If someone wants to quickly communicate and do so fairly universally, without any language barriers, then using symbols instead of linguistic characters might do it.
And so people have converged on "+" as the universal symbol for improvement, deriving it from the mathematical addition symbol, and how adding something makes things bigger, usually.
Overlaps with Lucky Charms Title for titles, Spell Tiers for abilities, and Tiered by Name in general if there's a non-plus version that comes before, like an Updated Re-release.
For other uses of math symbols, there's F--, when letter grades are so bad that it deserves a minus "-" or more.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Amagami SS: There is a sequel to the anime known as Amigami SS +.
- Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn: One of the Mobile Suits introduced in the series is the Delta Plus. The Mobile Suit is based on the failed Delta Gundam (which went on to become the Hyaku Shiki) and improves on it, including the ability to transform and extra weapons.
Literature
- In Ralph124c 41 Plus by Hugo Gernsback, it is stated that the titular scientist, due to his achievements, is one of the ten people on Earth with the right to a Plus at the end of his name.
Video Games
- Animal Crossing:
- In Japanese, the Nintendo GameCube version of the original game is called Doubutsu no Mori+Translation, representing how it added a lot of new features and isn't just a straight port. The Updated Re-release is called Doubutsu no Mori e+, referring to the expanded e-Reader functionality.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons: After the resident representative pays off their first loan using Nook Miles (a currency earned by completing achievements from a set list), Tom Nook upgrades the relevant phone app to Nook Miles+, which adds smaller, randomly selected achievements.
- ANNO: Mutationem: On the skill tree, certain skills such as "Killing Blow", "Charged Slash", and the Luck Stat are given a + when upgraded. The "Instant Kill" skill is marked with ++ once fully enhanced.
- Armored Core: The earlier installments of the series had the Human PLUS enhancements, which gave AC Pilots extra abilities for their machine. It's also noted to come with a heavy dose of Cybernetics Eat Your Soul.
- BattleTech (2018): Improved versions of equipment, usually "Lostech" from before the fall of the Star League, are denoted with + or ++ next to the name. The SLDF Highlander 'mech you acquire in the campaign includes a lot of such gear.
- Early games in the Blaster Series did this with remakes: Math Blaster Plus, Alge-Blaster Plus, and New Math Blaster Plus.
- Breath of Death VII: The Mana Regen+ possible passive skill to improve Regenerating Mana from After-Combat Recovery.
- Cave Story:
- Rabid Toroko is the frenzied, superpowered version of Toroko Quote is forced to fight after the Doctor feeds the young Mimiga red flowers. In the Aeon Genesis translation, her name is listed in the credits as "Toroko +".
- The Steam port of the game (which added a new remastered soundtrack and the Wind Fortress bonus level, along with all the additions from the previous Wiiware port) was retitled Cave Story+.
- The Fire Emblem franchise:
- Fire Emblem Heroes:
- A number of weapons have "+" at the end of their names, only available to 5-star rarity characters that are stronger versions of weapons of their 4-star counterparts.
- In response to Power Creep over the years, older characters may get updated with newer, upgraded versions of their existing skills, often with the same name but with "+" appended at the end.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses: Unlike previous games, skill level have a transitional level between letter grades, represented by the + sign. For example, leveling up your sword rank from D increases to D+, before the next level ranks up to C. It determines the unit's ability to wield forged weapons and learning skills and combat arts.
- Fire Emblem Heroes:
- Interdimensional Vending Machine: There's Pep C and then there's the more thirst-quenching Pep C+.
- The Updated Re-release of Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony has a less verbose title Jamestown+.
- Kid Icarus: Uprising: Upon bringing the Aurum under his control (albeit not for long), Pyrrhon describes himself as a "level-infinity epic super-god PLUS."
- Kirby:
- In games that feature EX bosses like Kirby's Return to Dream Land or Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, the European Spanish and Dutch translations give these bosses a "+" suffix to their names.
- Kirby: Planet Robobot: One of the bosses fought in the Access Ark is Mecha Knight+, an upgraded model of Mecha Knight created by Susie after Kirby defeated the original. The + suffix is used for this boss in the game's English, German, Italian, and Spanish translations.
- Super Kirby Clash:
- Normally, the Latin American Spanish translations of games give the harder bosses an EX suffix, but both Pyribbit EX and The True Final Battle EX are labelled with the + suffix in that translation.
- The final three Party Quests are all given a "Super+" ranking. The Dutch translation names the Tougher rank difficulty "Moeilijk +" ("Hard +").
- The Pokémon franchise:
- Pokémon GO has the Pokémon Go Plus, an accessory that automatically catches Pokémon for you, letting you play the game without even having it open. Exaggerated with the device's upgraded successor, the confusingly named "Pokémon Go Plus +".
- Pokémon Shuffle: Some stronger versions of abilities have "+" appended to the end of their names, with even stronger versions having "++" at the end.
- Pokémon Rumble: Stronger versions of Special Traits have a + or ++ symbol added to denote their increased effectiveness. For example, a Speedy+ Pokémon will get a bigger boost to its speed than one that just has Speedy.
- RuneScape: Weapon poisons have 3 tiers, and the two stronger ones are denoted by + and ++ after their names.
- Slay the Spire: Upgraded cards have a plus added to their name. This unfortunately also applies to the Burn debuff card as well, which is twice as effective against you when upgraded.
- The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise:
- In 2018, Sonic Mania received the Sonic Mania Plus DLC, which added the characters Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel, an all-new "Encore Mode", and an overall greater level of polish that wasn't present in the original game.
- Sonic Origins Plus is a DLC Expansion to the Sonic Origins compilation, which features enhanced remakes of Sonic the Hedgehog 1, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. Origins Plus adds Amy as a playable character in all four of these games and all twelve of Sonic's Game Gear games, including the Japanese-exclusive Sonic Drift and Tails' Skypatrol.
- Sonic Mega Collection was first released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, is a Compilation Re-release package of older Sonic and Sega Genesis games. When the collection was ported to PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2004 (and PC in 2006), it was released as Sonic Mega Collection Plus, adding in two games that were originally only available on the Japanese version of Sonic Mega Collection, six other Sonic Game Gear titles, and updated extras like illustrations, menu interface, and a mid-game saving feature.
- Wobbledogs: The stronger versions of gut flora, obtained randomly through the presence of Crysalia, have names ending in +.
- Yars Rising: The Nibble++ Biohack to Attack Speed Buff the Nibble attack.
- Yo-kai Watch 4: The game received a DLC that added a lot of new Yo-kai, areas, and even a new gamemode. Fittingly, it's called pura pura or plus plus.
- Yuusha Land Plus: As the description says, "An expanded version of the Yuusha Land minigame from Astra Hunter Zosma!"
Visual Novels
- Doki Doki Literature Club!: The Updated Re-release is named Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!.
Real Life
- The programming language C++ is written as an object-oriented addition of the original C. It is named by author Bjarne Stroustrup, after C itself and the increment operator ++For those less computer-inclined.
- The Spectrum+ was a Product Facelift of the ZX Spectrum, with a (slightly) better keyboard. Later machines in the range included the Spectrum +2 and Spectrum +3.
- Amstrad's PcW9512+ wordprocessor was a slight update of the PCW9512 using a 3.5" floppy drive rather than the 3" drive of the original.
- Streaming services with "+" in the name, with notably trend starter Disney+ (followed by Paramount+, MGM+ etc), come with the notions of streaming being more practical than previous home video systems and working best on smart TVs.
- The "+" became a go-to slogan for Polish politics between 2015 and 2023 under the Law and Justice government. It started as a somewhat justified case as part of a mangled equation, with the iconic child-support program simply named "Family 500+": 500 PLN of universal child support per child, added to the home budget of parents. But it quickly devolved into more and more abstract concepts, such as Home-Owning+, Accessability+, Online Schooling+ or Railway+. The pluses were also derogatively used for any scandals involving said government, like Familia+ or, probably most infamous, Villa+.
