History VideoGame / ZeroNoKiseki

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:Rixia and Walter fought offscreen prior to the events of Zero, a fight that ended in a draw. Renne speaks for the audience when she's impressed and wishes she could have seen that]].
** Also happens in Ao with the Chapter 3/4 transition. We have the fights between [[spoiler:Rixia and Shirley]] and [[spoiler:Abbas and Ashley versus Wald]] off-camera.

** Randy's Jukebox plays a jazz remix of [[Franchise/{{Ys}} Tower of the Shadow of Death]].

** The slots minigame has characters from [[Franchise/{{Ys}} Ys I]].
** The Jack, Queen, and King cards used in the Poker and Blackack minigames have characters from both Zwei games, [[{{VideoGame/Brandish}} Brandish]] and [[{{VideoGame/GuruminAMonstrousAdventure}} Gurumin]].

** Then there's "Cecil Neues", the ''female'' nurse. Most fans spell it "Cecille".

One of the game's unique points in comparison to the rest of ''Kiseki'' is its intense focus on the city of Crossbell as a setting. Unlike the other arcs in the series, which have the player bounce around a number of different cities across a country, Crossbell City is ''gigantic'' and makes up a substantial portion of the entire game. While you will eventually leave the city limits to travel to other parts of the wider Crossbell State, these all really serve as "suburbs" of the city and the focus is on Crossbell City itself, in all its grand, towering, corrupt, decadent glory. When combined with series staples like [[{{Magitek}} orbments]] (this series equivalent of technology), it creates a fairly unique "UrbanFantasy in TheFifties" atmosphere. The only really comparable games would be the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games, and even then there's a lot of differences in tone and content.

The sequel to the final game of the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'' trilogy, and the beginning of the second arc of the [[VideoGame/KisekiSeries Kiseki series]], ''Zero no Kiseki'' moves the setting to the bright lights of the wealthy but corrupt city of Crossbell. Four rookie cops are enlisted to improve the reputation of the police. Of course, it doesn't stop there...

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedReRelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' are also in the works - to be ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside an upcoming title to be set also in Erebonia. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published for in the west.

* ACupAngst: Tio, Sully and and Shirley all have a bit of this.

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedReRelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' are also in the works - to be ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside an upcomong title to be set also in Erebonia. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published for in the west.

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedReRelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' are also in the works - to be ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, alongside an upcomong ''origins'' title to be set also in Erebonia. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Crossbell arc will eventually be published for the PC in the west.

* BluffTheImpostor: In one sidequest in Ao, the SSS is trying to determine which passenger on a train stole a ticket to Oled. When they've narrowed it down to the ones heading to that country (both of whom claim to be from there), Shin appears to lend a hand, asking one of the suspects which of three names belongs to Oled's famous hot spring. After the man picks one of the answers, Shin tells him that Oled doesn't ''have'' any hot springs, as anyone who lived there would know.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler: You know Joachim Gunter? That easygoing, somewhat lazy doctor that perpetually pushes work off onto his subordinates so he can cut out of work and go fishing? Turns out he's a high priest of the D∴G Cult who is responsible for some of the series' most horrific atrocities and who was secretly perfecting the recipe for Gnosis in the hopes of awakening the Cult's dormant god.]]

* AscendedExtra: Anton and Ricks, two popular [=NPCs=] from ''Trails in the Sky'', have a fun cameo in Zero.

* BareYourMidriff: Rixia, Ilya, Łazy (pronounced ''Wazy''), Wald and Shirley, although the latter two barely cover ''anything''.

* BattleAura: [[spoiler:Łazy gets one when he [[CurbStompBattle decisively ends the rivalry between Testaments and Saber Vipers]]. This is [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowing.]]]]

* BeliefMakesYouStupid: [[spoiler:The D∴G Cult believe this to be true of belief in Eidos]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: ''[[spoiler:Mariabell]]''
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of Ao no Kiseki, Lloyd and co. manage to save [=KeA=] and stop the treasure of zero from going on further rampage. However, Crossbell City is taken over by TheEmpire and Ouroboros gets away with everything and even manages to add Shirley and Mariabell into their ranks. Plus, Chancellor Giliath Osborne of the said empire, who is allied with Ouroboros[[note]]Although it's revealed in ''Cold Steel'' that not only is he not allies with Ouroboros at this point, he also outmaneuvered them.[[/note]], wins over the nobles of TheEmpire and gains nearly complete control of Erebonia, which can only mean trouble. Although it's implied in the final ending CG that Crossbell city will get liberated within few years, the ending is hardly uplifting.]]

