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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/12622_time_commando_dos_front_cover.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[TagLine Fight your way through time. Or you're history.]]]]

''Time Commando''...

The future.

The military are training their soldiers with a program that can mimic any combat from any time period.

A man, a spy from a rival company, puts a predator virus into the system sabotaging it and creating a time vortex that threatens to consume the world.

Enter Stanley Opar, a S.A.V.E ([[FunWithAcronyms Special Action for Virus Elimination]]) operative to get rid of the virus. But this virus might be more than he can handle...

Time Commando is a 1996 action-adventure game for the Platform/PlayStation, Platform/SegaSaturn and PC, developed by Adeline Software and published by Electronic Arts, Activision and Virgin Interactive during several years. It is [[http://www.gog.com/gamecard/time_commando available on GOG]] [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1758910/Time_Commando/ and FINALLY on Steam.]]

Notable for the MANY different enemies and a wide variety of weapons (at least 6 per level, including bare fists), with most having different ranges, speeds and/or strengths. Each age has its own distinct set of weapons with some having more focus on melee fighting while other ages putting more emphasis on ranged combat.

Speaking of combat, the game puts a lot of emphasis on timing your strikes and being careful not to leave yourself open to retaliation.

There are many types of enemies scattered throughout every level and some enemies can be resistant or downright immune to certain weapons which will force the player to adapt their combat style depending on what foe they're facing. Almost every level posses at least one big, tough enemy, or a group of them waiting for you at the end before you complete it, so it's important to always stay prepared for the tougher encounters.

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!! This game provides examples of:
* OneUp: Odd triangle shaped items. Stanley starts with none but can carry up to three.
* HundredPercentCompletion: At the end of each level you'll get a tally of how many enemies you defeated, how many items you've picked and how many secrets you found. Getting 100% in all three for all levels is purely for braggining, though.
* {{Acrofatic}}: The sumo wrestler in Japanese Middle Ages level is very light on his feet.
* ActionSurvivor: The hero is basically a glorified [=IT=] support technician.
* AfterBossRecovery: Averted. Even after a grueling boss fight you'll be left with the same amount of health for the next level.
* AllCavemenWereNeanderthals: {{Averted}}. The cavemen in the first level look Homo Sapiens.
* AllMonksKnowKungFu: You fight a presumably karate monk in Japanese Middle Ages. European Middle Ages also has these, albeit in a much less refined fighting style.
* AllThereInTheManual: The intro doesn't explain what's going on in any detail. Even the name of the main character, Stanley Opar, is never stated in the European version of the intro that has no voice overs.
* AIBreaker: The boss of the Conquistadors level will not attack you until you move. If you simply hold still as soon as you enter the room and just shoot him with the pistol and blowgun, you can kill him without taking a scratch.
* AnachronismStew: Modern Wars stands out with the first level giving what it looks like a single action rifle/revolver and the second level brings a fully automatic assault rifle.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
** Modern Wars levels gives you plenty of ammo to work with and you have to deliberately waste all of it to run out of bullets.
** You have unlimited time in the final level which lets you take your time when fighting the bosses. [[spoiler:given that the FinalBoss can be a pretty long fight this is also a good thing.]]
* AnnoyingArrows: Averted. The Crossbow in European Middle Ages is among the deadliest weapons Stanley can use. But played straight with Wild West enemies. While their arrows hurt, they're ridiculously slow and easy to dodge, however, do serve as a deadly distraction to much more dangerous gun wielding enemies.
* ArmCannon: The Future has one. True to the trope, it can fire your entire ammunition without reloading.
* ArmorIsUseless: Generally averted. Heavily armored enemies can be only harmed by strong weapons. For instance, trying to punch heavily armored knights in the European Medieval Ages will result in NoSell. The armored space suit that Stanley finds in the Future level also causes him to take much less damage from enemy attacks.
* ArtificialStupidity: If BottomlessPits are close to enemies you can expect them to gleefully run into it.
* AttackAnimal: Near the end of the second Modern Wars level you are assaulted by an enemy unit with dogs.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The 6th slot weapons are (usually) the most destructive weapon in the era you're playing. However, they're also too slow for regular combat being best used to slay the boss of the second part of the level. If said weapons require ammo expect it to be very rare and scarce.
