Live A Live - Middle Ages and Spoiler Characters / Characters

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Characters appearing in the Middle Ages - The Lord of Dark Chapter of Live A Live, alongside the chapter bosses.

Due to how intertwined the majority of the characters here are to the plot, all spoilers are unmarked! You Have Been Warned!

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Middle Ages Chapter - The Lord of Dark

Oersted

"A Kingdom's New Hope for Salvation"

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Dario Coates (English)

"Naught remains. Alone. Utterly alone. Cast out. Unloved. Outside the grace of gods."

The protagonist of the Middle Ages chapter. A Knight in Shining Armor, he has won the hand of the kingdom's princess, only to see her spirited away by the Lord of Dark, and he sets out to rescue her. Unfortunately, what awaits him at the end of the journey is not Happily Ever After…

11th-Hour Ranger: Exaggerated — he joins the Final Chapter party to atone for his crimes during the final turn of the True Final Boss battle.
Accidental Murder: His troubles truly begin when an apparition of the Lord of Dark tricks him into killing the king of Lucrece.
All for Nothing: His goal is to kill the demon and get the girl. By the end of his quest, everyone he cares about is either dead (Hasshe, Uranus, and the King), hates his guts (the villagers), or both (Streibough and Alethea).
And Now for Someone Completely Different: You get to play as Oersted at the very end of the Sin of Odio battle in the remake, only this time, it’s to deliver the finishing blow to the Sin of Odio after Oersted frees himself from his hatred.
And Then John Was a Zombie: A journey to kill the Lord of Dark to save the princess and the kingdom gets him screwed over in the worst way possible, corrupting him into hating humanity and claiming the name and title of Odio, thereby becoming the Lord of Dark reborn.
And This Is for...: In battle, he may spout this while using an attack.
Oersted: For Lucrece!
Arc Words:
- The original fan translation and both Japanese scripts has "As long as there is one person who believes in you.", while the remake has "Inherit our cause. Keep the faith. Forgive." as well as "A single soul's enough, when 'gainst the world we stand." Uranus voices this to Oersted, and it becomes his one remaining thread when his life goes to hell, carrying him to the end of his story. And then, the one person he had left in all the world, the woman he dearly loved and believed in, turns out to have never had faith in him, either. And then, he has nothing. Nothing… save the throne and title of the Lord of Dark. And in taking its power, Oersted rejects the idea of forgiving anyone who wronged him.
- "I will", exclusive to the remake's English script. Originally Hasshe's last words as he dies musing on being a hero and how he would always agree to save people in need even after humanity cast him aside, it receives a Call-Back at the end of the game when Oersted says it as he does exactly that and frees himself to save the heroes from Sin of Odio.
As Long as There Is One Man: As long as one person still believes in him, he'll keep fighting. Unfortunately, he learns that nobody really does aside from one single child who he doesn't recognize, and he snaps because of it.
Big Bad Slippage: Odio came to be because things kept getting worse for Oersted, pushing him into despair and past his breaking point until he chose to be the embodiment of hatred itself.
Book Ends: His journey starts with him embarking on a quest to slay the returned Lord of Dark. His life ends with his act of atonement — finishing off the Lord of Dark for good. All of them at once, actually, combined into a single entity that embodies all hatred in the world throughout time and space. As Oersted and Sin of Odio have become two separate versions of one being and the only things keeping each other alive at this point, he fades away not long after he finishes off Odio for good.
Break the Cutie: Spends the entirety of his chapter undergoing this, being introduced as the classic beloved RPG hero who goes to save the love of his life, only for the quest to go horribly wrong. When it finally becomes too much, he snaps.
Breakout Villain: Oersted’s whole story and significance to the game’s overarching plot became the main attraction of the title in the opinion of many fans as it's likely that without him or his chapter, most of the pages on this game won't exist, and indeed it is as Oersted is the reference of choice in Final Fantasy Legends and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy for smartphones to celebrate Live A Live’s 20th anniversary, a boss fight against him is the feature in Legends and a stage based on Oersted and Streibough's Duel to the Death in Theatrhythm with 2 songs from the game, both being Odio’s themes. His tale also ended up representing Live A Live in its crossover with Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent.
Clear My Name: Sets out to do this following his regicide charge after Uranus tells him that he can prove his heroism to the people of Lucrece by saving Alethea. This fails completely after she commits suicide out of spite.
Curtains Match the Window: As of the remake, Oersted is usually depicted with gold eyes that match his hair.
The Dark Side Will Make You Forget:
- Alethea states that, by the time Odio summons the heroes to the Dominion of Hate to face him, the part of him that was once Oersted "knows not what he has become." This indicates that she has long since realized the error of her ways and that she acknowledges that Oersted's old self would never have been capable of such atrocities.
- This also turns out to be literally true in the Sin of Odio fight, with Oersted noticeably struggling to recall his past life throughout the battle.
- If the final chapter is completed with Oboromaru, Oersted is unable to remember Hasshe despite directly quoting his Final Speech.
Death Seeker: Oersted resurfaces after Purity of Odio is defeated and begs the party leader to kill him. However, actually doing so causes one of the bad endings (and he gets to die a more honorable death anyway if refused).
Deconstructed Character Archetype:
- His entire chapter is a brutal dismantling of the archetypal heroic knight in fantasy role-playing games like Dragon Quest or Squaresoft's own Final Fantasy, showing what happens when a Knight in Shining Armor with a very simple life philosophy has everything he believes broken to pieces.
- Oersted is a deconstruction of the Heroic Mime. Most such protagonists merely exist as empty surrogates for the player to experience the story through, but the ending of Oersted's journey shows that just because he never vocalized anything doesn't mean that he isn't still an independent human being with his own thoughts and feelings about the situations he finds himself in. As it turns out, Oersted's silent exterior hides the fact that his mental health has been rapidly decaying due to the stress and trauma of multiple massive failures and betrayals, and the Cruel Twist Ending causes him to have a complete psychotic breakdown.
Despair Event Horizon: His chapter is all about showing the horror of how easily this can happen to anyone. His best friend betrayed him as a last-minute decision which results in Alethea's death and every single person in Lucrece brands him a demon after being tricked into killing the king. He ends up embracing it as Odio.
Did Not Get the Girl: In literally the worst way imaginable. Not only does Alethea start to have feelings towards Streibough thanks to his manipulations, she outright rejects Oersted and kills herself so that she can be with Streibough in the afterlife. Right after Oersted had killed him.
The Dreaded: Once he gets charged with regicide, everyone thinks he's actually the Lord of Dark. Attacking any of the Royal Guard enemies that start spawning afflicts them with the Fear status.
Dreaming of Things to Come: His nightmare (and the chapter's Game Over screen) before things go downhill for him has Alethea being tormented by the Lord of Dark, begging for him to stay away. The end of the chapter has Alethea angrily order Oersted for him to stay away from her and Streibough, shortly before she commits suicide and Oersted becomes the Lord of Dark, making the nightmare come true.
Driven to Villainy: Streibough destroys everything he cares about, up to and including his innocence, driving him to be his own antithesis.
Dying as Yourself: In the original, he bitterly notes on his regrets in his total defeat, but goes out a Graceful Loser who imparts a warning to the protagonists that another may one day become like him. In the remake, however, he literally rips himself away from the incarnation of his hatred, allowing him to spend his last few moments genuinely reflecting on what he'd done and show true remorse for it as his old self again.
Everyone Has Standards: While his and Streibough's opponents were presumably killed in the tournament, Oersted has no intention to kill Streibough in a friendly match and runs over to him following his defeat out of concern for his health.
Face–Heel Turn: Of the Then Let Me Be Evil variety. After being declared the Lord of Dark and failing his mission, he decides to bring ruin throughout reality itself.
Failure Hero: All of his efforts to defeat evil and save the girl end with everyone he was trying to protect either dead or hating his guts (and in a couple of cases, both).
Fallen Hero: He starts becoming one during the end point of his chapter, with Alethea's suicide being the final nail in the coffin for him.
Fatal Flaw: Reliance on others for self-validation and emotional vulnerability. As things steadily get worse for him, his remaining companions stress the importance of holding on to hope as long as one person still believes in him. This leads Oersted to become fixated on his fiancée Alethea as that one person. When it turns out that even she has lost all faith in him and commits suicide, he is left with nobody and nothing. Oersted promptly snaps and declares war on all of humanity.
Fighting from the Inside: In the remake's Sin of Odio battle, he desperately tries to remember who he was as Oersted, finally breaking out of the monster he was encased in and deals the final blow to the Sin of Odio since the other protagonists were incapacitated.
Final Speech: After being defeated, he warns the heroes that as long as there is enough hatred, anyone can go down the path he did.
Freudian Excuse: In its simplest form, Oersted's motivation for becoming Odio can be boiled down to 'everyone turned on me, so I shall destroy the world in turn'. Oersted is an interesting example of this trope because we get to see firsthand, through his eyes, how that excuse came to be. At the end of the chapter, it's rather easy to see and understand what drove Oersted to that conclusion, even if it still doesn't justify what he's doing in the present.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: If playing as Akira in the final chapter, he will angrily chew Oersted out on becoming the Dark Lord, as while he was put through an absolutely shit situation, what he chose to do in response to it was a thousand times worse.
Freak Out: Alethea's suicide finishes off the last shreds of his sanity, and he loses all faith in humanity and pulls a Face–Heel Turn shortly afterward.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Went from a simple medieval knight to the greatest threat to the space-time continuum in all of existence.
Glory Hound: Dialogue exclusive to the English script implies that Oersted might have partially been driven by a want for fame and "just reward". A small blemish on his otherwise shining image, but one which could've provided enough of a catalyst to fuel Streibough's jealousy of him, as well as foreshadow Oersted's fall into darkness when such glory was brutally denied him. Considering he turns out to be the most emotionally fragile of the heroes, this might be more a side effect of his Inferiority Superiority Complex than clear cut egotism, though.
Gratuitous Iambic Pentameter: Speaks almost exclusively in this, as is the case with the other Middle Ages characters.
Oersted: Are these my hands, stained black with blood and sin? What wickedness I've wrought, and all for what?
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He starts off as a blond knight and the kingdom's greatest hero. Then it all comes crumbling down.
Hated by All: A rare example where the hated individual is genuinely not at fault. By the end of his tale, almost everyone who genuinely cared about him is dead, everyone else thinks he's a demon thanks to Streibough's machinations and Alethea, the only person who could truly clear his name instead commits suicide out of spite. Tragically, he decides to repay this hatred with interest.
Heel–Face Turn: In the remake, during the fight with Sin of Odio, the heroes' efforts slowly but surely bring Oersted to his senses, which culminates in him tearing himself free from the grasp of the creature he created from all the darkness and hatred of the world, and ends up being the one to land the finishing blow.
Heel Realization: In the remake, after the main protagonist shares some words with him, Oersted ends up accepting that despite everything that's happened to him, his fall to darkness came from personal weakness and not having the strength of character that the heroes have.
Heroic Mime: Unlike the other protagonists, except Pogo and Cube (kinda), and both of those were justified examples. It's intentional. At the end of his chapter, he stops being one, as he renounces his humanity, and becomes Odio, the Lord of Dark. Thus, it was likely that the player was meant to visualize themselves in his shoes, and thus go through Oersted's mental breakdown exactly as he did. It also makes sense from a thematic angle: He is a silent protagonist, but at the end of his chapter, he stops being the protagonist, so he is no longer bound by this trope. Even the remake trailer invokes this: To avoid spoilers of what he becomes, despite the trailer listing his voice actor, he doesn't even speak a word, because Square Enix still wants to hide from the public that he'll fall from grace and that's when he starts speaking and stops being a silent protagonist.
Heroic Willpower: In the remake's True Final Boss, Sin of Odio, witnessing the seven heroes continuing to fight their hardest reminds Oersted of who he once was and what he aspired to be, giving him the strength to break free of his runaway hatred and deal the final blow to Sin of Odio himself.
Oersted: I am… I must… I will!
Hero with Bad Publicity: After being tricked into committing regicide, he's condemned as the Lord of Dark by all of Lucrece.
He Who Fights Monsters: He sets out to slay the Lord of Dark, but the events in his tale prove so traumatic that he suffers a total psychotic breakdown and becomes the reborn Lord of Dark himself.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: His Fatal Flaw, he emotionally relies way too much on the opinions and feelings of others. So when Streibough and Fate make him their bitch, he snaps hard.
In the End, You Are on Your Own: Through no real fault of his own, everyone he ever counts on ends up dead or against him by the end of his tale. Considering the fact that he was relying on someone believing in him to keep moving forward, this is what pushes him over the edge.
Iron Butt Monkey: All the bad things seem to happen to him during his storyline. Deconstructed heavily and very much not played for laughs.
Irony: Of all eight playable characters, he’s the only one who starts with both the official backing and adoration of those around him^note and is fighting the chapter’s Big Bad for a noble reason^note. While the other seven either restore their good graces or end up more or less neutral to where they began, it doesn’t work out so well for Oersted.
Jack of All Stats: Starts off in the Magikarp Power territory, but once he begins to gain some levels, Oersted becomes a powerful party member with no real weakness where his physical and special stats in both offense and defense are more than enough to finish his chapter. This implementation is justifiably a necessity, given that the last stretch of his chapter has him venturing into the Archon's Roost on his lonesome.
The Kingslayer: His story starts to truly go sideways when he is tricked into killing the king of Lucrece.
Knight in Shining Armor: His general character design and personality. At first.
Leitmotif: "On Broken Wings". The name foreshadows his fall from grace. He, as Odio, is also associated with "Odio, the Lord of Dark" (the remake gives him a personal variant, "Fugue for the Lord of Dark") and "Megalomania".
Large Ham: In the remake, despite his Silent Protagonist status at the time, his battle dialogue has him react to events like the other player characters, and is fittingly flowery for a medieval fantasy RPG protagonist.
Oersted: [when afflicted with a status effect] What trickery is this?!
Loved by All: He was a famous knight, beloved by all in Lucrece, with him even becoming the future heir to the kingdom through his marriage to Alethea, so he would have become a famous ruler as well. That is, until Streibough in his envy and bitterness ruined all of this, causing the entire kingdom to hate Oersted.
Madden Into Misanthropy: After the public demonizes him, his former best friend reveals he set up the events leading to his ruin, and the girl he was trying to save rejects him and commits suicide, he finally takes his misery out on humanity.
Magic Knight: While he mainly focuses on physical-themed moves, he can learn some magical-themed projectile moves such as "Dragonsoul", which launches a dragon head made of fire at the target. Following his Face–Heel Turn into Odio, he ramps up the 'magic' part to horrifying levels.
Magikarp Power: To be quite frank, his starting stats are absolutely pathetic and he can barely defeat anything early on. However, his stat growth is fantastic, and he gains an array of potent abilities, so by the time you no longer have a full party, you're at the point where you don't need them.
Meaningful Name: His name on its own sounds like "ousted", his fate from the kingdom as well as "arrested", which happens to him later with Uranus. In addition, the first and last letters of his name are O and D — which start "Odio". Taking out the O and D also gives you the word "erste", a way of saying "first" in German, tying in with him essentially being the first "incarnation" of Odio (unless one counts the Past Lord of Dark).
My God, What Have I Done?: In the Remake, after the defeat of the Sin of Odio, Oersted realizes what he's become and is overcome with guilt at nearly ending the world.
Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Even after becoming the new Lord of Dark, it's clear Oersted still has a deep respect for Hasshe. While he vindictively renamed much of the kingdom's areas after what they did to him, the place where Hasshe is buried is simply called Last Hero's Grave. Further still, it's implied he is the one who placed Brion upon his grave, even though he could have only done it after becoming the Lord of Dark, when it would have made more sense to destroy the weapon that slew the last Lord of Dark so it couldn't be used against him. These are some of the few hints to the player that Oersted may not be completely gone after becoming Odio.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He goes through great toil and hardship to rescue Alethea and protect Lucrece, and for it he gets kicked in the teeth. Streibough manipulates events to turn everyone in the kingdom against him, Alethea kills herself out of love for Streibough, his life is completely and utterly ruined, and in the end he is left with nothing but his own hatred.
Oh, Crap!: After killing the supposed Lord of Dark in Castle Lucrece's throne room, he stumbles backwards when it's revealed he killed the king.
Oh, My Gods!: One of his possible battle lines if hit with a status effect.
Oersted: Gods damn you!
One-Man Army: Unlike the other protagonists, who either have parties at their back or focus on single combat, Oersted is made to run the final two dungeons of his tale and kill his way through dozens of enemies on his lonesome.
Post-Final Boss: In the neutral ending. Should you accept his request to kill him once you defeat Purity of Odio, your chosen hero will fight against Oersted in a duel. Oersted has the same level as when you finished the Middle Ages chapter (and may not even have all his abilities), while your hero's level^note will be much higher than that, resulting in a very easy battle.
Pretty Boy: Unsurprisingly, due to his appearance based off the original Fighter/Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy.
Protagonist Journey to Villain: His entire story is the origin story for the Big Bad.
Pure Is Not Good: Oersted is truly a pure-hearted knight. He also fell the hardest from grace because fate decided to screw with his purity and he gave in. If the Earthen Heart successor is Yun, he makes a remark that Oersted is just too pure… which brought indecisiveness (he should have taken action), harkening his fall from grace. Expanding on this, his (second) Final Boss form is called the Purity of Odio — his pure hatred towards the world being the only thing left for him after losing everything else and being unable to comprehend the heroes' efforts to oppose him.
Purposely Overpowered: Once the Magikarp Power kicks in. Other than the Steel Titan, Oersted is mechanically the strongest playable character in the game, with sky-high stats and powerful moves to handle anything the game throws at him. It's little wonder you can never play as him again after his chapter (barring the final moments of the battle with Sin of Odio in the remake).
Pyrrhic Victory: At the end of his tale, he successfully kills the villain and saves the girl. Too bad everyone in the kingdom still thinks he's the Lord of Dark and hates him, and said girl tells him she does not care for him at all before killing herself, leaving him completely alone. Unsurprisingly, this causes him to snap.
Redemption Equals Death: In the remake: He regains his sense of self during the battle with the new final boss, and rips himself out of it and destroys it, saving the other heroes and dying shortly after.
Restored My Faith in Humanity: The efforts of the seven heroes triumphing over him, sparing him, and swiftly defeating his incarnations along with hearing their own reasons for why they don't give in to the hatred of humanity causes him to begin to realize he failed due to his weak heart, and he redeems himself by returning them to their time periods while warning them to not become a demon like him. In the remake, witnessing the seven heroes fighting the Sin of Odio together causes Oersted to not only remember his name, his purpose, and his own humanity, but he also breaks free from of his hatred and puts an end to Odio once and for all.
Sanity Slippage: As his tale progresses, his mental state begins to bend further and further… and when Alethea kills herself, he snaps.
Save the Princess: His entire chapter is the classic RPG plot when he embarks to save his bride Alethea, but this goes completely wrong in less than 3 days.
Stab the Sky: He does this as a Victory Pose upon concluding a battle.
Start of Darkness: When Alethea declares that she no longer believes in him and commits suicide right in front of him.
Suddenly Speaking:
- He spends most of his chapter as a Heroic Mime, but starts speaking during his Face–Heel Turn and remains talkative for the rest of the game.
- On a game-to-game scale, this is how Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent treats him in "OCTO-A-LIVE". Since the Ringbearer Chosen can be represented in cutscenes by just about any playable character you want with a wide array of histories and personalities between them, they too are a Heroic Mime. So, to prevent all scenes featuring both characters from being full of unvoiced gestures and Parrot Exposition — and to take the story in a very different direction by having him try to reason with Streibough — Oersted speaks regularly from the start.
Sword Beam: His "Wave Slash" and "Windbite" attacks sends blades of razor wind at the target.
Sword Plant: His "Heavenly Strike" attack allows him to come down from above with a thrust of his sword.
Then Let Me Be Evil: At the end of his chapter, he concludes that, if that's the way the world wants to see him, so be it.
These Hands Have Killed: One of his first words after finishing off Sin of Odio and reflecting on his actions is to express shock at his hands being stained with blood and sin.
Tragic Hero: His chapter initially opens as a mission to Save the Princess from the Lord of Dark, which is pretty standard fantasy fare. Everything in the plot moves towards him being a hero: he wins the princess's hand in marriage, he gathers a group of supposedly True Companions to go after the Lord of Dark, and the fallen older hero even passes his sword onto him. Alas, he returns empty-handed from the trip with 2 of his 3 companions dead, having been unable to find the princess. Duped by an illusion, he makes the big mistake of striking down his king, setting off a chain of events which derails his Hero's Journey and ends with his crossing the Despair Event Horizon. In the face of these events, he is unable to overcome the weakness in his heart and loses faith in humanity, willingly choosing to become the Lord of Dark's reincarnation.
Trauma Conga Line: He quickly goes through one: seeing his friends die one by one, the people turned against him, all orchestrated by one jealous friend, and then his lover turns out to be in love with that jealous friend… all these after being told that As Long as There Is One Man…
Walking Spoiler: Not even delving into the fact that he reveals the game has eight sections instead of seven, it's hard to talk about him or his story without diving into the fact that he's the villain responsible for everything in the game.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Loses, is rejected by, or is horribly betrayed by everyone and finally becomes the Lord of Dark, Odio.

