History Main / TheWay

* The Creator/GregBear books ''Literature/TheWaySeries''

* The 2010 Drama: ''Film/TheWay''
* The Freeware RPG: ''VideoGame/TheWay''

* The Freeware RPG: ''VideoGame/TheWay''

* The Freeware RPG: ''Videogame/TheWay''

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theway_9441.png
[[caption-width:350: The Way features many colorful environments.]]

''The Way'' is a freeware, indie role-playing game that follows Rhue of Landorin, a young wanderer on a quest to regain a piece of his past. He's been searching the Way for many years already as the game begins. With his hopes diminishing further and further each day, he is setting a frantic pace for himself, desperate for a simple clue that might help guide him to that which he lost so many years ago. Along the way, he discovers many new people, such as the arrogant and abusive Strata, the charming and world-weary Traziun, and the lawful and violent Slade. However, his situation and that of many others is about to become quite deadly as a shadow killer begins a murderous spree of destruction along the Way.

The game comes in an episodic format with a total of six chapters. Along the way, Rhue travels through caves, duels in tournaments, traverses infernal realms, gets caught up in a [[GangBangers gang]] war, survives a [[spoiler:demonic outbreak]], goes through a lawsuit and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking performs in a grand stage production]].

All six episodes of the game can be downloaded [[http://www.crestfallen.us/download.html here]].