* BadWithTheBone: The first melee weapon of the game is a bone knife. Roman Empire's first enemy is a lady ready to shank you.
* BadassBandolier: The some enemies from Wild West have these.
* BagOfSpilling: Zig-zagged. Between levels Stanley will keep his levels, but once he jumps to another age he'll lose all of his weapons.
* BareHandedBladeBlock: Averted. Trying this will result in Stanley taking damage.
* BattleThemeMusic: The music will get more intense during combat in several parts of all levels.
* BayonetYa: You and enemies from Modern Wars can do this with the rifle weapon.
* BearsAreBadNews: [[spoiler:Especially when the last boss of the second Prehistoric level is one. The damn thing is so huge it dwarfs Stanley when it's standing on its hind legs.]]
* BeamSpam: Downplayed. Still, the Future level ArmCannon fires up to 5 energy beams in quick succession and two bursts are usually enough to vaporize all but the toughest enemies in these levels.
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: You'll fight several enemies with their own weapons or weapons of the same type.
* {{BFS}}: European Middle Ages has one of these used by enemies; you can get one for yourself too.
* {{BFG}}: The Gatling Laser ArmCannon in the Future level which takes one of Stanley's entire arm to use.
* BigFancyCastle: Both levels of European Middle Ages take place in a castle.
* BigRedDevil: [[spoiler:The boss of the second European Middle Ages level]].
* BlockingStopsAllDamage: Played both straight and subverted. Trying to block weapon attacks without a weapon of similar size at best ends up with Stanley flinching and at worst taking full damage as if he hadn't blocked at all.
* BlowGun: One of the weapons in the Conquistadors level.
* BoringButPractical: The 3rd and 4th slot weapons are usually not powerful, but in most levels they're easy to get and, in case of ranged weapons, their ammo usually aren't ''too'' rare.
* BoobyTrap: The first level of Prehistory has a giant swinging boulder trap. The first level of European Medieval Ages has spike traps laid on a corridor.
* BossRush: [[spoiler:The final level features virus version of bosses from Prehistory, European Middle Ages and Future for you to fight.]]
* BottomlessPits: Shows up every once in a while and due to how graphics are rendered it's not always easy to distinguish them. Or judge the distance required to jump between one and another.
* BoulderBludgeon: Rocks are the ranged weapon of choice in Prehistoric level. The Roman Empire level has them used in slingers.
* BullfightBoss: Against an actual bull no less.
* CanineCompanion: The '''only''' entity that doesn't try to kill you on the spot is a friendly dog in the second level of Modern Wars.
* CarryABigStick: Two in the first level, a normal-sized and a gigantic one. The latter is so large that Stanley simply hides behind it when using it to block attacks.
* CharacterSelectForcing: Some enemies, usually the last boss of the second level of each age, can only be harmed by the strongest weapons you found, normally the 5th and 6th slot ones.
* CheatCode: ''Time Commando'' has in-game cheats for things like get all weapons, infinite ammo and [[BottomlessMagazines instant reload]] and more. You must type it in the PC version, or press a set of specific button inputs in the [=PS1=] version.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: The Space Suit you can get in the Future level. It makes Stanley very heavy and slow and his attacks look a lot more clumsy due to its weight, but it also makes it proportionally stronger and gives Stanley a hefty defensive bonus too. [[spoiler:You must be wearing it before triggering the final event of the second level or else Stanley will be thrown into deep space with no protection and die instantly regardless of how many lives you have left.]]
* CombatHandFan: One of the few ranged weapons availabe in Japanese Middle Ages is a throwable fan.
* CombatPragmatist: You can choose to fight honorably using the same weapon against your enemies... OR you can choose to fight by bringing the biggest weapon you can at the moment, like using swords against unarmed enemies or pulling a crossbow against flail and sword wielding enemies. You can be well damn sure your enemies won't give you any quarter and if they're armed with a ranged weapon they won't drop it to fight you honorably.
* CommonplaceRare: Pistol ammo in the first Modern Wars level is weirdly rare with the game instead handing you rifle ammo like candy.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: A lot of enemies tend to break out of your onslaught of attacks with some invincibility. You have no such luxury until you lose a precious OneUp.
