[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/galerians_009_rpzrk.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Are you obsolete]]?]]

''Galerians'' is an ActionAdventure with SurvivalHorror elements, developed by Polygon Magic and published by ASCII Corporation / ASCII Soft, released in 1999.

[[YouWakeUpInARoom Waking up in an unfamiliar place]] can be an unsettling event. It's more so when you wake up alone and {{strapped to an operating table}}. Especially when you've mysteriously gained both {{psychic powers}} and [[IdentityAmnesia amnesia]].

That's the situation that the protagonist, 14-year-old Rion Steiner, finds himself in. When Rion hears a girl's voice calling to him for help inside his mind, he psychokinetically frees himself and sets about trying to find his way to her. Little does he know that the attempt will pit him against a whole army of guards and robots, several other psychics known as Galerians, and [[BigBad Dorothy]], a very angry supercomputer with [[AGodAmI a god complex]].

Unique to the game is that instead of guns or melee weapons, Rion relies on chemicals known as PPEC, which allow him to do various psychic powers. They are also very limited in supply and continuous absorption will cause Rion to have a splitting headache, known as "shorting", that can harm non-psychic beings around him but rapidly drains his health the longer it's active.

The second game, ''Galerians: Ash'', was released in 2002 for Platform/PS2, it updates the presentation into a full polygonal third person action adventure, and involves the characters of the future reviving Rion from the dead in order to fight a new group of Galerians whose intent is to restore Dorothy at all costs. It has one of the strangest endings ever seen in a survival horror game.

There is also a CG-based movie, ''Galerians: Rion'', which retells the first game, part of which is used in the "recap" sequence of the second game.

As with ''VideoGame/{{Overblood}}'' and ''VideoGame/BlueStinger'', there's a good chance (but not always) you know of this game from Game Informer's [[LetsPlay Super Replay]]. The first ''Galerians'' was also the subject of a WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} "Wrongpurae".

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!!This game series provides examples of:

* AbstractApotheosis: Based on his claim in ''Galerians: Ash'', [[spoiler:Rion became the embodiment of the Virus Program after being brought back from the dead.]]
* AbusiveParents: [[AIIsACrapshoot Supercomputers]] with [[AGodAmI god complexes]] not withstanding, [[spoiler:[[NeuroVault embedding your failsafe program in your child's brain]]]] is a little... questionable.
* AerithAndBob: '[[SomethingPerson Birdman]],' '[[MisterStrangenoun Rainheart]],' and...'Rita.' Okay.
* AgeLift: The North American and European versions of the first game change Rion's age to sixteen according to the computer in Stage-A, despite claiming to be 14 in the manuals.
* TheAggressiveDrugDealer: Joule in the [[NoTellMotel Babylon Hotel]].
* AIIsACrapshoot: To make her subservient, her creator taught Dorothy that humans served God as their creator and she must serve them as hers. The response? The Family Project. Dorothy decides to make her own super-powered children who will be subservient to her and wipe out her own creators. [[spoiler:Ash]] is also a computer program, not a Galerian.
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Rainheart, Rita, Spider, Nitro, Ash...]] Indeed, almost all the Galerians.
* AmnesiacHero: Rion spends the first game [[QuestForIdentity trying to recover his identity]].
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Not a terrifically dramatic example, but [[spoiler:Lilia says that she loves Rion right before the radiation poisoning gets her]] in Galerians: Ash.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Sensing abilities allow you to gather clues on how to proceed, apart from environmental narrative.
* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: Spider has a black and yellow costume theme reminiscent of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb-weaver_spider orb weaver spiders]].
* AssholeVictim: The majority of the Babylon Hotel lodgers are unsavory characters, [[spoiler:and they all end up dead, with the exception of the [[SoleSurvivor plumber]], who's probably the most helpful character in the building.]]
* AxCrazy: Birdman in the first game and Parano in the sequel.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Rion in the sequel.]] It also is a case of FishOutOfTemporalWater.
* BandagedFace: The first generation Rabbits have this, for whatever reason.
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Rion is depicted in various states undress, and tends to lack certain...features. Except in the official art. Even when he shows up [[MaleFrontalNudity completely nude]] in ''Galerians: Ash'', this trope is still in play.
* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Ash [[spoiler:manifested his multiple personalities]] after the equivalent of thousands of years of torment and isolation at the hands of his creator.
* BittersweetEnding: The first ''Galerians'' ends with [[spoiler: Dorothy being destroyed by the virus encoded within Rion's DNA, but at the cost of his life.]] ''Galerians: ASH'' [[spoiler: ends with the threat of ASH being thwarted, but it once again costs Rion's life (seemingly [[KilledOffForReal for real this time]]) as ASH was a part of him. On the plus side, he'll have the chance to reunite with those who are already dead.]]
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: Gigantic iron globe balanced on an absurdly long metal toothpick aside, whoever put [[EvilTowerOfOminousness the Mushroom Tower]]'s elevator systems together is completely insane.
* BlessedWithSuck: [=PPECs=] (Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals) grant psychic abilities such as pyrokinesis and telekinesis. The downside is that they're highly addictive, dangerous and overuse can result in a condition known as 'shorting', where the victim psychically destroys everything nearby instantly by [[MySkullRunnethOver literally blowing their minds]] - themselves included. There is a drug to stop it, but the question is whether the victim - or someone nearby - is able to inject it/shoot them with it in time.
* BodyInABreadbox: In Act 2, Rion goes home and finds that his parents have been killed. His dad is dead in the closet, while his mom has been literally StuffedInTheFridge.
* {{Bowdlerization}}:
** The term [=PPEC=] (Psychic Power Enhancement Chemical) only exists in the English version, evidently to avoid calling the drugs what they are.
** In the European versions, enemies that die while shorting use the same death animation while being killed by Nalcon.
* BodyHorror: Dorothy, you've [[EyesDoNotBelongThere got something in your mouth...]]
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Sure, Rion, you may have defeated Dorothy, but you also just succeeded in [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice killing yourself,]] [[PyrrhicVictory plunging the whole city into darkness,]] and waking up Ash.]]
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Ash has his initial written on his chest for some reason.
* TheBurlesqueOfVenus: A monumental statue referencing Botticceli's ''Birth of Venus'' features prominently in Stage A of the first game. The statue is labeled "New Master of Creation", referring to Dorothy.
* CainAndAbel: Rion and, uh... Cain.
* CaptainOblivious: Crovic, the plumber of the Babylon Hotel, does not notice that ''every single resident'', including the guy at the front desk, [[spoiler:has been horribly killed by Rainheart.]]
* CityNoir: Michelangelo City is an ideal example, complete with [[CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain dismal rain]] and ApatheticCitizens galore.
* TheComputerIsYourFriend: Dorothy was originally intended to just maintain the city. [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters She ends up plotting to destroy humanity.]]
* ComputerVirus: Once Dr. Steiner and Dr. Pascalle realized Dorothy was out of control, they developed a failsafe program to destroy her -- the Virus Program. They wrote the Virus Program into the brain of Lilia, Dr. Pascalle's daughter. Rion has a program to ''activate'' the Virus Program in his head, so the two must be united in order to destroy Dorothy.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Galerians are immune to instadeath from another Galerian shorting out, and most of the bosses are Galerians. Averted with the first boss of the first game, however; Dr. Lem is ''not'' a Galerian, and will die instantly if you short out during his boss fight.
* CoverVersion: Within the first game's first few minutes of actual gameplay, an instrumental remix of Music/NineInchNails' ''Terrible Lie'' can be heard.
* CreepyChild: Rainheart, and to a lesser extent Rion.
* DeadlyUpgrade: One of the drugs causes you to Short instantly. Seems like a PressXToDie, right? Not if you need to kill a lot of mooks ''really, really fast'' and have Delmetor on hand...
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Rion dies as Lilia holds him]]. ''Galerians: ASH'' reverses the roles, [[spoiler:with Lilia dying in Rion's arms.]]
* DisposableSexWorker: [[spoiler:Rainheart's rather gruesome murder of the prostitute Susan in the Babylon Hotel.]]
* DistressedDamsel: Lilia, for nearly all of the first game and chunks of the second.
* DubNameChange: In the French version of the first game, Rion's first name was changed to Ryan. In the German dub, this only affects the pronunciation, however.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Birdman, [[AxCrazy full stop]], being voiced by Creator/TakehitoKoyasu doesn't hurt either.
* EpicInstrumentalOpener: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN7Ccackj2I Release me, I wanna be free.]]
* EmergencyWeapon: While Shorting might look like this, it drains your health, so it just kills you faster. And it doesn't work on any bosses after the first, so it can't help you if you're completely out of drugs anyway. In short, if you run out of drugs (there's a finite supply and RespawningEnemies), you're dead.
* EmptyRoomPsych: The bathrooms seem like great places for shock horror, but the game never goes for it.
* EvilMatriarch: Dorothy is this for all of the Galerians, particularly Ash and Rainheart.
* EvilutionaryBiologist: Dorothy... kind of. It seems that she wants to eliminate humans and replace them with her more "advanced" children. In reality, her goal is more selfish - [[spoiler:she just wants to be superior to humans herself, and the Galerians are mere tools to reach that end.]]
* FakeUltimateHero: [[spoiler:Romero]], who also happens to be a fine case of DirtyCoward.
* FangsAreEvil: Every single tooth in Parano's [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily mouth]] is filed to a point.
* FashionsNeverChange: The year is 2522, and yet people are still dressing like it's the 90s.
* FlashbackCut: In the first game, Stage B is chock full of them.
* ForScience: Dr. Steiner and Dr. Pascalle only realized that developing an artificial intelligence that could expand itself indefinitely was a bad idea once it slipped its leash. It was lucky for them that it was only ''almost too late'' by the time they figured it out.
* FunWithAcronyms: [[spoiler:Ash's entire name is an acronym for the three fractured pieces of his personality: Anger, Sadness, and Hate.]]
%%* GadgeteerGenius: Pat.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: Our villains: a group of genetically engineered superhumans designed to supplant the human race.
%%* GigglingVillain: Birdman. Nonstop. Forever.
%%** Parano does this too.
* GodhoodSeeker: The true purpose of Dorothy's Family Project is to deify herself; she operates under the understanding that any life she creates is subservient to her. Likewise, [[spoiler:Ash operates under the same idea after he gets rid of Dorothy.]]
* GogglesDoNothing: Pat wears goggles, evidently just for pilot chic.
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Rion in both games after defeating the villain at the cost of his life.]]
* GuineaPigFamily: Dr. Steiner and Dr. Pascalle see no alternative for combating Dorothy besides [[spoiler:[[NeuroVault implanting dangerous viruses in their children's brains.]]]]
* GreenEyedMonster: Cain, whose green eyes are the main characteristic distinguishing him from [[spoiler:Rion]], ironically.
* HintSystem: Rion's ability to see psychic impressions on objects is used both in-story and out as one of these. When used on a puzzle object or locked door, it shows an image related to it (for example, used on a locked door, it might show a glimpse of where the key is). However, this feature is absent in ''Ash''.
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Rita, for whatever reason, is unable to kill herself, and thus relies on Rion to [[SuicideByCop do the job for her.]]]]
* TheIdealist: [[spoiler:Pat, in the secret ending.]] He seems to represent all of humanity in that -- saying that they are "looking towards a brighter future."
* IdentityAmnesia: Rion has no memories of his life before waking up in the hospital. He wouldn't know his own name if other people hadn't told him. [[spoiler:The twist he's not really an amnesiac, but rather a [[LossOfIdentity blank slate]] who spends the game "becoming Rion."]]
* ImAHumanitarian: In the movie, it is subtly implied that [[spoiler:Rainheart]] is a cannibal.
* ImmediateSequel: Even better; ''Ash'' starts a few rooms before the first game ends and even includes the final boss as the tutorial enemy.
* InsideAComputerSystem: A large portion of the second game is set inside the remnants of the Mushroom Tower computer system.
* KidHero: It's easy to forget that Rion is fourteen (or sixteen in the international versions) during the first game.
* KillItWithFire: Red, the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aptly named]] pyrokinetic drug. Also, this trope is Rainheart's preferred method of fighting. Using Red against him is ''not'' wise.
* KissOfDeath: Let the HoYay commence! Ash ingests uranium and transfers it to Rion by mouth. Later, Rion returns the favor [[spoiler:by transferring a deletion program to Ash by mouth]].
* KungFuWizard: Ash and his [[{{Narm}} completely ridiculous karate chops.]]
* LickingTheBlade: In ''Galerians: Ash'', Parano does this as a part of his knife shtick.
* LimitBreak: The Shorting mechanic. Rion's AP gauge slowly ticks up, based on damage taken, exertion, and Rion's level of tension. Once full, Rion's powers will go berserk the next time he tries to use them, [[OneHitKill instakilling]] any nearby mooks.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: Not an egregious case, but it does occur every time you walk through a door. ''galerians... galerians... galerians... galerians... galerians...''
* MacGuffinSuperPerson: Lilia mostly just stands around in the first game. Her plot significance comes from the fact that she carries the Virus Program.
* MadDoctor: Dr. Lem is completely sold on Dorothy's plan to become the "New Master of Creation," and his contribution to the cause involves lots of human experimentation.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Nalcon creates a sonic boom.
* MentalWorld: Appears many times in both games. In the first game, it showed up during the deaths of [[spoiler:Rainheart and Rita when Rion pulls their psyche into his own mind for a few moments in their last minutes of life]], but most prevalent in the sequel when it is revealed that [[spoiler:Rion has been in a digital world during ''all'' of his encounters with the Last Galerians.]]
* MissingMom: Lilia's mother is never heard from or even spoken of at any point.
* MrExposition: Dr. Albert Steiner pretty much dumps the entire plot of the game into the player's lap in a [[ExpositionBreak four minute long pre-recorded monologue]] and then vanishes from the plot. That's justifiable since [[spoiler:he's dead]].
* MyBelovedSmother: Dorothy to all of her children, [[spoiler:though arguably the most to Ash.]]
* NameOfCain: Uh, Cain.
* NonDubbedGrunts: While the rest of the first game's FMV cutscenes were dubbed into English for the international versions, the intro FMV retains Rion's Japanese grunts and screams.
* NostalgiaLevel: The tutorial of ''Galerians: ASH'' has you playing two loops of the final chapter of the first ''Galerians''.
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: In the sequel, nobody seems to notice or care that Nitro is headlighting ''through an iron breastplate'' or that Dr. Lilia's dress shows off her underthings.
* OffingTheOffspring: Dorothy seems to have no problem with sending her own creations to their doom, [[spoiler:if creating Cain for the sole purpose of killing her other child Rion is any indicator.]]
* OminousLatinChanting: "Memina Tui" from the sequel. It's a little bit jarring next to the electro-industrial noise that comprises most of the rest of the soundtrack.
* OnlyICanKillHim: According to Rion, only a Child of Dorothy can kill another Child of Dorothy. Considering the opposition is psychic, [[spoiler:non-corporeal, and/or hangs out in a radiation-riddled derelict power plant,]] he's probably right.
* OrderliesAreCreeps: The staff of Michelangelo Hospital. The ones that are often shown on screen are always doctors playing experiments for their paycheck; later on in the Babylon Hotel, you'll come across a drug dealer who is selling the same PPECs smuggled out by some of the staff.
* OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank: The impressive fountains of blood generated by victims of Rion's [[YourHeadAsplode head-popping mode]].
* OverlordJr: Ash is Dorothy's progeny and takes her place as BigBad in ''Galerians: Ash''.
* PedophilePriest: The priest in the Babylon Hotel ''claims'' to just want donations, but he's a little ''too'' touchy-feely around Rion for comfort.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Why didn't Rita or Rainheart just tell Birdman that they had Lilia trapped in the Babylon Hotel?
** In that same vein, why didn't 'anyone' tell Rion [[spoiler:about what he really is?]]
* PsychicLink: Lilia and Rion, to the extent that whenever Rion feels pain, Lilia feels it as well.
* PsychicNosebleed: Occurs frequently when a lot of mental exertion is going on. Sometimes coupled with TearsOfBlood.
* PsychicPowers: Oh, so much...
** In the ''first game alone'', we have the drugs D-Felon (telekinesis), Red (pyrokinesis), and Nalcon (sonic waves generated through the mind). Rion is also permanently under the effect of a drug that gives him telepathy and the ability to read psychic impressions on objects.
* PsychoElectro: Parano's main abilities, aside from cutting and spinning around nonstop, involve electricity.
* ShapeShifting: [[spoiler:Nitro disguises herself as Lilia.]]
* SquishyWizard: Lilia, the carrier of [[spoiler:the virus program]] and a girl with the ability to stop Galerians from using their powers. Her greatest weakness is being hit in the face with tables.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Characters in this series tend not to be heavily dressed, and midriffs are bared rampantly. Naturally, [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains the bad guys are more stripperiffic]]; Rita (CleavageWindow, ZettaiRyouiki) and Nitro (VaporWear, ShowgirlSkirt) are the prime examples. Birdman wears overalls...and that's about it.
** [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Incorruptibly pure]] Lilia clearly sports a BlackBraAndPanties in ''Galerians: Ash''...and at least black panties in the first game.
** Averted with the military personnel in ''Galerians: Ash'', who wear convincing fatigues and body armor.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: According to the sequel's logic, time in a computer passes infinitely slower than time in the real world. With that in mind, [[spoiler:[[AndIMustScream Ash has been stuck in isolation in the computer for what would be equivalent to thousands of years.]]]] No wonder he went crazy.
* ReplayMode: In both games, you can rewatch cutscenes you've seen once in the Movie Preview, or the Movie Viewer in Ash.
