Line #129 VideoGame/ChromaSquad


1	[[quoteright:319:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8df0f97401f0961e31a7e373b0e470b9.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:319:Chroma Warriors! Go! Go! Let's Go!]]
3
4	''Chroma Squad'' is an independent game by Creator/BeholdStudios, mixing elements of TurnBasedStrategy, StrategyRPG, and [[SimulationGame management simulation]]. It's a love-letter to the Japanese {{Tokusatsu}} genre, particularly the Franchise/SuperSentai series-- more familiar to westerners by its American adaption, Franchise/PowerRangers.
5
6	You take the role of a new, up-and-coming indie studio, managing a {{Sentai}} show. Your goal is to create a show exciting enough to draw in fans. After creating your own custom squad of five heroes in colorful costumes, it's time to begin filming. By staging battles against mooks and monsters (the TurnBasedStrategy segments), your audience will grow, and with it, your revenue. Then, by using the money gained from successful episodes, you can further enhance your show's appeal, buying new costumes, materials, special effects, advertising contracts, and more. Exciting battles, cool special effects, and good costumes will bring in more viewers. But if you slip up and produce a bad episode, expect to lose fans. If the ratings fall too low, your show will be canceled.
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8	The game was funded through a successful Website/{{Kickstarter}} campaign. Its release date was listed as Summer 2014, but the game was subject to [[ScheduleSlip several delays]] and it didn't make the launch window. It was finally released on PC, Mac, and Linux on April 30th 2015, but backers of the campaign could play it a little bit earlier, on April 28th. It was later released on Android and iOS on May 18th 2017, Platform/Playstation4 and Platform/XBoxOne on May 19th 2017 and on Platform/NintendoSwitch on August 1st 2019. The official website is [[http://chromasquad.com here.]]
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10	----
11	!!Tropes:
12	* AffectionateParody: Of Japanese {{Tokusatsu}}.
13	* AllYourColorsCombined: The finishing move when all characters use Teamwork to attack a single enemy.
14	* AnimeThemeSong: [[https://beholdstudios.bandcamp.com/track/power-of-love-chroma-squad-feat-shuu-koyama Power of Love, Chroma Squad!]]
15	* AnimeHair: Gaga has this. [[spoiler: It's a wig.]]
16	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The game will let you know when a boss's health is low enough to be finished by a finishing move, which is useful since many boss objectives involve finishing them off in such a way.
17	* AlphaStrike: Discouraged! Using your FinishingMove to heavily-damage a boss or tough enemy out of the gate will actually hurt your audience rating; after all, the flashy special move is meant to be the climactic finish!
18	* ArbitrarySkepticism: [[spoiler: Catnigiri]] calls Assault out on this in their solo chapter. [[spoiler: A talking cat fighting by their side shouldn't be surprising when they've just teleported onto an alien spaceship.]]
19	* ArmCannon: One of the arms you can craft for your mecha is an arm cannon.
20	* AstralFinale: [[spoiler:The final Mecha battle takes place on top of Villain X's spaceship in orbit around the Earth.]]
21	* BadassBystander: While the Squad is joined by various Toku expies, they are more often joined by random passersby. [[spoiler: This holds true even after the threats become real, and one such helper is even a member of the team who preceded Chroma Squad. TheStinger reveals that ''all'' of the "random passersby" were part of the previous team.]]
22	* BewareTheSillyOnes: [[spoiler:Lord Gaga might be a campy, comical guy, but he's also a ruthless, sadistic, and powerful alien despot.]]
23	* BigBad: [[spoiler:Lord Gaga is the leader of the AlienInvasion, the villain directly responsible for all the conflicts from Season 3 onwards, and Tammy's ArchEnemy. Villain X, his boss, is a distant GreaterScopeVillain.]]
24	* BookEnds: One of the first craftable armor items is a BucketHelmet. One of the pieces of armor craftable during the final season is The Helmet of Infinite Imagination, made from the absolute highest-tier crafting materials. (It's another Bucket Helmet.)
