History VideoGame / IAmStillAlive

* BonusBoss: There are two in Act One.
** [[spoiler:Rotten Hardale]], found in the [[spoiler:Fume Tomb]], which by itself is a hidden area accessed through the [[spoiler:Realm Beyond Life]]. Its expansion of the story aside, the window of time to fight this boss is small, and it can be quite a challenge due to inflicting the "Dying" status effect so early. If the player can manage to defeat it, they will be rewarded with multiple [[spoiler:Hardale's Bottles]], which can make the boss fights against the Peacemaker and the [[spoiler:Old Hero]] ''much'' easier.
** [[spoiler:Fear]], found in the Veril Spire area by taking a certain route in the first warping puzzle. Serves as one way to acquire the 6 of Hearts/Spades/Clubs cards, the only other way being to purchase them from [[spoiler:Gaile after returning to the destroyed Mansion -- a section that can also, potentially, be missed entirely]]. This boss also serves as a reward to players who play on the standard difficulty level, as he does not appear in the game's Leisure Mode.

* BonusBoss: There are two in Act Three.
** [[spoiler:Synnuel, the People's King, who is revealed to have killed every single demon in the trap he was lured into, and starved to death just as his nemesis Arman did. He is able to be fought because of Ofien's revival of the old kingdoms.]]
** [[spoiler:The Twin Grey Warriors, a double boss fight. They're located in the hidden Grey Kingdom, having been given orders by Lady Ranhei (the wife of the Demon King, Rosem) to build a kingdom on neutrality, to give people a haven to avoid the conflict. For unknown reasons, they both perished, but were revived by Ofien along with the other kingdoms.]]

* BonusBoss: There's only one in Act Four, but it's easily the most difficult fight in the game: the [[spoiler:Crimson Prophet, Yona's horribly deformed brother]]. However, the fight can only be accessed by [[spoiler:activating five hidden switches in Act Three]].

* BigBad: While the extent to which he is "bad" is debatable, [[spoiler:Chauncey Avis]] a.k.a. [[spoiler:Chance]] is arguably the reason that the world is in such a sorry state. Even if you believe Emily's way of justifying it- that the Entity would've caused what [[spoiler:Chance]]'s deal resulted in regardless of how cooperative the latter was, it's undeniable that [[spoiler:his daughter Olivia]] suffered for quite some time due to him.

** [[spoiler:Rotten Hardale]], found in the [[spoiler:Fume Tomb]], which by itself is a hidden area accessed through the [[spoiler:Realm Beyond Life]]. Its expansion of the story aside, the window of time to fight this boss is small, and it can be quite a challenge due to inflicting the "Dying" status effect so early. If the player can manage to defeat it, they will be rewarded with multiple [[spoiler:Hardale's Bottles]], which can make the boss fights against the Peacemaker and the [[spoiler:Old Hero]] 'much' easier.
** [[spoiler:Fear]], found in the Veril Spire area by taking a certain route in the first warping puzzle. Serves as one way to acquire the 6 of Hearts/Spades/Clubs cards, the only other way being to purchase them from [[spoiler:Gaile after returning to the destroyed Mansion- a section that can also, potentially, be missed entirely]]. This boss also serves as a reward to players who play on the standard difficulty level, as he does not appear in the game's Leisure Mode.

* FauxActionGirl: [[spoiler:Emily]] is this. She proclaims herself a heroine, and claims that she's going to "save the world" (and is mocked for it, as many consider this to be a childish desire.) It turns out that she's [[spoiler:actually very insecure]], and wasn't taking things seriously enough. She begins to doubt herself after losing a battle against [[spoiler:the Entity]] just after starting her "journey." She eventually regains her confidence, but still relies on her allies to boost her morale for her to be capable of heroic acts.
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:Skip]]. While he's very hostile towards Emily initially, if the player finds all of his hidden rooms, he reveals through a letter that he only acted harsh to prevent her from getting attached, as he knew he was dying. As an apology and last act of kindness, he offers Emily his Faith, allowing the Argentum Fidei to grow stronger.

* HardWorkHardlyWorks: While there's no doubt that Emily has some degree of power herself, the only way she's able to survive what her twisted world throws at her is through abusing the world's distorted reality, creating choices out of thin-air and allowing herself to [[spoiler:teleport]] through "Faith." Faith is also what fuels her sword, the Argentum Fidei, which grows in size and strength with every bit of Faith Emily acquires. These growths are immense, adding a very large amount of power to the sword with each rank increase. As of right now, it's unknown how [[spoiler:she has such a large amount of Faith stored up]] when most of the population is deceased or has gone completely insane- not even Osilus, a wise scholar who seems to have knowledge on all things Faith and Warden-related.

