History VideoGame / KingdomRush

The first two ''Kingdom Rush'' games are free to play and can be found [[http://www.kingdomrush.com/play/ here]] and [[http://www.kingdomrushfrontiers.com/play/ here]]. All four games are available to purchase for iPhone/iPod Touch, iPad, Android, and Amazon Apps. In addition, all of them have also been ported to Steam, and a turn-based [[StrategyRPG tactical RPG]] {{spinoff}} with {{Roguelike}} elements, [[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/legends-of-kingdom-rush/id1542046924 Legends of Kingdom Rush,]] is also available to pre-order from the [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iOS App Store]], through the ''Apple Arcade'' subscription service. ''Legends'' chronologically takes place after ''Vengeance'', where a successful villain must assist the good in defeating an even worse villain. You can also visit the developer's website [[http://www.ironhidegames.com/ here]].

** ''Legends'': [[spoiler:the Overseer is merely banished, not killed, and will likely return. Vez'nan has a plan to destroy it for good, but he needs Magnus Spellbane's help to do it.]]

* TheBusCameBack: Along with new heroes and towers, some old towers and enemies not seen since the first game make a comeback as playable characters, including classic Archers and Barracks, Imperial Guard, Demon Lords and Rocket Riders.
* EnemyMine: The game consists of both Linirea and the Dark Army joining forces to take out an even greater EldritchAbomination threat.

[[folder:Kingdom Rush: Alliance]]

* GreenHills: Everadiant Forest, the first location of the game, is a lush and green forest with many magical animals and plants. It is also populated by ferocious Wildbeasts.
* LaResistance: The Rebels led by Vesper are gathering those loyal to Denas to overthrow Vez'nan, as well as making friends with Arboreans, denizens of EveradiantForest.

''Kingdom Rush'' (2011), ''Kingdom Rush: Frontiers'' (2013), ''Kingdom Rush: Origins'' (2014) and ''Kingdom Rush: Vengeance'' (2018) are a series of TowerDefense games developed by ''Ironhide Game Studio''. It is set in a fantasy world, where you play as a general trying to stop the evil from taking over the world in the first three, and [[VillainProtagonist trying to take over the Kingdom]] for [[BigBad Vez'nan]] in the fourth. It involves placing towers in allocated positions along set paths. There are four types of towers in general: Barracks, Artillery, Archers, and Mages. Each tower comes with their own advantages and disadvantages. In the first three games, each tower can be upgraded 3 times with two branching 4th upgrade levels.

* RocketRide: Strangely subverted by Rocket Riders. Their rockets are more similar to {{Jet Pack}}s, which they can use for a NitroBoost.

* DropTheHammer:
** Xyzzy's weapon is two energy hammers that can dish out lots of damage.
** The dwarves also wield hammers, which you can upgrade in their barracks-like hall. Rurin, the GuestStarPartyMember that accompanies them, also wields a hammer.

* GimmickLevel: Several of the levels often have a gimmick to them:
** Kazan Mines has a minecart track in the background. Enemy dwarves can get a DungeonBypass if they manage to take the minecart and drop past most of your towers.
** Clockwork Factory has a Chomp Bot construction plant that will periodically spawn Chomp Bots, and more importantly a mecha assembly plant that will spawn [=MechaDwarf MK.9s=]. There's also a metal bridge at the right side of the screen that will connect to the area after a few waves, allowing enemies to spawn from that side.
** Frozen Rapids has a Viking Ship that will periodically enter the northwest part of the screen to drop some barbarians off. Later on, an ice floe will connect another path at the bottom which serves as a path for more enemies to enter in.
** Northerners Village has the Northerner King command his troops to drop a hail of weapons on your barracks troops and heroes for huge damage.
** Dragons' Boneyard has periodic snowstorms that will freeze your towers over, forcing you to tap them to free them.
** Jokull's Nest has the Northerner King attack and freeze your troops with his dragon.
** Otil Farmlands has the farms that periodically spawn groups of weak farmers.
** Silveroak Outpost has Alleria Swiftwind periodically appear to attack your troops and spawn Elven Rangers. She can be attacked to make her go away.
** City of Lozagon has Magnus Spellbane cast various spells to hinder you or help the enemies. He also brings the houses to life as golem mooks.
** Lightseeker Camp has a forge and a stable as buildings. Footmen can enter the forge to be promoted to a Paladin, and Paladins can enter the stable to be promoted into Cavaliers.

* GunsAreWorthless: The Tinbeard Gunmen blunderbusses are only moderately painful. Subverted by Musketeers, whose guns hurt ''a lot'' to the point where their damage rating is "killer".

** ''Inverted'' with the first level of the game which takes place at Vez'nan's tower, the final level of the first game.

* MercenaryUnits: Mercenaries (Sylvan Elves in the first game; Legionnaires, Genies, Spear Maidens, Corsairs, Buccaneers and Boatswains in the second; Awoks in the third; Brigands, Marauders and Mummies in the fourth), unlike soldiers, must be individually hired from special towers. Most (especially the elite 150-gold ones) are very effective in combat, but do not respawn and will have to be repurchased if they die.

** Cyclopters, Blue Wyverns, Hunting Eagles, Gryphon Bombardiers, Crystal Amphipteres and Screecher Bats in ''Vengeance''.

* BrutalBonusLevel: All the games have bonus/extra levels that unlock after beating the main campaign. All of them have tough enemies and levels that require ''very'' careful planning and strategy to succeed in beating.

** Both: Dragons (Good: Ashbite, Bonehart, Faustus, Blue Wyverns, Leap Dragons. Evil: Beresad, Eiskalt, Murglun), Crabs (Good: Karkinos. Evil: Bloodshells), Wolves (Good: [[NobleWolf Glacial Wolves]]. Evil: [[SavageWolves Wulves, Worgs, Winter Wulves, Sand Hounds, War Hounds]])

* MercenaryUnits: Mercenaries (Sylvan Elves in the first game; Legionnaires, Genies, Spear Maidens, Corsairs, Buccaneers and Boatswains in the second; Awoks in the third), unlike soldiers, must be individually hired from special towers. Most (especially the elite 150-gold ones) are very effective in combat, but do not respawn and will have to be repurchased if they die.

* TheBadGuyWins: Your main objective of the game is to help Vez'nan make this occur. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Vez'nan successfully defeats King Denas and [[https://i.imgur.com/AWeVczh.jpg takes over Linirea]]... but it's also apparent that Denas wasn't exactly a good guy either, and that Vez'nan may have a point.]]

** [[spoiler: Vez'nan's first form. 6666 hp compared to at least 10000 for other bosses, but his attack does at least 666 damage and kills all soldiers except Earth Elementals in one hit.]]

** [[spoiler: TheManBehindTheMan: Umbra.]]

** [[spoiler: You defeat Umbra (who is pretty much an EldritchAbomination) in the final level.]]

* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: Umbra.]]

* [[spoiler: EvilIsNotAToy: After summoning Umbra, the force of the crystal explosion knocks Malagar to the edge of a cliff. He pleads for Umbra to save him... and Umbra just zaps Lord Malagar off.]]

* SchizoTech: How could these saurians have possibly acquired plasma guns and energy whips? [[spoiler: Just ask the Ancient (alien) Being, Xoguieth]].
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler: Umbra]]

* TheUnfought: Although he does cast spells on your troops, you never actually get to fight [[TheDragon Lord Malagar]] [[spoiler: [[EvilIsNotAToy as he gets zapped off a cliff by Umbra after summoning it]].]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Both Mactans and Malicia are killed, but the Tear of Elynie has been corrupted, [[ForegoneConclusion and will eventually fall into Vez'nan's hands, to be more precise given to him by the humans and elves]]]].

* FusionDance: At the end of the final level, [[spoiler: Mactans and Malicia both leap at the Tear of Elynie, which corrupts the crystal and fuses the two together into the FinalBoss, the [[SpiderPeople Spider Goddess]]]].

* SpiderPeople: Driders, which attack with poison and also cocoon any troops they kill, which will hatch into another Drider. [[spoiler: The FinalBoss of the game, the Spider Goddess, is also one due to a FusionDance between Malicia and Mactans]].

* TheUnfought: You never get to ''directly'' fight against Mactans (but she does pose a nuisance in the final two levels), since she [[spoiler: merges with Malicia to form the Spider Goddess]] at the end.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GiantMook:
** [=MechaDwarf MK.9s=], Nanoq Warbears, Frost Giants, High Sorcerers (riding their Golems), Golem Houses and War Wagons. They all have a great amount of health, and also tend to have high armor on top of that.
** Stonebeard Geomancers are an interesting case -- they have much lower health than most giant enemies, but when they enter combat they turn into animated stone which multiplies their current and max HP by a factor of 3.3x (from 500 to 1650 max HP on Normal) until they exit combat.

** Good: [[BearsAreBadNews Bears]], [[PantheraAwesome Big Cats]], [[CoolHorse Horses]], [[NobleBirdOfPrey Eagles]], [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent Gryphons]], [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Sasquatches]], [[HeroicDog Dogs]], [[SweetSheep Sheep]].
** Evil: {{Hell Hound}}s, [[HeinousHyena Hyenas]], [[FullBoarAction Boars]], [[KillerGorilla Gorillas]], [[FeatheredFiend Poukai]], [[GiantSpider Spiders]], [[ScaryScorpions Scorpions]], [[BigCreepyCrawlies Beetles]], [[CreepyCentipedes Centipedes]], [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Lizards]] ([[LizardFolk Saurians]]), [[BatOutOfHell Bats]], [[YouDirtyRat Rats]] (and [[RatMen were-rats]]), [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Yetis]]

* WarElephants: The Hammerhold expansion has the War Elephant enemy, which consists of soldier(s) riding a huge elephant as a MiniBoss. One version comes with war drums on top, which the soldier hits in order to buff the elephant and allies around it, and another has archers on top that attack your troops. Both versions do not even stop to engage your troops -- any grounded units will simply be TrampledUnderfoot for huge, constant damage as long as the Elephant is in contact with them.

* WarElephants: The Hammerhold expansion has the War Elephant enemy, which consists of soldier(s) riding a huge elephant as a MiniBoss. One version comes with war drums on top, which the soldier hits in order to buff the elephant and allies around it, and another has archers on top that attack your troops.

* WarElephants: The Hammerhold expansion has the WarElephant, enemy, which consists of soldier(s) riding a huge elephant as a MiniBoss. One version comes with war drums on top, which the soldier hits in order to buff the elephant and allies around it, and another has archers on top that attack your troops.

* WarElephants: The Hammerhold expansion has soldier(s) riding a huge elephant as a GiantMook. One version comes with war drums on top, which the soldier hits in order to buff the elephant and allies around it, and another has archers on top that attack your troops.

* WickedWasps: Giant Wasps serve as the weakest AirborneMooks.

* WarElephants: The Hammerhold expansion has a soldier riding a huge elephant as a GiantMook. It also comes with war drums on top, which the soldier hits in order to buff the elephant and allies around it.

* FlunkyBoss: No boss in any of the games is not accompanied by minions.