History VideoGame / TheLordOfTheRingsTheThirdAge

''The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age'' is a pair of similar video games based on Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.

In the version released for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]], UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, the plot follows your expanding group of heroes as they follow (and try to assist) the Fellowship of the novels and the movie. It is a TurnBasedCombat game similar to ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''.

The version released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance is a StrategyRPG and it allows you to command the heroes of good [[NoCampaignForTheWicked or]] [[AvertedTrope evil]] and the soldiers alongside them as they fight for control of Middle-Earth in several (canonical and non-canonical) battles of the War of the Ring.

!!This game provides examples of the following tropes:

[[folder:[=GameCube=] / [=PS2=] / Xbox Version]]
!!Tropes in the home console version provide examples of:
* AllThereInTheManual: An ingame one. For some reason, a good chunk of the exposition isn't covered in cutscenes, but in orbs sent by Gandalf, Saruman, or the plot--if you aren't keeping up with them, you'll never realize that [[spoiler:Hadhod has a dead son]], for example.

* CanonForeigner: All of the main party members.

* CutScenePowerToTheMax: At the beginning of the game, Idrial finishes off two Ringwraiths with the Water Stallion, a Spell that you likely won't get until at least halfway through the game and will not be able to finish off Ringwraiths (who are somewhere between EliteMook and SubBoss in power depending on when you meet them) in one hit without serious boosting.
* DamageSpongeBoss:
** The Witch-King. His damage output is pretty much negligible and you can perpetually stall his turn, but due to his high defenses and the fact that he counters every hit you make with an incredibly long-winded animation just to bonk you on the head, the fight takes ''forever''. To top it all off he has a LifeDrain hits your entire party. Most of the late enemies and bosses tend to count, but he's one of the most obnoxious.

* EnemyScan: Courtesy of Elegost.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Strangely enough for a game in which playable characters have names. After Berethor's introduction to Idrial, not many people call each other by name, but rather refer to their races and jobs: Human, Knight of Gondor, She-Elf, Ranger, Dwarf, etc...
** Which makes it especially jarring when the party splits up during Minas Tirith; Eaoden shouts some orders to Berethor, Idrial, Elegost, and Hadhod, referring to them by name.
* EvilIsEasy: Second facet example. Evil Mode (the bonus battles where you play as the bosses) is much easier than the regular game, since the AI [[AIBreaker has no idea how to use your former party members effectively]], while you on the other hand can spam all of the bosses' worst attacks over and over ''and'' ShootTheMedicFirst to cause the rest of the party to fall apart.
** Except that only happens on Easy Difficulty. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Trying to play Evil Mode on any difficulty higher than that during the later stages (Helms Deep - Pelennor Fields) will get you butchered quickly by the AI pulling the cheapest One Hit Kills on you]].

** Morwen is introduced as a competent Rohirrim warrior who is fighting three orcs... alone. [[OverratedAndUnderleveled Then you actually try playing as her and, well....]]
** Making matters worse, you can't switch her out at this point, since this is meant to be her introductory battle.

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: Whatever original thoughts the story had died after Moria. Initially, the point of the quest was for Berethor to find Boromir to join him [[note]][[ForegoneConclusion Which obviously couldn't happen]][[/note]], Elegost to find his friend Hadhod, which they accomplished, and Idrial to return to Lothlorien and warn Galadriel of the dangers in Eregion. After defeating the Balrog and presumably linking up with the Fellowship the plot changes into helping the heroes defeat Isengard and Mordor.

* MagicKnight: Eaoden and Hadhod. Idrial can try, with varying results.

* ShootTheShaggyDogStory: The party (somehow) ends up fighting the Eye of Sauron atop Barad-dûr. Since the tower collapses once the Ring is destroyed, and we never actually see the party's whereabouts afterward (we just get a monologue about the beginning of the Fourth Age).
* ShownTheirWork: The game is ''extremely'' non-canon, but there is one thing the developers got right; besides the elves, very few people actually do big, flashy attack magic, instead performing morale-boosting StatusBuff skills and elaborate weapon techniques. The main character has a healing spell, but that is explicitly an elvish blessing.

* StatusBuff: Several, most for the player from Berethor's Leadership skills.
* StatusBuffDispel: Also several, but the player is mostly limited to Eoaden's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Dispel]] skill and the completely identical Dispel found in Shadowcraft.

** May or may not be played straight with some of the more optional skillsets... Such as crafting (which requires lots of grinding before becoming useful, and leads to item hoarding and skipping a character's turn) and stealing (self explanatory, considering only consumables are lootable and the vast variety of items are of questionable use). A lot of minor items have obscure effects as well, such as reducing blunt/slash/pierce/fire/water/etc damage for a few turns when the type of an attack is difficult to determine.

The worst part of the Balrog isn't his obscene amount of hit points (that just makes him a DamageSponge boss), nor is it the amount of damage he does, since you can and should have several ways to offset that by this point in the game if you've been unlocking skills correctly. By far the worst part is that 2 of his attacks hit your entire party and drain nearly all their AP in one shot. Without Gandalf's Wizard Drain, only Idrial would have a reliable way of replenishing her own AP. If Idrial doesn't have Aura of the Valar and Power of the Valar [[note]]Two abilities that almost guarantee survival and eventual, slow grinding of boss health.[[/note]], it would be nearly hopeless without Gandalf. In fact, it's entirely possible to let the party die and just have Gandalf kill the Balrog.

!!Tropes in the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance version of The Third Age provide examples of:
* AncestralWeapon: Gimli's unique melee damage upgrade is listed as "Gloin's Axe".
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: In two missions, as Evil, you get to play as ''Sauron himself'' -- and he is ridiculously powerful, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu though he is not immune to death]] if you manage to [[SuicidalOverconfidence misuse him]].

*** Aragorn's Curse of the Dead ability doesn't deal a lot of damage, but it can reach enemy units anywhere on the flank, even in areas where you may not be able to hit them at the moment. This spell is particularly useful in hitting Catapults that are otherwise completely out of your reach.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Siege weapons have the Inaccurate trait, meaning that they're ''supposed'' to miss 50% of the time ... but the computer seems to have a much higher hit rate with them than the player ever does. This is particularly annoying in the mission "Assault on Osgiliath", since while the RedshirtArmy of [[TheCavalry Gondor Knights]] can and must charge forward at will, the good heroes cannot get any more than four spaces from the bottom of the map before the enemy immediately focus-fires on them with the two Orc catapults.[[note]]Then again, Gandalf can approach, as long as he's spamming the [[AIBreaker Stealth ability]] every step of the way to protect himself from ranged fire.[[/note]]
* CreepyCrows: Saruman's signature Swarm of Crebain ability summons a murder of these to attack and paralyze a single foe.

* EliteMooks:
** The Army of the Dead, the Ents, and any cavalry on the side of Good.
** Uruk-hai, Warg-riders, Ringwraiths, and Trolls on the side of Evil.
** BossInMookClothing: Ents, Trolls, Ringwraiths, and Mûmakil boast stats comparable to or well exceeding any hero-level unit.
* FinalDeathMode: Playing on Sauron Mode. Injured heroes will still regain their health between combat, but any who fall in battle are gone for the rest of the campaign. Even playing without Sauron Mode, heroes who fall in battle will be unable to be fielded in the next battle before they are available once again.
** If you have fewer heroes remaining than you can take into a level in Sauron mode, [[DevelopersForesight the empty slots will be filled with flagbearers]], who grant a guaranteed 1 command point per turn.

* GondorCallsForAid: The entire literal purpose of the missions "Defense of the Beacon", "Mount Mindolluin", and "Charge of the Rohirrim".

** ''[[AwesomeButTemporary Sauron]] himself'' in the levels "The Last Alliance" and "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sauron Comes]]"; in the former, he only shows up when playing as Evil, while in the latter he is present no matter which side is selected.

** '''Mûmakil'''. They only show up twice ("Ambush At Ithilien" and "Pelennor Fields"), but are nigh unstoppable whenever they appear. Consider this: they boast by far the highest HitPoints in the game, [[ImplacableMan unflappable morale]], brutal attack power, ''and'' the Shock and [[LightningBruiser Double Move]] talents. On top of that, any unit in their way automatically fails a morale check and is forced to flee, rendering the unit useless for a turn; worse, if the unit cannot escape thanks to surrounding units or terrain, the unfortunate target is ''[[OneHitKill immediately trampled to death]] where they stand''. As a result, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killing a Mûmak]] is a pretty satisfying achievement, [[LuckBasedMission whenever you can pull it off]].

** Mordor Trolls and Ents also qualify. The latter have massive HP and can deal heavy damage both in close combat and from afar, while the former have the highest HP in the game apart from the Mumakil and can deal a whopping TWELVE damage per strike, which is pretty much instant death on any non-mounted or non-Hero unit. And they both have Brave morale to boot.

