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''Starshot: Space Circus Fever'' is a 1998 action platformer game for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and PC developed by Creator/{{Infogrames}}.
to:
''Starshot: Space Circus Fever'' is a 1998 action platformer game for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 Platform/Nintendo64 and PC developed by Creator/{{Infogrames}}.
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* ThePerfectionist: Technomummy is a planet of flawless technology... with a musuem of malfunctioning devices that people sick of the machines' perpetual aid are hysterically enjoying, such as a dripping faucet, a cold shower, an ATM machine that eats cards and the coveted Malfunction Machine that does everything wrong. By the end, the so-called perfect robots decide to wipe all of that off and replace the brains of their masters to turn them perfect as well.
to:
* ThePerfectionist: Technomummy is a planet of flawless technology... with a musuem museum of malfunctioning devices that people sick of the machines' perpetual aid are hysterically enjoying, such as a dripping faucet, a cold shower, an ATM machine that eats cards and the coveted Malfunction Machine that does everything wrong. By the end, the so-called perfect robots decide to wipe all of that off and replace the brains of their masters to turn them perfect as well.
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** On Primitron Starshot must chase a pink robot around to push it towards trees that must be watered to grow and be used as catapults, bridges and platforms. At certain spots, tourists must be pushed into the abyss to keep them from driving the robot away.
to:
** On Primitron Primitron, Starshot must chase a pink robot around to push it towards trees that must be watered to grow and be used as catapults, bridges and platforms. At certain spots, tourists must be pushed into the abyss to keep them from driving the robot away.
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* FlameSpewerObstacle: There are surface-mounted flamethrowers that shoot out jets of flame. Player needs to find a way to deactivate these.
to:
* FlameSpewerObstacle: There are surface-mounted flamethrowers on Virtua Circus that shoot out jets of flame. Player The player needs to find guide a way robot around to deactivate these.
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* FlameSpewerObstacle: There are surface-mounted flamethrowers that shoot out jets of flame. Player needs to find a way to deactivate these.
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TRS wick cleanup
— Camera Screw has been redefined and its original meaning moved to Event Obscuring Camera, both YMMV
— Camera Screw has been redefined and its original meaning moved to Event Obscuring Camera, both YMMVDeleted line(s) 22 (click to see context) :
* CameraScrew: The game's camera is very, ''very'' flawed and will often make sudden motions on its own or get stuck on scenery. In the PC version you can only turn it while standing still, which is very inconvenient when multiple enemies are involved.
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* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Despite saving the Space Circus ship, Starshot is captured]] '''[[spoiler:offscreen]]''' [[spoiler:after having seemingly defeated Wolfgang, who then swears revenge on Starcash after driving him off with a message from a Starshot hologram]].
to:
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Despite saving the Space Circus ship, Starshot is captured]] '''[[spoiler:offscreen]]''' [[spoiler:after captured '''offscreen''' after having seemingly defeated Wolfgang, who then swears revenge on Starcash after driving him off with a message from a Starshot hologram]].
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** There are [[https://www.speedrun.com/starshot/thread/g0bdd a number of glitches and mechanic exploits]] to skip huge chunks of the game, such as triggering the Robot That Watches TV without clearing Killer Expo, enabling the final EventFlag of Ultimacrash by jumping into the last checkpoint or jumping over the laser walls at Earth to skip the entire level.
to:
** There are [[https://www.speedrun.com/starshot/thread/g0bdd a number of glitches and mechanic exploits]] to skip huge chunks of the game, such as triggering the Robot That Watches TV without clearing even entering Killer Expo, enabling the final EventFlag of Ultimacrash by jumping into the last checkpoint or jumping over the laser walls at Earth to skip the entire level.
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* SequenceBreaking:
** The ability to fly with Willfly can be exploited to skip some setpieces.
** There are [[https://www.speedrun.com/starshot/thread/g0bdd a number of glitches and mechanic exploits]] to skip huge chunks of the game, such as triggering the Robot That Watches TV without clearing Killer Expo, enabling the final EventFlag of Ultimacrash by jumping into the last checkpoint or jumping over the laser walls at Earth to skip the entire level.
** The ability to fly with Willfly can be exploited to skip some setpieces.
** There are [[https://www.speedrun.com/starshot/thread/g0bdd a number of glitches and mechanic exploits]] to skip huge chunks of the game, such as triggering the Robot That Watches TV without clearing Killer Expo, enabling the final EventFlag of Ultimacrash by jumping into the last checkpoint or jumping over the laser walls at Earth to skip the entire level.
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----
to:
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* BlackComedy: The game revolves around this, with every planet visited by Starshot being some hilariously horrible place to be in. Even the bleak Earth level has moments of this once it is stated that the Martians destroyed the planet on a whim just to imitate mankind's alien invasion movies, which they still watch on the big screen as the hero moves across a ruined city.
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----
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* PressXToDie: While walking over the Virtua Circus' hull, jumping causes Starshot to fly off into the cold vaccum of space. The game doesn't warn of this beforehand at all.
to:
* PressXToDie: While walking over the Virtua Circus' hull, jumping causes Starshot to fly off into the cold vaccum vacuum of space. The game doesn't warn of this beforehand at all.
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----
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!! Tropes featured in ''Starshot: Space Circus Fever'':
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Chekov's Gun
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* ChekovsGun: The scanners used by Virtua Circus to record the bird on Primitron is used to scan Starshot during the final fight to create five holograms of him. [[spoiler:Another hologram is used to fool Starcash after Starshot is inexplicably captured after the final battle.]]
to:
* ChekovsGun: ChekhovsGun: The scanners used by Virtua Circus to record the bird on Primitron is used to scan Starshot during the final fight to create five holograms of him. [[spoiler:Another hologram is used to fool Starcash after Starshot is inexplicably captured after the final battle.]]
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The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. Also read [[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nintendo_64_forever/starshot-interview-with-producer-xavier-schon-40-w-t2679.html this interview]] for a look into the game's development and the cancelled 2002 plans for a ''movie''.
to:
The game's cutscenes and soundtrack is are different between the two versions, and the PC one soundtrack [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. Also read [[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nintendo_64_forever/starshot-interview-with-producer-xavier-schon-40-w-t2679.html this interview]] for a look into the game's development and the cancelled 2002 plans for a ''movie''.
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* CameraScrew: The game's camera is very, ''very'' flawed and will often make sudden motions on its own or get stuck on scenery. You can only turn it while standing still, which is very inconvenient when multiple enemies are involved.
to:
* CameraScrew: The game's camera is very, ''very'' flawed and will often make sudden motions on its own or get stuck on scenery. You In the PC version you can only turn it while standing still, which is very inconvenient when multiple enemies are involved.involved.
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Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do remember to set Windows XP [=SP3=] compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers about that at all.
to:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do Also read [[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nintendo_64_forever/starshot-interview-with-producer-xavier-schon-40-w-t2679.html this interview]] for a look into the game's development and the cancelled 2002 plans for a ''movie''.
Do remember to set Windows XP [=SP3=] compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers about that at all.
Do remember to set Windows XP [=SP3=] compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers about that at all.
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None
* AndIMustScream: The manual states Starcash is actually imprisoned inside the control room of Space Circus for some reason.
* CruelTwistEnding: The game ends with [[spoiler:Starshot in captivity from out of nowhere. The implication is that, it being Virtua Circus and all, the final battle didn't actually happen]].
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* SequelHook: The game closes on a particularly annoying cliffhanger as a "THE END?" text crashes over the screen. Guess what, no sequel was ever made.
to:
* SequelHook: The game closes on a particularly annoying cliffhanger as a "THE END?" text crashes over the screen. Guess what, no sequel was ever made.made -- and [[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nintendo_64_forever/starshot-interview-with-producer-xavier-schon-40-w-t2679.html according to the developers]] there ''wasn't'' one in mind at the time to begin with.
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* AllThereInTheManual: There's character info in the manual you don't get in the game proper, such as Starshot being one of multiple Starcrushers, who are meant to be soulless super soldiers. The end of the manual also has hints for a GuideDangIt moment for each level, including the solutions for the first two phases of the final boss.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: Wolfgang has eyes on the end of his thin tentacle arms.
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* ThePerfectionist: Technomummy is a planet of flawless technology... with a musuem of malfunctioning devices that people are hysterically enjoying, such as a dripping faucet, a cold shower, an ATM machine that eats cards and the targetted Malfunction Machine that does everything wrong. By the end, the so-called perfect robots decide to wipe all of that off and replace the brains of their masters to turn them perfect as well.
to:
* ThePerfectionist: Technomummy is a planet of flawless technology... with a musuem of malfunctioning devices that people sick of the machines' perpetual aid are hysterically enjoying, such as a dripping faucet, a cold shower, an ATM machine that eats cards and the targetted coveted Malfunction Machine that does everything wrong. By the end, the so-called perfect robots decide to wipe all of that off and replace the brains of their masters to turn them perfect as well.
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None
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** That [[ActionBomb bomb robot]] from the intergalactic bank? [[spoiler:Actually a Virtua Circus spy all too happy to gobble up the cash from the act towards the end of the story. And then Starshot manages to somehow get himself captured offscreen after the final battle.]]
to:
** That [[ActionBomb bomb robot]] from the intergalactic bank? [[spoiler:Actually a Virtua Circus spy all too happy to gobble up the cash from the act show towards the end of the story. And then Starshot manages to somehow get himself captured offscreen after the final battle.]]
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* HintSystem: There are balloon devices in the first half of the game that give hints on the game's controls and puzzles.
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* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Thankfully there are plenty of checkpoints to alleviate the game's difficuty and flaws, though dying will reset Starshot's ammo and flight fuel.
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* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Thankfully there are plenty of checkpoints to alleviate the game's high difficuty and flaws, though dying will reset Starshot's ammo and flight fuel.
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* PointOfNoReturn: Accessing the final boss prevents the player from returning to Space Circus, and beating the game locks the save file into the ending cutscene, forcing the player to start a new file to play again.
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* SleptThroughTheApocalypse: The last surviving earthling was too busy writing a novel on his basement to notice all the turmoil going on outside, and even after he's told what happened he's only bothered that nobody remains to read his work.
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** That [[ActionBomb bomb robot]] from the intergalactic bank? [[spoiler:Actually a Virtua Circus spy. And then Starshot manages to somehow get himself captured offscreen after the final battle.]]
to:
** That [[ActionBomb bomb robot]] from the intergalactic bank? [[spoiler:Actually a Virtua Circus spy.spy all too happy to gobble up the cash from the act towards the end of the story. And then Starshot manages to somehow get himself captured offscreen after the final battle.]]
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Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do remember to set Windows XP [=SP3=] compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers of that at all.
to:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do remember to set Windows XP [=SP3=] compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers of about that at all.
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None
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do remember to set Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers of that at all.
to:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do remember to set Windows XP SP3 [=SP3=] compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers of that at all.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]].
to:
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]]. And do remember to set Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode on if playing the PC version, as the 2020 release on Steam doesn't warn customers of that at all.
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Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imagem_2021_01_29_221747.png]]
''Starshot: Space Circus Fever'' is a 1998 action platformer game for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and PC developed by Creator/{{Infogrames}}.
The Space Circus led by Starcash is on bad times as they not only are on the verge of a deathly explosive bankruptcy but are also being sabotaged by the Virtua Circus owned by Wolfgang Von Ravel, a nefarious man known for stealing galactical landmarks and eradicating endangered species to charge admission for seeing virtualizations of them.
Former war weapon and juggler Starshot is then sent by Starcash on a journey for valuable items they can use on their circus act to pay off their debts, all while Virtua Circus tails them on every step of the way.
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]].
----
* AfterTheEnd: Earth has been destroyed by an alien invasion and the location Starshot visits is a ruined GhostTown beneath a blood-red sky. It is the most bleak-looking stage in the game with very little comedy until Starshot finds from a duo of pacifist martians what motivated the war.
* AIIsACrapshoot:
** Inverted with the titular hero, who is a war weapon that contracted a virus that gave him a conscience.
** The robots in Technomummy want to replace the brains of their organic masters out of a misguided desire to rid them of their flaws.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Despite saving the Space Circus ship, Starshot is captured]] '''[[spoiler:offscreen]]''' [[spoiler:after having seemingly defeated Wolfgang, who then swears revenge on Starcash after driving him off with a message from a Starshot hologram]].
* BorderPatrol: On Tensuns and Killer Expo, swimming too far will spawn an enemy that will insta-kill Starshot.
* CameraScrew: The game's camera is very, ''very'' flawed and will often make sudden motions on its own or get stuck on scenery. You can only turn it while standing still, which is very inconvenient when multiple enemies are involved.
* {{Cap}}: You can have 8 HP, 50 shots and 40 seconds for flight.
* ChekovsGun: The scanners used by Virtua Circus to record the bird on Primitron is used to scan Starshot during the final fight to create five holograms of him. [[spoiler:Another hologram is used to fool Starcash after Starshot is inexplicably captured after the final battle.]]
* ContinueYourMissionDammit: Starcash chews Starshot and Willfall out if they return from an uncleared mission and then again if they just head back right after.
* CrapsackWorld: Most of the planets seen in the story are some variety of this trope, such as the Killer Expo of war machines, the Ultimacrash populated by ghosts and the post-apocalyptic Earth with a single surviving human.
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Thankfully there are plenty of checkpoints to alleviate the game's difficuty and flaws, though dying will reset Starshot's ammo and flight fuel.
* EscortMission:
** On Primitron Starshot must chase a pink robot around to push it towards trees that must be watered to grow and be used as catapults, bridges and platforms. At certain spots, tourists must be pushed into the abyss to keep them from driving the robot away.
** The gimmick is used again on Virtua Circus, where a robot that makes dog noises must be carefully pushed towards flamethrowers in order to have it deactivate them.
* GottaCatchEmAll: To access Earth, at least 100 Mega Fuel items must be collected in the previous stages. There is no reward for collecting every single one.
* HelpfulMook: The giant bipedal robots on Earth malfunction and help Starshot as platforms if you trick them into detonating the missiles lying on certain spots.
* IdleAnimation: While idle, Starshot will fiddle with those ear things on his costume. After some time, Willfall will complain that he'll get them both killed by loafing around like that.
* KickTheDog: The Surprise Laying Bird that Starshot is sent to capture on Primitron is scanned and then killed by Virtua Circus robots. Wolfgang gloats to Starcash that he delights in exterminating rare creatures so that only virtualizations of them remain to be displayed on his stage.
* MercyInvincibility: [[AvertedTrope Nope]]. Have fun dying to [[CycleOfHurting multiple quick hits]] in a variety of situations.
* MooksButNoBosses: The game has no proper boss fights until Wolfgang on Virtua Circus.
* MurderSimulators: Parodied with the reason why the martians destroyed Earth -- they were influenced by 50's scifi films to create actual war machines and take over the planet ForTheLulz.
* OpeningTheSandbox: After clearing the linear Tensuns and the more complex Killer Expo, Technomummy, Ultimacrash and Primitron can be played in any order.
* ThePerfectionist: Technomummy is a planet of flawless technology... with a musuem of malfunctioning devices that people are hysterically enjoying, such as a dripping faucet, a cold shower, an ATM machine that eats cards and the targetted Malfunction Machine that does everything wrong. By the end, the so-called perfect robots decide to wipe all of that off and replace the brains of their masters to turn them perfect as well.
* PlatformHell: A lot of the game involves platforming on narrow platforms over bottomless pits -- with the camera jerking around at inopportune times as well.
* PressXToDie: While walking over the Virtua Circus' hull, jumping causes Starshot to fly off into the cold vaccum of space. The game doesn't warn of this beforehand at all.
* SequelHook: The game closes on a particularly annoying cliffhanger as a "THE END?" text crashes over the screen. Guess what, no sequel was ever made.
* SequentialBoss: Wolfgang Von Ravel is first fought on a flying mech that is [[AttackItsWeakPoint only vulnerable to]] trick shots into its back side. The villain then flies around the sets of platforms on the arena and [[PuzzleBoss must be knocked into]] the electrified pillars between them. Finally, he goes back to the main arena and deploys [[WolfpackBoss five Starshot clones]] from the drones that had just scanned him.
