History VideoGame / Momodora

* BowAndSwordInAccord: Kaho wields both a holy leaf [[ArcherArchetype and a bow]]. Later on you also fight a boss who is assisted by an archer.

* ExcusePlot: Depending on the game. ''I'' and ''III'', which are more linear, have straightforward plots (venture into the caves of the Underworld Queen Lamia to resurrect Isadora's mother, and defeat the Death Goddess Rell to save Dora's village, respectively), while ''II'' and ''Reverie'', which are {{metroidvania}}s, have more involved plots.

* DropTheHammer: Bakrog Demon wields a giant hammer.

* ArrangeMode: Beating the game unlocks arrange mode with its most prominent feature flipping the entire map and turning the Sacred Leaf's combo finisher back to an overhead swing.

* CastFromHitPoints: Equipping The Living Blood sigil allows Momo to fire a 10% damage RazorWind at the cost of 1% max hp per swing.

** [[spoiler:After Selin takes down Momo at the start of his final phase, Dora steps in to take out one of his eyes to give Momo time to get back up]].

* StormOfBlades: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. The Magic Blade and Phantasm Blade sigils give a chance for magical blades to rain down on enemies after a melee attack.

* UniqueProtagonistAsset: The reason Momo is the protagonist this time instead of Dora is because [[spoiler:Momo trusts the great white serpent and undergoes the Lunar Attunement ritual which givers her the power to stand up to the moon gods. Dora is skeptical of the serpent and ends up knocked out once Lineth and Selin unleash their full power]].

* WarpWhistle: Upon entering the Demon Frontier properly, Momo will meet Mitchi who offers to warp Momo between zones.

* ArrangeMode: Beating the game unlocks arrange mode with its most prominent feature flipping the entire map.

** One of the preview screenshots shows an enormous [[PointyEars elf-eared]] woman about 3-4 stories tall with a prodigious bust in a regal-looking dress, addressed by Momo as "Your highness".
** One of the bosses in the reveal trailer is "Viper Archdemon Sorrelia", a huge [[SnakePeople snake-woman]] who looks to be over 50 feet long. [[WorldOfBuxom She also has enormous breasts.]]

* KingMook: One of the bosses shown in the trailer is the Very Big Spider, a humongous and rather creepy version of the [[UniqueEnemy spider]] enemy[=/=]merchant that can be found in ''III'' and ''Reverie''.

* BreakingOldTrends: Unlike Reverie and Minoria, there are no hitless boss rewards this time.

''Momodora'', created by [[http://www.bombservice.com/rdein/ rdein of Bombservice,]] is a 2010 [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] PlatformGame about Isadora Doraline, a maiden who explores a set of caves belonging to the Underworld Queen Lamia in search of a way to bring her mother, who was sacrificed to recreate the world, back to life. Initially grasping only a green magic leaf as a weapon, Isadora quickly finds weapons, one-eyed enemies, and treasures strewn about. The game, as the developer puts it, is inspired by other classics such as ''Franchise/MegaMan'', ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'', ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', and ''[[Franchise/TheLegendofZelda Zelda]]''. It is tough, too: Isadora can take only five hits before dying and she can only refill health at save crystals between each level.

''Momodora III'', which was released on itch.io and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} in 2014, features both Momo and Isadora as playable characters, travelling towards Hell to defeat the Death Goddess Rell, the one responsible for the creatures who have been terrorizing their village. The game has 6 linear levels rather than being a metroidvania, but the player can warp back to cleared levels and there's plenty of hidden items that can be equipped for special effects.

A fourth game named ''Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight'' was released in March 2016 for PC, and became the first instalment in the series to be ported to home consoles: UsefulNotes/PS4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne in 2017, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2019. Featuring a metroidvania set-up once more, it is a prequel about Kaho, a priestess who's on a quest to cleanse the corruption coming from the kingdom of Karst. It has [[https://www.patreon.com/rdein an account at Patreon]].

A fifth game in 3D was once in development, but it was cancelled in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcYzzPtCrII favor of]] 2019's ''{{VideoGame/Minoria}}'', a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Reverie Under the Moonlight''. In 2021, a 2D entry called ''Momodora: Moonlit Farewell'' was then announced as the final one in the series. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkRtc8uKV_M Trailer]].

