History VideoGame / TreasureOfTheRudra

Released by Squaresoft in 1996, ''Rudra no Hihou'' (''Treasure of the Rudra'') is one of the last [=RPG=]s written for the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}}. The game's major drawing point is its magic system: the player can literally write their own spells, by combining syllables with prefixes and suffixes or by plain trial and error.

* FloatingContinent: The sky islands. [[spoiler:NiceJobBreakingItHero Until Sion causes them to fall.]]

* MultipleEndings: Played with; there's only one final ending, but Surlent's scenario can conclude--depending on whether you decide to [[WhatAnIdiot give away]] the SwordOfPlotAdvancement as Sion or not--either with a traditional boss fight, or with Surlent [[spoiler:dying.]] '''[[spoiler:Again.]]''' [[spoiler:But he gets better in time for the final chapter.]]

* StandardStatusEffects:

* RealityEnsues: A few days after the other heroes have already received their jades, Surlent is still lacking his. Being a scholar, he finds it inside an ancient artifact he's set out to research. Said artifact, the Lago Stone of the Lizards, comes to life with intent to kill. A reminder that Lago Stones contain Rudras (which might as well be gods), while Surlent is an ordinary human. Surlent gets his Jade alright...[[spoiler: By way of Lazm, the Rudra of the Reptiles, killing him in a single strike. Lazm is a giant, powerful lizard that had already slaughtered the rest of the lab his Lago Stone was kept in, what’s one more person to him?]]

* RealityEnsues: A few days after the other heroes have already received their jades, Surlent is still lacking his. Being a scholar, he finds it inside an ancient artifact he's set out to research. It promptly flies towards him to merge with his body... and [[spoiler: the impact kills him. Instantly.]]

* Surlent, a sorcerer/scholar who tends to fall for absolutely every con trick ever (and who [[spoiler: keeps losing his body in the process]]),

%%* BackFromTheDead: ''Many'' examples, but notably, [[spoiler:Surlent]]. A few times over. ...''Quite'' a few times over.

** A GameBreakingBug: it's possible to get stuck if you do a certain sidequest too early, and again later, if you take the wrong portal out of the Netherworld. Both are due to a literal broken bridge.

%%* CoolTrain: The Sky train FAXI.

* ElementalRockPaperScissors Fire<->Water, Wind<->Lightning and light<->dark

%%* HumongousMecha: [[spoiler:Meifa.]]

%%* LoveableRogue:
%%** Dune.
%%** Cid.

** In Sion's, he cannot return to the previous islands during the Sky Islands PlotTunnel once he takes the Faxi. Additionally, [[spoiler:once pulling the Sword from Sigund Glacier, he must go wherever the Heg goes. Once he has to get rid of the Heg Ocarina, he must boat from one location to the next, and the boats don't offer return trips...]]

* StatusBuffDispel: The mantra "MOONLIGHT".
%%* SwordOfPlotAdvancement

%%* WorldSundering

%%* StatusBuff

* UsedFuture: Some elements do invoke this despite its mostly traditional fantasy setting. Most importantly, Babel has a somewhat run-down, open feel to it despite using advanced technology to keep its air clean, and that's not even getting into the slums. The Garal Clock Tower and Meifa's Dungeon, among others, has a [[Film/BladeRunner Blade-Runner]]-esque feel to them, mixed with Steampunk. The Tower in Danelf in Sion's scenario has a rustic feel to it despite having elevators. Dune's gun in the boxart wouldn't feel off in Franchise/StarWars's Tatooine or Jakku.

%%* WeirdMoon

** [[spoiler:By Day 15, most of the scenarios are locked into doing the last dungeons of the scenario. In Sion's, he is warped to the Netherworld and must infiltrate the Cultists' base, and then defeat Gomorrah. In Riza's, she is stranded on the moon, and Meifa is not going to fly her back. In Surlent's, he cannot boat back from Ompross, and must go down to the Netherworld.]]

%%* BossRemix

%%* PointOfNoReturn: Used many times over.

* ArbitrarilySerializedSimultaneousAdventures: you have to play through the scenarios of three main characters (Sion, Surlent and Riza) before they all converge into Dune's scenario, you could switch between their stories at any time from the loading screen.

Released by Squaresoft in 1996, ''Rudra no Hihou'' (''Treasure of the Rudra'') is one of the last [=RPG=]s written for the SNES. The game's major drawing point is its magic system: the player can literally write their own spells, by combining syllables with prefixes and suffixes or by plain trial and error.

----
!!Provides Examples Of:

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rudrasion30.gif]]

-->Long ago... When the world was yet wreathed in chaos... It is said that the heaven bestowed great power upon the earth and brought it unto prosperity. Life on Earth was born... Those with great intelligence, The Holy race of Danans. Controlling the seas, The Mermaids. Proud but arrogant... The Reptiles. And possessing incredible strength, The Giants. However, They did not have the Heavens' favor, and in time, they disappeared. Then... The Heavens gave birth once again. Life, 'tis said, flourished anew.

And if you leave the title screen running for a minute or so, there's a totally sweet intro movie.

* MultipleEndings: Played with; there's only one final ending, but Surlent's scenario can conclude--depending on whether you decide to [[WhatAnIdiot give away]] the SwordOfPlotAdvancement as Sion or not--either with a traditional boss fight, or with Surlent [[spoiler:dying.]] '''[[spoiler:Again.]]'''

** Sion and Riza have their moments as well, [[spoiler:the former being manipulated by Surt (who he had fought before and knew had betrayed his former comrade Ture) into making the Sky Islands fall back on Earth and causing the ocean levels to rise; the latter killing Laumen and thus freeing a group of ghosts he was imprisoning, who are willing to reactivate the bio-tanks that caused most of the world's pollution in first place]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Surlent has greenish blue hair and Foxy has pink hair.

** Sion and Riza have their moments as well, [[spoiler:the former being manipulated by Surt (who he had fought before and knew had betrayed his former comrade Ture) into making the Sky Islands fall back on Earth and causing the ocean levels to rise, the latter killing Laumen and thus freeing a group of ghosts he was imprisoning, who are willing to reactivate the bio-tanks that caused most of the world's pollution in first place]].

'''A warning''' for those about to play it using an emulator: the game relies very heavily on in-game save states. It's vital to use the ROM's actual memory slots, and the emulator's save slots ''after'' saving in-game because there is a fourth storyline that opens up after the first three are completed. You'll also need to reload from the title screen each time you want to switch characters. (And, to be on the safe side, be sure to read up on the game's one GameBreakingBug.) [[note]]On day 8 with Surlent, don't use the left portal at Thor Vulcano after the forest bridge is broken but before seeing the events in the lab at Avdol. Due to a programming oversight, you won't be able to get back.[[/note]]

** A GameBreakingBug: it's possible to get stuck if you do a certain sidequest too early, and again later, if you take the wrong portal out of the Netherworld. Both are due to a Broken Bridge.
** Seeing as no FAQ seems to list it... '''don't use the left portal at Thor Mountain after the forest bridge is broken but before seeing the events at Avdol'''. Trust us. You won't get back.
%%** A literal broken bridge.

Released by Squaresoft in 1996, ''Rudra no Hihou'' (''Treasure of the Rudra'') is one of the last [=RPG=]s written for the SNES. It's often mentioned in connection with two other Japan-only Creator/SquareSoft games of the era: ''VideoGame/BahamutLagoon'', and the at times very similar ''VideoGame/LiveALive''. The game's main drawing point is its magic system: the player can literally write their own spells, by combining syllables with prefixes and suffixes or by plain trial and error. ''Rudra no Hihou'' is very similar to the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series in terms of atmosphere, game play and complexity.

Despite containing many of the standard references to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' (there's a Cid with an airship, an Aegis shield, four magical stones, etc.) the game has a surprisingly unique and intricate storyline, and no two playthroughs are the same. It's very well-written, features ''great'' music, and takes about as long to finish as a standard ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''. If you like non-standard Squaresoft games such as ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' and ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'', chances are you'll love ''Rudra no Hihou''.