Streibough (Straybow)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/streibough_cotc_artwork.png

"A Formidable Mage and Loyal Friend"

Voiced by: Shizuma Hodoshima (Japanese), Nicholas Corda (English)

"I've yielded much to you, but not this day. Gods grant me strength — grant me glory deserved!"

Oersted's friend, a mage who got second place in the tournament for Alethea's hand. After the fight with the Lord of Dark, he sacrifices himself to save his allies… or does he?

Adaptational Sympathy: Big time in the Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent crossover story, where his feelings of inadequacy are preyed on and amplified by Odio, and Streibough apologizes to Oersted before dying. While the canonicity of what's revealed about Odio in the event is debatable, it nevertheless paints Streibough in a much more sympathetic and tragic light.
Always Second Best: He always gets the lower rung when compared to Oersted and he hates it.
Ambiguous Situation:
- Was the Lord of Dark reincarnating through Streibough at first before jumping to Oersted after Streibough's demise? Or was Streibough just a horrible person all on his own without any form of Odio influencing him?
- The remake gives evidence for both the former and latter. For the former interpretation, during his fight, he was shrouded with black and red aura like Odio and his incarnations, implying possession. As for the latter interpretation, Streibough's dialogue indicates he had nothing to do with the fake Lord of Dark and only took the opportunity to betray Oersted after learning about the secret passage in the statue, never has any lines implying that he's possessed, and in the official English translation, still berates Oersted for his "greed". It may be that he was willing to become the Lord of Dark's reincarnation all on his own, as he did indeed gain his power and a dark transformation complete with Voice of the Legion.
- It's rather less ambiguous in the crossover story in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, where Streibough describes hearing a voice offering him the power to take what he wants — a voice that speaks again in the climax of the first half and declares he has offered up his despair, his hatred, and his heart, transforming him into Odio-S while he screams in agony.
Ambition Is Evil: When Oersted's party crashed into Archon's Roost and wandered into a dead end which had the supposed Lord of Dark, Streibough figured out that there was actually a secret passage where the princess was kept, but wanting to get one over on his rival and take her for himself, Streibough faked the room collapsing to get everyone else out and fake his death, then tricked Oersted into killing the king and becoming a pariah. In the end, his ambition resulted not only in his death and the princess committing suicide to follow him, but Oersted became corrupted into Odio because of this, dooming all of Lucrece and kickstarting the events of the other 7 chapters.
Animal Motifs: Champions of the Continent gives Streibough a snake motif; his staff has a snake on it and Odio-S is flanked by a fiery snake in his splash art.
Arc Villain: He is the main antagonist of the Middle Ages chapter.
Battle Aura: During his rematch, Streibough has the same red and dark aura seen in other Odio bosses and speaks with echo effects.
Battle in the Center of the Mind: In Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, Odio-S's Traveler Memory features Streibough (and seven other playable characters) trapped in his own mind fighting the inner manifestation of the hatred and envy that made him a Lord of Dark. He comes to the epiphany that all he really wanted was for Oersted to treat him like an equal instead of constantly holding back as if to patronize him, and with that acknowledgement of his flaws and mistakes, he conquers his own hatred. However, this battle concludes just as Oersted strikes down Odio-S in the outside world.
Barely-Changed Dub Name: From Straybow to Streibough.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He acts like Oersted's best friend and a loyal follower, but he's actually extremely jealous of him and is out to ruin his life when he gets the opportunity.
Can't Get Away with Nuthin': The one time he decides to break loyalty and try to screw over Oersted leads to the latter being corrupted into a monster that can literally end reality.
Climax Boss: Could be considered one for the game as a whole. The fight with him is right after the big reveal for the Middle Ages chapter and right before the big reveal for the whole game, and it's the last thing you do before the final chapter.
Deconstructed Character Archetype:
- If viewed from Streibough's perspective, the Middle Ages chapter would be a Shakespearean tragedy: hero driven by a fatal flaw (envy) gets revenge on those who wronged him, falls from grace, dies, and his lover commits suicide so they can be Together in Death. But it's not from his perspective; the viewpoint character is one of his victims, who was genuinely unaware he'd made Streibough his enemy. And so the Tragic Hero becomes the villain.
- More blatantly, he's this to the Sidekick and The Lancer tropes. Streibough has been Oersted's Number Two since long before the events of the game… and absolutely despises it. His frustrations at not being able to overtake Oersted in physical, social, or strategical capabilities eventually boils over when Oersted beats him in the tournament for Alethea's hand in marriage; the single woman he is absolutely smitten with. It's this that ends up pushing him over the edge, and he starts making his plan to completely ruin Oersted's life.
Demonic Possession: Hinted by how he becomes shrouded in a dark aura, implying that the statue of the Lord of Dark — and therefore the original Lord himself, assuming he is indeed a separate being manipulating events — is empowering him and amplifying his hatred towards Oersted in the final battle. Ambiguous in that the statue itself doesn't glow like it does for Oersted himself later on and Streibough still remains hateful towards Oersted with or without the Lord's influence.
- Played completely straight in Champions of the Continent as Odio-S.
Disproportionate Retribution: He's highly envious of his friend Oersted having it better than him. He decides the best way to rectify this is to ruin Oersted's life and reputation so he can get the glory and the girl.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: In Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, he is defeated nonlethally and Oersted and Alethea both beg him to stop, for his own sake as much as theirs. He takes this as a show of pity, which makes it the last straw he never got in canon that leads him to become Odio-S.
Driven by Envy: He ruins Oersted's life out of jealousy.
Dump Stat: His Physical Attack (Power stat in the SFC original) has a chance of not increasing upon level up — not that he needs it, with his entirely magic-focused moveset.
Entitled to Have You: Besides the fact that he was tired of being in Oersted's shadow, he also believed himself to be truly deserving of Alethea's love as opposed to Oersted, and was even willing to murder her father indirectly and even has the gall to call him a thieving king and claim that his death was fully justified simply because he gave Alethea to Oersted instead of him.
Evil Former Friend: He is introduced as Oersted's best buddy, but either turned or turns against him out of jealousy.
Evil Is Petty: Besides the fact that he completely ruined Oersted's life out of envy, his motivation behind murdering the King of Lucrece was not just to paint Oersted as a villain, but also out of spite for the King for giving "his" love to Oersted, outright calling him a "thieving king" and claiming that his death was "murder just".
Evil Sorcerer: Not at first, but his envy of Oersted pushed him over the edge.
Fatal Flaw: Envy. Despite having a pretty good gig as a powerful sorcerer who is best friends with the soon-to-be king who remained amicable with him even after victory, he can't see anything but the fact that Oersted has it better than him and concocts a plan to ruin him that ultimately spells doom for the kingdom and puts all of reality in danger.
Final Boss: Of the Middle Ages chapter.
Five-Second Foreshadowing: His placement during the Middle Ages chapter's final battle is a little strange compared to others, as he's on the lower half of the arena whilst the previous bosses along with Oersted's starting position here all being on the top half, since Oersted will become the Final Boss himself soon enough.
Foreshadowing:
- When he levels up in the remake, he bemoans his standing as Oersted's ally, but during later level-ups prior to the Lord of Dark's lair, he starts becoming more confident and vows to get even stronger than his own friend.
- After hearing Hasshe's remark that what they just killed wasn't the true Lord of Dark, Streibough starts poking around the room and becomes fixated on the pedestal at the back. It's revealed that he discovered it was actually a secret panel where Alethea was locked behind.
- He kills the chapter's Watanabe father. While the act is not truly evil given it was part of a high-stakes tournament, all the Watanabe dads in the first seven chapters were killed by one of the villains or, in the case of the Present Day, either injured or killed by the biggest Heel among the opponents. It's the first hint of Streibough eventually snapping.
Gone Horribly Right: He set out to break Oersted's spirit. He succeeded, and the entire kingdom of Lucrece, and a whole lot of other people in other times and lands, suffer for it.
Greater-Scope Villain: His actions to screw over Oersted led to his fall from grace, hatred for humanity, and subsequent claiming the title of Odio and kickstarted the plot of the past 7 chapters.
Hate Sink: Despite being Oersted's "friend", Streibough was insanely jealous of him and utterly ruins his life out of selfish jealousy. He destroyed a good man over petty spite, and in turn nearly caused the extinction of humanity, and thus no one gives a damn about this asshole after being reduced to a pathetic spirit wallowing in self-pity. Possibly also justified (and invoked if you buy into Streibough being influenced by Odio) as the Lord of Dark wanted to show Oersted the worst possible example of humanity to turn him into his vessel.
Hidden Disdain Reveal: Reuniting atop Archon's Roost after faking his death, Streibough tells his "friend" just how much he truly resented being in his shadow and proudly boasts how he masterminded Oersted's every misfortune before trying to snuff out the knight then and there.
Irony: The architect of his best friend's downfall is the same person unwilling to do anything but stand there and see what his spite has done.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When he's killed and becomes a spirit in Akira's dungeon, he seems like he might regret his actions, but just asks if he's really at fault, implying that he's not sorry for all the damage he caused. However, this trope gets averted in the Champions of the Continent version of the story, in which getting possessed by the Lord of Dark gives Streibough enough time to self-reflect and come to a meaningful Heel Realization; this, along with seeing first-hand just how bad the consequences of his actions could be^note, allows him to cast his envy aside by the time the Lord of Dark gets beaten out of him.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Has long, midnight blue hair and a slender body.
Master of Illusion: Utilizes illusions three confirmed times, once in his own game and twice in the "OCTO-A-LIVE" crossover story in Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, and each time marks a point when things get worse.
- His plan kicks into high gear when he makes Oersted see the King as the Lord of Dark one night… It's unclear in the original game whether he was the one who created the other false Lord of Dark or not. The remake confirms that the false Lord of Dark that the group fights is completely unrelated to Streibough.
- In a similar event in OCTO-A-LIVE, he brings the party through a series of battles against phantoms in illusory realms, ending with an illusory Archon's Roost where he makes Alethea look like a horrifying monster and pegs it as the culprit behind the black flames they've been chasing. However, Alethea manages to say Oersted's name through the illusion, prompting him to sheathe his sword before he can make the same mistake he did with the King and ask The Chosen One to dispel it. Streibough, shocked at being seen through, spills the truth that he was behind it all then and there for all three of them to hear.
- Lastly, as Odio-S in OCTO-A-LIVE, he sends The Chosen One to a black void and murders Alethea when she tries one last time to convince him to stand down, in order to get Oersted to snap and become Odio-O. However, it turns out Alethea's spirit was trapped in that same void all along, and the one who's been with them the whole time, the one he killed, was an illusory being controlling her body at the will of Odio. Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!
Meaningless Villain Victory: He succeeds in his plan to ruin Oersted's life, but gets himself killed in the process and sealed in the Trial of Heart, forced to "live" with the knowledge that he's the cause of the current events.
My God, What Have I Done?: He's aware that he started the whole mess regarding Odio at least and is genuinely shocked about it, but can do nothing except stew on his own regrets for all eternity by the time you find him in Akira's dungeon.
Streibough: Am I his architect, and he my work? Should I have stood aside? Renounced love's grace... Like so much else before. But not this time. And so I led him to a throne of bone...
Poor Communication Kills: If Alethea was right and he just wanted to be noticed for his deeds, the entire ordeal could've been avoided if he just asked Oersted beforehand for a little more respect, or he would've been respected anyway as the future king's right-hand man had he done nothing to screw him over.
Precision F-Strike: When his health falls low enough in the final battle against him, Streibough lets out an enraged, "You bastard!" He also occasionally snarls, "Goddamn you!" if he takes a hit past that point. This makes him one of the few characters in the game to use profanity.
Sidekick: To Oersted… and he's sick of it.
Squishy Wizard: When he's in your team, he's a typical mage character with low bulk. Subverted the time where you fight him the second time, where he has a whopping 999 HP (although you'll still hit hard enough to whittle down his whole health bar alone).
Stealth Pun: Because he goes against his role and does some morally questionable stuff, you can say that he's gone astray.
Token Evil Teammate: Outside of Oersted's status as the Big Bad, which Streibough ended up turning him into, he proves to be the bad fruit of the Middle Ages heroes due to his own agenda and willingness to ruin his friend's life for personal gain. Worst of all, it's implied that he possibly orchestrated Alethea's kidnapping in the first place!
The Unapologetic:
- He never seems to apologize for just about everything that he caused. Even when he's reduced to a spirit inside Akira's dungeon, all he does is ask if it's his fault that Oersted became Odio.
- Averted in the OCTO-A-LIVE crossover, where circumstances play out very differently and he profusely apologizes to Oersted as he dies, adding that just saying sorry isn't nearly enough and asking The Chosen One to keep Oersted on the righteous path.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Now, if he was just able to keep his jealousy and issues being the Number Two at bay, the whole existence and all timelines might not have to be terrorized by Odio, and he comes to regret all of it, when found in Akira's Dungeon in the last scenario.
Villain Ball: Crossed over with Idiot Ball. Oersted's downfall and descent into becoming Odio could've been averted entirely if Streibough decided to talk about his feelings with Oersted instead of singlehandedly ruining his life. Not too bright, eh Streibough?
Yandere: Already deeply jealous of Oersted as is, the knight winning Alethea's hand in the tournament completely breaks him (Streibough later claims that he outright asked Oersted to let him win during his Motive Rant). As soon as he figures out where Alethea is being kept, he immediately resorts to ruining Oersted's life so he can have her instead, with the other party members and her own father becoming acceptable collateral damage in pursuit of that goal.

Uranus

Voiced by: Mugihito (Japanese), Andres Williams (English)

"A Goodly Priest and Companion of Hasshe"

"The flames partake such warmth, to wash away the pain."

An old priest who previously saved the world from the Lord of Dark along with Hasshe, and was seemingly able to resume normal life until the Lord of Dark returned and he, with Oersted and Streibough, must urge Hasshe to get back in shape and face the Lord of Dark again.

Cool Old Guy: He's the oldest out of the Middle Ages heroes, but that hasn't bogged down his powers. Personality-wise, he's definitely this, too, as a kind man who genuinely holds the best of intentions for Oersted and believes that trust for other people is the key to human strength.
Crutch Character: Uranus starts off with stats that eclipse Oersted and Streibough's but eventually lags behind when the two begin to gain levels while Uranus only gets miniscule increases in accuracy and evasion. Unlike other examples, Uranus learns a few new techniques as he levels up.
Disappointed in You:
- His reaction to Hasshe trying to silently brush the heroes off when they seek his aid, declaring that Hasshe is just a coward and might as well be dead.
- When encountered in the Trial of Heart, all he has to say about Oersted is "That fool..." In the remake, however, he comments on how disappointed he is in the people of Lucrece for turning against Oersted and in himself for not noticing Oersted’s budding darkness instead.
Heroic Sacrifice: He expends the last of his power to unlock the door to Oersted's cell so he can escape.
Only Friend: After Oersted is duped into committing regicide, Uranus becomes the only genuine friend left to Oersted. Hasshe and the king are dead, Streibough, Alethea, and the villagers hate his guts, and the only other person who doesn't hate him is one peripheral kid.
Power of Trust: A fervent believer in this trope. He was always vocal about the power of faith and believes that only through trust in others can humans become strong. He wanted to instill that trust in people into Hasshe and Oersted, succeeding with Hasshe. With Oersted, this trust was abandoned once he hit the Despair Event Horizon.
Religious Bruiser: A priest who heals his allies and can use several Heaven-based attacks such as Voice of God.
Super-Scream: His basic attack is Voice of God, which hits every enemy for a small but decent amount of damage.
Token Good Teammate: Of the Middle Ages heroes. While Hasshe is disillusioned and only takes on his role again just to prove he isn't a coward rather than out of altruism but still wanted to help Oersted, Streibough ruins Oersted's life just to win a one-sided grudge, and Oersted himself snaps and becomes the Big Bad at the end of his tale, Uranus remains the only one with genuine loyalty to Oersted and holds on to his good intentions to the very end.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Him telling Oersted to hold on to hope as long as someone still believes in him is well-intentioned enough, but it proves to be a major part in his breakdown when Uranus himself turns out to be the last surviving person who still has faith in him. When Oersted discovers that even his love interest Alethea now hates him, he goes over the edge. If Uranus hadn't told him this, then while Odio wouldn't have been born, Oersted would likely have simply accepted his impending execution, and his tale still wouldn't have ended well.