* ConcealmentEqualsCover: If its hidden you can't shoot/explode it.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: The first ninjas you fight in Japense Middle Ages are a fairly decent challenge. But the group of ninjas fought after defeating [[spoiler:the dragon]] in the second Japense Middle Ages level usually will go down like chumps since by this point you'll have superior weapons and potentially a KamehameHadoken that will really mess them up.
* ContinuingIsPainful: Losing a life also deduces one HeartContainer from you. This alone can make the rest of the level much more difficult.
* CoversAlwaysLie: See all those weapons Stanley carries before the adventure starts? He never wears them, not even in the game's intro.
* CriticalAnnoyance: The [[TimedMission Time Limit]] bar will start beeping loudly and constantly if it's too close to filling up.
* CriticalExistenceFailure: Stanley can survive with a sliver of health just fine. Anything beyond it drops him dead.
* CrosshairAware: Ranged weapons always give you a useful crosshair to indicate an enemy is in aligned with your aim. The levels up to Conquistadors give a simple yellow circle crosshair, the Wild West and Modern Wars give a more elaborate one and the Future level has an appropriately futuristic red crosshair.
* CurbStompBattle: If you bring a higher-tiered weapon against an enemy the fight easily turns into this.
* {{Cutscene}}: You are treated to a short cutscene for every level you beat. It usually foreshadows the next age you'll be in.
* CycleOfHurting: One of the reasons why fighting more than one enemy is very dangerous. If you get cornered by any enemy breaking out can be tough, even more so with two, and if you're fighting enemies with ranged weapons you can get stunlocked until you die.
* DeadlyDodging: All enemy attacks are capable of damaging other enemies, so proper use of this trope can make otherwise tough fights much easier.
* DeathCryEcho: Most enemies and Stanley, in some cases, do this upon meeting their demise.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: Sometimes you'll have to slowly chip away a tough enemy's health with whatever you have at hand.
* DegradedBoss: Some of the tougher enemies are given a quick introduction establishing them as bigger threats. It doesn't stop the game from throwing more of them at you as early as the very next screen.
* DefendCommand: Pressing Action + Down will trigger a temporary defensive stance. For guns it'll reload them.
* DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:In the final level.]]
* DemBones: The boss of the first European Middle Ages level is a skeleton knight clad in black armor with a two-handed axe. A ''very'' big two-handed axe.
* DeviousDaggers: The first enemy of the Roman Empire is a woman concealing a knife behind her as she approaches Stanley. After being defeated Stanley can use the same knife.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: You can (literally) kick the living crap out of the Predator Virus, the thing causing a time consuming vortex, until it freaking dies.
* DoNotDropYourWeapon: Averted. Only few armed enemies don't drop their weapons.
* DoNotRunWithAGun: You can't fire any ranged weapon while moving at all.
* DualWielding: The only weapon Stanley can do this is the Twin Pistols from the Wild West level. A few enemies also wield two weapons like the samurai from the Japanese Middle Ages level and another enemy in Wild West which gives you the aforementioned Twin Pistols.
* DuelBoss: Several bosses are fought in one-on-one fights.
* DynamicEntry: Some of the enemies, like the ninjas in Japanese Middle Ages, will enter the screen ready to kick your ass. In the Wild West levels you get enemies popping up out of places to gun you down too.
* EarlyGameHell: Some of the levels can be difficult until you get a hold of at least one weapon. Prehistory tends to be tough on higher difficulties since you have only one full health bar and no HeartContainer.
* EasierThanEasy: The "Very Easy" difficulty which has weaker enemies and a more lenient time limit. BottomlessPits are still dangerous here, though, so watch your footing.
* ElevatorActionSequence: In the Future, an elevator ride gets interrupted twice by enemies.
* EmergencyWeapon: The 2nd and 3rd slot weapon usually falls into this. In the Wild West and Modern Wars if you're really desperate (i.e: out of ammo) your fists will be this.
* EmptyRoomPsych: Here and there, though most of times you'll have at least one Hidden Bonus in it.
* EnemyRollCall: Part of the game credits has it showing most, if not every, enemy you've faced. And at the end [[PlayerCharacter Stanley Opar]] himself appears.
* EpicFlail: It'll be the first weapon you'll obtain in European Middle Ages.
