Line #85 VideoGame/WhiteKnightChronicles


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/white_knight_chronicles.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:O Wizel, white warrior, wielder of the ancient sword, grant me your power. Verto!]]
3	Take your standard EasternRPG styled adventure, and slap a [[Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne Guymelef]] in there as the most badass LimitBreak ever.
4
5	''White Knight Chronicles'' is the first game for the Platform/PlayStation3 by developer Creator/Level5, released in Japan on Christmas Day 2008, and in 2010 internationally. You are... well, you -- the game features an insanely robust character creator, which was actually used to create every NPC in the game. However, the main character is Leonard, a seventeen-year-old boy of no real importance until, in an effort to save the princess of Balandor, he acquires the Incorruptus "White Knight", a seven-meter tall suit of white and blue armor. What follows is your standard RPG fare, involving princesses, evil conspiracies... and HumongousMecha.
6
7	While the game gathered mixed reviews at launch, it has an impressive cult following due to its long development time and interesting game play, as well as its distinctive WesternRPG elements, including (but not limited to) free-roam gameplay, loads of sidequests, and a customizable avatar.
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9	A sequel was released in 2011, which includes the [[UpdatedRerelease entire first game enhanced]] with all the new features added in the sequel. Sadly, the online servers are now closed, but the game is good value for your money if you can find it.
10
11	See also ''[[https://ragnarok52804.deviantart.com/gallery/38151420#/d5an00x White Knight Chronicles: Ancient Heart and Foreign Soul]]'', a fan comic that serves as a more detailed telling of the story, and also gives the Avatar character a much larger role. There's also a Screenshot LetsPlay of the game [[https://lparchive.org/White-Knight-Chronicles-I-II/ right here]] that explores everything the game has to offer, and features some fun fan-made narrative through its Avatar character named Orren, as well as the Avatar Sidequests that [[NoExportForYou never made it to the USA]].
12
13	----
14	!!This game provides examples of:
15	* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Item Binding. To get the best items and Incorruptus parts, you've got to do binding. But to bind the best equipment, you need the '''''exactly''''' right [[OrganDrops bits and pieces of monsters]] or flora (most of which have [[RandomlyDrops random drop rates]] approaching the .000% range), or else you're screwed. So go buy a straw hat and a pitch fork, because you're going [[ItemFarming farming]] for a couple of days.
16	* AdvertisedExtra: You. [[TrailersAlwaysLie Despite the trailers]] and the fact that you, not Leonard, are the one mentioned on the back of the (sealed, so people can't see the intro in the manual) game box, be fully prepared to have your avatar stand in the background of scenes, nodding dumbly, with hardly anyone even addressing dialogue directly to him or her -- if your avatar is even in the scene at all.
17	** The Avatar does turn out to be the REAL main character in the second game.....if you're Japanese, otherwise you miss out on the last third of the story and the main villain of the whole series (which is on disc and 50% translated, [[NoExportForYou but will never be released in the west)]].
18	* AirJousting: Black Knight vs Ancient Dragon in the first game, Dragon Knight vs Netherwyrm and White Knight vs Black Knight in the second.
19	* AnAdventurerIsYou: In regards to the weapon and magic disciplines
20	** Sword -- Jack of All Trades normally, can become a Scrapper-type DPS utilizing the Phantom Blade skill.
21	** Longsword -- Blademaster DPS
22	** Axe -- Combination Meatshield Tank and Blademaster DPS, focusing more on the latter than the former.
23	** Spear -- Meatshield Tank
24	** Bow -- Combination Ranged DPS and Mezzer, with a minor in Power Regenerator
25	** Staff -- Pretty much useless on its own. Becomes a Nuker Ranged DPS combined with Elemental Magic or a Healer combined with Divine Magic
26	* AndTheAdventureContinues: The second game ends on one of these, setting up both the Avatar storyline ([[NoExportForYou which doesn't make it state-side]]) and [[spoiler:Emperor Madoras's survival of the FinalBattle]].
27	* AnimeHair: Leonard has spiky hair for some reason.
28	%%* {{Anticlimax}}: Both games sputter across the finish line when they finally get to their endings. It's particularly egregious in the second game, which feels like the ending of Act Two of a three-act story. Of course, it wasn't intended to be the ending--the West didn't get the full game. %%explain what makes it the trope, not just how much it is
29	* ApatheticCitizens: For the most part, you'd never know there was anything wrong with the world just by visiting the towns.
30	** Balandor's an interesting case. It's about as bright and cheery as it ever was ''the next day after'' the castle is raided, their king is murdered, and their princess is kidnapped. Stop to talk to a few [=NPCs=], however, and you'll see just how freaked out everyone is. The only visible change, however, are that a few kids that were outside the day before are nowhere to be seen, and the Noble Quarter is closed off because of off-camera damage.
31	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: This little exchange while on Redhorn Island near the climax of ''White Knight Chronicles 2''
32	-->'''[[spoiler:Kara:]]''' He'll pay for manipulating me!\
33	'''Yulie:''' And for betraying Balandor!\
34	'''Caesar:''' And for killing my puppy! Okay, I made that one up.
35	* AttackAnimal: The Netherwyrm was made 10,000 years ago as a weapon that can fight forever without being killed or defeated. 10,000 years later it is still around, spreading its poison.
36	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Brimflamme. It's huge enough to even dwarf the Knights.
37	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Kara died at the ruins in the Dogma Rift but]] was revived by Father Yggdra because [[spoiler:she]] still has a role to play.
38	* BadassCape: The White Knight, the Sun King, and Eldore sport these. The player can also buy or bind some pretty badass capes as accessories.