NeedsABetterDescription, preferably by someone with a more intimate understanding of the history and development of this series.
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!!Tropes included in The Way:
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: Traziun's dad, and Slade's mom.]]
* ActionGirl: Every female who joins your party.
** DarkActionGirl: Cetsa
* ActualPacifist: The Paradans will never kill anyone. Some of them refuse to kill even animals.
* ActuallyFourMooks: Most enemies.
* AfterCombatRecovery
* AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome: [[spoiler: Rhue's Shadow Sword, in a twisted sort of way.]]
* AnnoyingArrows: Several minigames in Episode 6 employ these.
* AnEconomyIsYou: Averted. Rhue apparently is completely or nearly broke from the start of the game, never gets any more money, never does any shopping and only ever pays for (plot-mandated) things by getting other people to pay for him. Very, very rarely, you can barter goods in specific situations, but overall it's fair to say that Rhue has no impact on The Way's economy whatsoever.
* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: Borderline. In Episode 6, you can buy a house and fill it with furniture, but it's all placed ahead of time, and it's pretty important for [[spoiler: the Lexus ending.]]
* AntiVillain: Slade. The man has a weird sense of justice, but that's simply because [[spoiler: his mother influenced him so he would obey her with no question.]]
* AnyoneCanDie: Averted... until [[DarkerAndEdgier Episode 5.]] [[spoiler: And many come back for Episode 6 anyway.]]
* AssholeVictim: Cade in act 4 exists to be nothing but this.
* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: [[spoiler: Very glaring in Episode Six.]]
* ArtShift: Some areas, particularly outdoors, have prerendered 3D backgrounds which are rather primitive by today's standards, while others, particularly indoors, use Super Nintendo style tilesets.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Shadow Swords. [[spoiler:Rhue has one.]]
* {{Antihero}}: Rhue will often do some pretty shocking things. He's either a [[{{SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes}} 4 or a 5 on the scale, depending on your interpretation.]]
* BadassAbnormal: Traziun. Also Rhue, in his more "lucid" moments.
* BadassBoast:
---> [[spoiler: '''Traziun''': A life... for a life... how about that... father...]]
* BareYourMidriff: Cetsa.
* BestServedCold: [[spoiler:Midian toward Jeruh.]]
* BigNo: [[spoiler: Kloe in the "normal" ending.]]
* BittersweetEnding: One of them. See Pyrrhic Victory.
* BlackComedy: Many of the funnier parts in the game are pretty much about Rhue being a grouch. Highlights include calling a woman a money-grubbing, lazy whore ( actually, he does that a lot) and insulting a young boy for no reason.
* BlockPuzzle: There is one in the battlegrounds in Episode 3.
* BonusBoss: The leptor. Many more, if you count optional plunges.
* BreakTheCutie: Take Lyrra, the most optimistic and innocent person in the world, then [[spoiler:have her boyfriend not just dump her to chase after another girl, but abandon her in a temple full of murderous ninjas, tell her Rhue killed her father, then find a sword that magnifies negative emotions and murderous intent. All in the span of 10 minutes.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler: Strata. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Maybe.]] ]]
* BringIt: See [[{{PreAssKickingOneLiner}} Pre-Ass Kicking One Liner.]]
* BrokenBird: Many of the game's leading ladies might be this, or become this. Special notice goes to [[spoiler: Kloe.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler: Traziun]] in regards to his father.
* CantDropTheHero: [[spoiler: In Episode Six.]]
* CapitalCity: Estrana
* CatchPhrase: Rhue: "How sweet it is." Every time he wins a plunge.
** Also by Rhue: "Wonderful..."
** "Sweet flaming lands..."
* CerebusSyndrome: It starts out as a fairly happy RPG with some dark themes. By the end...
* CharactersAsDevice: Many characters in Episode 1 are introduced merely to teach the basics. The most glaring examples are the characters Dana and Wes. They help Rhue fight a few battles, are knocked out cold, and... are never seen again. At least Therin got a cameo.
* CharacterLevel:
** Rhue's companions in Episode 6 become stronger through this system.
** Averted for the rest of the game though. Rhue gains points in individual stats one or two at a time by absorbing items, and other party members stay the same for the duration of their stay with you but usually have new skills and better stats if they show up again later.
* ChekhovsGunman: Slade shows up in Episode 1 long enough to save Rhue's life and scare Strata before disappearing until Episode 3.
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Gaius]] seems to be playing both sides of the conflict in Estrana.
* ChickMagnet: Rhue. It's not clear why, but women just seem to flock to him. Even women who really don't have ANY reason to like him.
* ChivalrousPervert: Dirk.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: [[spoiler: Medmur. Granted, it's kind of required, considering he lives a double life as a gang leader.]]
** Also, Rhue himself. The number of characters he works with but later injures or kills is staggering. [[spoiler:Especially once you learn who the Phantom Slasher is.]]
* CityWithNoName: The last episode takes place in one.