25	* BreakingTheFourthWall: There are actually TWO "fourth walls" that the characters aren't afraid to break at all:
26	** The first is the SHOW's fourth wall, with characters openly talking about the lines, the narrator, script, etc during the fights.
27	** And the second is the game's fourth wall. Everyone talks about gameplay elements, like how "this boss is too overpowered", "maybe next turn =)" and "nerf this damage!". They sometimes even joke about the localization.
28	** You get an email from a fansite telling you to visit their website. The email then says you should check it out outside the game as well, as it is a real site.
29	* BrainInAJar: Cerebro, the central computer and wise mentor of the squad. [[spoiler:He was originally a giant lizard creature.]]
30	* BucketHelmet: One of the earliest pieces of equipment you can craft is a bucket helmet, as befitting the aesthetic of a self-started show funded on a shoestring and run out of a warehouse. As a {{Book End\|s}}, one of the ''last'' pieces of equipment you can make (out of incredibly powerful extraterrestrial materials, no less) is another, far more effective bucket helmet.
31	* ButThouMust:
32	** During season 2, you receive an e-mail from someone named Gaga who offers to install a device that will help boost audience numbers for your studio. You cannot refuse this offer.
33	** To a lesser extent, there's also Dr. Soap's offer for either royalties, or a court battle in season 1. The game offers you a third choice (bringing him on and letting him take over the show), but if you choose it, the option will be thrown out.
34	* ByThePowerOfGrayskull: You can choose your own transformation catchphrase. The default is "Lights, Camera, Chromatize!"
35	* CerebusSyndrome:
36	** [[spoiler:Starting in season 3 and onwards, the game starts to shift from a light-hearted story about making a TV show to actually saving the planet from a coming monster invasion.]]
37	** [[spoiler:Season 5 of the Night Driver route has a particularly noticeable shift in tone, with the entire Squad kidnapped except for the Assault, Tammy's father dying, and the Assault having to fight on alone against Lord Gaga's monsters.]]
38	* ChekhovsGunman: One of the first e-mails you receive mentions a cat that hangs around at the studio. [[spoiler:The cat actually fought against Lord Gaga before, and assists the Assault in the Night Driver route.]]
39	* ChestBlaster: One of the craftable torsos for your mecha has a laser cannon as a special attack.
40	* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: [[spoiler:Once Lord Gaga's treachery is revealed in the series 3 finale, he takes the Squad out in a single attack before sending some minions to finish them off. The Lead stands up and, through [[HeroicSecondWind sheer force of will]], manages to transform for real.]]
41	* CombinationAttack: Characters can use Teamwork to strike a pose, which allows them to team up with an ally for extra damage, or [[FastballSpecial increase the movement range of an ally by tossing them.]] If the entire squad does a combination attack, you get a FinishingMove.
42	* ConversationalTroping: While the game's dialogue has its fair share of LampshadeHanging and DiscussedTrope, it also veers into discussing tropes that don't actually occur in the game.
43	* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Several bosses will, upon defeat, unleash a massive attack that deals quadruple-digit damage to our heroes, usually requiring a GuestStarPartyMember or HeroicWillpower to kick in.
44	* DefeatEqualsExplosion: Naturally, given the genre the game references. [[spoiler:Night Driver's Driver Mode causes any defeated enemy to explode, which damages surrounding enemies. If set up right, it can clear a large portion of the screen in a single attack.]]
45	* DevelopersForesight: Hitting bosses with a full-member CombinationAttack loses you audience unless you use it as a FinishingMove, because the audience doesn't want to see it get stale. However, hitting bosses with four- or three- member combinations grants them the 'enraged' status if they survive, which massively boosts their offense in the following round. This encourages you to divvy up your attacks between multiple enemies or buff your crew.
46	* DieForOurShip: In-universe, one e-mail will be from an obsessive fan who's convinced that two characters from the show are in love. Go against what she thinks in your reply, and she'll chew you out, [[ArmedWithCanon even though YOU are]] [[InsaneTrollLogic the one making the canon of the show]].
47	* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:Lord Gaga is this. While he tries to make it out as him not really trying and finding the heroes NotWorthKilling, the final level suggests his first response to any situation where he might actually lose is to run away. In the Moonstone Ranger Route, Villain X even outright says he looks like he's running away, implying his superior is aware of this tendency of his. When Villain X finds out about his failures, the facade drops and he begs for another chance.]]
48	* DoNotTauntCthulhu: Don't taunt Colin's Bear... unless you want him to go from ZeroEffortBoss to OneWingedAngel. Unfortunately, StupidityIsTheOnlyOption, as there is no way to complete the mission without angering Colin's Bear.
49	* DumbMuscle: The Assault tends to come across as this. [[spoiler:It causes problems in one episode of Season 5 where the Assault recklessly rushes ahead of the group and gets manipulated into knocking out their friends before the SixthRanger comes to the rescue. In the Night Driver route (where the Assault is the only member of the squad available), the monsters tend to taunt them with this, claiming that without the rest of the squad, they're not much good for anything beyond hitting monsters.]]
50	* {{Engrish}}: The narrator software is a bit buggy, as an homage to similar translation issues common in the genre.
51	* EvolvingMusic: Many of the game's themes come in pairs: a shorter, simpler 8-bit version that plays during cutscenes, and a longer, more complex 16-bit version that plays in the missions themselves. As an example, compare [[https://beholdstudios.bandcamp.com/track/amazing-entrance Amazing Entrance]] and [[https://beholdstudios.bandcamp.com/track/aint-no-suit Ain't No Suit]].
52	* EndingTheme: [[https://beholdstudios.bandcamp.com/track/be-brave-feat-hitomi-go Be Brave]], the credits theme. Features Japanese lyrics.
53	* ExpositoryThemeTune: [[https://beholdstudios.bandcamp.com/track/power-of-love-chroma-squad-feat-shuu-koyama Power of Love, Chroma Squad]], which explains the content of the game (entirely in Japanese).
54	* FlunkyBoss:
55	** Most bosses are surrounded by minions; some of them can even summon more minions if the fight goes on long enough. The rematch with the plant boss at the end of Act 3 is the first time a boss fights you alone (to compensate, he summons [[ActionBomb pods]] that explode one turn after being summoned).
56	** [[spoiler:Lord Gaga]] is particularly noteworthy for being a Flunky Boss whose flunkies are stronger versions of previous bosses (some of which are themselves Flunky Bosses).
57	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Quite a few things hint at [[spoiler: a larger plot beyond a group of stuntmen making their own sentai TV show.]]
58	** When the team first find Cerebro in Techie's uncle's warehouse, judging from the lighting and debris around it, it's situated below a hole in the ceiling. [[spoiler: Almost like it fell into the warehouse from above. Like, say, from outer space...]]
59	** One episode involves someone breaking onto the set and nailing their "lines" perfectly, followed by an address-less e-mail sent telling the team they are in danger.
60	** Throughout seasons 2 and 3, there are increasing numbers of missions that contain mysterious new characters whose presence is evidently not in the script. Is the studio just [[ThrowItIn throwing in]] nearby elements that prove convenient for the plot? [[spoiler: Or are some of the "alien threats" on the show actually real?]]
61	* GratuitousJapanese: One of the fan mail letters you receive is from a Japanese fansubber whose letter is in English, peppered with random Japanese words.
62	* GuestFighter: Grimmgarl, Tornaq, and Muligahn from ''VideoGame/ColossalKaijuCombat'' appear as enemies in one of the Episodes.
63	* GuestStarPartyMember: But of course. There's standard SixthRanger characters, as well as non-ranger allies like ones that have shown up in Sentai/PR on occasion. The game even lets you know beforehand if an episode will feature a guest. [[spoiler: A proper SixthRanger joins your team throughout Season 5; depending on the choices you make at the end of Season 4, you can get a traditional SixthRanger, one of three [[{{Expy}} expies]] of the Series/MetalHeroes, or a ''Franchise/KamenRider'' {{expy}}]].
64	* HelloInsertNameHere: ZigzaggedTrope. The actors have fixed real names, but you name the characters they play within the show. [[spoiler:Curiously, even after TheReveal of Season 3, they stick to their character names, likely because that's the names the audience knows them by.]]
65	* HeroAntagonist: The Red Samurai attacks your studio during Season 3. During Season 4, you learn [[spoiler:he was actually trying to prevent you from using the Audience Booster to open Gaga's portals all along, and he joins you as a GuestStarPartyMember.]]
66	* HeroicSecondWind:
67	** In mecha battles, if you accrue a high enough audience score, your health gauge will refill itself if it hits zero, giving you a second chance to win. [[spoiler:This is how the [[HopelessBossFight Hopeless]] FinalBoss [[HopelessBossFight Fight]] is won: with the power of fans from across the world, not only does your mecha's HP continuously refill, but your hit rate will [[OffTheChart permanently exceed 1000%]].]]
68	** Happens in the [[spoiler: Season 3 finale: Gaga triggers his trap and takes out the entirety of Chroma Squad for real, leaving his (non-actor) monsters to finish them off. Lead, through sheer willpower, manages to not only stand up despite their injuries, but also manages to [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve transform FOR REAL.]]]]
69	* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:According to Tammy, Lord Gaga has killed many of Earth's heroes off screen and did something to her sister that left her permanently crippled. He also reduced Brain to the BrainInAJar Cerebro and manages to capture Tammy and brainwash her into a mindless monster, nearly forcing the squad to kill her. (In the Sixth Ranger route, he later succeeds in doing this to one of Tammy's old friends.) In the Night Driver Route, he also kills Tammy's father, the original Night Driver (who eventually gets better due to time travel). When initially introduced, he's also more than powerful enough to take out the entire squad in one hit.]]
70	* HomeBase: In the "real" world, it's your studio. In the show, it's Cerebro's chambers.
71	* HopelessBossFight: Subverted in the original release and averted in the Director's Cut when it comes to [[spoiler:the final battle. Villain X's kaiju form has an immense amount of HP, but when it looks like it'll be game over for you, your fans' support revives you with infinite HP and accuracy. The gameplay changes introduced by the Director's Cut, however, make it entirely possible to kill Villain X fair and square.]]
72	* HumongousMecha: This IS a {{Sentai}} show, after all. You can customize and upgrade it, improving its stats and giving it useful skills, including special [[FinishingMove Finishing Moves]].
73	* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] example. The game faithfully retains the odd grammar and writing of classic Sentai; the Narrator's use of such is [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], but the other characters do it too, and their use goes unmentioned.
74	* ItsAllAboutMe: In the third season, your team's Leader becomes a self-centered JerkAss. [[spoiler:This is due to influence from Lord Gaga's Audience Booster.]]
75	* ImaginationBasedSuperpower: The power of imagination becomes a major plot point, as [[spoiler: it's why your props and SFX allow you to actually fight aliens, and you can summon your mech even though it's only made of cardboard]].
76	* JustifiedTutorial: The game begins with the team still as stuntmen working for Dr. Soap, and the first fight has Dr. Soap telling the team what to do. They complain that [[AsYouKnow they've done it many times already, but Dr. Soap likes telling people what to do]].
77	* KilledOffForReal:
78	** [[spoiler: Subverted with Tammy if you fail to save her - while you'll miss out on the chance to recruit her as a proper ranger, TheStinger in the Night Driver route shows that she survived.]]
79	** [[spoiler: Also subverted with Mr. Ahbo (Tammy's father and the original Night Driver) in the Night Driver route. He gets killed by Lord Gaga fairly early on, but returns to help the squad in the final battle because of time travel. Somehow.]]
80	* KnightOfCerebus: [[spoiler:Lord Gaga has his comical moments, but his introduction takes the story in a much darker direction and raises the stakes from keeping your studio afloat to saving the entire world. He also ''actually murders'' people.]]
81	* LevelEditor: While the stretch goal for it wasn't reached in the original kickstarter, one was added in 2018. Notably, it's the same one used to design the game itself, so it's fairly powerful, if somewhat unstable.
82	* LuckBasedMission: The Mecha battles used to be this to some extent, as your punches' accuracy relied solely on RNG. This problem could be mitigated somewhat by upgrading your Mecha's hit chance, but a string of bad rolls could easily result in taking more damage than you can handle from bosses. Fortunately, the Mecha battle mechanics were changed in the Director's Cut update: now, you have to time a button press when a scrolling cursor is over the right section of a bar (higher accuracy just makes the "good" section larger), so it's quite feasible to completely cheese mecha fights as long as you have good reflexes.
83	* MissingMainCharacter: As part of the Night Rider path. [[spoiler: Everyone but the Assault is captured by Gaga, leading to the Assault inheriting the Night Rider's motorcycle and belt, becoming the next Rider.]]
84	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: The explanation used is that the monsters have a "second life" and grow to giant size after being killed, much like [[Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger Shinkenger]]/[[Series/PowerRangersSamurai Power Rangers Samurai.]]
85	* MundaneFantastic: The show you're making is a work of fiction. The battles are staged, teleportation is done with special effects, and the monsters are simply performers in suits... but your actors can include a sapient robot, a talking beaver, and a space alien. [[spoiler:But then, by the end of season 3, real monsters start appearing...]]
86	* NoBudget: InUniverse, the starting props are exactly as minimal as you'd expect from a startup studio.
87	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
88	** One of the characters is unsubtly named [[Music/LadyGaga Gaga]].
89	** Many of the actors you can hire for the squad roles also count. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Snipes Weasley Stripes?]] [[Creator/ScarlettJohansson "Scar" Alert Johansen?]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson "Mike" Evan Tyson?]] (Jet) [[Creator/JetLi Dude]] [[Creator/BruceLee Lee?]] [[Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme "Claude" Von Andy?]]
90	* NoStuntDouble: InUniverse, the Squad don't use stunt doubles, since they ''were'' stunt doubles before starting their own show and have the martial arts training to pull it off.
91	* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:After the team is seemingly forced to kill Tammy in the Night Rider route, she is revealed to still be alive in TheStinger.]]
92	* OneWingedAngel: Several villains [[MakeMyMonsterGrow will turn giant]] after being defeated in 'regular' battle, making a Mecha fight needed to finish them off. A few also have multiple forms in tactical combat or during Mecha battles.
93	** [[spoiler:Colin's Bear turns from a regular dancing bear into a hideous monstrosity that's a lot more dangerous for the second part of its battle.]]
94	** [[spoiler:Villain X transforms from a TinTyrant to a hideous monster later into his boss fight.]]
95	* ThePowerOfFriendship and [[ThePowerOfLove Love]]: These are brought up many times throughout the series. [[spoiler:They become particularly important later in the game when the exploits of your sentai team turn out to be RealAfterAll.]]
96	* PungeonMaster: Most of the monsters, as well as the Assault.
97	* PsychoForHire: [[spoiler:While Lord Gaga is the subordinate of [[GreaterScopeVillain Villain X]], it's clear he loves every second of what he's doing and is a sadistic piece of work himself.]]
98	* RealAfterAll: [[spoiler:Starting from the end of season 3, real monsters start appearing. Though, the narration after the game is completed questions if that was still all part of the show.]]
99	* PurelyAestheticGender: It doesn't matter if your actors are men or women; gender makes no difference to the game. In fact, you can even play with a beaver, a robot, and/or an alien, and the game won't change.
100	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: In-Universe. In one episode, the Techie has to leave early for a dentist appointment. The rest of the crew realizes that his/her absence would make for a good kidnapping story.
101	* RootingForTheEmpire : In-universe. Whenever you finish an episode, you might get see posts from fans who constantly complain that the villains never win.
102	* RunningGag: The team's Scout is ALWAYS the last to teleport in or out, and often with a noticeable delay. It's never commented on.
103	* SdrawkcabName: Before being renamed "Dr. Soap", an e-mail demanding royalties or a court battle comes from Dr. Mi Ah, from his e-mail address nab@s.com, a clear reference to Haim Saban of Creator/SabanBrands.
104	* {{Shipping}}: In-universe, one of the e-mails you get is from a shipper sending you 32gb of fanfics and asking if Lead/Assist or Assault/Assist is canon. [[PurelyAestheticGender It doesn't matter if those actors have the same sex or aren't even human]].
105	* ShootTheDog:
106	** [[spoiler:Lord Gaga attempts to force the squad to do this to Tammy after brainwashing her into a mindless monster. Thankfully, she survives regardless of whether you go through with it or not.]]
107	** [[spoiler:In the SixthRanger Route, he repeats this tactic with one of Tammy's old friends. This time, the squad has to actually kill him.]]
108	* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/ChromaSquad Has its own page]].
109	* SimulationGame: You manage the studio, including the purchasing, construction, and improvement of props and costumes. This also includes hiring marketing staff, buying health insurance, and deciding where to focus your advertisement efforts. The newest update even lets you '''write your own episodes!'''
110	* SixthRanger: [[spoiler: Tammy, the Citrine/Moonstone ranger. Alternately, if you choose not to let her join or fail to rescue her, you can have a [[Series/MetalHeroes Mithril Hero]] or [[Franchise/KamenRider Rider]] fill this slot instead.]]
111	* SoLastSeason: Built into the game. Your actors only unlock new powers whenever a new season rolls around.
112	* StartMyOwn: The game begins when a group of unappreciated stunt doubles decide to start their own show.
113	* TheStinger: Multiple:
114	** [[spoiler:If players read through the reams of lines from the narrator after beating the game, they are treated to a special scene where Brain (Cerebro, before being reduced to a BrainInAJar) sends your predecessors to the final battle with Lord Gaga. Gaga appears in Brain's chamber to destroy him, but not before [[ItMakesSenseInContext fighting a sushi cat]].]]
115	** [[spoiler: If one goes on the Night Driver route, Techie is shown reminiscing on Chroma Squad's impact on the world and how heroism isn't really as they hoped it was, but will keep going to keep the Earth safe. Tammy comes by and [[ShipTease invites Techie out for coffee.]]]]
116	* StoryBranching: There are two branches in the storyline.
117	** During Season 1, you receive an email from Dr. Soap threatening litigation. The story branches in the next season depending on whether you pay royalties, offer to bring Dr. Soap on as director, or opt to settle the matter in court.[[note]] Only the first and third options impact how the story progresses. Picking the second option has the game call you out on "Giving up the game early." and reduces the choices to only the royalties, or the court battle. [[/note]]
118	** In the fourth season finale, [[spoiler:there are three ways the story can branch depending on your actions in the final battle. In one branch, you save a brainwashed Tammy and let her on as the SixthRanger. In the second, Tammy is saved but not brought onto the team, and your Sentai team is joined by a Series/MetalHeroes expy. In the third, Tammy is gravely injured during the battle, and Gaga kidnaps your entire team but the Assault, who must rescue the rest of the team with the help of a Franchise/KamenRider expy.]]
119	* StrategyRPG: Straddles the line between this and TurnBasedStrategy. While you don't gain experience points or level up, your units do have stats which can be improved by buying them equipment.
120	* SuperMode:
121	** [[spoiler:Tammy gains a white-colored one during the FinalBattle via EpiphanyComeback.]]
122	** [[spoiler:Night Driver has Driver Mode, which powers up attacks at the cost of taking more damage and has the added bonus of causing slain enemies to explode, damaging other enemies around them. The Night Driver power up can be seen as one for the Assault as well, as it makes them ''much'' stronger and gives them both their own moves and the Night Driver moves.]]
123	* SuperSentaiStance: But of course! The most prominent ones are during the FinishingMove and when using the Teamwork ability, but the heroes will also pose like this for their TransformationSequence, as well as just doing it randomly during their turns. During cutscenes, each hero has their own unique pose whenever they say something while in costume.
124	* TakeThat: Dr. Soap was originally named "Mr. Mi Ah" and is a caricature of Haim Saban of Creator/SabanBrands (with whom the developers had some legal issues): an overbearing blowhard who is unpleasant to work with.
125	* TitleDrop: The title refers to the default name for the Sentai team.
126	* TemptingFate: On a meta-level, the developers. Even after getting into an agreement with Saban over the game, the developers decided to hew so close to existing Sentai properties (even going so far as to cite certain ones) that after it's release, [[http://steamcommunity.com/app/251130/discussions/0/620712364044656952 the game wasn't allowed to be distributed in certain regions]]. Allegedly, it's because Toei became involved.
127	* ThreeLawsCompliant: The actor Asimobot is compliant with only two of the laws. The game doesn't elaborate on which one he disregards.
128	* ThrowAwayGuns: [[spoiler:Exaggerated with Villain X, who states he only uses any weapon once. This is a literal gameplay mechanic during his boss fight, as he will take a weapon from one of his weapon bearers, use it, then only use the same attack again should he get another weapon of the same type.]]
129	* ThrowItIn: Happens frequently In-Universe. One SixthRanger and several guest allies are just random people who get caught up in the episodes and are able to play their parts perfectly. [[spoiler: One of {{the Stinger}}s reveals that all of the "random bystanders" were part of a previous squad of heroes, which explains why they were able to fit in so well.]]
130	* TookALevelInJerkass: The Leader of the squad becomes something of a self-important jerk during the third season due to all the fame going to their head. [[spoiler:Really though, they are being mind-controlled by Lord Gaga.]]
131	* VileVillainSaccharineShow: [[spoiler:Lord Gaga, while campy and comical, is also a monstrous alien invader who gets up to surprisingly horrible things for the game's tone, such as human experimentation, murder, and torture.]]
132	* VillainousBreakdown:
133	** [[spoiler:Lord Gaga seems to remain composed, but once alone shows he's very much having one of these, being frustrated and angry that the heroes keep 'ruining his fun.' He breaks down in complete fear and begins begging for his life when [[GreaterScopeVillain Villain X]] shows up.]]
134	** [[spoiler:When Villain X arrives, he's a smug, arrogant EvilOverlord who views the heroes more as an annoyance than anything. By the end, he's gone into full, screaming, WhyWontYouDie mode.]]
135	* WeaponSpecialization: Each party member has a type of weapon they alone can use: spears for the Lead, axes for the Assault, rifles for the Techie, daggers for the Scout, and [[TheStraightAndArrowPath bows]] for the Support.
136	* WhamEpisode
137	** Season 3 finale: [[spoiler: The enemies that Chroma Squad has been fighting during Season 3 were actually real, and Lord Gaga has mind-controlled the Lead to help him open up portals for his invading army. Cerebro is also revealed to be an actual BrainInAJar and not a prop, and he has chosen Chroma Squad to be the new defenders of Earth.]]
138	** Season 4 Finale: [[spoiler: Lord Gaga attacks Cerebro's chamber with a mind-controlled Tammy, but Chroma Squad manages to push him away before being defeated by one of Lord Gaga's monsters. It is revealed that the original Chroma Squad team ''was'' real, but Lord Gaga managed to make everyone forget it.]]
139	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: You receive several e-mails from an unknown sender during the course of the game warning you of imminent danger, but it's never revealed who sent them [[spoiler:or set up a pirate antenna to try and interfere with the Audience Booster Lord Gaga set up in your studio.]]
140	* WolfpackBoss: A couple episodes involve these instead of {{Flunky Boss}}es. Tengu of Season 5 creates a bunch of identical copies of himself, and the endgame begins with a fight against a squad of 5 mini-kaiju.
141	* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler: Right before the final fight, Villain X slays Lord Gaga for ([[NiceJobFixingItVillain unintentionally]]) guiding the heroes to his space battleship[=/=]home base.]]
142	* YouLoseAtZeroTrust: You need fans for your Sentai show to be a success. Failure to bring in a certain number of fans by the end of the season means [[GameOver contract cancellation]].
143	* ZeroEffortBoss:
144	** Muscular Pigeon is a downplayed version of the trope. While ''technically'' capable of harming your team, it is unlikely to be able to do much except on Heroic Difficulty and will usually go down to a FinishingMove right off the bat. Given [[BossRush it comes right after]] the Red Samurai, which is very much ''not'' this trope, it is almost like an InUniverse BreatherBoss.

Context VideoGame / ChromaSquad