* ShaggyDogStory:
** The bird Starshot is sent to capture at Primitron is killed by Virtua Circus goons at the very end of the level.
** That [[ActionBomb bomb robot]] from the intergalactic bank? [[spoiler:Actually a Virtua Circus spy. And then Starshot manages to somehow get himself captured offscreen after the final battle.]]
* SigilSpam: Get used to seeing the Virtua Circus' red V logo with an eyeball on top every so often.
* SuperSpeed: There are devices at Technomummy that empower Starshot's speed, but in practice it's the enemies and the game's soundtrack that slow down. Towards the end of the stage Starshot is required to use the one from the Speed Lab to outrun a gate that guards another building.
* VictoryDance: Starshot shouts a YEAH and does a little dance upon clearing a stage.
* VideoGameFlight: Willfly the rocket robot follows Starshot all the time but can only carry him after collecting Flight Capsules which add up to 40 seconds of flight time. It's possible to skip some of the level designs with this, assuming you don't end up dying from something and losing the powerups before figuring that out.
* VillainsOutShopping: At Earth, a group of aliens is seen too busy watching movies to attack Starshot.
* YourSizeMayVary: When first spotted at Tensuns, Virtua Circus is a sizable flying brick. When Starshot sets foot upon it at the end of the game, the vessel is much larger and has a whole level sculpted around it.
----
''Starshot: Space Circus Fever'' is a 1998 action platformer game for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 and PC developed by Creator/{{Infogrames}}.
The Space Circus led by Starcash is on bad times as they not only are on the verge of a deathly explosive bankruptcy but are also being sabotaged by the Virtua Circus owned by Wolfgang Von Ravel, a nefarious man known for stealing galactical landmarks and eradicating endangered species to charge admission for seeing virtualizations of them.
Former war weapon and juggler Starshot is then sent by Starcash on a journey for valuable items they can use on their circus act to pay off their debts, all while Virtua Circus tails them on every step of the way.
The game's soundtrack is different between the two versions, and the PC one [[https://gillesbenois.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/space-circus-le-son-sans-les-images/ has been made available for free]].
----
* AfterTheEnd: Earth has been destroyed by an alien invasion and the location Starshot visits is a ruined GhostTown beneath a blood-red sky. It is the most bleak-looking stage in the game with very little comedy until Starshot finds from a duo of pacifist martians what motivated the war.
* AIIsACrapshoot:
** Inverted with the titular hero, who is a war weapon that contracted a virus that gave him a conscience.
** The robots in Technomummy want to replace the brains of their organic masters out of a misguided desire to rid them of their flaws.
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Despite saving the Space Circus ship, Starshot is captured]] '''[[spoiler:offscreen]]''' [[spoiler:after having seemingly defeated Wolfgang, who then swears revenge on Starcash after driving him off with a message from a Starshot hologram]].
* BorderPatrol: On Tensuns and Killer Expo, swimming too far will spawn an enemy that will insta-kill Starshot.
* CameraScrew: The game's camera is very, ''very'' flawed and will often make sudden motions on its own or get stuck on scenery. You can only turn it while standing still, which is very inconvenient when multiple enemies are involved.
* {{Cap}}: You can have 8 HP, 50 shots and 40 seconds for flight.
* ChekovsGun: The scanners used by Virtua Circus to record the bird on Primitron is used to scan Starshot during the final fight to create five holograms of him. [[spoiler:Another hologram is used to fool Starcash after Starshot is inexplicably captured after the final battle.]]
* ContinueYourMissionDammit: Starcash chews Starshot and Willfall out if they return from an uncleared mission and then again if they just head back right after.
* CrapsackWorld: Most of the planets seen in the story are some variety of this trope, such as the Killer Expo of war machines, the Ultimacrash populated by ghosts and the post-apocalyptic Earth with a single surviving human.
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Thankfully there are plenty of checkpoints to alleviate the game's difficuty and flaws, though dying will reset Starshot's ammo and flight fuel.