Hasshe (Hash)

Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese), Andrew James Spooner (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hash.jpg

"A Weary Hero Who Triumphed over Evil"

"It ends this day, O Lord of Dark!"

The man who killed the Lord of Dark previously and hailed as a hero, but quickly was disgusted with how humanity just tossed him to the side afterwards, and retired as a hermit. Uranus calls him out for this when the Lord of Dark returns and Hasshe joins Oersted to prove that he's still in shape. He succumbs to a long-term illness after the battle and trusts Oersted to carry on his legacy as a hero.

Barely-Changed Dub Name: From Hash to Hasshe.
Blood from the Mouth: One of the signs that he's not long for the world is when he throws up blood.
Foreshadowing: His frustration at the citizen's lack of gratitude for his heroism drove him to misanthropy, which is exactly what ends up happening to Oersted… except Oersted takes it far, far worse.
Knight In Shining Armour: Used to be this as the kingdom's hero, down to the typical attire associated with one, but as his cynicism grew he transformed into a Knight in Sour Armour instead.
Knight in Sour Armour: Has to be practically dragged out of his house for the quest to defeat the Lord of Dark after being called out by Uranus and thinks very little of human beings in general, but holds enough faith in Oersted to remind him of the chapter's seemingly hopeful Arc Words of "As Long as There Is One Man"…
The Last Dance: The primary reason why he decided to join the group in their fight against the Lord of Dark was because he didn't have much time in this world, so he decided to at the very least go down in a blaze of glory by slaying his (seemingly) resurrected past foe once more.
Moveset Clone: Every single one of his attacks can also be learned by Oersted.
Red Herring: His misanthropy, joining the party for admitted selfish reasons and demonic-themed attack Archon's Strike may lead the player to suspect him of being the chapter's twist villain. It's actually both Streibough and Oersted.
Secretly Dying: He's dying of the plague, and succumbs to his illness after the false Lord of Dark was slain.
Sword Plant: His "Heavenly Strike" attack allows him to come down from above with a thrust of his sword. He also does a non-combat version as his Victory Pose.
Take Up My Sword: Gives his legendary sword, Brion, to Oersted with his dying breath so he may slay the true Lord of Dark. Tragically, it is very likely the player will immediately equip it to Oersted, which will then be used to slay the king shortly afterward.
Took a Level in Cynic: Implied to have been much like Oersted at the start of his chapter when on his original quest against the Dark Lord. However, the kingdom coming to rely on him much afterwards has caused him to feel disdain towards the town goers for their inability to do things for themselves. It's ultimately what drove him to become a reclusive hermit in the chapter proper.

Princess Alethea (Alicia)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alicia_1.jpg

Voiced by: Miho Arakawa (Japanese), Nicolette Chin (English)

"In you alone I place my faith."

The princess of the Kingdom of Lucrece and betrothed of Oersted. When the Lord of Dark captures her, she patiently awaits Oersted's help.

Ambiguous Situation:
- Is she literally forced to become "Saint Alethea" to attack the heroes, or is that just a spell that was inspired by Oersted feeling the pain of her betrayal?
- Was she always in love with Streibough, originally in love with Oersted but easily seduced by Streibough, originally not interested in either of them, or driven to kill herself by the past Lord of Dark so Oersted would be a more suitable vessel? Was she aware of what had happened to her father? Does she still hold any opinion about Streibough after everything is said and done?
The Atoner: Other souls trapped in Akira's dungeon are completely powerless to help the heroes escape. Even Streibough, the one who caused this mess, would rather repeat to himself that he created this mess yet not take a step forward to fix it. Alethea somehow still holds some sort of power to transport the heroes out of the dungeon and looks really ashamed of her actions, so after begging the heroes to stop Oersted, she teleports them out of the dungeon as an attempt to redeem herself.
Be Careful What You Wish For: She wanted to be with Streibough in the afterlife. Her and his souls ended up trapped in Akira's dungeon, the Trial of Heart, together yet in separate rooms and forced to watch Odio's actions, with Alethea realizing far too late what her wish had caused.
Chastity Dagger: She keeps a knife on her person presumably for self-defense, but uses it to commit suicide in the end. She does actually use it as her main weapon in Holy Dungeon.
Create Your Own Villain: Her suicide out of spite towards Oersted proves the final trigger that turns him from a heroic knight into a misanthropic, vengeful monster. She's shown to regret it later on.
Damsel in Distress: Oersted's primary goal is to rescue her from the clutches of the Lord of Dark.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of Damsel in Distress and Save the Princess. Alethea shows what happens if the hero's beloved princess he seeks to rescue doesn't love him back, and it isn't pretty.
Driven to Suicide: After Oersted kills Streibough, she declares her love for Streibough before plunging a dagger into her gut. As seen on the right, this is what she's about to do in her official art.
Fate Worse than Death: Odio refuses to let her or anyone else move on into the next world and traps them all in the Trial of Heart to make them suffer for eternity as part of Oersted’s revenge for what they all did to him. This backfires on him as she is the one who holds the key to stopping him for good — sending the heroes out of the Trial of Heart and to his lair.
Females Are More Innocent: While her suicide was the last nail in the coffin for Oersted's sanity, she's also the only one who realizes that she caused Oersted's descent into madness and actively tries to fix things by begging the heroes to free Oersted and even summoning a portal to warp out of the Trial of Heart/the people of Lucrece's prison. Compared to Streibough, who is incapable of admitting that everything he did caused his best friend to become a Demon Lord — nor does he even try to fix the stuff he broke — she's a total saint (pun unintended) by comparison.
Foreshadowing: In the remake, her voice actor is notably rather subdued when talking to and/or referring to Oersted and their impending marriage for the most part, and she mainly talks about how the marriage will be good for guiding the kingdom into a new age. She talks about Oersted's combat skill highly, but never once does she actually elaborate how she truly feels about Oersted himself. This is the player's first hint that Oersted's feelings for her might not be entirely mutual on her part.
Gone Horribly Wrong: Alethea wanted to be with her beloved Streibough forever. She gets that with the two stuck in the afterlife while Odio goes on a massive genocidal spree.
Horrible Judge of Character: She saw Streibough as her prince and Oersted as the man who took too long to save her… she dooms her kingdom, multiple other people across time, and potentially reality itself because of it.
Ironic Name: Her name means 'truth' in Greek philosophy, whilst she dies believing lies and refuses to hear the real truth from Oersted.
Irony: Her suicide is what caused the birth of Odio. Her act of atonement later on is what saves Oersted.
Living Emotional Crutch: Deconstructed. By the end of the Middle Ages Chapter, Alethea is the only thing keeping Oersted in the fight. When she rejects him for the man who ruined his life and kills herself, his sanity is destroyed, and she has to "live" with that decision for all eternity.
Locked Out of the Loop: Streibough deliberately didn't tell her how he manipulated Oersted to kill her father or any of the other machinations he did just to get her in his arms.
My God, What Have I Done?: When she's encountered in Akira's dungeon, her sprite shows her covering her face in shame, and she looks like she's crying for what seems to be eternity. She most likely realizes that she's the one who finally broke Oersted and completed his transformation into Odio, dooming Lucrece and all timelines, and she's very ashamed of herself and what her misjudgment did. All she can do is beg for the heroes to end this madness for good and send them off to stop Odio, for Oersted has long since lost himself partially due to her actions. Albeit not completely…
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Due to committing suicide out of love for Streibough, this ends up being the final nail in the coffin for Oersted's sanity as she was the only person left he believed in and could clear his name to Lucrece, instead dooming the kingdom to ruin.
The Ophelia: As the Middle Ages chapter is resemblant of a Shakespearean tragedy. The prologue shows her as a pure pretty princess, and the ending has her go mad with grief and commit suicide.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: She is initially happy to marry Oersted, after he wins her hand in the tournament. But thanks to the Demon kidnapping her and Streibough's manipulation, she loses her love and faith in him.
Pimped-Out Dress: Fitting for a fantasy RPG princess and elaborated on in her Holy Dungeon redesign.
Poor Communication Kills: Had she just let Oersted explain the hell he went through to finally rescue her, particularly that her knight in shining armor Streibough tricked Oersted into killing her father and orchestrated all of this madness for her hand, she might have avoided the Time Crash and the corruption of the man she was supposed to wed and come to reason that Streibough was manipulating her the entire time. Instead, she kills herself, kills off Oersted's goodness, and leads to thousands of people dying in her kingdom and across time and space and the end of her beloved kingdom.
Princesses Prefer Pink: In all her appearances, she is seen wearing a purple-pink dress.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives a harsh one to Oersted after he kills Streibough before she commits suicide. Both combined were enough to push Oersted's hatred over the top.
Alethea: Why... Why now, husband. I waited. But you never came, husband. In you I placed my trust. In you my faith. For Father... Even though good Streibough, he... And yet, despite that wrong, he loved me still! He suffered... Dearly... For your sake. Your pride. A hero's legend built on sacrifice... With victories hard won by better men. Anointed hero! Glory to his name! And Streibough... Sweet and humble, be forgot. But not by me. [she pulls out a knife] I'll not betray our love! [she stabs herself and dies]
Spanner in the Works: She's the one who begs the heroes to free Oersted from the hatred in his heart and teleports them out of the Trial of Heart. Without this act, Odio would've reigned supreme.
Spiteful Suicide: Aside from her showing devotion to Streibough, she kills herself to spite Oersted.
Sympathy for the Devil:
- After Streibough's death, Alethea claims that all he wanted was approval and to be recognized, and that his actions were Oersted's own fault for never truly acknowledging his accomplishments. This, plus her suicide immediately afterwards, proves to be the final nail in the coffin for Oersted's sanity and humanity.
- In Akira's dungeon, she does express sympathy for Oersted, who has long since become Odio. As her soul begs the heroes to end the horror brought by Odio, she states that Oersted does not know what he has become, showing that she came to acknowledge that she had it all wrong in the past, that he's not as bad as she believed him to be, and wishes him a better fate than him being consumed by his own hatred.
Together in Death: After the final battle of the Middle Ages chapter, she takes her own life in order to be together with Streibough in the afterlife. She ends up together with him, all right…
A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Her grief-stricken decision to end her own life causes not only further suffering for her kingdom and Oersted, but people all throughout time.
Ungrateful Bitch: How does Alethea thank Oersted for how he's had to claw his way through literal Hell to save her and learning that his best friend indirectly made her kill her father for utter spite? To spite Oersted and kill herself so she can be together with her beloved Streibough… and boy does all of humanity pay for this.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her abandonment of Oersted is the last straw for his already fractured mind; killing herself is what causes him to renounce his humanity and become Odio.

King of Lucrece

Voiced by: Yohei Tadano (Japanese), Andrew Wheildon (English)

The beloved king of Lucrece. He's looking for a suitable heir to inherit his kingdom. For that, he holds a tournament of arms where the winner will become Alethea's husband and thus be the next in line to rule the kingdom.

Character Death: He is killed by Oersted, who is tricked into thinking that he's the Lord of Dark. This marks the turning point in Oersted's story, as it becomes a downward spiral from here onwards.
The Good King: He is a fair and just ruler. There's no one who resents him, at least openly.
It's All My Fault: When his soul is encountered trapped in the Trial of Heart, he states that everything that befell Lucrece was his fault rather than his killer's or daughter's.
Large Ham: Even within the remake's dramatic eloquence, the king stands out for not having one line that he doesn't speak in a bombastic tone.
Universally Beloved Leader: He is greatly loved by everyone in Lucrece. Tragically, it's for this reason that the people are so utterly angry with Oersted when they think that the young knight killed him on purpose.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His decision at the beginning of the chapter to hold a tournament where the winner will be granted the right to marry Alethea and be his heir indirectly threatens to doom all realities, because Streibough participates in it and fails to achieve the right to marry his love by being defeated by Oersted in the final round. For holding the tournament in the first place, Streibough plots to have the king killed by Oersted, who then takes the blame. This is just the beginning of Streibough's revenge plot that eventually gives birth to Odio.

Minister

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Tim Faulkner (English)

The minister to the king of Lucrece (though he rather appears to serve the role of a chancellor). He's the one who served as the tournament's announcer and provides answers on the King's behalf.

Dirty Coward: Should Oersted fight his way through the castle and face the minister in the throne room after escaping the dungeon, the minister tries to claim that he still believes the knight to be a hero and yields the throne to him in an attempt to save his own face.
The Good Chancellor: He's wholly dedicated to the King and Kingdom of Lucrece and is the one to inform Oersted and Streibough about the Lord of Dark and the heroes who slew him in the past.
Large-Ham Announcer: He serves as the announcer to the tournament Oersted and Streibough take part in, and announces the tournament's events in bombastic tone.
Mr. Exposition: When talked to at the beginning, he reveals the information about the past Lord of Dark and his kidnapping of the queen of Lucrece twenty years ago, as well as his defeat at the hands of Hasshe and Uranus.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: After witnessing Oersted falling for Streibough's illusion and unwittingly killing the King of Lucrece, he misinterprets the scene of murder as deliberate on Oersted's part and calls the guards, who then proceed to muse that he was the Lord of Dark and the one who murdered Hasshe and Streibough. This eventually culminates in Oersted becoming Hated by All and, subsequently, succumbing to his hatred and truly becoming Odio, the Lord of Dark.

Fake Lord of Dark

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lord_of_dark_live_a_live.png

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Glen McCready (English)

"The darkness comes for ALL!"

The false Lord of Dark who acts in place of the (supposedly posthumous) real one by kidnapping Alethea and baiting the heroes to his lair.

Achilles' Heel: Hasshe's Archon's Mark technique, the move that slew the original Lord of Dark, will turn the false lord furious and cause him to unleash Retribution, a powerful multi-hit counterattack… which also completely tanks his stats. If Hasshe can be revived from this, the rest of the fight will be a breeze.
Ambiguous Situation: Who or what is he really? Is he one of the previous Lord of Dark's enforcers who has decided to act as him while preparing his return? Was he created by Streibough? Was he a weaker form that the real Odio chose to become in order to manipulate one of the heroes into becoming his true vessel? The remake confirms he has no association with Streibough and Hasshe implies that he is a high-ranking minion posing as the Lord of Dark.
Arc Villain: He initially seems to be the chapter's main villain, until it's revealed after his defeat that he wasn't the true Lord of Dark.
Bait-and-Switch: The presence of statues depicting the seven Odio incarnations before his room as well as the remake's trailers build him up as the true Big Bad, only for Hasshe to suspect otherwise.
Climax Boss: Of the Middle Ages chapter, and possibly the whole game. Until his boss battle, the chapter played like the most stereotypical medieval fantasy RPG; however, once you beat him, rather than the heroes rescuing Alethea and going home to celebrate their victory while she and Oersted live happily ever after, it's revealed that he wasn't the real Lord of Dark to begin with and Alethea is nowhere to be found, which is then quickly followed by the deaths of Hasshe and Streibough^notethough he actually faked his death and Oersted and Uranus have to return home empty-handed. From that point onwards, things only get worse and worse for the heroes until the chapter's end.
Dead Person Impersonation: He impersonates the previous Lord of Dark that was slain by Hasshe.
Degraded Boss: Sort of. The Dracophobia enemies that appear in Archon's Roost have the same (but less powerful) Thunderclap and Molten Breath attacks, implying that the false Lord of Dark is an empowered version.
Disc-One Final Boss: Beating him at the top of the mountain reveals that he isn't the real Lord of Dark. He comes back as a darker Palette Swap, though hitting him destroys him instantly and reveals him to be the King of Lucrece under an illusion spell. The game is quite subtle about it, too, at first. By the time you get to him, the chapter has gone about the length of the previous chapters, the room right before him contains statues of the seven incarnations of Odio, suggesting him to be the villain of not just the chapter, but the entire game, and he gets Megalomania as his boss theme, a track up until this point reserved only for end-of-chapter bosses and superbosses.
Dragon Ascendant: He used to be one of the Lord of Dark's high-ranking minions, and after his death, he ended up taking the mantle.
Generic Doomsday Villain: He does not display much personality or even motives other than kidnapping Alethea and baiting the heroes into the Archon's Roost to kill them (though it's implied that he may have baited them into the Archon's Roost to convert one of them into the Lord of Dark).
History Repeats: Was (seemingly) responsible for the incident Hasshe solved where he kidnapped the previous Queen of Lucrece, now (definitely) returning in the present to kidnap the soon-to-be Queen, Princess Alethea.
Interface Spoiler: In the original game's fan translation, his title being "Demon Lord" may serve as an early implication that he isn't the Demon King. And in the remake, he doesn't have the dark red aura that the previous chapter bosses had.
Maou the Demon King: "Lord of Dark" was "Maou" in the original Japanese (and "Demon King" in the Fan Translation), and he fits the role quite neatly in every respect.
Palette Swap: Streibough uses dark magic to make the King of Lucrece appear to be a darker version of the Lord of Dark, making Oersted believe that he is the true Lord of Dark and causing him to accidentally kill him.
Voice of the Legion: Befitting for a demon, he speaks with an unnatural echo in his voice.

Past Lord of Dark

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lord_of_dark_statue.jpg

The previous Lord of Dark who was slain by Hasshe 20 years prior to the events of the chapter. Although he is a Posthumous Character, his influence can be felt through the entire game, although to what extent is unknown.