39	* BadassNormal: Cyrus. Whenever he is not drinking or wallowing in self-pity he is seen in the midst of battle, tearing through hordes of enemy soldiers ''without'' magic or a Knight.
40	* BeamOWar: Kara's magic vs Ledom's magic [[spoiler: clashing in blow and red light in the past sequence]].
41	* BeamSpam: The Farian navy literally rains energy spears when they start shelling the Yshrenian forces.
42	* BecomingTheMask: This is the majority of [[spoiler:Kara's]] character arc, to the point where it happens twice. Once before the game starts when [[spoiler:she]] falls into the identity of [[spoiler:General Dragias, and the Black Knight]], and again when [[spoiler:she]] becomes [[spoiler:the Kara the party knows for much of the game]]. In the second game, it presumably happened a third time [[spoiler:as Kara's been resurrected and playing protector for Miu, as a Farian general named Scardigne]].
43	* BerserkButton: Dragons don't like seeing their kin get attacked or killed.
44	* {{BFG}}: The Act of God is a mountain-sized cannon installation.
45	* BigBadWannabe: [[spoiler:Grazel spends the majority of both games as the leader of the bad guys and does much posturing but the whole time he was a pawn of Ledom; lied to and deceived. He is put in his place once the true emperor of Yshrenia makes his appearance.]]
46	* BigCreepyCrawlies: The Greavers are giant insects.
47	* BigDamnHeroes: Leonard and the gang arrive via air-shop to save Miu and Scardigne at the beginning of the second game.
48	* BlackEyesOfEvil: Emperor Madoras combines this with gold eyes. He has golden irises and black sclerae.
49	* BlackMarket: An underground auction house is located in downtown Greede. It's more of an auction than a market though and you need a pass to enter.
50	* BloodKnight: Shapur greatly enjoys combat [[spoiler: especially after stealing the Black Knight.]]
51	* BonusDungeon: Vellgander. [[spoiler:Madoras comes back to life after the plot of the second game concludes just to drag it out of the water and challenge you to clear it. It's NintendoHard]].
52	* BonusFeatureFailure: The second game made a pretty big deal out of the fact that one of its features was that [[AnAdventurerIsYou your avatar character]] would gain the ability to transform into a ([[DesignItYourselfEquipment fully customizable]]!) Knight like the other main characters could. But when do you unlock the Arc Knight? Right before heading off for the final dungeon. Oh, and you need to complete an easily-missable sidequest to unlock it. And that whole "fully customizable" part? You need to spend ''months'' LevelGrinding your Guild Rank and ItemFarming [[DoubleUnlock the right amounts of the right arbitrary items in order to make and equip the parts that change the Knight's appearance]]. It got so ridiculous that Creator/Level5 went and released DLC that replicated all the Knight parts and billed them as being "cheaper" to manufacture than their in-game counterparts... [[YankTheDogsChain but not by much]].
53	* BookEnds: The first game starts ([[ProlongedPrologue more or less]]) with Leonard picking up the White Knight's Ark from its pedestal to save Cisna. The second game ends with Leonard placing the White Knight's Ark back on its pedestal after being saved ''by'' Cisna.
54	%%%% Saying "arguably" and then not providing context? That's not good.
55	%%%* BonusFeatureFailure:
56	* BossSubtitles: Each boss appears with its name to set the atmosphere, and maybe a title.
57	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Let's just say Fambroise doesn't give the impression of [[GeniusDitz someone who is able to piece her own Knight together]]. She acts far too silly.
58	* ByThePowerOfGrayskull: To activate the Knight, a pactmaker has to recite a short incantation. Each Knight has a unique incantation but all of them follow this general structure "O name, descriptive title, X of the ancient Y, grant me your power. Verto!".
59	* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Hello? Oh, one moment please. Hey, Leonard, Yulie, and Princess Cisna? There's an evil midget and a giant WalkingTank strolling through the gate of your hometown. They're asking for you.
60	* CastFromHitPoints: Inverted with the Knights, whose simplest of physical attacks eat up mana instead. At the same time, partially supported, in that if a Knight runs out of MP, they revert back to human form.
61	* CastFromLifespan: This is the only way actual TimeTravel is possible in the ''White Knight Chronicles'' universe. Eldore sacrifices his youth [[spoiler:as does Ledom]] to travel forward in time 10,000 years to be a guide for the re-awakened Pactmakers and Cisna.
62	* CatGirl: Fambroise is presumably of Farian heritage because she has cat ears.
63	* TheCavalry: In spades in the second game. Both Faria and Greede come to Balandor's aid in the FinalBattle against Yshrenia. First the Farian navy shows up to help break through to Redhorn Isle, and then the frickin' ''Demithor'' appears out of nowhere to help out too. [[FridgeHorror Somehow it managed to shake Greede off its back before lumbering into battle]]...
64	* ChainmailBikini: Not all armors but some of them take on a more {{Stripperiffic}} form when worn by women, such as the swordmage set worn by a man consists of black and purple armor worn over a dark brown full-body suit. The same set worn by a woman gets rid of the full-body suit, revealing the leg armor to be nothing more than a metal thong with kneesock-like greaves. The chest armor is omitted to make way for a big NavelDeepNeckline that allows a generous view of the female character's bust. All in all, it gives the impression of the character being [[VaporWear completely naked under the armor]].
65	* CharacterCustomization: Not just your DigitalAvatar, but your whole party up to a point. For example, you can choose to make Leonard a healer, but he'll have a much easier time with a sword or axe.
