Line #72 VideoGame/Telefang


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/telefang_vol_1.jpg]]
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3	''Telefang'' [[labelnote:a.k.a.]]''"Keitai Denjuu Telefang"'' or ''"Mobile Phone Monster Telefang"''[[/labelnote]] is a series of monster-battling [=RPGs=] vaguely in the mold of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. Perhaps one of the most distinguishing feature of ''Telefang'' is that [[TelecomTree monsters are contacted via the "D-Shot", something like a cell phone]], in order to enter battle. The series count with 2 games (the first one for the Platform/GameBoyColor, the second one for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance) and two manga series.
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5	In the same fashion as Franchise/{{Pokemon}}, [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo two versions of each game were released]], "Power Version" and "Speed Version". These games were created by Creator/{{Natsume}} and Smilesoft, [[https://forum.telefang.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=777 which became Rocket Company]] in 2003.
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7	[[{{NoExportForYou}} Since the games were never exported outside Japan]], these games - specifically, the Platform/GameBoyColor versions - are perhaps best known among English-speaking gamers as the real deal behind the [[AdaptationDisplacement memetically-famous]] bootlegs "Pokémon Diamond"[[labelnote:*]]not related to the official original ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokémon Diamond]]'' game[[/labelnote]] and "Pokémon Jade". With a horrible (and very often inconsistent) translation and plagued with glitches, it's hard to decide whether or not those bootlegs actually damaged the ''Telefang'' series, since [[FollowTheLeader they made the series look like a cheap copy of Pokémon]], but [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity they also helped it to get widely known due to the memetic mutation]]. Whatever the case, the series could have been a serious competitor to the ''Pokémon'' franchise if it had been been exported.
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9	While there is no official English version of either games, some [[FanTranslation fans are currently working on a translation patch]]. It can be found [[http://wikifang.meowcorp.us/wiki/Wikifang:Telefang_1_Translation_Patch here]]. A still active English-speaking forum based on the series can be found [[https://forum.telefang.net/ here]].
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11	The plot is as follows: Shigeki and his friends are playing baseball, when he loses the ball. He goes to get it back at the [[WorldTree Antenna Tree]], finding a strange man investigating it. He receives a strange call from the Denjuu's world, and falls in the tree after an earthquake, ending up in a strange world of monsters, politicians bribing Denjuu with curry, and a plot to destroy the Antenna Trees...
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13	Not to be confused with TeleFrag, which is when things get messy when you teleport to an area where somebody is already on.
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16	!!This series provides examples of:
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18	* AlternateUniverse: You can freely travel between the human world and the Denjuu world via "antenna trees" that give out a special electrical signal, but only if your cellphone has ''really good'' reception.
19	* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife
20	* AnimeHair: The protagonists' hairstyles were relatively normal in the first game, but the sequel played this straight.
21	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: While telephone numbers that unlock secret Denjuu were initially revealed through advertisements and related products, the official Smilesoft website eventually made a webpage that had every secret number after hunting the secret numbers would be unfeasible.
22	* ArmCannon: Many, many Denjuu gain these upon evolution. While it's somewhat understandable that a monster fused with an inorganic item would grow missile launchers that way, a few of them seem to have started out like that on their own.
23	* AwesomeButImpractical: Special attacks, at least in the first game. Penguin Missiles and Mega Flames sound great, but they take several turns to charge and often miss their target anyway. The sequel fixed this in a major way, with the charge time replaced by a [[{{Mana}} Denma Points]] bar and even more awesome attacks such as sharing giant healing strawberries with party members, cutting up an opponent with a wireframe, and ''sending an opponent off of a rocket to Mars for an instant win.''
24	* BagOfHolding: The player is able to carry up to 99 of every item. This includes bazookas, personal computers, solar panels, blenders, oxygen tanks, and so much more.