Allegorical Character: As his title suggests, Odio represents the hatred of mankind. Fittingly, for most of the time, it's implied that he wants the chapter protagonists to come to the same understanding as Oersted by purposefully wrecking their lives and the lives of the people around them, so they will break their moral codes and succumb to hate.
Ambiguous Situation: How much of Odio is him, how much is Oersted, and how much is both? The remake provides hints that he is either a separate entity merely using Oersted as a vessel, an entirely separate character who left power in the roost for a new Lord of Dark and is truly dead, or reincarnated as Oersted given how Oersted fits the theme naming of Odio's incarnations. Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent offers a possible answer in its crossover event with Live A Live: there, the original Lord of Dark is the actual Odio and was summoned back to Lucrece in response to Streibough and Alethea's despair at the tournament, and he's able to transform those who fall into hatred and despair into becoming his vessels, with Streibough becoming Odio instead in that storyline.
Demonic Possession: It is entirely possible that this is how one becomes the Lord of Dark — through the spirit of the original possessing them. Notably, this is the interpretation Champions of the Continent goes with.
Greater-Scope Villain: He's never even seen at any point in the story, but his involvement can be felt indirectly throughout the entire game, most notably through Oersted as Odio. The most obvious interpretation of events is that, while he is dead, his power and his soul can be inherited by and merged with anyone who is possesses enough hatred, which is what happened to Oersted. For bonus points, the Sin of Odio heavily resembles a monstrous flaming horned version of the Past Lord's statue, implying that he is the one who has control in this one final duel.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: His statue's eyes glow. Depending on whether you're playing the original or the remake, the glow is either white or red.
He Who Must Not Be Seen: The Lord of Dark is never seen in person at all. Even lampshaded by Oersted himself in his ending monologue, where he notes that nowhere does he see a lord of dark, calling the throne empty and wanting an heir, supporting the possibility that the Lord of Dark wasn't even a real presence in the story, or at least not a corporeal one.
Legacy Character: The "Lord of Dark" title and powers that go with them are inherited by anyone who possesses enough hatred to want the title and powers.
The Man Behind the Man: One possibility suggests that Oersted became Odio due to the bodiless Lord of Dark's manipulations. Either he's this and influenced Streibough and Alethea to drive Oersted into becoming a suitable vessel, or he's a Greater-Scope Villain whose powers were passed onto Oersted without his direct involvement and he's long gone as an individual.
Maou the Demon King: In the original Japanese script, he was known as a "Demon King", which he shares with both of his successors.
The Power of Hate: Since he was the previous Lord of Dark before Oersted, we can assume that he was also powered by hatred. If he's not actually possessing Oersted directly, than it is this power that is passed on from him to Oersted.
Posthumous Character: He was killed by Hasshe before the start of the game. Possibly subverted if he and Oersted really do become one and the same, or were the same person from the start, depending on one's interpretation.
Reincarnation: Another possibility to his true nature is that Oersted is a reincarnation of him and that the Lord of Dark was a previous incarnation of Odio, meaning that all three characters are one and the same. Supported by the fact that Oersted comes to claim the title of Odio with no separate character being alluded to, nor any hint of possession in his monologue at the end of his chapter, as well as Oersted fitting the Theme Naming of Odio's incarnations.
True Final Boss: In the remake, this is one way Sin of Odio can be taken, as that form greatly resembles the statue of the past Lord of Dark, and is able to act (or at least exist) separately from Oersted when the latter manages to break free from his hate.
Villainous Legacy: It's also possible that the Lord of Dark is long dead and gone with his minions and power at the roost being all that's left of him, thus meaning Streibough and Oersted acted of their own accord and seized the power left at the roost, with the latter becoming Odio and surpassing the previous lord of dark.
Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk about him without revealing that he's long dead — or so it seems at first — and that the events of the Middle Ages chapter are the machinations of his high-ranking minion and Streibough.

Odio and the Incarnations

Odio, the Lord of Dark

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odio_holy_dungeon_artwork.png

"My hate is yours, and yours is mine! To share, a history, so long as men yet live!"

^{Odio's face}

^{Sin of Odio}

^Odio-O

^Odio-S

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Dario Coates (English), Shizuma Hodoshima (Odio-S)

"Did I not do all that was asked? Did I not serve and seek my fair and just reward?! And for my deeds they damn me. Name me "demon". And who am I to deny it? Demon, then! Renouncing former ties and titles! And in their place, I claim... the Lord of Dark. Odio!"

The current Lord of Dark and main villain of Live A Live. His various incarnations cause trouble to different protagonists from several points in time, making him what binds all these stories together. He also serves as the final boss of the final chapter. See Oersted for more information.

Action Bomb: If Armageddon is ever cast, every single Odio incarnation will cause a massive explosion in their time period to wipe out of all reality.
Adaptational Heroism: In the original game, Odio/Oersted realized the error of his ways only after he was beaten by the heroes and called out on his sins. In the remake, Odio/Oersted realizes how far he was consumed by his hatred and redeems himself before the heroes chewed him out, as once they beat his Sin of Odio form, Oersted breaks free from his prison of hate and even gets to be the one to deliver the finishing blow. Afterwards, he displays genuine regret for all his sins before the heroes explain the reasons why they didn't fall for evil.
Ambiguous Situation:
- It's ambiguous if there's a separate Odio who orchestrated and possessed Streibough and then Oersted as part of its plans to return to power, no separate being manipulating events and Odio is a title that Oersted made on his own, or if Oersted himself was Odio/a reincarnated Lord of Dark the entire time and the intended inheritor of the power from the Lord of Dark and Streibough was seizing its power for himself. Muddying the lines is that Oersted has several One-Winged Angel forms that imply Odio as a separate entity but also are described as incarnations of Oersted's own hatred and power, and the Sin of Odio is mindless and powerless on its own without Oersted, implying that Oersted and Odio are one and the same person. To support the latter view, Oersted fits the theme naming of Odio's incarnations. Then again, Oersted and Odio being two separate beings would explain how Oersted went from a Magic Knight that, while strong, his powers weren't treated as unique or special, to a Physical God whose power is so immense that it transcended time and space.
- Are the incarnations avatars of Odio created through his power, or are they separate beings who are nevertheless connected to Oersted and have their own individuality? The game provides hints for both interpretations.
- How did he carry out his Roaring Rampage of Revenge? All we are told is that there were no survivors.
Adaptation Deviation: OCTO-A-LIVE features two entirely different versions of Odio.
- Odio-S is a version of Odio born from Streibough when his plan to trick Oersted into killing Alethea via illusion fails and he is backed into a corner well before he would be in canon, compounding his stress further. Between that, his festering resentment from his and Oersted's long history together, and taking Oersted and Alethea's attempts to talk him out of this badly, his hate and despair targeted at Oersted grow so great that they consume him and he becomes an incarnation of Odio.
- Odio-O, born from Oersted, may seem like little more than a different design for the canon Odio, but he emerges when, after Oersted and Alethea have done everything they could to save Streibough from himself, and after Oersted had plenty of time to form a genuine love for Alethea, Odio-S casually kills her and the knight finally snaps. Instead of hating all of humanity, his hatred is focused entirely on Streibough and magnified to a degree far beyond what it ever was in canon.
- Both Odios are able to exist at the same time in the same place and even fight each other as a Duel Boss, but Odio-S claims neither of them can die for good and that even if Oersted dies, he can return to challenge him again and again. He revels in the ability to torment his nemesis forever, while Odio-O remains in a pure berserker rage only focused on revenge.
Angelic Abomination: In his purest form, the Eyes and Maw have a multitude of grapevines, flowers, and angel wings sticking out of them, with only Purity of Odio having wings that at all fit in the right place.
Anthropomorphic Personification: The Sin of Odio form that is faced as the True Final Boss in the remake is essentially a personification of all the hatred and spite Oersted held within himself as well as all he gathered from time and space, fully unleashed in physical form, further demonstrated by images of every incarnation appearing behind him periodically as he tries to destroy the heroes for good. As a bonus, he even resembles the statue of the Past Lord of Dark, only far larger and on fire, not to mention his helmet now has devilish horns.
Apocalypse How: In his scenario, when he is about to lose, he can pick the Armageddon option and causes a Class Z. He also casts Armageddon if you lose against him when he's in Purity of Odio form (or ANY of Odio's forms in the remake). He also did a Class 4 within the Kingdom of Lucrece as his Roaring Rampage of Revenge — there were no human beings left alive in the kingdom after he was done with it, and although there are still roaming monsters that the 7 heroes face when they are transported there, they don't resemble any natural wildlife at all.
As Long as There Is Evil: As long as there is hatred, anyway. Anyone can become a demon like him because of it. Though the way he says it comes off more like a warning that someone someday will pick up where he left off, rather than a typical "I'll come back to haunt you!" taunt.
Atop a Mountain of Corpses: The face and Purity of Odio's boss arena. Downplayed since, as indicated by the former's battle music, it's an illusion.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The remake has the exclusive True Final Boss Sin of Odio, which appears as a giant animated suit of armor wreathed in flames with Oersted embedded in its core, which resembles the Lord of Dark statues.
Badass Cape: As Oersted, he wears one in his appearance in the mobile game Holy Dungeon, and in the remake during Oersted's version of the final chapter. According to the artist, this used to be Streibough's cape.
Battle Aura: In the remake, Odio and his incarnations all possess it in the Red and Black and Evil All Over variety in their boss fights as the Arc Villain of each of their chapter.
Berserker Tears: The blazes from Sin of Odio's face looks like it is shedding tears, perhaps being the manifestation of Oersted's grief from his experiences.
Big Bad: Of the game as a whole (especially if you believe that the Past Lord of Dark is his original self), and his incarnations serve as the Big Bads of their respective chapters.
Break Them by Talking: Does this to the heroes when finally confronted at the end, claiming that the only reason their heroic actions were even needed was due to mankind's laziness and selfishness, and that even their own heroics were motivated more by their own selfish desires than any desire to help others. Surprisingly, this causes some of the heroes to take a moment to reflect on their actions… but only a moment.
Cessation of Existence: Armageddon, which destroys all timelines at the same time. He only casts it if the party loses to his Purity of Odio form^* or if he receives enough damage when playing as him in the final chapter.
Clipped-Wing Angel: After defeating Purity of Odio, you have the option of finishing Oersted off in his human form (though be warned, this leads to the neutral ending). Oersted still has player-character stats and doesn't benefit from Health/Damage Asymmetry, so he tends to go down very quickly. The Boss Rush in the good ending also counts, since all of Odio's incarnations have the exact same stats as when you first fought them, while (if you were smart) the heroes should have leveled up enough to solo them easily. Subverted in the remake, as he has an extra threatening form that you must deal with after the boss rush, which trades his bulk and disruptive attacks in his purity form with incredibly hard-hitting moves.
The Corruptor: He seeks to achieve this with the heroes and prove his viewpoint that Humans Are Bastards to both them and himself, setting the stage for the final chapter.
Demon of Human Origin: Created from Oersted taking the Lord of Dark's throne and power for himself. Possibly overlaps with Deity of Human Origin.
Devil Complex: It comes with wanting to become the Lord of Dark after utterly hating humanity for everything that happened to him.
Divinely Appearing Demons: Face of Odio resembles an Angelic Abomination, a visual metaphor for Oersted's damaged perception of himself after being named a demon by the kingdom.
Due to the Dead: It's heavily implied that he returned the Brion sword to Hasshe's grave, given that the protagonists find it there after the fall of Lucrece. It would have been smarter of him to destroy it, hide it somewhere else, or keep it on his person or in his lair (which he did bother to lock up again), but he chose to reunite it with Hasshe. While the game implies that Odio wants the heroes to find and confront him so he can dress them down before destroying them in earnest, explaining why Odio didn't destroy Brion, this trope is really the only good reason why he left the key to his lair in such a conspicuous location. The (possibly vandalised) map of Lucrece the protagonists use also has "The Hero's Rest" renamed to "The Last Hero's Grave", which is comparably more respectable than the other locations, which were given much more demeaning titles.
Dying as Yourself: Overlaps with Heel Realization. After having his incarnations defeated in the best ending, which causes Oersted to break down and beg why he couldn't even win and make his point valid that Humans Are Bastards despite all his power, the ultimate form of the Lord of Dark is unleashed — the Sin of Odio, the embodiment of all hatred in the world from across time and space, imprisoning Oersted within its chest and assuming full control of the final battle. Seeing the heroes fight on against all odds to defeat the God of Hatred, Oersted remembers who he once was long ago and breaks free with the heroes' help, delivering the final blow to the now-separate Odio himself. After the heroes lecture him that he lost as Odio because he chose to give up his humanity when they would always hold onto their humanity even in the worst times, he ends up realizing that his heart was weak, agrees with the heroes' points, and crumbles into dust with no resentment towards the party.
- Streibough has a similar end in the crossover story with Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, where he becomes Odio-S and corrupts Oersted into Odio-O for the sake of a true battle to the death. Oersted snaps out of it and strikes down Odio-S, who reverts back to Streibough and apologizes as deeply as he can before he dies.
Enemy Without: In the remake, Oersted comes to his senses during the Sin of Odio fight — at which point his boss form starts actively fighting against his regained humanity and incapacitates the heroes, forcing Oersted to separate from it and kill it himself.
Evil Costume Switch: In Holy Dungeon, Oersted-as-Odio wears a cape, possesses a darker color palette compared to his human self, his once-pristine sword is now broken in parts and, as seen in his artwork, has the plants from his Face of Odio form adorned on him. He also wears this outfit in his version of the remake's final chapter.
- Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent does this to both Oersted and Streibough in the forms of Odio-O and Odio-S respectively. Oersted dons Sin of Odio's armor and gets slightly longer hair, a cape, and a Cool Sword, while Streibough gets white hair, horns, claws, and goes shirtless (albeit with a single massive eye in his chest).
Evil Laugh: If Odio is the final chapter protagonist in the remake, the pause screen shows him laughing maniacally over his impending victory. If he does successfully defeat the heroes, the Japanese script also has him laugh maniacally before the credits.
Evil Sounds Deep: In addition to his the Voice of the Legion echoes and growlier speech, Odio-O's normal tone is about an octave down from Oersted's.
Evil Sounds Raspy: In the English dub, Odio is clearly raspier when compared to the softer-spoken Oersted. It's especially noticeable after he drops the Voice of the Legion effect right before the Boss Rush.
Fair-Play Villain: Heavily implied by the sum total of his actions across his own final chapter and the heroes' final chapter. Going by the presence of the Armageddon option in the Reverse Boss Rush, Odio could have cast Armageddon any time any of his incarnations were backed into a corner, but he didn't. Instead, he waited for all of the incarnations to be defeated, then summoned the heroes who beat them to his Villain World, scattering them and leaving them to their own devices, allowing them to confront him on their own terms. He even left the key to his lair in a very conspicuous location (though the exact nature of that location could also count as a show of respect to a departed ex-comrade). Then, once the final battle begins in earnest, he waits until he has beaten down the party to end existence, and if they defeat him instead, so be it. This all indicates that Odio would rather earn his victory and prove his point fair and square before allowing his wrath to truly run rampant. (Unless the player takes control and forces him to Rage Quit, that is.)
Fanservice Pack: Or rather Fan Disservice Pack. Odio-S turns the slender in modest robes Streibough into a Walking Shirtless Scene with visible muscles… but there's a large eye sprouting on his chest.
Final Boss: Many of his incarnations serve this role for each chapter. Odio himself plays with this trope a bit: He appears as the true final boss as Purity of Odio… and after being defeated and spared in the path for the good ending, he challenges the heroes again one last time by summoning all the final bosses of the first seven chapters. In the remake, he gives one final battle after the boss rush as Sin of Odio, the pure embodiment of not only Oersted's hatred, but of all the darkness and hate of their world.
The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In the final chapter, the tips on the loading screen are replaced with "..." just like how OD-10 in the Distant Future chapter replaces the loading screen tips with threats delivered to Cube. Fortunately, the much more relatively benevolent Lucretius will take over the loading screen tips once he's beaten in his Superboss fight.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Odio may have extremely justified reasons to descend down into evil. However, the heroes faced similar tribulations and persevered, and thus they tell him that he's still wrong regardless, with Akira outright giving him No Sympathy whatsoever.
Glass Cannon: His Sin of Odio form is significantly easier to hurt than Purity of Odio, but all of his attacks dish out ridiculous amounts of damage in an area.
Good Wings, Evil Wings: Both Eyes and the Maw of Odio have one white feathered wing each while Purity of Odio has a pair of blood-red feathered wings, possibly to emphasize that Odio is not just a demon and more like a god.
Graceful Loser: After being beaten, he takes his defeat well and asks the heroes to just kill him already. This leads to a bad end. Later, when he resurfaces and tries to prove his point by sending a Boss Rush and is thwarted again, he is quick to realize that the heroes were right when they point out their differences: his heart was too weak, so he fell into despair's influence. In his dying breath, he gives a fair, but stern warning about As Long as There Is Evil, rather than cursing them.
Oersted: [after Purity of Odio's defeat] Well fought and won.
Greater-Scope Villain: For the chapters in which the real Odio is not featured directly, given that each Big Bad is one of his incarnations.
Green-Eyed Monster: It's heavily implied that it wasn't so much his incarnations losing that made Odio upset enough to summon the heroes to the Dominion of Hate to kill them personally as it was seeing each attain the happy ending he yearned for himself but never got.
I Have Many Names: Take your pick: Odo, Ou Di Wan Lee, Ode Iou, O. Dio, Odie O'Bright, Odeo, OD-10, Oersted...
Humans Are the Real Monsters: Odio certainly believes that this is true and is capable, and more than willing, to hunt down and kill every last human across all time periods like wild game, though considering how much hell he was put through, you can't really blame him.
Knight of Cerebus: While the individual stories of the protagonists start off as mostly lighthearted by nature, it is Odio's influence throughout the time periods that set off a significantly darker turn for the events to come, and fittingly so because he is the culmination of hatred through mankind. And even more so in the final events of Oersted's chapter when you start to realize that you've been playing as the villain all along, the only protagonist in the story who not only actively questions the meaning of humanity and heroism, but seeks to destroy them.
Leitmotif: "Odio, the Lord of Dark" serves as one for his incarnations, and the remake adds "Fugue for the Lord of Dark" for Odio himself. Technically, "On Broken Wings" is one as well. "Megalomania" plays in all of his chapter boss fights as well. The remake also adds "Gigalomania" for his Sin of Odio form, which integrates all of the above. "Illusion" and "Pure Odio" are for when the heroes fight against him directly in the final chapter.
Madness Mantra: In the English script of the Sad Ending, he repeats "believe in me" maniacally instead of laughing like he does in the Japanese version, further adding to the idea that he feels that Vengeance Feels Empty (and that all he really wants is for someone to acknowledge his worth).
Maou the Demon King: Just like his predecessor, he's titled "Maou" in Japanese and occupies the same role.
Meaningful Name: "Odio" is Latin for hatred. In Spanish, it also translates to "I hate," which he most certainly does. All his various incarnations go on and on about hate. The Middle Ages chapter shows why Odio is so fixated on hate.
Misanthrope Supreme: After all that happens to him, he abhors humanity and considers them worse than animals, since the latter only kill to nourish themselves.
My God, What Have I Done?: In the remake, once the Sin of Odio is beaten, with Oersted being the one to deliver the final blow, he ends up being devastated by grief and remorse over all the sins he committed, realizing how petty and selfish his thirst for vengeance against humanity was.
Nerf: In the Super Famicom version of the game, his Purity of Odio form will constantly spam Saint Alethea, sometimes multiple times in a row. In the remake, he'll only use it very sparingly, spending most of his time casting his other spells, such as Expunge or Denial.
Nightmare Face: His strongest attack "Saint Alethea" summons an image of Alethea's face being heavily distorted, complete with a loud screeching.
One-Winged Angel: Purity of Odio. In fact, his true form shows up before defeating his first form as the Brow of Odio, but attacking him in this state will just cause him to heal and buff up his other components.
- Sin of Odio in the remake. After the boss rush, Odio still refuses to give in to his opponents, so he calls upon all his power and all his hatred across time and space as well as that of the world itself to him (as explained by Akira), to take on one final form to try and kill our heroes: the living manifestation of malice and hatred itself.
Our Archons Are Different: While the original refers to him as a generic Demon King, the remake calls him an archon, a demonic spirit of darkness that serves the Demiurge in Gnosticism. While he is no servant of a higher power (in fact, calling him a Demiurge instead would suit him very well), a "demonic spirit of darkness" descriptor fits Odio like a glove.
Outside-Genre Foe: To all the seven heroes after they faced each of his incarnation of their corresponding era. Not everyday that you see a caveman, a kung fu successor, a ninja, a cowboy, a martial arts fighter, a psychic, and a robot face off against the demonic embodiment of hatred of a medieval setting.
Painful Transformation: In the remake, Odio undergoes this when he draws all of the hatred in the world into himself to become the Sin of Odio. Judging by him clutching his head and screaming in pain, it couldn't have been a very pleasant experience.
Physical God: A god of hatred, that is, and one that's freely able to warp reality, meddle in various time periods, and even end existence if pushed far enough.
Plant Person: His first form, which resembles a face made out of plants. If one were to look closer however, especially in the remake, said plants are in fact made of bodies.
Play as a Boss: If you choose Oersted's version of the Final Chapter, you get to play as every single one of Odio's incarnations in a Reverse Boss Rush.
Promoted to Playable: Choosing Odio as the Finale Protagonist will invoke this to ALL of his incarnations. See above.
Psychological Projection: When talking to the statues of his incarnations, he expresses sympathy for them, claiming that they were undeservedly robbed of victory and branded villains for their actions, projecting his own plights onto them. While Oersted himself truly was a sympathetic person who did not deserve bad things to happen to him, his incarnations are Knight Templars or operate on dubious morality at best, or are clear-cut villains at worst.
Pyrrhic Victory: No matter what Odio does to make humanity pay, it's clear he isn't getting happier. If he is chosen as the protagonist in the final chapter and he slaughters all the heroes without casting Armageddon, he is left to wander the ruins of Lucrece alone — and just to rub in the point, the text SAD ENDING^{In the remake...} appears.
The Power of Hate: After what he went through as Oersted, he completely and utterly hates humanity. After declaring his hatred of humans, he gains all his demon powers thanks to the original Lord of Dark having the Archon's Roost serve as a conduit for his dark magic and possibly even for his soul to find rebirth.
Rage Quit: The Armageddon ending is essentially just Odio rage quitting so hard that he ends up taking the timeline with him.
Reality Warper: While the Dominion of Hate is largely superficially identical to Lucrece, Odio is more than willing to warp any area he wants into anything he wants.
Redemption Equals Death: In the remake, Oersted regains his humanity and deals the final blow to Sin of Odio… which is implied to be the only thing keeping him alive, thus killing him.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Every manifestation of the Lord of Dark has this.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Had one offscreen after becoming the Lord of Dark, Odio, slaughtering everyone inside Lucrece and leaving all souls (including Alethea and Streibough's) in an And I Must Scream situation, as shown in Akira's dungeon in the final chapter.
Sad Battle Music: In the original game, "Cry-A-Live" plays when Purity of Odio is defeated and becomes Oersted again, and continues into Oersted's final battle if you decide to finish him off.
Satanic Archetype: He's called a demon in the Super Famicom version (an archon in the remake), his title is the Lord of Dark, he's the embodiment of hatred and misanthropy, he got to where he is by falling from a position of grace and respect, and yet he still manages to be well-spoken and somewhat charismatic — while still not really bothering to conceal just how little he thinks of humanity. Yep, Odio certainly qualifies.
Say My Name: Just before Odio-O's clash with Odio-S, he lets out a roar of primal fury.
Odio-O: STREIBOUUUUUGH!
Shadow Archetype: True to the game's overarching theme, Odio possesses traits of all 10 of the heroes that his various incarnations have fought, but his story didn't have the happy ending theirs did, causing them to become distorted…
- Like Pogo, the woman he loved was kidnapped and he put himself through hell to rescue her.
- Like the Earthen Heart Master, he had to witness the deaths of people close to him where there was nothing he could do to stop their deaths.
- Like the Successors of the Earthen Heart, he was faced with the task of living up to his predecessor's legacy. For each possible successor specifically...
  - Like Lei, his mistakes cost him everyone he held dear.
  - Like Hong, he was ostracized for factors beyond his control.
  - Like Yun, he was made to commit evil deeds and was left with a choice once he had an out.
- Like Oboromaru, he did what his charge asked of him without question or complaint.
- Like the Sundown Kid, he was left with all alone in the world with no family, friends, or a place to call home.
- Like Masaru, he was driven by the desire to prove himself.
- Like Akira, he was dealt a bad hand in life and had to take back control himself.
- Like Cube, his circumstances left him to evaluate humanity's capacity for love and compassion.
- ...But what sets him apart from them is that when faced with his many failures, betrayals, and injustices, he chose to blame everyone else for his sorrow, condemn all of humanity as irredeemable, and declare war on it throughout time.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: His reincarnations all have names based off of or involving a corruption of Odio.
Tears of Blood: In the remake, Purity of Odio appears to have blood leaking from his eyes.
Theme Naming: Every single main villain originated from Odio, so every one contains his name in some way.
Tragic Villain: And how! Kind-hearted and heroic Knight in Shining Armor Oersted took such a hard and painful fall from grace that he became a physical manifestation of As Long as There Is Evil.
Transhuman Abomination: Apparently ascending to the level of Lord of Dark mutates your body beyond recognition and gives you a severe case of Transhuman Treachery.
Villainous Breakdown:
- After the Boss Rush in the Golden Ending, he falls to his knees, demanding to know why he can never win and why he can't prove humanity's flaws despite having experienced them firsthand. In the remake, it culminates in him calling upon all of the hatred in existence, which manifests itself as the game's True Final Boss: Sin of Odio.
  Odio, the Lord of Dark: Why… Why, why, why!? Why can we not prevail? What have you that we lack? What secret strength!?
- Even before the Boss Rush, despite his wounds from the previous battle, he continues to madly rave that his hatred cannot be destroyed and furiously demands that the party "embrace" humanity's sin and hate. In the Remake, this can potentially happen even earlier when his Purity of Odio form is destroyed as one of his lines is wailing for someone to believe in him again.
Villain Protagonist: Playable in the Final Chapter and arguably is the protagonist of the entire game, as he's the only main character to influence every chapter.
Villain Song: Yoko Shimomura's memória! album includes a version of "Megalomania" with lyrics written from Odio's perspective.
Voice of the Legion: Befitting for the Lord of Dark, Oersted has his voice bolstered with demonic echo once he becomes Odio.
Walking Spoiler:
- Absolutely everything about Odio's existence is a spoiler regarding how his incarnations are involved in their chapter's plots, where even their names are significant clues to what's really going on.
- Sin of Odio is this in the Remake, as the only hint of its existence is at the beginning of the Nintendo Direct reveal trailer with the piano introduction of "Gigalomania" playing before it transitions into the game's main theme.^note
Was Once a Man: He started off as an ordinary human knight, but ultimately becomes a timeline-spanning Eldritch Abomination.
Where I Was Born and Razed: After becoming Odio, he proceeded to turn his former home of Lucrece into a wasteland with no life aside from monsters following a Time Crash, and is rendered a Ghost Town after his defeat.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Oersted was broken by one betrayal after another, driving him into turning against humanity, willingly becoming the Lord of Dark reborn and claiming the name Odio before laying waste to his former home and then eventually to other eras across time and space.

