History VideoGame / HelensMysteriousCastle

''Helen's Mysterious Castle'' is an indie [=JRPG=]. The game was developed by studio Satsu and published by PLAYISM, with the game being developed in RPG Maker.

* HeartContainer: Steaks, which are given as an optional pickup when Helen falls in battle. Each boosts Helen's maximum HitPoints by 1, and a limited number are provided per section of the game. If Helen hasn't hit the maximum bonus from eating steaks by the time she defeats the boss of a floor, she immediately gains the rest of the bonus all at once.

** [[CombatSadoMasochist Masochist Kanza]] of the BonusDungeon also qualifies. It only has one attack, but it gets stronger the more damage it's taken.

* BonusBoss: Of the BonusDungeon described below. [[spoiler:Unlike the rest of the monsters in the castle who were all created artificially by Ardis or Krace, Ahriman is a ''real'' monster. As indicated by his use of Zack's battle theme, he proves ''not to be taken lightly''. He first phase starts as a test for Helen, with a magic attack that transfers defense to damage as he charges it, a defensive move that weakens Helen's weapons, and a [[PowerNullifier Temporary Seal]] attack that prevents Helen from using her current weapon for a few turns. Once Ahriman takes enough damage, he heals a huge chunk of HP and begins fighting more seriously, using moves that [[MaximumHPReduction reduce Helen's maximum HP]] or double her Wait timer. His Temporary Seal attacks also start sealing Helen's equipment for longer and longer, and are eventually replaced with [[DesperationAttack Permanent Seal attacks]]. Being able to defeat him without running out of steam towards the end of the fight requires careful preparation and strategy.]]
* BonusDungeon: There's a small optional dungeon hidden [[spoiler:in the forest to the south of Helen's home; it becomes available after Helen defeats Zack. The first part, the Mysterious Room, only has a couple fights that grant a couple pieces of equipment. The deepest part of this area, however, is called the Domain of Chaos; be sure to arrive ''[[CrazyPrepared fully prepared]]'', as the enemies inside (with the exception of a weak, semi-invisible ghost whose only attack does a mere 10 points of damage) are ''very'' powerful. While Helen doesn't need to defeat ''all'' of them, she must defeat a total of at least seven of the nine enemies without exiting the dungeon in order to open the door forward (the dungeon resets each time she leaves, including any defeated monsters). Furthermore, the dungeon prevents you from refining any equipment while you're within it, so healing outside of combat requires either reducing your capacity to heal in later battles, or using up one of the two full-heal pots provided in the dungeon (naturally, one of them requires defeating an enemy to gain access to it). And, once you've gotten through all that, it's time for the fight against [[BonusBoss Ahriman]]...]]

** Other examples include the Curse spell used by the FinalBoss (works much the same as Freezing Yasha, but [[ArmorPiercingAttack pierces defenses]]) and the Evil Heal spell used by the BonusBoss (sets the target's maximum HP to its current HP).

* PublicDomainCharacter: The game uses the default characters from RPG Maker 2000, default names included.

* PublicDomainCharacter: The game uses the default characters from RPG Maker 2000.

* WhamEpisode: Floor 2 has a bunch of revelations. The Mysterious Castle is [[spoiler:[[FloatingContinent floating in the sky]]]]; there was a GreatOffscreenWar involving an artisan who made monsters at the behest of a mage; after said war ended, the artisan and his monster army were banished to a castle; [[spoiler: Helen and everyone else here (including the villagers, who are [[OutHomunculiAreDifferent homunculi]] that just look human) have been trapped in said castle for the past hundred years; Helen's brother figure Ardis is said artisan and is now ''facing the death penalty for breaking the terms of his exile''; and Helen is quite possibly a homunculus herself.]]