66	%% * ChekhovsGun: After [[spoiler:routing the entire Yshrenian encampment in Albana]], Don Phibianacci offers the party a small blue bauble that remains of his riches [[spoiler:after the Yshrenian Army robbed him of it all during their invasion of Albana]] called Phibianacci's Gift. And then Framboise all but steals it from you the first time you meet her. [[spoiler:It later turns out to be a vital component for the Avatar's Arc Knight]].
67	* TheChessmaster: Ledom [[spoiler:manages to play two sides of a war against each other in order to fulfill his own goals. It works. Flawlessly.]]
68	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Two of them:
69	** An UnluckyChildhoodFriend one for [[spoiler:Yulie who reluctantly accepts Leonard devoting himself to Cisna]].
70	** And a VictoriousChildhoodFriend one for [[spoiler:Caesar and Kara. The fact that they're childhood friends is part of the reveal and they don't remember it much so its downplayed]].
71	* TheChosenOne: The Chosen ''Five'', specifically. [[spoiler: Apparently, every Knight already selected their pactmaker in the past. However, they still have to prove themselves worthy of being choosen.
72	* CoolAirship: The Magi's Monoships, and the party's ''Shaghna''.
73	%%* CompetitiveBalance: Depending on what discipline(s) you decide to master, you can end up...
74	* ConvectionSchmonvection: Redhorn Isle, being the local {{Mordor}}, has this.
75	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: The five Pactmakers. [[spoiler:Being stolen from your parents, shoved inside giant suits of armor, and then shot forward in time 10,000 years will do that to you, though]].
76	* CutsceneIncompetence: Okay, granted there wouldn't be much of a plot if the heroes did everything in their power to save the princess during them. But would it kill them to at least try? It's funny and silly at the same time. Especially when they half-assedly "rescue" her, only to have the bad guys re-capture her two seconds later. And that's ''barely scratching the surface'' in terms of what they ''don't'' do to get out of jams.
77	* CutShort: The ending to the second game smacks of this.
78	* DancesAndBalls: Gets [[BallroomBlitz crashed]] by the Magi and Pyredaemos.
79	* DarkMagicalGirl: [[spoiler:Kara]].
80	* DeadpanSnarker: Caesar, Kara.
81	* DemonicPossession:
82	** How the Gigantes are created.
83	** [[spoiler:Emperor Madoras also hijacks Leonard's body.]]
84	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Paraphrased by [[spoiler:Madoras]] in the post-game of ''White Knight Chronicles II''.
85	** Also, if you die in battle, you can retry from the start of the area at the expense of EXP.
86	* DesignItYourselfEquipment: The Arc Knight. It's almost on par with ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' in terms of customization potential ([[DoubleUnlock once you unlock everything, that is]]).
87	* DevilInPlainSight: [[spoiler:Kara]] gets away with this for the majority of the first game. [[spoiler:She]] keeps getting increasingly blatant with [[spoiler:her]] actions until it's painfully obvious that [[spoiler:she's the Black Knight]], yet the party is still [[IdiotBall shocked when they learn the truth]].
88	* DigitalAvatar
89	* DrowningMySorrows: Cyrus.
90	* DualWielding: The Sun King, Cyrus and every playable character who learns the Twin Blades skill.
91	* DudeWheresMyRespect: The Avatar
92	* TheDulcineaEffect: Leonard for Cisna like you wouldn't believe. Somewhat alleviated if you consider they met extremely briefly years before.
93	* EldritchAbomination: The Avatar must fight a few of these as part of the final Avatar Storyline quest.
94	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Fire beats Ice, and for some reason Ice also beats Fire. Likewise, Wind beats Earth, but Earth beats Wind.
95	* EleventhHourSuperPower: The Avatar gets his or her own Knight at the very end of the second game, just in time to go into the final dungeon.
96	** [[spoiler:While it's not overtly stated, the Arc Knight is the only Knight not tied to Emperor Madoras, and is thus the only Knight that is usable against the FinalBoss when all the Yshrenian Knights are destroyed. Plot-wise, this allows for you to ''finally'' be the hero of the game ... [[DudeWheresMyRespect and still get zero credit for it]].]]
97	** [[spoiler:One of the theories behind the missing end-game content is because some gamers might have decided to wait till after they beat the game to try and get their Knight, Level 5 decided not to include the Arc Knight in the story at all.]]
98	* EmpathicWeapon: The Moon Maiden is shown to have a mind of her own and within the White Knight resides a Phantom [[spoiler:that may or may not be Emperor Madoras]].
99	* EnergyBow: The Moon Maiden's bow. The laser arrows it fires are quite small but the effects are massive. One shot is enough to down one of Yshrenia's aircraft carrier sized airships.
100	* EnigmaticMinion: Shapur, for much of the first game. [[spoiler:The twist is, he's not conniving, just crazy]].
101	* EscortMission: Most of the guests that join your party at random points aren't allowed to die. If they do, it's considered a GameOver.
102	* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: The "Sinca Five": [[spoiler:Leonard, Yulie, Caesar, Kara, and Setti]], aka the Pactmakers.
103	* EvilChancellor: [[spoiler:Sarvain is to both sides! Not only did he manipulate and murder King Valtos; he also advised and helped [[BigBad Grazell]] set up the the whole plot to revive the SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan Emperor Madoras, only to toss him aside.]]
104	* EvilCostumeSwitch:[[spoiler:The White Knight takes on a more demonic form after Madoras took control of Leonard's body.]]
105	* EyepatchOfPower: Shapur sports one of these for an unknown reason. A battle wound, maybe?
