Line #29 VideoGame/HasBeenHeroes


1	[[quoteright:258:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/has_been_heroes.jpg]]
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3	''Has Been Heroes'' is a lane-based {{roguelike}} StrategyGame that tasks players with fighting hordes of TheUndead to [[ExcusePlot take the twin princesses to school.]] It was released in 2017 for Platform/{{Steam}}, Platform/{{PS4}} and the Platform/NintendoSwitch. The game was released by Frozenbyte, who also made the ''VideoGame/{{Trine}}'' series.
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5	Each run has the player navigate through a series of areas, fighting TheUndead as they do so. The idea of combat is to match the number of hits a hero can dish out to [[BreakMeter the amount of Stamina an enemy has.]] When this happens, the enemy can be attacked to deal damage and is sent to the back of the lane. Hitting too many times will deal reduced damage and only knock the enemy back a short way. Along the way, heroes can spend gold on items and spells, or find treasure chests which can carry useful loot.
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7	!!This game provides examples of:
8	* ActionBomb: Some skeletons are active explosives and run at the heroes, with the subsequent detonation dealing damage or freezing them. This can be used to your advantage, however, since other enemies are just as vulnerable to these explosions as you.
9	** There's one "Summon Elemental Bomb" spell for each element, which does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, but unlike bomb skeletons, these bombs cannot hurt you.
10	* ArrangeMode: The unlockable Epic Quest. [[spoiler: Your heroes are characters from Frozenbyte's ''VideoGame/{{Trine}}'' series, who have odd passive abilities unlike your normal heroes and no starting spells to speak of. In addition, none of them have any Stamina and cannot gain any over the course of the game. Thankfully, your starting gold is doubled to 600, allowing you more flexibility in purchasing spells and items to make up for your initial deficit.]]
11	* AnachronismStew: The game takes place in a medieval setting, but one of your allies can be a wrestler or a robot. In addition, some of the items you find include defibrillators and cell phones.
12	** [[spoiler: Favian's second form has him wielding an electric guitar, of all things.]]
13	* AnIcePerson: Ice spells freeze targets, allowing hits to bypass the [[BreakMeter Stamina meter]]. When applied to a hero, this can end very badly, as it keeps the hero from casting spells, attacking or even changing lanes.
14	** Zakwas also specializes in these types of spells, always starting with one.
15	* AreaOfEffect: Many, many spells can do this. There are even bonuses that increase this range significantly.
16	* AwesomeButImpractical: Some Dark spells eat up so much health per use that it can be very risky to use them, assuming [[UselessUsefulSpell they can be used at all.]]
17	* BetterThanABareBulb: Many characters [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] various occurrences throughout gameplay, [[ConspiracyTheorist Zakwas]] especially
18	* {{BFS}}: Crux wields one. [[spoiler: Except in his third form, where he wields an axe.]]
19	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Sure, later skeletons could be wielding disco balls or [[RollingPinOfDoom rolling pins]], but these skeletons are actually ''more'' threatening than the more serious ones that came before them.
20	** [[spoiler: Many unlockable forms will have your heroes wearing silly costumes but they are ''far'' more effective than their baseline variants.]]
21	* BigBad: The Great Ghoul, who plans to use his army of evil to TakeOverTheWorld.
22	* BoringButPractical: [[NonElemental Non-elemental]] buffs such as Quickstrike are this. Sure, they aren't flashy but they'll get the job done better than most spells.
23	* BlowYouAway: Any given Wind spell is capable of this to some degree. [[RobotBuddy Roho]] also always starts with a wind spell.
24	* BreakMeter: Almost every enemy has a specific amount of hits it can take before it starts taking damage, known as Stamina. Reducing this number to exactly zero is key to maximizing damage and knockback from attacks.
25	* CastFromHitPoints: Any given Dark spell will do this based on how long the original spell takes to charge [[note]]For example, Fireball takes 15 seconds to recharge, so Dark Fireball will cost 30 hit points to use[[/note]]. Due to this, some of them fall into UselessUsefulSpell territory as the character that holds them may not have enough health to cast it in the first place or will put them in a near-death situation if they do.
26	* CharmPerson: Available as a spell. The Aspect of Pandemonium can do this as well, [[AttackBackfire but that's not to say it's going to affect a hero.]]
27	* ContractualBossImmunity: All bosses are immune to [[SupernaturalFearInducer Fear]] and [[CharmPerson Charmed]], and many are immune to Frozen.
28	* CriticalStatusBuff: A good deal of the items you pick up can do this, with the effect being anything from increasing damage output to decreasing damage received.
29	* DamageOverTime: The Fire and Poison statuses can deal a small amount of damage every second or so and can spread easily. Certain spells can hit several times, as well.
30	* EarlyGameHell: Before you have access to elemental spells and better heroes, you're stuck with [[NonElemental non-elemental]] spells that lack the ability to deal damage, access to items is very limited and only two of your characters are capable of dealing more than ScratchDamage.
31	* EquipmentBasedProgression: Any given hero can only get stronger by picking up items and spells, no matter how many skeletons they kill. [[spoiler: New variants and weapons can be unlocked as well, further increasing how powerful heroes are.]]
32	* ExcusePlot: You have three heroes. Get the princesses to school.
33	* FriendlyFireproof: Averted. You can cast offensive spells on your own characters which can easily result in YetAnotherStupidDeath. However, this can be [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] in some cases, such as thawing out a frozen hero with a fireball.
34	* FunnyAnimal: One member of the Epic Band of Heroes is Kedi, an anthropomorphic tiger.
35	* GradualRegeneration: In true roguelike fashion, heroes will naturally heal over time, with some items increasing this rate of healing. [[TheBard Favian]] specializes in this and significantly increases the rate at which characters heal so long as he's in the party.
36	* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Locked chests can only be opened with keys that can be purchased from locksmiths, sometimes found inside other chests ([[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock including locked ones]]), and rarely dropped by enemies. Any given key has one use, though the Master Key will give you an endless supply of them.
37	* JokeItem: [[spoiler: The Enlarged Sandwich from the expansion, which supplies a minor health bonus alongside a pitiful regeneration boost. Many other items unlocked beforehand can provide you with superior effects.]]
38	* MakingASplash: Water spells soak the enemies they hit and tend to leave puddles, both of which can be combined with other spells for interesting effects.
39	** [[TheBard Favian]] specializes in these and starts every run with one. [[spoiler: Unless you use his Young form.]]
40	* {{Macrogame}}: Every time you finish a run, losing or otherwise, any souls you collected are given to the [[BigGood Gatekeeper]], which are exchanged for better items and more spells to find in later runs.
41	** In addition, every time you kill an elemental Ghoul, you unlock a new hero and a slew of new items.
42	* ManOnFire: Burning, which does DamageOverTime and can be doused with Water spells. In addition, this condition can be spread very easily with Wind spells.
43	* MoneyForNothing: [[spoiler: Enemies in the Underworld, including the Great Ghoul himself, drop quite a bit of gold, but there's not a single vendor down there to spend any of it on.]]
44	* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: Under normal circumstances, your party must consist of a hero that hits three times, one that hits twice[[note]]Metacles, Favian, Kedi, and Khar[[/note]], and one that hits once [[note]]Crux, Florencio, Zakwas, and Roho[[/note]]. For example, you cannot have Favian and Khar on the same team, or Florencio and Zakwas.
45	** This doesn't always apply to Challenge Mode, however, as certain challenges may set you up with multiple one hit heroes.
46	* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: [[spoiler: After you reach the end of the City for the first time, the Great Ghoul steals the souls of the Princesses and locks them away in a chest amidst a sea of identical chests that must be opened one at a time.]]
47	* NintendoHard: The game can easily veer into this territory, especially in the [[EarlyGameHell early game.]]
48	* NonStandardGameOver: If you attempt to cross back over a path you've already taken and don't have candles, your heroes will get lost in the darkness and die, ending the run.
49	* NoSell: If an enemy has an elemental immunity, any spell of the same element will have no effect on them at all.
50	** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Fear immunity, as the damage from the spell will still go through, just not the Fear status.
51	** The heroes can use this themselves with the Divine Intervention spell, which also clears any status ailments.
52	* NotCompletelyUseless: [[spoiler: The expansion-exclusive Tinfoil Hat item, which provides immunity to Fear and Charmed. Being immune to Charmed is especially useful against the Aspect of Pandemonium, who is the only enemy in the game capable of Charming a hero.]]
53	* OvershadowedByAwesome: Each hero you unlock is usually superior to the previous one. [[spoiler: Variants are this as well, typically outdoing their previous forms almost entirely.]]
54	* ProjectileSpell: Too many to count. Slot bonuses can increase the number of projectiles launched or make them hit additional targets.
55	* PlayingWithFire: Fire spells allow heroes to set enemies aflame, or can be used to [[MundaneUtility thaw a frozen hero.]]
56	** [[FunnyAnimal Kedi]] specializes in these and always starts a run with one.
57	* PoisonousPerson: Poison spells deal DamageOverTime and can be spread with [[ShockAndAwe Lightning]] spells.
58	** Khar always starts with a Poison spell and is always immune to poison.