* SameContentDifferentRating: The original game was rated Mature. The Platform/PlayStation2 sequel, Ash, was rated Teen, despite having a ContentWarning in the beginning.
* SelectiveCondemnation: Despite having just killed dozens upon dozens of hospital employee [=NPCs=] without even blinking during his escape, Rion [[spoiler:inexplicably feels bad about killing Birdman.]]
* SkeleBot9000: Ties in with a rather unexpected RoboticReveal. In the middle of the [[spoiler:first]] bossfight, [[spoiler:Clinic Chief Lem suddenly [[OneWingedAngel sheds his skin and turns into the Terminator.]]]]
* SnowMeansDeath: Seen in Rita's MentalWorld after the BossBattle with her.
* SoLastSeason: The drug Skip changes functions from the first game to the second. In the first game, Skip is a temporary PowerUp that boosts Rion's psychic power level until his health goes critical. In ''Galerians: Ash'', a Skip tablet is RareCandy -- it raises the power level of one of Rion's abilities permanently. They're often given out as reward for defeating a boss.
* SoleSurvivor: Out of both games, [[spoiler:Pat is the only named character to survive.]]
* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Parano, Spider, and Nitro are actually all fragments of Ash's personality.]] Also, [[spoiler:Rainheart]] seems to suffer from an alternate personality, one that is brought out into the open by the [=PPECs=].
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Ash plans to [[TheDogBitesBack kill Dorothy instead of resurrecting her]] and take all remaining power for himself.]]
* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: Rion, at the beginning of the game.
* SuperPowerMeltdown: Happens to the player as part of the game's mechanics whenever they overuse their psychic powers and short out.
** Also, [[spoiler:the second half of the final Ash BossFight when he and his multiple personalities all just start freaking out.]]
* SuperSerum: [=PPECs=] (Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals) allow Rion and others to use psychic powers.
* TomatoInTheMirror: This trope is the ''Galerians'' series' big twist of choice.
** In ''Galerians'', [[spoiler:Rion isn't the real Rion. The real Rion is dead, and the protagonist is a Galerian clone of Rion Steiner created to lure Lilia out of hiding.]]
** In ''Galerians: Ash'', [[spoiler:Ash is the only Last Galerian. The other three are split personalities Ash manifested due to Dorothy's abuse and neglect.]]
* {{Tykebomb}}: The Galerians are a group of DesignerBabies who live in fear of their "mother", and will do ''anything'' she orders.
* UnexplainedAccent: Parano rolls his 'R's very faintly. This may be an echo of Parano's Japanese VA, who rolls his 'R's with impunity because it sounds tough in that language. However, in English it just becomes a head-scratcher.
* UnwinnableByDesign: All drugs in the game are finite - including Delmetor, the drug that lets you stop a Short. When you Short, you take damage steadily until you take Delmetor or die. Since the meter that makes you Short goes up slowly over time (and more rapidly if you attack or take damage), if you've used up all the available Delmetor in a stage and end up Shorting, you're doomed. Similarly, running out of offensive drugs before you beat a level's boss will usually make the game unwinnable - the first game's first boss can be killed by Shorting, but none of the others can.
* UterineReplicator: In Mushroom Tower, Rion finds the devices in which the Galerians were created. [[spoiler:Including one for himself.]]
* VasquezAlwaysDies: Cas is a [[Film/{{Aliens}} Vasquez]] {{expy}}. Guess what happens to her?
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Not only does the first act have you popping and setting fire to dozens of (relatively) innocent scientists, but you can kill them while they're on the ground trying to perform CPR on their fallen colleagues.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Lilia serves as remote mission control to Rion in ''Galerians: Ash''.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Ash is a pretty classic [[{{Bishounen}} pretty boy]] baddie.
* WholeCostumeReference: The second generation Rabbits are all dressed exactly like [[Film/DarkCity the Strangers]].
* YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord: Somewhat averted in that it's never explicitly mentioned in-game and the term itself is more of a vague prisoner metaphor, but the term 'Galerian' seems to be a corruption of the French word '[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galley_slave galérien,]]' which translates to 'galley slave,' a criminal or prisoner of war forced to row in galleys.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Parano repeatedly loses to Rion, so [[spoiler:Ash shoots him in the head. When Parano re-manifests before the final boss fight, he returns the favor to Ash.]]
* YouShallNotPass: In a moment of considerable badassery, Cas uses explosives to take out a bunch of Ash's forces and close a security breach, [[spoiler:but sacrifices herself in the process.]]
* YouWakeUpInARoom: How it all begins. The player knows exactly as much about Rion as Rion knows about himself -- which is nothing.
* YourHeadAsplode: When Rion loses control of his powers, his brainwaves will pop the heads of any mooks in his vicinity. The caveat is that Rion's health slowly drains away in this state.
* XenomorphXerox: The Arabesques enemies are ''Franchise/{{Alien}}esque'' with a coat of ''Resident Evil''.
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