25	* BatterUp: In the manga adaption of the first game, Shigeki uses his aluminum bat extensively to assault various Denjuu, although it is often damaged or destroyed in the attempt by their superior claws and teeth. One notable incident has him goading his hot-headed partner into attacking him at high speed so that he can whack him with the bat into an enemy Denjuu, just because it seemed like it would be a cool thing to do.
26	* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Quite a few Denjuu have these, some are of the {{Wolverine Claws}} variety.
27	* BlindIdiotTranslation: Pretty famous in the bootleg. Example: the water land is called '''Alice'''.
28	* BreathWeapon: This is a given, since there are {{Mon}}s involved.
29	* CombatTentacles: Cute, pink Punica has a single tentacle on its head, but grows more as it evolves. Its ultimate evolution is Veenica, which can shoot harpoons out of the ends of its many paralyzing, stinging tentacles.
30	* CoolHorse: Berzelia is a rather decent, if bizarre-looking, giant-hooved horse/zebra Denjuu available in the first game. If centaurs count, then Ornithogalum definitely fits here too, being a Denjuu so secret that he wasn't included in the players guide, could be obtained any time at level 50, and was one of the few Denjuu who appeared in both games. [[PlayingWithFire Also, he's on fire.]]
31	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: In the first game, the leader of Sanaeba pharmaceutical company (who discovered the Denjuu world) attempts to manipulate the Denjuu for his own gain with assistance from the BigBad.
32	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Beating the snot out of Denjuu is the only way to impress them enough so that they'll give you their phone number, so that they may assist you in beating the snot out of more Denjuu.
33	* DieChairDie: Vases can be picked up and thrown. This is mostly useless in the first game, but is a good strategy in the sequel as they can be used to temporarily stun enemies to avoid encounters. There's even a whack-a-mole vase-throwing minigame on your cellphone, where you're encouraged to bean the rival's version-specific Denjuu while avoiding human characters.
34	* DiscOneNuke: There are several secret Denjuu which aren't available in normal gameplay, unless you happen to know their phone number and enter it manually. Two of them begin at level 50 in the first game, while there is a level 30 one in the sequel. You can call any of them as soon as you receive your starting Denjuu, who is level 5.
35	* ElectricJellyfish: Lampgela in the first game is basically a jellyfish with a giant lightbulb for a head.
36	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Denjuu are classed by their habitat types, listed in the bootlegs as Hill, Sky, Wood, Lake, Sand, and Land. In the first game these were both offensive and defensive, going in a loop of effectiveness: ''any'' attack from a Sky Denjuu will do double damage to Wood, but half damage to Hill. The sequel attempted to alleviate this somewhat by introducing attack types of Normal, Fire, Water, Thunder, Wind, Rock, and Machine.
37	* {{Engrish}}: All over the bootleg translation. Most infamous for "Some points of 24 lost!", and non-sequitur references to sedge.
38	* EvilutionaryBiologist: In the first game, [[spoiler:Sanaeba's goal is to apply the Denjuu's evolution abilities to humans. Presumably, this includes growing [[ArmCannon gun arms]].]]
39	* FunSize: Most Denjuu are roughly human-sized or larger, but a few are small enough to ride on your head such as Punica and Waratah.
40	* GameBreakingBug: Lots of these in the bootlegs, the main one being the inability to load a saved game. Some copies also lock you into an area in the middle of the game, rendering it uncompletable.
41	** Probably worse from a gamer's standpoint is that one bug makes you forget how to swim.
42	* GameOverMan: Losing a fight when you only have one Denjuu in your phonebook, or to most bosses, results in a cute game over screen featuring the version-appropriate starter Denjuu knocked out on the floor. The player character is also shown in the sequel, leaning up against the defeated Denjuu.
43	* GoldfishPoopGang: Nerikara's political lackeys, the Kakuza Party members. They dress in bizarre animal mascot costumes, presumably to appeal to the Denjuu, and harass everyone by spamming their party slogan, "For The Bright Future!" Their Japanese name ''kakuza tou'' is a pun on ''kaku zatou'', meaning sugar cube.
44	** In Telefang 2, the trio Ellis, Vulcan, and Rumba, are also this.
