Line #16 VideoGame/Brandish


1	[[quoteright:337:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Brandish_Cover_PC98_5583.JPG]]
2	[[caption-width-right:337:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HexFdsLOUY Unlock the underworld!]]]]
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4	''Brandish'' is an ActionRPG series by Creator/{{Falcom}}, which currently consists of four main games. It is notable for having a rotatable "camera" despite having entirely 2D gameplay, thus allowing the player to do things like circle strafing, hit and run attacks, and other typically 3D techniques.
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6	The original game was released in 1991 for the Platform/PC98 and Platform/FMTowns, before being ported to the Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem and [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine]] in 1994/1995. The first ''Brandish'' was the only entry of the series ever released in other countries (with the SNES version being the only English language version available), and with great alterations at that. Its story starts with the protagonist, Ares, being ambushed by the mage Dela Delon, who aims to avenge her evil wizard master, killed by Ares in the game's backstory. While battling, one of Dela Delon's spells breaks open the ground, sending them both into a deep labyrinth. Now, Ares must figure out a way to escape.
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8	''Brandish 2: The Planet Buster'' was originally released on the PC-98 in 1993, and was then ported to the SNES in 1994/1995. ''Brandish 3: Spirit of Balcan'' was developed in 1994, again for the PC-98. Both of these sequels again centered on Ares and Dela. All three games would later receive ''Renewal'' [[UpdatedRerelease versions]] exclusive to the PC-98, featuring gameplay balances, an arranged soundtrack (complete with additional music), and new cover art courtesy of Jun Suemi (see the page image).
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10	A fourth installment, ''Brandish VT: Fata Morgana Templum'', followed in 1996, once more for the PC-98, with its port for [[Platform/MicrosoftWindows Windows]] computers titled ''Brandish 4: The Tower of Sleeping God''. While it retained the series' gameplay and graphics despite switching from an overhead perspective to an isometric one, the storyline was very different. This is because the fourth game was originally envisioned as a brand new IP known as ''Victim's Tower'', with Falcom [[DolledUpInstallment retooling it]] after realizing the interface and basic gameplay were similar to the previous three ''Brandish'' installments. The "VT" in the title is [[DevelopmentGag a nod]] to the original concept, with the titular Fata Morgana Templum/Tower of the Sleeping God (a giant tower in the middle of the desert) [[IHaveManyNames also known]] in-game as the Victim's Tower. The fourth game is also notable for its implementation of a Good-Neutral-Evil [[KarmaMeter alignment system]] and MultipleEndings based on the player's alignment, not unlike the mainline ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games.
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12	In 2009, the first ''Brandish'' would be [[VideoGameRemake remade]] for the [[Platform/PlayStationPortable PSP]] as ''Brandish: The Dark Revenant'', being fully 3D but retaining the same rotatable camera system of the original; Creator/XSEEDGames would handle localization of ''The Dark Revenant'' for the North American and PAL regions in 2015. Dela would also appear as a GuestFighter in 2010's ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} vs. [[VideoGame/TrailsSeries Sora no Kiseki]]: Alternative Saga'', serving as a [[AssistCharacter support character]] and the game's sole representative for her home series.
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14	2009 also saw [[https://www.romhacking.net/translations/1442/ the release]] of a FanTranslation of the second game's Super Famicom version (handled by Synchronicity Translations), with [[https://gu4n.github.io/br2/index.html another]] (this time based on ''Brandish 2 Renewal'' and translated by a team led by [=Gu4n=] and preta) releasing in 2017. [=Gu4n=] additionally worked on [[https://gu4n.github.io/br4/ a translation patch]] for ''Brandish 4'', though only the Lawful route of Dee's story is finished and there are no current plans to fully translate the game.
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17	!! The series provides examples of the following:
18	* AlwaysOverTheShoulder: And with sprite-based graphics, no less! The trick was loading four versions of each map that switched as you "turned."
19	* AmazonianBeauty: Umber, a muscular wrestler who fights in [[https://tcrf.net/File:Brandish_3_BR3_OP07.png a revealing outfit]] that basically looks like a sling swimsuit with a tubetop.
20	* AndManGrewProud: The backstory of the setting in ''The Dark Revenant''. The once flourishing nation of Vittoria came to ruin when its king Lord Bistall attempted to harness the power of the nation's guardian dragon for himself. The land sank deep into the earth, becoming a giant underground dungeon in the process.
21	* TheArchmage: Balcan is both this and BigGood in ''Spirit of Balcan'' despite having died several years before the start of the series.
22	* AscendedExtra:
23	** Dela Delon, who went from a comical antagonist in the first two games to playable heroine in ''Spirit of Balcan'' on account of [[BreakoutCharacter her popularity]]. ''[[VideoGameRemake The Dark Revenant]]'' would make her a SecretCharacter for the same reason.
