"A Spartan never lets his back hit the ground. Right, brother?"
— Deimos
God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a God of War video game released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010, set in-between the events of God of War and God of War II.
It starts with a flashback to Kratos' childhood, in which he trains with his brother Deimos. Deimos is believed to be The Chosen One who will topple Olympus, and so he is kidnapped by the gods, particularly Ares. Years later, Kratos, now the God of War, decides to find out what became of his brother.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta contains examples of the following tropes:
- Arc Villain: Thanatos is introduced and appears an Antagonist for just this game and somehow gets killed. See The Problem with Fighting Death below.
- Atlantis: Kratos visits and destroys Atlantis for no apparent reason other than to piss off Poseidon.
- Absurdly Long Stairway: The hike to Poseidon's temple.
- Bash Brothers: Brothers-in-blood become brothers-in-arms when Deimos and Kratos team up to fight Thanatos during the final boss.
- Big Brother Instinct: In the past, Kratos directly attacked Ares himself in an attempt to save Deimos.
- Broken Pedestal: When Kratos finally finds and frees Deimos, the latter attacks him in a rage, remarking that he will never forgive Kratos for failing to protect him. He reconciles with him after Kratos saves him from falling off a cliff, though.
- Bittersweet Ending: Thanatos has been killed, but so has Deimos, causing Kratos to sink into an angry depression which eventually gets the gears rolling for the events of God of War II.
- Convection, Schmonvection: There are people, and even structures in Lethal Lava Land areas. Kratos in particular being fine is Justified, since he's a God in this game.
- Despair Event Horizon: Subverted. At the end of the game, Kratos nearly crosses this line once again after his brother's death, not too long after their mother's by Kratos own hands, no less. He briefly considers throwing himself off the Suicide Bluffs once again like in the first game, but he backs off from doing this and lets his resentment to boil over into the events that lead to the second game.
- Doomed by Canon: This is an Interquel so Deimos dying at the end is predictable.
- Everyone Has Standards: Kratos of all people seems genuinely taken aback for a brief moment when he encounters King Midas and sees how broken he is.
- Every Scar Has a Story: This game reveals that Kratos received the scar across his right eye from Ares when he tried to stop him from taking Deimos.
- Enemies with Death: The Death God Thanatos is the Big Bad.
- Forgot About His Powers: Kratos doesn't have any magic at the beginning, even if in God of War II he still kept Poseidon's Rage before losing his powers.
- Interquel: In between God of War and God of War II.
- The Magic Touch: King Midas briefly appears as an antagonist and is turned to gold when Kratos pushes him into flowing lava in order to cross.
- Matricide: Kratos' mother is turned into a monster by Zeus, forcing Kratos to kill her.
- Meaningful Echo: "A Spartan never lets his back hit the ground." This is first said by Child!Kratos to Deimos in a flashback while training. Later in the game, Deimos says it to Kratos after the latter saves him from falling off a cliff.
- Meaningful Name:
- In Greek mythology, Deimos was a God of Terrornote , and Kratos was a God of Powernote , which suits their personalities. Both Gods were more Anthropomorphic Personifications than gods, and almost never appeared as actual characters in any story in Greek Mythology, making them easy name choices.
- Kratos' mother Callisto, is named after a king's daughter whom Zeus seduced and impregnated by shapshifting into Artemis
- Mistaken Identity: The game introduces a prophecy about a "marked warrior" who is destined to bring about the fall of Olympus. Athena and Ares mistook Deimos to be said warrior because of his birthmarks and thus kidnapped him. As it turns out, the marked warrior in the prophecy is Kratos himself, the mark being the ashes of his family that are bound to his skin.
- Ms. Fanservice: The Spartan prostitutes that Kratos can have a Hot Coffee Minigame with. It's not enough that they are exposed publicly, but they also move like burlesque performers too!
- My Greatest Failure: Kratos considers his failure to stop Ares taking Deimos as this.Kratos: You were there?! Why?! Why didn't you help him?!Athena: I was there for you, Kratos. You had to be saved.Kratos: (angry) You should have saved him! (sadly) I should have saved him.
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: A refreshing alternative to Kratos' usual Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Here, most of the plot revolves around rescuing Deimos.
- Took a Level in Badass: In his youth, Deimos was considered unfit for the Spartan army. Now, as an adult, Deimos has taken enough levels in badass that he can actually hold his own against Kratos, who's still the God of War at this time, in a straight-up fight. Not bad for someone who spent better part of his life imprisoned.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: The Grave Digger, Zeus' mortal disguise, who used to be a Cool Old Guy in the first game. He is colder and more hostile towards Kratos this time. It's possible this is the result of Pandora's Box affecting him.
- The Problem with Fighting Death: The Grim Reaper is the Big Bad. Ultimately Averted, Death somehow gets killed, even though he is Death incarnate. It's implied Kratos has absorbed his power and become the new death, but since this is an Interquel it's unknown if he lost this status in the beginning of God of War II.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Kratos' opinion of the Gods' actions at the end of the game.
- Sea Monster: Scylla, the first boss of the game, is a beast Odysseus had previously met in The Odyssey.
- Schizo Tech: The Automaton enemies are autonomous Gear Punk robots, which seems quite a bit advanced for an Ancient Greek setting. Though they do seem to be powered by Poseidon's electricity.
- Stock Scream: The Wilhelm Scream is heard when a Cyclops throws a Red Shirt soldier off a balcony.
- Troubled Backstory Flashback: Kratos has one about him and his brother when they were kids.
- What Have I Become?: A chilling example at the climax.Kratos: By the gods, what have I become?Grave Digger: Death. The Destroyer of Worlds.
- Would Hurt a Child: Ares was perfectly prepared to kill Kratos for daring to interfere in his efforts to take Deimos. He only stopped because Athena (knowing Kratos' future importance) reminded Ares Zeus had ordered them to take Deimos and harm no one else.
"Now, only one remains..."
