tower is struck by lightning, there is no one in there other than Phantom R.]]
44	* DancesAndBalls: Raphael and Marie have a ballroom dance, complete with, of course, a rhythm game.
45	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:"Napoleon's"]] death after his second defeat at the hands of Phantom R. With the [[spoiler:Hanging Gardens]] crumbling, he steps back off the edge and falls, smiling.
46	* DubNameChange: Ralph becomes Raphael, Maria becomes Marie, Claude becomes Charlie, Bodouin becomes Vergier, Heinrich becomes Jean-François, Rowan becomes Alfred, [[spoiler:Darius becomes Isaac]]... In summation, pretty much the whole cast. {{Justified}} for Ralph, Maria and Heinrich as [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign their names didn't fit with the French setting]]; but unexplicable for Claude, whose French name was changed for an Anglo-Saxon one. Although [[spoiler:Charlie is a unisex name and Claude is not, [[TomboyishName although females named Charlie are rare, even as a nickname.]]]]
47	%%* TheDulcineaEffect Marie seems to have this on Raphael.
48	* EiffelTowerEffect: The Eiffel Tower features prominently in the cover of the game, and is viewable in the majority of shots of the Paris skyline in-game.
49	* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Jean-François is revealed to be Graf.]]
50	* GainingConfidenceSong: Unable to figure out a way to stop the BigBad's plan, Raphael nearly succumbs to despair, but Marie plays the "Melody of Hope" to encourage him. The song is divided into three segments, each of them reflecting the protagonist's psyche as he slowly regains his composure: The first part sounds ominous to denote his hopelessness; the second one is soothing and comforting to represent his renewed determination; and the third one is a triumphant reprise of "Moon Princess", the game's RecurringRiff.
51	* GameplayGrading: From E to A. Unlike most rhythm games, it's based on how much health you have left, not how many points you have, so you can have a high score and still get a shoddy grade if you mess up a few times near the end.
52	* GratuitousFrench: [[JustifiedTrope A given]], since this game is set in France.
53	* {{Hammerspace}}: Raphael is able to change outfits in a few seconds. Where he keeps said outfit is never shown.
54	* HomeBase: Raphael's apartment, to which he returns after pretty much every 'mission'.
55	* ImprobableWeaponUser: Charlie fights Phantom R and the chevaliers by kicking soccer balls at them.
56	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Raphael as Phantom R comes off as a jerk to the police in general, but underneath he's actually a nice guy.
57	* {{Leitmotif}}:
58	** Phantom R's theme is used constantly throughout the game. But don't worry. It's catchy.
59	** Marie's is called "Moon Princess," and it doubles as a ChekhovsGun.
60	* JumpPhysics: Phantom R and Fondue are capable of jumping ridiculous distances.
61	* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: When fighting Napoleon, Phantom R is thrown a sword to defend himself with.
62	* LuminescentBlush: Marie blushes when she is complimented by Raphael at the ballroom.
63	%%* MagicMusic: [[spoiler:Marie's violin.]]
64	* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:After you defeat 'Napoleon', it turns out that he was just a stand-in for the real Napoleon, who is still at large.]]
65	* NoDamageRun: The Full Contact Challenges are basically these.
66	* NoEndorHolocaust: An assault of knights and the ruckus spread by the attack of the [[spoiler:weather-controlling Hanging Gardens of Babylon]] (and their destruction) still doesn't deter all of Paris from celebrating a few days after.
67	* OlderThanTheyLook: Though they both look like teenagers, Raphael is eighteen and Marie is just one year younger than him. Exaggerated in the flashback where [[[[spoiler:Raphael's father leaves.]] Even though the boy is around 15 or 16, he looks about 10.
68	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Happens every now and then, most notably to Charlie. Though he has a British accent for some reason, [[UnexplainedAccent despite being born and raised in France and that his dad has a French accent]], sometimes he sounds Australian.
69	* PaperThinDisguise: Raphael's "Phantom R" disguise is just a suit and a lack of glasses. Even people who actually know Raphael and see Phantom R don't seem to put the pieces together. [[spoiler:Though it's hinted that a few people ''do'' see it, but just don't call attention to it.]]
70	* PlotCouponThatDoesSomething: At the end of the game, Raphael [[spoiler:harnesses the city's energy with the bracelet of Tiamat and destroys the reactor of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in a large beam of light.]]
71	* PoliceAreUseless: Even dressed as Phantom R, Raphael can speak to the constables [[PaperThinDisguise without them even suspecting him]].
72	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Quite a few of the songs are actually pieces of classical music. Some of them, such as "En Garde, [[spoiler:Jean-François]]", are remixed to modern instrumentation.
73	* RhythmGame: Pretty much every minigame in the game, not counting the puzzle games. There are a total of 50 in this game. You could also consider a few of the rhythm games to have ActionCommands, but that's just the premise of them.
74	* ReplacedWithReplica: The plot is Raphael cleaning up after his father did this by unswapping the fakes with the real ones. After holding on to both for a little while to mess with the police that is.
75	* {{Rollerblade Good}}: When Raphael is escaping from Louvre, he is chased by the police force's "famed Paris Rollerskate Brigade".
76	* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler:Charlie isn't Inspector Vergier's son. Charlie is his ''daughter''.]]
77	* SayMyName: Inspector Vergier, Charlie and Napoleon all do this to Phantom R.
78	* SequelHook:
79	** [[spoiler:The deal with Raphael's dad remains a mystery and he is ready to move on to the next stage of the plan with the real Napoleon.]]
80	** In his bonus episode, Charlie uncovers a secret [[spoiler:his father is keeping from him, but the details to what he found are not revealed]].
81	* ShownTheirWork: Sega really went all out with rendering Paris, including some little details. For example, when Raphael goes to Montmartre (which is a popular place for street artists to sell portraits and caricatures), he encounters an artist who draws his portrait and a picture of Marie. However, French gamers or people well versed in French culture can find an equal number of mistakes, such as the striking lack of non-White people among the [=NPCs=] or Raphael saying that the colours of the French flag stand for freedom, equality and brotherhood (which they don't). Not to mention Raphael's, Marie's and other main characters' names in the original Japanese version of the game are anything but French names.
82	* SummonBackupDancers: Any time Phantom R dances, two clones of him in all-black clothing accompany him. This applies to Jerome too (with clones of Phantom R). They disappear when the dancing ends.
83	* TakeMyHand: Phantom R saves Charlie this way in their second encounter. [[spoiler:Charlie gets a chance to pay him back during the climax.]]
84	* TakingTheBullet: Done by [[spoiler:Elisabeth for Marie.]]
85	* UnexplainedAccent: In spite of taking place in Paris, the game features an odd amalgamation of French, American, and British accents, [[OohMeAccentsSlipping with some characters even using multiple accents in the course of one conversation.]] Averted in the French dub, obviously.
86	* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Graf has breakdown after you defeat him.]]
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Context VideoGame / RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure