Line #16 VisualNovel/Sampaguita


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sampaguita_cover_1118.png]]
2
3	->''"Will you love me forever?"''
4	-->--Tagline in the trailers of the game, said by the main heroine, '''Maria'''
5
6	''Sampaguita'' (サンパギータ) is the third entry in the interactive anime VisualNovel series ''{{VisualNovel/Yarudora}}'', produced by Creator/SonyComputerEntertainment, and developped by Sugar&Rockets and Creator/ProductionIG. The game was initially released in 1998 on [[Platform/{{Playstation}} Playstation 1]], then re-released in 2005 on Platform/PlaystationPortable.
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8	Autumn, in Tokyo. In the middle of a rainy night, the main protagonist (i.e. the character controlled by the player), an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary University Student]], comes out of a mixer party organised by his fellow comrades of his part-time job. The train and bus services are long over, and there's no taxi around: he has no choice but to walk his way home, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor bemoaning on how his friends manage to get girls so easily while he doesn't]].
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10	Suddenly, a police car comes his way. Thinking about it, there were an awful lot of them moving around the station... The policemen in the car ask the protagonist if he has seen a South Asian-type individual nearby, to which he answers he didn't. The policemen let him go while asking him to call them in case. A few minutes later, in a dark backstreet, the protagonist has a chance meeting with a girl. She clearly is Southeast Asian, has a wound at the forehead, she's limping, [[IdentityAmnesia and has lost her memories]]: the only thing she remembers is her name, "Maria Santos". Touched by her plight, the protagonist carries her back to his home.
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12	Once there, they examine the girl's belongings. Inside her bag, they find two photos; a wad of cash; a make-up set; a cassette tape... and, to their surprise, a small, but real handgun. Maria being cleary in shock and tired, the protagonist puts her to bed. The following morning, the protagonist goes to his work, assuming that Maria would have slipped away when he would come back in the afternoon. Instead, he finds his flat cleaned-up and Maria still there. "I have nowhere else to go..."
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14	And thus begins the protagonist and Maria's cohabitation, as they go on a [[QuestForIdentity quest for her identity]]. As time passes, their relationship blossoms into romance. [[EarnYourHappyEnding But their love will soon be put to test]], as a mysterious man from [[{{UsefulNotes/Philippines}} the Philippines]] will appear, and the {{Yakuza}}, the {{Triad}}, and the Japanese police will come after Maria, and not for good intentions...
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16	The "Autumn" title of the four original [[Platform/{{Playstation}} Playstation 1]] ''{{VisualNovel/Yarudora}}'' games, ''Sampaguita'' was directed by Mizuho Nishikubo (''Anime/GhostInTheShell movie'', ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold'', ''Anime/Patlabor2TheMovie''), and the character design is courtesy of Creator/ShirowMasamune (''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'', ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}'') and Takayuki Goto (''Manga/BlueSeed'', ''Manga/PleaseSaveMyEarth OAV'').
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18	'''BEWARE, this game is very story-driven. DO NOT HIGHLIGHT THE MARKED SPOILERS BELOW if you want to keep the full experience of the game. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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20	----
21	!!This game presents the following tropes:
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23	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects:
24	** The buildings in the background, during the sequence where a car is running on a highway (said sequence is the very first scene in the game's 1st opening).
25	** The airplanes in the very last scene of Good End 2.
26	* ActionSurvivor: The protagonist, when going in [[spoiler: Good End 2]] route. He's really out of place in the middle of the climax's StormingTheCastle event, being an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary University Student]] with no firearms or fighting skills, and awfully scared. It's only [[spoiler: his love for Maria and [[{{Determinator}} his determination]] to rescue her]] that drives him forward.
27	* AdventureGame
28	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: At the beginning of the game, the protagonist goes on a mental rant about his friends getting girls so easily while he doesn't. And then he meets [[LoveInterest Maria]], plunging him into one hell of a story that will change his life forever. [[MultipleEndings The outcome]], [[HappyEnding happy]] or [[DownerEnding not]], will depend [[StoryBranching on your choices]].