* MysteriousBacker: [[spoiler:Pearce]]. While he can be seen stalking Emily and co. throughout the Veril Spire, he doesn't do anything to hinder their progress- in fact, he only does the opposite, breaking open a locked door in the library to allow the group to reach Egon and, eventually, stepping in to save the lives of Emily and Chance. His reasons for doing so are kept under tight wraps, though, and after the reveal that he [[spoiler:manipulated Emily completely and successfully predicted all of her actions]], it becomes doubtful that he doesn't have his own agenda.
* SadBattleMusic: The fight against the final boss of Act One,[[spoiler:Chance]] has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVttj49XU5c "Alone" and its short intro, "The Last Fight"]] for the first phase. It's somewhat upbeat, showing just how determined both Emily and her opponent are- but this only makes it all the more sad once you realize that both potential outcomes of the fight are tragic. Either [[spoiler:Chance, a man who lost his home, his wife, all of his friends (or so he believes,) and his daughter, will die]], or [[spoiler:his daughter's tormented soul will continue to suffer for an eternity, and Chance will be even more hopeless and guilt-ridden than before]].

** To a lesser extent, the song that plays for the fight against [[spoiler:Lyght's deranged mentor, Grand Paladin Egon]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-08cF7hg_I "To Battle"]], is a mixture of an intense orchestral battle theme and a melancholy violin/choir duet. It emphasizes how powerful [[spoiler:Egon]] was before losing his sanity, without glossing over the tragedy of his descent into madness. It doesn't help that his "Diagnosis" flavor text reflects on the irony of his nickname, [[spoiler:"Unbreakable Egon"]], and the fact that he inflicts a status effect on himself called [[spoiler:"Unbreakable"]] in one last desperate attempt to protect his Queen. This is made even 'more' tragic when it's later revealed that the Queen he was trying so hard to protect [[spoiler:was actually the one he was attacking with an axe- Emily]].
* SecretCharacter: [[spoiler:Skip]], who can be found in three separate hidden rooms throughout the first act. Each room only becomes accessible after you find the previous room (and exhaust all of the character's dialogue.) It's heavily implied that [[spoiler:Skip is Bradley Skipper, Chance's old business partner. Turns out he survived after all, using his own device to escape in what could be considered an act of betrayal to his partner.]]
* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: The Bearer's Lid accessory is a rare drop from the Crown Bearer enemy in Veril. It grants the highest defensive boost in the game, adding 6 points to both the Tolerance and Persistence stats. Once Osilus and Lyght depart from your party immediately following the fight against Egon- in which they could ''definitely'' benefit from having that accessory equipped, the accessory is lost. Luckily, if the player found all of [[spoiler:Skip's rooms]], they'll have [[spoiler:Skip's Hat]] as an effective replacement.

* TearsOfRemorse: [[spoiler:Chance]], after explaining why he can't bring himself to do the right thing and end [[spoiler: his daughter's]] pain.
* TragicVillain: [[spoiler:Chance]]. While his actions led to the forced insanity of [[spoiler:all but a handful of people in the entire world]], it can be debated that he was only a pawn in a much greater scheme, as Emily herself believes. His only motivation was to [[spoiler:save his daughter, the only source of happiness left in his life after losing his wife, home, and friends.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Pades]].

* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler:Wendel]]. Though his methods were very extreme, he reveals to Rade after he is defeated that he never intended to assist the [[spoiler:corrupt Wardens]] after all, instead having his own agenda which just so happened to match that of Rade's original task- saving the Queen.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Rade]] kills [[spoiler:Jasmin]] out of belief that she's actively harming innocents- and he's not wrong, but he himself begins to question whether or not he could have prevented her death by simply trying a bit harder to understand her situation.

* OldFriend: A common theme in this act. Rade and Vera's relationship is the greatest example- the two were best friends throughout childhood, and their reunion scene makes that very clear.

* [[PlotParallel Plot Parallel]]: Act Two's general theme is based on parallels to Act One, but with each one having a few key differences.
** Both acts start in ||spoiler:the same location with a different name||.
** You wind up with three main party members in the end, but this is only after [[spoiler:two other party members, Allen and Jasmin, die.]]
** The protagonist is emotionally insecure, a fact they have difficulty talking about. Unlike Emily, who feels insecure due to not remembering anything about her life, Rade [[spoiler:remembers too much, and is weighed down by his past tragedies.]]