* CliffHanger: Most significantly, [[spoiler:the ending to Episode 5]].
* CombinationAttack: Rhue can do this with [[spoiler: Sorya or Lexus in Episode Six.]] Its effectiveness depends on RelationshipValues.
* ContemplateOurNavels: Rhue, in [[spoiler:the Reaches ending]]. Also, [=H2O=].
* ControlRoomPuzzle: Several exist throughout the series.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: You are not harmed at all by the [[spoiler:magma caverns]] in Episode 3.
* CorruptChurch: The Guided in Estrana are largely portrayed in this way.
* [[CourtroomAntic Courtroom Antics]]: Rhue is on trial, and Alan is his lawyer. HilarityEnsues.
* CradlingYourKill: Rhue desperately tries to convince [[spoiler: Lexus]] to hang on, after [[spoiler: accidentally stabbing her as part of a gang hit.]] Arguably, this is the moment when he begins to [[HeelRealization realize what he is becoming.]]
* CrapsackWorld: The Purpose is implied to be there [[spoiler:simply to control people, while the Lord Below actually exists]], one of the only large cities, Estrana, is full of poverty and crime, and the world is made up of crazy religious fanatics (The Guided) and tools (Blood Lyn).
* CreatorBreakdown: Though it may be part of the epic MindScrew that is Episode 6, there are many hidden messages that can only be accessed by RPG Maker about a girl who saved him (the creator, Lun), only for him to leave her crying, complete with calling himself a fool. There's also a hidden room with sad music only heard that one time, some child who "just wants to get back to sleep", and a man spouting things depressing even for The Way, about looking through a window every day and growing sadder and sadder each day after looking at it. Looking reveals it's an image of a young boy smiling. Lun was definitely going through something when writing this stuff.
* CriticalHit
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: See Gorn below.
* CruelMercy: [[spoiler: If you defeat Strata at the end of Episode Five, Rhue mocks him and lets him live. However, since Strata has pretty much spent his entire life being a GloryHound, being beat by some wanderer with weird clothing (right after one of his girlfriends, who [[{{AlternateCharacterInterpretation}} he might have cared for]], is killed), probably did not do well for his sanity.]]
* CrypticConversation: Several of them are shown throughout the series.
* CutsceneBoss: The plunge battles, sort of. They do have a legitimate alternate combat system, but they mean that most of the one-on-one battles between humans in the entire game take place outside of the normal combat system (and early in the gane there's little you can do during the battles to really affect your odds of winning.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Though the series started to step further and further away from light-hearted antics as it went on, Episode 5 was when the shit hit the fan. AnyoneCanDie and the DysfunctionJunction is more clear than ever.
* DeadLittleSister: [[spoiler: Lexus, to Rhue.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Rhue. Also, Slade has his moments.
--> [[spoiler: '''Slade''': Find someone else to be your prostitute. Try your husband.]]
* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: Sacrifa, leader of the Guided in Estrana, makes a deal with "the Lord Below" to cure his wife, who suffers from a mysterious disease that is eating away her flesh. This goes horribly wrong: he is discovered, his wife is stoned to death, and Sacrifa then calls on the Devil, who unleashes a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, destroying the city itself.]]
* DefendCommand
* DegradedBoss: The nasty boss of the Barucha cave shows up as a regular enemy a few acts later in the mines.
* DemonSlaying: [[spoiler: You have the option to fight two lessers in Episode Six.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: A bunch of characters have this, but some notable ones: [[spoiler: For Rhue, killing Lexus; for Lyrra, Strata pretty much telling her to "fuck off"; for Strata, Rhue killing Lyrra; for Sacrifa, his wife getting killed... the list goes on and on...]]
* TheDeterminator: You really have to admire Rhue for the lengths he will go to find one chick. [[spoiler: That, or be utterly terrified of him]].
* DevilButNoGod: [[spoiler:It's strongly implied that while the Purpose is just made up to control people, the Lord Below is very real and very powerful.]]
* DirtyOldMan: Dirk.
* DissonantSerenity: Gaius. Well, [[spoiler: as long as his problem isn't relating to Kloe.]]
* DownerEnding: The [[spoiler: Reaches.]]
* DramaBomb: Episode Five. Man, episode four took a turn for the dark, but... well, let's just put it this way. The episode is called Everyone Must Bleed.
* DramaticWind: In place when Traziun makes his eye for an eye speech.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Slade.]]
* DuelBoss: Just about anything that would've been one of these is instead handled through the Plunge system.
* DysfunctionJunction: Seriously, look at the characters after Episode 4. It's hard finding a character that doesn't have some kind of psychological issue.
* EasterEgg: Lots and lots. Some can be found in the actual game (the twisted C.O.O.L Meeting, for example), or some that can be found only with RPG maker 2000 (The Short Sketch). Philisophical messages can be found in the code of Episode 6, including some kind of weird scavenger hunt and a code in PGP.
* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Rhue fits this trope in the sense that none of his recollections about himself were never truly his own but of other people.]]
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: The basic core of the plunge system works this way, though the more advanced mechanics are capable of bending the rules.
* EmptyShell: [[spoiler: After Lexus dies, Rhue is only focused on one thing: finding Serena. Nothing else matters.]]
* FamousLastWords:
** "A life... for a life... how about that... [[spoiler: father]]..." - [[spoiler:Traziun]]
** "Finally I'll do something I know is right...something for myself..." - [[spoiler: Slade]]
** "I wanted to see you once more... just one... last... time..." - [[spoiler: Lexus]]
** [[spoiler:"What a terrible end... to my... story..." - Lyrra]]
* FauxSymbolism:
** Some attacks, like "Longinus" and "Outer Darkness," are pointless references to Christianity.
** Hell, once the mind screw gets rolling in chapters five and six even the ElementalRockPaperScissors starts getting symbolic, with elements classified into physical attacks, Elemental, "Oneness" and "Transcendental", each with four subelements like Spirit or Atoma. This can get rather confusing in chapter 6, which is ironically the point at which you start getting enough control over your elemental choices that you'd want to understand what's what.
* FemmeFatale: Cetsa and Sorya.
* TheFettered: Slade. He holds his screwed up perceptions of the world very high.
* ForeShadowing: Tons. And tons.
* FriendlyTarget: [[spoiler: Lexus, in a really twisted way: Rhue, in the last job he had to do before talking to Cetsa, accidentally kills her.]]
* GainaxEnding: [[MultipleEndings All of them]]. Some might qualify for EsotericHappyEnding, but don't expect sunshine and rainbows in any event.
* GameMaker: All six episodes are made with the RPGMaker 2000 engine.
* GameMod: If you have RPGMaker 2000, you can change anything and everything in the game.
* {{Gorn}}: Despite the 16-bit Super Nintendo RPG style graphics, there are very gruesome deaths, especially in episode 5. For starters: Heads being ripped off, the body collapsing into a bloody heap, characters being graphically impaled on stalagmites, having their faces ripped off, scalped, being ripped in half, having limbs amputated, getting ripped in half at the torso, having guts exploding out, and a bird graphically tearing strips of flesh from a corpse, all with blood splattering all over the ground and walls.
* GenericGuy: Rhan.
* GangBangers: The drug gangs in Estrana.
* TheGhost: Tetzel.
* GloryHound: Strata and Hill. Hill might also qualify as MilesGloriosus.
* GlorySeeker: Strata defines this trope.
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler: Lexus]] is a shining example: she not only dies smiling, but uses her last words to [[spoiler: comfort Rhue, who has accidentally killed her.]]
* GrayAndGrayMorality: The conflict in Estrana.
* GuestStarPartyMember: Everyone to varying degrees, except for the people who join Rhue in Episode 6.
* GuideDangIt: Achieving OneHundredPercentCompletion. There's a PointOfNoReturn for almost every area in the game, and many chests are hidden behind secret passages. Oh, and there are a few things that require inhuman clairvoyance or a complex string of DialogueTree decisions to get. Have fun.
* HappilyMarried: Sacrifa and his wife Lilah. Of course, this being ''The Way'', they both [[spoiler: end up dead, after he resorts to desperate measures to cure her illness.]]
* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: Several, most glaringly the headhunter near the beginning.
* HealthDamageAsymmetry
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: Rhue, at the very end of Episode 6. He'd gotten plenty of hints beforehand, but the confrontation with his inner selves clinched it.]]
* HeroesPreferSwords: Rhue starts the game with a blade even though, by his own admission, he doesn't really know how to use it. That said, seemingly EVERYONE uses swords on The Way... blades for stabbing or slashing seem to be the weapon of choice for the whole world.
* HeroicBSOD: In Episode 4, Rhue gets one when he [[spoiler:accidentally kills his girlfriend due to a freak combination of circumstances]].
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Traziun in one ending.]]
* HiddenAgendaVillain: As noted below in WellIntentionedExtremist, does the [[spoiler: Phantom Slasher]] really have Rhue's best interests at mind?
* HiddenDepths: Many characters, but an interesting interpratation is Strata. He seems genuinely broken up when [[spoiler: Rhue kills Lyrra]] and actually keeps [[spoiler:his promise to Rhue]] for most of the game. Also, Lexus.
* HitPoints: Of course.
* HopelessBossFight: Numerous, usually but not always Plunge battles. Most notably, the first ''three'' Plunge battles are unwinnable, and Rhue actually gives up after two strikes in the third.
* HotChickWithASword: Kloe.
* HurtingHero: Rhue is always this, but it really gets bad after [[spoiler: Lexus' death]].
* IHaveManyNames: [[spoiler: "Rhue", the wielder of the Phantom Slasher, has had countless names over the centuries. It's hinted that several of the legendary heroes and villains that you hear about were either him, or were later absorbed into him.]]