And by the way, if you leave the title screen running for a minute or so, there's a totally sweet intro movie.

* ActionGirl: Foxy Erimia.
* ActuallyIAmHim: Done quite a number of times by Surlent, due to his [[spoiler: body]] being stolen and [[spoiler: having to possess the bodies of two deceased people.]]
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent
* AlreadyDoneForYou
** Lampshaded both ways by Dune: he often beats the three main heroes to a MacGuffin, but near the end he's surprised to hear he still has to save the world - he assumed the heroes would have already done it for him.
* Main/ArbitrarilySerializedSimultaneousAdventures: you have to play through the scenarios of three main characters (Sion, Surlent and Riza) before they all converge into Dune's scenario, you could switch between their stories at any time from the loading screen.
* BackFromTheDead: ''Many'' examples, but notably, [[spoiler: Surlent]]. A few times over. ...''Quite'' a few times over.
* BagOfSharing: [[spoiler:only happens after clearing the last scenario of the 3 available]]
* TheBerserker: Sork. [[spoiler: He is also a FailureKnight]]

---> '''Surt:''' You WEEDY little MAN!
* BossRemix
* BrokenBridge: Several, including a literal broken bridge.
** Also a GameBreakingBug: it's possible to get stuck if you do a certain sidequest too early, and again later, if you take the wrong portal out of the Netherworld. Both are due to a BrokenBridge.
*** Seeing as no FAQ seems to list it... '''don't use the left portal at Thor Mountain after the forest bridge is broken but before seeing the events at Avdol'''. Trust us. You won't get back.

* CoolTrain: The Sky train FAXI.

* {{Cult}}: The Rudra Cult.

* DarkWorld: The Netherworld.
* DevilInPlainSight: [[spoiler: Curgan, Hausen, and to a certain extent, Gomorrah.]]
* DirtyOldMan: Dr. Muench. [[spoiler: Even when he's dead and just a wandering shade, he still is at it.]]

* EldritchAbomination: [[spoiler: The unnamed destroyers that the Four Heroes defeated long ago; they later developed the Rudra cycle of destruction to accelerate evolution in order to create a species strong enough to resist the cosmic destroyers.]]

* EvilutionaryBiologist: [[spoiler: Hausen, Gomorrah, and Mitra cooked up the whole Rudra scheme to accelerate the evolution of life on Earth in hopes of eventually creating a race strong enough to break the cycle and defend itself against the destroyers from beyond The Breach of Heaven.]]
* EventDrivenClock

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Captain Taurus.]]

* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: Dune]], at the end.

* HeroBall: Oh Surlent, will you never learn?
* HeroesWantRedheads: Both Sion-Foxy and Riza-Garlyle.
* HolyHandGrenade: Most of the Light Mantras.
* HumongousMecha: [[spoiler: Meifa]]

* LoadBearingBoss: [[spoiler: Mayura, Capt. Taurus, and Mitra]]

* LostForever: One of Riza's sidequests can be permanently missed if you [[GuideDangIt don't pray at a certain statue that's difficult to find at the very beginning of the game]].
* LoveableRogue: Dune. Cid, too. And Garlyle. Quite a bunch of them, actually.

* MythologyGag: Don't call Dune and Cid thieves. They're [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI TREASURE HUNTERS]].
** It's even in the flavor text for Dune's best dagger, Freedom. "Call me a treasure hunter or..."
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Often. ''Very'' often.
** Probably most notably when Surlent [[spoiler:manages to unleash the Rudra of Humans using his Jade and undo the seal on the Apocalypse Blade which he himself gets trapped in because of a safeguard. Thanks for ''speeding up the death of all humans,'' dude.]]

