History VideoGame / ChainedEchoes

However, skill points (and Sky Armor weapon proficiencies) ARE the one currency directly tied to character power that players can grind, and at least on Hard mode, players are heavily incentivized to do so! The early game especially is notorious for being difficult, and the moment you gain control of a full party and can wander around the 'overworld' is when you're encouraged to grind, grind, grind those skill points to get your party ready. Once the party gains permanent Sky Armors, players are again strongly encouraged to grind, grind, grind to max proficiency on each character in each weapon type.

* FunctionalMagic: Focusing more on the 'inherent magic' side of things, magic is something someone is born with as their soul moves through the Maelstrom, the magical whirlpool of souls that pushes a soul into a new, living being as it is born. The number of souls and the number of ''magical'' souls is finite, however; back in the days of the Magical Academy of Nhysa, magic was considered more common, but the truth is simply that, as more people are born, less people will have magic by comparison. Steps are being taken to make magic usable via devices to compensate; Sky Armors have Elemental and Aether cannons that allow them to tap into the forces of magic even if the pilot is a MagicallyIneptFighter such as Sienna or Glenn with proficiency on par with any proper magic user, and various cities make use of magic for lighting or, in the case of Marylea,to fly using special flying, magical rocks.

* AnAesop: "In the end, all that matters is the person we have become." [[spoiler:Said directly by Victor to Glenn concerning him trying to balance out his first incarnation's bad acts with the good acts of his other lives, but this moral can also be applied to numerous other characters, such as Frederik willing to be remembered as a tyrant if it means world peace, and Kylian earning a chance at redemption in the Epilogue.]]

** Importantly, at one point [[spoiler:Gwayn]] begins "Preparing an Ultimate Attack." If you leave any member's HP at 1 from the aforementioned HPTo1 moves, they WILL be killed by the... one point of damage dealt to each party member.