59	* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: The Epic Band of Heroes fell apart long before the game takes place; a part of the game is recovering the souls of the lost heroes, which were stolen by the [[YourSoulIsMine Great Ghoul.]]
60	* RandomDropBooster: [[spoiler: Several expansion items, such as the Survival Guide, Silver Lamp and Rusty Key, will drastically increase your chances of finding Candles and Keys from enemies and chests.]]
61	* RandomEffectSpell: Chaos Bolt, a later elemental spell, deals a random amount of damage and casts a random elemental ailment to the target.
62	* ResurrectiveImmortality: How the game's roguelike elements are justified in game. Any time your heroes die, the Gatekeeper revives them at the cost of all the experience and loot you earned that run (except for Souls).
63	* RobotBuddy: Roho, the sixth character unlocked, is this, with strong implications that it has a mind of its own.
64	* {{Roguelike}}: Each run has a randomly generated set of stages, with shops (and their items), chests, battles, and camps placed randomly along the way. If you die, your run ends and you'll have to try again.
65	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The twin princesses collect any gold, keys, candles, and souls that drop during combat. They can also use their soul orbs to cast any spell a hero has for free, even if it's on cooldown.
66	* ShockAndAwe: Lightning spells can be used for this purpose, which arc between enemies. Usually, they have a wide amount of damage they can deal. Soaked enemies take additional damage from Lightning spells, as well.
67	** Florencio specializes in these and starts with a Lightning spell every run.
68	* SixthRanger: Tam and the princesses are this. [[spoiler: Nemesis and Thanatos are this, too, when you unlock them.]]
69	* SkeletonKey: The Master Key can be purchased from some locksmiths, but it's one of the most expensive items in the game.
70	* StockRPGSpells: Many can be unlocked and later found, with most of them dealing StatusEffects, though there are others.
71	* StatusEffects: [[ManOnFire Burning]], poisoned, [[SupernaturalFearInducer fear]], frozen and [[CharmPerson charmed]].
72	* StatSticks: Some of the items you run across are weapons, but they're only carried for their stat values. Examples include the Wand of the Nameless, [[spoiler: the Berserker's Spear, and the Ritual Dagger]].
73	* StatusBuff: Many [[NonElemental non-elemental]] spells do things along these lines. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Doublestrike]] doubles the number of hits a hero will dish out with their next attack, for example.
74	* StinkBomb: One of the Poison spells is named this, applying a poisonous aura to an enemy that will continuously poison all enemies within it for a brief period of time.
75	* StuckItems: When a hero picks up an item, they're stuck with it for the rest of the run with no way to give it to somebody else [[UnknownItemIdentification even if the item was unidentified]]. This can especially sting if the item is useless in the given character's hands, such as Metacles picking up the Whetstone.
76	** This applies to spells, as well. Picking them up at the right time so as to put them over a slot bonus can make some spells '''very''' powerful.
77	* SupernaturalFearInducer: "Phobia" spells, such as Pyrophobia, will send enemies running, bringing any enemies they touch with them. If a hero is afflicted with fear, they will temporarily be incapable of doing anything, similar to being frozen.
78	* TakeOverTheWorld: The Great Ghoul's ultimate goal.
79	* TraumaInn: Camps randomly placed around the map can restore Stamina, health or both.
80	* TheUndead: What the heroes are up against.
81	* UnknownItemIdentification: Par the course for a roguelike, any spell or item must be picked up once to know its name and effects. However, once you identify an item it's tied to your save; you never have to identify it again and its effects will be listed before you pick it up.
82	* UselessUsefulSpell: Some Dark spells can consume more health than a hero might have, rendering them unusable until later in the run.
83	** Draining Wind fits this trope to a T. It deals [[ScratchDamage exactly 9 points of damage]] and a tiny bit of knockback with a 60-second cooldown, in a game where enemy health and damage numbers deal in the hundreds and thousands, making this specific effect very impractical. Even if you do manage to get a kill with it, all it does is restore one point of the caster's Stamina... which may not mean anything if they're full up.
84	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler: The Underworld, where the Great Ghoul's operations take place.]]
85	* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: If a hero dies, that's your run done. Considering that this is a {{Roguelike}}, you can expect this to happen a lot.
86	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler:After reaching the end of the City for the first time, the Great Ghoul steals the souls of the princesses, forcing the heroes to find them in a hoard of identical chests, all of which he protects.]]
87	* YourSoulIsMine: The Great Ghoul makes his army by corrupting the souls he collects.
88	** The princesses utilize a heroic version of this, returning the corrupted souls to the Gatekeeper.

Context VideoGame / HasBeenHeroes