45	* GratuitousGreek: In keeping with the ThemeNaming of the first game, the locations are mostly Greek plant names.
46	* GuideDangIt: Denjuu's elements are never disclosed until AFTER you've encountered them (and can check using the "status" option). This means that if your lead Denjuu is weak against the opponent's lead, you could very well get killed before your other Denjuu can arrive.
47	* HarmlessVillain: Nerikara, in the first game. A human who, for some reason, wants to run for Prime Minister of the Denjuu world and promises to build a curry restaurant if elected. He seems to be an annoyance rather than a bad guy, and just runs away whenever confronted.
48	* HelloInsertNameHere: While the original game lets you name the protagonist (and most Denjuu you've befriended), the bootlegs removed this option entirely.
49	* HopelessBossFight: One of the boss fights in the first game consists of every one of your attacks missing, while every one of his does maximum damage. You're then required to go hit up your rival for his Denjuu's number in order to fight the boss again.
50	* KidHero: The protagonist of the first game is Shigeki, a 10-year old baseball fanatic who is rather unceremoniously dumped into the Denjuu's world with one of his friends when he happens to find a D-Shot cellphone, and immediately gets recruited by a giant turtle to start solving all of their problems. The sequel has Kyou, who enters the Denjuu world while the antenna trees are beginning to die out, in search of his missing father.
51	* LightningCanDoAnything: [[AWizardDidIt "Electricity did it"]] is the answer for every question you could have about the Denjuu world. Antenna trees emit electric waves which can cause teleportation, the Denjuu's special abilities are all powered by electricity—even those that have nothing to do with lightning, such as breathing fire or throwing a really big rock or shooting bullets out of their fangs—and it's assumed that the Denjuu are all spontaneously generated from the electric waves of the Life Tree. Replace all instances of "electricity" with "magic" and the series suddenly becomes much more plausible.
52	* LongSongShortScene: The song that is used in the title screen lasts over 40 seconds, but the title screen cuts out after less than 10 seconds before it transitions to an intro cutscene. As a result, less than a fourth of the song can be heard on the title screen. However, the full version can be heard in the sound test.
53	* MixAndMatchCritters: Many of the Denjuu are so bizarre that trying to figure out what exactly they're based on is nearly impossible. Whale-gators, fox-bees, tiger-weasels, and octo-phants are some of the more recognizable hybrids.
54	** One of the Denjuu appears to be a lab rat with an eagle's head grafted to the back of it. Its description attributes this to experimentation by the CorruptCorporateExecutive.
55	* MoneyForNothing: Lack of money is pretty much a nonexistent problem since items are pretty cheap and you can get cash every time you win a battle, and even more just by running through the grass.
56	* {{Mon}}s: Called Denjuu, meaning "electric beast", they were referred to as "electric monsters" or "e-mons" in the bootlegs.
57	* MonsterTown: Justifiably, ''all'' of the towns qualify as this.
58	* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: In the model of ''Pokémon''. There are about a dozen version-exclusive Denjuu in each of the games, notably the starting Denjuu (at least in the first versions, the sequel only has one starter) and the main rival Denjuu.
59	* PartyInMyPocket: Averted. Only one Denjuu is assigned to the protagonist's party at any time, where it is seen following him everywhere. Additional party members are called for at the beginning of every battle, where it may take them several turns to arrive because they're presumably at their respective homes when they're phoned.
60	* PetalPower: The attacks Petal Storm and Warm Air.
61	* PrecisionFStrike: Several appear in the bootleg.
62	* RareCandy: The first game had items which would boost a Denjuu's experience a great deal, if you gave them one of their favorites. Depending on the item, this could be exploited easily if they happen to be found cheaply in one of the shops.
63	* RewardingVandalism: Somewhat subverted; while breaking vases can sometimes cause diamonds to spill out, collecting them doesn't actually add anything to your total. Tearing through grass, however, causes collectible coins and diamonds to fly everywhere.