* BladeOnAStick: Prim and Poetelia wield spears.

** One of the preview screenshots shows an enormous [[PointyEars elf-eared]] woman about 3-4 stories tall with [[GagBoobs a prodigious bust]] in a regal-looking dress, addressed by Momo as "Your highness".

* SpeedRun: Each of the first three games can be beaten in about 10 to 20 minutes. The fourth one is much longer.

* BalefulPolymorph: One of the witch bosses in level 3 can turn the player into a harmless rabbit.

* {{Meganekko}}: Melilot wears her glasses to look cute.

* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler:[[RogueProtagonist Isodora]]]] is the new Underworld Queen. The readme for the game flat-out tells you this, despite basically spoiling the ending of the original game.

* SpeedRun: Each of the three games can be beaten in about 10 to 20 minutes.

* SummonMagic: Clearing the first Lubella battle (including the section with Moka) without taking any damage will award you the Bakman Patch, which summons an avalanche of Bakmen (the blocky spine-like enemies) to rain down on a considerable portion of the screen a ways ahead of wherever Kaho is facing. As this attack ignores walls and ceilings, it's [[SequenceBreaking useful for circumventing conventional roadbloacks,]] like hitting switches beyond a wall that you normally'd have to take a roundabout way to reach. [[DungeonBypass This lets you skip half of the final dungeon, for example.]]

* ExcusePlot: Depending on the game. ''I'' and ''III'', which are more linear, have straightforward plots (venture into the caves of the Underworld Queen Lamia to resurrect Isadora's mother, and defeat the Death Goddess Rell to save Dora's village, respectively), while ''II'' and ''Reverie'', which are {{metroidvania}}s, have more involved plots.

* SuddenlyVoiced: Isadora, the HeroicMime of the first game, is given dialogue in the sequel. [[spoiler:It's likely to provide closure to the first game's plot.]] Then she goes back to being a HeroicMime in the third game.

* StandardStatusEffects: Kaho can get poisoned (constant HP loss) or cursed (unable to use items).

A fifth game in 3D was once in development, but it was cancelled in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcYzzPtCrII favor of]] 2019's ''{{VideoGame/Minoria}}'', a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Reverie Under the Moonlight''. In 2021, a 2D entry called ''Momodora: Moonlit Farewell'' was then announced as the final one in the series.

* {{Animorphism}}: In ''Reverie'', Kaho can earn the ability to turn into a cat. In cat form she can still attack and is able to jump higher but cannot use items, shoot arrows or climb ladders. It is, however, the only way to travel through those small, tight corridors that Kaho occasionally comes across. In particular, this is necessary to upgrade the Maple Leaf in order to get the True Ending.

* AscendedExtra: Kaho was first seen in ''Momodora II'' as one of the statues Momo needs to pray to and then in ''III'' when the heroines travel to the past to help her slay Haegok.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Lubella, the Witch of Decay, is a giantess large enough that only her head, shoulders, and bust can fit on-screen.
* BadBoss: Lubella has minions who search for sources of life force for her to take, but she has little concern for them.
* BadassAdorable: Kaho is the cutest thing, both as a girl and as a cat. And she can cleave her way through hordes of demons like they're nothing, also both as a girl and as a cat.
* BackgroundBoss: Lubella Dim, the Witch of Decay, and the Queen's [[OneWingedAngel final form]].
* BalefulPolymorph: Kaho's transformation into a cat was presumably intended to be this. Fortunately, she promptly finds an artifact that allows her to change forms at will.
* BarefistedMonk: Lupiar, perhaps to further contrast Cath.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:The Accurst Queen of Karst]] is the source of the corruption of the kingdom of Karst.

* BonusBoss: Beating Archpriestess Choir is not required for the plot, but gives you an achievement (and a powerful magical item if you do it without getting hit).

** Inverted with Pardoner Fennel, who does not live up to her name in the slightest, and practically attacks Kaho on sight just because she ''suspects'' she might be allied to the Queen. [[PoorCommunicationKills Had she let Kaho say a single word in her defense, she would've discovered that they have the exact same goal.]]
** And playing the trope straight again, you have Archpriestess Choir (Fennel's elder sister), who actively serves the demon-possessed Queen while still keeping up a facade of faith.
* CrazyCatLady: Subverted. Cotillard may have a small army of cats, but she is clearly one of the sanest people remaining in Karst.
* CreepyCentipedes: Arthropod Demon Edea.

* DeadAllAlong: Askorn, as the player will find if they talk to him in the Subterranean Grave, has actually been dead the whole time and so is the wife he went to look for in Karst. Ghosts of the dead can roam the world of the living normally thanks to the curse choking the land. Given their similar designs, it's possible the various shopkeepers are the same.
* DealWithTheDevil: Cotillard states that the Queen's condition is the result of a pact with the Underworld and that her evil may not be of her own will.

* DualBoss: The boss battle against Duchess Lupiar and Royal Hunter Magnolia is half-this, half-SequentialBoss. You fight Lupiar on the ground while Magnolia periodically shoots arrows from a balcony, so while you are technically fighting both at once, you can only damage Lupiar. Once she dies, Magnolia drops down to the ground and attempts to stab you to death with her hunting knife.
** Inverted with the boss of the Cinder Chambers, where Kaho and Cath double-team the Heretical Arsonist.
* DuelBoss: Pardoner Fennel is clearly intended to be this considering she is the only boss who actually fights you head on with a sword, even having her own ranged attack to mirror your bow.

* FallenHero: The Queen used to be a good and noble ruler. Some residents of Karst are unable to come to terms with the fact that those days are long gone.
* FisherKing: When the Queen became corrupted, her entire kingdom became infested by her evil. And then it started spreading even further...
* FissionMailed: After defeating Lubella for good, she explodes on Kaho and the screen fades out as if it was a Game Over. Then Kaho inexplicably wakes up locked in a nearby dungeon, cursed into the form of a cat.

* FlunkyBoss: Derelict Frida occasionally summons two ghost dog mooks by her sides.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: The BigBad is the possessed Queen of Karst.
* {{Gag boobs}}: Lubella has a ''massive'' couple of "hitboxes".

* GuestStarPartyMember: Cath assists you in fighting the Heretical Arsonist. Or rather, ''you'' assist Cath with the Arsonist, since you actually stumble into their fight midway, as the Arsonist already starts the battle with a portion of her health gone.
** And the best way to carry this battle out is to stay a few paces behind Cath and pelt the boss with your arrows, [[CallBack just like how Kaho, as the guest, did against Haegok in the third game.]]
* HadesShaded: A recurring theme with those corrupted by dark intentions, apparently; [[spoiler:the Queen of Karst]], in stark contrast to [[UndeathlyPallor Lubella,]], has her whole skin turned pitch-black due to the powerful corruption enveloping her. [[spoiler:It fades away once Kaho purifies her in the True Ending.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Kaho purges the evil in the Queen by absorbing it into herself, which causes her to fade away]] in the good ending.
** In the bad ending, however, [[spoiler: it turns into a SenselessSacrifice, with the Queen overpowering and killing Kaho before dying herself.]]
* IdleAnimation: Kaho gets bored really easily, it seems. The time it takes for her bow to fully charge up is enough for her to yawn. This leads to some hilarious moments where Kaho yawns in the middle of a boss battle (this can happen, for example, while waiting for Lubella's orbs to fall down), as if to tell the boss to get on with it already, or to let them know she's not impressed.
** As a cat, she falls soundly asleep instead.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: Who fights using a '''leaf''' of all things?
* KingIncognito: It's mildly implied that [[spoiler:--Eri--]] may in fact be the Princess of Karst, as Kaho can receive an item from said character that is said to be given only to infants descended from the royal bloodline.

* MirrorBoss: Pardoner Fennel. Like Kaho, she's an agile fighter who mixes sword skills with long range fire (in her case, with lightning magic) and is also a member of a religious group, her goals driven by her faith. She also serves as a {{Foil}} of sorts to Kaho, as Fennel has given in to her hatred and fear to [[ParanoiaFuel view everyone outside of her convent's faithful as potential enemies and spies in service of the Queen]], while Kaho is cordial and open to others unless she is attacked. The two ironically come to blows due to Fennel's paranoia, despite the fact that Kaho could have been Fennel's single greatest ally in purging the very evil she reviled.

