Now with a sandbox!
It appears that many Nightmare Fuel pages have problems, including:
1. Listing non-scary things that made the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable at worst.
2. Having spoiler tags on them (which is against the page's guidelines).
3. Listing Fridge Horror and fan theories.
And much more!
On a few occasions, people from outside the site's community have pointed out our overly lax usage of Nightmare Fuel to make fun of us, meaning that it can legitimately harm our reputation to let this go unchecked.
The TRS thread
meant for redefining Nightmare Fuel started to become a place for cleaning up Nightmare Fuel pages in general, so we may as well move these discussions to Long Term Projects where they belong.
Here are the guidelines to determine whether something is Nightmare Fuel or not.
Nightmare Fuel rules
- This is a page whose name is intended to be taken more literally than most. It's not enough for material to be scary; to truly qualify, it has to be frightening enough to legitimately unnerve/disturb the viewer, with actually being nightmare-inducing as the ultimate endpoint.
- Good signs that something IS Nightmare Fuel include if:
- It left you feeling shaken even after the credits had rolled, you turned the last page, or are otherwise done with the work.
- You have a hard time falling asleep if you think about it at night, or have a literal nightmare about it.
- You dread that episode, scene, level, chapter, or song during re-watches, and consider skipping it.
- With that said, don't add something just because it happens to be your personal phobia. For example, spiders can be scary and many people have arachnophobia, but just because a spider happens to be in the work, it does not make a Nightmare Fuel entry. It needs to reasonably be scary to someone without the phobia.
- Don't confuse tension with fear. If the hero is in trouble, but you know he'll make it out okay at the end, it's probably not Nightmare Fuel unless the threat is especially disturbing.
- Good signs that something IS Nightmare Fuel include if:
- Explain WHY the entry scared you. Try to convey your sense of fear to your readers. Avoid putting up Zero-Context Examples.
- Remember that Weblinks Are Not Examples, and neither are quotes on their own. You should explain the horror in your own words, rather than rely on others to do so.
- Don't add things that might have scared someone. If it didn't scare you, and you don't personally know anyone else who was scared, you shouldn't be adding it to Nightmare Fuel.
- Nightmare Fuel should stick to you even after you're done with the work.
- If something is initially presented as scary but turns out to be harmless, it's most likely not Nightmare Fuel since The Reveal makes the scariness vanish.
- Jump Scares are a good source of Nightmare Fuel, but not all of them automatically qualify: being startled is not the same as being scared.
- Hypotheticals are not Nightmare Fuel:
- Remember that Trailers Always Lie: a scene that is presented as scary in the trailer could very well turn out to be inoffensive in the finished work. Only add examples from unreleased works if they were especially terrifying in the previews.
- Fan theories do not belong on the Nightmare Fuel page under any circumstance. No matter how much evidence they have to support them, don't add them until they've been officially confirmed. In the meanwhile, take them to Wild Mass Guessing.
- Fridge Horror goes on the Fridge page, not Nightmare Fuel. Don't add it unless it's Ascended Fridge Horror.
- Keep in mind the work's intended audience when considering whether or not something is Nightmare Fuel.
- If something is normal or expected in the genre, it does not automatically qualify. Violence in a Fighting Series or gore in a horror movie must be especially disturbing or gruesome by the work's standards to be Nightmare Fuel.
- Remember that Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films. If a work is rated PG-13 or higher but would only be scary to young children, it's not Nightmare Fuel.
- The standards on what qualifies as Nightmare Fuel are especially stringent on works aimed at children and pre-teens: kids have hyperactive imaginations, so even something benign can give them nightmares.
- Spoiler tags do not belong on Nightmare Fuel pages. Much of what scares us comes from inherently spoilery stuff such as death and the unknown, so finding spoilers on these pages should be expected.
- Nightmare Fuel is an Audience Reaction, so it needs to be scary for the audience. Describing how the characters react to something scary isn't needed. Just because something scares them, that doesn't mean it scares us as well.
- Nightmare Fuel is a No Real Life Examples, Please! page. Meta-examples involving the actors, production, or behind-the-scenes incidents are not allowed.
Guidelines when proposing cleanup of a page:
- Some rules are pretty objective. If you see a Zero-Context Example, Fridge Horror, Real Life example, speculation, In-Universe reaction that isn't scary to the viewers, examples that explicitly describe themselves as not being very scary (including "mildly creepy", "somewhat unnerving", and other synonymous phrases), or examples that are just scene summaries without going into detail about why it's so scary, you can (and should) remove them immediately without coming here to ask.
- You should also strip all spoiler tags from the page. Itty Bitty Wiki Tools has a tool for that, but it can cause problems, so if you use it be sure to preview the page and thoroughly look it over.
- Once you've fixed the objective issues with the page, bring it here so we can look at the more subjective problems, such as examples that may not be scary enough to qualify. If a consensus is reached that a certain entry does not qualify, it can be removed.
Edited by Zuxtron on Aug 1st 2020 at 9:40:30 AM
GastonRabbit
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#3102: Sep 25th 2020 at 5:06:08 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Oh, come on... I've lost track of how many times we've gone back to that page and still found problems.
What War Jay 77 said here might be relevant.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Sep 25th 2020 at 7:37:43 AM
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
ccorb
from A very hot place
Since: May, 2020
Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
#3103: Sep 25th 2020 at 6:49:33 PM
Take a chainsaw to the folders. The subpages can be held to their own discretion.
And I looked at the consoles selection of that folder, and people are like "aaahh! I inserted a Sega Dreamcast disc into my CD player and now Ryo is talking to me!"
Edited by ccorb on Sep 25th 2020 at 9:52:39 AM
Rock'n'roll never dies!
themayorofsimpleton
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
from Elsewhere
(Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
Relationship Status: Abstaining
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
#3104: Sep 25th 2020 at 6:55:26 PM
All four of the folders?
#3105: Sep 25th 2020 at 9:25:08 PM
If misuse keeps getting added, we might need a page lock.
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
GastonRabbit
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#3106: Sep 26th 2020 at 1:35:32 AM
A page lock would be less drastic than a full cut, and now that you mention it, I think locking would be a better option, and possibly not out of the question considering how often the page has come up. Locks have worked for other misuse-heavy pages. At the very least, we'd still have an index for the subpages that are listed at the top of the page (though only mods would be able to add to it).
Edited by GastonRabbit on Sep 26th 2020 at 3:36:08 AM
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
themayorofsimpleton
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
from Elsewhere
(Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
Relationship Status: Abstaining
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
#3107: Sep 26th 2020 at 8:21:58 AM
I'm open to that.
AlleyOop
Since: Oct, 2010
#3108: Sep 26th 2020 at 8:39:51 AM
Realized during my FF cleanup that I looked over a lot of the spinoffs. Here is my writeup for Final Fantasy VII Remake:
FFVII Remake
- The remake seems to play up Corneo’s menace, making it explicitly clear that he’s a sadomasochistic serial killer who rapes via coercion (at the least) and hands his "leftovers" over to his men. And what’s worse, he possesses a level of combat ability that puts him on par with people who aren’t experts or super soldiers, as shown when he’s about to execute an enforcer for trying to assassinate him. He is indeed genuinely more intimidating, but most of this is Fridge Horror. Delete.
- There are two main areas that feel like something from a horror movie.
- The first is the Train Graveyard. The chapter title is even "Haunted". Before you get there, you are told that people tend to disappear there, taken by the "Black Wind". Once you arrive, it's night, you hear the disembodied voices of children, see their spectral forms running about, and glowing children's art appears on the walls around you. As you explore, it becomes apparent that some malevolent force is keeping these spirits bound here. It isn't until the Black Wind appears and makes off with Aerith that it shows its face, an Eligor. There's also the implication that Aerith was playing hide and seek with some of them in her youth, but they were killed by something before they could find her. Keep, but remove the Fridge Horror elements.
- To make matters even worse, you will often find glowing little child-sized handprints all over walls, boxes, the floor, etc., in quite a few locations. You will also find spatters of that same glowing substance, that look uncomfortably like blood dripped on the floor. One particular area has several of both the prints and the spatters, very reminiscent of a gruesome crime scene. It honestly looks like the children fought for their lives against whatever brought them there, whether that be the Ghosts, the flesh-eating Cripshaws which prowl the area, or the Eligor, frantically pounding on the walls in search of an exit, before succumbing to blood loss... Again, keep but remove the Fridge Horror elements.
- The second is, unsurprisingly, Hojo's lab. Hojo himself puts on a bit of a nightmare face as he taunts Aerith, describing how he dissected her mother's body down to its component cells. Making your way through them, you encounter various research specimens and failed experiments including some that look like they used to be people. And then you have a boss battle with Specimen H0512, which looks something like the unholy offspring of Cthulhu and King Kong, if not rivaling REmake 2 Birkin/G due to updated graphics. A claw for its right hand with another fang-filled mouth, while its left hand is a mass of tentacles, and to top it off, Specimen H0512 can spawn/revive H0512-OPT units that harasses the team. Keep.
- The first is the Train Graveyard. The chapter title is even "Haunted". Before you get there, you are told that people tend to disappear there, taken by the "Black Wind". Once you arrive, it's night, you hear the disembodied voices of children, see their spectral forms running about, and glowing children's art appears on the walls around you. As you explore, it becomes apparent that some malevolent force is keeping these spirits bound here. It isn't until the Black Wind appears and makes off with Aerith that it shows its face, an Eligor. There's also the implication that Aerith was playing hide and seek with some of them in her youth, but they were killed by something before they could find her. Keep, but remove the Fridge Horror elements.
- After the initial reactor bombing run, the game forces Cloud to stumble through the carnage on the sector plate as people are in terror, screaming or suffering in the destructive aftermath, with buildings on fire, a highway collapse, and all hell breaking loose. What was merely implied and talked about but never properly shown in the original becomes a mass of chaos - and even worse, Shin-Ra caused the whole damn reactor explosion when the initial bomb's destruction only wrecked the base core to presumably advance their "Promised Land" operations and demonize AVALANCHE as much as possible while the heroes think they're wholly responsible. It's certainly upsetting and harrowing to watch, but not really Nightmare Fuel. Delete.
- Even worse, it's around this time Sephiroth makes his appearance, and makes it quite clear he's there more or less entirely to start wearing down Cloud's mind. From the moment Sephiroth shows up, Cloud is terrified, made even worse by the occasional flashes to Nibelheim and Sephiroth gleefully describing the last moments of Cloud's mother makes it clear why. In-universe expression of a character's fear. Delete.
- The early reveal that a Sephiroth clone is living in the apartment next to Cloud's. Introduced with pained moans through the wall and trying to strangle Cloud when he opens the door. The cast doesn't realize what he is, but the player probably will. The way it's written indicates how it can be seen as scary, but is otherwise low in context. Possible delete?
- Cloud's hallucination of being crushed by a falling piece of the upper plate. ZCE as to how it's Nightmare Fuel. Delete.
- Sephiroth impaling Barret with his sword. It’s so sudden and quick that it’s very likely to take players who played the original off guard. If not for the Arbiters of Fate immediately working to revive him, Barret would have died right then and there. Shocking is not scary. Delete.
- The game somehow manages to make Hojo even more disgustingly depraved than he was in the original game in his first scene in the game, where he describes to a captured Aerith in detail about how he dissected her mother's body and offers to show her the remains. Making this even worse is how he is pressing his face against the glass of Aerith's cell and starts moving in a creepily lustful manner. Later on, during a meeting with the Shinra executives, he suggests that Aerith should be forced to mate with the mutated SOLDIER experiments in order to birth more Cetra descendants. It says something that the other executives couldn't be bothered to hide their utter disgust at this. In private, with the knowledge that Sephiroth may still be alive, Hojo can barely hide his giddiness at the prospect of having him mate with Aerith to produce a previously unseen hybrid. The way Hojo acts is indeed disturbing and Squicky, but not Nightmare Fuel. Delete.
- The scene with Hojo when speaks to Aerith deserves special mention. He talks about how she has her mother's elegance, and goes to mention that after Ifalna's death, he had her corpse collected along with every last piece of her genetic material he could find. Hojo's talk about how he analyzed Ilfana's remains tells everyone that he had her corpse dissected down to the cellular level, just so he could study her genetic structure to satisfy his own morbid curiosity.
- Jenova's iconic mutated boss form as Jenova Dreamwaver and its illusion arena in glorious HD. Yuck. ZCE. Could be expanded, but otherwise delete.
- Throughout the game, mysterious dark shades keep appearing to torment the characters. They are eventually identified as the Arbiters of Fate, or Whispers, shades that attempt to keep destiny on its course. Their unsettling appearance aside, they will do anything to maintain the timeline, including getting Jessie killed and sending Wedge to his assumed death because he escaped his original death by literally dragging him to his doom. That they sometimes preserve lives that did not die in that way or at a particular time, such as reviving Barret after he got impaled by Sephiroth, still doesn't help as one of the Arbiters enters Barret's body to do so. Mostly Fridge Horror. Delete.
- While infiltrating the Shinra Tower, the party has to go through a tourist setup to learn all about Shinra's history and its leaders, concluding with a pretty neat, but sugary, fluff bit on Shinra's goals and how the world will look when they achieve their goals. When it's done, Sephiroth hijacks the system and shows them Midgar being destroyed by Meteor. They come out of it very shaken up, Barrett declaring, "That is not something they should be showing kids!" In-universe horror. Delete.
- Getting to the top of the Shinra Tower and seeing that even around two days later that Sector 7 is still a towering inferno from the plate dropping. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Any time the player goes underground after the Sector 7 plate drop, the entire terrain has changed, with the tremors having effects at least as far away as Sector 5. A little more damage, and the plate drop could very well have started a chain reaction that would have destroyed all of Midgar. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- By the end of Part One, Sephiroth is still at large. Anyone who's played the original game will know what sort of threat he poses. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- It gets worse - with the Arbiters gone, fate is no longer fixed; this means that Sephiroth is potentially more dangerous than ever...especially since it's implied he remembers the original timeline, and may well be working to subvert it in his favor. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- And even more chilling is the fact that his duel with Cloud at the end of Part One takes nods from their final clash at the end of the original game - and Sephiroth won this time. The only reason Cloud still lives is because Sephiroth let him walk away. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Also another thing to note: Sepiroth in the original game was Dead All Along, and whenever he showed up you were Fighting a Shadow while the real deal was slowly healing in a cave. Those clones were weaker than the real deal by an order of magnitude. If he's alive again, how much stronger is he now? Fridge Horror. Delete.
- What makes it worse is the scene directly before, an absolutely massive stream of Whispers go directly for Sephiroth, implying they want to Ret-Gone this version hard, but the previous battle against Cloud and Co seems to have weakened them, allowing Sephiroth to not only absorb them, but the scene makes it look like he also absorbed Meteor! If that is what happened, the must be magnitudes of power stronger than even the WEAPONS. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- There are several scenes in the game where Sephiroth is implied to take control over Cloud.
- During Chapter 2, Sephiroth leads Cloud through a hallucination of Nibelheim. The screen is fuzzed and staticky, and all the player can do is push a stumbling incoherent Cloud onwards through the flaming wreckage which is a unnerving blend of both Midgar and Nibelheim. The unnerving blend thing can be spun into an entry if it had more context, but otherwise mostly Controllable Helplessness Fridge Horror. Probably delete.
- During Chapter 16, just after Red XIII joins. As the screen again fuzzes with static, Cloud stumbles forward, mumbling incoherently as he has flashbacks of the events in the inside the Nibelheim reactor, and ends up echoing Sephiroth's words. Verbal Fridge Horror. Delete.
Cloud: Je...no...
Cloud: Oh... Ah...
Cloud: Mo...ther. [collapses unconscious]- Happens a second time in Chapter 17, on the catwalk leading to the tank holding Jenova's remains, but only much worse. Prior to this, Sephiroth's appearances seem to be entirely in Cloud's mind, but this time, Sephiroth appears for Tifa and everyone else to see. Verbal Fridge Horror. Delete.
Cloud: Tell me. Is it really you?
Sephiroth: [sinister smile]
[Cloud suddenly grabs his head with both hands, staggering in obvious agony, then clutches his own arm, visibly fighting for control of his own body even as he slowly and unwillingly steps toward Sephiroth]
Sephiroth: Don't deny me.
Cloud: [continues to stumble forward, clearly unable to stop himelf]
Sephiroth: Embrace me. - The final clash between Cloud and Sephiroth at the end of Part One has some very chilling dialogue, in which it is implied that Sephiroth actually wants Cloud to change the future...but most likely for the worse:
Sephiroth: Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it? Let's see. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- The failed experiments named Unknown Entities in Chapter 13 as a result of Hojo abducting civilians for use in his depraved tests, being completely unrecognisable as former humans. The boss Failed Experiment is a larger and stronger version of its brethren, with four tentacles that uses in its attacks. In Chapter 14 dead victims can be seen slumped in pods, and it's horrific to think they were probably the lucky ones. Yet another one of the mad scientist's crimes against humanity and nature. You encounter more Unknown Entities in Chapter 17 while going through the Drum. Perhaps some salvageable material, but most of this is Fridge Horror. Delete.
- The Type-0 Behemoth fought in Chapter 14. First of all, it makes those fought in Final Fantasy XV look comparatively tame due to the glowing red veins that increasingly encompass the creature's body as the battle goes on. On top of that, it’s located in a sealed room in a secret laboratory located under Sector 7, with the door covered in yellow security tape warning people not to enter - and the Type-0’s roar can be heard shortly after Cloud, Barret and Tifa are separated in the lab, with Barret walking past the door as he searches for the others. Again, perhaps some salvageable material (e.g. the glowing red veins can upset someone), but most of this is Fridge Horror. Delete
- There's also the fact that Hojo was storing his unneeded bloodthirsty monstrosities in a place right under the civilian population. Fridge Horror. Delete.
Wyldchyld
(Old as dirt)
#3109: Sep 26th 2020 at 10:40:53 AM
After the initial reactor bombing run, the game forces Cloud to stumble through the carnage on the sector plate as people are in terror, screaming or suffering in the destructive aftermath, with buildings on fire, a highway collapse, and all hell breaking loose. What was merely implied and talked about but never properly shown in the original becomes a mass of chaos - and even worse, Shin-Ra caused the whole damn reactor explosion when the initial bomb's destruction only wrecked the base core to presumably advance their "Promised Land" operations and demonize AVALANCHE as much as possible while the heroes think they're wholly responsible.
You mention this is genuinely upsetting and harrowing to watch. Are we sure this isn't a legitimate entry?
The early reveal that a Sephiroth clone is living in the apartment next to Cloud's. Introduced with pained moans through the wall and trying to strangle Cloud when he opens the door. The cast doesn't realize what he is, but the player probably will.
I'd say yes, delete it. Nightmare Fuel isn't supposed to troped on the grounds that someone, somewhere theoretically might find it NF. Entries are supposed to be added by people who genuinely experience the NF or know for certain that someone did have an NF experience.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
AlleyOop
Since: Oct, 2010
#3110: Sep 26th 2020 at 5:25:21 PM
Because I consider the former upsetting from a Tear Jerker perspective, not a Nightmare Fuel one.
#3111: Sep 26th 2020 at 6:04:42 PM
Isn't assessing examples based on what "you" consider them to fit exactly the kind of thing this thread is supposed to be avoiding? It's about cleaning up exaggerations and the like, not judging people's opinions.
AlleyOop
Since: Oct, 2010
#3112: Sep 26th 2020 at 6:07:45 PM
At any rate, I don't know any person who considered it scary as opposed to tragic, and the way it's currently written seems to approach it from something closer to a case of misused Tear Jerker angle as well.
Ferot_Dreadnaught
Since: Mar, 2015
#3113: Sep 27th 2020 at 1:21:54 PM
I've got unanimous approval from Image Pickin' to redirect NightmareFuel.Super Paper Mario to Paper Mario and replace the page image with the Super Paper Mario one.
We had unanimous approval on this thread to do the same. Should I make the change?
Spidey
Obsessively adds images to character pages.
from Santa Destroy
Since: Sep, 2020
Relationship Status: Baby don't hurt me!
Obsessively adds images to character pages.
#3114: Sep 27th 2020 at 2:38:59 PM
Alright, this is my first time doing one of these "Clean-up" things, here I go!
Super Mario Odyssey
- The core gameplay mechanic of this game - the Capture system - is pretty much this, hilariously enough. Mario, through Cappy, possesses a creature who has an exposed head (and sometimes even none). Mario takes over the body with the cap and mustache as indicators of being possessed. But then we see the cutscene in the game's first capture where Mario goes into the mind of a frog, seeing all of its memories from birth to then adulthood as he takes over the body. And later on we realize that the possessed person has no memories of what just happened and most of the time end up being unconscious. It's Played for Laughs but at the same time has really eerie implications. Fridge horror. Cut.
- The fact the Bonneters are a whole race of possessors is unnerving. Returning to Bonneton later lets you overhear a shifty-eyed Bonneter wondering what person to capture next, and one currently riding, and likely, capturing, a New Donker is in awe at the number of heads around to take control of. Also Fridge Horror. Cut.
- The Deep Woods, a lower area in the Wooded Kingdom, is terrifying. It's dark and moody, with shadows obscuring everything unless you actually get near them or, as of the February 2018 update, by using the Coin Filter in Photo Mode, and you have no map or compass while down there, so you can easily get disoriented. The area also has absolutely no music, only ambient noises, which adds to the creep factor. There's also a hostile Tyrannosaurus Rex living down there who patrols the beaten path, wearing a fedora to protect himself from the Capture ability, and immediately gives chase if he sees Mario. Your pulse will race if it's close enough to shake the ground but you don't know exactly where it is. Keep this one for sure, this one scares everyone-myself included.
- As a 3D Mario game harking back to Super Mario 64, Mario has plenty of creatively nightmarish ways to die. Maybe keep.
- One of Mario's deaths of particular notice is his drowning animation in the demo version, which looks to take more cues from his eerily-graphic and realistic animation from 64. This seemed too disturbing even for an E10+ rated Mario game that it became the only death animation in the entire game to actually get Bowdlerised for the final release so that it would look more like the Death Throws of most of Mario's other deaths. Keep this one, it's pretty damn horrifying.
- One of Mario's deaths of particular notice is his drowning animation in the demo version
- The cutscene before the Boss Battle with Knucklotec. The guy was the owner of the Binding Band, and he wants it back badly. The Binding Band is said to, “keep the Bride and Groom together, even when the world is upside down.” So seeing as how Knucklotec was the previous owner of the Binding Band, it can be safe to say that it was his wedding ring, and he wants it returned to him, at any cost. Also doubles as a Tear Jerker, as he mistakes Mario for being the one who stole the ring due to Mario's status as a Heroic Mime and not realizing Bowser had stolen the ring beforehand. Cut this one, not really that unnerving.
- This makes sense, because the Binding Band is big enough to fit his finger... Cut this one as well.
- Before you reach the Metro Kingdom, try hitting any of the boom boxes you find throughout the game. You won't hear a song. But what you will hear is Bowser laughing accompanied by creepy music. Hit it again and again and you'll hear Peach calling for Mario and for help, accompanied by a continuation of the music, and again Bowser laughs. It's one creepy Easter Egg... Maybe keep? I've never encountered this...
- Komboos, living seaweed stalk enemies on legs you can find in the Lake and Seaside Kingdoms. Their glowing eyes and the way they look and move are quite unsettling, they can cling to ceilings, and, much like Chinchos, they never stop coming in the areas where they can be found. They're not really that scary or even unnerving. Cut.
- The Mechawiggler is disturbingly realistic and has very fluid, fast movements, not to mention it makes a horrific shriek. Keep this one, the damn thing is horrifying.
- Even before the fight, things are looking horribly grim for the Metro Kingdom. It's constantly raining, the sky is dark, and all the New Donk residents are either indoors, on the outskirts, or on the rooftops. This is because along with the loss of power caused by the Mechawiggler, there are living military tanks and Urban Stingbies, larvae that immediately burst into the form of giant mosquitoes, patrolling the streets. The fact that the Urban Stingbies are outright stated by their name to be the city version of the more cartoony bee enemies from 3D Land makes them feel even more off. Cut this one. Like the Komboos, they're not at all scary.
- Just in case you thought the Mud Troopers and Mummy Mes weren't scary enough, this game introduces Chinchos, who manage to be a Suspiciously Similar Substitute to both enemy groups (and provide the former page image). Much like the Mummy Mes, they appear to be mummified spiritual copies of people—in this case, the Tostarenan citizens. For the Mud Troopers, their arms are outstretched, with sad eyes that can be as heartbreaking as they are terrifying. Even the Tostarenan locals comment on the dangers they present. What better pick for the Day of the Dead apparently being celebrated here at Tostarena? Probably cut.
- Unagis from Super Mario 64, now renamed Maw-Rays, make an unholy HD return, and appear in deep underwater sections of the Seaside Kingdom to get a bite of some fresh Mario. They even appear in a secret area of the Mushroom Kingdom set in Bubbly Clouds. Keep, eel enemies in Mario games are and always will be pure Nightmare Fuel.
- One particular Power Moon requires swimming down a small tunnel with a large black hole at the end. You're led to believe that the hole is a warp to a secret Power Moon. It is not. You will soon find the gaping maw of a Maw-Ray coming straight at you, and the screen, giving you less than a second to quickly enter the tunnel on the right. DEFINITELY keep this one, this particular Maw-ray scared the living hell out of me when I first got to it!
- As the current page image proudly shows, one of the bosses is a massive, bigger than a castle (as in Bowser himself stands on the bridge of this thing's snout), black, lightning-wielding Smaug-esque dragon fought in the desolate crumbling ruins of an ancient kingdom surrounded by ominous thunder clouds. What's really jarring is the dragon doesn't have the typical cartoony design you'd expect to see in the Mario-verse (like the Rex from Super Mario World or Draggadon from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker); it has a realistic-looking, dark, fantasy-esque design you'd expect from Monster Hunter or Skyrim. After seeing a monstrosity like that, you have to wonder what other unholy beasts are roaming in the other kingdoms. This is more shocking than anything else, but I can see some people being scared of it. Maybe keep-maybe cut, I could honestly go both ways with this one.
- The kingdom itself where this beast inhabits, called the Ruined Kingdom: All that remains are a piece of ruins where the Odyssey crashes, and a tall, ominous and crumbling tower in the distance. The kingdom's flyer shows nothing about its currency or inhabitants (not even about the dragon, who is strongly implied to be the cause of all the kingdom's destruction). What makes even more terrifying is that there isn't any music played in this place. With the way the moon looms ominously behind the clouds and the eerie, empty atmosphere, the Ruined Kingdom wouldn't be out of place in a Dark Souls game. Fridge Horror, cut.
- Torkdrift, the boss of Wooded Kingdom. It's a UFO that sucks up flowers for Bowser's wedding. It's extremely detailed, it moves quickly and frantically most of the time — like the Mecha Wiggler — and the room it's fought in is creepily dark. Then there's the music, which sounds nothing like an average Mario theme and more like music from a horror game, using robotic instruments and an ominous tone. Granted, it's not really a difficult fight at all, but it's still creepy. The noises it makes are also rather unsettling, sounding as if it was meant to be cute at some point in its creation process. And to top it all off, it's actively malevolent in its demeanor when angered. Not really that scary. Cut.
- One side area of New Donk City starts out with Mario getting a motorcycle... and being abruptly chased by a T-Rex, and the ground is rapidly collapsing beneath you. Probably cut.
- Mario wearing the skeleton costume. There is something hilarious and at the same time something disturbing on him when he has this outfit on when you consider that Mario is reduced to a lifeless skeleton when he is electrocuted in Super Mario Galaxy. Also, he looks quite different and less cute when you put him next to a Tostarenan or a Chincho, which are decidely more cartoonish in design. Not really that scary. Cut.
- To make matters worse, even Bowser is unnerved by the skeleton costume, to the point where he even admits it in the final battle if you wear it. Cut this one as well.
- So is Luigi. Also cut this one.
- There's something oddly disturbing about Rango being the one to tell Mario that he'll pay for putting the Broodals out of a job. The Broodals having their apparent livelihood destroyed is bad enough, but Rango is the "less focused" one with a funnier design and a habit of prefacing his dialogue with a country laugh, yet he's the one who gives the explanation of their fate with what appears to be Tranquil Fury. Fridge Horror, and even then it's not that scary. Cut.
- Cookatiel's Family-Unfriendly Death, falling into and boiling alive in the giant pot of stupendous stew, complete with sizzling sounds and bubbles coming up from where she fell in before she finally explodes in it. Not helping things is the Volbonan with the frying pan in the post-game festival saying the stew is chewier this time. Keep everything except the last sentence, which is Fridge Horror.
- The "ghosts" of New Donk City. For whatever reason, when travelling through the city, the NPCs you can see from a distance will fade away as you approach and the actual interactive NPCs fade in. It's most likely to give the illusion of a large populace without having too much on-screen activity, but it's a very eerie effect. For example, there's a man dancing in the corner of the park where the jump-rope game is. Approach him and he just... vanishes. Again, I'm halfway with this.
- The various "sublevels" in the game that can be accessed via pipes and doors from the main levels can definitely be this. A good chunk of these segments are simply a series of platforms hovering above an endless sea of clouds, poison or lava, or even drifting out in the middle of space, with the few other entities existing in these places usually being hostile and non-talkative. All of this can make these areas feel so isolated and lonely. The music in these areas can definitely add to the sense of distant other-worldliness, especially the appropriately-named Another World, Inside the Inverted Pyramid, and this particularly somber rendition of the Underground Theme. Cut this entry.
- Two subareas in particular stand out. First, there's a post-end game area of New Donk City that is shrouded in darkness, reducing your vision to a few feet around you. You see the screen shake and then you're suddenly confronted by a towering Stairface Ogre (more on them below). You have to navigate here up a tower whose narrow ledges are constantly patrolled by the damn things. Keep this one, it sounds unnerving.
- The second subarea, a simple ice-and-block sliding puzzle, is found in Shiveria. The entire area is more dim than usual, and the background is nothing but endless stars, with no Sun, planets or moons to give you any reference points to your location, punctuated by only a sprawling but dull reddish-brown nebula. And the only other thing in the area, aside from the rather small platform you find yourself on, is a lone Ty-Foo, whose presence is less scary than it is simply not comforting. Probably cut as well.
- Mario has a zombie costume. His eyes are blank white and never blink or close, his skin is a ghastly greyish-green, and on top of that, he has an axe stuck in his head. And it's also nightmare fuel in-universe: it triggers Bowser and Luigi's "scared" dialogue. Once again, I'm halfway with this one.
- The Stairface Ogres. Their design is that of a Whomp with arms and a pair of geta, along with an Oni-esque Nightmare Face, that carry a mallet around and moves quickly. If you are in the red impact square, then you're at best a pancake on their plate at breakfast. And if your health is low... Worse, there are only two ways to deal with these things (which both involve climbing on their mallets after they come down), ground pounding their head or stabbing their forehead as a Pokio, which causes them to emit a scream of pure agony as they disappear. Probably cut.
- The approach to the Wedding Hall on the moon is strangely surreal and ominous. After emerging from the Moon Caverns, Mario finds himself on a barren plain with the pure white stone church looming in the distance. There are no enemies here, the music is oddly peaceful, and the only sound is the ringing of the church bell echoing out across the landscape. It's incredibly bleak and haunting, more like something you'd expect from the endgame in Dark Souls than in Mario. Definitely cut, it's not that bad.
How did I do on the clean-up?
Edited by Spidey on Nov 4th 2020 at 4:09:25 AM
"Unite GUN/BAZOOKA/LAUNCHER/TANK!"
Berserk Button: misusing Nightmare Fuel
#3115: Sep 27th 2020 at 2:56:56 PM
I don't see anything wrong with your analysis. I haven't played SMO, but all of your points seem to make sense. I'd agree with cutting all the things you declare cut-worthy.
#3116: Sep 27th 2020 at 4:56:46 PM
I agree with everything, although I'd lean towards cutting the Ruined Kingdom boss entry. As a side note, you may want to hide long clean up posts like this in a folder should you make another one.
Edited by valozzy on Sep 27th 2020 at 7:57:07 AM
Klavice
I Need a Freaking Drink
from A bar at the edge of time
(Don’t ask)
Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#3117: Sep 27th 2020 at 7:10:02 PM
The T Rex in the Wooded area is scary for first time players, but I wouldn't say it is for returning players or players who are used to chase scenes.
Edited by Klavice on Sep 27th 2020 at 7:10:20 AM
Fair warning: I can get pretty emotional and take things too seriously.
Ferot_Dreadnaught
Since: Mar, 2015
#3118: Sep 28th 2020 at 2:20:21 PM
Since this was ignored.
I'm going to redirect NightmareFuel.Super Paper Mario to NightmareFuel.Paper Mario and replace the image with the Super. Any last minute objections?
Grotadmorv
Now we're so young, but we're probably gonna die
from Getting wasted at your funeral
(Fifth Year at Tropey's)
Relationship Status: Waiting for you *wink*
Now we're so young, but we're probably gonna die
#3119: Sep 28th 2020 at 3:58:49 PM
The things in my dreams wish they could chase me!
Move Paper Mario and cut SMO. Both looks good.
Here's my Mario & Luigi review:
Mario & Luigi
- If you listen to recordings on the Oho Jee Island left by researchers there, an Oho Jee got caught on fire, attacked one of the researchers and turned that researcher into one of them. Not scary.
- When you battle Cackletta in the Hoonversity, she adopts an abominable appearance before you battle - and spends the final chunk of the battle in that form. Luckily, if you're quick enough, she shouldn't take more than a couple of turns to finish off after transforming. This scared me a bit, yeah.
- The original depiction of the monster in Guffawha Ruins. Not only is it shown breathing fire and eating a poor Toad alive, it's rumored to brutally murder its victims by breaking their bones, stripping their flesh and sucking their blood. Can't really blame Luigi for being so terrified to go there. And when you do, the "monster" is just a stone head that was angry at the rumors. I think the reveal that the monster is actually harmless helps make this not scary.
- This was the first Mario game to feature apparent actual death of NPCs, mainly Toads. No, it doesn't?
- Cackletta possesses Bowser and turns him into a mutant hybrid of the two. And to defeat her, you have to go inside Bowser, fight Cackletta's soul, and attack her heart. Not inherently scary.
- To elaborate, imagine Bowser...but with Cackletta's face and "horns" pasted on. That's Bowletta for you. Bowser's already sharp teeth become much larger as Bowletta, giving him/her a cartoonish yet very disturbing perpetual Slasher Smile and breasts. Bowletta is pretty creepy, I'll admit.
- The final battle comes in two phases. Right after you defeat Bowletta the first time, Mario and Luigi are knocked out by a Time Bob-omb, then she proceeds to INHALE both of the Bros. The screen fades to black and slowly fades back in, both Bros. at a critical 1 HP with a background that looks downright hellish and a boss theme of true despair. This is where you fight Cackletta's soul - and she gets the first attack in the GBA version. She's even more terrifying in the remake... for one, she now screeches. ZCE. I think this is hard gameplay-wise and not scary.
- Joke's End. It's the Slippy-Slidey Ice World (minus Frictionless Ice) of the game. In contrast to the smiling faces littered all over the other areas, Joke's End has expressions of despair littered all over. Frozen. It wouldn't be so bad if this weren't the music. This area does bother me, honestly. Keep.
- The music's even worse in the remake... ZCE.
- The statues found in Joke's End depict great suffering, with hands placed over their ears and tears streaming down their cheeks. It's almost like the place is the hell of the Beanbean Kingdom - and it is. The theme of the Beanbean Kingdom is laughter, and Joke's End is the final resting place for cruddy jokes. The miserable-looking statues covering their ears may be meant to represent just how horrible a bad joke can be to the people of Beanbean. Fridge Horror?
- The music's even worse in the remake
- Many of the places that Cackletta involves herself with? Yeah, they become this.
- The Mario Bros.' first visit to the Beanbean Castle Town is a classic example. The houses and buildings are all wrecked and innocent civilians lie on the ground like they're on the verge of death, and when you talk to them, the way they talk sounds eerily like a kid's version of PTSD. The music makes it feel like you're walking in a graveyard. Eh, this is surprising but not scary.
- It gets worse. You end the game with the town in this state. Yeah. After having a nice town for a good portion of the game, it's reduced to this sorry state by Bowletta during the endgame. Natter.
- The Mario Bros.' first visit to the Beanbean Castle Town is a classic example. The houses and buildings are all wrecked and innocent civilians lie on the ground like they're on the verge of death, and when you talk to them, the way they talk sounds eerily like a kid's version of PTSD. The music
- Fawful. Despite his Laughably Evil Fountain of Memes nature, he's still a scarily competent villain in-story. His inventions alone have sunk the Koopa Cruiser, constantly impeded the Bros' progress, and essentially given Cackletta a second chance at life. And it gets even worse during Minion Quest, where we see him Brainwashing Bowser's minions, even the Koopalings, not to mention he was apparently the one who led the first raid on Beanbean Castle Town (which we get to see in all its fiery glory) complete with the ever-haunting music. Makes you wonder who's really pulling their weight in all this... Fawful is too silly to be scary, I'd say.
- To top it all off, near the end of the game, he becomes aware of his role and realizes he never needed Cackletta to begin with. Though his final confrontation with the Bros. ends as you would expect, it still perfectly sets up the events of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. I don't get what this is saying.
- Oh, and during his last fight in the remake (and the foreign versions of the original), he uses the same battle theme as Cackletta as if to demonstrate just what he intends to do. Natter.
- Oh, and during his last fight in the remake (and the foreign versions of the original), he uses the same battle theme as Cackletta
- To top it all off, near the end of the game, he becomes aware of his role and realizes he never needed Cackletta to begin with. Though his final confrontation with the Bros. ends as you would expect, it still perfectly sets up the events of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. I don't get what this is saying.
- The Shroobs, period. Simply put, their presence and its impact on the story alone is the reason Partners in Time is so often regarded as one of the darkest games in the franchise. Most antagonists in the franchise are fairly comedic, with the likes of Fawful and Bowser himself, and even if they're not, their underlings will generally be silly, such as Grodus with the X-Nauts. The Shroobs, on the other hand, are simply introduced as a creepy race of extraterrestrials on a faraway planet who spend their time idly searching for a new planet, which they find in the form of the Mushroom Kingdom's planet. They waste no time in invading, and within what's most likely the span of a day in-game, they've managed to both wreck Peach's Castle and transform it into their own base using their armada of UFOs. On top of that, they speak entirely in a foreign language, meaning they lack any goofy dialogue to laugh at either, and whilst they're not completely foreign to being involved with little gags during certain scenes and in-battle, it does little to lighten the presence of their threat. They are pretty scary, but this is nattery.
- Amid their untranslatable, foreign dialogue spouted throughout the entire game, one recurring, two-character phrase written in Shroob language is dropped constantly by members of the species throughout the adventure. Before engaging Princess Shroob in combat, her text is translated, and she ends her monologue by saying the phrase once again, finally showing us what they've been repeating so often since the beginning of the game - "Destroy." Merge.
- It gets even more unsettling when Elder Princess Shroob starts chanting it right before their battle starts. Merge.
- And that’s just them as a race. Their leader Princess Shroob is quite possibly the most psychopathic character, after Dimentio and King Boo, in the whole Mario franchise. She has her armies raid and destroy innocent towns and villages, drain Toads out of their vim, which is their life force, to use for fuel for their ships, and feeds Princess Peach to Petey Piranha for no other reason except pure sadism. She is one horrific character in a lighthearted game. Merge.
- Thankfully, Bowser's got them on ice. So what does this have to do with anything?
- Amid their untranslatable, foreign dialogue spouted throughout the entire game, one recurring, two-character phrase written in Shroob language is dropped constantly by members of the species throughout the adventure. Before engaging Princess Shroob in combat, her text is translated, and she ends her monologue by saying the phrase once again, finally showing us what they've been repeating so often since the beginning of the game - "Destroy." Merge.
- The player's first real encounter with the Shroobs? We're treated to a Toad falling from the sky, mumbling something about a village, and proceeding to be abducted by one of their saucers as soon as the bros leave him, and soon afterwards, the village mentioned is found - Hollijolli Village, a Christmas-themed town that's been wrecked by the Shroobs, with destroyed houses, a complete lack of villagers outside of the mayor, who is abducted as soon as he comes out of hiding, no less, and with a depressing, lonely rendition of Jingle Bells for the background music to boot. Yeah, this scene is pretty scary.
- The next area visited by the Shroobs, Toadwood Forest, manages to be even worse than Hollijolli Village. We learn that they abduct Toads and strap them to trees in order to suck their "Vim", which is seemingly their life energy, and send it to their factory to be converted to fuel for their saucers. Throughout the area, Toads can be found strapped to trees, often drained of color, as if they've become part of the trees themselves upon having their life force drained, and most of which can be spoken to, almost entirely weakly pleading for help or barely managing to describe how they feel. Keep.
- In the factory itself, the vim sucked from the Toads has the appearance of green liquid with images of sad Toad spirits inside it. Although this is likely not the case, given the ending, the spirit images have led some to believe that they are the souls of the Toads, sucked out by the Shroobs. Keep.
- The Vim could also be the Toads's blood, as it's implied it flows through the Toads's bodies, making it even worse. Heck, even that creepy goblet Princess Shroob holds could have Vim in it. Fridge Horror.
