History VideoGame / HeroesRise

* AnAesop: Aside from the point about FantasticRacism, the main thrust of the first game is to not judge others based on appearance.

** The Ani-powered villains from the first season have established their own city in the wasteland that Prodigal caused in the first game, [[WholePlotReference much like a similar city]] in [[Franchise/XMen another universe]].

The first game, ''The Prodigy'', begins with the PlayerCharacter returning home on their birthday to receive a present from their grandmother: a hero's license, which gives them the right to officially use their powers. Being descended from a pair of legendary heroes, who were unjustly arrested when the PC was thirteen, they are naturally eager to begin heroing and redeem their family name. They start by taking on a case too large for them and [[EpicFail failing spectacularly]]--but the case opens up new opportunities, introduces new allies and enemies, and is part of a much larger plot.

[[folder: Heroes Rise]]

* ActionGirl: Plenty of them.
* TheAlcatraz: Here it's called "The Devoid" and it's where your parents were sent after [[spoiler: being framed for]] murdering a supervillain. You get to infiltrate it in the third game to try to bust them out, [[spoiler: by which point they're not there anymore, but at least you get to free The Crush and the whole Millennial Group... as well as [[NiceJobBreakingItHero every other prisoner in there]].]]

* AttentionWhore: A good number of heroes, especially Powered ones, are in it for the glory and the media attention. They spend more time in the public eye than actually fighting crime. You can play your character this way.
** This culminates in the second game with about half of the contestants on the Hero Project forming a faction called the Populars made up of well-known heroes. To counterbalance them, the lesser-known heroes form the Underdogs faction. Your two possible {{Love Interest}}s are, naturally, on opposite sides, meaning you can't choose a faction without also rejecting one RomanceSidequest.

* ButThouMust: In ''The Prodigy'', most of the choices are fake. Most blatantly, there's an option to [[spoiler: refuse to have sex with Black Magic]]. If you choose it, the game simply overrides your decision, although this was changed in the later version.

* CivilWar: It's not really brought to the forefront, but in ''Herofall'' half the country is rallying behind [[spoiler:President Victon's]] new anti-Powered agendas, and the other half is rallying behind the PC.

* CooldownHug: One of the ways the PC can [[spoiler:calm down a rampaging Black Magic is by kissing them]].

** It's perfectly possible to turn [[spoiler:Black Magic]] into a TragicVillain by [[spoiler:mistreating and betraying them.]]
** FromACertainPointOfView, Victon's verdict against your parents ultimately drove you to become his main enemy.
* CurbstompBattle: [[spoiler:In the second game you can flatten Rebellion, portrayed as one of the most powerful and formidable heroes in the world, with a single (highly potent) attack. The third game even has an achievement for finishing off Rebellion extremely quickly.]]

* DarkestHour: The first half of ''Herofall''. Basically: [[spoiler: The protagonist has been de-powered and is on the run, trying to hide from President Victon and his corrupt authorities after the scandal of The Hero Project. One of your closest allies/LoveInterest is in a coma. Potentially, your best friend hates you due to your betrayal. Your parents are currently on death row, and will be executed in only two days after hearing these news. And your only hope to fix everything lies in Prodigal, the same person that tried to kill you and your family only a couple of months ago]].

* {{Depower}}: What the Meek intend to do to every Powered individual. [[spoiler:This is also one of the ways you can resolve Black Magic's story, which they ironically thank you for, since they now have their sanity back]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: The protagonist's parents are given life sentences in a maximum-security prison built specifically for Powered individuals and not allowed to even call or send letters to relatives for what, in most courts, would be clear self-defense (they accidentally kill a super-villain trying to kill them when apprehending her). Unfortunately, they are tried by Judge Victon, who is running for Mayor on the platform of regulation of Powered individuals. The ending implies that [[spoiler:there may be another reason for such harsh punishment]].

* DoNotTauntCthulhu: It is a bad, ''bad'' idea to directly attack [[spoiler:Black Magic]] in the third game. Indirect methods, such as a PowerNullifier, are fine, but [[spoiler:Black Magic]] will absorb the energy from a direct attack and power up accordingly. Thus, the PC's attack--which is stated to be roughly equal to a nuclear explosion in strength--causes [[spoiler:them to [[OhCrap become on-par with a god]] and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero wipe out the world--starting with you.]]]]

** At the end of the Hero Project, [[spoiler:Prodigal comes to you and reveals that she's the one who sent you the anonymous messages about the Hero Project being corrupt and decides to side with you against Victon since Miss Artillery may not be dead.]]

