Line #71 VideoGame/LeoAndLeah


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3	''Leo & Leah: A Love Story'' is a [[FreewareGames freeware]] RPG made by Strangeluv in UsefulNotes/RPGMaker 2003, and released in 2011. It tells the tale of the eponymous couple, two lion cubs. One day, however, while venturing out into the wilderness, Leah is captured by a psychopathic hunteress who intends to sell her to the highest bidder -- or worse. Leo takes it upon himself to rescue his LoveInterest, though the journey takes longer than expected and soon grows in proportion beyond his wildest dreams.
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5	The story starts off very lighthearted, hardly taking anything serious at all, with humour reminiscent of ''Videogame/EarthBound1994'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''. Eventually, however, a deeper narrative emerges that {{deconstruct\|ion}}s the genre -- Leo must confront his doubts and ask himself how far he is really willing to go for Leah's sake.
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7	Download the game [[http://rpgmaker.net/games/2324/ here]] for a bizarre and thought-provoking tale.
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9	An article by Strangeluv on a very important section of the game detailing his thoughts and inspirations for making it can be found [[http://rpgmaker.net/games/2324/blog/4706/ here.]] Spoilers abound, of course.
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11	----
12	!!General tropes used in Leo And Leah:
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14	* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: The level cap is 99. Most players will end the game around level 20.
15	* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Brandy's]] father. It was so bad that [[spoiler:she ''killed him''.]]
16	* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Brandy, to Whiskey.]] She [[VillainousBreakdown does not take it well.]]
17	* ActionGirl: Brandy.
18	* ArcWords: "Leo & Leah, forever."
19	* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: [[spoiler:Illusion Leah, possibly.]]
20	* BattleThemeMusic: Justified in the case of the FinalBoss, as [[spoiler:before you fight him, a huge orchestra suddenly appears and starts playing]].
21	%%* BackgroundMusicOverride: In chapter 4.
22	* BossBanter: [[spoiler:Illusion Leah]], Brandy, and [[spoiler:Charlie Quinn]]. Done in a rather disturbing fashion for the first, [[spoiler:whose "banter" consists of screams for mercy that get more and more desperate as the battle goes on]].
23	%%* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler:Used for both horrific and heartwarming effect.]]
24	* BreatherEpisode: [[spoiler:After the horror and MindScrew of chapter 4, chapter 5 switches back to a more lighthearted mood. At least until [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath the]] [[VillainousBreakdown end]]...]]
25	%%* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:Daisy, at the end.]]
26	* ButThouMust: Lampshaded and justified at the end of one quest. When the character asks you if you want the key item you need to proceed with the game, the options are "Yes" and "Why would there be a no option?"
27	%%* ChargedAttack: War Cry, kind of.
28	* ChekhovsGun: Minor example, but [[spoiler:used for gut-wrenching effect; when you first get the Bug Suit, the description tells you that every time you use it, a Belgian widow cries. Most players will probably chalk this up to the game's tongue-in-cheek over-the-top silliness. However, in The Void, you can meet ''that very same Beligan widow'', who [[YouBastard curses you for making her cry so many times]]]].
29	%%* CircusOfFear
30	%%* ClimaxBoss:
31	%%** Brandy and Whiskey.
32	%%** [[spoiler:Illusion Leah]] as well.
33	* CrosshairAware: Shows up whenever Brandy's about to shoot something. Surprisingly, it ''doesn't'' happen when you actually fight her.
34	* CrystalDragonJesus: Charlie Darwin, apparently.
35	* ContinuityNod: Lots, to VideoGame/AHomeFarAway.
36	* DamselInDistress: Leah.
37	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the typical DamselInDistress and RescueRomance plot.
38	%%* DualBoss: Brandy and Whiskey.
39	* DuelBoss: [[spoiler:Illusion Leah]] in chapter 4.
40	* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Deconstructed, and the central point of the narrative.]]
41	* EmotionEater: [[spoiler:Harlie and Charlie Quinn.]] According to WordOfGod, [[spoiler:they recognized the extreme amount of love Leo possessed, and wanted to have a feast of it by capturing him and his LoveInterest.]]
42	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:After Brandy's VillainousBreakdown, Leo kills her by mauling her repeatedly and bloodily until the "end of chapter" screen suddenly pops up.]]
43	* FantasticRacism: Plants, bugs, frogs, and mammals all hate each other.
44	* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Brandy]] had AbusiveParents who traumatized her by constantly talking about how they'd treat her like an animal (i.e. kill her) if she disobeyed them; this caused her to become psychopathic and hate animals.
45	%%* GangplankGalleon: Chapter 4. [[spoiler:And it's played for all the horror it's worth.]]