* MagicKnight: Most of the heroes, as they combine combat prowess with potent special abilities. Gandalf is more of a specific example, however, as he is technically a wizard but his ranged magical attack is particularly weak, forcing him to rely more on Glamdring and his staff to beat an opposing unit at melee range.
** That being said, even though Glamdring is listed as only boosting Melee power, his ranged attack does become more noticeably powerful after getting the upgrade. In addition, it seems to have a higher chance of causing morale failures as well than the average ranged attack.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Aragorn, Elrond, Legolas, Théoden, Théodred, Éomer, Éowyn, Sauron and the Witch-King of Angmar all show up as hero units.

** The Mouth of Sauron is also a noticeable example. Without upgrades or spells, he is a mediocre fighter with only 6 attack, no ranged, and unreliable Average morale. With upgrades, he becomes an absolutely devastating attacker with a base TEN damage, the same as ''Sauron'', and with Rage and Eye of Sauron active he can deal an average of '''SEVENTEEN''' damage to heroes. Though his leadership isn't quite on par with Saruman's, he's one of only two regularly available heroes who have the powerful Intimidate spell, and unlike Saruman he can (a) give EVERYONE on his flank a power boost with Eye of Sauron and (b) give Command Points to flanks other than his own.

In the version released for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]], UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, the plot follows your expanding group of heroes as they follow (and try to assist) the Fellowship of the novels and the movie. It is a TurnBasedCombat game ala ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''.

* {{Gainaxing}}: Watch Morwen's chest when she starts to walk around in the cutscene directly after you rescue her.

* AnAxeToGrind: Both Gimli and Ugluk wield axes in combat. Gimli, in particular, throws smaller axes as his ranged attack.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNoWhere: During the Battle of Pelennor Fields, the party is suddenly warped to the top of the Tower of Barad-Dur to fight the Eye of Sauron as the game's [[AntiClimaxBoss disappointingly easy]] final boss.

** The combination of Elrond, Legolas, and Haldir; first you have to unlock Haldir by beating "The Black Gate Opens" on [[NintendoHard hard]] [[ThatOneLevel difficulty]], then you have to get all of them fully upgraded and find a mission where you can use all three. However, if you get them all on the same flank -- "The Last Alliance" comes to mind -- both Elrond and Haldir can use the Keen Eyes ability, cumulatively adding 3 range (6 total) to all units on the flank, and Legolas can use Sweep Attack to snipe up to four units from '''15 squares away'''. The best part is that all three of them can now do full damage at the far end of their range, meaning you can [[RainOfArrows toast entire packs of units]] from ''multiple screens away'' ... you just need to have the Command Points and Spirit Points to do all that in one turn, which takes a bit of waiting.

** [[spoiler:In the "Pelennor Fields" level, if you are playing as Evil and if you move the Mûmakil down at least one space on the first turn, when the second turn comes and the Army of the Dead arrive, you can run it straight down and trample over Aragorn before he can fire a shot. The Mûmakil can then proceed to disrupt and kill the Army of the Dead while the rest of your minions curbstomp the handful of Rohan cavalry gathered at the top of the map and then mop up whoever is left standing.]]

* KilledOffForReal: Playing on Sauron Mode. Injured heroes will still regain their health between combat, but any who fall in battle are gone for the rest of the campaign. Even playing without Sauron Mode, heroes who fall in battle will be unable to be fielded in the next battle before they are available once again.
** If you have fewer heroes remaining than you can take into a level in Sauron mode, [[DevelopersForesight the empty slots will be filled with flagbearers]], who grant a guaranteed 1 command point per turn.
* LuckBasedMission: On the side of Good, "The Black Gate Opens" is all about this. You have to survive at least 15 turns and [[LuckBasedMission as long as necessary]] after that point until Frodo randomly destroys the One Ring offscreen. The bad part is, without impeccable unit management and substantial luck, it's an utter CurbStompBattle in Evil's favour, even on the lowest (normal) difficulty level.

** The Witch-King. His damage output is pretty much negligible and you can perpetually stall his turn, but due to his high defenses and the fact that he counters every hit you make with an incredibly long-winded animation just to bonk you on the head, the fight takes ''forever''. Most of the late enemies and bosses tend to count, but he's one of the most obnoxious.

* PlayAsABoss: In "Evil Mode", you can replay every boss fight, but controling the bosses themselves and fighting your party. The extra loot you gain from this mode is generally worth it, including weapons the player wouldn't find anywhere else.

* BottomlessMagazines: No matter how long a battle lasts, or how many battles you do in a row, Elegost never runs out of arrows.
* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler:Berethor is under Saruman's control for most of the game, compelled to track Boromir for a reason unknown to himself, but would have led to him stealing the One Ring eventually.]] It is later revealed that [[spoiler:he was struck with a Morgul blade during the earlier battle for Osgiliath. According to the Witch-King, he was intended to be a sleeper agent who would wreak havoc in Minas Tirith and throw open the city gates, softening the defenses for the full Mordor invasion. Fortunately, Berethor breaks through his brainwashing in time.]]