* IJustWantToBeBadass: Parris tries to intimidate Rhue. It doesn't work. Also, Strata wants to become the Paraphalyn, the ultimate badass.
* [[spoiler: Immortality: "Rhue", Type II. This is one of the abilities granted by the Shadow Swords]]
* InexplicableTreasureChests: This is the case for all six episodes. Only treasure chests found in the settlements are ever truly justified.
* InevitableTournament: Happens twice, with Rhue being forced into them by Traziun and Lexus.
** Sort of subverted--the first [[spoiler:ends prematurely]] and the plot doesn't really care if you win, and in the second [[spoiler:Rhue loses in the semifinals and Traziun throws the final round]].
* InformedAttractiveness: Cetsa.
* InnSecurity
* IronicEcho: [[spoiler:Strata utters a condescending remark toward Rhue as he walks away from him for the first time after mugging him. Rhue repeats a variation of it after he defeats Strata in their last encounter in the series.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Strata''': Why don't you contemplate what's just taken place here while I go make some money at the races. Later, blue boy.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Rhue''': Why don't you contemplate what's just taken place here while I go after Gaius. Later, loser.]]
* JerkAss: Strata, and possibly Rhue if you play him that way.
* JerkAssWoobie: Rhue, Slade.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Rhue, [[{{VillainProtagonist}} before episode five.]] He is very bitter and doesn't have very many friends, but it's implied he cares very deeply for the friends he does have.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Many characters, but notably [[spoiler: Rhue after killing Lexus and Lyrra after Strata breaks up with her.]]
* IrrationalHatred: Inspecting the mirrors that can be found in most houses reveal that Rhue begins the game disliking them, and hates them more and more as you progress through the story. This, despite the fact that mirrors serve no role in the story whatsoever. [[spoiler:The mirrors reflect him correctly, and he's not who he thinks he is.]]
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: In Episode 5, the casualties are: Slade, Lyrra, Cetsa, Alan (you can see his disembered legs poking out of a bush), Sacrifa, Entrego (presumably), and an entire city of innocent people, inculding children.]]
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler: Poor Lyrra and Lexus.]]
* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler: The Phantom Slasher - that is to say, ''the sword'', kills those who fail to meet it's standards. It self-destruct when forced to kill someone that it considered to be innocent.]]
* LampshadeHanging: Lots. For example, many of the more fashionable characters tend to insult Rhue's ugly clothing.
* LawfulStupid: Slade can come off as this. He works with people who manipulate him and take him for granted. He even admits he works for a messed-up court.
* LazyBackup: Rhue's party in Episode 6 if he recruits more than three teammates.
* LeftHanging: So very many plot threads are never resolved.
* LetsPlay: Malefact is doing one and had just ended episode 5. It has been on hold for a long time, however. [[http://www.youtube.com/user/Malefact#p/c/AD448C500F53774E You can find it here.]]
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Lexus, for Rhue.
* LongLostRelative: Maybe several.[[spoiler: Lyrra is Jeruh's little sister, Scatha is probably Slade's sister, and it's implied that Kloe knows Cetsa although it's unclear how. Other relations are implied in some places, but cannot be proven or are disproven by Episode 6.]]
* LostForever: Except in Episode 6, previous areas cannot be revisited, so if you didn't get the items there, too bad. This goes for ''experience'', too, since the game doesn't use random encounters, but also because the aforementioned items are your primary source of stat gains in the first place.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: Well, losing that childhood love, for Jeruh/Rhue. A straighter example is Sacrifa: his love for his wife, Lilah, leads him to make a DealWithTheDevil to cure her from a painful disease.]]
* MadLove
* [[{{ManipulativeBastard}} Manipulative Bitch]]: Cetsa.
* MauveShirt: So many.
* MeaningfulEcho: "Where are you?"
* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler:Jeruh -> Rhue, Chasta -> Scatha, Sorya -> Rosa, and Kava -> Kavax.]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Rhue killing Jed.]]
* MessyHair: Dirk seems to have this. Fits the whole "eccentric old man" thing.
* MilesGloriosus: Alan, when you plunge with him.
* MindScrew: [[spoiler:Almost the entirety of Episode 6.]]
** While that is the worst offender, the rest of the series is pretty confusing as well. Not only is [[LeftHanging almost nothing resolved]], what little the fanbase has to work with is extraordinarily cryptic and confusing. (The result is that EpilepticTrees start popping up absolutely ''everywhere''.)
* {{Minigame}}: Several times. Holding off a siege with cannon fire, a vaguely side-scrolling shooter game, catching a rabbit...
* MoneySpider: Completely averted. No enemies, not even human ones, carry a single [[GlobalCurrency kipher of seru.]]