* TheExtremistWasRight: The ending in which [[spoiler:Black Magic destroys the world with the help of the protagonist]] really makes you wonder, are [[VillainHasAPoint the Meek and President Victon]] [[StrawmanHasAPoint really that bad?]]

** There is a large amount of tension between the Powered community and non-Powered. [[spoiler: Even more against Infini-Powereds.]] While the first game glazes over this in favor of focusing more on the player character, it's brought to the forefront in ''The Hero Project''.

* FantasticSlurs: "Gene Hazard" pops up quite a few times in relation to [[spoiler: people with Infini powers]]. It's implied that before Powered individuals were more widespread, it was a slur for them in general.

* FunnyAnimal: While they appeared in the background of the first three games, this one puts you in the shoes of an ani-powered hero whose form even shifts on a daily basis.

** Averted in most cases--pretty much all the villains are clearly wrong in their actions--but it comes into play for one individual: [[spoiler:Black Magic. They LifeDrain disabled individuals to fuel their own Powers, but use said Powers to save lives and provide for the needs of those they drain.]]

** The PC can do several non-lethal ones, such as [[spoiler:refusing to betray Jenny and being eliminated from The Hero Project]].

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: In the third game, [[spoiler:Black Magic may end up doing this depending on how badly their life has been ruined and whether or not you're acting as their MoralityChain.]]

-->"What would you do without the [=MeChip=] Warning System? It was so worth the money..."
* LoveInterest: A few throughout the games. Not much of a choice in the first game with Black Magic, a popular hero. In the second game, you can stick with Black Magic, switch to Lucky (a hero from your home district), or go it alone. In the third game, [[spoiler:Prodigal]] and [[spoiler:Jury]] becomes options. Jenny Yu's also an option for a properly-oriented character, but her gender and preference are always the same no matter what kind of character you create.

* MugglePower: The Meek, a nationwide organization that seeks to regulate Powered citizens. They endorse non-Powered heroes as they claim that their gadgets were created by normal humans. Interestingly, they refuse to elaborate exactly what they stand for and what their political platform is and only fire back vague slogans. One of their claims, though, is that allowing Powered citizens to run around rampant is "un-American". During an interview, you can do a ShutUpHannibal and point out that ''they'''re the ones who are "un-American" for seeking to regulate what opportunities people with different abilities have. As usual, they do their best to make you seem the unreasonable one. Additionally, you can retort to the poster-boy for the Meek, an un-Powered hero using expensive gadgets provided by the organization, that his gadgets were given to him, same as your Powers; he didn't earn or make them. And being extremely expensive, these gadgets are not, in fact, available to everyone as the Meek claim. [[spoiler: Once you get behind their closed doors in the finale, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName concentration camps and mass graves start showing up in their iconography]].]]

%%** BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:TheHeroDies, but stops Victon's plot]]. Alternately, [[spoiler:the hero ''doesn't'' die, but loses their LoveInterest (Jenny or Prodigal), or fails to save their parents from being de-powered.]]
%%** HappyEnding: Some combination of you, your LoveInterest, your friends, and [[spoiler:your parents]] all living happily [[spoiler:with your Powers intact]].

* NextTierPowerUp: A few times: First, when [[spoiler: the PC discovers in ''Prodigy'' that they have the Infini powers to manipulate gravity and atomic energy, which turned out to be the basis for their flight and ki-like attacks/shields/energy constructs respectively.]] Second, when [[spoiler: they master their Infini powers in ''Herofall'', depending on player choices.]] And third, [[spoiler: towards the end of ''Herofall'', when Black Magic is able to warp reality without any of their magic words, as well as directly drain people's lifeforce. Though it happens "offscreen" for lack of a better word, it's still a huge increase in power.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: This is the public's opinion of you after you botch the Gravitas case in the first game.
** And again in ''The Hero Project'', as the public blames you for the deaths caused by [[spoiler: Prodigal's Death Wave, if you were unable to stop it in time. ]]

* PinballProtagonist: The PC isn't given much choice about how they go about being a hero, and many times, an outside figure (such as Grandma, Black Magic or Sonja) decides something for them and they go along with it. [[spoiler: In fact, Prodigal has been effectively orchestrating their entire life behind the scenes]]. Though this does get much better as the series goes on; by Hero Fall, pretty much every one of the PC's actions has a significant outcome.