* CastOfExpies: Each character is this to one of the existing characters. Berethor is Boromir as TheAtoner and TheHero, Elegost is Aragorn as TheLancer instead of SupportingLeader, Idrial is Arwen as a warrior, Hadhod is Gimli with stoicism instead of humour, Morwen is Éowyn, and Eaoden is Éomer.

* ElementalPowers: A few of the characters have attacks like this.
** MakingASplash: Idrial uses a few spirit attacks made of water, and a few of her other spells have water animations.
** ShockAndAwe / GreenThumb: Elegost has a high-level skill that summons a lightning storm on his enemies. In addition, another high-level skill allows him to bind his enemies with roots.
** PlayingWithFire / DishingOutDirt: Hadhod has a few fire skills, including a meteor and a dragon spirit, though one skill is used to defend against enemy fire attacks. In addition, he can raise shields of earth in front of his allies.

* PraetorianGuard: Berethor is a member of Gondor's version; a captain in the Citadel Guards.

* WakeUpCallBoss: The Balrog. He is the second "true boss" in the game, and is the final boss of Chapter 3: The Mines of Moria. The game is rather easy up to this point, but Balrog shows up to wipe the party. For reference, the first boss, The Watcher in the Water, has 3,112 HP, Balrog has 72,317 HP, and the third boss, Grí­ma Wormtongue, has but 14,927 HP. {{Justified|Trope}}: The Balrog is a huge fire-and-shadow demon of the ancient world, while Grí­ma is only a normal human who's been corrupted (and given a few powers through it, it seems).\\
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* CosmicDeadline: As the game goes on, it's increasingly clear the game is running low on time and budget; Levels get shorter and more linear, sidequests disappear and the game begins throwing plot reveals at you faster and faster. [[spoiler:This culminates in the game just tossing you at Sauron for the final boss fight with basically no context.]]

In the version released for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]], UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, the plot follows your expanding group of heroes as they follow (and try to assist) the Fellowship of the novels and the movie.

* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Averted, with "Evil Mode", where you can replay every boss fight, but controling the bosses themselves and fighting your party. The extra loot you gain from this mode is generally worth it, including weapons the player wouldn't find anywhere else.

* PowerCrystal: Spellcraft gems, which teach a character magic. One basically copies Idrial's skillset, and another teaches powerful BlackMagic without that nasty business of [[DealWithTheDevil having to bargain with Sauron]].

* BigDamnHeroes[=/=]JustYouAndMeAndMyGuards: In the "Pelennor Fields" level, a massive Evil army (with a [[TheJuggernaut Mûmakil]], no less) faces down a mere handful of Rohan cavalry and the few heroes who lead them. Then turn 2 comes along, and [[spoiler:the [[EliteMooks Army of the Dead]] appear across the entire bottom edge of the map]].

* {{Expy}}: Strangely enough, an example on the scale of an entire mission. The unlockable level "Balin's Tomb" is basically the same as "Flight From Moria", only set ''inside'' Moria and without any elves or woodsmen that show up in the latter mission.

* LowerDeckEpisode: The conditions of this game's creation forced the developers to avoid any content which was not in the film adaptations (no Tom Bombadil allowed, for instance), so the main group exists entirely in the Fellowship's shadow, tailing after them and largely confronting the same things, if only after the fact.

* RPGsEqualCombat: Not so much as a single NPC that isn't out for your head, save the elven archers who perform the ''Rain of Arrows'' Perfect Mode attack.

* {{Brainwashed}}: [[spoiler:Berethor]] is under Saruman's control for most of the game, compelled to track Boromir for a reason unknown to himself, but would have led to him stealing the One Ring eventually.
** It is later revealed that [[spoiler:he was struck with a Morgul blade during the earlier battle for Osgiliath. According to the Witch-King, he was intended to be a sleeper agent who would wreak havoc in Minas Tirith and throw open the city gates, softening the defenses for the full Mordor invasion. Fortunately, Berethor breaks through his brainwashing in time.]]

* {{Expy}}: Each character is this to one of the existing characters. Berethor is Boromir as TheAtoner and TheHero, Elegost is Aragorn as TheLancer instead of SupportingLeader, Idrial is Arwen as a warrior, Hadhod is Gimli with stoicism instead of humour, Morwen is Éowyn, and Eaoden is Éomer.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Elegost has a [[BowAndSwordInAccord sword]] that he uses in [[CutscenePowerToTheMax cutscenes]], yet he never uses it in actual gameplay.

