Line #85 VisualNovel/CauseOfDeath


1	[[quoteright:194:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/index6.jpg]]
2
3	''Cause of Death'' is a VisualNovel style serial published by Creator/ElectronicArts for the UsefulNotes/{{iOS\|Games}} operating system beginning in December 2010. Falling under the DetectiveDrama genre, it follows a Homicide police contingent in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, focusing on decorated (albeit with some qualms about following authority all the time, courtesy his daddy issues) detective Mal Fallon and [=FBI=] [[TheProfiler profiler]] Natara Williams. And yes, the profiler is very much justified, given the problems San Francisco is having on account of [[DiabolicalMastermind the Connoisseur]], a more-than-slightly-well-heeled funder of...[[SerialKiller Serial Killers]]. The focus isn't just on the killers and their impending comeuppance, though, but also on the personal relationships (platonic and otherwise) of the Homicide department.
4
5	''Cause of Death'' is downloaded with its first volume (or, to use the current terminology, "season") completely free. After release, each week sees a new episode accessible for free...for that week, anyway. In order to play through episodes that aired before that, purchase is required. Thankfully, there's a discount for older seasons, increasing with age. The initial season has six episodes, with a bonus scene after it all if the player does well enough throughout. After that, each season has eight episodes, and rather than one bonus scene for the whole lot, there's one bonus scene for each episode. Between episodes, a two-part "Side Story" is published that focuses on someone besides Mal and Natara. And finally, there are the occasional Short Story Collection premia that don't actually have choice sections; just click and watch the show... er... read the story.
6
7	Unfortunately, after a few months of failing to meet the weekly episode standard, the game began to release content biweekly in September 2013.
8
9	After months of server issues and episodes being pushed back from their scheduled release dates, the introduction to Volume 16, Chapter 4 (released on June 5th 2014) announced that ''Cause of Death'' was soon coming to an end. The team thanked the fans and promised the "final episodes" would be released soon. And in July 2014, the series released it's finale (the final chapter of it's 16th volume); in September 2014, the game was delisted from the App Store.
10
11	The only way for new users to get the game is through unofficial rereleases, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKgEp8dH9J4& this one]]. There's also [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXFROtmHmfIXcFs3N_7mKIUMXhwDQQugs this playlist]] documenting the game by uploading a categorized playthrough of it.
12
13	While the game has been delisted, its creators went on to create ''Choices: Stories You Play'', an Android/iOS game that offers a variety of separate stories. A number of stories allude to Cause of Death in some capacity, such as Estela of ''Endless Summer'' being from San Trobida, Adrian from ''Bloodbound'' mentioning Mansign Transglobal, and The Dunk Tank being a bar in ''Crimes of Passion''. The most similarities, though, exist in ''VisualNovel/MostWanted'', which was one of the first books released in the app. In addition to making a number of allusions to ''Cause of Death'' both series star a male detective, Dave Reyes, in his home city, who is complemented by a federal agent, Sam Massey, visiting it and are assisted by a team consisting of a data analyst, forensic technician and criminal profiler. Dave and Sam's first encounter also mirrors Mal and Natara's, but apart from this and being contemporary murder mysteries, that's pretty much where the similarities end.
14
15	-----
16	!!This serial provides examples of:
17
18	* AbortedArc:
19	** Season 11 randomly drops the storyline about a cannibal serial killer halfway through in order to focus on the more popular story arc of Mal and the gang battling the Salazar cartel in San Trobida.
20	** The resolution to the cannibal case is quickly glossed over by Blaise in the final scene of the season.
21	* ActionGirl: Blaise, Natara, Maria and Amy while she's in Brimstone, among other females such as Kara Yan.
22	* AllCrimesAreEqual: [[spoiler: Wendy Wilcox in ''Domestic Disturbance'']]. The reason for the first two murders? [[spoiler: Her husband was cheating on her.]] Reason for murder number three? [[spoiler: Barbara ''stole her snickerdoodles recipe''.]]
23	* AmicableExes:
24	** Despite that she cheated on him, when Mal and Sandra reunite to work on a case, they're on fairly good terms.
25	** Oscar and Natara. Oscar is willing to help Natara find Mal, even after it dawns to him that Natara [[spoiler:ended their engagement to be with Mal.]] Later in the series, Natara invites Oscar out to drinks with the SFPD and in the finale, Oscar congratulates them on [[spoiler:their move to D.C.]]
26	* AmoralAttorney: Catherine Krutzik blatantly and shamelessly displays this after 6-3. Why does she want to represent a patently guilty killer who literally [[spoiler: just took her hostage and held weapons to her head hours ago that day]]? For increased fees and media rights, of course!
27	* ArcVillain : The series lacks an all-throughout BigBad, though it uses [[spoiler:Genevieve Collins as the main villain for Volumes 1 thru 13]], whilst having [[spoiler:the Firstborn as it's main villain for it's remainder]]. Here are a list of [[BigBad main antagonists]] of the individual volumes. Note that almost all of these people fall under the SerialKiller trope. Also note that none these people (and any allies/associates they may have) are the ''sole'' antagonists of their volume.
28	** Volume 1: The Maskmaker, [[spoiler:[[DarkAndTroubledPast Eric Mills]]]].
29	** Volume 2: The Conossieur, [[spoiler:[[DiabolicalMastermind Genevieve Collins]]]].
30	** Volume 3: The Hunter[[spoiler:s, [[BigBadDuumvirate Ryan Orville and Klaus Paring]]]].
31	** Volume 4: [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory Zero, Herman Hartnell]]. The story he is very loosely based off of is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer this one]].
32	** Volume 5 (Chapters 1-4): The Unknown Sailor, [[spoiler:[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Stewart Riggins]]]].
33	** Volume 5 (Chapters 5-8): The Hand of Justice, [[spoiler:[[SerialKillerKiller Shawn]] [[VigilanteMan Mallory]]]].