* ProHumanTranshuman: As [[spoiler:Infiniti-Powered]], the PC, the Crush, and [[spoiler:Black Magic]] all have near-god like powers, but can all potentially advocate humanity.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Black Magic and Lucky respectively, as the showrunners for the Hero Project are intentionally pushing a LoveTriangle as part of the [[PlayerCharacter PC's]] storyline. This is especially prominent when [[spoiler:both are candidates for Eleventh Place elimination and are depending on the [[PlayerCharacter PC]] to vote for one over the other. Lucky has no money, no job, and a poor single mother with a pack of younger siblings who are depending on him/her to make the cut. Black Magic's DarkSecret has been leaked to the public and s/he is in danger of losing everything s/he has accomplished. Refusing to make the choice between the two results in Black Magic's being voted off.]]

** [[CatharsisFactor Punching Jury]].

* SadisticChoice: Near the climax of the first game, Prodigal has kidnapped [[spoiler:your sidekick and your press agent]]. You are forced to choose on live TV which one will live and which one will die. [[spoiler:Especially heinous because your sidekick is either actually Prodigal in disguise, her minion, or blackmailed into assisting her all along]].
** She offers you ''another'' one at the very end: [[spoiler:she hooks herself up to the machine powering the Death Wave. You have to either kill her and become a murderer, or do nothing and let it destroy your hometown.]] Unlike last time, though, you ''can'' TakeAThirdOption, but only if your Legend is high enough: [[spoiler:using your newly discovered Powers to stop the Wave in its tracks]].

** As mentioned under RichSuitorPoorSuitor, [[spoiler:voting off Lucky may end their career on the spot, and voting off Black Magic ''definitely'' will, due to public outcry [[HumanResources over the source of their abilities]].]]

* SeriousBusiness: During ''The Hero Project'', ''everyone'' takes the Popular and Underdog factions ''very'' seriously. Being a floater is a good way to get hated by everyone, while not voting with the faction your LoveInterest is in results in pissing them off, even if you protest that you vote based on who deserves to stay. Even [[OnlySaneWoman Jenny]] gets into it.

* ShockingElimination:

** The InUniverse EnsembleDarkhorse Null also has this, less because of the elimination itself, and more because [[spoiler:she's been ousted as a DRRY agent -- AKA, your best friend Jenny-- who was investigating a conspiracy in the show, and the one who ousted her was ''you''.]]
* [[ShowWithinAShow Show Within A Game]]: The Hero Project is a RealityShow going on during...well, ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Hero Project]].''
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: [[spoiler: The Everyman Brigade]] never appears in ''Heroes Rise'' despite being possible idols you seek to emulate.

* SuperTeam: Heroes Rise has the The Millennial Group. If their team player stat is high enough, the protagonist can join them at the end of the game. Also the Everyman Brigade and a villainous version in the Splice Circle.

* SympathyForTheDevil: Sort of. [[spoiler: After you're captured by Prodigal, the game notes how obsessive she is about ruining you. To the point of pretty much living in a small, dirty room, [[RoomFullOfCrazy covered in defaced posters of your parents]], deep underground, monitoring you nearly 24/7. Later, its revealed that she was living on the run for most of her life, possibly being watched and manipulated by Victon into eventually becoming who she is by the time of the game. The game notes how kind of sad this is, and how she never had a chance to live a normal life like the player character.]]

* TakeThatKiss: Player can pull this off on [[spoiler:Jury]] in the third game

* TwoPersonPoolParty: Choosing Black Magic in the second game as your LoveInterest results in one.

** Did you choose to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge in ''Herofall''? Sure, you had your reasons but... You're still facing a trial for [[spoiler: killing '''The President of the United States''' on live television]].

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Mayor Victon is the judge who sentenced your parents (the premier superheroes of the time) to life imprisonment over an accidental death... and used that to jump into politics. While he does do some good as Mayor, it's all motivated by his desire for political advancement. Another example is [[spoiler: Mayor Victon suggests that he allowed -- maybe even protected -- your arch-rival over the years in order to keep on antagonizing your family as well as hinting he might have framed your parents to begin with.]] By the end of the sequel, [[spoiler: he's become president and co-heads a nationwide anti-Powered movement.]] It's not so much that he [[spoiler:becomes President]] but ''how'' he achieves that. Specifically, he [[spoiler:helps orchestrate a known Infini-Powered terrorist-turned-hero (and/or you) going into an Infini-Power meltdown on national TV on the day of the election in order to boost Anti-Powered support up to eleven]]. And of course, any involvement he may have had doesn't come out until ''after'' the election. By part 3, he has pretty much become [[spoiler:PresidentEvil]] and has somehow amassed enormous executive power without any other branch of the government stepping in ([[spoiler:then again, they could be influenced by his allies, the Meek]]), forcing all Infini-Powereds to undergo [[PowerNullifier Power Nullification]] and even ordering executions of those he claims are a danger to society ([[spoiler:including your parents]]).