106	* FailureHero: Leonard fails time and again to rescue Cisna, though he achieves other heroic deeds in the meantime and succeeds at the end of the first game.
107	* FailureKnight: Cyrus and Eldore. They handle their failures quite differently, though. Eldore [[spoiler:leaps across time to forcibly redeem himself]], while Cyrus [[spoiler:becomes a wandering drunkard for a game-and-a-half]].
108	* FetchQuest: Both games involve searching for items to complete an objective. These include Phibianacci's errands, the search for the Goddess statue, and collectiing the Insignias. There are also errand sidequests in general.
109	* FlamingSword: The Sun King wields two of these because "Sun king".
110	* FlyingSeafoodSpecial: The fish-type mooks introduced in the sequel can fly, which means they can join air battles during war sequences.
111	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early in the second game, Miu advises against overusing the Knight's power because she [[spoiler:senses something sinister beneath its metal surface]] and it only gets more obvious from there. It takes every chance it gets to remind you that something is very wrong with the White Knight.
112	* ForgotAboutHisPowers: This is at play a lot in the first game, particularly regarding the party's hapless attempts to rescue Cisna. Leonard (and Ceasar) often flat-out do not transform into their Knight forms until ''after'' the Magi throw a similarly sized RentAZilla out to keep them at bay.
113	* ForScience: Framboise's Modus Operandi is to gleefully pursue scientific discovery, although she is also excited by the feather in her cap ("This will make my career!").
114	* FragileSpeedster: Bow-wielders are typically the swiftest characters to act, and are not particularly tough. However, they make up for it with many useful support skills.
115	* GadgeteerGenius: Framboise is a scientist CatGirl who builds the Avatar's Knight.
116	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: While the party is in past Greede during the second game, you can directly access the Bunker Lode Caverns via the Greede rail system. Because the Netherwyrm's plague is the kind of crisis that would warrant Drisdall ordering the Demithor into the "Up" position during the mining off-season in order to get to the Bunker Lode Ruins more quickly.
117	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Despite Eldore setting himself to heal Cisna after [[spoiler:Grazel stabs her (but missing her heart) in response to her suppressing his power, then being forced to leave while Kara takes over as the next boss]], if he's in the battle party, he's gonna stay there until the boss fights are over.
118	%%%* GiantEqualsInvincible: The Demithor and Greaver.
119	* GiantSpider: Though the game has some very liberal views on what qualifies as a spider.
120	* [[GiantMook Giant Mooks]]: In every area there will be giant enemies that pose a greater challenge (and offer greater rewards) then the smaller ones. They are clearly intended for Knight combat.
121	* GlassCannon: A sword-wielder who makes frequent use of the DualWield skill Phantom Blade forsakes the extra defense given by the small shields typically paired with swords in order to effectively double their damage output.
122	* GlobalAirship: Zig-zagged like crazy. Once an area has been cleared, the party whiz back and forth from one end of the map to the other in the first game, ''on foot''. The Shagna, the supposed GlobalAirship is acquired by the party at the end of the first game during the ending cutscene, and is only used in the second game as transportation at the beginning and end of the game.
123	* GoodIsDumb: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by the villains, and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the heroes. The party, by its own admission, is notable for:
124	** 1) [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Being entirely too trusting]] of otherwise untrustworthy characters.
125	** 2) Being alarmingly short-sighted.
126	** 3) Being incapable of properly rescuing people.
127	** 4) Walking (at times knowingly) into [[SchmuckBait incredibly obvious traps]].
128	*** In fact, when they finally do do something smart, they have to hide it from the player because it would otherwise strain credibility.
129	%% * TheGoodKingdom: Balandor
130	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: The Balandor knights, [[https://lparchive.org/White-Knight-Chronicles-I-II/Update%2005/ As succintly stated here]].
131	* GunshipRescue[=/=]SurpriseVehicle: Scardigne and Miu are saved by Leonard's party this way courtesy of their ''Shaghna'' acquired from the first game rising from the cliffside behind them, the winds generated stopping the bad guys in their tracks before the party is then dropped off to fight the Red Farians.
132	* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic:
133	** Not a single one of the main characters wears a helmet, and the only equipment available for your character's head are glasses. Then again, the only villain with a helmet is Draigas, and that's for [[[spoiler: concealing the identity of the one wearing the armor.]]
134	** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the second game had a special armor set for those who purchased the first run in Japan; the armor looked like the White Knight -- helmet and all.
135	* HenshinHero: The knight ark's empowered their pactmakers to transform into HumongousMecha by use of a transformation trinket an a special phrase.
136	* HeroicMime: The Avatar; he or she will grunt, groan, scream out the names of his companions if they're near death, and say "Verto!" when transforming, but is otherwise mute.
137	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:The Demithor turns itself to stone in order to halt the advance of Garmatha and prevent it from crushing balandor.]]
138	* HeroOfAnotherStory: The Avatar does a lot of good in multiplayer mode, and thus outside the main storyline.
139	* HeroesPreferSwords: Averted. You have many different weapon-type skill sets to choose from for each character (although some characters can't use some specific weapon types). Your Avatar can use every type.
140	* HiddenHeartOfGold: Count Drisdal pulls this on ''his own son'' Caesar in a ThanatosGambit to try and get him to act responsibly. He kicks Caesar out of his house in a fit of rage after learning he'd fashioned a (pretty damn good) replica of a statue that was responsible for him meeting his wife, more-or-less saying IHaveNoSon. Then he goes and dies without ever reconciling with Caesar. Then Caesar finds a letter from him telling him he knew the statue was a fake all along, and he actually treasured it more than the original because it was Caesar's own handiwork, and he threw a shitfit because Caesar lied to him.