* EverythingFades: Dead enemies will break up into fragments that fly up and offscreen. Getting a GameOver will show Stanley disappearing in similar fashion.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: 99.9% of what you meet is an enemy. Partly justified as it's the virus' doing and all enemies are anomalies that must be killed to clean the program. The sole exception is a friendly dog in the second level of Modern Wars.
* EveryoneIsArmed: In the Wild West and Modern Wars levels nearly everyone is packing heat.
* EvilSorcerer: The Wizard of European Middle Ages. Even more damning is the BigRedDevil fought soon after him which imples he was summoning it.
* ExcusePlot: The whole idea of the virtual reality training is basically an excuse to allow players to kill things from different eras of time.
* ExplosiveStupidity: You can be a victim of this if you screw around dynamite, grenades or rockets-- they will hurt you if you're too close to the explosion when they go off.
* FinalBossNewDimension: [[spoiler:The Predator Virus is fought in a core-looking arena with no gravity.]]
* FiringOneHanded: With one single exception, the Twin Pistols, Stanley always uses two hands when firing any type of gun.
* FixedCamera: No level allows free camera change at all.
* FriendlyFireproof: Averted, and how. A skilled player can make enemies hit each other and in some cases enemies will brawl among themselves because of that. Sadly this goes both ways: the friendly dog entity in Modern Wars can be easily killed by your gunfire if you're careless.
* FunWithAcronyms: Stanley is member of the S.A.V.E ([[FunWithAcronyms Special Action for Virus Elimination]]).
* FurBikini: The NubileSavage actually wears a fur minidress.
* GatlingGood: The future ArmCannon is one. One that Stanley mounts on his arm. Surprisingly enough he struggles realistically to aim, or even walk with it.
* GetBackHereBoss: [[spoiler:The tank, the last boss of Modern Wars level, will move back and forth while firing at you.]]
* GhostTown: The setting for the first part of the Wild West level is Wayne Town, a rundown mining town with nothing but bloodthristy gunslingers and indians. The next level, Modern Warns, takes place in a war-torn city filled only with combatants and no civilians.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Most final bosses of a historical period are this. There's little to absolutely no foreshadowing of them. For instance: one of the final enemies in Japanese Middle Ages is [[spoiler: a dragon.]]
* GladiatorGames: The final area of the Roman Empire level housing the last enemies you must face to go to the next age.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Stanley always starts with nothing but his bare hands when he sets foot in a new age.
* GrenadeHotPotato: Must be done with dynamite in the Wild West level in order to break through a barn. Grab it, add to your inventory and return to the sender! The same thing can be done with the last enemy of the same level who chucks sticks of dynamite at you.
* GuideDangIt:
** One of the weapons you get in the Future level isn't actually a weapon, but a space suit. It does actually have a point, but you only find this out ''after'' failing to use it at the right moment gets you killed (aside from this, wearing it also greatly reduces the damage you take from enemy attacks).
** Certain enemies can only be killed by one particular weapon. One particularly irritating mini-boss in the European Middle Ages level can only be killed by a weapon that can only be picked up by examining a piece of scenery in a corner of the previous room, with very little to distinguish it from the rest of the pre-rendered background.
** Finding Hidden Bonuses isn't easy. You have a very vague sound cue[[note]]Which doesn't play on Normal and Hard difficulties.[[/note]] that plays seconds later of coming near the spot and even then actually making Stanley get them can make you go on a 3D PixelHunting.
** The first dog you find in Modern Wars level will be friendly towards you and will help you fight enemies and point secrets in the level. The dog will remain friendly unless you shoot it accidentally or otherwise, and considering ''every single thing'' tried to kill you in the game, it's not uncommon for people to be surprised you could keep the dog alive.
** After killing [[spoiler: the dragon]] in Japanese Middle Ages, you need to [[spoiler: interact with the pot]] to properly end the level. If you're playing on Normal the game gives you no indication of this.
* GunsAkimbo: The Twin Revolvers weapon for the Wild West. Yeah, despite having a single revolver as a weapon, somehow dual-wielding the same gun counts as a different weapon.
* GunsAreWorthless: This game averts this trope. Any time a gun is available it'll be times stronger than any other weapon.
* GunTwirling: In the Wild West level, this is the reloading animation for the Twin Revolvers weapon. It's the fastest reload of any available weapon, and therefore essential in the boss fight.
* HeroicMime: Stanley doesn't have much to say during the game besides screaming a lot while fighting and an eventual "Oh yeah!" upon finding Hidden Bonuses.
* HiddenSupplies: Most levels have secrets that will give you health or weapons/ammo.
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Not only they attack in a lush green area wearing pitch-black gi they also ''scream'' upon attacking you. The group of ninjas at the very end of the second Japanese Middle Ages level fares a bit better. Just a little a bit.
* HitAndRunTactics: Heavily encouraged as enemies can and will power through your attacks if you just swing your weapon mindlessly.
* {{HitScan}}: Wild West and Modern Wars guns will hit the target instantly when fired. Oddly enough the laser guns from the future have [[PainfullySlowProjectile Painfully Slow Projectiles]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The invisible dynamite chucking enemy inside a barn in the Wild West can be only defeated by the same dynamite sticks he throws at you.
** Story-wise this can happen to the one who implated the Predator Virus and caused the events of the game. [[spoiler:Should you get a game over at the final boss the vortex will grow out of control and consume the city, which means he'll get caught in it as well.]]
* HyperspaceArsenal: Where does Stanley keep all his weapons? Don't think too hard about it.
* IdleAnimation: Leave Stanley alone long enough and he'll start ''dancing''. Some weapons also have unique idle animations.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Mostly averted. Enemies with firearms tend to have very good aim and if you don't kill them quickly or take cover they will almost always make short work of you.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Both you and enemies being able to hit each other from very far using pistols, shotguns or rifles with the same precision? Very improbable. You being able to take down a freaking ''war biplane'' using just a [=WW1=] rifle? Now that's some serious improbable aiming skills.
* ImprobableWeaponUser:
** The Japanese Middle Ages has an enemy using throwing fans at you. You can use them too.
** The Modern Wars stage has a mook who blows cigar smoke as an attack.
** The Future has a Melee Weapon too, it is some sort of flail-like yo-yo that can destroy heavily armored robots and androids.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: The 4th and 5th slot weapons are usually powerful and able to carry you through the rest of the level once you get your hands on one.
* InfinityPlusOneSword: The 6th slot weapons are usually this being the strongest weapons in the level you're at. In some levels they're the only thing that can reliably deal with the level's end boss.
* InsideAComputerSystem: Quite literally in the first segment of Beyond Time.
* InstantArmor: Well, space suit actually.
* InstantDeathBullet: Not really, no. All types of bullet weapons always take more than one projectile to take enemies (or you) down.
* InstantDeathRadius: You need to be careful when fighting tougher enemies since charging carelessly is a good way to get trounced.
* InvulnerableHorses: You can kill the enemy riding a horse in the second Roman Empire level, but the horse won't be harmed at all.
* ItsAWonderfulFailure: There's a surprisingly number of different game overs: dying normally by taking damage, dying by time out, [[spoiler:forgetting to wear the space suit before ending Future 2]]. If you lose to the final boss [[spoiler:you'll be treated to a special cutscene where Stanley and the woman are destroyed and the vortex grows out of control engulfing the entire city.]]
* KamehameHadoken: The final weapon of Japanese Middle Ages is a fireball that ever so slightly resembles a good old Hadoken.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: So much there's two types in the Japanese Middle Ages levels. No DualWielding, sadly.
* KillerGorilla: The first boss of the Prehistoric level. [[DegradedBoss More appear later with varied sizes]].
* KillerYoyo: One of the weapons in the Future level. It's powerful enough to destroy robots and androids.
* KnightlySwordAndShield: One of the European Middle Ages weapons is a shortsword and shield.
* {{Knockback}}: If Stanley or enemies get hit they'll be knocked back and flich also canceling whatever action they were performing at the time.
* LagCancel: You can cancel an attack animation into another attack, or into a defensive stance. You can also cancel reloading animation for guns if you notice an enemy is about to attack you.
* LeadTheTarget: You'll probably need to do this in the Future level when you have to deal with some annoying flying android enemies.
* LighterAndSofter: The second Modern Wars level is this compared to the first. The first one is pretty grim with soldiers fighting in a war-torn city. The second level? It has enemies that comically backflips when shot, one that uses a poisonous cigar as weapon and ''rollerblade grenade chucking'' enemies. It also features a friendly dog too.
* LifeMeter: In the form of batteries.