* MoodWhiplash: In Episode 5, you wander around [[spoiler: before Dancing Violet's execution]], listening to humorous conversations. Then, you witness Sacrifa's [[spoiler: wife being beat to death.]]
* MoralityPet: Sacrifa's wife.
* MultipleChoicePast: Two of the flashback sequences Rhue has of Serena; they're dependent on what the player chooses for him. The first one decides her hair color, while the other defines how her personality matches with the various female characters Rhue has encountered so far in the series. [[spoiler: This is justified by the very end.]]
* MultipleEndings
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Lord Below and the Phantom Slasher. The Blood Lyn also count.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: In an Episode 6 sidequest, you have to beat up a guy to make him squeal some valuable information.
* NotGoodWithPeople: Being [[spoiler: knocked into a hole by her own brother]] and living alone hasn't done much for Scatha's social skills, but she's perfectly fine talking with monsters.
* NoStatAtrophy
* OneManArmy: [[spoiler: Traziun kills a fortress of Blood Lyn by himself.]]
* OneOfTheseDoorsIsNotLikeTheOther: The end of the forest in Episode 5.
* OptionalPartyMember: [[spoiler: Slade, Lexus, and Sorya in Episode 6.]]
* OverlyLongName: Alanthreonus Phillipe Straphachar. [[SomeCallMeTim Alan to his friends.]]
* ParodyNames: Alan worked in a play called [[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables ''Stann of Green Fables'']].
* PartyInMyPocket
* PassThroughTheRings
* PimpedOutDress: Hard to identify, but it seems Lexus' dress has wings attached to it. [[RuleOfSymbolism Might be there for the symbolism.]]
* PlanetHeck: The Reaches.
* PluckyComicRelief: Dirk may seem like this, at first. Just like everyone in The Way, though, he has HiddenDepths.
* PointOfNoReturn: Make sure you've gotten absolutely everything before going to a new area; you won't be coming back (except in Episode 6).
* ThePollyanna: Lyyra. [[spoiler: Until she snaps.]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner:
--> [[spoiler: '''Traziun''': Do you want me to make a speech or something?]]
* PreExistingEncounters
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler: In what appears to be the canon ending, Rhue finds out about Serena. But he realizes he is just a fabrication of the mind of others and has lost pretty much everyone he has ever cared for (well, except Kloe, if you have enough of a friendship rating with her.)]]
* [[spoiler: ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: "Rhue", though the game never tells his age. One NPC from Episode 6 indicates that he has, at least, been using the Shadow Sword for over a hundred years.]]
* RelationshipValues: They're invisible, and most of them don't matter - some affect the dialogue, while others were created early on only to never be put to any real use.
* ReTraux: The game uses Super Nintendo style graphics and MIDI music.
* RetCon: Kind of a subversion, in that instead of having later episodes contradict information from earlier ones, Lun went back and edited the episode in question. Examples include how the headhunter in Episode 1 used be looking for Gaius instead of Jeruh, and Slade reacting a lot differently at the mention of Serena's name in Episode 5.
* RomanceSidequest: [[spoiler: The date in Episode Six.]]
* RuleOfCool: [[spoiler: Having control of Traziun's storm through the fortress was really pretty pointless, you could have just shown him killing them all. It was mostly there just to show how Traziun is Awesome Incarnate.]]
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Sacrifa. Also Lexus, overlapping with TearJerker and PlayerPunch.]]
* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler: Rhue]] starts losing it around Episode 5.
** [[spoiler:Eventually you realize he was pretty messed up to begin with.]]
* SceneryPorn: There are quite a few pre-rendered backgrounds that look nice despite being relatively simple.
* ScratchDamage
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Every word out of Alan's mouth.
* ShellShockedVeteran: While it wasn't a war, the Landorin Massacre screwed Rhue up pretty bad.
* ShoutOut: On a bookshelf in Episode 6 you can find another [[GameMaker RPG Maker]] game, [=ThreeTheHardWay=].
** There are lots in the bookshelves, including refrencing his old band, Phlounder, and Crestfallen.
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: The Charlatans of Justice in Episode 6 are named after members of the Crestfallen forums.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: One of the possible endings.
* SlasherSmile: When [[spoiler: Rhue killes Jeruh.]]
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Leaning far toward cynicism.
* SmugSnake: Strata plays it straight.
* SociopathicHero: [[spoiler: Rhue, after Episode Four.]]
* SocketedEquipment: Rhue can put notch items into the notches in his sword, and after enough battles they will be absorbed giving him stat increases, subverting the usual [[CharacterLevel level up system]].
* SssssnakeTalk: Scatha.
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler: Lyrra, and perhaps Traziun.]]
* StockVideoGamePuzzle
* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Slade [[spoiler: starts chasing Rhue]] in Episode 5. Granted, Slade isn't exactly a "virtuous" cop, but by this point [[spoiler: Rhue had become TheSociopath.]]
* TakeYourTime
* TalkativeLoon: Dirk.
