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1[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/VP_Covenant_1657.jpg]]
2
3->''"Feather o'er the battlefield... Unto me thy power yield!"''
4
5A 2009 Platform/{{Nintendo DS}} TurnBasedStrategy prequel to ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile''. ''Covenant of the Plume'' stars Wylfred, an AntiHero (or ByronicHero or VillainProtagonist, [[KarmaMeter depending on your choices]]) whose father was killed in battle years before the story starts. He blames his father's death, which lead to his sister's death from hunger and his mother's descent into madness, on the Valkyrie, as she left a feather with the body, and has vowed to take his revenge by seeking her out on the battlefields.
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7Eventually, the goddess Hel gets wind of this, and makes a pact with him: She'll give him power by corrupting the feather Lenneth left with Wylfred's father's body into the Destiny Plume, which can [[SuperMode supercharge a warrior for one battle]], [[DeadlyUpgrade but kills him at the end]]. As an added twist, the plume only works on people who trust Wylfred and consider him a friend.
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9A handy SuccessionCrisis for the throne of Artolia serves as the backdrop to Wylfred's RoaringRampageOfRevenge, and how he responds to his task [[MultipleEndings will determine]] not only the survival of Artolia, but of his own soul and those of his allies.
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11There is a [[Characters/ValkyrieProfile character sheet for the entire franchise]].
12
13[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused]] with ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles''.
14
15!!This game provides examples of:
16* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: A rare in-universe example. You see characters behave differently depending on what path you take. A few characters still have the same interpretations though, they just wind up facing you on the other side of the battlefield for different reasons. Wyl has the most variance depending on which path you take.
17* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: The FinalBattle on the 'A' Path.
18* AnyoneCanDie: The game does it two ways: First, there are three distinct story paths, and each version of each chapter has different characters you can recruit. However, if you're on one path, and you see a playable character from another path, they're pretty much guaranteed to buy the farm by the end of the chapter, or sometimes show up later as a boss you have to defeat. The second way is with the Destiny Plume, which lets you kill off any of your party members during battle.
19* ArcWords: Chapter 3 has Rosea sum up the feelings of that arc (and the game)
20--> '''Rosea:''' Hatred will convince you that sin shall set you free. But it is a dark and only road, and in the end, all you'll have is yourself to hate.
21* ArtifactOfDeath: The Destiny Plume, full stop.
22* ArtifactOfDoom: Possibly subverted, since Wylfred can use the Destiny Plume on his own free will.
23* BackStab: Attacking enemies from the back stuns them. [[spoiler: It's also how Rosea offs Liselotte in the A and C paths.]]
24* BareFistedMonk: Auguste.
25** RapidFireFisticuffs: His appropriately named "Hundred Hands" Soul Crush, which could also be a ShoutOut to [[Franchise/StreetFighter Edmond Honda]].
26* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Mr. Hoppity]] for Langrey.
27** Apparently, calling Freya old [[DontTryThisAtHome also works wonders]].
28* BewareTheNiceOnes: Valmur may seem to be a TechnicalPacifist, and he certainly dislikes unnecessary wars involving his house. This makes his sister think he is a cowardly incompetent loser. In path B, after [[spoiler:watching his brother (and later his parents) killed by mercenaries, and seeing the Valkyrie take their souls right before his eyes, he went full on GoodIsNotNice and started up the same RoaringRampageOfRevenge as Wylfred did to Valkyrie.]]
29** Rosea is a kind priestess who reveres the gods and uses her powers to help the people of Artolia, despite being banished by the kingdom for a crime that she didn't commit. Because of that incident, she [[spoiler:harbors a deep grudge towards Lieselotte, who was also accused as a suspect. At the end of path A and C, Rosea finally loses her temper and kills Lieselotte, only for her to regret doing it.]]
30** Kristoff is a peace-loving, kind Prince that is considered weak and passive just because he isn't as warmongering as others. However, in path A, he proves himself quite formidable in combat. In path B, [[spoiler:he realizes that all peaceful methods have been exhausted, and decides to go to war with a fervor no one thought he had.]] Path C is where "beware" really comes in. [[spoiler:After losing the fight against Wylfred and Prince Langrey, Kristoff requests to be killed, but is denied. Realizing that Langrey is willing to sacrifice his own people in a bid for power, Kristoff yells, "I'll not let you!" Then, he pulls out a dagger, looks Langrey in the eye, and stabs him right in the gut. What makes this gutsy (no pun intended) is that Kristoff did this from a position of weakness against a very powerful warrior/sorcerer who was at full strength, and in front of many people, including Wylfred. Whether or not Kristoff had any regret is uncertain, because he is killed immediately afterward by Langrey.]]
