Line #84 VideoGame/NocturneRPGMaker


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/title_01.jpg]]
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3	''Nocturne'' is an UsefulNotes/RPGMaker game made by Cogwheel/Shou and was originally released in Japanese. The original RPG Maker 2000 version was made in 2002 and the ''Nocturne: Rebirth'' RPG Maker XP remake was made in 2009 and translated to English by eplipswich in 2015. The remake has nearly the same story as the original, but extended for one more dungeon.
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5	Reviel Von De Russert rescues a village girl, Luna Winston, from a bunch of bandits. Luna, believing Reviel to be her savior, invites him over to her village, Algiz. Unfortunately, she has no idea that Reviel is actually a powerful vampire that plans on killing her and her village. And he's the [[VillainProtagonist main playable character]].
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7	Can be downloaded [[http://rpgmaker.net/games/7809/ here]].
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9	[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused]] with ''VideoGame/Nocturne1999'', a SurvivalHorror game, or the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game usually called ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' for short. It also has no relation to the 2007 French/Spanish animated film ''WesternAnimation/{{Nocturna}}''.
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11	'''Note: The below tropes apply to the ''Rebirth'' remake because only that game was translated.'''
12	----
13	!!''Nocturne'' provides examples of:
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15	* AbusivePrecursors: [[spoiler:There were once two civilizations who created monsters and Sorcerous weapons to fight each other until less than 10% of the human population remained, bringing everyone back to a primitive way of life.]]
16	* AllSwordsAreTheSame: Reviel and Luna's attack animations are the same no matter which weapons they equip. This is especially blatant in Reviel's case, since he can dual-wield daggers, katanas, [[OneHandedZweihander two-handed swords]], etc with equal skill. That said, there are some distinctions between the types of swords, since the type of the sword determines which stats it specializes in.
17	* AlwaysAccurateAttack: {{Limit Break}}s (other than Eye skills due to status immunity) never miss a target, though sufficiently high evasion allows them to avoid critical hits, [[spoiler:as shown when Khaos uses Laplace's Demon to give himself unparalleled evasion]]. However, physical limit breaks can still be blocked by the Parry passive.
18	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: [[spoiler:All Devils other than the Ancestors were brainwashed with the instincts to kill humans. The Ancestors themselves start as blank slates who may or may not become inclined to target humanity.]]
19	* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
20	** It's possible to obtain level reset books in case a player leveled past the Brave Clear requirement, which will refund their EXP allocation. Better yet, if used on a familiar, it only resets them back to whatever level they started at.
21	** Enemies tend to take longer than players to cast grand spells, making it easier for the player to know when to guard.
22	** Enemies rarely, if ever, use the guard command like the players can. It would be difficult to get much damage out of a LimitBreak otherwise.
23	* AntiGrinding: Played with. While the player is encouraged to keep their levels low for Brave Clear, fighting countless enemies is still necessary due to the low drop rate. Additionally, familiars level up slower than the main characters and will need to fight a good number of battles before reaching the Brave Clear level.
24	* ApocalypticLog: Due to his hobby of collecting ancient texts, Khaos has a collection of these. [[spoiler:They're about the above AbusivePrecursors and also include the writer's apology to the three ancestors, referring to them as their children.]]
25	* AreaOfEffect: Character position on the battle screen isn't arbitrary and skills that have AOE have different ranges. For some skills, their ranged is increased as their level is increased.
26	* ArtificialStupidity:
27	** During certain segments of the game, Luna is controlled by an AI to defend or heal wounded party members with items. It's rare but possible for her to use an item right after the last enemy has been killed.
28	** The FinalBoss will sometimes use Elemental Raid multiple times in a row to change their weakness, which is a relief for the player if the boss does this while in the Overdrive state, since this wastes their chances of getting consecutive turns.
29	* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Up to four familiars are allowed in the complete party and up to two familiars can be in the active party at a time. The active party can include up to four members, with Reviel locked in for most situations.
30	* AssholeVictim:
31	** Jackson Boer is a SocialDarwinist who tries to claim that his status as a vampire means he's entitled to kill humans on a whim. This is turned back on him when Reviel, a vampire Ancestor, starts a CurbStompBattle against him. He tries to run away, only to be finished off by Idith [[spoiler:who also turns out to be higher than Jackson on the vampire food chain.]]
32	** The bandits kidnapped Luna and tried to use her as ransom against the village, though the ransom is a ruse to [[BullyingADragon lure out Reviel and kill him]]. They then become the only human opponents to be killed via the battle system rather than just in cutscenes. Afterwards, the sole survivor is tricked into becoming a mindless Maxwell host. This is deconstructed because Luna [[WhatTheHellHero chews out Reviel]] for taking their lives so callously, which causes him to feel conflicted.
33	* AutoRevive: The Phoenix Feather accessory allows a character to revive with 100 HP while consuming the item. It also keeps their pre-death buffs intact.
34	* AwesomeButImpractical:
35	** [[spoiler:There is a cheap alternative way to defeat Dinosaur King at Mystic Forest. And that's by inflicting instant death. Yes, Dinosaur King is vulnerable to death inflicting skills. The problem, however, is that death inflicting skills have a VERY SMALL chance of inflicting death, so it may take a while to actually instant kill the Dinosaur King unless you are VERY lucky.]]
36	** The Assault Lancer formation lowers the party's evasion, which isn't too bad when fighting random mooks. However, bosses can easily crit the party repeatedly due to the evasion penalty, meaning any benefits are outweighed.
37	** Played with when it comes to Sorcerous Swords, which are powerful while draining the wielder's HP. It's possible to set up elemental resistances to negate the HP drain, but doing so will make it harder to prepare resistances to other elements.
38	* BeefGate: After beating the Wind Guardian, three new dungeons are unlocked, each containing an elemental medium for Reviel to break. The player can visit any of them in any order, but the recommended order is Laguz Lake, Teiwaz Valley, and Kenaz Ruins due to their increasing enemy difficulty. While it's certainly possible to level up and acquire stronger familiars to get past the beef, this is also discouraged because you would need to get level reset books and weaker familiars to Brave Clear the weaker dungeons later.
39	* BeingHumanSucks: In terms of combat, the strongest humans will struggle against what Reviel considers a Mook, making the village rather helpless whenever a vampire or Devil decides to attack them. This is enforced in gameplay, where Luna has slow experience gain compared to Reviel and his familiars [[spoiler:until she becomes a vampire and starts gaining experience normally]].
40	* BigBad: In the original game, Ristill Eva Mizants is the most antagonistic figure and TheRival to [[AntiHero Reviel]], and she appears to be the one behind the elemental barrier around Algiz that weakens him, as well as a Dark Chains curse to weaken him further. In the remake, [[spoiler:[[DiscOneFinalBoss it turns out]] she was only behind the Dark Chains curse while Khaos was the one behind the elemental barrier, and Khaos turns out to be aiding Ristill in order to make the rivalry between her and Reviel more interesting and distract them from/alert the others to his real plan. After Reviel defeats Ristill, Khaos attacks the village of Algiz and reveals his plan to destroy and reconstruct the world, forcing the two into an EnemyMine to stop him]].
41	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The world is saved, but Khaos ends up committing suicide despite the party's efforts to save him. And while Luna is accepted back into the village, Reviel leaves because he knows his misdeeds can't be forgiven that easily, though he plans to return to Algiz someday. Shylphiel is left without her master and decides to take care of Khaos's cabin for the rest of her life, but she at least has Ristill to lend her mana.]]
42	* BookEnds: [[spoiler:Reviel says his goodbyes to Luna in the forest where they first met.]]
43	* BossBanter: Boss fights against major characters like Ristill usually include dialogue between them and Reviel, though some dialogue won't show up unless Luna is in the active party.
44	* BrokenAesop: The story emphasizes that it's possible for people like Reviel and Ristill to change for the better, but the logs collected by Khaos show that this simply isn't possible for other [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Devils]], who are genetically predisposed to hunt humans. As such, Reviel's attempts to reason with Hypnosis falls on deaf ears.
45	* TheCaligula: The Revolutionary War from eight years ago was fought to depose Gilbard, the mad ruler of the region around Algiz. According to Luna, the nation would have eventually collapsed under his continued rule.
46	* CantDropTheHero: Reviel is the only playable character with access to the Ranks menu in battle and cannot be removed from the party outside of a segment where only Luna and Shylphiel are playable. Unfortunately, this means he's the only one who can benefit from the Falling Star formation.
47	* {{Cap}}:
48	** The LevelCap is 50, though the total EXP cost of all skills is higher than the amount needed to reach that level.
49	** The inventory cap for Lacrima is 3 while the cap for non-unique items is 9.
50	* CastFromExperiencePoints: Reviel can focus all his might to destroy certain obstacles at the cost of experience points, allowing him to bypass certain puzzles. Given that the game has LowLevelAdvantage and that experience points can be saved up before being spent on improving your level, you are likely to have more experience points than needed, making this example less severe than most others.
51	* ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: When a character's ATB gauge is full, they can change their equipment without using up their turn. Later bosses are balanced so that players will have to use this tactic to survive, especially against those that can use multiple elements.
52	* CombatantCooldownSystem: The game uses a full-wait ATB system, but with an extra feature where the player can hold down a key to force all gauges to fill without issuing commands to the party, allowing for more precise timing of actions.
53	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: Downplayed. While playing solo is difficult for obvious reasons, this also means enemies won't be able to land as many smash or critical hits with their AOE moves.
54	* ContractualBossImmunity: Zigzagged. Some of the bosses can be affected by specific ailments, with rare cases of vulnerability to instant death. However, the rematch against the {{Superboss}} has all three enemies immune to everything.
55	* {{Cooldown}}: All physical skills and stronger spells have a cooldown time (SCT) to prevent spamming, though the Accelerate skill can randomly refresh non-ultimate skills. The Wit stat, some Sorceries, and some equipment can reduce SCT.
56	* CooldownManipulation: The Accelerate passive skill can randomly cool down a skill instantly. Some sorceries and gear, such as the Full Moon Sword, have a stackable SCT reduction effect.
57	* CosmeticAward: Subverted with Rush Chimera, the reward for either Brave Clearing the level 40 version of the Bonus Boss or beating their level 50 version. The weapon can't be equipped by anyone despite its absolutely broken stats, but it does unlock NewGamePlus.
58	* CounterAttack:
59	** The Counter passive allows the user to counter attack physical attacks, with the chance of countering increasing with the skill's level.
60	** The Laguz Lake boss, Keinaz Ruins boss, and the FinalBoss can cast a barrier on themselves that allows them to counter specific actions, which will be indicated by the "Reflex" text. The lake boss will counter both physical and magic attacks and the ruins boss will counter item usage. The FinalBoss is a DualBoss that has a boss counter whenever their partner is attacked, but only if their partner has much lower HP than them. All of these barriers can be broken to prevent counter attacks.
61	* CriticalHit: The game has both a weaker and stronger example of this trope in smash and critical hits respectively, indicated by yellow or red damage text. Both will cause the attacker's turn to come up faster, allowing more DPS if the character has high Tec. In turn, the evasion stat is used to avoid critical hits.
62	* DarkestHour:
63	** [[spoiler: More than halfway through the game, Luna sacrifices herself to block Ristill's attack on Reviel. He realizes that he's actually distraught at her death and tries to turn her into a vampire, only for Luna to come back as a mindless Dark Disciple. At this point, Reviel is both disillusioned with his prior lifestyle and resigned to fighting to the death with Ristill, until Luna regains her mind and convinces him to spare his rival.]]
64	** To a lesser extent[[spoiler:, Khaos reveals Reviel and Luna's vampirism to the villagers of Algiz, which causes them to be too ashamed to stay. Fortunately, the villagers accept Luna in the ending, though they're split on accepting Reviel because of his bloody past.]]
65	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist:
66	** Getting killed by random enemies and bosses that "lack killing intent" will result in the party being booted back to the dungeon's entrance, with Reviel and Luna left at 1 HP. Bosses with killing intent will cause a game over upon the player's defeat.