* TeamworkPuzzleGame: One of the rooms in The Pits in Episode 3 require Scatha and Rhue to work together with the switches inside to get past it.
* ThemeNaming: Subverted. The episode names all rhyme with the previous one...except for the last, "Truth Hides Nothing".
* ThrivingGhostTown: Justified. Most towns are pretty barren, since they are only supposed to be temporary.
* TitleDrop: The final bosses use attacks based on the episode titles. Not to mention the fact that the entire game is set in a place called "The Way"...
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Rhue. One could even argue that he's the BigBad of the entire game.]]
** It says something when at least one of the endings has two such revelations in the same cutscene ([[spoiler:Jeruh killed everybody, and Rhue isn't him after all]]).
* {{Tomboy}}: Kloe, Scatha, and [[spoiler: Cetsa]], mainly.
* TranquilFury: When Rhue is walking around in the rain after [[spoiler: Lexus' death.]]
* TriggerHappy: Rhue. Amplified [[spoiler: after Episode Four.]]
* TheUnfettered: Rhue.
* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:"If this isn't Landorin... why do I remember this place???"]]
* UrbanSegregation: Estrana.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: The aforementioned beating.
* VillainousBreakdown:
** [[spoiler: Slade.]]
** [[spoiler: In earlier versions of Episode 5, Strata temporarily goes through this during his arena plunge with Rhue if he lasts for much longer than the the six-turn limit predicted upon him. This has been changed to have Rhue go down immediately at the seventh pass regardless of how much HP he has remaining.]]
* VillainProtagonist: Rhue after Episode 4, depending on [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation your interpretation.]]
* ViolationOfCommonSense: Being a bad thief and acting like a complete {{Jerkass}} during the party in Episode 6, which leads to getting the worst courtroom result with no notch item rewards, is the only way to trigger an external event that gives the player a certain notch item that allows access to a hidden skill.
* VolleyingInsults: [[spoiler: Rhue's and Slade's plunge. Damn, [[DeadpanSnarker Slade can trash talk.]] ]]
* TheVoiceless: The Phantom Slasher.
* WalkingTheEarth: Everyone, pretty much. It's considered blasphemous to settle down.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: An episode retelling the past episodes from Lyrra's point of view, Episode 6 ending with Rhue entering the top cell of the Arm of Estrana, followed by an Episode 7, amongst other things.
* WhatTheHellHero: Characters often say this about Rhue, but a notable example is [[spoiler: Strata confronting Rhue and calling him a CompleteMonster for killing Lyrra after she went crazy. Of course, Rhue did it in self-defense, but he didn't exactly seem broken up about it...]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: The Phantom Slasher]] wants Rhue to find Serena. His actions are... extreme.
** [[HiddenAgendaVillain Or does it?]]
** Rhue just wants to find his girlfriend and make sure she's safe... but by the end, he's killed many, many people and is generally considered to have jumped off the deep end. [[spoiler: Not to mention he's in denial about the bloody amulet.]]
* WhamLine: The very last line of Episode 5, in which [[spoiler: Gaius tells Rhue that he's the Phantom Slasher. It does turn out to be [[MindScrew a lot more complicated than that]], though.]]
* WideEyedIdealist: Lyrra. [[spoiler: It's more of a way for her to forget the trauma of the Landorin Massacre, though.]]
* WideOpenSandbox: Episode 6, which is very open-ended and has lots of side-quest, unlike the rest of the episodes.
* WimpFight: Rhue vs. Nomi at the beginning, complete with color commentary. The game doesn't even give you a reward for winning.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Rhue's moral boundaries are gradually torn down as he [[spoiler:(due to his Shadow Sword)]] becomes more powerful.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Citadels and Dippy.
* WhatHaveIBecome: [[spoiler: Slade.]]
* WomanScorned: [[spoiler:Lady Patura]] uses all her authority to degrade [[spoiler: Slade]] and break him down, after he refuses her advances.
* WorldsStrongestMan: This is what the title of Paraphalyn signifies. Oddly, no one seems to hold the title by the time the game rolls around. [[spoiler: Well, no one ''alive''. Kavax is quite happy to give Rhue a shot at inheriting the title from him during Episode 6.]]
* WraparoundBackground: This is used in the scenes where characters are running on [[spoiler: what Rhue remembers as]] the Landorin Stretch.
* WrongSideOfTheTracks: Outer Estrana.
* UnstableEquilibrium: Very, very much. Winning challenges or finding secrets early in the game nets you awards that boost your power forever afterwards. If you do not find these secrets or beat these challenges, however, you're likely to do poorly in the future.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Sorya, Slade, and a few others.
* YouJustToldMe: [[spoiler: Rhue does this to Lyrra to incriminate herself as the intruder of Jopaga's lab.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:Rhue, Kalmar, and possibly other people in the series.]]
* YourCheatingHeart: Patura [[spoiler: and Foreman Ballar.]]
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<<|EasternRPG|>>
<<|FreewareGames|>>

