Line #41 VideoGame/Spectrobes


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1549230735052998200
2	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3	%%
4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spectrobes_box.jpg]]
5
6	->"[[CatchPhrase Honki de Iku Ze]]!!"
7
8	''Spectrobes'' is an action-adventure take on the {{Mons}} genre developed by [[VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou Jupiter]] and published by Creator/DisneyInteractiveStudios as their first game not based on an existing property. It features the main character, Rallen, a space police agent, and his partner Jeena, as they attempt to save their home from the Krawl, alien invaders who travel around in reality warping black tornadoes. With the help of the [[PlotCoupon Prizmod]] Rallen will awaken the fossilized Spectrobes to do battle against the Krawl.
9
10	It spawned two sequels, ''Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals'' in 2008 and ''Spectrobes: Origins'' in 2009.
11
12	----
13	!!This game provides examples of:
14
15	* AerithAndBob: The main character's name is Rallen. His commander's name is Grant. His Spectrobe mentor is Aldous. And the weapons salesmen is... Dave.
16	%% * {{Animesque}}
17	* AscendedExtra: The weapons salesman? Yeah, his name's Dave.
18	* AwesomeButImpractical: The Sword, which generally does 1 damage to any decent Krawl. However it becomes practical in ''Spectrobes Origins'' because Rallen and Jeena's weapons can now do good damage to Krawl as well.
19	* BagOfSpilling: Yeah, all the stuff you got in the first game, say buh-bye. You even lose [[spoiler:Aldous and Tindera for crying out loud! And the ancient ship, too.]]
20	* BattleInTheRain: Rallen's first fight with the Spectrobes. Sadly, it's only raining in the outside world.
21	%%* BigBad: [[spoiler: Krux, a fallen Spectrobes master.]]
22	%%* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoilerLTindera]] at the end of ''Portals''.
23	* BilingualBonus: Plenty:
24	** "Nanairo", the name of the star system where the first two games take place, can be translated as "Seven Colors" in Japanese. Rallen actually indirectly points this out in ''Portals'', because the star in Nanairo really ''does'' shine in seven different colors.
25	** Fubuki, another star system in the first sequel, means "blizzard". Fitting as the system itself has no sun, and the only planet in it, Hyoga, is mostly ice (the "hyo" in Hyoga also means "ice").
26	** Meido, the epicenter of the Krawl outbreak in the first game, [[MeaningfulName is the Land of the Dead in Buddhism]].
27	** A lot of the Spectrobes' names have Japanese meanings or roots. Example: "Komainu" can mean "lion dog", and a ''komainu'' is a creature in Japanese mythology that protects shrines.
28	%% * BishounenLine: [[spoiler: The High Krawl.]]
29	* TheCameo: The [[spoiler:four High Krawl under Krux, three of which are dead]], show up briefly in mug shots in the opening sequence of ''Origins''. Though you have to wonder how they even ''got'' those pictures...
30	* CastingAShadow: Jado's shadow is alive, and fights along with him.
31	* CatFolk: The secret card-only Cat's Paw weapons in ''Origins'' make Rallen and Jenna gain [[LittleBitBeastly cat ears and paws.]] Rallen's are brown, while Jeena has pink ears that match her pink hair.
32	* ContinuityNod: After you obtain [[spoiler:the Ancient Ship in the first game]], it becomes apparent that the NPP is actively reverse engineering it. In ''Portals'' you can purchase parts that make your ship basically a modern version of it, and Rallen and Jeena's patrol cruiser [[spoiler:and Commander Grant's]] in ''Origins'' have the same design.
33	* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Rallen, at the end of Portals, [[spoiler: does some sort of DiagonalCut to Krux, defeating the most powerful being in the universe... for now]].
34	* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler:In a surprise for Disney, you can use Dark]] Spectrobes, [[spoiler: which are pretty much {{PaletteSwap}}ped versions of other Spectrobes, with a bit more strength.]] Oh, and even more surprising [[spoiler: you have to use Dark Spectrobes to beat the game]].
35	* DemotedToExtra: Aldous plays a pivotal role in the first game, but by ''Portals'' he is just a supporting character who goes missing for most of the plot, and there's no mention of him at all in ''Origins''.
36	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Let's do this, ''Iku Ze''!"
37	%% * DemonSlaying
38	* DropInDropOutMultiplayer: In ''Origins'', a second player can join in and play the Spectrobe. Oddly, despite that the game's Cosmolink device comes in two parts (with Rallen and Jeena sharing it), you can't have a Rallen/Jeena tag-team.
39	%% * DuelingGames: With ''VideoGame/FossilFighters''.
40	* EasyLevelsHardBosses: In ''Spectrobes Origins'' the bosses are much more difficult than the levels that come before them especially if you don't do LevelGrinding. Normal enemies don't have complicated attack patterns but bosses have them, bosses can also attack ''very'' fast and some of them will also spam attacks that will constantly stun you. If you don't level grind or make strong Spectrobes to match your level the bosses will probably defeat almost all your entire team.
41	* ElementalRockPaperScissors:
42	** Flash beats Corona, which beats Aurora, which in turn beats Flash. An intro to this becomes, in an annoying fashion, the first half of ''Portals''. Even though knowing the type advantages does absolutely nothing in the second half.
43	** And in Origins, Fire beats Plant, which beats Earth, which Beats Sky, which beats Water, which beats Fire. This is a bit more relevant as each location has a predominant property and enemies with such property, but some of the stronger enemies are still property-neutral.
44	* FakeLongevity: Origins give you the option to play the game again after you finish it, and reviving all the bosses, making them and the normal enemies stronger.
45	* FallenHero: [[spoiler: Krux was formerly a Spectrobe Master.]]
46	* FetchQuest: A particularly arduous one involves collecting the three keystones. Also raises the question of what Cyrus needs the Blue Keystone for. Cyrus is pretty bad about these really.
47	* FlingALightIntoTheFuture:
48	** In ''Portals'', the doomed civilization of the planet Nox left behind the "Dynalium" a weapon that could potentially be used against the Krawl, with the hopes that if another set of humans were to discover it, they could use it to succeed where they failed.
49	** Aldous himself counts as one.
50	* FossilRevival: The basic premise. Unique in that the method of revival used in this series is based on sound.
51	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: One cutscene shows Pegatinum flying artfully at high speeds while firing lasers at Zabacraw, the Ancient Krawl. In actual gameplay it has no such attacks and can only run or glide just above the ground.
52	* GangUpOnTheHuman: Subverted in most cases, as the Krawl will generally attack whatever's closest to them regardless of whether it's Rallen/Jeena or a Spectrobe. While not ganging up per se, it's played straight during the fight with [[spoiler:Krux in ''Origins''. Whether or not your Spectrobe is controlled by the A.I. or a second player, Krux will only pay it mind if it gets in his way. He's coming for Rallen/Jeena ''specifically''.]]
53	* GratuitousJapanese:
54	** Rallen's {{Catchphrase}}.
55	** A lot of the names for things such as planets and star systems feature this.
56	* HappyDance: In ''Origins'', child Spectrobes will do a little dance any time they unearth a fossil, and a (different) little dance (accompanied by a music note) any time they unearth three or more items simultaneously.
57	* HopelessBossFight: [[spoiler:In ''Beyond the Portals'', you have to fight Maja's Dark Spectrobes near the tower in Daichi. Even if both of her Spectrobes lose all of their health, neither of them can die and you are forced to lose the battle.]]
58	* IdiotHero: Rallen barely managed to pass ''pre-''algebra, and his social tact is a bit lacking.
59	* ImmuneToFlinching: In ''Origins'', you cannot be flinched out of an attack when wielding an axe-type weapon. This is balanced by the sheer amount of time required to swing the axe and connect the hit.