67	** Downplayed with {{Familiar}}s, who can't be revived in combat without equipping a Phoenix Feather accessory. Otherwise, they can only be revived by using a red or blue crystal to restore their Core Object. Fortunately, their current EXP is retained and their Sorceries and accessories are automatically unequipped when they die.
68	* DefendCommand: The guard command reduces damage by more than half and the stance can be kept while pressing the wait key. However, guarding too many attacks will result in a guard break and stun the character.
69	* DegradedBoss: Wind Guardian, Serpent Lord, Vampire Lord, Rock Mold, Dinosaur King, and Hypnosis have random enemy palette swaps with very similar movesets. As an inversion, [[spoiler:the Time Crystal boss]] is a palette swap of a golem enemy from Ristill's castle.
70	* DevelopersForesight:
71	** Most Brave Clear rewards cannot be changed with SaveScumming. Instead, they become predetermined at some point long before you fight the boss.
72	** In the English version at least, the game will default to a commonly used font if the proper ones in the folder aren't installed. This is in contrast to most other RPG Maker games that crash or garble the text if the correct font is missing.
73	* DevelopersRoom: This room can be accessed by beating the FinalBoss within Brave Clear levels. Unlike most examples, this room contains some {{Superboss}}es, one of which is [[HopelessBossFight hopeless]]. The English version of the game also has an additional NPC to represent the translator, eplipswich.
74	* DifficultButAwesome: If two spells are cast at around the same time, the second one can continue the hit counter and the enemy's formation won't be reset in-between spells, potentially allowing smaller AOE spells to hit more targets than usual. The timing to chain two spells is very difficult to grasp, but pulling off this technique can wreck {{Wolfpack Boss}}es.
75	* DinosaursAreDragons: The Dinosaur King boss and Dinosaur familiar can both breath fire[[note]]The skill is named Dragon Breath in the Japanese version and Dinosaur Breath in the English translation.[[/note]] for some reason. Interestingly, in the Japanese version, the boss was called a crocodile while the familiar was called a dinosaur.
76	* DisproportionateRetribution: If you tell Minto that you don't want to look through the character animations that she worked hard on, she'll destroy you in a HopelessBossFight.
77	* DualBoss: [[spoiler:While Khaos originally intended to fight the party by himself, Shylphiel steps in once he hits a certain HP threshold.]]
78	* DungeonBypass: Combined with CuttingTheKnot. Reviel can spend EXP and some MP to break through doors and barriers without having to solve tricky puzzles.
79	* EarlyGameHell:
80	** Luna doesn't join until the penultimate dungeon, which means the player will only have three party members and will have to grind enemies to get a familiar that can heal.
81	** There are so many features introduced in the Manual and by the three mercenaries that new players will struggle to grasp them all. Worse yet, none of them are easy to learn on the job and many aren't demonstrated in mandatory tutorials.
82	** Reviel has parts of his skill tree locked by the story, including important passives for resisting elemental attacks and status effects.
83	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Averted. While the game makes it look like fire opposes ice, lightning opposes wind, and dark opposes light, not all enemies are weak to the opposite of their elemental resistance.
84	* EndgamePlus: After defeating the FinalBoss, the save file used for that battle will be updated so that the player's item glossary will track any items gained during that battle. If the player obtained the Brave Clear reward, they can visit the DevelopersRoom to fight several optional minibosses and the Cross of the World Team.
85	* EventFlag: Once Laguz Lake, Teiwaz Valley, and Kenaz Ruins are unlocked, the story will automatically progress every time you either complete the first half of a dungeon or defeat a dungeon boss, regardless of what order you complete them in. This can lead to an unusual situation where the Idith and Dark Chain Curse events can be triggered before completing an entire dungeon.
86	* EvolvingTitleScreen: Beating the game causes Luna to stand next to Reviel in the title screen.
87	* ExtraTurn: The Speed Star formation gives player characters a small chance of getting consecutive turns. The enemy skill, Overclock, gives the same effect to the user, but with a higher activation rate.
88	* {{Familiar}}: Along with {{Mons}}. Reviel can summon these by using the core items of the monsters he kills. Ristill also has her own special familiars known as Maxwells, which can possess a living or unliving body and unlock their potential. Khaos managed to create Shylphiel, a sentient familiar [[spoiler:that's actually a failed attempt at reviving his human lover.]]
89	* ForcedTutorial:
90	** Some of the simpler mechanics in the game are learned via mandatory battles in the first dungeon.
91	** Averted with the more complex mechanics, which are only explained by the Manual option in the main menu and by the three mercenaries in the village, none of which the player is required to interact with.
92	* ForegoneVictory: In the second part of the Hypnosis boss battle, the party members will immediately revive to full health if they're defeated.
93	* FragileSpeedster: The Speed Star formation increases speed and allows a chance of consecutive turns in exchange for defense.
94	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Roshule claims the sword he forged is cursed, but it has no side-effects in battle at all.
95	* GlassCannon:
96	** Some familiars, like the Evil Swordsman and most of the cats, are powerful and fast while having low defense and HP.
97	** The Falling Star solo party formation lowers physical and magic defense in exchange for boosting offensive and speed stats and providing the Sidewinder passive.
98	** The AuthorAvatar of Shou also counts when he guards the DevelopersRoom. He can dual-cast spells that [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill deal damage in the thousands]], but if at least one of your characters survives the assault and strikes back, they'll find that Shou is a OneHitPointWonder.
99	** Luna's Berserk Curse increases the target's offensive abilities and doubles their speed, but sets their physical and magical defenses to 0.
100	* GradualRegeneration:
101	** The Regeneration and Meditation passive periodically restore a small amount of HP and MP during battle.
102	** Herb items heal characters by the amount in the description, but in small chunks over a few turns unlike potions that recover HP instantaneously. This is balanced by the fact that they're both cheaper and heal more than potions of the same color.
103	* GuideDangIt:
104	** The {{Final Boss}}'s Illusory Barrier manages to combine this with ViolationOfCommonSense. Unlike most other boss barriers, which must be broken with specific elemental attacks, the only way to break this barrier is to cast Eye of Souls, which is normally a skill that causes instant death to those who aren't completely immune to it. Absolutely nothing in the skill description or game hints this and most players using RPG logic wouldn't ''consider'' using an instant death move on the FinalBoss, making this trick easy to miss.
105	** Not all the item descriptions state the full effect of the weapon, like how the Disaster sword slightly reduces cooldown time for skills.
106	** When Reviel does a practice match with Luna, the choice he picks will actually affect her base stats, though the effect is minor in the long run. Of course, there's no way to know this outside of keeping close attention to her stats during each run.
107	** Downplayed with the DevelopersRoom. If the player doesn't Brave Clear the FinalBoss, there are no hints in-game that the room exists and the player will most likely assume there is no more content.
108	* HealingHerb: Story-wise, Khaos grows several herbs that can be used to dispel curses. Gameplay-wise, herbs can be used to apply a GradualRegeneration effect on the target, unlike potions that heal instantaneously, but recovers less HP per unit.
109	* HopelessBossFight: There's only one hopeless battle in the game if you anger Minto from the DevelopersRoom, who summons a bunch of rabbits. Although they look like the weakest random encounters, each one is a KillerRabbit that spams the strongest spell of the FinalBoss. Luckily, losing won't cause a game over.
110	* HumanityIsInfectious: [[spoiler:Staying in Algiz and spending time with Luna eventually causes Reviel to sympathize with the villagers enough to protect them despite wanting to hunt them earlier. And despite looking down on humans for dying so quickly and easily, Reviel is saddened when Luna dies for him and turns her into a vampire to bring her back. Khaos also tried to befriend humans, only for his allies to turn on him when they discovered his true nature as an ancestor.]]
111	* HungryWeapon: Sorcerous weapons are extremely powerful, but will drain the HP of the wielder. Forming a contract with one grants the user additional power, but drains their life force faster. Sadly, both characters' InfinityPlusOneSword falls under this trope.
112	* InfinityPlusOneSword: Reviel's best sorcerous swords are Full Moon Sword and Setsuna while Luna's best sorcerous spear is the Rising Sun Spear.
113	* InterfaceScrew: The {{Superboss}} can hide everyone's ATB gauges, making it harder to guess who moves next.
114	* KatanasAreJustBetter: There are several different types of swords with different stat specializations, but katanas excel in all three stats compared to other immediately acquirable swords. There's also the Setsuna, a Sorcerous Sword[=/=]katana hybrid with decent stats and a huge speed boost, though it's not as powerful as the Full Moon Sword in terms of pure power.
115	* KillOneOthersGetStronger: The battle against Ristill's dummies seems simple at first, but then each dummy gains new abilities as their numbers dwindle, to the point where the last one uses an Ultimate Spell.
116	* LastLousyPoint: Filling out the item glossary is quite difficult due to the {{Rare Random Drop}}s and unforgeable items, to the point where most players will take down both of the {{Superboss}} rounds long before getting every item. The worst offenders include Cloudy Bracelet and Decalogue, both of which are rarer than the game's {{Infinity Plus One Sword}}s. While NewGamePlus resets chests and Brave Clear rewards, the chances of getting new items are still very slim.
117	* LazyBackup: Downplayed. You'll lose if all active party members fall, but on Reviel's turn, you can swap out party members for the ones in reserve.
118	* LifeDrain: One dark elemental spell has the same name as this trope and heals the user by a portion of the damage dealt.
119	* LimitBreak: High SCT skills (as well as high MCT for spells) that darken the screen upon use are considered the ultimate attacks of the game due to their high power and low spamability. These aren't affected by the Accelerate passive, though Royal Crest can sometimes replace fourth-tier spells with a LimitBreak spell of the same element.
120	* LowLevelAdvantage: Beating a boss within Brave Clear levels gives the player an extra item. And Brave Clearing the FinalBoss is necessary to get the {{Superboss}}, who also has to be Brave Cleared to get NewGamePlus without fighting their stronger version.
121	* ManaBurn: One member of the {{Superboss}} team can cast Fire Raiment, which deals both HP and MP damage.
122	* MissingMainCharacter: After Reviel gets inflicted with the Dark Chain Curse, the player has to control Luna to find the herbs to cure him. Once he's cured, he's locked into the party like before.
123	* MoneyForNothing: Most of the items you'll really need (especially elemental and status protection) are obtained from [[RareRandomDrop Rare Random Drops]] rather than from the shops, which only sell consumables and very basic equipment.
124	* NewGamePlus: Like most of the bonus content in this game, the player has to prove themselves worthy of this feature by obtaining Rush Chimera. A new run will reset all character and familiar levels and will lock down skills that are unlocked via the story. Mell will be reset to 0, but all non-key items are kept.
125	* NonstandardGameOver: During the segment where you control Luna and Shylphiel, it's possible to get a game over if either of them die against the boss, regardless if the other one is alive and capable of using Smelling Salts to revive the other.
126	* NoobBridge: The Hagall Hills dungeon is nearly impossible to clear without learning important mechanics like the skill tree system and raising {{Familiar}}s. Even the random enemies will destroy players who charge in without bothering to read to the manual or talk to the mercenary trio. The dungeon also introduces invisible secret doorways and instrument-based puzzles, making it hard for impatient players to get every item.
127	* NoobCave: Khaos's Territory has some basic tutorials and can be beaten without using the more advanced mechanics like the skill tree or the {{Familiar}} system. There is only one secret there, and it's fairly easy to find because it simply requires the player to run into a wall rather than interact with it.
128	* OnlyTheWorthyMayPass: The Developer's Room is a two-layered example, since you need to Brave Clear the FinalBoss in order to find the place, and then beat the AuthorAvatar to enter the room.
129	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: All vampires are directly or indirectly created by the three ancestor vampires via biting humans. Luckily for humanity, most vampires suffer from traditional drawbacks like aversion to sunlight, inability to cross running water without a bridge, and a requirement to be invited into human residences. While some vampires lose their mind and go on a blood-sucking frenzy, others retain their sanity. [[spoiler:The endgame reveals those three ancestors are actually genetically engineered supersoldiers from an ancient civilization, designed for the purpose of an ever expanding military force.]]
130	* PermanentlyMissableContent:
131	** The Brave Clear reward for beating [[spoiler:Shylphiel]] cannot be obtained from random drops like most of the others, so missing out on this means you'll need either a new run or NewGamePlus to get it.
132	** There are some optional items that can be obtained in Algiz, but the party will be locked out of the village after Hypnosis's raid.
133	* PuzzleBoss:
134	** The Serpent Lord, Rock Mold, [[spoiler:Shylphiel]], and the FinalBoss all have barriers that require specific elements or skills to break. Most of these barriers also allow them to counter certain actions until they're broken.
135	** The first match against the bonus boss team was clearly intended to be beaten with Eye of Illusion spam, otherwise a non-silenced Main will use Twilight to give his team a huge advantage.
136	* RareRandomDrop: The shops will sell basic healing items and gear, but anything better must be obtained via rare drops or via crafting crests, which are also rare drops. All encounters have a 5% chance to drop an item (except for rabbits and bats at 2.5%), but that drop covers a very wide range, making it easy to get an item but hard to get a ''specific'' item.
137	* ReadTheFreakingManual: Played with due to the manual being an in-game construct rather than an external one. The ForcedTutorial doesn't cover the more advanced mechanics of the game, meaning players will have to rely on the "Manual" option in the menu and on the three mercenary [=NPCs=] to learn these features. After Reviel automatically gains his first familiar, the dialogue box will outright tell the player to check the manual for more details.
138	* RedemptionPromotion: You can grind familiars, give them sorceries, and equip them with accessories to make them far stronger than their random enemy counterparts.
139	* RocketTagGameplay: This only applies to normal encounters, where the enemies aren't any more durable than a properly leveled party. Both sides can still deal high damage if given the chance, especially if they hit each others' weaknesses with AOE spells.
140	* SaveToken: Most dungeons don't allow the player to save their game without consuming a Lacrima Crystal, of which they can only carry a maximum of three. These can be restocked from giant blue crystals in Algiz, in Feoh's Tree Ruins, [[spoiler:and in the first screen of the Dimensional Valley]].
141	* SeeTheInvisible: A common dungeon gimmick is that certain objects and doorways are invisible, as well as distant enemies. The player can more easily see the invisible objects if they're at a high level or if they're in walking mode, causing them to become transparent instead.
142	* SiblingRivalry: Played with. [[spoiler:The three Ancestors were created by the same scientist, but Reviel and Ristill never knew they were siblings. After they learned this from Khaos's logs, they never really cared about this detail.]]
143	* SkillScoresAndPerks: Reviel and Luna can learn and upgrade new skills via a tree by spending accumulated EXP. However, spending a certain amount will cause them to level up and possibly lose out on Brave Clear conditions. Averted with familiars, who have a different system where they are summoned with up to three sorceries attached to give them new abilities while leveling normally.
144	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: The game starts off dark due to having Reviel as a VillainProtagonist, who has the highest bodycount of all the villains in the game as well as a very nihilistic worldview. Eventually, the game shifts to the idealistic side when Luna manages to redeem Reviel and get Ristill to [[TookALevelInKindness take a level in kindness]]. However, the game isn't completely idealistic, since not all villains can be redeemed due to being AlwaysChaoticEvil [[spoiler:and the BigBad is distraught enough to commit suicide.]]
145	* SlidingScaleOfLinearityVsOpenness: This game is very linear for the most part due to the lack of sidequests. The main exception is that the player can choose to do Lake Laguz, Teiwaz Valley, and Keinaz Ruins in any order, despite how each dungeon is different in difficulty.
146	* SortingAlgorithmOfThreateningGeography: Averted. The order in which the player tackles dungeons is a dungeon that changes dimensions and terrain as you advance, a large hill, a forest, a lake paired with a flooded cave, a cloudy valley, a ruin, another forest, a castle, and a dimensional area that is similar to the first dungeon but with a space-like subsection. The outlandishness of the dungeons fluctuates for the most part, though the final area is indeed the most mysterious.
