History ZeroPunctuation / TropesMToP

** This is mostly the joke behind the running gag of naming ''[[VideoGame/{{Dizzy}} Fantasy World Dizzy]]'' to be the greatest game of all time - it's a slow, shallow, clunky, ugly, obtuse UsefulNotes/Commodore64 platformer that has aged like milk, but because he played it when he was a kid, that makes it the standard all games since have failed to meet.

** In his "review" of ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8789-The-Legend-of-Zelda-A-Link-Between-Worlds The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds]]'', he reveals that despite all the vitriol he's given Nintendo over the years, he's actually on their side in the next generation if only because they're the only ones who "released a game console, not an inferior gaming PC for people who dream of being the sub in an unhealthy techno-masochistic fantasy." By the same token, in his ''The 2010's Most Significant Games'', he admits to having come around to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and using it frequently on his own time, due to the ease of setting it up and the curated library of indie titles on it.

* OnceAnEpisode: Tends to draw characters skipping hand-in-hand, ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''-style frequently

** Invoked by name for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Remake''.

* MasterOfNone: One of his major complaints about AAA games is that he sees many of them as this; they are meant to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and so end up often including [[GameplayRoulette tons of different gameplay styles]] without managing to nail down a single style that works, and without making any of those styles truly essential or important. He brings up the trope by name when discussing ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'', which is a hybrid of a wide-open sandbox, a real-time-strategy, and a hack-and-slasher, but he felt it didn't do particularly well at any of the above (partly because those gameplay styles don't mesh well). It's also an element of his critique of ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', a game that tried to be a shooter, a base-builder, a crafting-and-survival game, an open-world game, an RPG, and a narrative experience, and so ended up with an easy shooter, a token base-builder, a boring crafter, a repetitive open-worlder, a shallow RPG, and a weak narrative experience.

** He also described ''VideoGame/{{Tunic}}'' as "The greatest game since ''The Sacred Armor of Antiriad'' to be named after the entire contents of the main character's laundry list."

* SignatureHeadgear: "Yahtzee is a British-born, currently Australian-based writer and gamer with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder." The hat originally appeared in [[MythologyGag his own games]], ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'', worn by the character of Trilby. The hat itself is known as a Trilby hat, and it tends to get him more attention [[http://twitter.com/YahtzeeCroshaw/status/11013246821 than he really wants]]. In his ads for his audiobook ''Existentially Challenged'', he even throws in a non-sequitur about how he doesn't wear it in real life anymore.
** NeverBareheaded: In his Top 10 of 2010, he wears a snooty "indie game" French beret ''on top'' of his trilby hat.
** In his CreditsGag for Call of Duty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2, he claims that despite what one might say about the Russians, they have sweet hats.

* MilestoneCelebration: Spoofed with his 100th episode, where he decides to review... exactly the same game he would've reviewed otherwise (''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezBoundInBlood'').
** Further spoofed in his ''Silent Hill 2'' review, a retro review that actually would be special:
-->"But what could be more special than my one-hundred and second video?"

* SignatureHeadgear: "Yahtzee is a British-born, currently Australian-based writer and gamer with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder." The hat originally appeared in [[MythologyGag his own games]], ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'', worn by the character of Trilby. The hat itself is known as a Trilby hat, and it tends to get him [[CreatorWorship more attention]] [[http://twitter.com/YahtzeeCroshaw/status/11013246821 than he really wants]]. In his ads for his audiobook ''Existentially Challenged'', he even throws in a non-sequitur about how he doesn't wear it in real life anymore.

* NintendoHard: Yahtzee prides himself on as having been playing video games since early childhood and frequently recalls how hard they were back then. He routinely mocks prospective critics who complain about the difficulty level in games these days, as well as people who accuse him of [[ItsHardSoItSucks not liking a game because he finds it too hard]]. That said, games with [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed ridiculously impossible sequences]], he blasts with both barrels.

* NostalgiaFilter: Yahtzee often cautions his viewers against this, as nostalgia is often used by triple-A developers to trick the buying public into accepting formula over innovation. He also tends to deride fans who wear nostalgia goggles for particular games, especially those that have aged poorly, and one of his main gripes with crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter is the overabundance of spiritual sequels or nostalgic retreads that gain massive success and popularity.
** That said, he’s not afraid to admit when he himself is falling into to the same trap. He caught himself really ''trying'' to like ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' despite it's many horrendous flaws, as he enjoyed the original ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' and desperately wanted the new game to be good after thirteen years of DevelopmentHell.

* PetTheDog: In an ''Extra Punctuation'', although he couldn't sympathize with gamers who cried at Aerith's death in ''FFVII'', he said that the emotions they felt were real and no one could call them fake or wrong.

** A number of reviews, even he bashes the game, he will sometimes give it credit for doing something well, like in his review of ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', he admits that [[BestLevelEver Chapter 3]] was hilarious.
** He acknowledges that the rank-and-file members of the Hogwarts Legacy dev team were probably just as upset at J.K. Rowling stirring up controversy as many of the potential player base are.
-->'''Yahtzee:''' ...but dammit, I have a job to do and I feel bad for the no doubt hundreds of ground-level people on the dev team who probably think she's a c-word as much as any of us at this point.\\

* NotSoAboveItAll: As much as Yahtzee mocks the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fanbase for never knowing when to move on from a FranchiseZombie, he eventually admits that he's no better when it comes to the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity[[invoked]]: {{Discussed|Trope}} in "Acclaim Entertainment Hall of Shame", with the central subject being {{Creator/Acclaim}} and their various publicity stunts from the late-90's/early-2000's that Yahtzee considered a relentless -- and ultimately, failed -- attempt to test the adage. Yahtzee's conclusion is that controversial or messy marketing stunts can only truly effective if the product being sold is actually ''good'', as while Acclaim's antics did get them the attention and headlines they were looking for, nobody was actually sticking around to buy their games because the products themselves were hashed-out junk with little ambition or innovation, leaving them a subject of widespread mockery ''and'' bankrupt.

'''Exhausted dev sprite:''' STOP FUCKING TWEETING

** He acknowledges that the rank-and-file members of the Hogwarts Legacy
dev team were probably just as upset at J.K. Rowling stirring up controversy as many of the potential player base are.

** He acknowledges that the rank-and-file members of Hogwarts Legacy were probably just as upset at J.K. Rowling stirring up controversy as many of the potential player base are.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: {{Discussed|Trope}} in the "Acclaim Entertainment Hall of Shame", with the central subject being {{Creator/Acclaim}}'s various publicity stunts from the late-90's/early-2000's that Yahtzee considered a relentless -- and ultimately, failed -- attempt to test the adage. Yahtzee's conclusion is that controversial or messy marketing stunts can only truly effective if the product being sold is actually ''good'', as while Acclaim's antics did get them the attention and headlines they were looking for, nobody was actually sticking around to buy their games because the products themselves were hashed-out junk with little ambition or innovation, leaving them a subject of widespread mockery ''and'' bankrupt.

* MoneyForNothing: He brings this up in his reviews of both the later ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' games and the ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' series, saying that useful items are either fairly cheap or can't be bought, and the biggest {{Money Sink}}s provided no real advantage except even more money, resulting in situations where he buys up way too much stuff just to have something to spend the money on, and then ends up with more than he started.

--->'''Yahtzee:''' It starts with him being dragged into an eco terrorist group by manic pixie dream girl number 1, [[BuxomIsBetter big-titted]] [[ChildhoodFriendRomance childhood friend girl]] who, if this were a DatingSim, I would have classified as “the freebie.” He gets [[ThisAndThat manic pixied by her for a few chapters]] before another terrorist bombing goes awry, he falls off a high thing and lands almost literally in the lap of manic pixie dream girl number 2, [[InnocentFlowerGirl flower seller]] [[MysteriousWaif with mysterious past who drives the rest of the plot.]]

* NightmareFuel:[[invoked]] The ''Kinectimals''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kinectimals.jpg box art]] is "the most terrifying thing I've seen all year. It looks like what would happen if [[MonsterClown John Wayne Gacy]] went to Disneyland."

** He also described ''VideoGame/{{Tunic}}'' as "The greatest game since ''The Sacred Armor of Antiriad'' to be named after the entire contents of the main character's laundry list.