History VideoGame / ThirteenSentinelsAegisRim

* BlandNameProduct: Characters discuss movies like ''[[Film/{{ET}} E.X.T.]]'', ''[[Franchise/StarWars UFO Wars]]'', and ''[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Exterminator]]''. Additionally, Yuki is seen drinking some [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-C Hey-C]] juice in one scene.

* InMediasRes: The story starts right as the Deimos invasion on 1985 is beginning with the protagonists joining the battle by summoning their Sentinels. The rest of the story is told in "Remembrance Mode" is told in AnachronicOrder showing the events that lead to the FinalBattle against the Deimos.

* CripplingOverspecialization: First generation Sentinels were designed to be the most powerful robots ever made, and they largely succeeded on that front. The problem being that they ended up sitting ducks once the Deimos started to unleash massive numbers, and even worse, ''flying'' units, their unparalleled internal power leaving them little room for ranged weapons or crowd control. It's also very much true on the gameplay side of things: first gens will ''pulverize'' anything they get their hands on but rely almost entirely on EMP weapons and their allies to deal with the grunt hordes.

!! 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim contains examples of:

Unlike the developer's previous efforts, this game takes place in a more modern setting, albeit one with giant mechs. The game is directed by George Kamitani, with the music composed by members of Music/{{Basiscape}}.

** Sci-fi enthusiast Natsuno encounters a mysterious robot and immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's an alien hiding from the MenInBlack, thereby making her the star of her very own real-life science fiction movie. [[spoiler: Not only is "BJ" not an alien, but - as he reveals to her later in her storyline - Natsuno herself may very well be.]]

* DestructiveTeleportation: [[This is essentially the true nature of how Sector 0 and the loops work; it was originally believed by Ida and Morimura that when a loop ends, the Compatibles will all be transported to a reset version of the Sectors, fifteen years before the Deimos once again wage their attack. In Iori's route however, Morimura reveals that what ''actually happens'' is the Compatibles are copied by Universal Control as ''data'', and that data forms a new copy of themselves while the original is effectively killed. Ei, who originally considered making a loop jump to save himself from DD-426, is horrified when he realizes the implications.]]

--->'''BJ''': [[spoiler: This is not Earth.]]

* InMediasRes: The story starts right as the Deimos invasion on 1985 is beginning with the protagonists joining the battle by summoning their Sentinels. The rest of the story is told in "Adventure Mode" is told in AnachronicOrder showing the events that lead to the FinalBattle against the Deimos.

* WhamEpisode: Natsuno's "Exterminator" route, [[spoiler: where she gets pursued by an android Tomi possessed by 426. As well, Tamao is revealed to also be an android, Natsuno is revealed to have the DEIMOS command code, and BJ is revealed to be none other than a copy of ''Miura.'']] It's to the point that completing this episode is necessary to progress in the story of at least 4 other characters due to how spoileriffic it is.

* AlienInvasion: Most characters assume the Deimos that are invading the world are aliens. [[spoiler:This turns out to be a WrongAssumption. They are actually heavy machinery made by Shikishima Industries for terraforming planets, and were inserted into the simulation by a heartbroken Shinonome in 2188 who had lost hope for humanity and wanted to KillAllHumans.]] Furthering twisting the concept, there are element subtly comparing [[spoiler:human space colonization to an alien invasion, as humans coming to a new planet would be the aliens for that planet. The monitoring satellite for Project Arc is even referred to as the mothership, and the mainframes below each sector built by humans as UFOs.]]

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* ShoutOut: The game makes several direct shout outs to well-known science fiction novels, films, and pop culture.
** Juro is a huge fan of the kaiju film ''[[Film/Godzilla1954 Deimos]]'', a 1954 classic which spawned a [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} massive franchise]] in the years since its release. He also has an appreciation for ''[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Exterminator 2]]''.
** Natsuno if a big fan of ''[[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.X.T.]]'', ''[[Franchise/StarWars UFO Wars]]'', and ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''. ''E.T.'', in particular, serves as an inspiration for her route.
** Megumi ends up [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica making a "contract" with a mysterious cat that promises to grant her wish in return for "shooting witches".]] Later on, the same cat jokes about a [[{{Manga/Doraemon}} time machine in a desk drawer and having a fourth-dimensional pocket.]]
** When you select Miura's unit during fights, he says that he's [[{{Theatre/Hamilton}} "not throwing away [his] shot."]]
** The High Quad Kaiju are an {{Expy}} to the alien Tripods from ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', with the game even dropping a quote from the book when they first show up.
** Takamiya's story setup (a sukeban is arrested and put to doing her own investigations) is a dead ringer for ''Manga/SukebanDeka'', with even the uniform of the two being similar, and Yuki's name being only a few letters off to sound like Saki Asamiya. Her first name may also be a shoutout to the Saki Asamiya's actress: Yuki Saito.
** In [[spoiler:2188, Megumi's father pleads to Takatoshi to open the colony airlock and let his daughter inside. Takatoshi replies "[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey I'm afraid I can't do that.]]"]]
** GroundhogDayLoop in Nenji's route is a homage to the film ''Film/SourceCode''. [[spoiler:As is, partly, the "computer simulation" concept of the setting.]]
** The setting and plot owes very much to ''Anime/Megazone23''. [[spoiler:(Even the recreation of different time periods in different "cities" was described in ''Megazone 23'' background pamphlets.)]]
** Miyuki Inaba's design and role in stage 2-10 feels like an homage to ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' (in addition to being an obvious homage to Eve from ''Anime/Megazone23'').
** TheReveal at the very end of the game that [[spoiler:the 13 protagonists plus Tamao and Okino are the only remaining actual humans and were incubated in pods until ready for emergence is reminiscent of ''Film/TheMatrix''.]]
** The overall format of the game, in which you switch between multiple different homages to different genres assigned to different characters over the course of the game, alongside switching between characters on a wheel styled character select, is a subtle but clever homage to ''VideoGame/LiveALive''.
** The title, basic premise of semi-realistic SuperRobot vs. Kaiju, the notion of the Mechs potentially damaging the pilots' nervous system and different generations of them that emphasized different weapons and tactics all harken back to ''Film/PacificRim''. The Gen 2 Sentinels in particular look very similar to Cherno Alpha without the giant cooling tower on top.

** Fluffy the cat that offers Megumi a DealWithTheDevil is also framed to be incredibly suspicious, with Megumi only obeying his orders of shooting other characters reluctantly. [[spoiler: Surprisingly, he turns out to be GoodAllAlong and his plan ultimately gave the protagonists the power to defeat the Deimos.]]
* AmnesiacHero:
** Both Ei and Shinonome suffer from memory problems after [[spoiler:exposure to the DD-426 virus.]] Ei even starts his route waking up after having lost all of his memories, while Shinonome route involves her remembering things that she's already done.
** Megumi's prologue also shows Juro Kurabe is one, he used to be Juro Izumi until overusing his Sentinel caused him too much brain damage and loss of his identity. He and Megumi were also a couple, so he also doubles as an AmnesiacLover and most of her route involves her efforts in trying to make him remember her.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: [[spoiler:Megumi, out of the cast in 2188. While everyone else were grown adults, Megumi was only eight years old.]]

* CoolBike: Ei has a future bike built by Shikishima in his era that has its own AI and several other futuristic features, such as voice recognition, biometric authentication system, and being able to self-drive back to registered drivers.

* DecoyAntagonist: [[spoiler: Prisoner 426, aka the Juro Izumi from two loops ago. Despite being built up as an ominous threat throughout the game and [[WellIntentionedExtremist genuinely being responsible for a few horrific things]], he’s actually a BigGood working to give the children a means to defeat the Deimos once and for all. Without him, victory would have been impossible.]]
* DecoyProtagonist: {{Downplayed}} with Juro. While he's front and center on the boxart and title screen, he has no more focus than anyone else in the cast. His story ''is'' one of the most important [[spoiler: since it dives into the idea of AlternateSelf and his past ties into his role as both a Sentinel pilot ''and'' a new version of 426]]. He has more story locks than usual as a result, but Juro ultimately shares equal screen time with the rest of the Sentinel pilots and is no more important than anyone else.

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: Kengo Ogata, the Chairman of Shikishima in the 2100s and Nenji Ogata’s father. As an A.I. construct, he spurred on Professor Morimura’s actions in an attempt to [[ImmortalitySeeker become immortal]], leading to her inadvertently starting the nanomachine plague and dooming humanity.]]

* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: All the melee-focused first-generation Sentinel pilots are boys, whereas two out of three range attack-focused third-generation Sentinel pilots are girls. Yuki is the only one that subverts this, with her unique skills and armaments making her 4th Generation Sentinel more optimized for melee combat.
** However it's worth nothing that in many cases people do not pilot their original sentinel, such as Iori's piloting Ei's Generation 2 Sentinel

* HumongousMecha: A pivotal part of the game as the protagonists fight in these, called "Sentinels".

* NonUniformUniform: A chunk of the characters are wearing the Sakura High uniform, so there are usually little touches to make them different: Tomi wears white tights and Nenji wears a red shirt under his jacket, for example. How Megumi gets away with wearing lace-topped thigh highs is anyone's guess.

* RippleEffectProofMemory: Transmission to Sector 0 allows someone to survive the [[ResetButton end of a loop]] with their memories and personality intact. [[spoiler: However, Sector 0 is not a physical space, but a server for [[BrainUploading brain uploads]]. Those who go through it are recreated as an AI in the new loop, causing them to lose their Compatible status.]]