147	* StatusBuff: Luna and some monsters can use curse or verse spells to buff party members. The catch is that only one of each type can be active at a time, meaning a new buff will overwrite an older buff of the same type.
148	* StatusEffects: Poison, blind, stun, and silence work similarly to other [=RPGs=], though paralyze merely slows your character down.
149	* {{Superboss}}: [[spoiler:[[CrossoverCameo Tae, Main, and Serena]] from a Japanese RPG Maker game, Cross of the World. After beating them once, the player can fight a stronger version of the team that's balanced for a max level party.]]
150	* TakingYouWithMe: Mystic Flame and Mystic Ice have Final Flame and Eternal Freeze respectively, which allows them to deal high elemental damage to an entire party at the cost of being knocked-out. Some bosses will summon palette swaps of these two, which will immediately try to cast a spell version of these self-destruct skills.
151	* TraumaInn: Averted. The party isn't given the option to stay at the inn, since [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Reviel is a guest a Luna's house anyways]]. However, there's a full healing crystal right next to the inn.
152	* TurnsRed: Serpent Lord, Dino King, and the nameless boss in the final dungeon use a permanent buff after they lose enough HP. To a lesser extent, most bosses will use stronger skills as their HP gets lower.
153	* UniqueItems: The Rush Chimera {{Superboss}} reward can only be obtained once. If you have one in your inventory, all rematches with the {{Superboss}} will drop nothing, regardless if you Brave Clear their weaker version. The same goes for all {{Familiar}} core objects, which will never drop again after you get them once.
154	* VampiresAreSexGods: Most of the vampires familiars and the Ancestors are easy on the eyes.
155	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
156	** During a cutscene duel with Luna, Reviel is given the choices of overwhelming Luna with strength, overwhelming her with skill, or going easy on her. Choosing the first option will cause Roshule to block the strike to keep Luna from getting injured.
157	** In Laguz Lake, the washed up fish will die if you step on them, though this could also be interpreted as a MercyKill considering that they shouldn't be able to survive without water anyways. This is most likely RuleOfSymbolism for Reviel's mindset towards humans.
158	* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: PlayedForLaughs. If you anger Minto in the DevelopersRoom, she'll activate the HopelessBossFight mentioned above.
159	* VideoGameRemake: The ''Rebirth'' version uses a more complex sideview ATB system and better sprites.
160	* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:Some of the Devils were created by experimenting on human beings.]]
161	* WolfpackBoss:
162	** At one point, Reviel will have to fight three Maxwell-possessed monsters while suffering from a HP draining curse.
163	** The first boss of Ristill's Castle is four of her doppelgangers, who gain better spells as their numbers dwindle.
164	** The {{Superboss}} is [[CrossoverCameo team of main characters]] from ''Cross of the World'', another UsefulNotes/RPGMaker game that was made by one of the staff.
165	* WorldsStrongestMan: Bonus bosses aside, the three Ancestors are supposed to be the strongest beings in the world. They all have about the same amount of mana, though Khaos is considered the best combatant due to his extensive research of magic.
166	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: [[spoiler:After Reviel and Luna's vampiric natures are revealed, they can't return to Algiz for the rest of the game. This is eventually subverted for Luna, since the villagers still consider her the same person and allow her to rejoin the village. Unfortunately, Reviel isn't ready to visit the village due to his past crimes, though he promises to return someday.]]
167	* YouShouldntKnowThisAlready: During the first dungeon, you can't use certain features like skills or familiars until they're explained in the tutorial events, regardless if you're on a NewGamePlus run.
168	* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: The game almost seems to have an ending after the party defeats [[DiscOneFinalBoss Ristill]] and Reviel prepares to say his goodbyes to the village. However, the maid in the inn hints that there's someone else who needs to be saved. [[spoiler:Then Khaos attacks the village and challenges the party to stop his plan to destroy the world.]]

Context VideoGame / NocturneRPGMaker