31* {{BFS}}: As is now common in the series, all heavy warriors wield one. Honorable mention to Phiona, who, as the first female representative of this class, doesn't own a large, hard, and undoubtedly very phallic blade and is instead given a Big Fuckin' ''[[RoyalRapier Rapier]]''. [[FridgeLogic You should not reflect too much]] on how she manages to use it [[UnbreakableWeapons without breaking it on the first hit]].
32** There is also Reinhilde's giant crossbow.
33* BittersweetEnding: The ending on the A path. [[spoiler:Instead of being able to save either Rosea or Lieselott like in paths B or C, they '''BOTH''' die. Valmur gets killed, and the future of House Haughn comes into question. When Fauxnel's treachery is revealed, you end up joining with him and his WellIntentionedExtremist scheme because it's too late to undo what has been done. And even after subjugating both Kristoff & Langrey and preventing the war that occurs in paths B & C, Langrey commits suicide anyway. On the plus side, the war is averted before it destroys Artolia, and Wylfred's soul is saved and he gets closure, having given up on his revenge. We also see his mother recover from her mental illness.]]
34* BlackAndWhiteMagic: Rosea (who starts out as a defensive healer) and Lieselotte (who is more of an offensive spellcaster).
35%%* BloodKnight: Phiona, if her combat dialogue is anything to go by.
36%%* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Darius and Earnest, during their days as military students.
37* BonusDungeon: The Seraphic Gate, as usual. If the first game's version was only vaguely humorous in the form of the temporary party members making some FourthWall-breaking comments and the second game's version had most of its amusement come from humorously renamed storyline bosses and a group of terrier-looking kobolds dressed like the main characters running around the place making a mockery of the game's dramatic cutscenes, this game's version has its SillinessSwitch turned up to 11 from the get-go, starting right from the intro to the place and just getting crazier from there, with the only even ''remotely'' serious parts being the encounters with Gabriel, Lenneth, and Ethereal Queen, and even then, each of those gets a thorough mocking at some point.
38* BoringButPractical: The ability "Transpose", which lets you swap places with a target. Very handy in a tactical game.
39* ButThouMust: In the game's third battle, you can't take any action until you use the Plume on Ancel. It ''is'' still possible to win, by using the end-game equipment that holds over from a NewGamePlus to win the battle by letting the enemies attack you first and counterattacking them... But even if you do, the cutscene with Ancel's death plays unchanged.
40* ByronicHero[=/=]AntiHero[=/=]VillainProtagonist: Wylfred, depending on which plot path you're on, as determined by [[KarmaMeter how often you use the plume]].
41%%* CainAndAbel: Langrey and Kristoff, though neither are exactly evil.
42* CallingYourAttacks: All casters shout the name of the spells when casting it, such as "Firestorm!" and "Lightning Bolt!". Even non-offensive ones like "Heal" and "Reflect Sorcery" are subject to this.
43** Physical Soul Crushes also have the user call out the name of the attack, along with some other phrases.
44--->'''Wylfred:''' Suffer my pain! Finishing strike! GRIM VENGEANCE!!!
45** High magic Soul Crushes have a fixed {{Invocation}}, regardless of who is using them.
46---> "Harken the angel's summon, the true path shall guide you, find peace in annihilation. PHANTOM DESTRUCTION!"
47** Each character gets two {{Pre Ass Kicking One Liner}}s (one of several is chosen randomly when beginning to attack, and one that's always the same is used before a special attack), one BondOneLiner (again, one of several chosen randomly), and a special line for a critical hit. As usual for the series, these are fully voiced.
48* CombinationAttack: LimitBreak - [[FinishingMove Soul Crush]]; yes, ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill. Actually, you ''need'' to carry out egregious overkill (more on that under KarmaMeter.)
49* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Many of those 'bosses' are actually playable characters, yet their damage output goes up around 10 times greater than the time you were using them. They can also spam Soul Crush everytime they attack one of your party members, even though none of the characters can fill up the gauge necessary to use one more than halfway by themselves. Even worse, why do they get weakened again when they join your party?
50** [[BonusDungeon Seraphic Gate]] displays even more blantant cheating on the AI's part: even though it's easy to reach maximum possible Attack with all the overpowered gear you get from there, the enemy can easily outdamage you with identical stats, and naturally they can have 6-digit HP while you only get 5. The cheating is the most apparent with mage bosses, who can not only cast a spell 3 times per turn as opposed to only 1 you can never increase, but also get an additional damage multiplier for their spells: even with 9999 MAG, which is only attainable by cheating, you can never do more than 3000 damage per hit with Sacred Javelin on an enemy with near-zero Resist, while the high-end boss mages can do close to 20000 damage per hit even on lv 99 characters with less than 9999 MAG.