60	* {{Knockback}}: Glove-type weaponry specifically knocks Krawl up, down, or back -- any of which is enough to disperse a crowd of enemies to take them on in reduced numbers.
61	* LevelGrinding: You can spend hours in the Hurricanes leveling up your Spectrobes.
62	* LongRangeFighter: Kugaster, the Darucho line, and Azamaros are all this trope. They become particularly [[GameBreaker broken]] when combined with CloseRangeCombatant Spectrobes.
63	* ALongTimeAgoInAGalaxyFarFarAway: The first two games are set in the Nanairo System and the third is in the Kaio System with no mention of Earth.
64	* NotQuiteDead:
65	** [[spoiler:Goblada, the final boss of the first game, comes back for more after you beat it the first time.]]
66	** [[spoiler:Jado comes back twice over the course of ''Portals'' and ''Origins'', [[TheDeterminator and that]] ''[[TheDeterminator still]]'' [[TheDeterminator isn't enough to finish him]]!]]
67	* MonTech: The Prizmod is an alien device that allows certain people to become Spectrobe Masters. It can store fossils, minerals, weapons, and items. It also can store, summon, and control Spectrobes during battles with Krawl within Krawl Vortexes.
68	* OlympusMons: The Ultimate Form Spectrobes. Able to completely decimate lower-level Krawl and still significantly injure stronger ones. It's not an uncommon tactic when searching for fossils or minerals to just equip a Geo and use it whenever you get sucked into a battle.
69	* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Each of the High Krawl under Krux have a more monstrous, appropriately Krawl-like form that they assume when you battle them. Special mention goes to Jado, who has ''three''.]]
70	* OneWordTitle
71	* OptionalBoss: ''Origins'' has [[spoiler:the Legendary Krawl Darkroe, which can only be fought after beating the game once.]]
72	%% * OutOfCharacterMoment: Webster has one of these towards the end of Portals.
73	* PhlebotinumBreakdown: One of the first things that happens in ''Origins'' is that, after arriving in an unknown star system and answering a distress call from the planet Wyterra, Rallen discovers his Prizmod isn't working; he can't summon his usual Spectrobes to take on the Krawl. Fortunately for the player, Rallen and Jeena acquire a new device (the Cosmolink) which provides the same functionality.
74	* PlatonicLifePartners: Rallen and Jeena are friends and they work together, and there are no signs given of them having feelings for each other. [[spoiler: They do hug at the end of ''Spectrobes Origins'' because [[HeroicSacrifice they might not see each other again]], but that's as overt as it gets.]]
75	* PrehensileHair: Maja, from ''Portals''. The hair to one side of her head becomes infinitely long and can impale objects while not leaving any mark in said object. In fact, in one webisode she tries to strangle Rallen with her hair.
76	* RareCandy: While feeding Spectrobes minerals is a requirement to evolve them in the first two games, in ''Origins'' each mineral merely provides boosts of EXP to the Spectrobe eating it. It also has minerals to increase the Spectrobe's HP, Attack, and Defense.
77	* RedShirtArmy: The NPP officers, except Rallen.
78	* SandWorm: ''Origins'' has Zabacraw, a gargantuan Krawl sand ''fish''.
79	* StarterMon: Each game gives you three starters: Two for combat and one child to dig with. In each game, you'll also get at least one member of the Komainu family somewhere in your starter pack, as Komainu is the SeriesMascot.
80	* SwissArmyAppendage: The gauntlet on Rallen's right arm seems to be compatible with all sorts of technology. It even has a slot in it shaped exactly like the Prizmod, even though there's no conceivable reason why he would need such a slot.
81	* TokenMinority: Professor Kate, the sole black character in the series.
82	* VideogameCaringPotential: In ''Origins'', shake the Nunchuk to have your active character pet their Spectrobe. ''Aww....''

Context VideoGame / Spectrobes