** It's possible for Helen to obtain equipment used by the Undead Knight and Zack. If she happens to be carrying this equipment during [[spoiler:[[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent the fights where you control them]]]], the Undead Knight will be using two more generic swords (the Blazing Slash and Tundra Blade) instead of [[NamedWeapons Burning Agony and Freezing Yasha]], while the Fairy specifically states that Zack has a spare shield.

** Also involving the Demon King's castle: within the Hall of Silence, a side room contains a locked door with a nearby statue that says "Good things come to those who wait". While it might look like a WaitingPuzzle at first glance, the actual way to get the door to open is to switch to a different window on your computer, then come back to the game.

* {{Stripperiffic}}: The Demon King isn't wearing very much under that cloak. His overworld sprite appears to be wearing boots, spiked wrist and leg bands, and a speedo; his battle sprite adds a (skin-tight) shirt.

* WouldNotHitAGirl: [[spoiler:Zack. When he [[BigDamnHeroes shows up to help]] at the end, he claims that he did not give his all in the fight against Helen -- both because he couldn't figure out whether she was evil or not, and because beating a girl isn't very heroic.]]

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Downplayed with [[spoiler:Krace]]. They're mentioned numerous times throughout the game, [[spoiler:but it's easy to believe he's nothing more than a backstory character up until he shows up after the battle with Zack and reveals he was sealed in the castle alongside the monsters Ardis created for him]].

The game follows a young girl named Helen, who is raised by a mysterious, unnamed man. One day, she is allowed to go on an adventure on the mysterious castle where they live, in an attempt to leave.

The game follows a young girl named Helen, who is raised by a mysterious, unnamed man. One day, she is allowed to go in an adventure on the mysterious castle where they live, in an attempt to leave.

* BonusBoss: Of the BonusDungeon described below. [[spoiler:Unlike the rest of the monsters in the castle, who were all created artificially by Ardis or Krace, Ahriman is a ''real'' monster; as indicated by his use of Zack's battle theme, he proves ''not to be taken lightly''. He first phase starts as a test for Helen, with a magic attack that transfers defense to damage as he charges it, a defensive move that weakens Helen's weapons, and a [[PowerNullifier Temporary Seal]] attack that prevents Helen from using her current weapon for a few turns. Once Ahriman takes enough damage, he heals a huge chunk of HP and begins fighting more seriously, using moves that [[MaximumHPReduction reduce Helen's maximum HP]] or double her Wait timer. His Temporary Seal attacks also start sealing Helen's equipment for longer and longer, and are eventually replaced with [[DesperationAttack Permanent Seal attacks]]. Being able to defeat him without running out of steam towards the end of the fight requires careful preparation and strategy.]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: The monsters in the castle that you interact with are friendly and likable. They don't really want to really harm Helen in anyway, just test her strength and stop her from [[spoiler:breaking the barrier, which could doom them all.]] Even the average dungeon monsters turn out to be friendly once they realize who Helen actually is.

** It's possible for Helen to obtain equipment used by the Undead Knight and Zack. If she happens to be carrying this equipment during [[spoiler:[[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent the fights where you control them]]]], the Undead Knight will be using two more generic swords (the Blazing Slash and Tundra Blade) instead of Burning Agony and Freezing Yasha, while the Fairy specifically states that Zack has a spare shield.

** Also involving the Demon King's castle; within the Hall of Silence, a side room contains a locked door with a nearby statue that says "Good things come to those who wait". While it might look like a WaitingPuzzle at first glance, the actual way to get the door to open is to switch to a different window on your computer, then come back to the game.

* NoSell: The Titans on the 7th floor have a property labeled "Total Defense"; this blocks all effects of any attack, even the normally [[ArmorPiercingAttack defense-piercing magic]]. The only way to defeat them is to hit them in the brief periods between their attacks.

''Helen's Mysterious Castle'' is a indie [=JRPG=] game. The game was developed by studio Satsu and published by PLAYISM, with the game being developed in RPG Maker.

''Helen's Mysterious Castle'' is a indie [=JRPGs=] game. The game was developed by studio Satsu and published by PLAYISM, with the game being developed in RPG Maker.

* CombatantCooldownSystem: The battle system in Helen's Mysterious Castle runs on a variant of this. Each action (such as Helen using a weapon or a monster's attack) comes with a "Wait" timer that ticks down once both combatants have chosen their move. Once an action hits 0, that action is performed and the combatant may choose a new one. Combat involves carefully juggling cooldowns so that you defend when your opponent is attacking and attack when your opponent's guard is down.

** Helen only communicates using "!" and "?", which other characters comment on.

** One of the Undead Knight's swords, the Freezing Yasha, applies any damage it deals to both its target's current and maximum HP. The spirit of the blade itself can also use the same attack when challenging Helen to ensure she is worthy of wielding it.

* WhamEpisode: Floor 2 has a bunch of revelations. The Mysterious Castle is [[spoiler:[[FloatingContinent floating in the sky]]]], there was a GreatOffscreenWar involving an artisan who made monsters at the behest of a mage; after said war ended, the artisan and his monster army were banished to a castle; [[spoiler: you and everyone else here (including the villagers, who are homunculi that just look human) have been trapped in said castle for the past hundred years; Helen's brother figure Ardis is said artisan and is now ''facing the death penalty for breaking the terms of his exile''; and Helen is quite possibly a homunculus herself.]]

The game is available on [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/418190/Helens_Mysterious_Castle/ Steam]] since march of 2016.

** [[spoiler: Ardis himself is angry at Helen for choosing to rescue him after he gave himself up so she would have a chance to escape.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Krace, the man that made an army out of Ardis' monster creations. He's mentioned in the backstory, but he doesn't show up until the end of the game, where he becomes the main antagonistic force in a game that really didn't have an actual villain thus far]].

* BonusBoss: Of the BonusDungeon described below. [[spoiler:Unlike the rest of the monsters in the castle, who were all created artificially by Ardis or Krace, Ahriman is a ''real'' monster; as indicated by his use of Zack's exclusive battle theme, he proves ''not to be taken lightly''. He first phase starts as a test for Helen, with a magic attack that transfers defense to damage as he charges it, a defensive move that weakens Helen's weapons, and a [[PowerNullifier Temporary Seal]] attack that prevents Helen from using her current weapon for a few turns. Once Ahriman takes enough damage, he heals a huge chunk of HP and begins fighting more seriously, using moves that [[MaximumHPReduction reduce Helen's maximum HP]] or double her Wait timer. His Temporary Seal attacks also start sealing Helen's equipment for longer and longer, and are eventually replaced with [[DesperationAttack Permanent Seal attacks]]. Being able to defeat him without running out of steam towards the end of the fight requires careful preparation and strategy.]]

* CombatantCooldownSystem: The battle system in Helen's Mysterious Castle runs on a variant of this. Each action (such as Helen using a weapon or a monster's attack) comes with a "Wait" timer that ticks down once both combatants have chosen their move. Once an action hits 0, that action is performed and the combatant may choose a new one. Combat involves carefully balancing cooldowns so that you defend when your opponent is attacking and attack when your opponent's guard is down.
* DarkIsNotEvil: The monsters in the castle that you interact with are friendly and likable. They don't really want to really Helen in anyway, just test her strength and stop her from [[spoiler:breaking the barrier, which could doom them all.]] Even the average dungeon monsters turn out to be friendly once they realize who Helen actually is.

* EvolvingWeapon: Helen can gain experience in battle, but doesn't ever level up herself. Instead, she can channel experience into her equipment, improving its performance up to a point. The [[UltimateBlacksmith village blacksmith]] can also refine equipment, but he can improve items beyond what Helen can manage (though the process is taxing and he can only do it so often). [[spoiler:After defeating Zack, Helen also gains the ability to refine items to their maximum potential.]]

** Entering the Demon King's castle can be a minor case of this. Following the plot will guide you to a guy who says he got in by doing a cool pose on the pentagram in the entrance. You may have noticed that Helen occasionally does a pose as an IdleAnimation, but you might not be aware that she only does it while you have a menu open.

** One of the Undead Knight's swords, the Freezing Yasha, also applies any damage it deals to its target's maximum HP. The spirit of the blade itself can also use the same attack when challenging Helen to ensure she is worthy of wielding it.

* NoSell: The Titans on the 7th floor have a property labeled "Total Defense"; this blocks all effects of any attack, even the normally [[ArmorPiercingAttack defense-piercing magic]]. The only way to defeat them is to hit them in the brief periods between attacks.

* OneCurseLimit: As punishment for instigating the GreatOffscreenWar, [[spoiler: Krace]] was cursed to abhor sunlight. During the final confrontation with him ([[CueTheSun as the sun is rising]]), he states that he managed to defeat that curse... by overpowering it with another, stronger curse. What that second curse does is never explained, but given how he appears to have ''pustules'' on his arm in his rematch, it probably isn't pleasant.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Much like the other monsters, they aren't natural animals or divine beings, but created using science and magic by [[spoiler:Ardis]]. [[spoiler:[[BigBad Krace]] has created several dragons and draconic monsters of his own]].
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Several homunculi were created together with the other monsters of the castle; [[spoiler:they include [[ArtificialHuman all of the villagers on Floor 4]], and Helen herself might qualify]]. In the laboratory on Floor 7, several homunculi serve as common enemies.

* ArmorPiercingAttack: Magic tends to have the "Piercing" property, meaning it will completely ignore defense. [[NecessaryDrawback To compensate]], spells tend to be slow and leave the user with no defense of their own.

** The fairy that accompanies Zack is actually unnamed and only ever referred to as "a/the fairy".

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Congratulations, you've made it through all the challenges of the BonusDungeon! So, what's your reward? [[spoiler:A Hair Tie for putting Helen's hair up into a ponytail, and an endless supply of Clogs that do nothing but slow your attacks (presumably for a SelfImposedChallenge). [[FlatJoy Hooray.]]]]

* GreatOffscreenWar: As the story progresses, you learn more about a war that took place a hundred years prior to the game's events. A skilled artisan was hired by a mage to create an army of monsters. However, the army was defeated; the artisan and the remaining monsters were banished. [[spoiler:Specifically, they were banished to the titular Mysterious Castle -- Helen's brother Ardis is the one who created the monsters, and almost every resident of the castle is one of his creations. Helen herself was originally a young girl who was killed in the war and subsequently revived by Ardis.]]

* NeverLearnedToRead: Helen, at first. It isn't until Ardis sees how distraught she is at finding a gravestone at their house (for a sheep that drowned in a lake, though she thought it was for him) that he realizes she never learned. So he teaches her how to read, which also unlocks the information in the books scattered throughout the castle.
* NobleDemon: The Demon King isn't actually all that bad of a guy. [[spoiler:The whole sequence with challenging him ended up being more of a SecretTestOfCharacter than anything else.]]

* WhamEpisode: Floor 2 has a bunch of revelations. The Mysterious Castle is [[spoiler:[[FloatingContinent floating in the sky]]]], there was a GreatOffscreenWar involving an artisan who made monsters at the behest of a mage; after said war ended, the artisan and his monster army were banished to a castle; [[spoiler: you and everyone else here (including the villagers, who are homunculi that just look human) have been trapped in said castle for the past hundred years; Helen's brother figure Ardis was that artisan and is now ''facing the death penalty for breaking the terms of his exile''; and Helen is quite possibly a homunculus herself.]]
* WouldNotHitAGirl: [[spoiler:Zack. When he [[BigDamnHeroes shows up to help]] at the end, he claims that he did not give his all in the fight against Helen because he couldn't figure out whether she was evil or not, and because beating a girl wouldn't be very heroic.]]