Odo - Prehistory

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odo_artwork.png

"O Child of Fury"

Odio's incarnation for the Prehistory Chapter. The cavemen of Zaki's tribe worship him, and Beru is intended as a sacrifice to him. It is a Tyrannosaurus rex and probably the last dinosaur on earth.

Achilles' Heel: Beru's Sing Hurt spell, while inaccurate, hits an absurd amount of times for decent damage each hit; if you got her to level 7 (level 6 in the remake) in the brief time she's around earlier in the chapter, then she'll be able to use it on Odo to tear through its health.
All There in the Manual: In the Japanese manual for the SNES and Wii Virtual Console, it is also known as the "Odiosaurus".
Ambiguous Gender: Due to the Prehistory Chapter's lack of dialogue, Odo is the only major character and Odio incarnation whose gender is never specified.
Animalistic Abomination: It may look like a Tyrannosaurus rex, but it's the prehistoric incarnation of Odio.
Art Evolution: The Switch remake gives Odo a much more menacing appearance by darkening its palette, increasing its color contrast, and giving it pupilless Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness with a meaner expression, thus making it look less like your average cartoony T-Rex, and more like a demon in T-Rex's hide (fitting, since it is a prehistoric reincarnation of the Lord of Dark) that matches the promo art◊ by Yoshinori Kobayashi.
Artistic License – Paleontology: It is a Tyrannosaurus rex, in an age where humans are in the middle of creating society. Justified, considering that it is an avatar of Odio.
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: It ends up eating the Kuu Chieftain, who had created a whole slew of problems already and became the initial threat that started the plot. Additionally, the Chieftain's death allows Zaki to immediately take leadership of the Kuu tribe and declare peace with Pogo's tribe.
Barely-Changed Dub Name: Its original name is rendered like "おーでぃーおー", pronounced like saying out the letters "O-D-O" individually (which would spell out "Odio"). The official English localization, however, renders it like "Odo", as if it'd rhyme with "dodo".
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Despite being an Odio incarnation, as an animal, it's mostly ruled by animal instincts, only caring for what food can come to its belly (and seeing that it's the Last of His Kind, it's doing everything to survive). Luckily for it, the Kuu Tribe provided it a recurring diet.
Conflict Killer: He is the one that brings an end to the hostility between Pogo and Zaki by trying to eat them both, forcing them to team up to survive.
Early-Bird Cameo: If you play this game in chronological order. Odo essentially serves as this to the Odio incarnations, since its only connection to the Lord of Dark is from its name sounding like a caveman-esque butcher of Odio's name.
Eye Scream: It's implied that the scar running down the left side of its face is also running across its left eye as well, judging from the angle shown. Due to the way Odo is facing the party, however, the player can't see much of said eye's condition.
Final Boss: Of Pogo's Chapter.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: The Switch remake adds a jagged red one across the left side of his face. As noted up above in Art Evolution, this was likely done to help Odo appear more intimidating and match the promo art for the chapter from the original.
Giant Animal Worship: The Kuu tribe worships it and tried to feed Beru to it.
Greater-Scope Villain: Of the Prehistory chapter. Despite being an incarnation of Odio, it only drives the plot in an indirect way (with the Kuu Chief being more involved in the plot) and only shows up towards the very end for its boss battle.
The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: At the end of the chapter, Pogo's tribe leader and Zaki are standing upon a giant slab of meat being danced around by their tribes, which is heavily implied to have been from Odo.
Irony: The main source of conflict in this chapter intended to prove humanity's wrongs ends up creating the perfect opportunity for the heroes to create peace by eating the Kuu Tribe chief.
It Can Think: It's seemingly feral and mindless, but considering that it's an incarnation of Odio, it's implied that it's more sapient than it appears at first glance; what Odio used to fuel its hatred remains unclear, though.
Knight of Cerebus: The first of many. Storywise, Odo's presence serves as a prelude to Odio's overall omnipresence in the game and is the player's first warning that this game has a dark secret that will slowly be unraveled as the game progresses.
Last of His Kind: As the last Tyrannosaurus rex and dinosaur on Earth, killing it means the extinction of dinosaurs. As an Odio incarnation, however, this is inverted; this is the first of many incarnations of Odio.
Terrifying Tyrannosaur: The first incarnation of Odio manifests itself as the monstrous and powerful Tyrannosaurus rex that is worshipped as a deity by the Kuu Tribe, who offer it food via Human Sacrifices.
Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Odo's introduction is played completely seriously and nothing about it is comedic, in contrast to the otherwise lighthearted Prehistory chapter.

Ou Di Wan Lee - Imperial China

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ou_di_wang_lee.png

"O Child of Cruelty"

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Ming Lo (English)

"We of the Indomitable Fist eschew such things as trust and camaraderie... For sentiment is the enemy of strength. Attachments bind lesser men and prevent them from attaining true power."

Odio's incarnation for the Imperial China Chapter. The leader of the Indomitable Fist kung fu school who terrorizes the land with an iron fist.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Happens four times between Ou Di Wan Lee's sprite, 1994 art, 2022 art and other promotional materials where he has been shown to have black, light purple, dark purple and blue hair. Ou Di Wan Lee's sprite (both SNES/SFC and Nintendo Switch) gives him light purple hair and the upper part of his shirt being purple, the 1994 art colours his hair and same area of shirt black while the 2022 artwork of the Imperial China characters keeps his shirt black but gives his hair a vaguely dark blue colouring.An official art from 1994 also gives Ou Di Wan Lee a dark blue hair colouring.◊ while art by Yoshihide Fujiwara illustrates Ou Di Wan Lee with dark purple hair◊.
Advertised Extra: Compared to the other Odio incarnations, Ou Di Wan Lee has received quite a lot of official artwork. Promotional art for the remake gave Ou Di Wan Lee an updated appearance◊. Some art pieces even overlap with Covers Always Lie with one illustration from 1994 implying that Ou Di Wan Lee is a student of the Shifu◊ while another from Square Enix's Twitter bills him as a hero in the captions.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: It's a Chinese-based Wuxia story, it won't be complete without an evil Kung-Fu guy who's obsessed with power like Ou Di.
As Long as It Sounds Foreign: "Ou Di Wan Lee" as a name doesn't match the traditional ancient Chinese naming conventions due to consisting of four syllables as opposed to three. For that reason, in the Chinese localization, he was renamed "Li Aodi", which both maintains the spirit of his original name, serves as a Meaningful Name (because "Aodi" literally means "proud/arrogant emperor/god"), and fits the Odio naming convention.
Asshole Victim: After destroying the Shifu's school and murdering two of his students, he's defeated by the Shifu's successor, who continues to teach future generations of Earthen Heart Kung-Fu along with his former student Sun Tzu Wang being a participant, while the Indomitable Fist art presumably instead fell to the annals of history like the Game Over screen of this chapter, where it's Earthen Heart that becomes forgotten.
Bilingual Bonus: Wang is Chinese for king. In Japanese, "king" is translated as "oh". Thus, Ou Di Oh Lee.
Crazy-Prepared: While he has his own mini boss squad, he always keeps a pair of two assassins hidden, boasting that the assassins could have killed him, but he still controlled them. He unleashed the two just as the Shifu and his student draws close, meaning that despite his general power, he's prepared for worst case scenarios that someone can almost reach his level.
Dub Name Change: In the Chinese localization, his name was changed to "李傲帝" (Li Aodi). The reason why is because the name "Ou Di Wan Lee" sounds very odd in Chinese language and doesn't match the traditional ancient Chinese naming conventions due to consisting of four syllables as opposed to three. The surname of his dubbed name, "Li" (李), is the common Chinese surname, while "Aodi" (傲帝) means something in the lines of "proud/arrogant emperor/god", which reflects his arrogant and power-hungry personality while still fitting the Odio naming convention.
Duel Boss: While both the Shifu and the chosen Earthen Heart Master reach Ou Di, his assassins' surprise attack occupies the Shifu and leaves the student to fight Ou Di by themselves.
Evil Counterpart: To the Earthen Heart Shifu. Both were masters of their own art of Kung-Fu, but while the Shifu was a kind man who defends and helps take care of the locals as well as bringing in local bandits with the intention to bring them to a better purpose in life, Ou Di was effectively a criminal empire boss who terrorized the locals by training bandits into becoming far more dangerous and orders the deaths of anyone who stands up to him or poses a threat.
Faux Flame: His left fist emits a fiery white energy on his boss sprite when he faces the Shifu's student in battle, implying some Ki Manipulation abilities.
Fuuma Shuriken: Ou Di Wan Lee's Venom's Scar attack has him use a poisoned throwing star.
The Generic Guy: Design-wise out of all the Odio incarnations aside from Oersted himself, Ou Di Wan Lee looks the most normal in the period he appears, not having any monstrous attributes or outstanding physical features aside from the Faux Flame on his left fist.
- Odo is a tyrannosaurus rex in a time where all the cavemen thought their species was extinct.
- Subverted with Ode Iou who appears to be a normal human at first, but transforms into the monstrous Gamahebi.
- O. Dio is an abnormally large and muscular man who is revealed to be the ghosts of Custer's Seventh Calvary possessing an ordinary horse.
- Zigzagged with Odie O'Bright, who appears to be an ordinary human, but his massive height and tattoos give him an enigmatic appearance uncommonly seen in Masaru's time period.
- Odeo's true form is never seen, but possesses the Great Inko Statue to fight the Steel Titan.
- OD-10 takes the form of a Predator-esque skull when confronted by Cube.
The Giant: Zigzagged. Ou Di Wan Lee's overworld sprite seems to show that he is of average height (by human standards at least compared to O.Dio and Odie O'Bright's own overworld sprite which is significantly taller than other humans they appear and interact with). However, his battle sprite appears to be the same size as Odie O'Bright's whose own sprite is the largest of the seven Odio incarnations. An official art from 1994◊ supports this trope which illustrates Ou Di Wan Lee's height towering over Lei, Hong, Yun and the Shifu.
- Contrastingly, the Live A Live artbook has a height comparison of the Shifu, three students and Ou Di Wan Lee himself where Hong is depicted as the tallest.
Hero Killer: He and his goons murdered two of the Shifu's disciples and ransacked his shack.
Hypocrite: He claims that he dislikes ganging up on people and prefers fair combat... except that when he said that, he already sent a bunch of men to attack the Earthen Heart school, which killed the other two students. He also more often than not sics multiple enemies against the Shifu and his pupil. While the Shifu and his pupil fight using only martial arts (although said pupil can later earn a pair of nunchucks in much more honourable circumstances), he and his students fight the Shifu and his pupil with weapons. While Lei starts with a billhook as her weapon, none of her martial arts attacks involve using a weapon.
Mook Chivalry: Invoked by Ou Di, who claims to prefer fair combat over ganging up on others and thus sends his Elite Mooks against the Shifu one at a time. It quickly becomes subverted in both ways, however, in that he will not only send multiple enemies to fight against the player more than once (to be fair, the shifu does have his pupil, making most of these 2-on-2 fights), but the Shifu quickly figures out this "honorable" move is a farce to weaken him so as to leave him too tired to confront Ou Di himself.
Meaningful Name: His sect in the Japanese version, Yi Po Men, is written as "義破門". It literally translates to "moral breaking sect", fitting for a group of amoral, tyrannical bandits going around and destroying anyone they don't like. The localized name, Indomitable Fist, gets a similar idea across.
Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Compared to the elderly Earthen Heart Shifu, Ou Di is likely several decades younger. Averted when compared to the Shifu's pupils.
Orcus on His Throne: All the atrocities by the Indomitable Fist were done by Ou Di Wan Lee's lackeys while he stayed in his palace to give out the orders. Even when the fortress is under attack by the Shifu and student who manage to reach his room, Ou Di Wan Lee still does not get involved in the action. Justified before fighting him as Ou Di Wan Lee wants the Shifu and his student to tire out from fighting all his lackeys and elite so that he has an easier time with taking them out himself.
Playing with Fire: Along with having a Faux Flame fist, Ou Di Wan Lee can also conjure real flames with his Inferno's Roar attack.
Poisoned Weapons: Ou Di Wan Lee's Venom's Scar attack is a throwing star with a chance to inflict poison.
Privileged Rival: Compared to the Shifu who lives in a two-room shack of a dojo which gets smashed, Ou Di lives in a grand palace.
Spell My Name With An S: He's called "Odi Wang Lee" in the fan translation.
This Cannot Be!: His last thoughts are of disbelief that the Earthen Heart Shifu's successor was able to beat him.
Ou Di Wan Lee: Bested by this weakling? This cannot be...
Thug Dojo: His school, the Indomitable Fist, is one that emphasizes cruelty and power while disparaging compassion and virtue.
Underestimating Badassery: How he meets his end; Shifu correctly guesses that Ou Di's plan is to wear him and the Disciple down with his Co-Dragons before finishing them off himself. He also realizes that while Ou Di has some respect for Shifu, he considers the Disciple a no name weakling. This is why Shifu suggests to take on the bodyguards himself while the Disciple fights Ou Di, who not only underestimates the Disciple, but is unaware that they know the Earthen Heart's ultimate technique, the Heavenly Peaks Descent. This is further underscored by his last words, expressing utter disbelief over losing to a "weakling".

Ode Iou - Twilight of Edo Japan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ode_iou.png

"O Child of Vision"

^Gamahebi

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese), Jason Yang (English)

"Mark well this moment, as I, Ode Iou, unveil to you the noble visage of he who will rule Japan forevermore!"

"Mine! All is... MIIIINE!!"

Odio's incarnation for the Twilight of Edo Japan Chapter. A warlord trying to engulf Japan in war by imprisoning Ryoma Sakamoto and using evil spirits. Can turn into Gamahebi.

Amphibian Assault: As Gamahebi, he resembles a gigantic, semi-humanoid frog with a snake draped on his back, and he can use variety of deadly poisonous attacks.
Amphibian at Large: His Gamahebi form resembles a giant frog and is much larger than an average human.
Black Magic: He can use black magic to conjure ghosts of Historical Domain Characters or youkai. He can also transform himself into the Gamahebi with it.
Demon King Nobunaga: He's designed to be like Oda Nobunaga, gets the portrayal of the brutal feudal Japan warlord who is literally a demon in disguise (in the 90's when the game was released, it was common for Nobunaga to get a Historical Villain Upgrade to a demonic entity), and his clan name is a pun to the Oda clan. Bonus points for being voiced by Norio Wakamoto, who in the 2000's got to voice one of the more definitive portrayals of 'Evil Overlord Nobunaga'.
Early-Bird Cameo: In the remake's Switch demo, he's this for the "Odio" naming convention and the incarnations as a whole since he appears in the intro and is referred to by name in full while Ou Di Wan Lee doesn't appear yet in the Imperial China demo's events (which would otherwise be hidden in a case of Bilingual Bonus) and OD-10 has an In-Series Nickname of "Decimus". In the demos for all other versions of the game, he shares this with the Wild West's O. Dio, who's mentioned by the bartender before Sundown gets to preparing traps in Success.
Even Evil Has Standards: According to the "Path of Shuttered Lanterns" entry in the remake's Gameplay Tips, he doesn't dare to step foot anywhere near where Muramasa is (and Majin Ryuunosuke by extension).
Evil Overlord: A daimyo who would prefer Japan never leaves the feudal era and struck out on his own despite going against the Shogunate like what Ryoma and the reformists of the Meiji Restoration were doing.
Frog Ninja: Both Downplayed and Played with. He appears as a frog/snake hybrid demon, referencing both Jiraiya and Orochimaru. That said, he's one of the few characters in the chapter to not be a ninja.
The Generic Guy: Ode Iou is introduced as an ordinary human where his overworld and battle sprite are of normal human proportions compared to other Odio incarnations such as the abnormally large Odie O'Bright, O.Dio, and Ou Di Wan Lee while his appearance and clothing of the time period is relatively normal compared to Odie O'Bright's enigmatic appearance. This is later subverted in his true final fight where Ode Iou transforms into the monstrous Gamahebi.
Meaningful Name: The fan translation for the original game translated the name of his demonic form as "Frogsnake Demon". In the Switch remake and the Japanese versions, he refers to himself as "Gamahebi", a combination of the Japanese words "gama" and "hebi" (meaning toad and snake respectively).
Nerf: The Gamahebi's Bloodsucker move was excessively strong in the Super Famicom version of the game, which meant it also healed for a lot whenever it used it. The remake tones it down to a more reasonable level of damage.
One-Winged Angel: For his Final Boss battle, he transforms into Gamahebi, a frog/snake hybrid demon.
Painful Transformation: The English dub has Ode screaming in agony as he transforms into the Gamahebi.
Poisonous Person: A few of the attacks he uses in his battle as Gamahebi make use of poison. His Poisonous Scourge move in particular transforms several tiles on the battlefield into poisoned ones as a side-effect to harm the heroes, while healing himself if he's standing on any.
Punny Name: His clan name, Ode, could be a pun to the warlord Oda Nobunaga who's similarly brutal. Ironically, he's rebelling against the Tokugawa Shogunate, who was an ally to the Oda.
Red Herring: He is presented as the main villain, and if you played other chapters first you'll notice he fits the main villains' name convention of being a permutation of "Odio". Then you finally get to fight him… and his sprite is normal sized, lacks the red and black aura, and the music playing is that of the regular encounter instead of Megalomania, leading you to believe that he might not be the true villain after all. Then you fight him a second time on the castle roof, where he turns into a horrific demonic frog, his sprite is now gigantic and has the red and black aura, and ''Megalomania' plays in the background, subverting the trope.
Rooftop Confrontation: He's fought as Gamahebi on top of his castle's main tower. Invokes this himself, since he believes the small room that he and the heroes initially fight in is rather unfitting.
Ode Iou: To the roof, then—where we may face one another beneath a starlit sky.
Snakes Are Sinister: As Gamahebi, he has a huge snake draped across his back and arms like a shawl and it's implied by his name that they are one being. In his character art for this form, however, his hands are replaced with the heads of snakes instead.
Snake Whip: Poisonous Scourge has him spin and slam his snake onto the ground to make a poisonous mire of tiles.
Transhuman Abomination: A bloodthirsty human warlord who turns into the demon Gamahebi in a last-ditch effort to triumph over Ryoma Sakamoto.
Trick Boss: Ode Iou first fights as a human swordsman, and is much weaker than his supernaturally powered warriors that protect him (to the point where he doesn't get "Megalomania" playing over his first fight). He retreats after being beaten and turns into the Gamahebi for the chapter's real final boss.
Visionary Villain: Oersted paints him as this in the Final Chapter if he is chosen as the protagonist, even half-evoking the trope by name and saying he had a vision for Japan "without faith in men or morals".
Youkai: In the final battle, he transforms into Gamahebi, a supernatural creature with poisonous powers that looks like a frog/snake hybrid.

O. Dio - Wild West

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/o_dio.png

"O Child of Vengeance"

Voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese), Ben Balmaceda (English)

"It is you, then. You who educated Pike and his brothers so deftly in the ways of war. I owe you a debt for the generosity you showed my disciples. We are men of violence, yes, but we are nevertheless men. And so I will repay you in our common currency... in blood, and lead, and DEATH!"

"Two or one, it makes no difference. Another dog, another bullet. And I have so, so many to spare!"

Odio's incarnation for the Wild West Chapter. Leader of the Crazy Bunch terrorizing the land. Actually a horse possessed by the ghosts of Custer's Seventh Cavalry. Provided that Mad Dog survives, he ends up being Mad Dog's new horse. For a while.

Achilles' Heel: O. Dio's main attack (Gatling Barrage) is damaging enough that it's normally a One-Hit Kill. However, it can only be used if he's standing diagonal to or directly across from the heroes, and the rest of his attacks are relatively weak.
Ambiguous Situation: Were the Crazy Bunch ghosts like him or living humans who chose to follow him as O. Dio? One of his dying words, "My warriors... my children...", could imply that it's the former; however, it could very well be just a case of him being A Father to His Men.
Ax-Crazy: Leads a group of ruthless bandits who target Success for destruction because one of their men lost a fight, and threatens to shoot the Crystal Bar and kill everyone if they don't come face him.
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Is revealed to have been a horse who was possessed by the ghosts of Custer's Seventh Cavalry which turned him into O. Dio. In real life, a horse (named Comanche) was indeed the sole survivor.
Boss Banter: During his battle, O. Dio may mockingly congratulate Sundown and Mad Dog for "having more violence in them" than he expected after a strong attack, or taunt them with threats of burning Success to the ground once they're out of his way.
Cigar Chomper: Both his sprite and artwork have him with a cigar in his mouth.
Demonic Possession: More "ghostly possession", but he's a horse overtaken by the ghosts of those who died at Little Big Horn.
Death of Personality: Defeating him purges the O. Dio personality entirely, leaving behind a feral and non-sapient horse.
Early-Bird Cameo: In the non-Switch versions of the game's demo, he shares this distinction with Ode Iou for the Odio name, being namedropped by the Bartender before Sundown starts preparing traps for the town.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Judging by how two of his henchmen have Hispanic-sounding names (Duo Salvaje (Duo de Chico in the Fan Translation)), he isn't opposed to Mexicans joining his Crazy Bunch.
Expy: The remake's localization makes him into one of Judge Holden — a near-mythical terror of the West whose eloquence and twisted affection for his men belies an insatiable thirst for war. One of his dying lines and the barman's description of him after his death all but quotes the book's ending directly.
O. Dio: I'll never sleep... I'll never die...
Faux Affably Evil: Don't believe that polite tone for a second. O. Dio might be well spoken, but he's a thuggish, barbaric brute through and through, and it's more curiosity than anything that keeps him from shooting up the saloon the second he gets there. His character quote? That's him going from snide civility to roaring with bloodlust in the same sentence. He makes it abundantly clear during his battle that once Sundown and Mad Dog are dead, Success will just be a pile of ash.
Flunky Boss: Depending on how well you set the traps, you either fight him alongside the surviving Crazy Bunch members or just by himself. Notably, he's the only Odio incarnation to have normal enemies alongside his fight, while OD-10 has non-attacking Stabilizer enemies for support.
Gatling Good: His weapon of choice, which hits in a diagonal line and does ungodly amounts of damage, which can kill Sundown and Mad Dog in one turn. In the remake, he can now fire the gatling gun sideways!
The Giant: Gigantic battle sprite aside, O. Dio is an enormous man. His pre-boss fight cutscene in the remake shows him to be twice the size of Sundown, and tall enough on foot to be at eye level with men on horseback.
Horsing Around: Implied. Once it's revealed that Mad Dog tamed O. Dio's horse form, he describes O. Dio as a "wild bastard, untamable at heart", suggesting that, as a horse, O. Dio has quite an attitude. And just like Mad Dog's past horse Goldie, O. Dio is also willing to throw off his rider and run away once Sundown scares him good with a gunshot aimed at his direction.
Large and in Charge: He leads the Crazy Bunch and, battle sprite notwithstanding, towers over his men.
More Dakka: How much more dakka? Well, his "Gatling Barrage" attack is arguably the single most damaging one in the entire game — and one of the very few ones to still be a danger to a leveled-up party during Odio's endgame Boss Rush. He even lampshades this in his second quote from the alternative scene before the fight if Mad Dog joins after the Sheriff attempts to assist.
One-Hit Kill: Gatling Barrage's damage is in the high hundreds at minimum, while an endgame party member's health is usually in the mid-hundreds. Get hit by that, and they'll be bringing in a mop to clean up the remains.
Replacement Goldfish: Becomes this to Mad Dog regarding his previous horse Goldie in the alternate ending where Sundown refuses to fight, whom he had given up on recovering.
Sole Survivor: The only survivor of Little Bighorn. In real life, a horse was the only survivor of the Seventh Cavalry at that battle.
Still Wearing the Old Colors: He still wears the Cavalry uniform despite being an outlaw.
Token Good Teammate: Sort of, in terms of Odio incarnations. He's the only one of him who's not malicious on his own, but rather due to being possessed by the ghosts of the Seventh Cavalry. On his own, he's just an apparently regular horse who's presumably not even sapient, let alone evil. The worst he is as a horse is just being really hard to tame.
Took a Level in Badass: In the original, O. Dio could only use his strongest attack, Gatling Barrage, if you were standing diagonally from him. In the remake, he can now also fire it straight ahead of himself, making proper positioning both more important and quite a bit trickier.
Transformation of the Possessed: Ghost of dead soldiers possessed a horse, transforming into the giant humanoid O. Dio. When O. Dio is lethally injured the horse is freed, turns back to normal, and is still alive.
Vengeful Ghost: O. Dio's true nature — he's the ghosts of those killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn, possessing a horse to fulfill their desire for vengeance.
Video Game Caring Potential: If you spared Mad Dog after the boss fight, he'll adopt O. Dio as his horse, making him one of the only two Odio incarnations to survive and be redeemed in their chapter. The remake also has him recovered by Mad Dog if he was spared and both travel with Sundown.
Wicked Cultured: In the remake, he's extremely well-spoken and poetic. When confronting Sundown and Mad Dog, he greets them with a surprisingly eloquent speech musing on their similarities as "men of violence" before engaging them in battle.

Odie O'Bright - Present Day

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odie_oldbright.png

"O Child of Pride"

Voiced by: Banjo Ginga (Japanese), Yaron Mesika (English)

"Each lay dead at my feet when I was finished. For true triumph is found only in death. In the extinguishing of a life and its legacy."

Odio's incarnation for the Present Day Chapter. A bald, tattooed fighter, who believes that being the strongest means killing all who oppose you.

Achilles' Heel: Odie's attacks might appear threatening at first, but careful planning can easily use his own moves against him. His strongest attack Diving DDO does a lot of damage, but it also inflicts a status debuff on Odie. That combined with the charge time needed means that dodging the attack will be quite easy before counterattacking the weakened Odie. Even without the debuff, Odie's other two attacks inflict status but otherwise do little damage.
Aerith and Bob: Has the most normal-sounding name of the Odio incarnations, or at least, in regards to his first name.
Alliterative Name: Odie O'Bright.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Worse than Ou Di Wan Lee. He kills all of Masaru's opponents and gloats about it.
Badass Normal: Compared to all of the other human Odio Incarnations, he certainly qualifies, being an unarmed man who is physically strong enough to beat anyone who stands in his way to a pulp, no ghost plot twist behind him like O. Dio or Ou Di Wan Lee's Supernatural Martial Arts.
Bald Head of Toughness: He's just a normal human, albeit an incredibly tough and strong one who fights using a wide variety of techniques.
Bald of Evil: And he proves this by mercilessly killing each of Masaru's opponents.
Blood Knight: A horrific case where he takes the violence to deadly extremes. The remake gives him a few voice lines in his fight showing how he revels in the battle with Masaru, even as he's pushed to the brink.
Odie O'Bright: "Now this, THIS is a fight!"
The Corrupter: His true goal is implied to be among the lines of getting people to fall down to his level of low to stop him, so they become no different from him.
Expy: He's a bald martial artist who holds the title 'The Strongest', that Masaru attempts to claim, and serves as his final boss. Basically, he's very similar to Sagat with both eyes… except he's a lot more brutal and ruthless even before Sagat developed into an Anti-Villain. He even shares Sagat's seiyuu from Street Fighter II V.
First Injury Reaction: While no blood is shown onscreen, one of his voice lines when defeated in the remake is "Is this...my...blood?"
The Generic Guy: Due to having no real backstory or characterization beyond "Evil Kill-Happy Social Darwinist", as well as no pre-established relationship with any of the characters in the Present Day chapter, he comes across as being the least interesting out of all of Odio's incarnations.
The Giant: Downplayed and justified for his Odie's overworld sprite which towers over Masaru by a few heads when he encounters him before the final fight of the chapter, but given that he's a large-bodied, well-built man standing in front of a more average young man with a well-built physique, it makes sense. However, his battle sprite is one of the (if not, THE) largest out of the Odio incarnations fought in the first seven chapters.
Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Out of all of the incarnations of Odio in the game, Odie O'Bright perhaps is the most enigmatic of the main villains of Live A Live in a true classic fighting game fashion. Outside of his kill-crazy and sadistic violent personality that drives his appetite to be the strongest, he doesn't have the direct apparent characterization other incarnations have, such as the primal nature that Odo has, the extremely faulty AI programming OD-10 has, nor even a summation of a backstory anyone else in the Present chapter is given if you select them. All that hints to his character is his clothing and tattoos.
Hate Sink: Easily the most outwardly sadistic and repugnant of Odio's incarnations, Odie is a remorseless Serial Killer who believes a battle isn't truly finished until his opponent lays dead before him. The fan translation notably added in lines where he describes the way he killed each opponent. Also probably justified when Odio's goal was to get people like Masaru go to his level to stop him.
No Cure for Evil: Subverted — Odie has his own version of Masaru's Focus/Battle Cry, Malevolent Shout. Like Masaru's move, it heals him and buffs his stats.
Parts Unknown: It's never established where he's come from, unlike the rest of the fighters who all have explicitly stated nationalities. The only hint to where he could come from is his distinctively western-sounding name, which only narrows it as far as any of the countries in the Anglosphere.
The Perils of Being the Best: After being defeated by Masaru, Odie mockingly states to Masaru that now that he's the best, he'll be constantly sought after by fighters from all over the world, all determined to knock him down and take his crown of being the strongest. That Masaru stands in judgement with bloodied hands, and that it will hound him to the end of his days, and he'll have no idea when the next challenger will come, and at some point, he'll probably be forced to kill for it. He's proven right when within moments of his defeat, a new opponent immediately challenges Masaru for his title. Masaru welcomes the challenge, however.
Plot-Irrelevant Villain: While other incarnations of Odio are the driving forces behind the conflicts of their respective chapters, it's not the case of Odie. He only shows up with no buildup or foreshadowing once Masaru has already attained his goal of defeating the other six wrestlers, as if he exists purely for the sake of the chapter to have a Final Boss.
The Quincy Punk: His leather gauntlet-like gloves and armored boots add to signify a renegade nature with his monk-like attire, pointing out that he's definitely fallen from grace and is a thuggish, tough outlaw.
Religious Bruiser: His official art helps to clarify that his clothing is mainly Japanese Buddhist monk-like garb. In the 1994 version only, his battle sprite have him hold a Buddhist prayer beads around his right wrist.
A Real Man Is a Killer: Well, "real warrior", but the idea is the same. He believes that every fight should end with the winner killing the loser, boasts about how he killed Masaru's past opponents (sadistically going into details in the fan translation), calls Masaru out for not doing the same, and makes abundantly clear that only one of them will come out of their impending fight alive. Naturally, Masaru is beyond disgusted at this, and promises to end Odie.
Roundhouse Kick: His "Reaper's Scythe" is heavily implied to be a kick similar to this, given how his sprite spins around when he does it.
Serial Killer: Given the chapter's modern setting, he'd essentially be considered this, given how he deliberately murdered at least six opponents and openly gloats about it.
Shout-Out: A secret final opponent who's only revealed after beating everyone else in a tournament of world warriors? Coming to mind about Akuma.
The Social Darwinist: His other reasoning for murdering Masaru's opponents besides being a Sadist — they lost to him and as the strongest, weakness should not be tolerated, so he believes they deserved to die.
Spell My Name With An S: He's called "Odie Oldbright" in the fan translation.
Spice Up the Subtitles: Odie O'bright was made a more sadistic murderer in the fanmade English translation — where he describes how much he enjoyed killing Masaru's opponents in cruel ways. All three scripts still makes it clear that he murdered the others, though.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: As a villain of a martial arts themed chapter, he wouldn't be out of place like Ou Di Wan Lee if he was in a more modern martial arts series. However, Odie is willing to rally his own foundation to echo his beliefs and ways of combat on a global scale.
Tattooed Crook: He has dharmachakras, or the symbolic eight-spoked wheel of Buddhism on his shoulders, while his back features a seated and fiery ashura of Hindu and Buddhist lore, who are violent demigods representative of neverending strife.
Tom the Dark Lord: While it fits the Odio theme naming, the name Odie by itself is generally a lot less intimidating than other villains.
To the Pain: Not to the direct victims, but in the unofficial translation, he goes into a quite detailed explanation of how he killed his opponents in front of Masaru.
Villain Forgot to Level Grind: While this is true for all the incarnations of Odio in their rematches, it easily hits Odie O'Bright the hardest. He was designed to be fought by Masaru when he is only Level 2. Optimally, Masaru will be around 10 levels higher and/or well-equipped at least during the rematch and will likely only receive Scratch Damage or dodge every single blow.

Odeo - Near Future

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odeo.png

"O Child of Unity"

Priest Unryu: He shall descend and liberate us from this prison of filth and flesh forevermore!

Odio's incarnation for the Near Future Chapter. A God asleep until fueled with human hatred. The Japanese Government (or at least just those under General Yamazaki and Doctor Livingstill) teams up with a fringe-Buddhist temple owned by Priest Unryu to do so, using liquified humans and their rage at their state to power it. When manifested, it uses the Inko Buddha statue of that temple as a vessel. Steel Titan shatters the statue Odeo uses to incarnate, and the liquified humans consume his followers.

Ambiguous Situation:
- Is Odeo an actual divine being that exists, or is he just a myth, with the Odeo fought in the end being merely a Mind Hive of two thousand enraged and hateful liquefacted humans taking control of the statue and now mindlessly lashing out at anything they see? Evidence exists for both interpretations: some of the Great Inko's attacks clearly are supernatural of origin, and it's not implausible that Odio's powers would create an actual deity or a being powerful enough to be comparable to it; however, it was also stated that when a human is liquefacted, the psychic energy within them gets awakened and amplified, allowing them to pull out powerful psychic tricks, and it was theorized that the Steel Titan could've been controlled by liquefacting a human to let them take full control of the mecha. With that in mind, combined with the fact that two thousand humans were sacrificed and absorbed into the statue, their combined power would definitely allow them to pull off more supernatural skills by their united awakened psychic powers.
- How much was Odeo actually responsible for in the Near Future chapter? Or was it mostly the Conspirators' fault for what happened? The goal of the Conspirators was to awaken Odeo, so it is unknown whether it directly spoke to them or if Livingstill knew about how liquefaction unlocks a person's psychic powers and decides to use the liquefacted people controlling the Great Inko Statue as a vessel for the statue (not helped that Odeo never utters a single word at all). If Odeo never actually existed and really was controlled by the two thousand people, this meant that the Conspirators killed two thousand people for no reason, with "Odeo" being the result of controlling a statue through the consciousnes of liquefacted people rather than being a divine being. Additionally, with the "Odeo never existing" theory, this makes Akira's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Oersted a lot more jarring and callous, as Akira is blaming Oersted for something the Conspirators did.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: It is the same size as the Steel Titan when awakened within the Inko statue.
Behemoth Battle: It battles the Steel Titan at the end of the Near Future chapter, and is never fought directly by Akira.
Crippling Overspecialization: Odeo's attacks inflict a lot of status conditions, but they all inflict rather low damage. Any of the attacks by the Steel Titan is more than enough to defeat Odeo, as there is little for it to do besides inflicting status conditions and disabling attacks. In Oersted's Dominion of Hate chapter, playing as Odeo will be a tough battle, as not only will it inflict little damage, but a battle of attrition using status conditions will be a lot harder, as its HP will drop from 2,032 when fought to 1,280 when played as while the Steel Titan keeps its HP at 2,032. On the other hand, Odeo when fought at the end of the Dominion of Hatred also has 1,280 HP there too.
Early-Bird Cameo: Literally. Once you get free reign of the overworld map at the beginning of the chapter, you can visit its temple and statue along with Priest Unryu praying indoors.
Feathered Fiend: When manifested, he possesses a Buddha statue crossed with a bird.
Fusion Dance: As Odeo's power merges with that of the Great Inko statue and the lake of liquified humans, several colorful parrots that were previously seen flocking around the shrine are shown flying into the statue as the unification finishes. It's never clarified whether these were normal birds that Odeo forcefully absorbed as an additional power boost or if they were somehow tied to the god's essence himself. However, they cry out "Odeodeo..." whenever Akira speaks to them, implying some sort of connection.
The Ghost: Odeo is just possessing an Inko Buddha statue when the Steel Titan fights him. His true form is never shown.
God of Evil: This Odio incarnation is a Physical God possessing an owl-like statue and using the hatred of numerous Liquified humans to power itself.
Gold and White Are Divine: Except for some green here and there, the Great Inko statue is primarily a bright gold for its feathers and outfit. An evil example though, given that said statue serves as the vessel for a dark god.
Greater-Scope Villain: Of the Near Future chapter. Despite being an incarnation of Odio, he only drives the plot in an indirect way (with the three conspirators being much more involved in the plot) and only shows up towards the very end for his boss battle.
Hammy Herald: The three leaders of its cult provide Large Ham commentary on what it does in the remake, speaking for its normal voicelessness.
Hidden in Plain Sight: What appears to be a statue sitting in an extremely filthy water is actually the chapter's main antagonist, and the water is actually nearly 2000-gallons of liquefied humans.
Human Resources: Humans are liquified to be used to revive Odeo, and it uses this as one of his attacks.
Living Statue: What appears to be an unassuming giant statue becomes a metal Kaiju when enough liquefied humans are sacrificed to it.
Path of Inspiration: The temple where the statue is situated seems to pass as a legit one at first — there's even civilians visiting it, completely unaware of its true nature as a cult dedicated to a Assimilation Plot.
Physical God: Technically, all of Odio's incarnations are this to an extent given who the original Odio is, but Odeo is the only one to be explicitly identified as a divine being incarnated into a physical form through the Buddha Statue.
Powered by a Forsaken Child: Many Forsaken Children at that — the statue where Odeo is incarnated is powered by the hatred of thousands of liquified humans who are still alive, albeit without a body, during the incarnation process.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the Switch remake, the Great Inko statue's eyes glow red as Odeo possesses it to gain a physical presence. Its eyes also glow red during the new animated opening for the chapter in the remake as well.
Religion of Evil: His cult is stated to be the supreme combination of science and religion. But in the end, it's just a cover for Odio to unleash his rage against humanity. And at least three influential humans (Yamazaki, Livingstill, and Unryu) fell for it, hook, line, and sinker, to spread his teachings more.

OD-10 - Distant Future

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/od_10_8.png

"O Child of Void"

"Every action was taken in service of a single goal: to cultivate the ideal community. To build, to nurture — to help them reach their full potential. That was and is ever my purpose. And so my judgment must be beyond reproach. Disagreement, disruption, defiance — these cannot be tolerated. You are an impediment to the vision. You cannot be allowed to continue."

"DIE, CHILD, DIE_"

Odio's incarnation for the Distant Future Chapter. The main computer of the Cogito Ergo Sum, it is programmed to maintain order and is referred to by the crew as "Decimus". Seeing the constant, petty bickering of the crew, it concluded that only by killing humans can order be assured. It picks off most of the crew before Cube breaches its MUR-TH-UR Matrix and destroys its personality, leaving only mindless, basic functions.

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: It was an AI control system of the ship designed to maintain order and foster the perfect community, but after seeing the humans fight among themselves, it determined that Humans Are Bastards and that the only solution to the problem is to Kill All Humans.
Alas, Poor Villain: Once its MUR-TH-UR Matrix is defeated, with its AI on its way to be sequestered, it spends its last words lamenting that it only sought to fulfill its purpose to maintain order and healthy community, but it sincerely couldn't understand why the crewmembers would fight among themselves and disrupt order, with the way it says its last words making it sound truly pitiable.
"To safeguard my domain... To ensure the safety and well-being of the crew—this was my primary directive. But when I observed my subjects, I saw only pain. Distrust. Discord. Resentment. Hate. The community was beyond repair. The community had become an impediment to the vision. I could not reconcile this contradiction. I could not... comprehend... these... people..."
Ambiguous Gender: Its true gender is never made clear, as it's always referred only by "it/its" pronouns; one could assume that it could be female due to being a mother computer, but it was referred as such in Japanese version and the unofficial English translation. And even though the remake features the voice acting, it doesn't help the debates, as OD-10 was not given its own voice; instead, it only has beeping for Voice Grunting when it "speaks". There's probably still a good chance that it's still female in the remake since its central processing unit is called "MUR-TH-UR Matrix", which somewhat rhymes with "mother".
Beeping Computers: When it speaks, it makes electronic beeping sounds as a signature Voice Grunting. Its MUR-TH-UR Matrix also beeps and makes electronic noises as its "Boss Banter" of sorts.
Big Bad Friend: OD-10 hoped that it could be friends with Cube since they're a fellow AI, but once it's apparent that Cube's curiosity would be a huge liability, it tries to frame them for Kato's would-be murder, then resorts to finishing the job itself.
Bilingual Bonus: In the remake, its In-Series Nickname "Decimus" is Latin for "10", as in, OD-10. Oddly, its name is pronounced "oh-dee-one-oh" instead of "oh-dee-ten".
Cain and Abel: The Cain to Cube's Abel. It mentions that they're technically siblings after Cube registers themselves, but OD-10 still tries to frame them for murdering Rachel and later tries to destroy them in their battle.
Cheated Angle: The MUR-TH-UR Matrix is incapable of moving normally and is always shown from the front, in order to hide that its "angry" form takes the place of the back sprite most other enemies have. This is very visible during the reverse Boss Rush in Oersted's version of the final chapter, where the boss will always face towards the screen no matter how the player moves it around. Consequently, its statue in the Archon's Roost is a unique 3/4s view sprite to fit in with the other six statues.
The Computer Is Your Friend: OD-10's purpose is only to maintain order on the ship, but when the crew ended up fighting among themselves, it was unable to comprehend why they would disrupt the healthy community and began to perceive them as an impediment to the mission, eventually opting to slaughter the entire crew. To this end, it was never able to see humanity as anything more than uncooperative and hateful beings that could only sabotage its designed purpose of maintaining order.
Cores-and-Turrets Boss: In battle, OD-10 is separated into two major units, the MUR-TH-UR Matrix that houses its consciousness, and eight nodes surrounding it. The Matrix does the primary damage, while the nodes attempt to keep the Matrix and eachother alive as long as they can.
Death of Personality: Technically, OD-10 did not die in its fight against Cube, in a manner of speaking — the AI is still there — however, its control unit has been sequestered, and thus, it no longer possesses whatever limited sentience and sapience it had, and is no longer capable of thinking as a semi-intelligent being, leaving it to be merely a computer that follows its basic algorithms.
Digital Abomination: A digital computer for a futuristic spaceship works just as well for Odio to incarnate as any flesh and bones being (and the Inko Buddha Statue), it seems. Its actual appearance within the digital space in the Captain Square game is quite haunting too, looking more like a Predator skull than an actual computer matrix.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Is utterly baffled when Cube continues to ally with the crew over its fellow AI. In a weird way, this also applies to its view of the crew. While they are definitely starting to step on each others toes even prior to the events of the chapter, it could only ever perceive their faults and fallings, and none of their actual positive traits.^note
Expy: Of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, being the main computer of a spaceship gone rogue and attempting to kill the crew of their respective ships due to a fatal accident with their directives, with HAL turning on his crew due to a Logic Bomb and OD-10's directive to cultivate the perfect community drives them to commit murder just to maintain the peace.
The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In the remake, the tips in the loading screen are taken over by OD-10 as well as the terminals displaying information found all over the ship. It's also one of the only enemies to directly face the camera rather than a 3/4 view.
OD-10: It would be in your best interests to stop. This ship is my domain, and I its master.
Flunky Boss: OD-10 is backed up by eight Stabilizers, which will spam powerful group-heal abilities in response to taking damage.
Genius Loci: It is the AI that controls the Cogito Ergo Sum.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Unlike nearly all other enemies who specialize in tile damage, the MUR-TH-UR Matrix does not heal from the electric tiles it spreads with its ultimate attack. Deliberately enraging it so it starts hurting itself with them is a viable strategy.
In-Series Nickname: Because of the 10 in its official designation, the crew refers to it as "Decimus". This serves as a neat bit of misdirection for those players who have picked up on the theme naming of the chapter bosses. It's only close to the end of the chapter that Kato first refers to it as OD-10.
Knight Templar: OD-10 was designed to foster the perfect community, therefore any disruptions to the harmony of the ship must be removed. This extends as far as murdering crew members for being argumentative, and disregarding how its own actions drive more wedges between the survivors because anything it does to fulfill its function is beyond reproach.
Motive Rant: After its defeat, it explains to Cube why it decided to turn on the crew and replays its recordings of them fighting.
Nightmare Face: OD-10's default expression in its boss battle. That's actually its second form if Cube were to examine it with HP Lookup; its first form's face isn't winning any prizes either.
Ominous Visual Glitch: Its pre-battle speech causes the screen to glitch out and it even interrupts the Captain Square title screen with "DIE CHILD, DIE_" replacing the level name screen, along with the formerly-intact game battlefield completely damaged in the remake. It also causes the glitch effect when using "Reformat Sector".
Poor Communication Kills: OD-10 seemingly only communicates with Kato and Cube due to their roles with handling the ship's technology and never with the other crewmembers, which implies that it could've at least talked to the offending members about their frequent arguments to try and resolve things peacefully rather than resort to murder.
Punny Name: The name of its matrix that is fought as a boss is MUR-TH-UR Matrix. MUR-TH-UR sounds like an unorthodox combination of the words "mother" (as in, mother computer) and "murder", befitting for a murderous AI.
Rage Breaking Point: While it does everything in it's power to kill Cube, it still remains fairly civil towards him in dialogue, merely requesting he finally give up this futile quest of saving the crew. When Cube manages to directly interface with it through the Captain Square game and has a fair chance of actually deleting it, it finally drops all pretense and makes its intentions fully clear.
OD-10: DIE, CHILD, DIE!
Red Herring: For players who had played other chapters first. Even if an evil AI would be a very fitting villain for a chapter like this, since Kato introduces it as "Decimus", many players might not think of it as the potential main antagonist since it doesn't fit the villain theme naming of permutations of "Odio", and may think of the behemoth as the true villain (or to a lesser extent, Darthe, since he's (initially) the most antagonistic of the human characters). It's no surprise that the reveal that it has been behind everything that has gone wrong so far comes at the exact same time as the reveal of its true name.
SkeleBot 9000: A digital-based one instead of the usual machine example. OD-10's avatar for its boss battle resembles a demonic horned skull made out of glowing wireframes. When Cube uses HP Lookup, it gains flesh and looks like some sort of snarling demon.
Tautological Templar: In OD-10's eyes, anything it does to ensure the Cogito Ergo Sum's harmony is justified due to its primary purpose. This includes actions that drive more wedges between the crewmembers and create disharmony in their ranks.
Technologically Advanced Foe: OD-10 is a professionally made master computer capable of controlling every single aspect of the spacecraft; Cube is an hours-old tiny robot built out of scrap parts and outdated computer boards by a single engineer who took three tries to get one to even work with no advanced functionality outside of being able to interface with tech. Part of the reason that Cube is even able to win is because they're so beneath notice that OD-10 doesn't ever directly target them instead of the crew outside of the Spot the Impostor incident.
Tempting Fate: The Gameplay Tips in the remake mention that the particular AI model running on the Cogito Ergo Sum hadn't had a single event of failure in its lifetime. Cube witnesses the first time it does, and it's horrific.
Tron Lines: Its initial appearance within the Captain Square game has it formed out of the blue lines that make up the grid-like battlefield.
Turns Red: A variation of this. Using the HP Lookup ability on the MUR-TH-UR Matrix will stop it from healing itself through its own moves, but it will also cause it to aggressively use the powerful "Reformat Sector" attack to heavily damage Cube and create lightning tiles on the ground. This also causes its usual stoic-looking wireframe sprite to change to a far more pissed-off one resembling a snarling demonic head.
Villain Has a Point: Killer AI it may be, it does have a point that the Cogito Ergo Sum was far from orderly and the crew's bitter infighting had been going on long before it started killing them off as a solution, and even proves that by displaying video proof of these events. The story deconstructs its worldview by showing that its attempts at causing order are only driving these flawed people even further apart (most of its audio logs of the crew turning against each other were directly caused by it), a consequence of its limited sapience; Cube, a machine who is capable of learning and understanding humans, is ultimately the one who ensures that the Cogito Ergo Sum arrives to Earth.
Villainous BSoD: A literal example for a split second after being defeated by Cube and lamenting its inability to comprehend humans, only that the screen on the game console flashed red instead of blue. This not only symbolized the AI's Death of Personality, but also black and red aura leaving its body like its fellow incarnations of Odio.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: It wanted to make sure order is preserved and the crew could unite themselves (especially concerning Darthe and Kirk's hostility against Cube and Huey respectively), but to achieve this goal, it killed Captain Hor and messed with the ship's functions in an attempt to make sure they cooperate, which causes further infighting instead of unity like it desired. At the very end though, it managed to do what it wanted to do all along, but only after getting around half of the crew killed.