141	* TheHighQueen: Cisna, in everything but title. Seriously, she's never technically crowned, even a year after her ascension to the throne, but is effectively in charge and beloved by her people for her benevolence and (implicitly) her skilled administration.
142	* HornedHumanoid: The Farians, whose men have deer-like antlers and women ram-like horns.
143	* HumanSacrifice: [[spoiler:Kara's sister]] was sacrificed in order to fuse three Gigantes into one creature.
144	* IdiotBall: Leonard and the rest of the heroes spend most of their time in the first game asking the villains to release the princess, and then make no move to stop them when they make good their escape. This facilitates a game of tag to each area with Knight relics.
145	* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: The georama enables the player to purchase and design an entire town, but only until the server was shutdown.
146	* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: Leonard and co sneak into the palace on a whim. The guards just left the front doors open when they were delivering wine to Princess Cisna's ball. [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy (No, seriously. That's how it happens.)]] Then he decides to rescue the princess from an assassin as the palace is under attack. Then he decides to take control of the [[HumongousMecha incredibly powerful White Knight]] in order to defend her and his home town. Then, because he is the only one who can use the knight, he is sent on the quest of the first game.
147	* ItemCrafting: It's called binding and an absolute necessity if you want to tackle quests.
148	* IWasQuiteALooker: ''Origins'' reveals that Eldore was pretty damn handsome back in the day.
149	* JackOfAllStats: The sword discipline results in this, as it does not heavily favor any particular style of combat aside from having slightly more slashing attacks in its arsenal than piercing and smashing.
150	* JigglePhysics: The Succubi's breasts flap around all over the place. Also, characters (such as a buxom Avatar) in certain pieces of armor will also jiggle.
151	* JumpedAtTheCall: Leonard immediately accepts the rescue mission; he understands his responsibility as a pactmaker and is smitten with the princess anyway.
152	* JustInTime: A staple of the first game's plot. Even though the Magi have an airship, and heroes are on foot, and you're in a race against them to get to the next PlotCoupon point on the map, and heroes ''always'' arrive right as shit's about to go down, even if you've spent nine hours LevelGrinding. It seems like a huge coincidence, until Belcitane straight up [[LampshadeHanging tells you]] he sits around and waits for you to finally show up because he needs you there because the aforementioned shit going down is all a part of ThePlan.
153	* KamehameHadoken: Cisna, of all people, whips a magic beam of these, the posture and everything to [[spoiler:fight and temporarily Madoras]].
154	* KnightInShiningArmor: Between Leonard's selfless heroism, devotion to ''Princess'' Cisna and the White Knight armor, he fits figuratively and literally.
155	* KnightInSourArmor: Eldore and Kara are heroic and all but they're also grumpy and sarcastic, respectively. [[spoiler:In Kara's case, it's about as literal as Leonard's, one example up]].
156	%%%* LampshadeHanging:
157	* LeeroyJenkins: Osmund. His men would prefer it if his "plans" would include more sneaking and flanking and less "full-speed ahead" or "death before dishonour". There's also the fact that when he had his men attack and capture the party and blow them up, of which included Ceasar, ''the man in charge of Greede [[spoiler:after his father died]]'', which Baccea ''has a trade agreement with''. Thankfully, Rocco was able to smooth things over.
158	* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler:General Dragias]], whose current incarnation is [[spoiler:Kara]].
159	* LightIsNotGood: The Sun King is used by the villain, who has a god-complex.
160	* LikeASonToMe: The relationship between King Valtos and Cyrus is one of a foster parent because the king took a shine to him when he was a boy. [[spoiler: He even gives the guy an heirloom as he dies.]]
161	* LoadBearingBoss: [[spoiler:The Black Usurper]] and [[spoiler:Emperor Madoras]] both appear to hold up the first and second game's final dungeons, respectively.
162	* LostTechnology: See all that stuff the Magi are using like the airships, tanks, attack drones, the flying fortress or the giant cannon? All of that is already 10,000 years old.
163	* LoyalPhlebotinum: A Knight's Ark can only be used by its pactmaker and will violently reject anyone else upon contact. The only way to claim its power is to [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt kill the current pactmaker and make a pact with the Incorruptus yourself]].
164	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The White Knight gains a shield in the second set of ruins, which boosts its status.
165	* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Ledom aka Sarvain manipulated Grazel to seek the Knights and declare war on the world by convincing him that he was Magoras' reincarnation]].
166	* MagicKnight: Use of a shortsword deals less raw damage than a normal sword, but boosts magic stats.
167	* TheMedic: [[WhiteMagic Divine Magic]]. Heals, buffs and status relief.
168	* MaybeEverAfter: Leonard and Cisna get a lot of ship tease but don't officially start a relationship by the end of the second game.
169	* MerchantCity: Greede is driven by commerce and populated by merchants. It's a rather cut-throat place.
170	* {{Mordor}}: Redhorn Isle is the villain's stronghold. It is an island of sharp and gagged grey stone and home to a weaponized volcano
171	* MyGreatestFailure: His failure to prevent the king's death and Cisna's abduction hits Cyrus hard.
172	* NewGamePlus: The first game allows you to start a new game with all the items and gear (except storyline items) you have acquired and your level reset to 35. The world also features new chests which are filled with Guild Rank 7/8 weapons and gear that allow a smooth start into online questing. The second game let's you keep items, gear and levels but doesn't offer new chests like the first did.