* EscortMission:
** On Primitron Starshot must chase a pink robot around to push it towards trees that must be watered to grow and be used as catapults, bridges and platforms. At certain spots, tourists must be pushed into the abyss to keep them from driving the robot away.
** The gimmick is used again on Virtua Circus, where a robot that makes dog noises must be carefully pushed towards flamethrowers in order to have it deactivate them.
* GottaCatchEmAll: To access Earth, at least 100 Mega Fuel items must be collected in the previous stages. There is no reward for collecting every single one.
* HelpfulMook: The giant bipedal robots on Earth malfunction and help Starshot as platforms if you trick them into detonating the missiles lying on certain spots.
* IdleAnimation: While idle, Starshot will fiddle with those ear things on his costume. After some time, Willfall will complain that he'll get them both killed by loafing around like that.
* KickTheDog: The Surprise Laying Bird that Starshot is sent to capture on Primitron is scanned and then killed by Virtua Circus robots. Wolfgang gloats to Starcash that he delights in exterminating rare creatures so that only virtualizations of them remain to be displayed on his stage.
* MercyInvincibility: [[AvertedTrope Nope]]. Have fun dying to [[CycleOfHurting multiple quick hits]] in a variety of situations.
* MooksButNoBosses: The game has no proper boss fights until Wolfgang on Virtua Circus.
* MurderSimulators: Parodied with the reason why the martians destroyed Earth -- they were influenced by 50's scifi films to create actual war machines and take over the planet ForTheLulz.
* OpeningTheSandbox: After clearing the linear Tensuns and the more complex Killer Expo, Technomummy, Ultimacrash and Primitron can be played in any order.
* ThePerfectionist: Technomummy is a planet of flawless technology... with a musuem of malfunctioning devices that people are hysterically enjoying, such as a dripping faucet, a cold shower, an ATM machine that eats cards and the targetted Malfunction Machine that does everything wrong. By the end, the so-called perfect robots decide to wipe all of that off and replace the brains of their masters to turn them perfect as well.
* PlatformHell: A lot of the game involves platforming on narrow platforms over bottomless pits -- with the camera jerking around at inopportune times as well.
* PressXToDie: While walking over the Virtua Circus' hull, jumping causes Starshot to fly off into the cold vaccum of space. The game doesn't warn of this beforehand at all.
* SequelHook: The game closes on a particularly annoying cliffhanger as a "THE END?" text crashes over the screen. Guess what, no sequel was ever made.
* SequentialBoss: Wolfgang Von Ravel is first fought on a flying mech that is [[AttackItsWeakPoint only vulnerable to]] trick shots into its back side. The villain then flies around the sets of platforms on the arena and [[PuzzleBoss must be knocked into]] the electrified pillars between them. Finally, he goes back to the main arena and deploys [[WolfpackBoss five Starshot clones]] from the drones that had just scanned him.
* ShaggyDogStory:
** The bird Starshot is sent to capture at Primitron is killed by Virtua Circus goons at the very end of the level.
** That [[ActionBomb bomb robot]] from the intergalactic bank? [[spoiler:Actually a Virtua Circus spy. And then Starshot manages to somehow get himself captured offscreen after the final battle.]]
* SigilSpam: Get used to seeing the Virtua Circus' red V logo with an eyeball on top every so often.
* SuperSpeed: There are devices at Technomummy that empower Starshot's speed, but in practice it's the enemies and the game's soundtrack that slow down. Towards the end of the stage Starshot is required to use the one from the Speed Lab to outrun a gate that guards another building.
* VictoryDance: Starshot shouts a YEAH and does a little dance upon clearing a stage.
* VideoGameFlight: Willfly the rocket robot follows Starshot all the time but can only carry him after collecting Flight Capsules which add up to 40 seconds of flight time. It's possible to skip some of the level designs with this, assuming you don't end up dying from something and losing the powerups before figuring that out.
* VillainsOutShopping: At Earth, a group of aliens is seen too busy watching movies to attack Starshot.
* YourSizeMayVary: When first spotted at Tensuns, Virtua Circus is a sizable flying brick. When Starshot sets foot upon it at the end of the game, the vessel is much larger and has a whole level sculpted around it.
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