** ''The Prodigy:''
--->'''PlayerCharacter:''' ''(to Black Magic)'' [[spoiler:[[LifeDrain So you keep these people here against their will, and drain their life force to fuel your Powers?]]]]\\

** ''The Hero Project:''

** ''Herofall:''

* WorldOfBadass: Practically a given, since most of Earth's population now as super powers, but even those who don't are usually a grade of BadassNormal.
* WorldOfSnark: Likewise, everyone you meet has at least some wittiness to them.

[[folder: Redemption Season and Open Season]]

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: There are two "interludes" in the first game, switching the player's perspective first to Weaver, their production assistant, then later to Lyra Vite, one of the producers. In Open Season, the two interludes are dedicated exclusively to the protagonist of the original trilogy [[spoiler: and a secret one where you get to play as JK if your legend is high enough.]]
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: From [[spoiler: [=StarSoar=], regardless of the player's gender.]]
* AscendedExtra: Some characters from the original trilogy who were minor, barely mentioned/[[TheUnfought Unfought]] villains (Little Jagged, Lolli and Splicina, to name a few) get expanded roles in ''Open Season''; Little Jagged herself tags along with you for the final mission in ''Redemption Season'' as well.
** Ditto for Splint and Velocityl, whom you can only meet at the very beginning of the game when mingling with the Final 14 and who don't end up advancing at all in favor of Crystalline and Ignite. In ''Open Season'' they team up with the player as part of [[SuperTeam The Home Front]].
* TheAtoner: Depending on the player's actions in the first "season", a few of the villains, namely Rebellion, Crush, and [[spoiler: the former Mrs. Victon]] are trying to make up for their actions the first time around. [[spoiler: Jury, however, seems to flip between this and his personality from the first two games, for the brief period he's seen]].

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Prodigal returns once again in Open Season, uploading her consciousness into Processor's body after hacking it and booting out her original personality.]]

** Transfer is hit with this to a lesser degree, having only four forms to shift between - human, werewolf, vampire, and zombie. Of course, they're ''also'' a vegetarian, so the dietary changes for those forms are a bit of a struggle.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler: You end up taking out all of The Voiceless (except for Less) in the very first chapter of Open Season.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: It ''is'' possible to [[spoiler: both save Miss Boss' life (though she's left comatose) ''and'' get JK's final treatment]] by the end of the game, but [[GuideDangIt it requires you to have a certain attribute leveled up to do so]].

* GrandFinale: Open Season explicitly serves as one for the entire Heroes Rise saga.

* HearingVoices: Early on, it's revealed that [[spoiler: [=StarSoar=], your partner in the tryouts, has a case of this. Given what Loa Shift relates at the end of the first game, however, [[CassandraTruth the voices he's hearing may very well be right]].]]

* ILetGwenStacyDie: Towards the end, the player is told that in order to get the final treatment for JK, [[spoiler:they need to "let Miss Boss fall", invoking this before it even occurs. Whether or not they actually feel guilty about it when it happens depends on your choices.]]

* LoopholeAbuse: Basically, how to [[spoiler: save both Miss Boss' life and secure the final treatment for JK. While you ''did'' let Miss Boss fall, Loa Shift didn't say anything about putting her in stasis while she was already falling.]]
* LoveInterest: Six of them, all with romance subplots of varying lengths. Of the six, two are always male (Griffin and [=StarSoar=]), two are always female (Miss Boss and Crystalline), one is a {{Hermaphrodite}} (Transfer), and one is based on the player's gender and sexual orientation (Weaver).

-->'''Miss Boss''': 'Boss' reclaims the idea that a woman in power is negatively 'bossy,' while 'Miss' repurposes the old-fashioned term labeling unmarried women. Really, Miss Boss is the perfect codename for me, because it represents my experience as an aspiring heroine: [[HiddenDepths being labeled and underestimated.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The producers of the Hero Project have a moment of horror when they realize [[spoiler:their show, by its very nature of trying to make better and brighter heroes, may ''also'' be responsible for the rise of more terrible villains--and is, in the case of The Voiceless.]]

* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: The player from the first season will be mentioned throughout and cameos at the end if you import a save.
** They get a bigger role in ''Open Season'', even getting a few interludes [[PromotedToPlayable from their point of view]].
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Home Front consists of you, the player character, your snarky sister [=JK=] who TookALevelInBadass since the last game, BattleCouple Lolli and Scoundrel (a deer and a turkey Ani-Powered respectively, one is a former gangster and the other a former terrorist), Splint and Velocityl (who struck up an OddFriendship after getting kicked off Redemption Season together, despite one of them being a normal teenager with a [[{{BFS}} giant energy sword]] and the other being a half-dinosaur hybrid), Transfer the nonbinary [[MonsterMash vampire-werewolf-zombie-person]] and [[spoiler: the [[TookALevelInKindness reformed Jury]] who now goes by Verdict]].
* {{Retcon}}: [[spoiler: If Jenny dies in Herofall, she]] somehow returns in ''Open Season'' with zero explanation, despite everything else about your imported save being the same.

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Getting to know Miss Boss better reveals a few HiddenDepths, including the fact that [[spoiler: she puts up the front she does in public because she feels it's the only way she can gain recognition, with plans to change her demeanor once she's "made it".]]

* SuperTeam: The ones from the original trilogy make an appearance, but ''Open Season'' introduces a new one based out of Magnuspiral called The Home Front, with either the protagonist or [=JK=] as the leader. Though it also doubles as a RagtagBunchOfMisfits.

** The Ani-powered villains from the first season have established their own city in the wasteland that Prodigal caused in the first game, [[WholePlotReference much like a similar city]] [[Franchise/XMen in another universe]].
** [[spoiler:The Voiceless]] claims to be a group dedicated to making the world a better place for Disembodied by providing a place of love and acceptance...by wiping out everyone else of course.
* YouCantThwartStageOne: If you refuse to confront [=StarSoar=] about [[spoiler: his "[[CassandraTruth delusions]]"]], you'll still make it onto The Hero Project, with the producers kicking him off the show because they found out by other means anyway. The key difference is that if you do it this way, he leaves on good terms with you, and your relationship with [=JK=] doesn't take a hit as a result.
[[/folder]]

* TheHerosBirthday: The first game begins on this.

* TheAlcatraz: Here it's called "The Devoid" and it's where your parents were sent after [[spoiler: being framed for]] murdering a supervillain. You get to infiltrate it in the third game to try to bust them out, [[spoiler: by which point they're not there anymore, but at least you get to free The Crush and the whole Millennial Group... as well as [[GoneHorriblyRight every other prisoner in there]].]]

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Home Front consists of you, the player character, your snarky sister [=JK=] who TookALevelInBadass since the last game, BattleCouple Lolli and Scoundrel (a deer and a turkey Ani-Powered respectively, one is a former gangster and the other a former terrorist), Splint and Velocityl (who struck up an OddFriendship after getting kicked off Redemption Season together, despite one of them being a normal teenager with a [[{{BFS}} giant energy sword]] and the other being a half-dinosaur hybrid), Transfer the nonbinary [[MosnterMash vampire-werewolf-zombie-person]] and [[spoiler: the [[TookALevelInKindness reformed Jury]] who now goes by Verdict]].

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Home Front consists of you, the player character, your snarky sister [=JK=] who TookALevelInBadass since the last game, BattleCouple Lolli and Scoundrel (a deer and a turkey Ani-Powered respectively, one is a former gangster and the other a former terrorist), Splint and Velocityl (who struck up an OddFriendship after getting kicked off Redemption Season together, despite one of them being a normal teenager with a [[{{BFS}} giant energy sword]] and the other being a half-dinosaur hybrid), and [[spoiler: the [[TookALevelInKindness reformed Jury]] who now goes by Verdict]].

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Home Front consists of you, the player character, your snarky sister [=JK=] who TookALevelInBadass since the last game, BattleCouple Lolli and Scoundrel (a deer and a turkey Ani-Powered respectively, one is a former gangster and the other a former terrorist), Splint and Velocityl (who struck up an OddFriendship after getting kicked off Redemption Season together, despite one of them being a normal teenager with a [[BFS giant energy sword]] and the other being a half-dinosaur hybrid), and [[spoiler: the [[TookALevelInKindness reformed Jury]] who now goes by Verdict]].

* {{Retcon}}: [[spoiler: If Jenny dies in Herofall, she]] somehow returns in ''Open Season'' with zero explanation.

* ShipperOnDeck: During the Hero of Tomorrow gala in the first game, your MeChip can get rather upset with you for ignoring Black Magic's calls in favor of trying to figure out where Sonja is.