173	* NighInvulnerability:
174	** The Knights are indestructible, capable of routing entire battlefields alone. The Sun King takes it a step further as it is even impervious to the attacks from its fellow Knights. [[spoiler:[[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Until you get Falcyos]]]].
175	** The Netherwyrm as well. The "deathless" part of its [[BossSubtitles boss subtitle]] wasn't just for show.
176	* NintendoHard: While the game's main storyline range from easy to moderately difficult, the high Guild Rank quests will slaughter you if you aren't careful. [[BonusDungeon Vellgander]] takes it up to eleven.
177	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: The Magi were largely derided as a backwards-looking kooky cult ... before they [[NotSoHarmlessVillain launched a sneak attack on Balandor that decapitated its leadership]].
178	* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Madoras survived his conflict with Mureas in the past ''and'' Cisna's final attack at the end of the second game. It takes the Avatar to face him a third time]].
179	%%%* NowItsMyTurn: Said word for word by Ceasar
180	* ObviouslyEvil: Belcitane, Shapur, Sarvain are also clearly bad news. Grazel also abandons any pretense of, ah, well, ''not'' being evil in the second game when he shows up in black spiky EvilOverlord armor. Caesar even jokes about them not bothering for "moral grey" in the second game.
181	* OminousFloatingCastle: The flying fortress Garmatha is a mix between this and FloatingContinent because it is very scary and very ''big''.
182	* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. The sequel includes an UpdatedRerelease of the entire first game (with the second's graphics and gameplay), making it ''two'' games for the price of ''one''. That said, the second game reuses every location from the first game with only six new visitable locations, so the EnhancedRemake of ''White Knight Chronicles I'' came about by default.
183	* OneManArmy: Every pactmaker is easily worth an army on their own as demonstrated by Shapur who conquered Albana thanks to the power of the Black Knight.
184	* OneWingedAngel: Every named character and mook who has a summoning card can and will do this. Eldore notes that this is typically fatal because the card and its creature eats the user's soul.
185	* OrcusOnHisThrone: Grazel spends the majority of the second game sitting on his enormous [[CoolChair Cool Throne]] and gloating over the puny efforts of his adversaries. He only gets off it once to assault Balandor and then retreats to it again.
186	* PerpetualMolt: The Black Knight is constantly shedding feathers whenever it busts out its wings.
187	* PimpedOutDress: As a princess, Cisna has a [[PrincessesPreferPink rose colored dress]] with white gauze trimmings As queen, she has a dress that is practically a BattleBallgown.
188	* PoisonousPerson: The Netherwyrm constantly emanates a purple mist that is the cause of a deadly sickness called Pyrexia.
189	* PrettyBoy: At one point in Albana, during the first game, you're required to play as Leonard and walk around looking for information. One of the [=NPCs=] the player speaks to will hit on him. It's also lampshaded by Kara.
190	--> '''Kara''': You're all looks and no brains.
191	* ProlongedPrologue: Not to the extent of, say, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', but it still takes on average about two hours to get from the start of the game to the title screen.
192	* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: To the point where Eldore knew when, where, and how the whole damn plot was going to start because of an incredibly explicit prophecy.
193	* PoweredByAForsakenChild:[[spoiler:The Ancients used newborn infants as the first Pactmakers]]
194	* TheQuietOne:
195	** Princess Cisna is initially mute. She begins the first game as a ShrinkingViolet who hasn't said a word in close to a decade. She ends the second game as a full-blown LadyOfWar, who has no quams about giving [[RousingSpeech impassioned speeches]], ordering soldiers to their deaths by the boat-load, and [[ShutUpHannibal telling off the ancient]] HumanoidAbomination BigBad.
196	** The Avatar, however, plays this trope straight. Not for shyness, just apparently taciturn by nature.
197	* RagsToRiches: Cyrus started out as a homeless orphan and worked his way up to captain of the castleguard. [[spoiler:End credits seem to suggest that he has taken Sarvain's position.]]
198	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: All of the original five pactmakers, and [[spoiler:Sarvain/Ledom]] were put into stasis ten thousand years ago.
199	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Kara, once she's cleansed of the Black Knight's corruption, dies from a backstab. She's back in the second game as Scardigne]].
200	* RedemptionDemotion: [[spoiler:Kara is less powerful as a full hero. Though she comes back in the second game, she spends much of her time as Scardinge, so you can't change her equipment aside from her weapon, and she loses her ability to transform into the Black Knight. [[UnusableEnemyEquipment Not that you could use it in the first place]]]].
201	* {{Reincarnation}}: Princess Cisna is the reincarnation of [[spoiler:Queen Mureas of Athwan]].
202	* ReluctantWarrior: The Moon Maiden refused to take further part in battle and sealed herself inside Father Yggdra. She changes her mind for [[spoiler:Yulie]].
203	* RetCon: Happens ''in-game''. Initially it appears that [[spoiler:Kara]] killed King Valtos in the guise of General Dragias, making [[spoiler:her]] look like a sociopath. It's later revealed that while [[spoiler:Kara]] ''is'' General Dragias, [[spoiler:she]] wasn't the Dragias that killed Valtos. Who was really in the armour at the time isn't revealed until the second game. [[spoiler:And, surprise! It was EvilChancellor Sarvain, the guy everyone's always hated anyway]].
204	* RetiredBadass: The legendary mercenary "Iron Fist" retired from his job and now works as a wine merchant in Balandor.
205	* TheRival: The Black Knight to the White Knight.
206	* RocketPunch: The strongest attack of the [[GiantMook Golems]] is launching their fists.
207	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Royals are a diligent bunch in this game. Handling administrative affairs, fighting [[EvilArmy evil armies]] and disease spreading {{AttackAnimal}}s is all in a day's work for them.
208	* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler:The Black Knight is none other than Kara. She does it again in the sequel as General Scardinge.]]
209	* SaveThePrincess: The plot of the first game is rescuing Princess Cisna, who has been abducted by the Magi.
210	* SayMyName:
211	** Leonard -- Princess!
212	** Princess -- Leonard!
213	** Leonard -- Cisna!
214	** Characters will always scream out another character's name if they reach HP Critical.
215	* SelfDisposingVillain: [[spoiler:Shapur is outraged at Madoras taking the Black Knight's power away and so he lunges at Madoras' evil looking sphere of energy. This vaporizes him]].
216	* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Madoras' soul is locked in the five Knights, but mostly inside the White Knight. He can only be released if they are all brought together. This happens at the end of the second game]].
217	* SequelHook: Both games end on one:
218	** The first game ends with Grazel's declaration of the New Yshrenian Empire, and Cyrus and his knights drunkenly stumbling towards the Farian boarder.
219	** The second game has two: the setup for the Avatar Story, and [[spoiler:Madoras turning up alive and well]].
220	* ShiftingSandLand: Lagnish Desert is a perfect example, as an exploration area of sand, cliffs and cacti, which is encountered after the beginner zone of the green hills.
221	* SchizoTech: The world as a whole is set in medieval european fantasy but the city of Greede seems to be in the middle of the industrial revolution, Yshrenia's army is flying around in giant airships while deploying tanks and attack drones on the ground and the farians outfitted their ships with beam weaponry.
222	* ShouldersOfDoom: Every Knight and some heavy armors have wide and pointed pauldrons.
223	%%%* SmugSnake: Shapur.
224	* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear:
225	** The first game does this, [[spoiler:as Kara and Eldore are the only two playable characters who never get (usable) Incorrupti]].
226	** Thanks to a mounting series of plot contrivances, there's a good ten-hour stretch of the second game that leaves you without any character who is able to transform into an Incorruptus. Cue several vicious boss fights.
227	* SoProudOfYou: King Valtos assures Cyrus that he has become a fine knight and soldier with his last breath.
228	* SpaceWhale: [[spoiler:Ideya]], the FinalBoss of the Avatar Story DLC.
229	* SpikesOfVillainy: Grazel is seen rocking these in the second game, which make him look more warrior-like than his robes in the last game. General Dregias has them too, to a lesser extent in the first game.
230	* SplitPersonality: Setti [[spoiler:created Grazel as a reaction to Medius trying to kill him]].
231	* SticksToTheBack: This is played straight with longswords, two-handed axes and spears. When wearing certain form-fitting pieces of armor, said weapons even levitate visibly away from the character's body a slight bit.
232	* StoneWall: The spear discipline. It's designed to be used in tandem with large shields and the skillset is packed with status buffs, things designed to draw aggro away from other party members, and very little in terms of major damage.
233	* SquishyWizard: The staff discipline. It's the only way to really make the most of both types of magic offered, but you're not going to be doing much else.
234	* SuperPowerMeltdown: The Black Knight goes out of control creating [[spoiler:the Black Usurper]] when [[spoiler:Shapur murders Kara and steals its Ark from her]]. [[spoiler:He manages to get it under control after he's defeated, but his mental health [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity takes a huge hit from that point on]]]].
235	* SwordBeam: Three attacks in each of the axe, short sword and long sword skill trees are blade beams. White Knight, Black Knight and Sun King can do this as well.
236	* SwordOfPlotAdvancement:
237	** Talion,[[spoiler:the only sword that can properly damage the Knights' armor]]
238	** The sequel gives us the Sword of Falcyos, [[spoiler:the only sword able to damage the Sun King, who is immune to all other Knight weapons.]]
239	* TakeYourTime: This is at play through both games, but it becomes inescapable at the end of the second game when you are given the opportunity to walk away from the FinalBattle for the fate of the world while it's raging around you to go do sidequests and run errands for the peasantry.
240	* {{Telepathy}}: With the Dragon Knight's Knight Arc Caesar gained the Dragon Sight which lets him look into the hearts of people, revealing their true colors. It's not fullblown mindreading though and some people can block it.
241	* TempleOfDoom: [[spoiler:The Dogma Rift Palace is the final dungeon of the first game and the resting place of the Sun King armor]]
242	* TinTyrant: General Dragias is a leader among the bad guys and is always wearing full body black armor in a menacing design [[spoiler: because that is his purpose.]]
243	* TimeSkip: Between Part I and Part II. Cisna says that a year has passed since Grazel reclaimed his ark and declared that he and his followers were the second coming of the Yshrenian Empire.
244	* TookALevelInBadass: Yulie, Cisna, and Miu in the sequel. They become [[spoiler:a Knight]], [[spoiler:a Queen]], and [[spoiler:an Archduchess]] respectively.
245	* TimeTravel: The Retrospecticon allows Leonard and the gang to go into the past. [[spoiler:They find that they can't actually change history, but they can take objects with them back to the present.]]
246	* TransformationIsAFreeAction: Played with as you can still get hit while performing the incantation, up until when the user says "Verto!"
247	** One unique subversion of this is when [[spoiler:Kara transforms into the Black Knight to face off against the party]]. During this sequence, Leaonard takes advantage of this by [[spoiler:running to pick up the incapacitated Cisna to bring her to Eldore for healing]], then getting ready to fight as soon as [[spoiler:the Black Knight is done setting up]].