** Second Age swords also do this, but only Berethor and Idrial can use them. Another feature that's [[GameBreaker Broken]]; it's actually more effective to equip Idrial's second-best sword because it's Second Age and her best one isn't.

** [[HilariousInHindsight Hilariously]], EA would gain the rights to the books one year after the release of the game.

* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Averted, with "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Evil]] [[VillainProtagonist Mode]]". You get to play the forces of Sauron (including Sauron himself!) and fight the heroes, but if you think it's going to be easy, you're wrong. The extra loot you gain from this mode is generally worth it, including weapons the player wouldn't find anywhere else.
** Though one thing that falls in the player's favor with Evil Mode is that you know exactly who to target with your attacks to avoid the worst of your old party's techniques. The order usually goes: movie character dies first (if present), [[ShootTheMedicFirst then Idrial]].

* ShootTheShaggyDogStory: The party (somehow) ends up fighting the Eye of Sauron atop Barad-dûr. Since the tower collapses once the Ring is destroyed, and we never actually see the party's whereabouts afterward (we just get a monologue about the beginning of the Fourth Age), [[InferredHolocaust well...]]

** Averted, surprisingly enough. There are a crapton of status effects you can inflict, and any individual monster (except a couple bosses) are only immune to around half of them at a time. [[EnemyScan Elegost]] can tell you which ones you can use. While some of the later bosses are immune to most of the more powerful ones, in most cases there's at least one status effect you can abuse to a significant degree (for instance, stalling the Witch-King indefinitely). Another example is the Mûmakil, immune to Stunning, Crippling, and Sleep, but vulnerable to Melee Bind techniques. Its two melee techniques are Sweep Tusks (which removes one character's AP) and Stomp (which stuns everybody). With a single binding, its two most annoying attacks are sealed, leaving it with a couple of wimpy damaging attacks, and turning ThatOneBoss into DamageSpongeBoss.

* TheJuggernaut: '''Mûmakil'''. They only show up twice ("Ambush At Ithilien" and "Pelennor Fields"), but are nigh unstoppable whenever they appear. Consider this: they boast by far the highest HitPoints in the game, [[ImplacableMan unflappable morale]], brutal attack power, ''and'' the [[ThatOneAttack Shock]] and [[LightningBruiser Double Move]] talents. On top of that, any unit in their way automatically fails a morale check and is forced to flee, rendering the unit useless for a turn; worse, if the unit cannot escape thanks to surrounding units or terrain, the unfortunate target is ''[[OneHitKill immediately trampled to death]] where they stand''. As a result, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killing a Mûmak]] is a pretty satisfying achievement, [[LuckBasedMission whenever you can pull it off]].

* LuckBasedMission[=/=]StayingAlive: On the side of Good, "The Black Gate Opens" is all about this. You have to survive at least 15 turns and [[LuckBasedMission as long as necessary]] after that point until Frodo randomly destroys the One Ring offscreen. The bad part is, without impeccable unit management and substantial luck, it's an utter CurbStompBattle in Evil's favour, even on the lowest (normal) difficulty level.

* NoCampaignForTheWicked: Subverted. You can play an entire campaign as either Good or Evil, but they still fight through the same battles, just on different sides -- and with differences in the numbers and placement of {{Mooks}} and [[GuestStarPartyMember heroes]].

* TookALevelInBadass: All of your primary and secondary heroes can do this via upgrades, but one that really stands out is Saruman. As he upgrades, he gains range, Spirit Points, a defense bonus, and goes from average leadership to the best in the game ("Exemplary", beating out even Aragorn, Théoden, ''and Sauron himself''). His abilities allow him to heal the whole flank, boost his damage, drop a punishing debuff on any given unit from far away, and deal hefty damage while stunning the target (effectively a second attack). He may still be a SquishyWizard, but it makes him a hell of a leader.

** For that matter, when you have Sauron, he possesses both the Flurry and Strength of Mordor abilities, meaning that he can hit up to three units and force them ''all'' to fail a morale check and flee (if they don't die first). Again, however, this requires getting him almost to melee range, but on the upside, Sauron is a much better leader than the Witch-King with a much higher SP pool with 2 range instead of 1, so he can readily take some {{Mooks}} alongside him (and position them in front of him as a shield to weaken retaliation) and he can pull off the combo much more quickly, especially if supported by other heroes with decent SP pools.

* JackOfAllStats: Aragorn has good stats in most areas as well as a number of generally useful abilities, but he has few notable attributes that allow him to do something specific.