* NoSell: A few enemies are immune to arrows, such as the knight miniboss in Karst City and the Owl miniboss in Karst Castle. The only boss immune to arrows is Duchess Lupiar, and because of this the fight can be a harsh one for players who relied on their arrows for most of the game.

* OjouLaugh: Lubella strikes the pose when she laughs at you during her boss fight.
* OneHandedZweihander Cath's weapon is a large broadswoard at least as long as she is tall, and she doesn't seem to have problems swinging it around.
* OneWingedAngel: The Queen of Karst turns into a gigantic monstrosity in a last-ditch attempt to kill Kaho (only in the good ending).
* OurLichesAreDifferent: The Witch of Decay, Lubella, is a horned giantess who wants to take over the throne of Karst.

* PoisonousPerson: Anthropod Demon Edea uses poison attacks. If you kill her without taking any hits, she also drops a pearl that coats your arrows in poison.
* PoseOfSupplication: Choir collapses and begins praying to her god when low on health. Once the final blow is struck, she dies in despair while repeatedly punching the floor.

* RecurringBoss: Lubella is fought twice, once in Karst City (where she teleports away after the battle) and then in Whiteleaf Memorial Park (where her [[BigNo reac]][[ThisCannotBe tion]] implies that she's dead for good).

* TakenForGranite: Edea turns to stone when she dies.
* TakingYouWithMe: A milder example - after Kaho kills Lubella for good, she explodes and knocks Kaho out. When the priestess wakes up, she is in a cage and transformed into the shape of a cat. Whether this was Lubella's intention or WildMagic being uncontrollably released as she died is unknown.
** In the DownerEnding, [[spoiler:the Queen of Karst does this to Kaho when the latter is unable to purge the Queen's corruption.]] On the other hand, in the True Ending, [[spoiler:Kaho does it to the Queen's corruption instead.]]

* TrickBoss: At Karst, Kaho meets a bakman named Moka who isn't too much of a threat. After some fighting, Lubella swoops in as the real boss.
* TurnsRed: A few bosses do this:
** Edea herself doesn't gain any new attacks or change patterns, but the floor immediately in front of the barrier blocking the entrance to the boss arena begins expelling poison gas periodically once she gets low on health, towards which Edea attempts to push you.
** Arch Priestess Choir gains a DesperationAttack once she hits half health.
** Pardoner Fennel is perhaps the most visible example. Anytime, once, after she loses around a third of her health, she will cause a brief lull in the fighting where swipes her hand across her blade, with an eerie glow following (she is invincible during this, by the way, so you can't interrupt her or take advantage to sneak some damage in). This is to show that she's not holding back anymore. She will now attack more aggressively, add a FinishingMove to her standard combo (which both increases her travel distance and tracks your position) and all her sword-based moves receive a huge power boost (with said FinishingMove being one of the most damaging moves in the game).
* VideoGameCaringPotential: You don't get anything in return, but by talking to Askorn in the Sacred Ordalia Grove, he gains the courage to venture into Karst to search for his wife. He gets jailed, but if you then free him, he finally finds his wife Cecilia[[spoiler:'s grave in Whiteleaf Memorial Park. Realizing his wife never crossed back to the world of the living, Askorn [[TogetherInDeath departs to rejoin his wife in the afterlife.]]]]

* UndeathlyPallor: Lubella has grey skin.
* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: Kaho can dodge enemies and attacks by rolling. One upgrade also allows her to air dash.

* WaifFu: Pardoner Fennel stands out from the other human bosses with her fast and graceful fighting style, [[SheFu featuring skyward leaps, spins, twirls and much backflipping,]] while still hitting like a damn truck.
* WhipItGood: The Heretical Arsonist will attack with a flaming whip if you wander too close to her.

* OneWingedAngel: Lamia's second form is Cheeoko, a giant white ball with a friendly face and a evil red eye on its bottom that is rather reminiscent of Zero Two from ''Kirby 64''. [[TurnsRed It gets angry]] once its health is low.

* BadassBoast: Eri drops these when you fight her.

* RogueProtagonist: [[spoiler:Isadora is the new Underworld Queen.]]