51* CreepyTwins: Mireille and Mischka, who freely admit to killing for fun.
52* CurbStompBattle: Any battle becomes this if you use the Plume on a teammate.
53** A form of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, though, since the Plume is intended to offer you ridiculous power in exchange for sacrifices.
54* TheDarkSide: Kill enough of your allies, and Wylfred's battle quotes change. He stops referencing his father, and starts talking about how "pathetic" his foes are.
55* DeadSidekick: Wylfred is [[ButThouMust forced]] to use the plume on his childhood friend before the end of the first area. Wyl has a little breakdown and the friend gets some LastWords, but Wyl doesn't ''quite'' show the same angst once he uses it again. (This makes the most sense in the "C" path, because Wyl almost becomes a sociopath!)
56* DeadlyUpgrade: Previous Valkyrie Profile games forced you to choose how to balance when to give up party members (which you would be rewarded for). In the first and second games, doing so either let them into the afterlife or restored them to life, respectively. In this game, it supercharges them to the point where they can steamroll the entire level and gives you a copy of their supercharged ability, but kills them at the end of the level. Needless to say, you're likely going to feel like a heel every time you do this.
57* DealWithTheDevil: Wylfred makes the titular pact with Hel, goddess of the underworld.
58%%* DeathSeeker: Heugoe and Darius.
59* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Mostly [[GameplayAndStorySegregation gameplaywise]]: while killing off characters with the plume does have [[KilledOffForReal severe consequences]], letting characters die in battle is at times even a preferable option: it removes any other status aliments they might have (and all but 2 of them are severely debiliating and disallow them to attack and often would cause that character to die regardless), it allows you to reposition them better by reviving them at a more preferable location and allows them to act on the same turn, and due to both your and your enemies' ability to attack at the same time for every unit in range for each of their turns, you're going to die a lot regardless.
60* DefeatMeansFriendship: [[spoiler:Lockswell, Lieselotte in path B, and Fauxnel in path A]], and you can use some of the main game's boss characters (Chapter V and VI bosses) in the Seraphic Gate after defeating them, along with cameo characters from other games.
61* DownerEnding: The B ending, which sees [[spoiler:Wylfred's father sacrificing his soul to save Wylfred from eternal damnation, leaving the boy to consider what his quest for vengeance has truly cost.]]
62* DramaticIrony: Those kids Natalia keeps going on about? [[spoiler:They're the psychotic twins that end up killing her in one path. They never find out, either; the closest either comes is a battle quote where they say, "What did that woman know about my mother?".]]
63* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Darius]] and [[spoiler:Langrey on the A path. (His death on the C path is a SuicideByCop).]]
64* DudeLooksLikeALady: Has anyone else mistaken Darius to be a woman?
65** Kristoff is also very pretty.
66** Mischka has a rather feminine sounding name... and has the same voice actress as Mirielle.
67* DyingAlone: This is Lieselotte's greatest fear. If you use the Plume on her, her last words are of her begging Wyl to stay by her side until she dies.
68* EscortMission: The Ruins on the A path, which is possibly even more unfair than [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics the Roof of Riovanes]]. Made worse by the fact that [[spoiler:one of your party members will attempt to kill the woman you save immediately after the battle... and then she dies at the end of the chapter anyway.]]
69** There's an escort mission in every version of Chapter 4. [[spoiler:However, all are rendered moot by the cutscene afterwards, in which the character(s) you just fought so hard to save are dead anyway. So in all, out of the four escort missions in the game, the rescued character only survives in one of them.]]
70** Actually, there are two more escort missions where the characters that you rescued will join as permanent party members. Those characters are Natalia [[spoiler:(if you sided with the rebels on Chapter 2)]] and Rosea [[spoiler:(if you're taking the C path on Chapter 3).]]
71** The missions themselves are almost universally reviled. The ally team AI is ''[[TooDumbToLive aggravatingly]]'' stupid. In both the Natalia and Rosea missions, the targets will go out of their way to attack nearby enemies, even though they inflict almost no damage, and suffer huge counterattack damage -- in the case of the Natalia mission, ''speeding her own death''. Rosea's mission is even worse -- she starts in range of two enemies more powerful than her, will attack them even if it is certain to result in her death, and will completely eschew healing herself despite having the ability to do so. The mission is especially notable because, depending on enemy unit movements, it is fully possible for Rosea to die before the ''[[LuckBasedMission end of the first turn]]'' -- and unless the party intervenes '''immediately''' she will ''definitely'' die before the end of the second.
72* EvilPlan: The A ending reveals [[spoiler:that everything involving the SuccessionCrisis was set up by Hel and Ailyth for their own nefarious purposes. The lead-up to the FinalBoss involves Ailyth chewing Wylfred out for not cooperating.]]
