History VideoGame / CastleInTheDarkness

** One person gives the knight a giant treasure chest, saying [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!"]].

* ReferenceOverdosed: The game is filled to brim with references to other games of the 8-bit and 16-bit era, such as ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'', and etc.

* {{Fireball}}: The first spell the PlayerCharacter learns is launching a fireball at the short distance.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the House of Ruth, there is a swooping ghost that can only be damaged with magic attacks. The same applies to the level's boss.

** Frog Knight, a recurring frog boss in the game, wields a sword, uses his tongue in combat, and thinks a lot about the princess, just like a certain Frog from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''.

** An [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 oddly-familiar grey pipe]] that warns the player not to try and pass through it shows up in Alexandria early in the game.

* AnAxeToGrind:
** Axe Armors, based on ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'' enemies of the same name, attack by throwing axes at the player that somehow boomerangs back into their hands. With the rare chance, they can drop chest after death that allows the player to obtain their axe, called Executioner, which allows the player to lob the axes into the air in the arc, again, akin to ''Castlevania''.
** Sorcerer's Quarters feature Axe Masters, [[DemBones skeletal warriors]] who function like Axe Armors' upgraded counterparts, and they attack by simultaneously throwing ''two axes'', one in an arc, and another like a boomerang, making them pretty cumbersome to deal with.

* MultipleEndings: Taking inspiration from its Metroidvania cousins, this game has two.
** [[spoiler:Bad Ending - The hero makes it through the castle to find Princess Isabelle defeated by the Dark Sorcerer and no longer convinced of her father's survival. The hero then battles the Dark Sorcerer and kills him. The castle collapses and the end tells that the king was never found or heard from again]].
** [[spoiler:GoldenEnding - After finding the White Orb and getting the witch Ruth to enchant it after her boss battle, the hero instead finds Isabelle defeated like before, but this time she has her father's pendant and is convinced he's still alive. The hero then uses it in the battle with the Dark Sorcerer to reveal he IS the king. After using the White Orb to purify him of his possession, the hero faces the true threat, the Demon King, and defeats him]].

* GoombaStomp: Once the hero gets the Spiked Cleets, he gets able to instantly kill Gumheads (which are creatures modelled after Goombas) by jumping on their heads.

** Appolyon, a giant EldritchAbomination with [[GiantEnemyCrab crab-like]] shell that can be fought only on optional path in Sorcerer's Quarters, possesses lots of health, can fire many blocks from below the arena, a laser that requires a precisely timed double-jump to dodge, and [[FlunkyBoss summon a group of bug-like flunkies]]. After that, it reveals its fleshy, winged, cycloptic core that fires bullets in 8 directions and needs to be attacked to damage the boss. Once the player depletes its health, it [[VictoryFakeout feigns defeat]] before revealing its second phase where [[ClippedWingAngel the core separates itself from the body]] to attack the player. It attacks faster than usual and can fly around, but now it's vulnerable to attacks at any time. After its defeat, the player can collect Castael, the Sword of Light, and the strongest weapon in the game.

* DemBones: Skeletons frequently appear as enemies in the game in different varieties. There are bone-throwing Arreys, their KingMook counterpart Mr. Arrey, and [[UndergroundMonkey Red Arreys]] that explode in the pile of damaging bones upon death. There are also Skeleton Hunters that wield rifles to shoot the player with. There are Spear Knights, armored skeletons who jab the player with their spears, and the Skull Knights, skeletons clad in black armor who attack with their swords. The first OptionalBoss of the Torture Chamber is [[{{Dracolich}} Bone Dragon]], a flying serpentine skeletal dragon with its red tail tip being a weak spot.

* {{Fireball}}: The first spell the PlayerCharacter learns is a fireball.

* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Though the PlayerCharacter can't swim, he can still remain underwater for indefinite period of time.

* PlayingWithFire: The first magic spell you get lets you charge and launch a fireball. In the House of Ruth, you learn another fiery spell called Explosion Fire that lets you fire a sphere that explodes in the fiery explosion.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: The 'Game Over' screen includes a Death Counter that keeps track of how many times you die.

** [[LetXBeTheUnknown X]], the enigmatic dimensional guardian, can be fought only in the Crystal Tower, which is very difficult to bring forth and requires a hidden item to summon it, and he can be fought only after defeating two other difficult {{optional boss}}es. And he doesn't pull any punches; X possesses an OneHitKO attack and [[BulletHell summons many projectiles that can be very difficult to dodge]]. He also has [[SequentialBoss a second phase]] where his head detaches from his body to bounce around the arena and inflict CollisionDamage, and fire a WaveMotionBeam down that inflicts tons of damage to the player, and considering that his head floats around everywhere, it would be very hard for the player to hit it. After defeat, he bestows X-Sword, the strongest magic in the game, upon the player before disappearing.

* GoombaStomp: Once the hero gets the Spiked Cleets, he becomes able to kill Gumheads (which are creatures modelled after Goombas) by jumping on their heads.
* HeartContainer: Defeating a boss gets you a boss heart that increases your [=HP=].

* {{Oculothorax}}: Some enemies, and at least one boss, have a body that's composed of a giant eyeball.

* SavePoint: These take the form of angelic statues holding a giant blue gem. At them, you can either save your game, or equip new weapons.

* SuspiciouslyCrackedWall: You can attack these to reveal hidden paths.

* BewitchedAmphibians: Referenced in the Frog Knight's imagine spot; he wants to win Princess Isabelle's love so that they would kiss...and that the princess would turn into the frog as well, allowing them to be in a relationship.

* DemBones: One enemy type is skeletons that throw bones.

* FeatheredFiend: One enemy type is birds.

* TheGoomba: Zombies serve as the most basic enemies in the game, being easy to kill, moving very slowly and their only way to attack is inflicting CollisionDamage. The actual Goomba expies, called Gumheads, serve as middle-game enemies instead, and are quite tougher than enemies encountered before, though they are still relatively weaker compared to most enemies encountered in the same area, and once the player obtains the Spiked Cleets, they outright become [[HarmlessEnemy completely harmless]].

* MonsterCompendium: One of the unlockables available in NewGamePlus is the Book of Monsters, a MiniGame which pits you against 60 monsters in the game and also doubles as the in-game bestiary, listing the enemies' names.

* PlayingWithFire: The first magic spell you get lets you charge and launch a fireball.

** The Frog Knight is fought twice in the game; the first time in the Agros Forest, and the second time in the Grand Hall. In the latter appearance, he ends up being [[UpgradedBoss more difficult]] than in the first fight, having donned a new suit of armor and wielding the Rune Sword, increasing his health and damage, and his bubble attack became much more direct and damaging.

* TennisBoss: The first boss of the game can be beaten by deflecting its attacks back at it. An [=NPC=] even gives you a clue about it before the encounter.

* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: The first unlockable weapon in the game is called the Wrong Sword, an intentional "mistranslation" of the name "Long Sword".

* InexplicablyPreservedDungeonMeat: One of the items you can find in the Castle Entrance is the Chicken Dinner, found inside the breakable wall, which increases the player's max [=HP=].

One dark and gloomy night, Elmore [=II=], ruler of the Kingdom of Alexandria, falls ill. Worried for his health, Princess Isabelle rallies the guards to defend the castle. The guards take their positions, not expecting anything more than a simple illness.

** [[spoiler:GoldenEnding - After finding the White Orb and getting the witch Ruth to enchant it after her boss battle, the hero instead finds Isabelle defeated like before, but this time has her father's pendant and is convinced he's still alive. The hero then uses it in the battle with the Dark Sorcerer to reveal he IS the king. After using the White Orb to purify him of his possession, the hero faces the true threat, the Demon King, and defeats him]].

** One of the vertical rooms in the Prism Tower has no platforms except for a bunch of Tetrominos straight out of ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' for you to climb up.

** Many, many enemies in the game reference other popular franchises. You can find a blue hedgehog that curls into a ball and rolls at you, Axe Armor, Medusa Heads, and Skeletons from ''Castlevania'', a fairy that exclaims "HEY! LISTEN!" when you take contact damage from her, a knight throwing lances that has his armor shatter when you hurt him, exposing him in his underwear, and quite a few more.
** Several of the 'Loading' Rooms seen in the game reference several other games. One elaborately-decorated hallway looks like it came straight out of ''Symphony of the Night'', while another loading screen has a segmented ''Mega Man'' style boss door in front of it, complete with sound effect when it opens up to let you in.

** An oddly-familiar grey pipe that warns the player not to try and pass through it shows up in Alexandria early in the game.

** One of the vertical rooms in the Prism Tower has no platforms except for a bunch of Tetrominos straight out of ''Tetris'' for you to climb up.

* DamselInDistress: Played with, as the missing Princess Isabelle sets up the plot with the hero thinking she is this. [[spoiler:Subverted fairly early on when it's shown in the Cavern of Serpents that she's taken up a bow and is planning an assault on the castle to find her missing father]].

* FrogMen: The Frog Knight is a humanoid frog who appears twice as a mid-boss, opposing the player due to seeing him as a rival standing between him and Princess Isabelle's affections. [[spoiler:He even appears to oppose the player in the GoldenEnding credits, trying to steal the Princess's love from him, only to lose again.]]

* InexplicableTreasureChest: There are treasure chests scattered throughout the game that you can get money from. They come in a variety of colors.

** [[spoiler:{{Golden Ending}} - After finding the White Orb and getting the witch Ruth to enchant it after her boss battle, the hero instead finds Isabelle defeated like before, but this time has her father's pendant and is convinced he's still alive. The hero then uses it in the battle with the Dark Sorcerer to reveal he IS the king. After using the White Orb to purify him of his possession, the hero faces the true threat, the Demon King, and defeats him]].

* OminousOwl: One of the bosses of the game is a giant owl named Razor Wing.

* BewitchedAmphibians: Referenced in the Frog Knight's imagine spot; he wants to win Princess Isabelle's love so that she would kiss him...so that she would turn into a frog as well, allowing them to be in a relationship.