* BodyguardBabes: The Stahlritter, three ladies who serve as bodyguards to [[LadyOfWar Arianrhod]]. Their prowess is comparable to [[SuperSoldier Legion members]].

* CargoCult: [[spoiler:The village where Łazy was born worshiped a deity who turned out to be an Artifact. Łazy was viewed as blessed because his partially awakend Stigma allowed him to hear the 'Voice of God']]

* CityOfSpies: Crossbell edges into this trope, given that the city is divided into factions that support Erebonia and Calvard and agents from both countries are active in the background, along with [[spoiler:Łazy and Abbas keeping tabs on things for the Church and later Ries keeping tabs ''on'' the Church]].

* CoolAirship: The Red Constellation has a customized airship called the Beowulf.
** [[spoiler:Being a Dominion, Łazy has access to a Merkabah of his own and Kevin also arrives with his. The class gets retroactively more awesome with the reveal that they have optical camoflage, beam weaponry and Mode-S, which allows a Dominion to channel the power of their Stigma through the ship for massively increased effects. Kevin is able to extend his Grail Sphere barrier to protect the entire ship... and use the [[CallBack Stigma Cannon]]]].

** [[SpaceMaster Space]] [[GravityMaster Element]]: Łazy

* EnsignNewbie: Noel joins the SSS at the start of Ao and is technically a rookie to that group but seeing how she's already an officer in the CGF she's hardly a newbie. Played a bit closer to straight with Łazy since his prior occupations were running a bar and a gang.

* EvilutionaryBiologist: [[spoiler:Dr. Joachim Gunter. The D∴G Cult believe that the Septian Church and belief in Eidos are holding humanity back. Their Gnosis experiments were intended to put humanity where it 'should' have been. Said experiments included summoning demons and creating drugs based on researching the demons, kidnapping children and testing the drugs on them to inevitably horrifying results and using some of the survivors as child prostitutes for blackmail purposes.]]

*** From the same game, Łazy looks very similar to Faize. It's the haircut and hair color that really does it. They are primarily differentiated by eye color and Faize's [[SpaceElves Space Elf]] ears.

** At the very beginning of Ao [[spoiler:Kevin]] mentions that the Grals Ritter are forbidden from operating in Crossbell by order of Bishop Eralda. [[spoiler:This is why Łazy is posing as a gang leader/bartender]].

* FourElementEnsemble: While there are seven elements, the final three become subject to the same mechanics regarding elemental weaknesses and resistances only in some instances. It's also highly relevant to the plot when this happens. [[spoiler:The Crois family was attempting to recreate the lost Sept-Terion 'Demiourgos' which goverened Mirage. What they got was the 'Treasure of Zero', [[InfinityPlusOneElement all three higher elements in one]]. The work involved in creating that power led to the weirdness with the higher elements]].

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:The reason for Guy's death. Guy realized the plan to use the Treasure of Zero for Crossbell's independence and confronted Arios about it. Ian, who knew Guy would not join them, murdered Guy while Guy was busy trying to persuade Arios to stop the plan.]]

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Even moreso than in ''Trails in the Sky''; Investigator Dudley, Arios [=MacLaine=], Łazy Hemisphere and the Seeker sisters all definitely feel like this and many join the party for a bit. Natch for Estelle & Joshua, too. [[spoiler:In fact, those two quite ''literally'' have another story going on in the background for a significant portion of the game, in the form of their search for Renne, which eventually intersects violently with the main plot.]]
** Interestingly, ''most'' of these characters also join the party in ''Ao no Kiseki'', with Noel and Łazy acting as more or less permanent party members. [[spoiler:The Brights (now including Renne) also reappear in Ao. and played major role in the Crossbell invasion.]]

* HeroOnHiatus: Ao no Kiseki starts this way for the entire SSS, with Lloyd performing counter-terrorism work, Elie helping out her grandfather, Randy working with the CGF after the events of Zero and Tio back with the Epstein Foundation. Upon returning to Crossbell after the Prologue, Elie joins up again and Noel and Łazy become new members to bring the team up to four. Tio and Randy rejoin in due time, having finished the duties that were keeping them away.

* HostClub: Toyed with. Trinity doesn't function as one but Łazy moonlights as a host and is in much demand with Crossbell's ladies.

* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Most of the cast. Randy. Elie and Arios sport [[BadassLongcoat awesome coats]] and Yin takes this UpToEleven with a coat consisting of multiple overlapping featherlike segments, Noel shows off FashionableAsymmetry combined with a CoolHat, [[spoiler:Rixia in Ao sports a very fancy [[{{Qipao}} Chinese-style]] dress]] but the absolute master of this trope is Łazy with absolutely everything he wears, even the swimsuit.

* InterfaceScrew: An unusual example of one happens early in Ao. The party is required to look at all the Support Requests under the guise of getting new members Noel and Łazy up to speed on how the SSS works and one of those requests is an optional monster hunt. You're forced to pass through the area where those monsters are, only to find that someone has already slaughtered them. The request then vanishes from the list as it only existed to set up this encounter. Yes, the game uses its own mechanics as foreshadowing.

** Bishop Eralda does not like the Grals Ritter, which forces their people to operate undercover, such as when Ries arrives in Ao [[spoiler:and Łazy and Abbas for the bulk of the games]].

* LadyOfWar: Arianrhod

* MorphWeapon: Tio's Orbal Staff.
* MysteriousPast: Randy and Łazy prior to their arrival in Crossbell and to a much lesser extent [[spoiler:what Elie was doing abroad]] prior to the start of the games.
* MysteriousWaif: [=KeA=].

* PartsUnknown: Sully and Łazy both start out as this, although it's only parts unknown to the audience and both characters are fully aware where they're from. In Sully's case, it's because her place of origin is a ContinuityNod and in Łazy's it's done deliberately to add to the aura of mystery he deliberately cultivates. All we ever learn about ''his'' origins are that they lie somewhere in 'Eastern Central Zemuria'.

** Arianrhod: The Steel Saint

** [[spoiler: Łazy Hemisphere]]: The Blue Testament

* ReligionOfEvil: [[spoiler:The D∴G Cult, which believes that Eidos is a lie spread by the Church and has been conducting rituals to bring about the revival of the 'True God <D>' discovered by the Cult's founder. These 'rituals' take the form of summoning demons and performing horrific medical experiments on children.]]

** [[spoiler: [=KeA=] is the "Treasure of Zero", which is artificially created to replace the lost Demiourgos (the "Treasure of Mirage")]]

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Łazy sports one in Ao and he can [[ArmedLegs literally]] kick a lot of ass.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Lloyd and Randy, Łazy and Abbas... pretty much Łazy and anyone actually. Note that being the sensitive one in the pair in no way makes Lloyd or Łazy less badass.

* SixthRanger: A succession of characters fill this role in Zero, [[GuestStarPartyMember temporarily joining the fixed party of four]] at one or more points. Łazy and Noel each do this twice, Dudley and Yin do it once as do [[spoiler:Estelle and Joshua]] in the final dungeon. Everyone but [[spoiler:the Brights]] become permanent allies by the end of Ao, with Łazy and Noel being playable for almost the entire game.

** Our female lead here is usually spelled "Elie" by Falcom sources. Problem is, that's the ''male'' version of that name; many Western sources correct it to "Ellie", the female version. (It's worth noting that [[VideoGame/{{Atelier}} a certain famous-in-Japan alchemist heroine]], who may have inspired the name, runs into the exact same problem.)

** The single absolute worst of the lot, however, is "Wazy" (going by kana phonetics) Hemisphere. That's based mostly on a the katakana given for his name. The way Falcom prints his name? Łazy. That is, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%81 the Polish/Slavic "dark L"]]. That's the proper use of a dark L, but... ''yeah''. Needless to say, most Anglophones don't even know how to ''pronounce'' that at a glance.

* TemptingFate: [[spoiler:Łazy, you just ''had'' to dismiss the idea that the Railway Cannons would ever be fired at Crossbell, didn't you?]]

** Ao reveals this to be the case for [[spoiler:Łazy. How his Stigma appeared resulted in the people of his hometown considering him a 'godslayer' and banishing him. Lloyd invites him to consider Crossbell his second home near the end of the game if you see his special bond scene]]

On December 18th, 2019, Falcom announced that an UpdatedReRelease of both ''Zero'' and ''Ao'' are also in the work - to be ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, alongside an upcomong ''origins'' title to be set also in Erebonia. This announcement renewed the hope of fans that the Cross ell arc will eventually be published for the PC in the west.