64	* RocketPunch: Robot-cat Kaya has this as an attack in the sequel.
65	* RuleOfCool: Evolving Denjuu often adds inorganic body parts such as machine gun arms or missile launchers to them. A notable example is [[Film/EasyRider Easy Dog]], a sunglasses-wearing Denjuu which is a [[RobotDog cross between a dog and a motorcycle.]]
66	* SecretCharacter: In both games, there are a number of Denjuu which are never available in the course of regular gameplay (14 in the first game, and 10 in the second, not including their evolutions.) Instead, their phone numbers could be obtained from a variety of sources such as tv commercials, chapters of the manga, and packaged with toys. All of the secret numbers were eventually compiled on Smilesoft's website.
67	* ShiftingSandLand: Barran Desert in the first game, Helchika Desert in the sequel.
68	* ShoddyKnockoffProduct: Essentially what the bootleggers relegated the first two to in America.
69	* ShoulderCannon: Several Denjuu get these when they evolve.
70	* ShoutOut: One of the items in the first game is ''Comic Bom Bom'', a reference to a monthly manga magazine published by Kodansha Limited, which the Telefang manga appeared in. In the sequel, one of the special attacks features a rocket labeled "Natsume".
71	* SocializationBonus: Trading Denjuu between versions is the only way to [[GottaCatchThemAll Catch Them All]]. However, with branching evolutions of one-of-a-kind Denjuu in the first game such as the version-exclusive starters, this takes several copies of each game to accomplish.
72	* SphereOfDestruction: The sequel has Nova Smasher, the starter Denjuu's ultimate attack.
73	* StarterMon: Depending on your version, you get either Crypto or Fungus as your first monster pal.
74	* {{Superboss}}: In the first game, there is a locked room very early on which only becomes unlocked after you've beaten the main storyline. There you can choose to fight one of a pair of sisters, both of which have a team of three maximum-level Denjuu.
75	* TelecomTree: Ubiquitous thanks to the summon-monsters-by-phoning-them mechanic.
76	* TerribleTrio: Elis, Vulcan, and Rumba in the sequel.
77	* TheLostWoods: Ixos Forest in the first games would send you in circles if you didn't proceed through the exits in a certain pattern. This pattern differed between the two versions.
78	* TheMaze: Several of the later dungeon mazes are frustratingly large, and the frequency of random encounters only makes them more infuriating.
79	* ThemeNaming: The majority of Denjuu in the first game were named after random plant genera, while those in the second game were usually named after bird species.
80	* ThemeTwinNaming: Netaro and Nejiro, ''taro'' meaning "first son" and ''jiro'' meaning "second son".
81	* TheShortGuyWithGlasses: Shigeki's classmate Matsukiyo, who is accidentally transported to the Denjuu world with him. While he forgoes accompanying the protagonist in order to assist their monster turtle mentor, he will often phone with important news. Matsukiyo reappeared in the sequel, which takes place several decades after the first game, as a professor.
82	* ToothyBird: While most Denjuu have [[CuteLittleFangs fangs]], the avian ones usually don't. Cotta, though, is a fluffy little bird with a [[http://rocketcompany.co.jp/t2/images/paa01.gif beak full of them.]]
83	* TranslationTrainWreck: The bootleg English translations of ''Pokemon Diamond'' and ''Pokemon Jade''.
84	* WeaselMascot: The giant striped weasel Denjuu Suguri is Miyo's partner in both the first game and its manga adaption, but he featured much more prominently in the latter.
85	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Despite the fact that Denjuu are sapient beings with the capacity to form villages and befriend humans and use cellphones, [[spoiler: Sanaeba has no problem with performing medical experiments on them, or trying to steal the power of their Life Tree in order to benefit humanity.]]
86	* WorldTree: The Life Tree is apparently where all Denjuu are born from, leading to a bit of FridgeLogic later when one ponders how Netaro and Nejiro can actually be brothers. Perhaps they fell from the same branch of the family tree?
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Context VideoGame / Telefang