** The last party member you acquire is more "edgy", having reservations about the main character's journey. Unlike Lyght, however, [[spoiler:Wendel is only keeping up a facade, and is giving his all to do so, to the point where he must be fought prior to recruiting him.]] In the end, Lyght storms off angrily, but Wendel [[spoiler:remains by Rade's side as the latter dies, regretting that he couldn't do more.]]
** There is an enigmatic "observer" character in both acts, but unlike Skip from the first act, Eivad is not "hidden" around the world- she just has shady mannerisms.
** Both acts include a fight that can be considered the final "challenge", an encounter that is not the final boss, but is harder than the actual final boss. In the first act, this is [[spoiler:Grand Paladin Egon]], and in the second it is [[spoiler:Warden Pades.]] The main difference here is that [[spoiler:Pades is set up to resemble a final boss, only for it to be revealed that the one calling out to Rade all along was the lost king, August Mercer.]]
** Both acts end with the protagonist alone having to fight [[spoiler:a distraught father, in the form of Chance in the first act, and the late King August in the second.]] Unlike the first act, however, in Act Two [[spoiler:August cannot be saved or spared, and losing the final boss fight does not result in a game over. The end result is the same, to emphasize that August was not entirely wrong.]]
** Both acts' main protagonists undergo some sort of identity/appearance change by the end. Emily [[spoiler:recalls her true name, Amelia, and her eye colour changes to reflect this.]] Rade takes on the title of [[spoiler:Cinder]], gains a few scars on his cheek for his trouble, and has his hair stained with ash.
** Both acts' main protagonists [[spoiler:die before the end of the act.]] Rade is different in that he doesn't [[spoiler:return to life until Emily comes along, and they're revived together.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Allen, revealed to be the Warden Alain]]. He used his abilities to infiltrate the ranks of some powerful humans, specifically [[spoiler:the Council, by serving as Gattran's advisor]]. Rade's appearance in Anilles complicated his plans, leading him to [[spoiler:fake his own death, only to return later and kill Rade]].
** You could also consider [[spoiler:Jasmin]] this, who is serving [[spoiler:the Wardens]] and has no qualms about defying orders or endangering the lives of others if it is necessary. As it turns out, [[spoiler:there wasn't really anyone for her to fight for in the first place. The last living Warden is Acacius, and even he eventually stopped lending her power, allowing Rade to kill her for the sake of preserving humanity.]] In the end, Rade considers her life (and its abrupt end) to be a tragedy, becoming inspired by [[spoiler:Jasmin]] to do more for the people rather than resenting her for her betrayal.
* TragicVillain: [[spoiler:Pades.]] Consumed by sorrows thanks to [[spoiler:the Entity]], a feeling of hatred began to grow inside of him that he admitted, in the end, made no sense to him. The former [[spoiler:protector of humanity]] realized that he'd been manipulated only minutes before his death, calling out to his old friend, [[spoiler:Acacius]], in an attempt to apologize for his actions- but the latter had already left.

* ActionGirl: One of Aurum's first actions with the party is advising Theodore to make a strategic retreat, but later goes on to [[spoiler:''punch'' a hydra and pacify the animal without killing it.]]

** A minor one is [[spoiler:Marten, Theodore's old servant who was thought to have been killed during the war between Soreit and the Nameless South.]] His induction into the party is rocky, especially if the player chooses to fight fire with fire and threaten him back, but he's rather pleased to be a part of it at first. However, due to his disdain for the Prelude to Dusk, he's outraged if Theodore [[spoiler:spares Tiaeusti's life.]] If the player does so, [[spoiler:Marten will abandon the party after the fight with Ofien,]] and will not be seen for the rest of the act. This can be prevented by [[spoiler:getting all of the Bond Heart conversations with Aurum and Marten, as Aurum will introduce Marten to her idea of mercy, something he slowly comes to respect and take inspiration from.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Cranford, the bodyguard outside of the Gazers' chapel in Deadleaf Village. He's very cold to the party initially, but if Theodore helps out the Gazers' leader Wilhelm, he'll give the party [[spoiler:Marten's ultimate weapon,]] knowing that the reward received from Wilhelm likely had little practical use. He then asks the party to stay safe, and continues to show some degree of concern later when a [[spoiler:Sorrow-ridden Theodore is brought to the chapel unconscious.]]

** The battle against [[spoiler:Southpaw, Theodore's big brother figure and your party member,]] is accompanied by "Noble Execution," which is fast-paced and semi-chaotic while also maintaining an air of sadness, symbolizing the abrupt nature of [[spoiler:the sacrifice Southpaw is trying to make.]]

* TalkingAnimal: Acacius and [[spoiler:his later form, @%#38$&.]]
** Also applies to [[spoiler:Ofien after having taken the form of Acacius.]]

* BonusBoss: There's only one in Act Four, but it's easily the most difficult fight in the game: the [[spoiler:Crimson Prophet, Yona's horribly deformed brother.]] However, the fight can only be accessed by [[spoiler:activating five hidden switches in Act Three.]]

There are also "Intermission" videos released between acts, although each one is typically tied strongly to the most recently released act. Only one is currently released, taking place betweeen acts one and two. Intermissions can be viewed on [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsply8Nw6eiUuPg21ANZNGw MollyAvast's YouTube channel]].

** A minor one is [[spoiler:Marten, Theodore's old servant who was thought to have been killed during the war between Soreit and the Nameless South.]] His induction into the party is rocky, especially if the player chooses to fight fire with fire and threaten him back, but he's rather pleased to be a part of it at first. However, due to his disdain for the Prelude to Dusk, he's outraged if Theodore [[spoiler:spares Tiaeusti's life.]] If the player does so, [[spoiler:Marten will abandon the party after the fight with Ofien,]] and will not be seen for the rest of the act. This can be prevented by [[getting all of the Bond Heart conversations with Aurum and Marten, as Aurum will introduce Marten to her idea of mercy, something he slowly comes to respect and take inspiration from.]]

'I Am Still Alive' is an VideoGame/RPGMaker game developed by [=MollyAvast=], and released in episodes (or "acts") from September 29, 2018 to August 22nd, 2019. The full game can be [[FreewareGames freely]] downloaded on its [[https://www.indiedb.com/games/i-am-still-alive IndieDB]] page.