* ShoutOut:
** The FakeOutOpening sequence references ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', by having Glenn being woken up by his mother, with the house having the same layout.
** Glenn's name, in addition to rhyming with "Lenne", is very likely a reference to the true name of Frog, also from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''.
** Lenne's name, in addition to rhyming with "Glenn", may be a double reference--one to the character of the same name from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', and another to the character "Lenna" from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. This second reference is [[MeaningfulName pivotal]], because [[spoiler: various translations of FFV have given Lenna's name instead as "Reina", and in ''Chained Echoes'' the Holy Mother who existed in the past is called "Reina", of whom Lenne is supposed to be the reincarnation]].
** The "Horn Lizard" enemy has an [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} attack called "Tail Whip" that decreases your defense]].
** The quest when stepping into Tormund for the first time is called [[Music/RageAgainstTheMachine "Killing in the Rain"]].
** The achievement for beating Act I is called "[[VideoGame/{{Actraiser}} Act Racer]]".
** The opening section of gameplay, showing four different characters (discounting Kylian and Robb, who act more as supporting characters in their given sections) and establishing how they eventually came to run into each other in Farnsport's newest church as a demon attacks, takes heavy inspiration from the ''VideoGame/WildArms'' series. It's especially similar to ''VideoGame/WildArms3'', given half of the party meets in the middle of a stand-off before teaming up to deal with an entity causing chaos. (Janus' gang in ''VideoGame/WildArms3'', the Forgotten Mantis in ''Chained Echoes.'')
** Sienna's Ultra Move is more or less Baiken's Instant Kill from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearX'' or ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearXX XX]]''.
** Victor's section in the first chapter is one big reference to Millennial Fair from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', including a race, where you can bet on racers and take hints from an NPC.
** One of the bosses you encounter is named the [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Giga Drill Breaker]].
** One of the [[UniqueEnemy Unique Monsters]] is named [[Manga/OnePiece Gol D. Waterfly]].
** Yet another ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' reference in Marylea, where a teacher states that the three ancient Sky Armor models that all others were based on are named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, similar to ''Trigger'''s Three Wise Men (Gaspar, Melchior, & Belthasar). Which of course, are the names of the Biblical three wise men.
** Tomke's animation for successfully eating a monster and gaining their power is taken straight from ''Comicstrip/{{Popeye}}'', including a little jingle that plays each time Tomke does it. And given his yellow slicker and use of an achor, Tomke truly ''is'' a sailor man...
** The combat UI shares a lot of similarities with ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', including the bar establishing character turn order, and the combat 'loop' plays similarly to ''Octopath Traveler'' and its sister series ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', going out of its way to incentivize the use of the 'defend' command to empower the player; in this case, by allowing the player to work the Overdrive Bar's cursor back down to the lower end of the Overdrive section, which cuts down on skill costs, enhances damage done to enemies, and decreases damage done to the party. Both ''Octopath Traveler'' and ''Chained Echoes'' also have a boss whose main gimmick is screwing up a part of the game's UI; Simeon hides the turn order in ''Octopath Traveler'' while [[spoiler:Randomage hides the Overdrive Bar and later ''hits you with it.'']]
** Randomage, a late-game OptionalBoss, is also very clearly a Red Mage from ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', specifically the version from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''. Enchanted Combo is heavily inspired from that Red Mage's own melee combo.
** The Sky Armor frame Kerberos is basically Barbatos from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''. The great sword weapon having a unique sprite(a giant spiked mace) on it confirms it.
** The Sky Armor palettes ADAM-00, 01 and 02 are the same set as EVA units 00, 01 and 02 from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' respectively.
** One of Magnolia's attacks is called [[VideoGame/{{Deltarune}} Chaos King.]]
** Final Blossom, Mikah's strongest attack, is almost shot-for-shot Heavenly Peaks Descent from ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', only lacking the part where Mikah circles around the enemy.
** Boutrous' mount Al Ra'ad is very clearly [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire a red Rayquaza,]] having the segmented body, the ball-joint arms, the sunken serpentine eyes, and the symbol body markings that mark the Pokémon lord of the heavens.
** God King Gaemdriel bears more than a passing resemblance to [[VideoGame/EldenRing Radahn in the latter's prime,]] most notably the massive mane of red hair, and like Radahn is considered a master of both melee combat and magic.
** [[spoiler:Glenn]], much like [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Marin]], wants to be reincarnated as a bird, a wish that’s granted during the end credits. This may also reference the ending of ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}''.
** There is an optional sidequest near the end of the game called [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Two-Winged Angel]].
** The InvoluntaryGroupSplit that happens after the battle with Row where you need to choose multiple paths was almost certainly inspired by a similar thing that happens after the fifth boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''.
** There is a location in Eldrea outside of Valandis called [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap Vaati]].
** The Crimson Wings were likely named after the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Red Wings]].
** According to WordOfGod via a Website/{{Reddit}} AMA, the name of the first boss in the fourth act [[spoiler: "Behemoth", is a ShoutOut to Behelit from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', as well as a [[JustForPun play on words]] due to the fact that you're fighting a moth, in addition to the obvious ShoutOut to the common ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' enemy creature]].
** [[spoiler:Two main characters who entered a cycle of reincarnations together prior to the game which is broken by the end? Apart from the fact that this reincarnation isn't romantic,]] that sounds like one of the big plot points of VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}.
** Egyl's Speargun closely resembles the Gunlance from ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' in appearance, role, and operation.

** Egyl's Speargun closely resembles the Gunlance from {{VideoGame/MonsterHunter}} in appearance, role, and operation.

** [[spoiler:Two main characters who entered a cycle of reincarnations together prior to the game which is broken by the end? Apart from the fact that this reincarnation isn't romantic,]] that sounds like one of the big plot points of VideoGame/Xenogears.