- Toad Town is possibly the perfect area to sum up the ambiance of the rest of the entire game. Every building stands derelict and abandoned, if not outright flattened, save for one shop. Every street is completely empty, save for the Shroob invaders, scouring for survivors. The different sections of town are locked off with bars and walls, the cracked Toad engravings and patterns a grim reminder of what has happened. However, despite all of that, the proper killer is the music. It's not happy and jolly like Yo'ster Isle, it's not heroic, it's not evil and daunting, it's... melancholic. In a Mario game. It slowly drags on, quietly pinging in the background, occasionally rising up into something more dramatic, before being pushed back into the hopeless pits of despair that the once cheerful Toad Town have become. The worst part? Throughout this entire sad trudge through the purple, corrupted streets of the old Capital of the Mushroom Kingdom, other than the two senile grandmas and the endless waves of invaders, there's not a single soul here. Then, suddenly, it hits you - Every single Toad that once lived in this city that wasn't killed has since been dragged off to the Vim Factory. Every single one is going to be farmed for their life force, if they haven't already been. Every last one. This area does freak me out, but cut down the natter.
- The theme of Shroob Castle. Dark and foreboding, it hints at the many, many enemies you'll spend your time fighting against. Eh, I just found it annoying.
- Speaking of Shroob Castle, the time hole leading to it opens long before the area is explorable - There's something incredibly frightening about the ominous portal crackling with electricity on the top floor leading to the locked entrance of the obviously late-game dungeon, where little can be seen except of the corruption performed by the Shroobs even on what little can be seen of the area. Oh yeah, there's no music in the exterior area, either. This is scary, yeah.
- The Elder Princess Shroob. She is a giant mutant with numerous tentacles for legs and for arms, and a hideous face. To make it worse, she even attacks by shooting down her own men. ZCE.
- Their battle music is an example of Soundtrack Dissonance as well. Not as heavy as what's above, but still notable. So?
- When Peach first goes on her trip, she is accompanied by two Toad attendants, Toadiko and Toadbert. By the time you encounter Toadiko, she is already near-lifeless, as she's already been captured and that most of her Vim has been sucked away. Then, she is found out and turned into a Shroob mushroom, presumably dying. (If she didn't, it's even worse.) Toadbert traumatically loses his memory for most of the game, and as soon as he recovers it, he is promptly turned into a Shroob mushroom as well. In both cases, this is softened by the fact that they, like all of the Shroobs' victims, recover (Toadbert even returns as comic relief in the third game), but still, this is some hardcore stuff, especially considering we don't even know how long they've been like this. Maybe keep.
- The Yoob, who eats every Yoshi it encounters in sight (and later the Mario Bros and Baby Bowser), which are later encased in eggs which would most likely make more Yoobs to help conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. I've heard of Yoob scaring people, keep.
- Inside Yoob, you can see him wince in pain when the Babies use the hammer or the Baby Drill. The latter is especially wince-worthy if you consider that Yoob just had something drilling into his flesh and is moving underneath it. Though, thankfully, once he falls asleep, he no longer feels it. Just gross, not scary.
- Peach and Kylie getting eaten by Petey Piranha. It's almost as frightening as Jabba's method of execution in Star Wars. Fan Myopia, plus both of them are fine in the end.
- On that matter, Peach getting eaten becomes worse when you realize that it's pretty much a public execution, of which the Shroobs are taking full enjoyment in. Merge to an earlier point.
- Much of the game takes place inside Bowser's body. Which is strangely maze-like and platformer-esque. You have to manipulate Bowser's organs at times to get Bowser moving or affect him. The idea that Bowser has these characters running around inside him affecting his bodily functions and messing with his insides is very grotesque. Plus, some of the enemies are odd, virus-like versions of regular enemies such as Goombas. Enemies that Bowser inhales can damage him internally by attacking his body, and all the Toads are infected with a disease that makes them inflate in size and roll around uncontrollably. Not scary, just gross.
- Giant Battles always start with the soon-to-be-fought Humongous Mecha crushing Bowser. For a few minutes, he literally dies. But you revive him.
- Super Peach's Castle in particular is a very creepy boss. It looks decidedly monstrous, with bright red eyes resembling Fawful's glass lenses, many sharp protrusions, and a mouth that looks more than capable of destroying things. It also spawns a black hole behind Bowser that can pull him in (although it also ends up with an additional void behind it which it can similarly fall into) and constantly attempts to push him into it, trying harder and becoming more difficult to prevent as the fight goes on. The fight ends with both it and Bowser being pulled into the holes behind them, and Bowser must leap out and smash it repeatedly while making sure to time it correctly, lest he be hit with its spikes. The creepiest part of the fight, however, is what happens if Bowser loses all his HP in the black hole - It just closes, enveloping him entirely within an instant. Either you just witnessed Bowser, and by extension the bros and everyone else stuck inside of him, be erased from existence, or trapped in some hellish dimension created by the Dark Star's powers. Neither is pleasant. Maybe keep? I think it looks a bit silly, though.
- You wanna know the worst part? Even if you do well the whole fight, it is very easy for the castle to deplete your HP and kill you towards the end. Between the slow damage of being trapped in the black hole and leaping out to be hit by its spikes, which it raises even before the final part of the battle, does an immense amount of damage, and if you're not careful in the very final phase (which only begins once its HP is down to a sliver), it's easy to go from having a solid amount of HP to having none and getting enveloped by the black hole, even if you've been doing well the entire fight, and you can't heal once the final act of the boss begins. Eh, remove.
- Super Peach's Castle in particular is a very creepy boss. It looks decidedly monstrous, with bright red eyes resembling Fawful's glass lenses, many sharp protrusions, and a mouth that looks more than capable of destroying things. It also spawns a black hole behind Bowser that can pull him in (although it also ends up with an additional void behind it which it can similarly fall into) and constantly attempts to push him into it, trying harder and becoming more difficult to prevent as the fight goes on. The fight ends with both it and Bowser being pulled into the holes behind them, and Bowser must leap out and smash it repeatedly while making sure to time it correctly, lest he be hit with its spikes. The creepiest part of the fight, however, is what happens if Bowser loses all his HP in the black hole - It just closes, enveloping him entirely within an instant. Either you just witnessed Bowser, and by extension the bros and everyone else stuck inside of him, be erased from existence, or trapped in some hellish dimension created by the Dark Star's powers. Neither is pleasant. Maybe keep? I think it looks a bit silly, though.
- The final boss fight. Literally EVERYTHING in the Mario universe is on the verge of destruction, Fawful has transformed himself into some really freaky spider-like/bug-like thing, and is inside Bowser's body, transforming his stomach into something mutated looking. And his face... It's really disturbing to think about. Yeah, this scared me as a kid.
- Said mutation is made even worse in the remake, where there are numerous holes in the background structure... most of which are arranged in the shape of Fawful's deranged grin, aimed right at the camera. Merge.
- The song that plays in the grounds of the Fawfulized Peach's Castle is incredibly ominous. This scared me as a kid, too.
