Basic Trope: An apparently single enemy in a map screen turns out to be a party of enemies in the combat screen.
- Straight: In Tales of Troperia, you end up meeting a seemingly lonely Goblin enemy in the map screen. Make contact with it to get transported to a fight screen against two Goblins.
- Exaggerated:
- There's a single Goblin enemy sprite in the map screen. Flashy screen effect happens. Now there's suddenly a dozen Goblins, half a dozen Slimes and a trio of Wolves facing you.
- On the map, there's a single Orc. Engaging it pits you against 3,872 Orcs and a comfy chair.
- Downplayed: Most of the time, a single enemy in the map screen means having to deal with just one enemy during the fight. There are instances where you do fight two or more enemies from a seemingly lonely enemy sprite, but they are a rarity.
- Justified:
- Enemies always work in groups, but the ones you see in the map are just patrolling "sentries" while the rest are hanging out offscreen or hiding somewhere nearby. Those ones will run to the fight scene once combat starts.
- The 'lone' Goblin is an ambush lure, while the rest is hiding behind the nearby trees.
- Inverted:
- Party in My Pocket.
- You see two Goblins together in the overworld, but when you enter into a fight with them, there's only one in the fight screen.
- What appears to be multiple enemies actually counts as a single target, attacks in unison, and takes damage like a single entity.
- Inverted/Justified: The first Goblin is the second's mother and is fighting to keep him safe, letting him join goes against why she's fighting in the first place.question
- Subverted: You are told by a NPC that Goblins tend to fight in groups, but once you enter in a fight with one, there's just a single Goblin to deal with.
- Double Subverted: Once you defeat it, though, four more Goblins show up to fight you. Turns out Goblins fight in waves.
- Parodied: Even the Goblin you met in the map screen is startled and confused by the other two Goblins that suddenly showed up alongside him.
- Zig Zagged: The Heroes attack a camping area that could hold several enemies, but only one is apparent. Immediately more guards arrive, but they turn out to be illusions used by the lone guard. But by the time the heroes figure this out the actual guards have returned to camp.
- Averted:
- Tales of Troperia uses Random Encounters, with no visible enemies on the map screen.
- All enemies are visible on the map screen, but making contact with one throws you into a battle against all of them.
- Enforced: Only so many sprites the console can show at once and the sprites themselves are at 8x8 too small to reasonably render a grouping.
- Lampshaded: "Hehehe, did you really think I would be roaming around just by myself?"
- Invoked: The one Mook is a user of Summon Magic and instantly calls up reinforcements when attacked.
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz requires at least one guard in each squad to use Summon Magic so that they can do this.
- Defied: One guard breaks protocol to investigate alone and is picked off without his squad mates being any the wiser.
- Discussed: The party members discuss strategies for dealing with enemies that may appear as a single entity on the map screen but turn out to be a group in combat.
- Conversed: In an unrelated conversation, characters talk about their experiences with deceptive enemy encounters in video games, mentioning instances where a single enemy turned out to be a party.
- Implied: The narrative hints at the possibility of multiple enemies being present despite only one being visible on the map screen, creating a sense of tension and surprise for the players.
- Played For Laughs: The protagonist, upon realizing that the seemingly lonely enemy on the map screen is actually part of a larger group, comically overreacts with exaggerated shock and disbelief.
- Played For Drama: The revelation that a seemingly solo enemy is actually part of a party creates a dramatic twist, raising the stakes and forcing the player to strategize and adapt to the unexpected challenge.
- Played For Horror: The twist of a seemingly single enemy turning out to be a party in the combat screen is used to create a sense of dread and terror. The sudden escalation in threat and the overwhelming odds the player faces can evoke fear and tension, heightening the horror elements of the game.
- Logical Extreme: The trope is taken to its extreme by having the single enemy on the map screen transform into an entire army or horde in the combat screen. The player is faced with an enormous number of enemies, making the encounter incredibly challenging and intense.
- Deconstructed:
- The lone mook uses Summon Magic, but his reinforcements are summoned off guard and get summarily beaten anyway while the first guy has exhausted himself.
- In a game version, many players Rage Quit or have to retreat because they don't have a strong enough party to beat multiple enemies.
- Reconstructed:
- Someone at the home base notices that Squad X have disappeared and sends fresher reinforcements to the location they were sent.
- In a game, the lone monster can summon more monsters, but these monsters are much weaker and fade when the original is defeated.
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