* AbsurdlyLowLevelCap: The Sky Armors all have weapon proficiencies that cap at level eight and require only a small amount of SP to reach, compared to regular skills. Raising a proficiency grants new skills for that weapon type as well as permanent stat bonuses. Thus, it's easy and recommended to just stomp early-game enemies with your Sky Armors and max out their proficiencies in half an hour.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Grand Grimoire, a crystal that, when shattered, absorbs all life (human, plant, and so on) within a thousand meters into itself to repair itself, with the exception of the person responsible for breaking it. [[spoiler:Glenn activates it without knowing its purpose]] in the prologue, and it soon after ends up in the hands of Valandis' leaders as a weapon of war. Later, it turns out [[spoiler:the Vaen used it to cull the human population, but the 8th True King Gwayn stole it in order to use it against the Vaen. Unfortunately, [[StartXToStopX his method for doing]] so means using it in war to gather enough ether.]].

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: On the cliff above the Seaside Village in southwestern Rohlan Fields (accessed from Basil just to the north), there is a group of five Pigear enemies. They are right next to the area's fast travel point, and they respawn when you fast travel. They give between 5 and 25 SP per battle, which can be used to quickly max out your on-foot abilities and Sky Armor weapon skills.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Towards the start of Act 2, the player gets their own base, and can recruit people from across the continent to provide helpful bonuses such as tracking how many treasures remain in an area or guaranteeing specific crystal types from gathering points. The automatic first recruit is a fortuneteller that can locate other recruits, and if there aren't any recruits available when you pay her for her service, she'll give a full refund.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The Grand Grimoire, a crystal that, when shattered, absorbs all life (human, plant, and so on) within a thousand meters into itself to repair itself, with the exception of the person responsible for breaking it. [[spoiler:Glenn activates it without knowing its purpose]] in the prologue, and it soon after ends up in the hands of Valandis' leaders as a weapon of war.

* EarlyGameHell: The early game is ''brutal,'' largely as a result of Kylian being your best healer. His healing ability is potent, but it only targets one character - most enemies and every boss have at least one group attack that hits all party members. Combined with most boosts to stats coming from gear and not level-ups, and it's difficult to get a good HP, defense, or mind score for a while. You do get a group-heal ability from the Cleric class, but it is ''weak,'' and you have to master it before you can spread it to other members of your party. Victor getting Healing Hymn is about the point where the game softens up, but the Flower Fields of Perpetua still stand out as one of, if not '''the,''' hardest areas in the game, even with Healing Hymn, largely because of the sheer damage output of the King Owls, Sporemen, and Scorpions. It's not until sidequests open up and [[WhiteMagicianGirl Amalia]] joins the party that the game calms down a bit.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: Every character has an "ultimate" weapon, which requires first obtaining a "rusty" weapon via exploring dangerous areas or completing hard challenges, then obtaining a Soul of Farnese through similarly-hard challenges, and then actually combining them to unlock their potential at a special smithy only unlocked close to the end of TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. There's a Steam Achievement awarded for collecting all twelve.

* PragmaticVillainy: Norgant has a grudge against Sienna for defeating him during the party split segment, but he decides not to pick a fight with the party, since he realizes that he could make a bigger profit by selling his Seraph Armor to them for 50000 arcs. This works against him, since he doesn't realize just how unique and powerful the Seraph Armor is, causing him to sell it for less than it's truly worth.

* GuideDangIt: During the mission [[spoiler:to save Amalia]], if you complete the entire mission while avoiding all non-mandatory fights, you will get a Healer's RAM for your Sky Armors. Issue is, it never actually tells you that there's a reward if you can avoid all enemies. The only hint you have that something might be available is the fact that there are roundabout paths that let you bypass the enemies. And worse, this is the only place in the game you can actually get the Healer's RAM.

* HardModePerks: Due to Tomke's canning mechanic requiring the player to get the enemy's HP below a certain threshold, it can be advantageous to increase enemy stats in the difficulty settings in order to use this mechanic on early game enemies.

* DifficultySettings: In the options menu, there are separate settings for Overdrive Area Size (Wide, Normal, Extra Tight), Enemy Stats (Low, Normal, High), and Aggressiveness (Low, Normal, High).