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: At the beginning of Surlent's scenario, you have access to Sakkara Desert, which has powerful monsters which give about 50 times as much EXP and money, and also randomly drop a weapon which is much stronger than anything you could get for a while.
** You can also go there as Riza as the sandstorm disperses later on.
* PointOfNoReturn: Used many times over.
* PublicDomainArtifact: [[spoiler: The 6 Divine Treasures; but the 3 most known are the HolyGrail, The Sigmund Sword, and the Holy Robe.]]

* RareCandy: Magic Leaves and Life Leaves, which increase your maximum MP and maximum HP, respectively.
** And if you play it right, you can find an infinite amount of them in the final dungeon. Yay!

* RobeAndWizardHat: Surlent. His master Solon, too.

* StandardStatusEffects

* StatusBuff

* SwordOfPlotAdvancement
* TakeYourTime: 15 days left before the end of the world. How many times can you stay in an inn? ... infinite times, apparently.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Rostam and Huey. Subverted to hell and back again. [[spoiler:literally]].

* VerbalTic - Each race has one. Mermaids say "glub," the Reptiles have {{Sssssnaketalk}}, the Danans have a tendency to say "Hmmm hmmm hmmm," and the GIANTS talk SOMEWHAT like Creator/BrianBlessed.
* WaifProphet: Solon

* WaveMotionGun: [[spoiler: Sodom]]

* WeirdMoon

* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: Riza calls Dune out when he wants to take over Mitra's evolution scheme.]]
* WorldSundering
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Surlent has greenish blue hair, Foxy has pink hair.

* VerbalTic - Each race has one. Mermaids say "glub," the Reptiles have {{Sssssnaketalk}}, the Danans have a tendency to say "Hmmm hmmm hmmm," and the GIANTS talk SOMEWHAT like {{BRIAN BLESSED}}.

'''A warning''' for those about to play it using an emulator: the game relies very heavily on in-game save states. It's vital to use the ROM's actual memory slots, and the emulator's save slots ''after'' saving in-game. You'll also need to reload from the title screen each time you want to switch characters. (And, to be on the safe side, be sure to read up on the game's one GameBreakingBug.) [[note]]On day 8 with Surlent, don't use the left portal at Thor Vulcano after the forest bridge is broken but before seeing the events in the lab at Avdol. Due to a programming oversight, you won't be able to get back.[[/note]]

Released by Squaresoft in 1996, ''Rudra no Hihou'' (''Treasure of the Rudra'') is one of the last [=RPG=]s written for the SNES. It's often mentioned in connection with two other Japan-only SquareSoft games of the era: ''VideoGame/BahamutLagoon'', and the at times very similar ''VideoGame/LiveALive''. The game's main drawing point is its magic system: the player can literally write their own spells, by combining syllables with prefixes and suffixes or by plain trial and error. ''Rudra no Hihou'' is very similar to the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series in terms of atmosphere, game play and complexity.

* PublicDomainArtifact: [[spoiler: The 6 Divine Treasures; but the 3 most known are the Holy Grail, The Sigmund Sword, and the Holy Robe.]]

* TheChosenOne: Riza.

Every 4000 years, the earth's dominant race (first danans, then mermaids, giants, reptilians, and currently humans) is mostly destroyed by a creature known as the Rudra, to make way for the next species. At the start of ''Rudra no Hihou'', humanity has only 16 days left, and the Rudra is about to be born. Four [[LampshadedTrope suspiciously stereotypical]] heroes (a fighter, a wizard, a priestess and a thief) are chosen by fate to save the earth... and all get a PowerCrystal violently lodged into their heads. Each with their own friends and their own separate goals, they set out to save their planet and to discover who is behind the oncoming destruction, lampshading and subverting an impressive number of tropes along the way.

Despite containing many of the standard references to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' (there's a Cid with an airship, an Aegis shield, four magical stones, etc.) the game has a surprisingly unique and intricate storyline, and no two playthroughs are the same. It's very well-written, features ''great'' music, and takes about as long to finish as a standard ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''. If you like non-standard Squaresoft games such as ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' and ''VagrantStory'', chances are you'll love ''Rudra no Hihou''.