24	** Similarly, Umber and Jinza, who were bosses/[=NPCs=] in ''The Planet Buster'', became playable characters in ''Spirit of Balcan''.
25	** Garahad was merely a recurring NPC in ''VT'', but the Windows version of the fourth game gave him his own chapter.
26	* AutobotsRockOut: God Badorrer and Apeiron's fights are accompanied by heavy-hitting tracks with emphasis on shredding.
27	* BadassNormal: Ares.
28	* BagOfSpilling: Applies to Ares at the beginning of each game. Justified in ''The Planet Buster'' where Ares gets beaten up and loses the Planet Buster at the beginning of the game.
29	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Lord Bistall tried to harness the power of his nation's guardian dragon for himself. The guardian dragon granted his wish by turning him into an unholy monster and sinking the kingdom to the underground.
30	* BeamSpam: [[spoiler:God Bistall]]'s second form in ''The Dark Revenant'' uses this.
31	* {{Bifauxnen}}: [[spoiler:Mauve]] in ''Brandish VT'' is a mild example.
32	%%* BlackAndWhiteMagic
33	* BlackMagicianGirl: Dela Delon.
34	* BreakableWeapons: Combined with a limited inventory.
35	* BreakoutCharacter: Dela Delon has become the signature character of the series and features on many front covers, despite only being playable in ''Spirit of Balcan'' and a secret mode of ''The Dark Revenant''.
36	* ButtMonkey: One function of Dela is to show the player which traps he will encounter in the next part of the game. That naturally means that she triggers each and every one of these traps and least in the first two games is constantly knocked out, transported away, dropped into pits...
37	* TheCaligula: Lord Bistall in the first game and King Badorrer in the second game.
38	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Garahad in ''Brandish VT''.
39	* {{Determinator}}: Ares.
40	* DigitalBikini: Dela Delon in the U.S. SNES version of ''Brandish''. Her original outfit gets a one-piece bathing suit that covers most of her skin.
41	* DisappearsIntoLight: Happens to [[spoiler:God Bistall]] in ''The Dark Revenant''.
42	* DubNameChange: In the SNES port, Ares is know as "Varik" and Dela Delon as "Alexis". The latter was due to CharacterNameLimits.
43	* EverythingTryingToKillYou
44	* EvilOverlord:
45	** Lord Bistall from the first game, whose ambition to take the power of the nation's guardian dragon for himself resulted in the massive earthquake that caused the kingdom's destruction.
46	** King Badorrer from the second game, who rules his nation with iron fist and hopes to become a godlike being with the power of the sword Planet Buster.
47	* EvilSorceror: Plenty throughout the series. The wizard Dinque from the first game and BigBad Gaua from the third game are some notable examples.
48	* GeniusBruiser: Garahad in ''Brandish VT''.
49	* GiantSquid: One attacks and sinks Dela's rowboat in ''Brandish 2''.
50	* GodhoodSeeker: The motivation of most villains in the series.
51	* GoodOldFisticuffs: Always an option.
52	* GratuitousNinja: One of the bosses in the first game is a group of ninjas. Jinza, one of the playable characters in ''Spirit of Balcan'', is a ninja master.
53	* GratuitousRussian: The [[https://s.pacn.ws/1/p/PA.79322.001.jpg Japanese cover]] of ''Brandish'' includes the backstory written out in Russian for some reason.
54	* GreatEscape: The goal of ''Dark Revenant''. Most human [=NPCs=] you meet throughout the game are either adventurers who came to the underground labyrinth in search of treasures or unfortunate souls who fell into it by accident (like Dela and Ares). Due to abundant number of traps and monsters in the dungeon, many have given up on escaping and are content to act as shopkeepers, selling what they found to others who still intend on going. Also, this is your initial objective in the second game as you start off thrown into a jail.
55	* HeroicMime: Ares is a silent protagonist.
56	* HeroWithBadPublicity: Ares is this. Despite saving the world multiple times, he has a massive bounty on his head due to getting involved in all sorts of disasters, which he gets mistakenly blamed for. For instance, in the second game, Ares' actions result in the destruction of a kingdom even though he did so in order to stop its mad king from becoming an omnipotent being. Similarly, Ares' murder of [[spoiler:the renowned mage Balcan]] was done at [[spoiler:Balcan]]'s behest as [[spoiler:Balcan]] was in the process of getting possessed by an evil deity.
57	* HotWitch: Dela Delon and Mermelada.
58	* InconsistentSpelling: With most cases chalked up to the fact that only the first game and its PSP remake ever made it out of Japan.