- The Dark Star in general is creepy - it is literally an embodiment of evil that can absorb other beings to use as a source of power, as it does to Fawful. Then he turns into an evil version of Bowser sporting a mohawk that even shrieks. Hmm.
- When tracking it down in the Airway, the bros encounter it several times. On at least two of these occasions, its aura envelops the two and causes them to start gasping for air. Not scary.
- The Airway in general is quite creepy, thanks to the Dark Star. Besides its occasional appearances and boss fight, its influence visibly affects the area, with several odd, black features that aren't present elsewhere showing up, such as around the pipes, and every enemy encountered sans the Airnapses are visibly influenced by its presence, with enemies like the Air Cheeps sporting a similar color scheme, an image of a black star on their bodies, and glowing red eyes. Not scary.
- The Dark Star's potency for nightmare fuel comes to a head when it manifests itself as Dark Bowser. Put simply; imagine an Artifact of Doom, with no altruistic qualities to speak of, desiring only to bring darkness and despair upon the entire world and perhaps even beyond - and its physical form is a copy of one of the strongest, and, in-universe, scariest characters in the franchise. Basically, if it were not for the original Bowser himself, the Mushroom World would be lost in a flash. Remove natter.
- Fawful might seem hilarious at first, and... well, he is, but he's by far one of the most disturbing villains in the franchise when you think about it. For one, he actually managed to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, and took over both of the main royalty's castles (Peach's and Bowser's). Then, he awoke the Dark Star and absorbed its power, and even when he was defeated, he only turned into a creepy dark spider thing that ends up fueling Dark Bowser. During the final battle, he's extremely creepy, what with his jumpscare when he grows huge, and he has several creepy attacks, such as this one. Finally, even when both he and Dark Bowser are defeated, he he blows himself up in a last ditch effort to kill the Mario Bros., which also makes him one of the only recurring characters in the franchise to actually die, and one of even fewer to die on-screen.]] That, coupled with the fact he is almost completely evil with no redeeming qualities and the fact he rose from being a lowly dragon to a threat to the world, arguably makes him one of the creepiest villains in Nintendo's history. Natter.
- The effect of Malatone Formula:X from Bowser Jr.'s Journey. Those that take it become much stronger, gaining a purple aura and increased stats at the cost of losing their mental faculties, much like some actual steroids. Dieter outright states that it alters 97% of the user's DNA. Maybe keep.
- Somehow, it gets worse when the BFF take it in the final battle. Before that, when they used Captain abilities in battle it was preceded by a small quip (Dieter's "I am here to play games with your lives." before he uses his Doppleganger Attack, for example). Now? Nothing but zombie-like groans and murmuring. Merge.
- Antasma. Considering his ability to feed off of nightmares, it's not surprising to be somewhat intimidated by him. Combined with his appearance, and the "SCREEEEEK!!" he does, and you'll be wondering if you can sleep on that pillow of yours. Antasma isn't too scary, maybe at the beginning but eh.
- The first time we visit Bowser's Dream, we're treated to this piece. ZCE.
- Not to mention there are dark colored faces of floating Bowser heads that randomly appear laughing demonically in there. These bothered me a bit, but not too much.
- What makes this even worse are the implications. This isn't your goofy, comic relief Bowser. Outwardly, he just seems a bumbling powerhouse, but now that you're in his psyche, where all is lain bare? Bowser is genuinely as twisted and malicious as he claims to be. His mindscape is warped with visions of flowing magma, cannons laying waste to the landscape, iron chains wrapped over the very ether of the plane, cracked and decrepit brick walls locking everything in, sharp and dangerous protrusions everywhere. In hindsight, the Zeekeeper was dead-on before. Exaggerating.
Zeekeeper: This Bowser guy sounds like another nutjob.
- It also make the implications of this earlier scene worse. After summoning Neo Bowser Castle, Bowser and Antasma test its power by firing on nearby islands. Now if we assume that the islands were inhabited, and that Bowser is as genuinely malevolent as his dream makes him out to be, then we've just seen everyone's favorite Koopa King possibly murder god knows how many people onscreen. In one fell swoop, Bowser managed to reverse years of Villain Decay and remind players that underneath the ham, constant failures, and Villainous Crush is a villain who earned his title of "Great Demon King" for a reason. Fridge Horror.
- About Neo Bowser Castle. Those "vines" running all over the place transmitting dream energy from Bowser to power the castle look a little too much like purple veins to be comfortable, especially when you get to Bowser's bedroom where they all converge like a heart. Fridge Horror?
- Dream's Deep. It's like Bowser's Dream above, but different. The entire place is a bizarre garble of purple and green with neon Luigi faces floating in the background. Spinning and running Luigi holograms run all over the screen. And it's all accompanied with an eerie piece with tribal-sounding percussion. This genuinely unsettled me. Keep.
- The first time through, you're briefly separated from Luigi. There are quotes floating around the screen and in one segment there are multiple Luigi holograms that follow you, only to vanish when you turn around. To make things creepier, this is the deepest part of Luigi's subconscious. Some of the quotes are profoundly thought-provoking and give a lot of character to Luigi. Merge.
"Don't leave me behind, bro!""I'm not clumsy!""Big Bro! Big Bro!" - The Boss battle with Antasma is unsettling enough, but he takes it Up To Eleven in That One Attack. Once Mario gets damaged by him too much, he'll fall asleep by a certain chance. The screen fades black, and Antasma starts to attack Mario inside his nightmares. Antasma will chase and breathe purple fire at you in the creepily reddish nightmare world, with black warp holes all over the place which will make you fall into a pit full of sawblades you have to dodge. Unless you realize only one of them will lead you out to the real world, it'll loop all over again without stopping. I didn't find this too scary, but maybe it could stay.
#3120: Sep 28th 2020 at 4:18:15 PM
The link to Brain Bleach on the entry about Bowletta should be removed, as the trope as about in-universe cases
Ferot_Dreadnaught
Since: Mar, 2015
#3121: Sep 28th 2020 at 6:03:51 PM
Rediected Super to the Main Paper Mario NF page and replace the Image. That's taken care of.
Spidey
Obsessively adds images to character pages.
from Santa Destroy
Since: Sep, 2020
Relationship Status: Baby don't hurt me!
Obsessively adds images to character pages.
#3122: Sep 28th 2020 at 7:28:02 PM
You know what makes me hate ts comment? The fact that I caused it by mentioning Origami King.
#3123: Sep 28th 2020 at 8:53:12 PM
Take it easy, it's just a wiki page.
Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#3124: Sep 28th 2020 at 9:07:14 PM
Seriously my guy, chill.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
#3125: Sep 28th 2020 at 9:24:56 PM
Why are you beating yourself up? The page was improved after you brought it up, you didn’t ruin anything. If you feel like there may be a better picture, you’re free to make a new Image Pickin’ thread, just make sure that the image you choose is scary without context. (I haven’t played paper Mario and didn’t understand why the last picture could be scary, but the current is pretty good.)
Total posts: 5,760
I just popped over the Computers folder in Other and I saw a bunch of examples that don't fit/need to be rewritten to some degree. Anyone willing to help tackle that folder?
TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall