History Main / Baroque

* BaroquePop. Also known as BaroqueRock.

''Baroque'' may refer to

[[redirect:VideoGame/{{Baroque}}]]

A [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] horror {{Roguelike}} first made for the Sega Saturn, then ported to the Playstation. It was later remade for the Playstation 2 and the Wii. It was made (and remade, and remade) by [[StingEntertainment Sting]], the developers of the DeptHeaven series, and localized by {{Atlus}}.

A world-altering cataclysm called the Blaze caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The world, now existing in a twisted state, is populated by Meta-Beings, creatures that were once human but have lost their minds after clinging to their Baroques. A young man who has been left [[HeroicMime mute]] and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesiac]] after some [[TraumaInducedAmnesia unspecified incident]] is given a [[{{BFG}} large shoulder-mounted cannon]] by a mysterious Archangel and is told that by purifying the Meta-Beings within the tower and reaching the bottom floor, he will find redemption for sins committed that he cannot remember.

[[WidgetSeries It's rather bizarre, to say the least]].

Similarly to ''[[BreathOfFire Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter]]'', you are expected to die on your first few attempts to reach the bottom of the Neuro Tower. However, [[NewGamePlus by starting over]] ([[BagOfSpilling at Lv.1 with none of your equipped items]]) you can unlock new scenes and reveal deeper mysteries; to get the entire story, you must die at key points of the game. Furthermore, by using Consciousness Orbs to store items, you can "save" items to be used in subsequent playthroughs.
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Baroque contains examples of:
* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: The Archangel's goal.]]
* AbnormalAmmo: The Angelic Rifle fires [[spoiler:grotesque angelic babies made out of pain!]]
* AdaptationExpansion: The manga.
* AfterTheEnd
* AllThereInTheManual: Unless you're using a guide, your chances of unearthing the entire plot in-game are pretty slim. In fact, much like the ''DeptHeaven'' series, ''Baroque'' has a whole series sourcebook ("Baroque World Guidance") that discusses the plot and worldbuilding in detail. Since it first went into print in 1998, though, good luck finding a copy.
* BottomlessMagazines: Averted with the Angelic Rifle. It has only 5 shots.
* BigFreakingGun: The Angelic Rifle is huge! Nearly as big as a human and just as wide.
* {{BFS}}: Some of the weapons you pick up could count.
* BadassLongcoat: Both the Protagonist AND the Archangel.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Even after you save the Absolute God from the Archangel's machinations, the world is still the same blasted wasteland it's been since The Blaze. However, by forming a consensus reality with the remaining Meta Beings, you essentially make lemonade out of lemons and give humanity a chance]].
* BonusDungeon
* ChurchMilitant: The Archangel's followers.
* CoversAlwaysLie: Many people assumed that the protagonist was shown on the cover, but its actually the Archangel.
* CrapsackWorld
* CriticalAnnoyance: The lower your health and vitality gets, the louder and faster the heartbeat sound in the background gets.
* DeadLittleBrother: The protagonist feels guilty over his brother's death. It's what allows the Archangel to manipulate him into doing his dirty work.
** The Archangel has a dead ''older'' sibling. [[spoiler: His sister slowly became distorted and was murdered by their father. The Archangel blames the Absolute God for her death. The Absolute God (and Eliza) takes the form of his dead sister, which causes him to hate the goddess even more.]]
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist, ContinuingIsPainful: You're even ''encouraged'' to die. Doesn't stop the game from subjecting you to some rather hefty, Roguelike-esque penalties whenever you die. You lose '''everything''' except whatever items you had in storage and the Angelic Rifle.
* DeathIsCheap
* DeathIsNotPermanent
* EverythingTryingToKillYou
* EvilTowerOfOminousness
* FanNickname: The protagonist is usually referred to as Dextera XII. Also, Koriel XIII
* FeelNoPain: Everyone in the manga, except the protagonist. In the game, only a select few characters.
* FreezeFrameBonus as well as BilingualBonus: The Opening video has lots of text that moves too fast to read, and some of it is in latin(maybe).
* GhostMemory
* GrotesqueGallery: The Meta-Beings and most of the main characters.
* GuideDangIt
* HelloInsertNameHere
* HeroicMime: [[spoiler:''Literally''. The protagonist's voice was taken from him and given to the Absolute God.]]
* ItemCrafting
* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: "Use [The Angelic Rifle]. There is meaning in you using it."
* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: Subverted; While you ARE in a tower, you're going down.
* MadnessMantra: Ironically the Absolute God chants "Don't go crazy, Don't go crazy, Don't go crazy, Don't go crazy..." For added effect, the subtitle for each instance was placed at a random point on the screen. Turns out she was actually telling the ''protagonist'' not to go crazy.
* MindScrew: In spades.
* NintendoHard: Its a roguelike ''and'' its made by {{Atlus}}, so this is pretty much a given.
* NiceHat: The collector's massive hat used to store items. He later makes it even bigger to store more items.
* OneHitKill: The Angelic Rifle.
* OneHundredPercentCompletion: And HOW! It'll take you years to fill out the database if not decades.
* OnlySaneMan: The Archangel views himself as this.
* OrganDrops : Your only way to survive is to eat the monster's meat and hearts, which is already {{squick}}y in itself...[[FridgeBrilliance and then you learn]] that they are actually [[spoiler: [[IAmAHumanitarian humans]] deformed by their delusions...]]
* PhotographicMemory: The Bagged One. [[spoiler:She desperately wished to forget a tragedy in her past, but could not because of her PhotographicMemory. Thus, her Baroque twisted her so that she has no memories of her own; only the memories of other people]].
* PhysicalGod: The Absolute God.
* SomeoneHasToDie: The twins sacrifice themselves repeatedly, so that the other can live.
* SophisticatedAsHell: The Coffin Man.
* StationaryWings: The various fake wings.
* SurrealHorror
* TarotMotifs: [[http://www.atlus.com/baroque/ps2/ikei/index.htm The Meta-Beings]] are based on each arcana with ''The Chariot'' change to ''The Tank'' and ''The Strength'' changed to ''The Power''.
* TheFaceless: Several characters such as The Collector, the Baroque mongerer, and the Bagged one.
* [[ThePowerOfLove The Power of Lust]]: There's a brand that increases your strength when inflicted with the "lust" status. Kinda creepy if you think about.
* TheMasochismTango: A particularly {{squick}}y example is if you punch Alice she'll say she doesn't mind if its you doing it!
* TooAwesomeToUse: The Angelic Rifle kills anything in one shot. There are five bullets.
** [[spoiler: And you later give up using it all after finding its bullets are littles.]]
* VerbalTic: The Coffin Man goddammit!
* WingedHumanoid: Averted with the Archangel and played straight with The Littles.
* YetAnotherStupidDeath: To be expected, it ''is'' a Roguelike.
* YourHeadAsplode: There is a brand that causes you to randomly explode while taking damage.
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[-Go play it. There is meaning to you playing it.-]

* YourHeadAsplode: There is a brand that causes you to [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome randomly explode while taking damage]]

[-Go play it. There is meaning to you playing it.-]

<<|{{Roguelike}}|>>

* OrganDrops : Your only way to survive is to eat the monster's meat and hearts, which is already {{squick}}y in itself...[[FridgeBrilliance and then you learn]] that they are actually [[spoiler: [[IAmAHumanitarian humans]] [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel deformed by their delusions...]]]]

''Note: This article is about the game. For the architecture/art/music period, we're working on a new article. Bear with us.''

* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: Subverted; While you ARE in a tower, you're going DOWN.
* LoveItOrHateIt

* TakeThis: "Use [The Angelic Rifle]. There is meaning in you using it."

* HellIsThatNoise: Considering the nature of this game, this is only to be expected.
** The music even seems to incorporate noises the enemies make when they move around. Talk about devious.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: The Neuro Tower in the original game.
** The Horned Girl's lack of thoughts or personality, Longneck's creepy masochist attitude, and the fact that you're the only one who looks and acts like an actual human being in the ''entire game''.
** [[spoiler: The boxbearer's breakdown, he and revelation that he killed his own daughter (The Bagged One) in a fit of madness. He become so distraught he deluded himself into thinking his empty box contained his daughter's soul!]]
*** Once you actually see what the Meta-beings look like, it will frighten you to think they were once human!
*** Even worse is when you read the Metabeings' baroques, which are stories of how they became the way they were

* NightmareFuel: The moment that you realize that the Horned Girl [[spoiler:isn't speaking what she's thinking, but rather what ''you're'' thinking]].
** [[spoiler:When characters start burying themselves.]]
*** The ''real'' way Dextera [[{{GameplayAndStorySegregation}} obtains the Baroques of the main characters]]. [[spoiler: He strangles them to death.]]
*** Many meta beings are creepy, but [[http://www.atlus.com/baroque/ps2/ikei/ikei2/ikei16.htm Bubugel]] and [[http://www.atlus.com/baroque/ps2/ikei/ikei2/ikei06.htm Nicl & Nicr]] (the worst case of LoveHurts) made the rest rather tame.
*** The fact that you are in a confined, dungeon-like space with all these Metabeings, and not knowing what's in store when you advance to the next level... *shudder*

* ThatOneBoss: The only four bosses aren't even required to beat the game, technically. And boy are they HAAAAAARD. Even worse, after you beat them [[spoiler: in the Nuero Tower, they become normal enemies in the Coffin Guy's bonus dungeons]]

* UncannyValley: Most of the creatures in the game fall under this, to some. The remake making everything slightly more cartoonish may make it even farther.
** Its kinda strange how some characters like the Protagonist and Archangel are drawn in typical anime style yet others like the Coffin man are drawn in a more realistic manner.

[[{{Understatement}} It's rather bizarre, to say the least]].

* AdaptationDecay: Reviewers and fans of the original game view the [[VideoGameRemake remake]] as this.

** Its kinda of strange how some characters like the Protagonist and Archangel are drawn in typical anime style yet others like the Coffin man are drawn in a more realistic manor.

*FailureIsTheOnlyOption: [[spoiler: When you finally fix the world... nothing is different.]]

** [[spoiler: The boxbearer's breakdown, he and revelation that he killed his own daughter(the bagged one) in a fit of madness. He become so distraught he deluded himself into thinking his empty box contained his daughter's soul!]]