34	** Volume 6: The Mad Stranger, [[spoiler:[[TheChessmaster Emmanuel Morphy]]]].
35	** Volume 7: The Ladykiller, [[spoiler:[[WouldHitAGirl Armie Gillum]]]].
36	** Volume 8: The Kraken, [[spoiler:[[TheChessmaster Shawn Mallory]]]].
37	** Volume 9: Livewire, [[spoiler:[[HighVoltageDeath Asher Dane]]]].
38	** Volume 10: The chemist unleashing a [[BrainwashedAndCrazy variety of drugs]] on the city, [[spoiler:[[DeadlyDoctor Reese Gable]]]].
39	** Volume 11: The drug [[TheCartel cartel]] leader, [[TheLeader General Pablo Salazar]].
40	** Volume 12: The Boogeyman, [[spoiler:[[AbusiveParents Eli Rosely]]]].
41	** Volume 13: Spinerette, [[spoiler:[[SpiderSwarm Leah Roberts]]]].
42	** Volume 14 and the end of Volume 16: [[AxCrazy The Firstborn]], [[BloodKnight Alex Dominiguez]].
43	** Volume 15: The London executioner, [[spoiler:[[VigilanteMan Gareth Kelly]]]].
44	** First part of Volume 16: The Onryo, [[spoiler:[[ArtificialLimbs Noroi Hayashi]]]].
45	* ArmsDealer: Captain Abe Miller. A little unusual in that while he ''is'' operating in the black market, he's still ''very'' conscientious about background checks. [[spoiler: Too bad background checks won't reveal very recent SanitySlippage.]]
46	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Done ''intentionally'' with the latitude and longitude of San Trobida in 11-6. The writers made sure that the exact location would, in our world, be in the Gulf of Mexico, rather than on land, if only to keep fans from making a pilgrimage. The location ''is'' pretty close to the Pánama/Colombia border, admittedly.
47	* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: [[spoiler:Mal shot and killed Shawn]] in an effort to protect Natara, but to Natara, this was a demonstration of his impulsiveness.
48	--->'''Natara''': Exactly. You didn't ''think''.
49	* BackFromTheDead: A photo promoting Season 16 of Cause of Death was released on the game's official Facebook page, which only showed a line of dialogue from Mal that read "This whole time... How could you just go on letting me think you were dead?!" [[spoiler: It turns out that the photo was just a April Fool's joke, and nobody is actually coming back.]] See FakingTheDead below for examples of faked deaths.
50	* {{Backstory}}: Exists in side stories for some of the main cast, and told in the later episodes of a season for that season's killer.
51	* BadSamaritan: During one of his murder plots, the Boogeyman buys a little girl ice cream and plays with her at an amusement park... only to then murder her parents.
52	* BananaRepublic: San Trobida. Kind of hard to avoid when your Prime Minister isn't just TheGeneralissimo, but also a ''drug kingpin''.
53	* BearTrap: [[spoiler:The Hunter]] was the ironic victim to this.
54	* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Natara technically possesses all three traits, although the latter is sometimes given to Mal.
55	* BigBad: See ArcVillain above.
56	* BigDamnHeroes: Mal and Natara near the end of Season 1 when they confront the Maskmaker to save Amy. Also, [[spoiler: all of Mal's friends taking part in an operation led by Jacob Fallon to rescue him from General Salazar. Or a bit later, Mal leading an operation to invade Salazar's compound]].
57	* BigFancyHouse: Blue-collar Mal seems kind of allergic to them. Part and parcel of his low opinion (and constant suspicion) of ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney.
58	* BigShutUp: The Maskmaker to Natara towards the end of Season 1, if the player chooses the right choices.
59	* [[BigBrotherBully Big Sister Bully]]: The catalyst for [[spoiler: Brian Resler becoming the Maskmaker]] in Season 1.
60	* BilingualBonus: The game is mostly in English, with the occasional sprinkle of Spanish [[spoiler: like ‘Madre de la Muerte’ and 'brujo']] and Russian.
61	* BonusMaterial: Scoring at least 80 out of 100 Det. Points in a chapter or (part of a) side story (or attaining 500/600 Det. Points in Volume 1's 6 chapters as a whole) will grant you a special bonus scene, which can range from a trivial conversation (i.e. 10-2) to being a sort of epilogue (i.e. 14-9). Of course, important bonus scenes aren't limited to Volume enders (most notably in 15-2 which revealed some practically essential backstory).
62	* BreakThemByTalking:
63	** As with certain interrogations held with potential suspects in the SFPD precinct. The ending of the Premium Content piece "4 Hours" (in "Buried Secrets, Buried Lives") is actually decided by whether or not you choose to break or uphold the law.
64	** This is also how [[spoiler: Gareth Kelly]] is beaten in Season 15.
65	* BreatherEpisode: Beginning with the ninth volume, the writers introduced interlude episodes. Also, side stories are released in between seasons.
66	* BrokenPedestal: Shawn was Natara's mentor/role model at Quantico, the FBI training academy. [[spoiler: He was also the guy who tried to murder her.]]
67	* BunnyEarsLawyer: '''''Kai'''''. Cardinal nerd, cardinal {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, cardinal CasanovaWannabe...and cardinally ''good'' forensic tech.
68	* ByTheBookCop: Despite his problems, Mal really does try to keep to this when he can. It helps that he's constantly on the lookout for probable cause, though. Jeremy Redbird is a much more resolute example.
69	* CannotSpitItOut: [[spoiler: Mal and Natara took ten seasons to do so, and even then it wasn't a direct confession.]]
70	* CantDropTheHero: Subverted in the sense that you don’t always play from Mal’s and Natara’s perspectives, but technically they’re still around.
71	* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Mal almost always disobeyed Maria when he found probable cause. It was even stated by Ken in 2-3 that he's okay with breaking the rules if it'll put the right men behind bars.
