Line #25 YMMV/HeroesRise


1	* {{Anvilicious}}:
2	** While possibly {{justified\|Trope}} for reasons similar to [[Franchise/XMen another hero franchise]], the views on gender politics get a somewhat heavy-handed in-game discussion (see StopBeingStereotypical) in ''The Hero Project''.
3	** ''Redemption Season'' takes this up to eleven, verging on AuthorTract regarding equality amongst Supers. Largely connected to [[RealitySubtext some of the more controversial laws passed not long before the game released]][[labelnote:explanation]] North Carolina and Mississippi both passed laws forcing people to use the restroom of their assigned gender, even if they'd [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} fully transitioned]][[/labelnote]].
4	* BrokenBase:
5	** The ''Redemption Season'', by virtue of the above. Those that were bothered by the occasional AuthorTract in the first series downright hate the second due to the prevalence of the trope, while others don't mind it being more integrated into the plot.
6	** The reality TV aspect of ''The Hero Project'' was either a fun way to disguise the game's main plot and integrate the overall themes of social responsibility vs. the desire for fame or a lame, forced excuse to keep the plot treading water while throwing contrived drama at the player that, given how many of Zachary Sergi's other projects incorporate similar mechanics, reeks of AuthorAppeal. The choice to have the sequel focus on the reality TV aspect ''completely'' is equally contentious, with some feeling it works better on its own, without a broader plot to clutter, and others that ''without'' that plot to keep it focused, it sometimes goes a bit too far off the rails.
7	** Depending who you ask, Black Magic is either a flawed but ultimately sympathetic character who earns their redemption, or a creeper who practically railroads the MC into becoming intimate with them and never faces any real consequences for [[spoiler:draining the life force of disabled people to enhance their powers.]]
8	* CrackShip: It is possible in Herofall to start a relationship with [[spoiler:[[ArchEnemy Prodigal]]]] of all people. The game also mercilessly [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] just how ''insane'' this is.
9	* DracoInLeatherPants: Unfortunately, some of Prodigal's fans tend to downplay or ignore her psychopathic traits. There were even those who wanted her as a romance option. [[spoiler:Much rejoicing ensued when she did become one, though thankfully the writers were able to neatly dodge this trope.]]
10	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Out of all the sidekicks, Tarana Rain is the one most people like, for being the most developed [[spoiler:and the most sympathetic]]. The author seems to have noticed her popularity and [[AscendedExtra will apparently be giving her a large role]] in the later games of ''Redemption Season.''
11	** InUniverse, Null is one with the fans of the [[TitleDrop The Hero Project]] (A ShowWithinAShow) for being a quiet, masked badass with a MysteriousPast.
12	* FanPreferredCouple: [[BrokenAce Black Magic]] is the favorite LoveInterest, thanks to being a tragically flawed but still sympathetic character, the CharacterDevelopment and heartwarming moments that come from their romance, and the overall drama their relationship brings to the plot.
13	* {{Fanon}}: The theory that Black Magic TookALevelInJerkass in the second game because [[spoiler:they were being blackmailed by Rexford]] is commonly accepted among the fanbase.
14	* FridgeHorror: If you've done everything as well as it's possible to do in ''The Prodigy'', things have worked out mostly okay at the end. [[spoiler:Your identity has been outed to the world, and your elderly caretaker is shaken up and somewhat injured, but otherwise all right for now. You've been offered a place to stay in the tower of the local super team, and wound up with a significant other.]] That sounds all well and good, but wait...do we know any [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay stories]] that ''start'' like that?
15	** No one on the team seems to have an idea about the villain who fired the missile. No one but producers, who were also, for some reason, coordinating the entire effort. And what did they also do, upon knowing there is a dangerous villain to face who can create heat-seeking missiles? They sent the only available ice-manipulator elsewhere. And apparently the entire thing is being broadcasted. How much damage and harm are thy willing to do for the ratings?
16	** Jury's power is to be able to see through the eyes of people around him, right? Except [[spoiler: it's not, as we learn later that his powers come [[BadassNormal entirely from his [=MeChip=]]]. Including that one. If the [=MeChips=] can allow a person to hijack someone's ''eyesight'', what other potential violations of personal privacy or even bodily autonomy are they capable of?]]
17	* FridgeBrilliance: A lot of the {{Anvilicious}} {{AuthorTract}}s present in Redemption Season can actually be {{justified\|Trope}} in that a lot of Reality TV contestants usually lie about or play up events in their life prior to being on the show to garner sympathy [[note]]A good example of which being Jonny Fairplay lying about his grandmother dying on season seven of ''Series/{{Survivor}}''[[/note]], which some of the contestants could be doing as well.
18	* GameBreaker: The [=MeChip=] Warning System. It basically removes any kind of difficulty from the battle sections of the game, as it outright tells you what the best options are for which scenario. It even gets a buff in ''Redemption Season'', where it also helps you navigate the political and alliance sections of the game. The downside is that it costs a ''lot'' of money, so much that unless you [[spoiler: saved Sonja]] in ''The Prodigy'' you won't be able to get it at all (Of course, unless you [[BribingYourWayToVictory fork over an extra dollar to get it as an in-app purchase]])
19	* GrowingTheBeard: The first game is seen as the weakest of the three in terms of being an actual CYOA game, as while it is well-written, it offers the least amount of meaningful choices [[ButThouMust and sometimes even railroads you into doing things you don't want to]]. The second game began to grow the beard and the third is when the beard really came into its own, with both offering an increasing amount of variety in decisions, stats, and character interactions.
20	* NightmareFuel: The unavoidable fate of [[spoiler:Miss Artillery]] in ''Herofall''. [[spoiler:She's trapped in a tube, with acid piped in at the bottom, slowly dissolving and melting alive, screaming all the while as she sinks deeper and deeper until she's completely dissolved.]] Just...''holy slugger''.
21	** Also during ''Herofall'', it's become standard for the law enforcement to carry around guns meant to [[PowerNullifier temporarily or permanently suppress Powers]]. Powered individuals are ''required'' to show up for "testing" at the Infinity Regulator, and can be killed if they fail to show up. Finally, when you infiltrate the Meek's headquarters, [[spoiler:you find plans to make ''concentration camps'' and ''mass graves'']]. [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Is any of this]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII sounding familiar]]?
22	* ParanoiaFuel: Prodigal turns out to have kept an insanely detailed amount of tabs on the PC's life, up to knowing how they did on their drivers' test and ''the posters they have on their bedroom walls''. She did this for years without them once becoming aware or even suspecting something was amiss.
23	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Overlapping with SoBadItWasBetter: Originally the taboo-romance between Monk and Fistful was taboo enough to be blackmailable because... Relationships with Zehir are taboo for some reason (might be because bystanders can't tell what's in their pants by looking at them?) It already was a really odd and mindboggling choice and implication, but it's recently been changed to 'you can blackmail the characters over their relationship because their stereotypes don't mix commonly'. The original could have been spun into there being a genuine reason at least, but now it's just ... What.
24	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Griffin from THP is ''named'' after the OC of a dang awesome artist who has done a lot of fanworks and illustrations for various games from the publisher. However, the ACTUAL Griffin is pretty much the polar opposite of what is seen in THP (actual Griffin is kind, funny, helpful, quirky, and definitely not an aging white MRA going impotent), and the artist is not too happy about what the author did.
25	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Frankly, the fact that the {{Player Character}}'s sister is dying of a horrible disease throughout ''Redemption Season'' should really get more focus on their part than the silly Reality TV shenanigans.

Context YMMV / HeroesRise