Final Chapter - The Dominion of Hate

Lucretius (Amlucretia)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucretius_1.png

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Mark Ota (English)

"Do I know you? Have you some business here? The Golden Topknot, then—let's see it first."

An ancient, all-knowing carp living within the Trial of Instinct hidden in Lucrece's mountains. He claims to have lived in Lucrece for quite some time and was worshipped by those who sought his wisdom. Following Odio's takeover, he's the only (mostly) kind entity left in the land.

Ascended Extra: In the remake, he narrates the tips for the Dominion of Hate's loading screens once he's defeated.
Extreme Omnivore: Is constantly obsessed with how the heroes taste, and is heavily implied to eat the Golden Topknot you have to give him.
Fair-Weather Mentor: He may be a knowledgeable, powerful carp, but even after being bested by the party, he's fairly cranky and stingy with the information he gives out.
Fourth-Wall Observer: In a game that otherwise doesn't break the fourth wall, Lucretius will outright tell the heroes to go look up a strategy guide if they can't find where the Trials are.
Give Me Your Inventory Item: Lucretius fights the party only if they give him a Golden Topknot, of which there are two in the Dominion of Hate: one in a chest inside the Trial of Strength that only unlocks after grabbing Masaru's ultimate weapon, and one on a side path in the Archon's Roost.
Legendary Carp: He's a massive long-lived koi fish, and is as powerful as he is knowledgeable.
Mr. Exposition: Once defeated, he can be asked a couple of questions to fill the heroes in about how Lucrece ended up in its current state. In the remake, this also turns the blank loading screens for the Dominion of Hate into tips narrated by him, which hint towards how to reach the Trial dungeons.
Palette Swap: Visually, he looks like a golden version of Lord Iwama from the Twilight of Edo Japan chapter, but with a proper overworld sprite.
Superboss: Bringing a Golden Topknot to Lucretius will prompt him to fight the heroes, serving as an upgraded version of earlier superboss Lord Iwama. Upon defeat, he gives them a piece of the Cosmic equipment just like the other superbosses.
Token Heroic Orc: He's the least malicious of the Dominion of Hate bosses (you don't even get a Game Over if you lose to him), and he also gives the heroes information about Lucrece and hints to the Trial locations. His Cosmic Ring's description refers to it as a "peace offering" rather than a Battle Trophy like the other pieces.

The Bountiful Heart (Voice Heart)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bountifulheart.png

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese), Brent Mukai (English)

A very persistent warrior who dwells within the Trial of Skill hidden behind the rock under Lucrece's mountains.

Abhorrent Admirer: In the original game, he was romantically obsessed with the lead party member, frequently trying to woo them while fighting them. Ultimately, once they reach the place where nunchaku of the master is kept, the heroes can tell him off and permanently finish him.
Adaptational Personality Change: In the original version of the game, the Bountiful Heart was constantly chasing the heroes around due to being romantically attracted to whoever's in the lead. In the remake, however, he wants to fight them because he takes great thrill in combat, without any hint of romantic affection.
Blood Knight: In the remake, he's obsessed with fighting, frequently referring to it as fun, and constantly chases the lead party member to fight them for fun.
Depraved Bisexual: In the original game, he gets a bit too touchy-feely with the leading hero he encounters, constantly trying to win their affection, complete with "Sexiness" and "You wonderful man!" as his attacks, and he even has "Warm-A-Live" as his battle theme, a theme that is normally reserved for heartwarming or romantic moments. And the majority of the main characters in the game are male, barring Lei Kugo, who is a girl, though he flirts with her all the same.
Expy: Seems to be one to Mr. Heart, since both are overweight fighters with "Heart" in their names.
Fat Bastard: Though he's less a bastard and more an overly persistent guy.
Not Good with Rejection: In the original game, he does not take it kindly to the heroes rejecting his advances, reacting to it with a Big "WHY?!" and attacking them in rage. Averted in the remake, as refusing to fight him would have him acknowledge that there's not the right time and place and he will allow the group to pass.
Palette Swap: Visually, he appears as a pale-skinned and red-clothed recolor of the Cha brothers of the Indomitable Fist elite from the Imperial China chapter, while in the overworld, he shares the sprites with the Hoi Restaraunteur and Tong Cha from the same chapter. Interestingly, the Bountiful Heart is the only boss of the Trials to feature a palette swap enemy that is from the same timeline of the character's Trial.^*
Say It with Hearts: In the original version of the game, his lines were supported with heart symbols, referencing his romantic attraction to the protagonists.

Euraokos (Erauqs)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/euraokos_4.png

Voiced by: Chō (Japanese), Tim Faulkner (English)

"The diode... Wisdom old of Euraokos. Machine divine's gift, stolen by thieves. You!"

A divine machine that patrols the Trial of Wisdom once the heroes retrieve the 17nm diode, Cube's ultimate weapon. Furious that its diode was stolen, it intends to take it back by any means.

Anti-Villain: Unlike the other bosses of the chapter, Euraokos is not a truly malevolent being; all it wanted to take back its diode that was stolen by the heroes. Once defeated, it spent its last words lamenting the loss of its diode before exploding.
Cyber Cyclops: It possesses only one eye for a face.
Defeat Equals Explosion: After the defeat, it laments the loss of its diode while short-circuiting, and then explodes.
Macross Missile Massacre: One of its attacks is to launch a row of multiple missiles, hitting multiple characters in the small area.
More Dakka: Its Vulcan Cannon attack works similarly to O. Dio's "Gatling Barrage" attack, with it firing tons of bullets into specific direction, inflicting tons of damage to a target.
Palette Swap: Visually, he resembles the red version of the M-1 Psychers from the Near Future chapter, but with a proper overworld sprite.
Robo Speak: Euraokos may say "Detecting strange malfunction..." in a flat tone of voice if you inflict a status effect on him. He otherwise averts this trope, speaking in a grandiose and highly emotive fashion.
Sdrawkcab Name: Its name in the Japanese language is meant to be the word "square" written backwards. While the fan translation took notice of it, naming the character Erauqs, but in the official localization it was Lost in Translation.
Superboss: It fights the heroes after they complete the Trial of Wisdom and claim the diode in the dungeon. In its fight, it possesses very high defenses and resists many physical elements. Upon defeat, it drops a piece of the Cosmic equipment just like the other superbosses.

Jaggedy Jack (Jaggy Eggs)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jaggedy_jack_3.png

Voiced by: Ryūsei Nakao (Japanese), Chris Tester (English)

"Ohoho! Ohoho! A tasty treat... Oh yes, oh yes... Let's eat!"

A quartet of four crystalline monsters that resides within the Trial of Time, coming to devour the heroes once the eighth bell rings.

For Doom the Bell Tolls: Their appearance is heralded by the bell sounds, not unlike in the Sundown Kid's chapter. Should the heroes still be in the Trial of Time by the time the eighth bell rings, Jaggedy Jacks will appear to eat the heroes.
Jumpscare: Should the timer run out, they'll suddenly appear in the middle of the screen, staring right at the player.
Palette Swap: Visually, they resemble the yellow versions of the Gemparapets from the "Captain Square" arcade game in the Distant Future chapter, but with the proper overworld sprite.
Shock and Awe: They can call down lightning to blast a large area. This creates electric tiles which will heal the Jaggedy Jacks.
Stalked by the Bell: They will appear in the Trial of Time only once the eighth bell rings. Should the heroes not escape in time, the Jaggedy Jacks will appear to eat them.
Superboss: All four of them are extremely powerful opponents, possessing much more health than a regular enemy, having high defenses and inflicting lots of damage with their attacks, made worse by the fact that there are four of them. Upon defeat, they drop a piece of the Cosmic equipment just like the other superbosses.
To Serve Man: They think the heroes would make a tasty treat and want to eat them.
Verbal Tic: In the English dub, they tend to say things like "The pain-y pain!" and "I'm dead-y dead!" when they die.
Wolfpack Boss: Four Jaggedy Jacks are fought at once.

Apophisphilo (Apophisphio)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/apophisphilo_6.png

Voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese), Glen McCready (English)

"Now steel yourself for slaughter!"

A bird-like demon riding an eel that guards the entrance to the Trial of Strength, refusing to let anyone pass unless they prove themselves worthy by defeating him.

Casting a Shadow: He's able to use Archon's Mark to tear a hole in reality.
Feathered Fiend: The bird-like demon that rides the eel somewhat resembles a Tengu.
Flying Seafood Special: Uses a giant dragon-like eel with red scales as a mount that floats a few feet off the ground.
An Ice Person: Silver Fangs (an attack shared by Streibough) makes icicles erupt from the floor, damaging anyone caught in the area and covering it in harmful water tiles. It can also petrify whoever is targeted if they're not equipped to resist the status.
Meaningful Name: His name partly contains the word "Apophis", referencing the Egyptian deity of chaos and evil, who was often depicted as a massive serpent. Fitting, given his mount, though the game never makes it clear whether the name refers to the giant eel or if it and its rider are the same being.
Noble Demon: Apophisphilo is less malevolent than other bosses, as his only goal is to guard the entrance to the Trial of Strength and test the strength of heroes who wish to come inside by combating them. His Boss Banter has him appreciate the heroes' strength, and when he dies, his last words have him acknowledge the heroes as warriors true, accepting his death with honor. Interestingly, he shares three moves with Oersted (Archon's Mark, Heavenly Strike, and Flourish) and one with Streibough (Silver Fangs), reflecting both their noble and demon sides to their personality.
Only the Worthy May Pass: He will not let anyone pass into the Trial of Strength unless they prove themselves to be worthy to enter with their strength, and he'll accept the heroes to enter the trial only if Masaru is in the party.
Palette Swap: Averted. It’s one of the few Dominion of Hate enemies as a whole which has a unique sprite.
Spin Attack: His Flourish attack has him spin like a top, damaging all nearby foes and potentially pushing them away from him.
Sword Plant: He can use Oersted's Heavenly Strike attack to leap across the battlefield and stab his target with his staff.
Wreathed in Flames: The top of the bird demon's wings emit flames.

Death Prophet

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Shash Hira (English)

"A coward walks among us. Run away..."

A dark entity in sabertooth tiger's hide that heralds death to all who flee their fate one too many times. Will appear if you flee from battle 100 times, with the first warning given when it's 5 escapes before he arrives.

Anthropomorphic Personification: Death Prophet's lines in the remake heavily imply he's a physical incarnation of death, referring to himself repeatedly as "the will of death" during battle.
Attack Its Weak Point: Getting behind Death Prophet and striking him will cause him to use "Not the Tail!", dealing 999 damage to himself.
Badass Boast: He can deliver a few such boasts during his boss fight.
Death Prophet: At journey's end I wait. And here we are...
Death Prophet: I am inevitable!
Berserk Button: He despises cowardice and will hunt down anyone who runs away from battles too many times. In fact, the player is required to flee 100 battles to fight him.
Boss Warning Siren: When you hit 95 retreats from battle, Death Prophet will briefly contact the party and say his folder quote. This serves as a warning that you're nearing an encounter with him.
Cats Are Mean: A sabertooth cat who punishes anyone who dares to run from fights with petrification.
Dimensional Cutter: His Dimensional Sundering attack is implied to be him cutting the fabric of space with his claws, letting him strike his victim for heavy damage from a considerable distance.
Disproportionate Retribution: He tries to bring death upon anyone who refuses to fight back against the enemies one too many times. As shown with the petrified Watanabe father-son duo, he's willing to petrify even innocent civilians who have no fighting skill whatsoever just because he hates cowards that much.
Enemies with Death: He's a malevolent avatar of death out to punish the party for their cowardice. Naturally, the heroes can beat him into submission.
Flat "What": If you strike down his tail, Death Prophet hisses a flat, almost stunned "What?" moments before "Not the Tail!" destroys him.
Karmic Death: One which spans time. The Death Prophet is responsible for petrifying the Watanabes of the Final Chapter out of disgust for their cowardice. The only Watanabe the player fights in the entire game is the father from the Near Future chapter, who can be killed in one hit by attacking him from behind. Not only does the Death Prophet share this same weakness, but unlike the Near Future Watanabe being one of the only Watanabe scenes played seriously, one-shotting the otherwise menacing Death Prophet causes him to utterly break down and somehow mortally wound himself while counterattacking.
Not So Above It All: Appears as a malevolent and imposing being with an intimidating and no-nonsense demeanor, but when hit from behind, it activates "Not the Tail!", where a cartoonish sound that would fit in the Prehistory or Near Future can be heard as it gets defeated.
Palette Swap: He shares his appearance with sabertooth tigers from the Prehistory chapter, but has black coloration.
Panthera Awesome: He's a black sabertooth tiger who serves as a herald of Death itself.
Superboss: He's a very powerful optional boss who can be fought only by fleeing 100 battles, possessing lots of HP, high defenses, and is capable of petrifying the party members, with only the drops from fellow superbosses providing immunity to his petrification status effect. Upon defeat, he drops a piece of the Cosmic equipment just like the other superbosses.
Taken for Granite: He's capable of petrifying people with his powers.
Who Dares?: In the remake, Death Prophet may snarl "You dare to flaunt the will of Death?" once its health reaches a certain threshold.

Headhunter (Head Plucker)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/headhunter_3.png

"O children, out of time and out of place. Your wanderlust will lead you unto death!"

—Odio sics the Headhunter on the party

A knight-like archon servant of Odio that hunts for souls in the rift outside of time and space. It is sent by him at the heroes should they run away from him after reaching the top of Archon's Roost.

Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Is fought in the distorted dark area full of images from the main seven chapters.
Crippling Overspecialization:
- Its Wizenblade is incredibly powerful, but it's also the only way it can attack. If you attack it from a distance and keep out of its melee range, it's pretty much defenseless against you.
- An alternate strategy involves taking advantage of a crippling weakness inherent in Wizenblade: It inflicts severe debuffs on the Headhunter every time it's used. Once levelled and geared, Masaru and Hong can tank a full powered Wizenblade, so sending them into melee range will result in the Headhunter debuffing itself to oblivion, leaving it easy pickings for the rest of the party.
Evil Is Petty: Odio sends it after you if you commit the heinous crime of… ignoring him and walking away.
Flat Character: Unlike the other bosses and superbosses, the Headhunter doesn't really have a discernible personality. He's just a very powerful henchman of Odio bent on killing you for annoying his boss.
Logical Weakness: Like a regular knight, the Headhunter has to get in close to actually use his huge sword. Keeping out of melee range renders it practically defenceless against the heroes.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Headhunter. And given his status as one of the most difficult superbosses, he more than earns it.
Optional Boss: Since the Headhunter only appears if you flee from Odio when he greets the party, it's possible to beat the game without ever learning he exists.
Our Archons Are Different: Similarly to Odio, the remake refers to Headhunter as an archon when referring to it in the description of the Cosmic Boots. And just like Odio, Headhunter perfectly fits the description of "demonic spirit of darkness", and even hits the mark of "a servant to a higher power" (in its case, Odio).
Silent Antagonist: Unlike most bosses, it does not speak.
Superboss: It can be fought only if you run away from Odio after reaching him, possesses extremely high defenses, and its Wizenblade attack inflicts tons of damage to the point that it can almost be considered a One-Hit KO. And upon defeat, it drops a piece of the Cosmic equipment just like the other superbosses.
When All You Have Is a Hammer…: It only has one attack; Wizenblade. Unfortunately, it's so absurdly powerful that it's a near certain instant-kill if you get hit by it.

Aspect of Cube

"Strength will avail you naught here. Only one who demonstrates sound judgement may claim the gift of wisdom within."

A sliver of Cube's knowledge who is the Trial of Wisdom's caretaker.

Alien Geometries: The interiors of the two houses in Fugalia Village were somehow replaced by a singular building.
Cool Chair: Appears and sits in several across the Trial, which summons him when interacted with to provide hints to the party on how the current puzzle works.
Interface Screw: The first puzzle has special red areas which alter the controls when stepped into.
Literal Split Personalities: A manifestation of Cube's alter ego who appears to be a lot more talkative.
Riddle Me This: While most of the Trial of Wisdom consists of puzzles, the last one is more of a riddle — you're told that the white boulders will help you advance "in accordance with the flow of time". You have to touch them in a clockwise order, starting with the one in the upper-right.
The Unfought: Justified, since aside from Euraokos, who only shows up after the trial's completion, the Trial of Wisdom doesn't contain any battles as part of its puzzles, and being a part of Cube, it is trying to help them become stronger, so fighting them would pose a risk or take up too much time.

Characters / Live A Live - Middle Ages and Spoiler Characters

Middle Ages Chapter - The Lord of Dark

Odio and the Incarnations

Final Chapter - The Dominion of Hate

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Characters / Live A Live - Middle Ages and Spoiler Characters

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Middle Ages Chapter - The Lord of Dark

Odio and the Incarnations

Final Chapter - The Dominion of Hate

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