73* EvilTwin: If you don't make the "Sin" requirement, Hel will sic "Realmstalkers" on you in the next stage. These "Realmstalkers" are powerful dopplegangers of your party members, both alive and dead.
74%%* EvilWeapon: The Angel Slayer, go figure.
75* FaceDeathWithDignity: In the A ending, Wylfred tells Ailyth that he cannot honour the covenant forged with Hel, after realizing that murder and vengeance won't give him the peace he wants in his life, and calmly tells her that he's ready to descend to Nifelheim. [[spoiler: This understandably changes with Ailyth chews him out for not being a 'good little pawn' and cooperating with Hel's master plan of destroying Artolia through the SuccessionCrisis.]]
76* FieryRedhead: Lieselotte, who has a penchant for using [[PlayingWithFire fire magic]].
77* FightingYourFriend: [[spoiler:In the final battle of the C ending, every character you sacrificed comes back as one of Valkyrie's einherjar - ''fighting against you''. Oddly enough, though, despite the fact that he's the only person you ''have'' to use it on, Ancel isn't among them.]]
78* FinalBoss: Actually, there are three. [[spoiler:On the A path, it's Garm. On the B path, it's Thyodor. On the C path, it's Lenneth herself.]]
79** TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler: In the B ending, it appears like you're at the final battle with Lenneth...however, Thyodor steps in and makes sure you know that you will not harm Lenneth.]]
80* FireIceLightning: The respective elemental attributes of Mireille, Mischka, and Natalia [[spoiler:- who all happen to be biologically related to one another.]]
81* FirstEpisodeResurrection: Wylfred is "killed" by a monster after the first battle, but is revived after making a DealWithTheDevil with Hel.
82* {{Foreshadowing}}: Every time you use the Plume, the after-battle cutscene shows a feather falling on your dead party member, which means they've been chosen as an Einherjar. [[spoiler:In the C ending, Lenneth calls them to fight against you.]]
83* ForTheEvulz: [[spoiler:Hel knew from the beginning that the Valkyrie was immortal, and Wylfred could never kill her, and seems to have concocted the whole plot for her own amusement.]]
84* FourIsDeath: The game allows you to use the Destiny Plume up to 3 times during a single playthrough. Using it again will lead you to a NonStandardGameOver.
85* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: The plume is mentioned as being able to bring out most people's hidden powers. Naturally, whenever you use it on someone, they turn the battle into a CurbstompBattle.
86** A powerful one happens in Path C, where Wyl goes fully Dark-Side and becomes a BloodKnight. His quotes have him insulting his opponents and not referencing his father anymore.
87* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Hel, the goddess who enabled Wyl to embark on his quest for revenge]] is either directly or indirectly responsible for a lot of the problems in the game.
88* GuideDangIt: The first time you play through the game, you are given a choice to go to three different locations. Did you pick the town and side with the rebels? Congratulations - you just picked the hardest path to do on your first playthrough!
89%%* HalfIdenticalTwins: Mireille and Mischka again.
90* HarderThanHard: Go ahead, go for ending A on your first playthrough. We ''dare'' you. The official strategy guide goes as far as to say it's ''impossible''.
91** As can be expected from a BonusDungeon, Seraphic Gate is this to a major degree: each playthrough gets tougher and tougher and if you miss one of the {{Infinity Plus One Sword}}s either lying around on the map or fail to get one as a drop from a boss, you're basically screwed in the long run when it comes to the character class able to use it. Furthermore, since every character is reset to level 1 and loses all of their skills and the inventory of the only shop available never changes, you need to have the foresight to grind some of the bosses for their drops beforehand, such as the essential Dash skill. And finally, if you thought you could spam the Plume with reckless abandon due to the repeating nature of the dungeon with the implication that any characters you've killed with it would rejoin you on the next playthough, think again: not only does Wylfred lose the Plume in the introductory cutscene, but he also loses all of his GameBreaker Plume skills he's learned up until that point.
92*** Then again, due to the overpowered equipment you eventually find and the fact that you can grind your characters as much as you like, you'll eventually become just as strong as you would be when under the effects of the Plume (minus the status and elemental damage immunity), with no drawbacks present in the main game such as Realmstalkers or Sin quotas.
93* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: [[spoiler:The {{Escort Mission}}s tend to have a strange habit of having the characters you spent the entire battle protecting from death immediately die once you win.]]
94** There's also Hel, who either gets Wyl to kill the Valkyrie, or gets his soul. [[spoiler:As the Valkyrie cannot truly be killed, only temporarily removed, the C ending has the coin simultaniously land on both sides as much it can. The only reason the A ending doesn't get her anything is because her servant had a freak out, rather than any direct fault of her own.]]
95* HeroAntagonist: The Valkyrie, of course; this time the player's side is turned around. It also applies to [[spoiler:Thyodor in the B ending.]]
96%%* HeroicRROD: This is what happens to anyone you use the plume on.
97* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:On path B, when Ailyth is about to send Wylfred to Nifelheim, his father pushes him away from the portal she created and is taken in his place.]]
98** If you side with the Bloody Twins & Huegoe early in the game, [[spoiler:Natalia gives herself up as a sacrifice to save the other rebels]].
99* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Lenneth's (the Valkyrie) Nibelung Valesti Soul Crush does this with 4 giant spears.
100* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Zig-zagged in a brutal way. The Bloody Twins, both twelve, ''only'' show up if you pick a certain path and, other than Gwendal, are the only chapter two party members who are not fought as a boss or implied killed on another path. But this is also averted, because you ''can'' use the plume on them after you recruit them. (Although, you can assume that [[spoiler:even if you use the plume on ''both'' of them, they live on as Einherjar, literally the youngest!)]]
101* InfinityPlusOneSword: If you complete the Seraphic Gate ten times in a row, you will be given the Angel Slayer, which happens to be the strongest sword in the game.
102* InTheBack: Rosea does this to [[spoiler:Lieselotte on paths A and C.]]
103* ItGetsEasier: One of the major themes of the game, along with the CycleOfRevenge is how Wylfred reacts to using the plume:
104** In the A Path, [[spoiler:he is so horrified by its effect on Ancel that he can't bring himself to use it again, becoming a remorseful ByronicHero on a path of eventual redemption and moving on.]]
105** In the B Path, [[spoiler:he uses the plume once or twice more, seeing it as a necessary evil on his {{Anti Hero}}ic path of revenge, ultimately culminating in his father sacrificing his afterlife to save his from Nifelheim.]]
106** In the C Path, [[spoiler:he falls completely to TheDarkSide, becoming a VillainProtagonist BloodKnight ready to sacrifice and kill anyone on his quest for vengeance, which ultimately ends up pointless as he is dragged to Hel.]]
107** Meta-wise, the more people you've sacrificed, the easier the game becomes. Doing it once during a battle guarantees a win, and grants Wyl a powerful ability he'll retain for the rest of the game and all subsequent playthroughs. So you, the player, will be less and less broken up over the guys you've lost as it goes.
108* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Every chapter has its own plot, which is only loosely connected with everything else.
109** When you actually play through all three endings, there are some things that make sense. Not just [[spoiler:Natalia's missing children being the Bloody Twins]], but [[spoiler:the "B" path has Lieselotte mentioning that she and Rosea weren't the only mages; there was a third named Fauxnel. And if you know him from the "A" path, you'd know that the MagnificentBastard has been known to order assassinations... sounds an awful lot like ''Fauxnel'' did it.]]
110* KamehameHadoken: Ailyth's Soul Crush is basically a [[PillarOfLight huge beam that spans visibly from space]].
111** "Phantom Destruction" starts with firing some BeamSpam and ends with KamehameHadoken.
112** Freya uses this as one of her basic attacks, the other being BeamSpam.
113* KarmaMeter: In each battle, you're required to max out your Sin meter in order to get various rewards.
114** Interestingly, despite the Sin terminology, all the mechanic really means is dealing extra damage beyond that required to kill an opponent. Thus, ThereIsNoKillLikeOverKill.
115*** Well, that, and the fact that ''sacrificing your trusted allies for power'' adds a full meter's worth of Sin. The number of sacrifices also acts as a more ''literal'' KarmaMeter, as the number of sacrifices you make not only affects [[MultipleEndings how the story plays out]], but also affects whether Wylfred acts like an AntiHero, ByronicHero, or full-out VillainProtagonist.
116* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Fauxnel... dear gods...]]
117** This one's particularly horrible, since once characters join you permanently, they shift permanently OutOfFocus. You can only GET the spoilered character on one specific plot path, which also nets you a character who is hunting down the person who [[YouKilledMyFather killed his (adoptive) father]], [[spoiler:which said KarmaHoudini ''openly admits to masterminding''.]] [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Not a word is uttered.]] A possible explanation is that by this point, the character has gotten over the idea of revenge (since that's the A path's running theme), but still, a scene or a line acknowledging it would've been nice.
118** Let's not forget the fact that [[spoiler:Fauxnel's successful assassination plot against a VIP results in Leiselotte and Rosea miserably hating and blaming each other for the rest of their lives. Depending on which path you take, said hatred and blaming results in either Leiselotte killing Rosea, Rosea killing Leiselotte, or ''both killing each other.'']] The worst part is, [[spoiler:the only person who finds out about all this is Wylfred (on the A path). And like he's gonna tell anybody, especially since ''both'' girls have been dead for awhile!]]
119* KickTheDog: Gwendal does this a lot; on the path that gets you him as a party member, the first notable thing he does is kill one of his own men to lure undead to the area, so they can ambush their enemies.
120** Also, the ''player'' can do this either via the story [[spoiler:(such as when you have to help kill Natalia)]] or via using the plume to kill sympathetic characters.
121%%* KillItWithFire: Lieselotte does this to [[spoiler:Rosea on path A and B.]]
122* LadyOfWar: Reinhilde, and to a degree her daughter Phiona, though the latter could also qualify as a CuteBruiser.
123%%* LargeHam: Goes hand in hand with CallingYourAttacks, but Langrey stands out...
124* LimitBreak: Every playable character (even bosses) can perform Soul Crush attacks that usually inflict a large amount of damage on one unlucky target.
125* {{Meido}}: Ailyth. The BonusDungeon has fun with this by giving her a feather duster, a mop, and a tea set as her attacks, with the former and latter being her equippable weapons.
126** At least she still has her Garm Soul Crush.
127%%* LoveableRogue: Lieselotte [[spoiler:on the B path.]]
128* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Rosea says this verbatim [[spoiler:on the C path.]]
129* MyRulesAreNotYourRules: [=NPCs=] who have finishing strikes get to use them on ''every attack'' without having to build up combo meters, presumably because the AI wouldn't be able to figure out how to do so reliably.
130* MultipleEndings: Three of them (and a NonStandardGameOver), depending on how many times you used the Destiny Plume.
131** Ending A: Refuse to use the Plume past the first time, revealing [[spoiler:the Plume was all a ploy orchestrated by Hel. After defeating Garm, Ancel forgives Wylfred for being used like a guinea pig, and is able to settle down peacefully.]]
132** Ending B: Use the Plume once, [[spoiler:which condemns Wylfred to Niflheim, but his father ends up taking his place instead, leaving him to atone for his sins.]]
133** Ending C: Use the Plume more than once, [[spoiler:driving Wylfred into madness as his ambitions are AllForNothing. Freya condemns him to Niflheim for eternity.]]
134* NearDeathExperience: Wylfred almost dies at the beginning of the game, but his soul is saved [[spoiler:by Valkyrie at the behest of his father.]] Unfortunately, he never learns this is the case, so this does nothing to end his desire for revenge, much to Hel's delight when she meets him for the first time.
135* NeverMessWithGranny: Reinhilde. Even if she's the slowest archer (Probably because of that ''HUGE'' crossbow!)
136* NewGamePlus: Lets you carry over all your equipment, items, CP, and learned skills and also gives everyone up to 2 additional passive skill slots. You also have to get all three endings to unlock the BonusDungeon.
137* NintendoHard: The game is as hard as any Fire Emblem game if you choose to refrain from sacrificing your teammates on your first playthrough... But the minute you choose to make that sacrifice, all of the difficulty [[GameBreaker flies out of the window for that and all future playthroughs]].
138* NoFairCheating: Using the Destiny Plume too many times in a chapter (usually, more than once on anything but the A route) will put you into a HopelessBossFight with Freya. Supposedly the fight can be won in a NewGamePlus with enough [[RareCandy Golden Eggs]] farming, but the game will still act as if you lost, leading to a NonStandardGameOver.
139** It's plainly merciful from the game, as in most cases when this happens, Wyl would be on his own or with only one companion in the next battle, rendering it nigh impossible.
140%%* NoFourthWall: The whole [[BonusDungeon Seraphic Gate]] is like this.
141* OneHandedZweihander: Most characters with 1 handed blades almost always use them with 1 hand, even with the other hand free. But the most prominent example is Kristoff, who holds a 2 handed sword with 1 hand.
142%%* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Ailyth did this in front of Wylfred]] near the end of path A.
143%%* OnlySaneMan: Wylfred fulfills this role in the Seraphic Gate.
144* OutOfFocus: Everyone you recruit does not get any dialogue after their events are over. Unless you kill them off (or someone closely connected to them.)
145* PaletteSwap: In Seraphic Gate, you will encounter Hrist, who is Lenneth's PaletteSwap; if you [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeat her]], you will notice that she has exactly the same attacks, and even the same Soul Crush. The same goes for Ancel and Arngrimm.
146%%* ParentalAbandonment
147* {{Permadeath}}: The titular Destiny Plume is essentially an "I Win" button when you use it, albeit with the doing this to a character. However, to get the GoldenEnding, you have to beat the game without using it.
148* PetTheDog: If you sacrifice Mischka before Mireille, he will act like nothing has happened and tell his sister to go ahead. His last words request that Wylfred never tell Mireille about his death. Surprisely, this is one of the few Plume scenes in which Wylfred shows regret.
149* PluckyGirl: Cheripha has a pretty dark past, but she's determined to live her life to the fullest. Hell, she's just about the cheeriest person you pick up during the game.
150%%* ThePollyanna: Cheripha.
151* ThePowerOfFriendship: ''Played dead straight'' in a [[DeconstructedTrope horrific way]]. "Guests" of the party and mere acquaintances are of no use to the plume. On the other hand, those who consider you a friend are practically in your mercy. And as the game states, the closer, the better.
152* PsychoForHire / EnfanteTerrible / ChildSoldiers: Mireille and Mischka come across as preteen versions of this, being rather monstrous child mercenaries who lack any ethical compass due to never having any moralizing influences. They have no qualms whatsoever against [[AxCrazy bloody, often senseless murder]].
153* PropheciesRhymeAllTheTime: The game's {{tagline}} "Destiny by Sinner Sought; Tragedy by Power Wrought" and some of the black background {{Exposition Break}}s.
154** Every character's skill that's used upon using the plume on them and which Wylfred learns after the battle also has an excerpt of a poem relating to the skill in question. Since you get to read them before you actually choose to sacrifice them, and the effects are as stated, they count more or less as prophecies.
155* PurposelyOverpowered: The titular Destiny Plume is essentially an "I Win" button when you use it, albeit with the cost of a character. However, to get the GoldenEnding, you have to beat the game without using it.
156* RageAgainstTheHeavens: A recurring theme of the series, but much more obvious this time around.
157* RaisedByNatives: Ushio, a swordsman from the Isle of the Yamato, was adopted by the Arch Mage Cennair after the latter found him shipwrecked on the shores of Artolia. Oddly, despite this, he still dresses and fights as a Yamato warrior rather than an Artolian, and keeps to his birthplace's customs, despite being fairly young at his adoption.
158* Really700YearsOld: Somewhat played for comedy with Freya (the super hot immortal goddess) in the Seraphic Gate. Oh Fauxnel...
159* RecurringRiff:
160** Much of the music is from [[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile the first game]]. For example, dungeon background music is re-purposed as BattleThemeMusic during the enemy phase. Other pieces, like the victory theme are put to their original uses. This is particularly noteworthy, because [[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria Silmeria]] had a very different musical feel from the original, with the {{Musical Nod}}s much more subtle, so much so that you might not recognize them.
161** Chapter 1 uses ''"Mighty Blow"'' as a boss battle theme, a song from ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'', another game develper by ''[[Creator/{{triAce}} tri-Ace]]''.
162* RedemptionDemotion: Many of the recruitable characters that you have to defeat in certain parts of the story end up becoming weaker once they join your party.
163* RedOniBlueOni: The most prominent examples in this game would have to be Ancel and Wylfred, Cheripha and Lockswell, Earnest and Darius, Mireille and Mischka, Lieselotte and Rosea, Phiona and Valmur, and not to mention Langrey and Kristoff.
164%%* ReluctantWarrior: Darius, Valmur, Kristoff, and probably Roienbourg as well.
165* ReplacementGoldfish: Wylfred's mother treats him like his father's replacement.
166* {{Retirony}}: Referenced in [[spoiler:Ancel's]] Truthade Bio:
167-->''Wide-eyed lad who sealed his own fate the moment he told [[spoiler:Tilte]] "There's something I want to ask you when I return," which ranks alongside "[[FatalFamilyPhoto wistfully gazing at family pictures]]" and "[[IfWeGetThroughThis expressing eagerness about future plans]]" in terms of telltale signs that a character is not going to live past the first battle. ''Take note.''
168* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: A recurring theme in the chapters, which serve to mirror Wylfred's overall story, which is also an example, though whether it's played straight depends on which [[MultipleEndings plot path]] you're on.
169* ShaggyDogStory: Every ending to some degree, since [[spoiler:as a mortal, Wylfred ''can't'' beat the setting's big guns like Lenneth and Hel.]] The straightest example is [[spoiler:the B path, where ''everything'' was in vain. The A path has Wylfred deciding on his own to give up his quest, and lets him beat up Garm even if he can't take on Hel.]] The C ending goes sailing into ShootTheShaggyDog territory.
170* ShootTheShaggyDog: The C ending, where [[spoiler:Wylfred learns it's ''impossible'' to kill the Valkyrie, meaning his whole quest was meaningless from the start, and was just Hel [[ForTheEvulz having a bit of fun]]. Then Ailyth kills him and sends him to [[{{Hell}} Nifelheim]] for all eternity.]]
171* SlasherSmile: Wylfred shows it in the C route and in Seraphic Gate, while commenting on the game with Hrist as leading character.
172* SillinessSwitch: The Seraphic Gate. There's also the Truthade item, which adds humor and snark to your character profiles. [[spoiler:Until you find out who those children Natalia was talking about all game are...]]
173%%* SomethingAboutARose: Fauxnel and Phiona.
174* SpamAttack: Some characters have this as their Soul Crush (Natalia, Darius, Auguste, Roienbourg). Auguste, Duwain and Roienbourg also have this as one of their basic attacks.
175%%* SphereOfDestruction: Gravity Blessing and Maleficent Harm.
176%%* SpinAttack: Natalia, Mireile, and Kristoff do this in their Soul Crush.
177%%* SpiritAdvisor: Ailyth, servant of Hel.
178* SpoilerOpening: Ancel, trusted companion of Wylfred, is the only other party member who is featured in the opening cinema. [[spoiler:Averted, since [[DeadSidekick you're forced to kill him off in the prologue]].]]
179* StalkerWithACrush: Duwain is humorously seen as this by most people, according to his hidden profile.
180* {{Stripperiffic}}: Lieselotte and Freya.
181* SurplusDamageBonus: Attacking an enemy with zero HP will fill up the Sin gauge. Acquiring twice as much Sin as the game demands for that battle can unlock powerful weapons, armor, accessories, and abilities. Conversely, failing to overkill enemies will earn you the ire of your mysterious benefactor, generally meaning that she'll screw you over in your future battles by setting her goons on you in addition of fighting the enemy forces: they're basically impossible to beat without using one of the other main mechanics to [[HeroicRROD supercharge one of your allies, which also]] [[{{Permadeath}} kills them after the battle]] as well as automatically fulfilling the basic Sin requirement. In short, she'll get her way no matter what you do.
182* TeamSwitzerland: If Wylfred takes the "A" path, then he finds himself a member of Team Switzerland who actually DOES get their hands dirty to -- what else? Stop the succession Crisis that's ruining Artolia. Sadly, this doesn't work...
183* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Overkill is actually an in-game term: it appears when you kill an enemy and give them extra damage before they collapse. Strongly encouraged for extra bonuses, or at least for the sake of watching the cool [[FinishingMove Soul Crush]] sequence. Oh, and if you don't get enough overkill, Hel will punish you.
184%%* TheSoCalledCoward: Duwain and Valmur.
185* ThouShaltNotKill: Subverted by [[spoiler:Rosea near the end of path A and C, when she gets revenge on Lieselotte by stabbing her in the back.]]
186%%* TogetherInDeath: Auguste and Reinhilde [[spoiler:on the B path.]]
187* {{Tsundere}}: Played for laughs by Tilte during your first visit to the Seraphic Gate.
188* UnbreakableWeapons: All of the weapons are unbreakable, but interestingly, several of the weapons and armors mention having the "ether coating" that made only certain weapons in the first game unbreakable.
189* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: When you plume someone, you will receive a cutscene where you see them give up, and their loved one crying for them. You can also proceed to make Rosea's life a living hell by [[spoiler:Pluming Duwain in front of her]].
190** VideoGameCaringPotential: You can at least [[spoiler:MercyKill Rosea so she at least gets to live on as on one of Lenneth's Einherjar]].
191%%* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Read the NoFairCheating entry.
192%%* VillainProtagonist: Wylfred (and by proxy, the player) on the C path.
193* VoluntaryShapeshifting: [[spoiler:Ailyth is really Garm, the Hound of Hel.]]
194%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: Darius and Fauxnel.
195* WeaponOfXSlaying: While not as powerful as the Slayer weapons of the first two ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'' games, there are still weapons with bonuses against specific types, e.g. Ravenbrand vs. birds.
196* {{Yandere}}: Ailyth becomes something like this near the end of the A path.
197** Actually, she has been one all along, but can't hide it any longer after [[spoiler:Wylfred states that he no longer wishes to continue on with his quest for vengeance.]]
198** Even more so in Seraphic Gate, "I am going to bite you".
199** Lieselotte is probably one too.
200* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Not as bad as some, but there's a definite effort to make the text sound 'olde.'
201** MyNaymeIs: The most flagrant example of the above trope since the writers saw it fit to make sure that no name was spelled traditionally. (Phiona is one thing, as is Wylfred, but ''Heugoe''?)
202* YourSoulIsMine: This is specifically what's stated to await Wyl unless he kills the Valkyrie. [[spoiler:Of course, as you can never ''permanently'' kill a valkyrie, Hel is guaranteed to get a soul no matter what. The only reason it doesn't happen in the A route is because Ailyth freaks out over Wyl's acceptance of his fate without achieving any vengeance.]]

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