* LimitedUseMagicalDevice: The magic spell from scrolls in European Middle Ages.
* LoadingScreen: In the form of the OneUp with clock hands.
* MagicKnight: Stanley can become one having Sword & Shield and Magic Scrolls in the European Middle Ages stage.
* MagicMustDefeatMagic: While the Wizard in the second level of European Middle Ages can be harmed by crossbow bolts, magic blasts of your own does a lot more damage to him.
* MagicalComputer: And probably half the sub-tropes.
* MagnetHands: All weapon holding enemies and Stanley himself.
* {{Mayincatec}}: With human sacrifices and mystic technology.
* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Dying to melee weapons will knock Stanley down, dying to guns will have him clutching his chest before falling dead.
* MaximumHPReduction: Losing one life automatically removes one HeartContainer from you.
* MercyInvincibility: Unfortunately it's only available if you lose a life.
* MightyGlacier: Some weapons like the massive club from Prehistory and the axe from Roman Empire turns Stanley into this. He won't be fast, but damn, is he going to hurt if he lands the attack.
* MirrorBoss: Only available through the "COMMANDO" password. This will allow you to fight another Stanley using the fighting style of the final level.
* MookChivalry: Hahaha, nope. If you give the chance multiple enemies will attack without giving you a break.
* TheMusketeer: Most levels allow you to have at least one ranged weapon with melee weapons at your disposal, but you can never use both at the same time. The Wild West is the sole exception since all weapons are of the ranged type. Even the Modern Wars have a bayonet rifle you can use if something get too close.
* MultiMeleeMaster: Stanley can use a wide variety of melee weapons: from bone knives, to ox-killing axes, flails, broadswords and rapiers.
* MultiMookMelee: At several points you'll be assaulted by more than one or two enemies.
** The first big fight in the second level of Roman Empire is a small group of four soldiers marching towards you in testudo formation.
** After fighting [[spoiler:the dragon]] in Japanese Middle Ages you still have to deal with a rather large group of ninjas that will assault you in an area you open up by interacting with a vase.
** The boss of the Wild West level is a group of normal bandits. They're just like the other enemies you've fought in the level but the number of them, and the fact that they can all shoot at you while you need to focus fire on one of them, makes them dangerous. It's pretty much required to start the fight with the double-barreled shotgun, then switch to the twin revolvers.
** One of the bigger fights in Modern Wars level has many soldiers and dogs attacking you from all sides in a very open area. [[spoiler:Then a freaking tank shows up]].
* MultiRangedMaster: Stanley Opar who can master guns from Wild West, Modern Wars and Future. Noticing a pattern?
* {{Ninja}}: Many of them found in the Japanese Middle Ages.
* NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight: Although powerful, up until Wild West and Modern Wars levels, a lot ranged weapons tend to be rare and/or have only one shot before a lengthy reload animation, if you miss the shot you may be in trouble. But if an enemy wielding these weapons misses their shot then ''they're'' the ones in trouble.
* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight: As just mentioned, Wild West and Modern Wars guns are no joke and trying to mess around gun-totting enemies with melee is a very fast way to get killed.
* NoArcInArchery: Not in the crossbow or the standard indian bows. Even worse, they are all affected by PainfullySlowProjectile effect too.
* NoSell: Smaller weapons against bigger enemies will result in no damage dealt at all.
* NoScope: None of the firearms present in the game have any scopes. Doesn't stop them from being used at fairly long distances.
* NoSneakAttacks: Completely averted for the player, but played straight and subverted for enemies. Sometimes enemies will ambush you in numbers coming out of hidden rooms, but ironically enough the ninjas from Japanese Middle Ages will never do this against you.
* NintendoHard: The Normal difficulty is pretty tough. Hard makes enemies more numerous, stronger, tougher, faster and ''much'' more aggressive. On top of everything the [[TimedMission Time Limit]] won't reset after completing levels nor is your health refilled. Even ''the game's official Steam page'' recommends you to start playing on Easy difficulty.
* NonstandardGameOver: In the Future triggering the last event without wearing the space suit will kill Stanley instantly regardless of how many lives you still have.
* NubileSavage: The woman in very first level.
* PainfullySlowProjectile: Any ranged weapon that doesn't fire bullets have this. Yes, this includes the laser guns from the Future levels. The Magic Scroll weapon from the European Middle Ages stands out by being irritatingly slow to cast ''and'' having a slow projectile. The good thing is that it works both ways, so you can have time to dodge incoming projectiles from certain enemies.
* PantheraAwesome: There is a smilodon in the Prehistoric level.
* ParryingBullets: Yeah, no. Attempting this is a very good way to get yourself killed in this game.
* PermaStubble: [[PlayerCharacter Mr. Opar]] sports one.
* PlaceBeyondTime: The final level, Beyond Time.
* PlayingPossum: In the Future, there are space zombies that will try to do this. Remember, [[EverythingFades it ain't dead if it don't fade!]]
* PressXToNotDie: In the first Modern Wars level you have to use the "search" button to avoid a mortar strike. Fail and you'll take a huge amount of damage.
* PasswordSave: The game has this even though it also has save slots for every checkpoint you reach. Helpful if you want to skip immediately to a certain level.
* PistolWhipping: You can't do this, but enemies with firearms will hit you with the butt of their gun if you're too close.
* PuzzleBoss: In the second level of European Middle Ages you come across an animated knight armor with a woman who heals it. You must get around the knight and hit the woman so she runs away.
* RespawnOnTheSpot: Stanley revives instantly gaining some MercyInvincibility upon dying from enemy attacks. If he falls into a {{Bottomless Pit|s}}, he revives nearby, though.
* RollerbladeGood: Some of the last enemies in the second level of Modern Wars assault you on rollerblades while throwing grenades at you.
* PrimitiveClubs: In the Prehistoric level, a regular sized one and another bigger than Stanley. Another type appears in the Conquistadors level.
* ProjectileSpell: The fireball from Japanese Middle Ages and magic blast from European Middle Ages.
* RayGun: Featured in the Future levels. You can get a standard pistol-like blaster and an automatic ArmCannon.
* RealTimeWeaponChange: One of the main features of the game. You can swap between your fists and other 5 weapons you can obtain throughout the levels.
* RevolverCylinderSpin: Happens with the Modern Wars pistol weapon, but not with the Wild West one.
* RollingAttack: The sumo wrestler from the Japanese Middle Age will do this.
* RoyalRapier: An early weapon in the Conquistadors level is a rapier.
* RuleOfCool: The whole game runs on this trope; gets ramped up towards the end.
* SavePoint: An odd case where it also counts a CheckPoint. They'll also restore some of the time limit if you have chips for it.
* SetAMookToKillAMook: Sometimes you can get enemies to infight after they hit each other.
* ScreamingWarrior: Stanley does like to scream and grunt when attacking with melee weapons. He doesn't when using guns, though.
* SheFu: Stanley Opar is an extremely rare male example. However, he only does his acrobatic fight style (cartwheel, backflips included) in the final level.
* ShowdownAtHighNoon: The second enemy at the Wild West first level will attempt to invoke this. Of course you're free just shoot him before he even has a chance of drawing.
* ShortRangeShotgun: Averted. Shotguns can hit far away targets with the same deadly precision other guns can. Unfortunately this work both ways, so enemies can make mincemeat of you if you're not quick enough to kill them.
* SidetrackBonus: Moving from the most obvious path often rewards the player with Hidden Bonuses (although they ''still'' have to be manually uncovered) or Hidden Rooms.
* SilkHidingSteel: In the Wild West level you come across a lady dressed in a very refined way complete with an elegant parasol... But if you haven't learned ''yet'' that everything is out for your blood you'll find that she's packing heat and will blast you away with a hidden pistol.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: There's usually only one woman per level (Japanese Middle Ages level has two).
* SniperPistol: The pistol gun in Wild West and Modern Wars have potentially the same accuracy of long barrel rifles.
* StanceSystem: Before using melee attacks Stanley must prepare himself standing in a combat-ready stance to launch an attack. Forward attacks usually has the most damage and range, but also has the largest amount of recovery time, while side attacks are faster, but usually cover less area or deals a bit less damage.
* StockNinjaWeaponry: For the Japanese Middle Ages they carry Katanas and Shurikens.
* StrongFleshWeakSteel: Mostly averted for the most part, but there are some human enemies that are far more durable than they look.
* StoutStrength: The fat monks in European Middle Ages who throw barrels at you and fight with belly bumps and slaps.