59	** The series' HotWitch [[BreakoutCharacter poster girl]] is commonly known to English-speaking audiences as Dela Delon. The localization of ''The Dark Revenant'' instead gave her name as Dora Doran... which somewhat better matches the katakana from the Japanese release (ドーラ・ドロン). [[note]]ドーラ is Dora/Dola, whereas ドロン can be transliterated as either Doron or Delon (as evidenced by quite a few Japanese articles about French actors Creator/{{Alain\|Delon}} and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Delon Nathalie Delon]]).[[/note]]
60	** Umber. On very rare occasions will you see her name spelled as Umbar (not to be confused with [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium the Middle-Earth port city]]), while the katakana used in-game (アンバー・ガルシア, ''Anbā Garushia'') suggests her name should've been Amber, [[https://twitter.com/kidfenris/status/1282808130674532352 furthered by the fact that]] her theme in the third game is titled "Stay Gold" -- indicating some color-based wordplay that was LostInTranslation. Her surname (Garcia) is sometimes [[JapaneseRanguage given as "Galsia"]] as well, not unlike the Garcia/Galsia issue in ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage''.
61	** The name of the WhiteMagicianGirl from the fourth game is a lesser example. Website/HardcoreGaming101's [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/brandish-vt/ article on the game]] and [=Gu4n=]'s unfinished translation of ''4'' opt for Clare while [[Website/{{Pixiv}} pixiv Encylopedia]]'s entries for both ''Brandish VT''[[labelnote:]]ブランディッシュVT[[/labelnote]] and the character herself[[labelnote:]]クレール(ブランディッシュ)[[/labelnote]] translate to Claire. [[note]]The katakana used typically is transliterated as Claire/Clair.[[/note]]
62	* JapaneseRanguage: While Garahad is the "official" spelling of the character's name, one can assume it's supposed to be [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Galahad]].
63	* KarmaMeter: Present in ''Brandish VT'', where every character except Mermelada and Garahad will get [[MultipleEndings different endings]] depending on their karma at the end.
64	* LadyOfBlackMagic: Mermelada from the fourth game.
65	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Ares uses a shield to block enemy attacks.
66	* MagicKnight: Ares is a swordsman, but can also learn magic.
67	* MsFanservice: Again, Dela Delon. Also [[AmazonianBeauty Umber]] (''Brandish 3'') and [[HotWitch Mermelada]] (''Brandish VT'').
68	* NobleTopEnforcer: Karl Kares from the second game cares about soldiers under his command and compliments Ares' skills, expressing strong desire to fight Ares on even terms. He later opposes BigBad King Badorrer when he finds out what the mad king is trying to do.
69	* NumberedSequels: ''Brandish 2: The Planet Buster'', ''Brandish 3: Spirit of Balcan'', and ''Brandish 4: The Tower of Sleeping God'' (though the latter game was originally ''Brandish VT: Fata Morgana Templum'', breaking the trend).
70	* OneWingedAngel: The final bosses in every installment go through this after their first phase, except for Bistall -- he's already in his OneWingedAngel form when you encounter him.
71	* OneWordTitle: The first game was titled ''Brandish''.
72	* PitTrap: Lots, to the point where one expendable item is dedicated solely to finding them.
73	* PluckyComicRelief: Dela Delon's role in the first and second game is to generally try to get in Ares' way and accidentally trigger a trap, thereby hinting the player how to avoid it. Garahad in ''Brandish VT'' fulfills the same role.
74	* RegeneratingMana
75	* TheRival: Dela Delon to Ares.
76	* SittingSexyOnAPiano: Dela Delon in the cover art for ''[[http://i.imgur.com/7wzNhJ9.jpg Brandish Piano Collection]]''.
77	* SquishyWizard: Dela Delon in ''The Dark Revenant''.
78	* {{Stripperiffic}}: [[https://tcrf.net/File:Brandish_3_BR3_OP06.png Dela Delon]] and [[https://tcrf.net/File:Brandish_3_BR3_OP07.png Umber]].
79	* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: The sword Planet Buster that Ares gains at the end of the first game. It leads to the plot of ''The Planet Buster'' where an evil king tries to become a godlike being using the power of the sword.
80	* VillainHasAPoint: Gaua, BigBad of the third game, justifies his summoning of the dark god Apeiron by stating that there has to be absolute fear in order to keep people in line. Given how the villains of the previous games, Lord Bistall and King Badorrer, tried to become godlike beings in their arrogance and caused huge calamities in the process, his reasoning actually has some merit.
81	* WalletOfHolding
82	* WhiteMagicianGirl: Clare from ''Brandish VT''.
83	* YouKilledMyFather: Master in her case, but this is Dela's primary reason for hunting down Ares, in addition to a massive bounty on his head. [[spoiler:It is revealed in the third game that while Ares did cut Balcan down, [[MercyKill it was at Balcan's request]] as Balcan was getting possessed by the same evil power that possessed the mad tyrant whom Balcan and Ares took down earlier.]]

Context VideoGame / Brandish