29	* BigNo: Maria, if following the [[spoiler: Good End 3]] route, when [[spoiler: the protagonist dies in her arms after TakingTheBullet for her]].
30	* BottomlessMagazines: Firmly averted. [[spoiler: The protagonist's gun in the StormingTheCastle event only has one magazine with a finite number of bullets. Whether he empties it on a previous enemy or not before reaching the Yakuza Boss and Maria, will determine which of [[TheseHandsHaveKilled Good Ending 2]], [[TakingTheBullet Good Ending 3]], or [[StupidSacrifice Normal Ending 2]] you'll see.]]
31	* CanonName: While the game [[HelloInsertNameHere lets you name your protagonist]], in the Drama CD, the player protagonist is named "Ryousuke Tsugihara". This is a trope of note, as the Drama CD's story follows the [[spoiler: Good]] End [[spoiler: 3]] route: [[spoiler: see SomeoneToRememberHimBy and DeadGuyJunior below]].
32	* CuttingOffTheBranches: While the game has many Endings, its official derivative works went with specific Endings for their respective canon:
33	** The Collectible Card Collection went with Good End 2 as the main storyline, while Good End 3, Normal End 2, Bad End 1, and Bad End 9 became Parallel Stories;
34	** The Drama CD went with [[spoiler: Good End 3]].
35	* [[spoiler: DeadGuyJunior]]: In the epilogue of the Drama CD, Maria gave [[spoiler: her baby boy the name of his deceased father, the protagonist Ryousuke]].
36	* DramaticGunCock: One of the {{Triad}} members does this at the game's climax. The scene where he cocks his shotgun is also viewable in the game's 1st opening, without the cocking sound however.
37	* EndingTropes:
38	** BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Good End 2 and 3. The former is on the sweeter side; the latter on the more bitter side.]]
39	** HappyEnding: [[spoiler: Good End 1]].
40	** [[spoiler: TheHeroDies]]: [[spoiler: In Good End 3. He [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet]] [[HeroicSacrifice in order to save Maria]]]].
41	** [[spoiler: NewChildLeftBehind]]: [[spoiler: In Good End 2. The protagonist kills the Yakuza boss while defending Maria; assuming his crime, he turns himself to the police, and gets jailed for 5 years. He serves his prison time and reunites with Maria, who now has a 4-years old boy born from her and the protagonist, concieved during the time they were cohabiting]].
42	** [[spoiler: SomeoneToRememberHimBy]]: [[spoiler: In Good End 3. The protagonist dies protecting Maria. [[OurGhostsAreDifferent He awakes as a ghost two years later]], and after wandering for a little time in Japan, he decides to go search for Maria. He finds her, and discovers she has a baby, born from her and him. The baby is able to see him; feeling happy and at peace of mind by seeing them safe, the protagonist decides to watch over them from now on, musing that being a ghost is not too bad of a thing.]]
43	* FireForgedFriends: The main protagonist and [[spoiler: Boy]] eventually become this, [[spoiler: [[IOweYouMyLife after the protagonist saves Boy from an assassination attempt by the Yakuza]]]].
44	* FlowerMotif: The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasminum_sambac sampaguita, or Jasminum Sambac]]. Not only it symbolizes Maria, a delicate, exotic flower lost in the middle of an unknown country, but it also symbolizes the relationship between her and the main protagonist, as it has a meaning of "[[http://books.google.fr/books?id=ET5YWTm1VPkC&pg=PA20&dq=sampaguita+%22sumpa+kita%22&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=0ZmoUZCADan1iwLkqYDQAQ&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=sampaguita%20%22sumpa%20kita%22&f=false a promise of eternal love between two people]]".
45	* GamerChick: Maria, who's really good at arcade games.
46	* GoryDiscretionShot: Played straight for the heroic characters: neither the protagonist nor [[spoiler: Boy]] get graphic representations of their deaths in Bad Endings, the camera focusing on their killers' faces instead. Averted for the BigBad characters though, who are killed with graphic [[BoomHeadshot shots to the head]] or blade slashes.
47	* IdentityAmnesia / QuestForIdentity: Just like in the other ''{{VisualNovel/Yarudora}}'' games, this is the driving force of the game, as not only the protagonist and Maria are searching for her memories, but [[BigBad the bad guys]] are also after her for said memories.
48	* KnightTemplarBigBrother: They may [[NotBloodSiblings not be blood siblings]], but Boy considers Maria as his little sister, and is '''very''' protective of her. [[spoiler: They're actually in Japan as a condition for letting Maria go off the Chinese Syndicate, as he vehemently opposed to making her work in it and dirty her hands.]] He's ''extremely'' hostile to the protagonist and the relationship he has with Maria [[spoiler: until the FireForgedFriends event]]; [[spoiler: and the Yakuza soon learn the meaning of suffering when he rescues Maria from their clutches]].
49	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: If Maria recovers her memories, she'll tell to the protagonist that, the day before she went to Japan, the old man who taught her Japanese told her fortune, and said the following (which the player will see and hear firsthand via {{flashback}} sequence):
50	-->'''Old Man''': In Japan, you'll meet [[PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration a man]] who will be of the utmost, precious significance to you. [[MultipleEndings Whether you'll become happy or not]], will [[StoryBranching depend on his actions]].
51	* LongSongShortScene: Track n°40 "Ending 6", played at the very last scene of Good End 2. It lasts 1 minute and 45 seconds before looping; however, only the first 30 seconds of it are played during that scene, before the protagonist's last line and the credits cut it short.
52	* MultinationalTeam: [[spoiler: To rescue Maria from the Yakuza, Boy (a Filipino) assembles a strike team consisting of himself, of 8 Chinese members of the {{Triad}} who have a life debt towards him, and eventually of the protagonist (a Japanese young man) too if you're following the Good End 2 or 3 routes.]]
53	* NeckSnap: [[spoiler: Boy]] does a graphic one to a {{Mook}} at the beginning of the StormingTheCastle event.
54	* NonStandardGameOver: The first 6 Bad Ends come off as this. They happen at the very beginning of the game, and are triggered only if you: hand over Maria to the police (Bad End 2), fail to escape them (Bad End 1), [[CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest are lecherous towards Maria]] (Bad End 3 and 4), [[SomeoneElsesProblem don't want to help her]] (Bad End 5), or outright don't meet her by accepting the policeman's offer to ride you back home (Bad End 6).
55	* [[spoiler: OurGhostsAreDifferent]]: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by the protagonist [[spoiler: after he has become one, in Good End 3]]:
56	** Regarding {{Flight}}:
57	-->'''Protagonist''': "There's something I understood [[spoiler: when I became a ghost]]. [[spoiler: Even when you become a ghost]], you don't fly in the sky like in {{manga}}s. Things like [[GravityIsAHarshMistress gravity]] and [[InertiaIsACruelMistress the law of inertia]] are still in full effect. When you have to travel to a faraway place, you still have to use means of transport after all. That said, nobody will be angry at you even if you don't buy a ticket..."
58	** Regarding [[PsychicDreamsForEveryone Dreamwalking]]:
59	-->'''Protagonist''': "[[spoiler: When you become a ghost]], something that's inconvenient, is that you can't talk with ordinary people. But, if you enter in those people's dreams..." [[spoiler: ''[Cue the protagonist entering in his brother-in-law Mizushima's dream, and having a conversation with him about what happened during the last two years his soul was in limbo, and in which Mizushima informs him about Maria and her whereabouts.]'']]
60	** Regarding [[TranslatorMicrobes communication]]:
61	-->'''Protagonist''' [[spoiler: ''[as he has arrived in Manila and is about to meet Maria]'']]: In my happiness [[spoiler: ''[of being about to meet Maria]'']], something surprised me. What everyone were saying... I could understand all of it! I don't know why, but I could understand [[spoiler: the language of that country]]!! Is that because [[spoiler: I'm a ghost]]? If that's the case, then [[spoiler: being a ghost]] is not that bad of a thing.
62	* PhotoshopFilterOfEvil:
63	** The game's cover above, although it's done to symbolize the mystery behind Maria and her memories, as she's not evil.
64	** During the game, happens the instant [[spoiler: the protagonist [[TheHeroDies gets fatally shot]] [[TakingTheBullet while protecting Maria with his body]], in Good End 3 and Normal End 2]].
65	* PinkySwear: In the Drama CD, the protagonist, Ryousuke, introduce Maria to this Japanese custom (who takes the "if you break your promise you'll eat a thousand needles" bit [[LiteralMinded literally]] and panics, telling Ryousuke would die if he does that), and makes a promise with her to go to a Japanese festival the next week. [[spoiler: Ryousuke later makes with Maria another PinkySwear of going to the Philippines on Christmas to see the festival there; unfortunately for them, the Drama CD follows [[TheHeroDies the Good End 3 route]]... He however ultimately keeps his promise, [[OurGhostsAreDifferent making Maria aware of his presence via a power outage and the help of the wind.]]]]
66	* ShrinkingViolet: Maria suffers a chronic case of this, ever since her childhood days. Because of her shy nature, she hardly was able to make friends; when she was in the Philippines, it's only via Boy, who went and befriended her, that she could make some friends.
67	* StormingTheCastle: The event that gives the "Action" label to the game, as well as the warnings of graphic violence on the game's box. At the game's climax, [[spoiler: Boy and the {{Triad}} members who owe him a life debt go and storm the {{Yakuza}}'s headquarters in order to [[RoaringRampageOfRescue rescue the kidnapped Maria]]. The protagonist can join the battle as well in Good End 2 and 3 routes]].
68	* StreetUrchin: Maria, Boy, and Randy Santiago were this in their childhood. In order to survive, they had to do little jobs like selling sampaguita flowers or junk; they had little food, and had to sleep in corners of the streets. [[spoiler: Thanks to his street-wise skills and knowledge of English, Boy managed to get himself and Maria taken in charge by a Chinese crime syndicate, making their life easier, but at the cost of Boy's innocence, as he had to kill people in many of the jobs given by the syndicate]].
69	* StuffBlowingUp: During the StormingTheCastle sequence.
70	* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: One of the antagonist factions after Maria. [[spoiler: Or, this is what [[NeverTrustATrailer the trailers]] and the Attract Mode video would make you believe; they're actually on Boy and the protagonist's side, as they're here to [[IOweYouMyLife repay the life debt they owe to Boy]], by helping them saving Maria from the {{Yakuza}}'s clutches.]]
71	* [[spoiler: TheseHandsHaveKilled]]: In Good Ending 2, right after the protagonist [[spoiler: has shot down the Yakuza Boss to protect Maria, he contemplates in horror his hands soaked with blood. After he, Maria and Boy make their escape out of the building, he again contemplates his hands all while telling Boy and Maria he won't follow them any further, and will surrender himself to the police, as he feels that no matter the reasons, he has killed a human being with these hands of him, and [[TheAtoner has to atone for it]].]]
72	* UpperClassTwit: Hikaru Sato is a prime example of this trope. Being born and raised in a very rich family, "A human being's value is decided upon his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]], his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections power]], and his [[ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful beauty]]" is his motto, and he's such an unsufferable {{Jerkass}} the protagonist is the [[OnlyFriend only person]] who can ([[barely]]) stand him.
73	* VisualNovel
74	* WeHaveToGetTheBulletOut: [[spoiler: Boy]] does it to himself [[spoiler: after he escapes an assassination attempt by the Yakuza thanks to the protagonist]]. With a knife, lots of cotton, a bottle of disinfectant, and bandages. And he manages to be healthy enough two days later to kick some major [[spoiler: Yakuza]] ass during the StormingTheCastle event.
75	* WhatBeautifulEyes: Maria's distinctive physical trait, as the game's cover above testifies.
76	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Maria ''abhors'' cockroackes.
77	* {{Yakuza}}: One of the antagonist factions after Maria. [[WouldHitAGirl And they're not above hitting a girl]], much less killing those who stand in their way -including the protagonist.
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Context VisualNovel / Sampaguita