History Main / Deception

* ''Deception'', the Creator/TV3 drama TV series

* ''VideoGame/{{Deception}}'', the Creator/{{Tecmo}}/Tecmo Creator/{{Koei}} series of games

* ''ComicBook/{{Deception}}'', a comic book mini-series set in the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' universe

If a direct wick has led you here, please correct the link so that it points to the corresponding article.

* ''VideoGame/{{Deception}}'', the Creator/{{Tecmo}}/Tecmo Creator/Koei series of games

* ''Series/Deception2013''
* ''Series/Deception2018''
* ''VideoGame/{{Deception}}''

!!Deception

If you're looking for the the video game, it's [[VideoGame/{{Deception}} here]].

If you're looking for the American TV show, it's [[Series/{{Deception}} here]].

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

Being the hero is [[GoodIsBoring so dull]]. I mean... [[ItstheSameNowItSucks it's always the same]]: Grab your sword, run to the castle of evil, fight against the boss, [[VictoryIsBoring easily beat him]], save the world, everybody loves you, right?

Well, perhaps it's time to play from another angle. [[EvilIsCool After all, playing for the other team has its benefits, too.]]

In 1996, for the Sony PlayStation, Tecmo released ''[[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt Tecmo's]] Deception: Invitation to Darkness'', which, while not a smash success by any stretch of the imagination, allowed the player to do something not often seen in video games: [[EvilFeelsGood play as the bad guy]]. The goal of the story was to resurrect {{Satan}}, and instead of doing so with direct combat, you utilized a series of [[DeathTrap deadly traps]] that you placed throughout your castle. The game did well enough to spark a small series, although nothing new has been announced as of this time.

The series in general follow the same patron, with you having to protect your castle [[ExcusePlot for one reason or another]], with {{Death Trap}} and gizmos. The biggest selling points in general is the same: play from an unusual point of view (the TrapMaster) and kill your enemies in [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential goresome ways]]. In most of them you are plain evil, but some of them try leave you in a more ambiguous position, where [[BlackAndGreyMorality it's not clearly which side is the good one]]. This actually makes the experience stronger, as one is not sure if what you are doing is right or wrong.

The Deception games consist of:
#''Tecmo's Deception: Invitation to Darkness'' (''Kokumeikan'') -- Released in July, 1996. As a [[HelloInsertNameHere nameless]] prince of Zemekia, the player has been framed for the murder of the king by his brother Yurias in a bid for the throne, and he is spirited away by a demoness named Astarte to make a DealWithTheDevil to get his revenge.

#''Kagero: Deception II'' (''Kagero: Kokumeikan Shinsho'') -- Released in July, 1998. A girl named Millennia is caught up as a MeatPuppet in a power struggle between the [[BlueBlood Time]][[{{Immortality}} noids]] and the humans over whom they reign.

#''Deception III: Dark Delusion'' (''Soumatou'') -- Released in December, 1999. A girl named Reina has been abducted, along with her family, to be sold into slavery in a neighboring kingdom. She is freed by a rebel faction and must decide whose side she is on.

#''{{VideoGame/Trapt}}'' (''Kagero II: [[GratuitousEnglish Dark Illusion]]'') -- Released in June, 2005. Princess Allura has been framed for the murder of her father and flees to a dark castle to escape execution, and while there, a demon offers her a chance for revenge.
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!!This series provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Curiously, female [=PCs=] outnumber the males three to one.
* AerithAndBob: While some characters have normal names, such as Gordon, the series also has some truly ridiculous names, such as Goatbone, Scuba, Loongear, and others, too numerous to list.
* AnAdventurerIsYou: Or rather, the invaders are adventurers. Each game in the series has a different set of classes the invaders can be comprised of, each of whom have different attacks and react to traps in their own ways.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Allura can unlock costumes that let her dress as Millennia and Reina.
* [[HeroicMime Antiheroic Mime]]: The player-character in ''Invitation to Darkness'', Millennia.
* TheAtoner: Possible for the player, if the correct {{Dialogue Tree}}s and courses of action are so chosen throughout the games.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The Red Dragon summoned monster. It does tremendous damage to multiple foes, but it's so large that it usually cannot fit into rooms in the castle, plus one of its components is rare.
* TheBackwardsR: The cover art spells the fourth game's title as ''TЯAPT''.
* BigDamnHeroes: Inverted; these guys (generally) are your ''enemies''.
* BlackMagicianGirl: Astarte.
* BlindIdiotTranslation
** For example, ugh, [[LetsPlay Goatbone]].
* BlueBlood: Both literally and figuratively in ''Kagero''. The Timenoids are a race of beings with blue skin who rule over humans.
* BonusBoss: Pretty much any gaiden character in ''Trapt'', but especially the final bosses of each path: Millennia (trap-tripper) and Kendal (creates illusions), each more inexplicable than the last. (That last one is very [[GainaxEnding "Congratulations"-y]].)
* BurnTheWitch: ''Invitation to Darkness'' starts with the player-character being burned at the stake for murdering his father.
* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Fiana if Wizbone kills her and you accept Astarte's offer.]]
* TheCameo: Suezo from ''MonsterRancher'' appears in ''Kagero'' as an unlockable trap. Previously, Ardebaran from ''Invitation to Darkness'' appeared in a ''Monster Rancher'' game as a secret monster.
* CastFromLifespan: In ''Deception III,'' this is the price for using traps too much--you'll wind up killing yourself eventually. Unfortunately Reina doesn't have any choice because a whole lot of people keep trying to kill her.
* ChargeMeter: Traps in the sequels must recharge between uses, but can otherwise by used indefinitely.
* {{Combos}}: Introduced to the series in ''Kagero'' to fantastic effect. Chain together more traps and receive more points.
* ContentWarnings: ''Invitation to Darkness'' only garnered a T rating from the ESRB, but it includes a separate blurb on the jewel case noting the satanic elements of the storyline.
* ContinuityNod: Each game takes place in its own little universe. However, one of ''Kagero'''s endings implies that Millennia [[spoiler:would go on to become Astarte.]] If you ''name'' her [[spoiler: Astarte]] you get extra money...
** Also, Ardebaran's mask appears in ''Kagero'' as an unlockable trap.
* CostumeCopycat: A lookalike of Fiana is brought in to try and reason with you, but it turns out to be a trap. Subverted in that you can check your map, [[GenreSavvy see the trap ahead of time and disable it]].
* DamageDiscrimination: Averted; you can get caught in your own traps or by environmental objects if you're not paying attention.
* DeathTrap: The entire point of the series.
** AnnoyingArrows / ArrowsOnFire
** BottomlessPits
** DescendingCeiling
** ElectricTorture: Water conducts it very well!
** GiantHandsOfDoom / GiantFootOfStomping
** PitTrap
** RocksFallEveryoneDies
** SpikesOfDoom
* DolledUpInstallment: They were only a "series" in the loosest sense in Japan. In the US, they're a consistently named series... up until ''Kagero 2'', which was the first straight-out sequel in Japan.
* [[strike:[[DubNameChange Dub]]]] [[DubNameChange Subtitle Name Change]]: The change from "Alicia" to "Allura" was strictly in the text. The voice acting still very obviously uses "Alicia".
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''Invitiation to Darkness'' is almost completely different from its successors, and it made use of [[ArtEvolution gouraud-shaded]], SuperDeformed polygons similar to ''FinalFantasyVII'' while the sequels would opt to go with straight texture-mapping and proportions.
* EasterEgg: Rename Millennia "Astarte" and you start with some extra Ark to spend.
* EnemyScan: Each game lets you check out the statistics of invaders before you enter into combat with them.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Princess Fiana and Princess [[strike:Alicia]] Allura.
* TheEvilPrince: Yurias.
* EvilSorcerer: Several, notably Zamur in ''Invitation to Darkness'' and Deadmoon in ''Kagero''.
* [[EvolvingWeapon Evolving Trap]]: They merely get stronger and more durable in earlier games, but later on, you can add special effects to them as well. Monsters in ''Invitation To Darkness'' can level up, too.
* FunWithAcronyms: For whatever reason, "Timenoid" is shortened down to "TMD". "AUO" in ''Dark Delusion'' stands for [[http://www.accessup.org/pj/6_C4D5B2B0/i20050719.html Alendar Umbral Operations]], although this is never mentioned in the game.
* GenreShift: First-person RPG for the first game to third-person action-RPG for the sequels.
* GreenLanternRing: The magical stone which allows Reina to control traps in ''Dark Delusion''.
* HealThyself: Special gem-like "loons" can restore the player-character's health to full once per chapter in the sequels. ''Invitation to Darkness'' uses more traditional medical herbs and antidotes.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Reina, who can be renamed (like every game's protagonist), is referred to exclusively in chapter summary screens as "the heroine". This is in text, mind you.
* HideYourChildren: Averted. The Psychic class of invader is made up of young girls, and Reina's little brother is murdered by Miguel during a FadeToBlack moment.
* HumanResources: Used in ''Invitation to Darkness'' either to collect gold, restore the ManaMeter, or to harvest the actual ''bodies'' to create monsters.
* IdenticalGrandson: [[spoiler:The player-character in ''Invitation to Darkness'' shares ancestry and the same name with one of the Legendary Braves.]]
* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: You can add rooms to the Castle of the Damned in the first game, though you cannot subtract any that were there from the start.
* InsistentTerminology: The third game always refers to [=TRAP=]s in all capitals, for some reason.
* TheJoysOfTorturingMooks
* KillItWithFire: It helps if you douse the invader with oil first.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading
* MadeASlave: Millennia; was supposed to happen to Reina and her family, but her mother and brother were murdered, and Reina herself was rescued from prison.
* MalevolentArchitecture
* MonsterClown: One of these is responsible for kidnapping Millennia as a child and taking her to the Timenoids.
* MostDefinitelyNotAnImpostor: ''3'' and ''TRAPT'' both include some schmo-ette pretending to be the evil queen, seeking your help. Fails the smell-test both times, not that that means you can't accept.
* MultipleEndings: Never fewer than three, for all four games.
* NewGamePlus
* OddlyNamedSequel: ''Trapt'' is the worst offender, but if it wasn't for the [[NumberedSequel numbering]] in the first three, few people would know they were related at first glance.
* PerversePuppet: Magic Dolls.
* PlayedForLaughs: Some of the traps cause comedic effects, such as a vase falling on someone's head or a rotating floor that throws off their balance.
* PlotCoupon: The [[strike:five]] six demonic artifacts needed to resurrect the Devil.
* PowerTattoo: The one on Millennia's back.
* PuzzleBoss: Expert Mode in ''Dark Delusion''.
* RepeatCut: Brief instant replays of the moment a trap connects with an invader; they can be switched on or off.
* SayMyName: "Marco? Marco?! Marco! MARCO!"
** '''POLO!'''
* SealedEvilInACan: And you're the one working to break said seal.
* SpoilerOpening: Of a sort. ''Invitation to Darkness''' manual spoils that [[spoiler:Fiana]] can be used as a monster.
* StandardStatusEffects
* SupernaturalElite: In the second game, humans are basically second-class to a nobility consisting of 'Timenoids' - blue-skinned immortals. As the player, you are initially a slave to the Timenoids, but eventually, you must decide whether to help them brutally suppress an emerging human uprising, help LaResistance destroy the Timenoid elite, or just KillEmAll.
* SuicidalOverconfidence: Played straight with most invaders, but a few will realize what they're up against and make efforts to escape. Whether they succeed or not can possibly change the storyline.
* SummonMagic: Only available in ''Invitation to Darkness'', the player-character can call forth special monsters which damage invaders. What's scary is that one of them is possibly [[spoiler:Princess Fiana]] depending on how you play.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Even when they're out for your blood, when an enemy invader finds you, time will gladly stop around you to give them a chance to say what they need to.
* ATasteOfPower: The first game lets you utilize Volt Cages to capture Ardebaran and Idorigo (and optionally Doneal). You don't get access to such traps again until Chapter 10, and even then you have to spend gold to '''create''' new ones.
* TimedMission: Several chapters throughout the series.
* TooLongDidntDub: "Kagero", which means "mirage".
* ToplessnessFromTheBack: The title screen of the second game.
* TrainingDummy: The hapless invader in ''Dark Delusion'''s Free Training Mode.
* TrapMaster: The player characters, and an occasional NPC.
* TraumaInn: Subverted in ''Invitation to Darkness''. Yeah, you can build a bedroom and sleep in the bed to recover HP, but you can still get attacked there by invaders.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Typically, it turns out the main character is being manipulated. Often by [[GambitPileup various sources]], to differing ends.]]
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The '''other''' entire point of the series.
* VillainProtagonist: Each and every main character holds an explicitly evil power and spends most of their time ruthlessly slaughtering anybody unlucky enough to enter their homes. Later protagonists end up in a more morally gray area, but none of them are ever close to being heroes.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: The games often go to some bother to make it clear that you're not killing anonymous mooks, but ''people'', with actual names, backstories and personalities. The [[{{Narm}} terrible acting]] keeps this from having the effect Tecmo was going for, however.

#''{{Trapt}}'' (''Kagero II: [[GratuitousEnglish Dark Illusion]]'') -- Released in June, 2005. Princess Allura has been framed for the murder of her father and flees to a dark castle to escape execution, and while there, a demon offers her a chance for revenge.