* SufferTheSlings: The Roman Empire's sole ranged weapon is a slinger.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Stanley will visibly struggle to use, or even move, when carrying really, really big weapons. Also try blocking a spear with your barehands, or a sword attack with a knife, or a large broadsword with a small shield, or ''bullets'' and see how well that ends for you.
* TankControls: How Stanley is controlled. You can also hop sideways and backwards for a quick dodge.
* TankGoodness: Unfortunately the tank is not on your side. [[spoiler:It's the last boss in the second Modern Wars level.]]
* TemporaryPlatform: The first part of Beyond Time has the floor behind you crumbling.
* TemptingFate: The opening narration states that it's another slow day on Stanley's job with not a single drill in his agenda... Yeah, let's say things stops being slow very soon.
* ThreateningShark: The Predator Virus looks like a shark.
* ThrowABarrelAtIt: The monks in European Middle Ages will do this agaist you.
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Wild West, Modern Wars and Future all have throwable explosive weapons.
* TimeCrash: [[spoiler:What happens if you lose the fight against the Predator Virus.]]
* TimedMission: All of them. There's a bar filling up that will cause Stanley to lose one life if it does so. Fortunately there are places where you can feed "chips" to temporarily reduce the bar's progress. Unfortunately death by time limit will not reset it completely.
* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Some of the enemy ambushes can end up causing this. If you don't know about them beforehand you'll take a ton of damage or even lose one life (or more).
** Unless you're paranoid to a fault, there's no way you can guess when the space suit in the Future level will be actually vital.
* UnblockableAttack: Projectiles attack cannot be blocked at all.
* UnbreakableWeapons: Durability isn't an issue in this game, which is good, considering you might end up attacking enemies like a madman.
* TheUnfought: You never fight directly the one responsible for the events of the game. You do fight the Predator virus, though.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange:
** Wild West and Modern Wars levels are much more oriented towards gun fighting rather than the melee combat from every other past level.
** The final level makes Stanley ''much'' more agile with his movement and dodges than before. The FinalBoss [[spoiler:has Stanley and his partner flying around while fighting the Virus. Stanley also has to protect her as the Virus will hurt him if she is harmed]].
* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: It's quite possible to get to an enemy without the one weapon you must use to kill it, or run out of ammo of the weapon that can hurt it.
* UnskilledButStrong: Stanley. In most cases he uses weapons with a clear lack of finesse compared to the enemies that holds them.
* UnstableEquilibrium: If you do well you'll have plenty of health, chips to keep the time limit at bay and, on later levels, ammo to deal with tougher enemies. Do poorly and a level (possibly the game) can become borderline {{Unwinnable}}, especially on Hard difficulty.
* UniversalAmmunition: Every Revolver will have the same type of ammo, and so does the Rifles, Shotguns, Automatic Rifles, etc...
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Sometimes you might expect the enemy to drop their weapon upon being defeated only to be disappointed.
* UnwantedRescue: In the second Conquistadors you can unwittingly interrupt a sacrifice and after that the would-be sacrifice will attack you. Apparently they really wanted to be sacrificed.
* VariableMix: Parts of the music in every level you're at will play periodically and will get more intense when you're fighting certain opponents.
* VictorGainsLosersPowers: Defeating certain enemies makes them drop their weapons which you can use.
* VictoryPose: Sometimes Stanley will strike a triumphant pose at the end of a level, others he'll simply take a deep, relieved, breath.
* VoiceGrunting: The Game. On a serious note the game has no spoken dialogue outside it's initial cutscenes, and even then only in some versions of the game, and you'll be hearing a lot of grunting from Stanely Opar, the main character, and about every other humanoid enemy in the game.
* WalkingArmory: By the time you finish an age you'll be holding a truly impressive quantity of weapons.
* WorldWarIII: The second part of the Modern Wars's level supposedly takes place during this one (The first part takes place in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI). DoubleSubverted when it seems that this third war is a non-nuclear one. [[spoiler:Cue a cutscene showing a mushroom cloud as you leave]]. Also interestingly the Future level is supposed to be Stanley's own era which is stated to be 2020. So in this reality World War III happened anywhere between the end of TheNineties and the end of TheNewTens.
* {{Wutai}}: Japanese Middle Ages, natch.
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