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: Some attacks, like "Longinus" and "Outer Darkness," are pointless references to Christianity.
** Hell, once the mind screw gets rolling in chapters five and six even the ElementalRockPaperScissors starts getting symbolic, with elements classified into physical attacks, Elemental, "Oneness" and "Transcendental", each with four subelements like Spirit or Atoma. This can get rather confusing in chapter 6, which is ironically the point at which you start getting enough control over your elemental choices that you'd want to understand what's what.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Though the series started to step further and further away from light-hearted antics as it went on, Episode 5 was when the shit hit the fan. AnyoneCanDie, HighOctaneNightmareFuel is abound, and the DysfunctionJunction is more clear than ever.

* IJustWantToBeBadass: Parris tries to intimidate Rhue. It doesn't work. Also, Strata wants to become the paraphlyn, the ultimate badass.

* WorldsStrongestMan: This is what the title of Paraphlyn signifies. Oddly, no one seems to hold the title by the time the game rolls around. [[spoiler: Well, no one ''alive''. Kavax is quite happy to give Rhue a shot at inheriting the title from him during Episode 6.]]

* IrrationalHatred: Inspecting the mirrors that can be found in most houses reveal that Rhue begins the game disliking them, and hates them more and more as you progress through the story. This, despite the fact that mirrors serve no role in the story whatsoever. [[spoiler:The mirrors reflect him correctly, he's just not who he thinks he is.]]

* IrrationalHatred: Inspecting the mirrors that can be found in most houses reveal that Rhue begins the game disliking them, and hates them more and more as you progress through the story. He eventually explains his hatred as being because the mirrors lie to him. [[spoiler:The mirrors reflect him correctly, he's just not who he thinks he is.]]

* World'sStrongestMan: This is what the title of Paraphlyn signifies. Oddly, no one seems to hold the title by the time the game rolls around. [[spoiler: Well, no one ''alive''. Kavax is quite happy to give Rhue a shot at inheriting the title from him during Episode 6.]]

* GlorySeeker: Strata, like, defines this trope.

* DramaBomb: Episode Five. Man, episode four took a turn for the dark, but... well, let's just put it this way. The episode is called Everyone Must Bleed. So yeah.

* LongLostRelative: Maybe several.[[spoiler: Lyrra is Jeruh / Rhue's little sister, Scatha is probably Slade's sister, and it's implied that Kloe knows Cetsa although it's unclear how. Other relations are implied in some places, but cannot be proven or are disproven by Episode 6.]]

* HeroicSociopath: [[spoiler: Rhue, after Episode Four.]]