72	* TheChase: As with most chase scenes across different seasons.
73	* ClearMyName: Mal seems to be the target of this trope. He is first framed [[spoiler: by Genevieve for killing Senator Jake Collins]] in the second season, followed by being [[spoiler: accused of restarting his father's drug empire]] by his ex-colleague, David Troy in the thirteenth season.
74	* ClicheStorm: In-universe example with the ''Rise of the Maskmaker'' film. ''No one'' is impressed, not least because of [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory how fast and loose it plays with what actually transpired.]]
75	* ColdBloodedTorture: Several villains, such as Mikhail Volk, Firstborn and Johnny Qingyi.
76	* TheCoroner: Kai.
77	* CowboyCop: Jacob was a particularly ferocious version of this. Blaise can be one when the situation seems especially urgent, and Anna ''wishes'' she could be a "proper" one.
78	* CriminalMindGames: A few instances of this.
79	** Mikhail Volk and [[spoiler:Genevieve Collins]] put Natara into one in Volume 2 by setting up an elaborate puzzle for her.
80	** Zero, in Volume 4, tied a hostage to a chair, and from a remote location, invited two SFPD officers (Ken and Natara) to her location. They ordered the pair that they must input a password into an input device before a timer runs out to save her before she is killed. They put in the correct answer, but since they "cheated" by calling Kai and Amy to ask for help, Zero killed her anyway.
81	** [[spoiler:Once he becomes a vigilante killer and later cult leader, Shawn]] starts playing these with Natara in attempt to prove his own intellectual superiority to her.
82	** The biggest fanatic of this trope was the Mad Stranger in Volume 6, who set up his murder system of RevengeByProxy. With the protagonists, he made Natara and Oscar figure out a chess puzzle (what a pawn would need to be promoted to in order to checkmate the opponent) in a time limit, otherwise they would be gassed to death by poison.
83	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Many people (on both sides of the hero/criminal spectrum). Most notably [[spoiler: Ryan Orville, The Hunter, after killing Mal's gilfriend at the time, who was killed by being forced into a bear trap ''head first'']] in 3-8. Also [[spoiler: Armie Gillum, The Ladykiller, [[TurbineBlender falling into a jet turbine]]]] in 7-8. Characters have also fallen from heights and been tortured to death.
84	* DarkerAndEdgier: Things seem to have taken quite a turn, in suggestiveness and darkness, since Season 1. Remember [[spoiler: the sex club]] in Season 10? Oh, have you seen Season 11 and its gore yet?
85	* DatingCatwoman: Kai with Kara.
86	* ADayInTheLimelight: Iconic characters have their own side stories. Also, the player gets to play from different characters’ perspectives in different episodes.
87	* DeathByIrony: Many examples throughout the game.
88	** In Volume 1, [[spoiler: Eric Mills drowns in the waters surrounding Alcatraz]].
89	** In Volume 3, [[spoiler: Ryan Orville is shoved head-first into a bear trap. Subverted as he was not hunting bears but women previously.]]
90	** In Volume 4, [[spoiler: Herman Hartnall is killed with a slashed zero carved into his forehead.]]
91	** In Volume 14, [[spoiler:Genevieve Collins' reign of terror as the mother / patron to disturbed killers is finally put to end by her one and only biological child.]]
92	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Except for the moments when the character's death is canon and planned, you get to replay from a checkpoint if you die in your playthrough of an episode. Some of the death scenes show rather detailed scenarios that expose some of that character's thoughts.
93	* DecoyProtagonist: [[spoiler: Ken Greene, despite being one of the Player Characters throughout the first eight seasons, is killed by Kolo Zargoza]] in 8-6.
94	* DiabolicalMastermind: [[spoiler: Genevieve Marsden Collins]], a.k.a. the Connoisseur, as well as the Firstborn.
95	* DirtyCop: ''Jacob Fallon''. Say hello to ''the'' source of Mal's occasional squirming with authority. All in the name of [[WellIntentionedExtremist containing San Francisco's crime to levels that wouldn't endanger civilians]], he created his own little crime ring of other Dirty Cops. At least until Yeong supplied decisive evidence to put him away...Not that ''that'' [[MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll completely undid his little ring.]] [[spoiler:Anna Willis]] is another example, with even fewer standards.
96	* DirtyOldMan: [[spoiler:Wesley Vale]] is a particularly vile example. He seduces married women solely to [[spoiler: ''get constant revenge on his ex-girlfriend''. You know, the one whom he '''''killed''''' around twenty-eight years earlier?]]
97	* DamselInDistress: Amy in Season 1, Neha in Season 2.
98	* TheDragon:
99	** The burned man Mikhail Volk to [[spoiler:Genevieve Collins]] in Volume 2.
100	** Kolo Zargoza to [[spoiler:Shawn Mallory]], the leader of The Kraken, in Volume 8.
101	** Arguably, you could call the Onryo, [[spoiler:Noroiy Hayashi]], to be this to the Firstborn throughout the two-part series finale for Volume 16.
102	* DramaticIrony:
103	** The ending scene of V1-C4 reveals that [[spoiler:The Maskmaker is actually ''not'' Christian Rose when the real Maskmaker walked into his hospital bed and executed him, though Mal and Natara had to deduce this manually in the following chapter without knowing what the audience knows.]]
104	** Also seen in Volume 9 with the Livewire. The appearance of the Livewire killer is given to the audience at the very start of the volume before the SFPD learn this.
105	* EarlyBirdCameo: Several characters can be glimpsed early on in the series that don't become relevant until later on. ** Anna Willis and Phil Morris, both of whom appear in Season 1 but become crucial to the story (in Anna's case) or more prominent (in Phil's case) during Season 4.
106	** Diego and Ken both show up during Season 1, and while Diego never becomes ''that'' important of a character (although he does get a recurring role), Ken essentially becomes a main character, eventually even [[spoiler:becoming Amy's boyfriend and forming one of the most emotional death scenes in the game via his HeroicSacrifice]] in Season 8.
107	** In the bonus scene of 2-1, we get to see Assistant District Attorney Oscar Santos interrogating [[spoiler:Sandi Demme]]. Flash-forward to Season 6, where he plays an important part in the Vernon Frist court case and [[spoiler:begins dating Natara]] and once again becomes something of a main character for the series.
108	* EndingMemorialService: The funerals for Miguel Flores at the end of Season 1 and [[spoiler: Ken Greene]] near the end of Season 8.
109	* EnfantTerrible:
110	** The young Brian Resler was one, no thanks to [[BigBrotherBully how his sister treated him]].
111	** Similar case with Joy Hoskins and her parents.
112	** ''Nobody'' holds a candle to [[spoiler:Genevieve's son, Alex Domínguez, though]].
113	* EurekaMoment: During normal discussions of a case, a character may gain a life-changing epiphany from another character's speech.
114	* EvenEvilHasStandards:
115	** The Connoisseur only approves of killing for the sake of satisfying instinctual urges in an artistic fashion, ''not'' for [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame sport]]. Which is why [[spoiler: she helped Shawn dispatch the Hunters...[[ManipulativeBastard among other reasons]]]]. It is also why she later [[spoiler: attempted to kill Shawn, who had now become the leader of the Kraken cult]] in Season 8.
116	** In the DirtyCop department, Jacob has one ''very'' hard and fast guiding principle for his crime ring: '''''Never sell out or otherwise coerce a civilian customer.''''' Junkie wants to quit? Guide him to a proper clinic. Prostitution? Completely forbidden. Drug sales? Stay clear of the schools. He may have despaired of eradicating the black market, but ''not'' constraining it.
117	* [[spoiler: EverybodyDidIt]]: In Season 5, it turns out that [[spoiler: the three suspects identified of killing their father worked together. It was not a one-man affair]].
118	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Mal and Natara have obvious chemistry and feelings for each other, however neither are willing to acknowledge it to the other and are at times in denial of their own feelings. In contrast, characters such as Blaise, and Ken are very aware of the romantic tension between the two and Kai makes it apparent to the both of them at one point or another.
119	* EvilMatriarch: [[spoiler: Genevieve Collins becomes a surrogate mother for young violent offenders that she "nurtures" into becoming full fledged serial killers.]]
120	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The titles for different seasons depict that particular season’s killer or antagonistic group. Only Volume 10 and 15 is an exception to this; 10 is named after the central drug that is used by the killer, while 15 refers to the crime scenes being forensically clean.
121	* FakingTheDead:
122	** At the end of Volume 1, when The Maskmaker [[spoiler:known as Eric Mills]] is killed, it is confirmed -- and later ''reaffirmed by Mal'' in V8C1 -- that the police NeverFoundTheBody. This makes a fairly strong case that there were plans to bring The Maskmaker back... but he never did, and the series has now ended.
123	** During Zero's conversation with Natara in V4C7, as was reaffirmed in the very first Secret Files entry, it is believed that Genevieve Collins had adopted a son, Alexander, who had died. [[spoiler:It turns out that this "Alex" boy was a biological son and that he did not die... and he gives the protagonists ''huge'' trouble in the final four volumes of the series.]]
124	** The king and most notable user of this trope is [[spoiler:Shawn Mallory]]. Though to be fair, the death was fairly well foreshadowed -- just like The Maskmaker, a case of NeverFoundTheBody is confirmed in the bonus scene of V5C8. [[spoiler:Shawn is revealed to be alive, but ''badly wounded'' with greyed hair, at the end of Volume 8.]]
125	** At the end of the second part of ''Kai Hard'', it is presumed by everyone except Kai that [[spoiler:Kara Yan is dead]].
126	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: As with most death scenes depicted across different seasons.
127	* {{Fangirl}}: Neha and Amy.
128	* FieryCoverup: Kara makes use of this to steal an artifact and escape in ''Kai Hard''. Subverted as she was not the one who bombed the location.
129	* FinalBoss:
130	** V1: The Maskmaker
131	** V2: [[spoiler:Genevieve Collins and her Russian follower-mercenaries]]
132	** V3: The Hunters
133	** V4: Zero, although the one fighting him is recently-turned [[spoiler:[[VillainProtagonist Shawn Mallory]]]]
134	** V5: [[spoiler: Shawn Mallory]]
135	** V6: Mad Stranger
136	** V7: Ladykiller
137	** V8: [[TheDragon Kolo Zargoza]] and The Kraken
138	** V9: Livewire
139	** V10: [[spoiler:Reese Gable]], followed with a PostFinalBoss / HopelessBossFight against the [[spoiler:Salazar kidnapper-mercenaries that kidnap Mal]].
140	** V11: [[spoiler:Pablo Salazar]]
141	** V12: Boogeyman
142	** V13: Spinerette, who is killed by [[spoiler:[[EvilVersusEvil The Firstborn]]]]
143	** V14: Firstborn
144	** V15: The Dismemberment Case Perp
145	** V16: Firstborn/Onryo
146	* FingerInTheMail: Only not actually a finger. More like [[spoiler: Shawn Mallory's head.]]
147	* FirstGirlWins: Inverted. Having dated Shawn and Oscar beforehand, Natara chooses Mal, the first potential love interest introduced.
148	* FixedCamera: Different places may have different scenery, but even then it’s only one picture each.
149	* FollowInMyFootsteps: Mal, Jacob and Jacob's dad work in the police force like the esteemed Malachi Fallon, founder of the SFPD.
150	* GasChamber: Appears in the last 2 chapters of Volume 8. [[spoiler: Mal and Natara get trapped in another]] in the penultimate chapter of Season 10.
151	%% * Getting Crap Past The Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
152	* TheGhost: Mal's sister, Cynthia, and niece, Denni. The latter is from ''Surviving High School'', Cause of Death's sister game. Finally averted in the Christmas episode and Volume 13, the latter of which Denni plays a large role.
153	* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: The Special Crimes Task Force (SCT) introduced in Volume 14 Chapter 1.
154	* GutFeeling: Mal, to a great deal, to the annoyance of his partner, Natara, who is [[TheProfiler a profiler]].
155	* HaveANiceDeath: There are plenty of ways you can get yourself killed if you make a bad choice, or several bad choices in a row.
156	* [[spoiler: HeelFaceDoorSlam]]: Happens to Estaban in 4-3: [[spoiler: Esme brutally murders him just as he starts to show positive personality traits, and agrees to help Mal.]]
157	* HerCodeNameWasMarySue: The one time we get a snippet of his writing style (the "Hot Frisco Nights" scene at the beginning of ''First Date''), Kai's fanfiction quickly proves itself to be this. Neither Ken nor Amy think terribly much of it.
158	* HeroicBSOD: Mal and Amy [[spoiler: when Ken dies]] in Season 8.
159	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Ken for Amy]] in 8-6.
160	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Jacob Fallon ran aground of this, ''hard''. [[spoiler: Ditto Shawn Mallory, and arguably Anna Willis.]]
161	* HighPressureEmotion: Certain characters not only frown, they also have a burst of red appear behind their heads when they are overly agitated. Blaise is a good example.
162	* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: The Hunter in Season 3. [[spoiler: Okay, Hunter'''''s'''''.]]
163	* ICallItVera: Jericho of Brimstone has a ‘mobile operating unit’ he calls Lucille.
164	* IChooseToStay: Natara [[spoiler: responds to Mal positively near the end of Season 10, during ''Love and Madness'']].
165	* IHaveManyNames: The Connoisseur. [[spoiler: Genevieve Marsden was just her latest alias when she met Jake Collins. She'd had many aliases beforehand, all incorporating the "jin" phoneme somehow.]]
166	* IHaveYourWife: Several varieties throughout the course of the game, of course.
167	** [[spoiler: Coworker (Amy Chen)]] in Season 1, [[spoiler: Sister (Neha Mansingh)]] in Season 2, [[spoiler: Girlfriend (Tasha King)]] in Season 3...
168	** In 9-8, [[spoiler: Livewire abducts Captain Yeong's daughter, Annie Parks-Yeong]].
169	* INeverSaidItWasPoison:
170	** In 1-2, Maskmaker suspect Lance Boggs mentions the latest victim Sophie's name even though it was not released to the press.
171	** During an interrogation in 2-1, Sandi Demme said she did not know the victim was beaten up when Mal never mentioned it at all.
172	* InternalAffairs: Charles Anders is a particularly unpleasant example. Especially when 9-2's bonus scene implies that he's not so much about the primacy of regulations and protocol as about being a ControlFreak. [[spoiler: He eventually undergoes CharacterDevelopment and warms up to the SFPD.]] Edgar Walsh in ''Jacob and Fallon'' is a much more friendly representative. [[spoiler: Too bad Ésteban kills him.]]
173	* ItsAllMyFault: Mal following [[spoiler: Amy's kidnapping]] in Season One's climax, as well as [[spoiler: his girlfriend Tasha King's murder]] in Season Three's climax and most significantly [[spoiler: following Ken's death]] in Season Eight.
174	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Although Mal's true opinions on Natara's 2 boyfriends during the first 10 volumes (Shawn and Oscar) still haven't been revealed, he qualified fully with Oscar (even though he occasionally showed a sad face), and at least until Volume 4's 2-part culmination, he seemed to qualify with Shawn. Natara also returned the same to Mal with Selene and Tasha.
175	* {{Jerkass}}: Debatably Oscar, when he first dumped Natara. For more constant examples, just look at Seth and Anna.
176	* KansasCityShuffle: Kingfisher's gambits. Amy Chen notes that his favorite tactic seems to be figuring out how to egg his target on into the trap already set for said target. [[spoiler:As witness Jeremy's use of a compromised laptop to stop a subway train, only for Kingfisher to use the open wireless access to steal sensitive data off the very laptop.]] Amy later manages to turn it back on Kingfisher with resounding success.
177	* KilledOffForReal: Many characters, both protagonists and antagonists:
178	** Season 1: Miguel Flores, [[spoiler: Doctor Rose, William Rye, Eric Mills/The Maskmaker]]
179	** Season 2: [[spoiler: Ramsey Brand, Jerome Eccleston, Senator Jake Collins, Mikhail Volk.]]
180	** Season 3: [[spoiler: Max Paring, Tasha King, Ryan Orville and Klaus Paring/The Hunters.]]
181	** Season 4: [[spoiler: Esteban Flores, Phil Morris, Herman Hartnall/Zero.]]
182	** Season 5: [[spoiler: Mako, Stewart Klipper/The Unknown Sailor, Vassily Barkov, Shawn Mallory/The Hand of Justice]].[[labelnote: Season 8 Spoilers]] [[spoiler: In Season 8, it is revealed that Shawn actually survived the fall from Alcatraz]] [[/labelnote]]
183	** Season 6: [[spoiler: Javier Garza, Marvin Clemente.]]
184	** Season 7: [[spoiler: Armie Gillum/The Ladykiller]]
185	** Season 8: [[spoiler: Ken Greene.]]
186	** Season 11: [[spoiler: The Brujo, Carlito Flores, Esmeralda Flores, General Pablo Salazar, Jacob Fallon.]]
187	** Season 13: [[spoiler: The Ghost]], who had been a thorn in the side of our heroes since Volume 2.
188	** Season 14: [[spoiler: After 14 volumes of evading justice, Genevieve Collins is killed by the Firstborn. There's also Boone Ligaya and Emma Pointe]].
189	** Season 16: [[spoiler: Blaise Corso, The Firstborn, the Onryo]].
190	* LimitedWardrobe: Many characters only have a handful of outfits throughout the series.
191	* LivingEmotionalCrutch: What Natara was to Shawn. When she [[spoiler:breaks up with him, he spirals and becomes a vigilante.]]
192	* LoveHurts: No protagonist has not endured a complicated love life throughout the series with the exceptions of Anders and Maria.
193	* MadnessMantra: The Ladykiller when he experiences a psychotic break. [[spoiler: Also, if you end up making a drugged Jeremy kill Blaise]] in 12-6, [[spoiler: Jeremy ends up in an asylum where he repeatedly rocks back and forth muttering, "I'm sorry" over and over.]] In Chapter 8, [[spoiler: one of the Kraken's acolytes tries to put up a facade of this. Krakenwillrise indeed.]]
194	* MamaBear: Don't even ''think'' of threatening Maria's household. Not unless you fancy getting embedded with buckshot...among other possibilities.
195	* MeaningfulEcho: During a training session while in the FBI Academy, Shawn tells Natara that the crime scene is not just 'out here', but also in their heads. At the very end of Season 5, after [[spoiler: Shawn falls from the roof of Alcatraz]], Natara repeats the saying to herself.
196	* MeaningfulName: Mal's name is short for "Malachi", the same given name as his illustrious ancestor. Mal is almost never called Malachi.
197	* MindScrew: [[spoiler: Mal’s and Natara’s rather all-out hallucination scenes]] near the end of Season 10, [[spoiler: in ‘Love and Madness’.]]
198	* MonsterOfTheWeek: Each season is primarily concerned with a particular SerialKiller (whether or not they're one of the Connoisseur's lilim). Even during the usual two side cases for parts 2-3 and 5-6, Mal and Natara are constantly aware of the wretch's shadow, and typically didn't take the side case of their own wishes (e.g. Season 3's first side case is only taken because Seth won't finalize Ryan's transfer to California unless they do).
199	* MushroomSamba: ''The Veritox Incident''.
200	* NeverFoundTheBody: See some of the examples listed under FakingTheDead.
201	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Ken barging in on the tense standoff between Shawn, Vasily, Natara and Mal]] in 5-7.
202	* NonStandardGameOver: Several of the 'You have failed.' endings are this, including Mal resigning from the force if he [[spoiler: shoots Mayor Gilcomb]] in 6-8.
203	* NoodleIncident: Blaise often talks about the cannibal she faced in Season 11 without giving a proper explanation of what ''really'' happened, much to the other characters' chagrin.
204	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler: Mal’s shooting of Shawn and the latter’s subsequent ‘drowning’ at the end of Season 5.]] As revealed in Season 8, [[spoiler: he did survive that shot, and as revealed in Season 8's final bonus scene, he somehow survived being shot in the chest again]]. In the Season 13 Prologue, [[spoiler: he then returned to life one last time.]] And as if ''that'' wasn't enough, [[spoiler: Kolo Zargoza -- as huge a monster tank as he is -- managed to survive a ''fusillade'' of usually-fatal attacks]] in Season 8's conclusion.
205	* NotSoDifferentRemark: In ''First Kill'', Jacob highlights how he and Maria are 'not so different' as they would 'do whatever it takes' to achieve their goals. [[spoiler: In addition, the Firstborn has seemingly gotten Blaise to start thinking like this in regards to the serial killers she persecutes]] in Season 14.
206	* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler: Ken and Amy]] in Season 8. [[spoiler: Mal and Natara more recently]] in Season 10. Blaise and Jeremy are subverted in the sense they actually don't have romantic feelings driving their relationship... right?
207	* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler: The Awesome Sexy Adventures of Blaise Corso, how Blaise captured the cannibal killer]] in Season 11. [[spoiler: It included a jet ski chase, Anders getting tear-gassed, Bartaugh undervocer as Blaise's husband, and a swordfight. [[UnreliableNarrator At least, that's how Blaise tells it to Jeremy after he gets back from San Trobida.]]]]
208	* OnlySixFaces: While the recurring characters get unique portraits, non-recurring characters will usually get one of a stock suite of portraits with varying levels of adjustment (e.g. Miguel Flores and Ryan Orville, Emile Schumann and Alan Dwitz, and somewhat humorously, Shawn and Seth).
209	* OpenShirtTaunt: Firstborn to Blaise in V16C5.
210	* PoliceProcedural: Cause of Death is really a police procedural in the form of a visual novel, as its sister game VideoGame/SurvivingHighSchool is a Main/TeenDrama in the same form too.
211	* PrisonEpisode: The ''Breaking Point'' dyad in Season 6. [[spoiler: Quickly turns into a PrisonRiot]].
212	* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: [[spoiler: Not shooting the brujo]] in Season 11 [[spoiler: reflects Mal's morals that he should never shoot the defenseless, no matter how evil they have been. Not to mention him realizing that there actually ''was'' a pattern to the kills, thanks to Pablo's chatter about "my men".]]
213	* ProfessionalKiller: The Ghost.
214	* PsychoPsychologist: [[spoiler: Shawn, an FBI agent with profiling skills, who himself turns into a villain]].
215	* PsychoExGirlfriend: [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender-inverted.]] After she breaks up with him, [[spoiler: Shawn becomes obsessed with Natara and becomes a killer so that she would be forced to think and care about him.]]
216	* RedemptionEqualsDeath:
217	** [[spoiler: Jacob Fallon, who dies a hero while extracting Mal and Natara from General Sálazar's compound]] in Season 11.
218	** [[spoiler: Esteban, in his final moments, confesses that he would be proud if Mal was his son]] in 4-3.
219	* RedOniBlueOni: Mal's the red, Natara's the blue. From ''Fourth of July Special'' onwards, we also have [[spoiler: Red Blaise and Blue Jeremy]].
220	* RelationshipUpgrade: [[spoiler: Ken and Amy]] in Season 8, [[spoiler: and Mal and Natara from colleagues to a couple]] in Season 10. As of the Fourth of July Special, [[spoiler: Blaise and Jeremy]], and then [[spoiler: Amy and Jeremy, although there seems to be a complicated permutation of a LoveTriangle going on]] as of the Season 14 epilogue.
221	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Shawn makes Natara profile him twice and both times are riddled with subtle insults, like how he's attached to her (of course, Shawn doesn't really interpret these as insults).
222	* TheReveal: Due to the crazy amount of different cases featured throughout the series, there is usually a reveal of some kind almost every single episode. Commonly, the identity of one of the antagonists. [[spoiler: Eric Mills being the Maskmaker]] in Season 1 is probably the first example in the series.
223	* RevengeMyopia: The Flores family sought revenge on Mal for killing Miguel Flores despite the fact that it was completely in self-defense.
224	* RousingSpeech: [[spoiler: Then-Captain Maria Yeong to her subordinates]] in Volume 9's conclusion, and later [[spoiler: Mal to his friends and colleages of the SFPD, which convinces them to join the rebel's cause and aid the revolution]] in 11-8, [[spoiler: in spite of how that seemed suicidal at the time. Firstborn's final message in Volume 14's conclusion can be seen as this.]]
225	** In 16-6, Mal makes a speech about free will after [[spoiler: learning that the Congresswoman Laura Burke was using ex-Acuomentrics biochemist Selena Mensra to turn Nightmare into Daydream - a drug that's used to repress criminals from doing crimes, and making the Special Crimes Task Force put them out of police work.]]
226	* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:Shawn Mallory]] in seasons 4 and 5. [[SarcasmMode Thanks ever so much,]] [[spoiler:Genevieve.]]
227	* SaveTheVillain: Often times the law enforcement have to save the killer from killing themselves. Examples include [[spoiler: Armie Gillum]] and [[spoiler: Max Paring, the latter of which intentionally killed himself to escape prosecution]].
228	* SayMyName: Usually happens when someone gets injured across the different seasons.
229	* ScarsAreForever: Natara’s scar down her left shoulder as depicted in Seasons 1 and 2, and Ken's torso wounds in ''Greene Zone'' from his tour of duty as a Marine in Afghanistan. Also [[spoiler: the incomplete thrall mark Anna Willis received in 4-8]].
230	* SerialKiller:
231	** Thanks to the Connoisseur, San Francisco's "enjoying" a bumper crop.
232	** Pretty much every antagonist in the game (see ArcVillain above) falls under this trope.
233	** Also, all the murders that SF experienced what with it being the setting of the game was alluded to by Maria in 8-6 (in which can be construed as an inside joke by the writers).
234	* ShipperOnDeck: Kai for Mal and Natara, among other things.
235	* ShipTease: Electronic Arts seems to take distinct pleasure in dancing around whether and when Mal and Natara will get together. [[spoiler: Now that they've been upgraded to an OfficialCouple, EA's attention has apparently shifted over to Amy, Blaise, and Jeremy.]]
236	* ShirtlessScene: Mal in Season 9 when Blaise tends to his wounds in Las Vegas, and a good chunk of ''From Oahu with Kai''.
237	* SplitPersonality: Selene Mensra is a victim of Dissociative Identity Disorder, as a result of experiments conducted on her by Reese Gable. She has one normal, presentable side that is kind and charismatic that counteracts with her other side that is aloof and sinister.
238	* StalkerWithACrush: ''City of Love'' features this kind of killer aiming at "rescuing" Natara from Mal.
239	* StayInTheKitchen: Natara's father turned out to be like this. Exhibit A: He all but abjured her after she joined the [=FBI=]. Even with Anita as a go-between, they don't communicate all that often. [[spoiler: This is implied to be a fate that Natara's fearful of in 10-7]].
240	* StormingTheCastle: Mal, Natara and Blaise raiding the Kraken’s lair in Season 8, Mal and Natara breaking into the [=AcuoMentrics=] complex in Season 10, and [[spoiler: Mal, Natara, Jeremy and Amy storming the Sálazar Compound]] at the end of Season 11.
241	* StoryArc: Every season has its own story arc. Some newer arcs may be linked to older ones though. (You have the 'over-arching story arc' here.) Volumes 3-4, 6-7, 9-10 and 12-3 (notice a pattern...?) all have their 2nd-3rd and 5th-6th chapters be part of a smaller arc.
242	* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: Amy [[spoiler: when she leaves San Francisco for New York with Brimstone, then returns for Natara’s wedding with Oscar in Season 10]].
243	* {{Suburbia}}: The gated community's conceit of being a haven from all things nasty takes a beating in the ''Domestic Disturbance'' dyad. Even apart from the psycho killer who just got activated, Natara discovers that just about ''every'' adult in the walls is cheating on their spouses. The sole exceptions that she noticed? The two ''swingers''.
244	* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler: Blaise for Mal in 8-3.]]
245	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: How the mortally wounded Jacob kills Pablo Sálazar at the end of 11-8.]]
246	* TeenagersAreMonsters: In Volume 10-Chapter 2 and 3, [[spoiler: two highschoolers murdered]] a popular cheerleader [[spoiler:in the name of love.]]
247	* TheScream: Happens particularly a lot in a game about murders. A notable moment was when [[spoiler: The Firstborn was torturing Mal and Natara]].
248	* TonightSomeoneDies: Explicitly stated in the prologue of Season 8. [[spoiler: It turned out to be Ken.]]
249	* TrialAndErrorGameplay: You get to replay from a checkpoint if you die or otherwise irreparably fail in your playthrough of an episode.