248	* TransformationSequence: Everyone who uses a Knight gets an animation where they take up the armor and become the knight.
249	* TransformationTrinket: Each Knight has one which acts as proof of the contract between Knight and pactmaker.
250	** a gauntlet and dagger for the White Knight
251	** a [[CoolSword black sword and scabbard]] for the Black Knight
252	** a vermillion belt for the Dragon Knight
253	** a [[MaskOfPower gold and silver mask]] for the Sun King
254	** a [[EnergyBow blue bow]] for the Moon Maiden
255	** a small metal sphere for the Arc Knight.
256	* TraitorShot: Sarvain is ''introduced'' with one of these, for gods sakes! So it's not surprising who he turns out to be, and who he killed. [[spoiler:Kara]] also gets a lot of these in the first game.
257	* TurnsRed: Every GiantMook except for the golems. Those turn yellow instead.
258	* TwentyBearAsses: Lampshaded by a Farian scholar who is baffled by human behaviour.
259	-->'''Fidel''':"Holy Walnuts! You did it! You went right out and brought me a bunch of random crap, even though I didn't promise you anything."
260	* TwoPartTrilogy: Inverted ala-''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}''. Though the second game wraps up the dangling plot threads from the first game, it still seems like it's the second act of a three-act story.
261	* TheUnChosenOne: The Avatar is the unacknowledged SixthRanger to the Knights quintet, because their knight is a modern creation.
262	* UndyingLoyalty: Ledom does everything for Emperor Madoras, [[spoiler: even if it means dying in a last stand. He happily accepts a mercy kill as his reward.]]
263	* UnexplainedRecovery
264	** [[spoiler:Kara says that Father Ygddra revived because "she had a role to play", and that's all.]]
265	** [[spoiler:Emperor Madoras, after he ''loses'' is shown to be NotQuiteDead, and says Cisna's magic is too "feeble" to truly kill him]].
266	* UnusableEnemyEquipment: [[spoiler:Despite Kara being in your party for the majority of both games, you never get the chance to control the Black Knight. You sure fight it a hell of a lot though]].
267	* TheUnreveal: A roundabout example: [[spoiler:It's never revealed to anyone but the audience that Sarvain killed Queen Floraine, not some Farian assassin, as was assumed]].
268	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: [[spoiler:At a point late in the game, Setti makes the other characters believe that Eldore, who they met early on, had been setting up their acquisition of the Knights as an attempt to unite them together and take the power for himself. This causes Eldore to teleport away. However, when they set up camp later that day, all the playable characters, including a returning Eldore, confront Setti, revealing that they knew what Setti was up to, as well as who he really is--[[BigBad Grazel]].]]
269	* UnusualEuphemism: "The don's got his fingers in every pie in town."
270	* VillainsActHeroesReact: The heroes don't have any motivations beyond "Save Cisna" in game one, and then "Stop Yshrenia" in game two. The villains motivation is slightly more active, but still consists of "TakeOverTheWorld", [[MemeticMutation of course]].
271	* VirtualPaperDoll: The most intricate character creation system ever... [[IncrediblyLamePun created]].
272	* YouMonster: Cisna proclaims that Dragias is one of these when she hears his plans and what he has done.
273	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Princess Cisna, who's kidnapped '''four''' times in the first game. Once she's truly rescued, however, she stays rescued in the sequel.
274	* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: If Guest characters fall in battle, it's an automatic Game Over, even if you have revival items/magic to bring them back.
275	* WeaponBasedCharacterization: The game has a surprisingly wide arsenal of equipable weapon types:
276	** [[HeroesPreferSwords Swords]], [[CarryABigStick Maces]], [[BladeEnthusiast Knives]], Spears, [[{{BFS}} Greatswords]], [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katanas]], Axes, Hammers, Bow and Arrows, and Staffs.
277	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
278	** Kara's sister [[spoiler:who wasn't actually her sister]] is largely forgotten about after the party moves on from Albana, as is the fact that [[spoiler:she wasn't really her sister]].
279	** This also happens to Brimflamme, who's last seen tearing away from the Yshrenian fortress on Redhorn Isle before the Garmatha lifts off.
280	* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: Everyone seems to have roughly North American accents; except for the Farians, who sound vaguely Spanish; Eldore, who's incredibly British; the Toads, who are shockingly Cockney; and the Papitaurs, who sound ... weird. There's also [[spoiler:the original wielder of the Black Knight in ''Origins'' who is essentially a less arrogant Grazel with shorter hair.]]
281	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Shapur's mental health took a turn for the worse after he stole the Black Knight. He develops BloodKnight tendencies and goes apeshit when [[spoiler:the knight was taken from him in the final battle]]. His addiction to the Knight's power [[spoiler:is what costs him his life in the end.]]
282	* WorldTree: Father Yggdra, the giant sentient tree in the midst of Faria.
283	%%%* {{Wutai}}: Faria.
284	* YouAreTooLate: Grazel had already acquired the Sun King when Leonard and the gang arrived on scene to stop him from doing so.
285	* YouCantFightFate: While the Retrospecticon allows you to go to the past and take some things (like the Insignias) with you, it doesn't have the power to change events of the past. Miu and the party learn this the hard way.
286	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:One of the first things Madoras does after his revival is kill Grazel. He makes it quick and painless because Grazel was a useful pawn]]. It's a bit of LaserGuidedKarma on his part, seeing as how he pulled the same move on Belcitane halfway through game one.
287	* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: The only way to acquire an Incorruptus that already has a pactmaker.

Context VideoGame / WhiteKnightChronicles