Line #21 VideoGame/EternalPoison


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pp_932.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: This is what happens CostumePorn and StrategyRPG have a baby...]]
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4	This is the tale of a young witch, and her demonic entourage trying to locate the legendary [[TitleDrop Eternal Poison]].
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6	Or is it the tale of a priestess seeking her lost mentor?
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8	Or is it the tale of a knight trying to rescue his royal fiancee?
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10	The truth is... complicated.
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12	A DarkFantasy SimulationRPG developed by Creator/FlightPlan for the Platform/PlayStation2. It was released on 14th February 2008 in Japan (as ''Poison Pink'') distributed by Creator/{{Banpresto}} and on 11th November 2008 in North America distributed by Creator/{{Atlus}}.
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14	This game is notable for two things. First, it is Flight-Plan's first and only StrategyRPG to make it out of Japan, although only to North America. Secondly, it is a modern[[note]]post-''Franchise/{{Persona}}''[[/note]] Atlus game that does NOT contain the original Japanese voice acting. The latter was presumably due to the original game actually taking up most of the space on a single layer DVD and not having the room for two audio tracks.
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16	----
17
18	!!This game provides examples of:
19	* AntiMagic: Thage cannot take damage from magical sources, which means a lot of the most heavy-hitting things CANNOT hurt her. On the other hand, she also cannot be healed except with medical items, and there's a limited number you can carry.
20	* BigBad: [[spoiler: King Valdus, setting everything in motion by killing his own queen for her power and pursuing his daughter when she disappeared to stop him from sacrificing her to bring back Izel.]]
21	* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Thage]]
22	%%* CostumePorn
23	* DudeLooksLikeALady: [[spoiler: Reyna]] is a man pretending to be a woman. Even though the masquerade is quickly dropped, many NPC's continue to be confused.
24	* ElegantGothicLolita: Thage and Nena.
25	* EnemyWithout: [[spoiler: Ashley's Persona.]]
26	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The player ''must'' make this assumption for a specific plot point in order to avoid a gameplay-induced plothole. [[spoiler: In order to make his plan work, Duphaston/Morpheus gives the Librum Aurora to three of the other protagonists (Olifen, Ashley, and Rondemion) in separate timelines in order to complete it. Hence, the player is required to gather data on all the Majin before they unlock Duphaston's tale and the final boss. Thage, however, holds a different book, the Librum Vespera, meaning that her Majin encounters shouldn't contribute to Duphaston's plan. Regardless, the Majin the player encounters as Thage counts toward the final storyline requirements anyway.]]
27	* GlassCannon: Thage, among others, but she's notable for being, you know, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou the main character.]]
28	* GottaCatchEmAll: You need to capture one of the varieties for each of the 55 species of Majin to unlock the fifth tale.
29	* GroundhogDayLoop: [[spoiler:All scenarios are canon due to a time loop. It is also broken in Duphaston's story with the completed Librum Aurora, the death of Lenarshe, and the revival of Izel. The true ending culminates in a final battle between the five main leads from previous iterations of the timeline and Izel.]]
30	* GuideDangIt: The requirement for Thage's [[MultipleEndings good ending]] isn't made clear or even mentioned until you enter the map with the boss you need to defeat [[spoiler: (it's Arkanos,)]] which makes it a bit arcane to figure out.
31	* HalfHumanHybrid: Retica [[spoiler: and the Valdian royal line.]]
32	* HubLevel: Isapolis.
33	* LargeHam: Alexei. He's [[CatchPhrase hungry for action.]]
34	* LightningBruiser: [[spoiler: Morpheus.]] Also Ashley.
35	* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: There are screen transitions for attacks and spell animations. Thankfully you can turn them off.
36	* LukeIAmYourFather:
37	** [[spoiler:Thage was Lenarshe's mother. Thage is very specific on the past tense.]]
38	** Also, [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope subverted in that Doom Shade, the Majin Retica searches for the entire game, isn't actually his father.]]]]
39	* MagicallyBindingContract: Thage forces one on Retica.
40	* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Izel, in the form of Lenarshe, is revealed to be the one orchestrating everything. In the true ending, all the main protagonists assemble to beat her down and stop the Echo of Time.]]
41	* MarketBasedTitle: ''Poison Pink'' in Japan and ''Eternal Poison'' in North America.
42	* MergedReality: [[spoiler:It is what makes the fight against the TrueFinalBoss possible, since the Echo of Time gathers iterations of the five protagonists that successfully reached the final stratum of Bezek in their respective timelines.]]
43	* MultipleEndings: Thage, Olifen, and Ashley's stories can end prematurely if they did not encounter the appropriate bosses, or continue on to Bezek's fourth stratum and a proper ending if they do.
44	%%* NintendoHard: Yep.
45	* OneHundredPercentCompletion: [[spoiler:Encountering every Majin in the game is required to unlock Duphaston's story.]]