250	* TwoferTokenMinority:
251	** Natara is Indian and a woman.
252	** Amy is Chinese, Jewish and a woman.
253	** [[DaChief Maria Yeong]] is female, a Korean immigrant (when she was a toddler, anyway) and lesbian. The conflation of traits is lampshaded in ''Fallon and Yeong, Part 1'', when Jacob points out that with the first two traits (and being unmarried as well--this is in 1984, after all), there are a ''lot'' of people hoping newly-promoted Homicide Detective Yeong will crash and burn. [[spoiler: Trait 3 is a secret at the time, and Jacob ''[[DirtyCop threatens to reveal it to the rest of the police]]'' if Maria tries to expose his deals with Ésteban Flores.]]
254	* UndercoverAsLovers: Mal and Natara in the suburbs during Season 7, and later Mal/Blaise and Kai/Natara in the couple's retreat of Season 8.
255	* UndignifiedDeath: As with most death scenes depicted across different seasons.
256	* {{UST}}: Mal and Natara. [[spoiler: After ten long seasons, they get together]].
257	* VictimOfTheWeek: In most episodes, when someone is attacked. BodyOfTheWeek applies to most of these episodes.
258	* VigilanteMan: [[spoiler: Season 5's overarching story is about Shawn Mallory's verge into this.]]
259	* {{Villainous Breakdown}}: Armie Gillium during his interrogation session with Natara in Season 7.
260	* VomitingCop: Natara actually ''induces'' this in ''Domestic Disturbance, Part 2'' so Mal can get a look at a crime scene while maintaining cover.
261	* WhamEpisode: Due to the sheer amount of [[TheReveal reveals and plot twists]], almost every single episode is this in some way. Some of the major examples include:
262	** 1-5, when The Maskmaker's identity is revealed, at last: [[spoiler: He is Brian Resler, a young boy who was tormented by his sister. After he murdered her, he eventually changed his name to... ''Eric Mills''.]] Almost immediately after this, [[spoiler: he kidnaps Amy and kills William Rye (a supporting character from that season)]].
263	** 1-6, Season 1's finale: [[spoiler: Mal and Natara finally confront (and defeat) Eric on the roof of Alcatraz prison]], and it turns out [[spoiler: Eric had a benefactor]]. If you screwed up, it is also possible to get a non-canon ending in which [[spoiler: [[TheHeroDies Mal dies]] and the game continues, as well as one where both [[TheBadGuyWins Eric succeeds]] in killing Mal, Natara and Amy, and continues to find and kill victims.]]
264	** 2-6: [[spoiler: Natara gives herself up to the Burned Man to save Neha.]]
265	** 2-7: [[spoiler: Mal is framed for the murder of Senator Jake Collins, and he and Natara realise the Connoisseur's true identity.]]
266	** 2-8: The identity of the Connoisseur is finally revealed to be [[spoiler: Genevieve Mardsen Collins, Mikhail Volk is killed, and Genevieve escapes.]]
267	** 4-3: [[spoiler: Esme kills Esteban, just after he pulls a HeelFaceTurn to Mal]].
268	** 3-7: The Hunter[[spoiler:'''s''' kidnap Mal and Natara and murder Mal's girlfriend Tasha King right in front of his eyes.]]
269	** 4-8: [[spoiler: Shawn pulls a FaceHeelTurn after he brutally murders Herman Hartnell by carving a slashed zero into his forehead.]] The Bonus Scene also reveals that [[spoiler: he is now working with Genevieve.]]
270	** 8-6: [[spoiler: Ken Greene is KilledOffForReal when he performs a HeroicSacrifice to save Amy.]]
271	** 8-7: The Kraken turns out to be [[spoiler: ''[[BackFromTheDead Shawn Mallory]]'']].
272	** 9-3: [[spoiler: Amy chooses to leave the SFPD to work with the Hacktivist group Brimstone.]]
273	** 9-8: [[spoiler: Mal returns to the force, Maria ''finally'' stands up to Anders (and the game [[Awesome/CauseOfDeath ''rewards'' you if you choose to slap him]]), Jeremy turns on Anders to stick up for Maria, Maria rescues her daughter from Livewire, and ends up having to leave the force.]]
274	** 14-7, where [[spoiler: Genevieve, of all characters, is killed by the Firstborn. All the PlotArmor that the BigBad of 13 story arcs would have didn't do her any good, it would seem.]]
275	* WhamLine:
276	** From 4-7:
277	-->''In one fluid movement, [[spoiler:Ryan]] pulls a revolver from behind the bookshelf... [[spoiler:And fires point-blank into Tasha's forehead.]]''
278	** At the end of 8-7, revealing The Kraken's true identity:
279	--> [[spoiler:'''Shawn Mallory''']]: Hello, Natara. [[spoiler:I've missed you '''''so''''' much.]]
280	** From 10-8:
281	-->'''Mal''': Natara...\
282	'''Natara''': Yes...?\
283	'''Mal''': Do... [[spoiler:Do you smell gas?]]\
284	''[[spoiler:BOOM!!!]]''
285	* WhamShot: When The Kraken takes off his mask at the end of 8-7, revealing the [[spoiler: aged and twisted face of '''[[DisneyDeath Shawn]]''' '''[[BackFromTheDead Mallory]]'''.]]
286	* WholePlotReference: ''Kai Hard'' to ''Franchise/DieHard''.
287	* WillTheyOrWontThey: Mal and Natara [[spoiler: Until Season 10's last episode]].
288	* WorkingWithTheEx: Natara works with Shawn, however this is only for a brief period, as Shawn [[spoiler:goes rogue and becomes a killer.]]
289	* WrongGuyFirst: As most fans can attest to: Natara [[spoiler: with Shawn and Oscar]].

Context VisualNovel / CauseOfDeath