46	* GuiltBasedGaming: Trying to quit from the menu will prompt the game to ask "Isn't Leah important to you anymore?"
47	* HyperactiveMetabolism: HP/SP healing points are even food! Adorable, live food called "Yummyhops" who beg you not to eat them before you mercilessly devour them, PlayedForLaughs.
48	** [[spoiler:...And then played with [[YouBastard no laughs at all]] in chapter 4.]]
49	* InterfaceScrew: Kind of; though it isn't direct, in chapter 4, many elements of the game normally taken for granted start acting weirdly and creepily; [[spoiler:black cats start talking about how they hate the haunted ship and how they're frightened instead of saying silly things; Yummyhops ''attack you'' and tell you that by eating them you're "eating your own soul"; and the previously-helpful signposts start saying disturbing things: "Give up", "You've failed, [player name]", "Leah is dead", etc. It [[MindScrew only gets trippier]] when you go into The Void itself.]]
50	* InterspeciesRomance: Zara and Zinn, which causes problems due to the FantasticRacism mentioned above. [[spoiler:Subverted/deconstructed; it ends with Zinn abandoning Zara for the Queen Bee, and Zara being [[ShootTheShaggyDog brutally]] {{m\|oodWhiplash}}urdered.]]
51	%%* {{Leitmotif}}: Brandy.
52	%%* LoveInterest: Leah.
53	%%* MauveShirt: Zara.
54	%%* MindScrew: Everything in The Void.
55	%%* MonsterClown: Charlie Quinn.
56	* OneHitKill: The FinalBoss' "Spotlight of Death" spell.
57	* PartyInMyPocket: Daisy doesn't even appear during cutscenes, most of the time.
58	* PermanentlyMissableContent: Everything, potentially, since you can't return to previous areas after the end of a chapter. However, most of it is just common items and seashells -- the only really important things are balloons and skill bells, which are rather hard to miss.
59	%%* PsychopathicManchild: Brandy.
60	* RareCandy: Red and green balloons, which increase HP and SP, respectively.
61	* SavePoint: Black cats! They're part of an international corporation that wants to remove the stereotype of black cats bringing bad luck, so they became save points so that people would be ''happy'' when a black cat crossed their path.
62	%%* SelfMadeOrphan: Brandy.
63	* SheatheYourSword: Strangely enough, ''inverted'' with [[spoiler:Illusion Leah]].
64	* ShootTheShaggyDog:
65	** Chapter 2 is this for [[spoiler:Zara]]. [[spoiler:It seems like its plot is about overcoming the FantasticRacism present among the animals, probably due to ThePowerOfLove. But nope. Turns out Zinn never intended to marry her, and abandons her for the Queen B as soon as he can. A heartbroken wreck, Zara decides to just go home...and then Brandy [[MoodWhiplash shoots her]].]] Although [[HeroicMime it's hard to tell]] what Leo's thinking, he seems to feel guilty for what happened, since [[spoiler:Zara's ghost haunts him]] in chapter 4.
66	%%* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Brandy.
67	* ShoutOut: One of the methods to escape from your prison cell in VideoGame/ChronoTrigger is to repeatedly bang on the cage bars until the guards come in to shut you up. [[spoiler: When Leo is captured by the frogs and thrown in prison, you can try this method again, but the frogs eventually wise up and tell you that it might have worked in some other prison, but not this one.]]
68	* TheSilentBob / HeroicMime: Leo. This ''would'' be justified due to the fact that he's a lion, but every other animal in the game can also speak, and he can understand human speech... (Also subverted, since he often speaks through his actions and one can learn a lot about his character that way.)
69	%%* StatusBuff: Enguarde.
70	* ThemeNaming: Brandy and Whiskey.
71	* UnexpectedShmupLevel: Chapter 5 has Leo riding a bird to chase after Brandy and Whiskey (who are hanging from a bunch of balloons) and dodging gunfire.
72	* UnstoppableRage: Leo, to [[spoiler:Brandy]], by the end of the game.
73	%%* TheUnfettered: [[spoiler:Explored with Leo in his quest to save Leah.]]
74	%%* VillainousBreakdown: Brandy.
75	* YouBastard: [[spoiler:Didn't feel bad about devouring all those Yummyhops? You will in chapter 4. Oddly enough, it seems to make ''Leo'' feel bad - before The Void, once you talk to a Yummyhop, you automatically eat it. After The Void, you are prompted each time as to whether you want to eat it. Whether you choose Yes or No ultimately makes no difference, but it ''does'' suggest that the whole experience gave Leo second thoughts about chomping down sentient creatures on a whim.]]

Context VideoGame / LeoAndLeah