46	* OptionalPartyMember: Up to ten of them, actually. All of the mercenaries are optional, and their levels don't carry over to repeat playthroughs.
47	* ThePlan: [[spoiler:Duphaston]]
48	* PrettyInMink: Amelie's outfit has fur trim. Marie wears a white coat with a white fur collar.
49	* PublicDomainCharacter: One of the refugees is obviously Literature/{{Alice\|InWonderland}}.
50	* {{Pun}}: Fight [[DishingOutDirt Escha Gigas]] as Ashley's party. I'll wait. You have Glynne to thank for most of that.
51	* PunnyName: The special soundtrack bundled with the US version of the game is titled ''[[Music/RageAgainstTheMachine Thage Against the Majin]]''.
52	* TheReveal: Several.
53	** [[spoiler: Ashley is Lenarshe's younger sister.]]
54	** [[spoiler: Reyna's not the real Reyna.]]
55	** [[spoiler: Glynnis is a double agent, spying on the Pope for Leto.]]
56	** [[spoiler: Count Duphaston is Morpheus.]]
57	** [[spoiler: Thage is the reincarnation of Lenarshe's mother.]]
58	** [[spoiler: Levatte was dispatched to join Olifen's group by the Pope as a spy.]]
59	** [[spoiler: Ranunculus was using Thage all along, and Thage was using Ranunculus all along.]]
60	** [[spoiler: The major Majin have the same names as major figures in Valdian religion, because they're one and the same.]]
61	** [[spoiler: The Valdian royal family are part-Majin.]]
62	* SaveScumming: Are you a sane, rational person? If so, this is how you will fill out the information for the Majin you capture. This can also be done to sell all of your awesome passive-skill-equipped stuff and still have it, leaving you with copies for other tales.
63	* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: The stories of Thage, Ashley, and Olifen don't intersect, and Rondemion has a unique story of his own when he becomes available to play as. [[spoiler:And then you unlock [[TimeyWimeyBall Duphaston's]] [[MergedReality story]].]]
64	* SecretCharacter: Rondemion, first met as a mid-boss, becomes playable once you receive the proper ending of either Thage, Olifen, or Ashley's story. [[spoiler:Duphaston's story is unlocked by seeing the four proper endings of all four other stories, plus [[OneHundredPercentCompletion completing the lexicon]].]]
65	* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler: Retica. Also, Ashley, though hers eventually becomes an EnemyWithout, and Logue.]]
66	* SuperpoweredEvilSide: Retica, especially if he becomes a Cursed One.
67	* TagalongKid: Levatte for Olifen. Retica is an unwilling one for Thage, as well.
68	* TimeyWimeyBall:
69	** Best demonstrated by the true ending. [[spoiler: Each story is affected by the Echo of Time. They all happened at the same time, with small differences in each world.]]
70	** Some of the refugees demonstrate this, as well. [[spoiler: Olifen meets a woman who is heavily implied to be one of his ancestors. He's not willing to confirm it.]]
71	* TooAwesomeToUse: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with the Ancient Amulet, which nullifies all status ailments on the wearer. You get it by selling a certain boss to the Uzaporium. Sounds like it would be, right? Except the boss in question is Manti Gigas, who is ridiculously cheap by boss standards and pitifully easy to capture. A bit of [[SaveScumming crafty reloading later,]] you've got more immunity than your body has room for.
72	* TookALevelInBadass: A lot of characters -- especially in the core party -- start out [[TheLoad relatively useless,]] but eventually become dangerously useful members as the game goes on--especially in a NewGamePlus.
73	* WakeUpCallBoss:
74	** Morpheus. No matter who you pick first, your first boss tends to be pretty easy, if somewhat difficult to capture. Then Morpheus shows up and shows you exactly how bosses in this game [[NintendoHard are going to be, as a general rule of thumb.]]
75	** Morpheus' status as this is actually justified in-game. [[spoiler: In his guise as Count Duphaston, he's been following your movements, no matter what tale you choose, so he knows just what you're capable of.]]
76	* WarmUpBoss: Otakuphant, Kaelrunis, or Moon Belator, depending on which tale you pick first. Mars Belator has all the elements of this, but isn't since, you know, you have to beat a tale, to fight him in the first place.
77	* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: The main character dies in battle, it's all over. Most of the time, that's fine, but play as [[GlassCannon Thage...]]
78	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: The final ending does not elaborate at all on the secondary characters that were vital to the main protagonists' individual story lines, calling into question the fates of those whose life or death depended on the actions of the protagonists. This lack of elaboration is made more jarring due to the merging of timelines that makes the final battle possible in the first place, as it is unknown if the merge brought in anyone else into Duphaston's timeline, outside of the other four protagonists.]]
79	* WholesomeCrossdresser: Reyna, at first.
80	* {{Yandere}}: Ashley, though she doesn't seem to realize it.

Context VideoGame / EternalPoison