* BreatherBoss: Chapter 3 has four boss battles, but while two of them are {{Wake Up Call Boss}}es, the other two are this, setting the stage for the gradually unfolding WhamEpisode rather than putting up a challenge.
* MemeticMutation: [[{{Narm}} A remarkably deadpan "Now bear my arctic blast!"]]
* RetroactiveRecognition: The developers of the early ''Shining'' games later went on to make ''VideoGame/GoldenSun''. It's ''most'' obvious here -with videos on [=YouTube=] and screenshots often having people commenting how much it resembles Golden Sun.
* TearJerker: [[spoiler: The death of Lord Conrad.]]
* VindicatedByHistory: Zig-zagged. Critically? It's seen as one of the best games on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn - and, depending on who you ask, was the swansong of the Shining Series. Unfortunately? It was also on the Sega Saturn - thus it was quite a challenge to obtain outside of Japan and also a challenge to emulate. But in TheNewTens and TheNewTwenties, fan translation patches and better emulation methods for the Sega Saturn have made it so that the game and all its parts can see a wider audience.