* AbandonedLaboratory: Any location the D∴G Cult has left behind is pretty much one of these by definition and that means that they tend to house various demons summoned by the Cult [[spoiler:and sometimes monsters that [[BodyHorror used to be human]] before Gnosis was used on them]]

* AbandonedLaboratory: Any location the D∴G Cult has left behind is pretty much one of these by definition and that means that they tend to house various demons summoned by the Cult [[spoiler:and sometimes monsters that [[BodyHorror used to be human]] before Gnosis was used on them]]

* ExactEavesdropping: [[spoiler:Renne's]] parents just happen to explain their side of the story of what happened to their missing and believed long-dead daughter in Lloyd's apartment while she is hiding in Lloyd's closet in order to avoid them.

* DrivingQuestion: [[spoiler:If you weren't paying attention to the beginning of Zero, you might not even realize there ''was'' one, until Ao forcefully brings it back to your attention: Why were Estelle and Joshua not present during the [[InMediasRes opening sequence]] of Zero?]]

* DramaticIrony: [[spoiler:The D∴G Cult preaches that Eidos is a lie spread by the Septian Church which has held humanity back for centuries and kept them under the control of the Church. The Cult preaches the existence of the True God 'D' and hopes that by using Gnosis, they will awaken their sleeping god and usher in a new age for humanity. The entire cult is revealed to be itself a lie, created by people who were attempting to recreate one of the seven treasures Eidos bestowed upon humanity. It doesn't get much better than that.]]
** For that extra special touch, [[spoiler:the 'D' the Cult was trying to awaken was the sleeping power of Demiourgos, which is known as the [[MeaningfulName 'Hollow God']] in the same way that Aureole is also known as the 'Shining Ring'.]]

** Before that, we have [[TeenGenius Tio]] defeating [[spoiler:'''Campanella''', '''''in A FREAKING TETRIS GAME''''']].

* WeHaveBeenResearchingPhlebotinumForYears: Some of the crazy things the SSS runs into have been known by [[spoiler:the Bracers, the Church and/or higher ups in the CSPD]] for years. Once you start to run into it, they help explain things to you, to the extent of their own knowledge.

The long-awaited sequel to the final game of the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'' trilogy, and the beginning of the second arc of the [[VideoGame/KisekiSeries Kiseki series]], ''Zero no Kiseki'' moves the setting to the bright lights of the wealthy but corrupt city of Crossbell. Four rookie cops are enlisted to improve the reputation of the police. Of course, it doesn't stop there...

One of the game's unique points in comparison to the rest of ''Kiseki'' is its intense focus on the city of Crossbell as a setting. Unlike the other arcs in the series, which have the player bounce around a number of different cities across a country, Crossbell City is ''gigantic'' and makes up a substantial portion of the entire game. While you will eventually leave the city limits to travel to other parts of the wider Crossbell State, these all really serve as "suburbs" of the city and the focus is on Crossbell City itself, in all its grand, towering, corrupt, decadent glory. When combined with series staples like [[{{Magitek}} orbments]] (this series equivalent of technology), it creates a fairly unique "UrbanFantasy in TheFifties" atmosphere. The only really comparable games would be the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games, and even then there's a lot of differences in tone and content. Still, the game has a more "urban" feel to it than the more fantastical feels seen in the other arcs.

* ContinuityLockout: Ao no Kiseki. ''Sweet Aidios''. It requires at least basic knowledge of [[CaptainObvious what happened in Zero]] and SC. Then, some characters' goals, behavior and interactions won't make a lot of sense if one hasn't played The 3rd.

* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: Played straight and subverted. Playing this trope arrow-straight is [[spoiler:Mariabell, who goes from a business suit to... yeow]] while subverting the trope is [[spoiler:Rixia, who is much more sensibly dressed as Yin, who you have to fight. When she drops the disguise, she starts showing a lot more skin]]. The latter [[JustifiedTrope actually makes sense]] because [[spoiler:the Yin costume both hides that 'Yin' is a LegacyCharacter and the identity of the current Yin. Once hiding her identity because pointless, she shifted to something that allowed freedom of movement]].

* PoliceAreUseless: Between Crossbell's status as a buffer state, the political need to keep balance between the pro-Empire, pro-Republic, and anti-Both factions, and the fact that many of the major criminal groups have ties to one of those factions to allow them to bribe their way out of trouble (and the governments limited ability to arrest and hold foreign nationals), the police basically isn't ''allowed'' to be useful. This has resulted in the public putting more trust in the Bracers, who aren't hamstrung by the highly corrupt government, than in the police force. The SSS is basically a political boondoggle to have cops do Bracer work in the hopes of winning back public trust, a stunt that only really works because the SSS takes its duties seriously, even if the rest of the CPD considers them a joke.