History VideoGame / PonyIsland

* DummiedOut: By the creator Lucifer himself no less, since he's ''never'' satisfied with his work. A lot of content and features made by him remain orphaned and nonfunctional in the machine. Ranging from game options like 'Pony Blades', 'Ponymobile', and 'Unlimited Ammo', to system programs such as Buer.exe, an outdated guardian of an important core file.

** One of the files when you exit to the desktop for the first time is called [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} MissingNo]]. Interesting because it's a shout-out to a famous glitch in a game that's all about fixing and exploiting glitches.

* GoLookAtTheDistraction: Louey gives you a puzzle every time the game's shoddy programming causes progress to be impossible until the issue is fixed.

!! START TROPES:
* AffablyEvil:
** Asmodeus gets this treatment. He isn't as outright rude as Azazel or destructive like Beelzebub, he gives you genuine compliments at points, and concedes defeat when you win and seems to be satisfied with the game he played. Whilst most definitely an antagonist, he seems the most decent of the Daemons.
** Satan tries to invoke this, but fails rather hilariously due to having a short temper.

* ASCIIArt: [[spoiler:Baphomet is rendered as a red ASCII demon head.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Theodore escapes Limbo, and makes it to Purgatory. Even the pink pony sprite makes it there, and praises your victory with a wink goodbye.]]
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Satan in a nutshell — I've got to finish this current game I'm working on! It's got to have many levels, suspense, build-up, an epic final boss, and, and ooh... [[MissingStepsPlan here's a cute mascot for a brand NEW game!]]
* BarredFromTheAfterlife: [[spoiler:The protagonist, Theodore, is damned to Limbo for his crimes as a crusader.]]
* [[BeepingComputers Beeping Arcade Machines]]: Not only does your arcade machine make loud hard-drive clicks and whirrs when booting up and reading data, it actually has an option to play "Struggling Hardware" sounds.
* BigBad: [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]
* BigGood: Hopeless Soul

* BonusBoss: Acquire all the collectibles, and the Hopeless Spirit will realize the only reason you're still playing is to beat the final challenge. [[spoiler:The battle against him involves ''horizontal movement'', an UnexpectedShmupLevel and a first person segment. [[FinalExamBoss Hope you remembered how to play the other games you found along the way.]] Oh, and every attack is a 1-hit kill]]. Have fun!

* ButThouMust: Early on, Lucifer will force you to type yes master regardless of what keys you press, or if you complete the message. [[spoiler:Also, as he actually lampshades at one point, doing what Hopeless Spirit asks is the only way to progress the plot, despite all the warnings that he's not on the up-and-up.]]
* CanonName: The protagonist's name is [[spoiler:Theodore]].

* DealWithTheDevil: You play the eponymous GameWithinAGame multiple times, and are usually interrupted after a few levels with a screen saying "Experience the rest of Pony Island! Insert your soul to continue."

* DevelopersForesight: Retroactively invoked; some players had the gall to [[spoiler:replay the stage at EXP Beach enough times to actually get 100 EXP in Adventure Mode]], so a patch made it so [[spoiler:you ''do'' get the Pony Wings from doing this]].

* TheDevilIsALoser: Lucifer sucks at basic coding, game design, and is obsessed with girly ponies.
* DidYouActuallyBelieve: Azazel.exe mocks you for thinking you could easily delete the system core file without fighting him.

* DumbMuscle: Unlike his more sophisticated comrades, Beelzebub's programming isn't very complex, and thus the fight with him is downplayed into a very generic boss battle. Asmodeus even Lampshades this.
* DyingCurse: After defeating Azazel, when you load up the Task Manager, you see one of the processes is him, cursing.

* EvilerThanThou: [[spoiler:In the escape, Theodore's soul is the blackest and darkest among the thousands trapped in Limbo. [[AntiAntiChrist He rivals Satan.]] And complete with draconic head firing lasers and wings, he looks like a demon in his own right.]]

* FaustianRebellion: [[spoiler:You use the equine PlayerCharacter from the games Lucifer makes to destroy Lucifer himself.]]
* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted. [[spoiler:The protagonist is named Theodore, and he was a Crusader from the 1200s with a wife and kid.]]

* GhostAmnesia: [[spoiler:The protagonist has been in Limbo for so long, they know nothing about themselves. Only through encounters with Baphomet can you hope to regain any memories at all.]]

* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:After beating Asmodeus.EXE, he congratulates the player, and accepts his demise with dignity.]]
* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Lampshaded by Asmodeus.EXE.

* HiddenDepths: While abysmal at creating video games, the devil is frighteningly competent at creating artificial intelligence executables.
* HopelessWithTech: Satan. He's an abysmal game designer, to the point where [[spoiler:a Crusader with no knowledge of video games or technology whatsoever is more capable of fixing it than him]].
* IHaveManyNames: Lucifer Almighty, The Beast, Satan... ''[=SystemTech=]'', etc.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Sadly, the devil just wants everyone to love him and his games out of free will, so he doesn't have to steal their souls through force. Though he desperately seeks this, he doesn't even know what a friend is (See YMMV).

* LouisCypher: Louey in the colorful version of Pony Island

* MacGuffinGuardian: The three daemons: Azazel, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus.

** Or you playing a game, made by the devil, about ponies? [[spoiler:Or... he is playing a game, made by God... '''about you?''']]

** If all the tickets are collected, [[spoiler:the Lost Soul determines that you must be looking for the GoldenEnding and challenges you to a "cathartic" final battle. Once the fight is done, he tells you to close the game, because there's nothing else to see]].
** [[spoiler:The Lost Soul outright encourages the player to delete the core files as it's "the only way to advance the plot".]]

* TheOmniscient: Baphomet the demon ''knows everything about you''. Your past, your present, and your future. '''Everything'''. However, he's not much of a conversationalist, you will only learn one truth at a time.

* OneHitPointWonder: Your pony in the Pony Island segments can only take one hit, otherwise you'll have to start the stage over again. [[spoiler:During the escape from the machine, you'll still "die" in one hit, but another pony takes your form and your place. The only effect is adding one to the "Souls Lost" count.]]

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Try not to have an existential crisis as you read this. [[spoiler:But apparently, Theodore's soul is both simultaneously inside ''and outside'' the arcade cabinet machine. He's trapped in not just Limbo, an empty arcade, but also in the [[TailorMadePrison Devil's game machine]]. He can't move, until he either surrenders his soul, or tears down the prison itself. Not just him, but thousands of other damned souls too. Each in their own empty arcades, [[AndIMustScream stuck in their own profiles]].]]

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Lucifer delivers one [[spoiler:a third of the way through the full system dump]], which shows that [[LetsGetDangerous he's no longer playing around]]: "You don't want to give me your souls? Fine. '''I am no longer asking'''."

* PunchClockVillain: Although Pony Island was created to harvest souls from the people who play it, Lucifer isn't especially interested in doing so and would rather just make games people enjoyed. He doesn't get frustrated at the player for trying to escape, but he does get frustrated whenever they "fix" his games.
* PuzzleBoss: Azazel.EXE, whom you fight by placing code blocks against.
* RapidFireTyping: Azazel.EXE can type pretty fast with just one finger.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Subverted. For stealing his seat as guardian of a system core file, Buer swears vengeance upon Asmodeus. But he's completely impotent and powerless to do anything about his sorry lot. Even worse, Asmodeus ''knows'' this.

* TheScottishTrope: To say Lucifer has [[AntagonisticOffspring a negative relationship with his father]] is putting it rather lightly. He ''never'' speaks his actual name, and gamers who sift through the code long enough [[spoiler:discover he only refers to him as "father, pure evil". Baphomet warns the player not to go around uttering that slanderous nickname, [[TheWatcher since he is always watching and listening.]]]]

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Digging through the code (and cryptic information Baphomet reveals) shows the crusader Theodore died because he failed to storm Jerusalem. The reason? He tried to go in ''through the Golden Gate''. Of all the eight gates to the city, it's the only one that's permanently closed.]]
* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Subverted. The Daemons tell you the Hopeless Soul isn't to be trusted, and if you collect all the tickets...he still does absolutely nothing to seem he isn't on the up-and-up, he just decides to become the TrueFinalBoss to give a satisfying conclusion to the completionist run.]] Played with in that [[spoiler:after you beat the game, then tamper certain variables in the save file, come back into the game, and hit continue, it will lead you to a screen where the typical 'devil head' sprite will appear blue and talk first with the sound effect of Lucifer, berating the player messing with game files, but afterwards switching to the sound......of the Lost Soul. Then it will let you in on a secret — sometimes he talks "in different voices", and he asks you to "not to tell [[{{God}} dad]]". He still never does anything to betray you; it's unclear if he secretly wanted you to escape, was simply sick of having people who hated his games playing them, just wanted to amuse himself, or had some other motivation.]]
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:The Hopeless Soul, which can only be accessed if you've collected every single ticket in the game, which in itself is already a difficult feat to accomplish (see GuideDangIt).]]

* [[WeCanRuleTogether We Can Play Together]]: The devil laments during 'Adventure Mode' that you're going to fix/exploit bugs, and not going to play by the rules; however, he becomes excited that the player will help them play-test his newest "game design revolution" together. What makes it tragic for him (see YMMV) is you make progress faster than he can code up levels, and refuse to take breaks.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Satan has a fit of rage when you cheat, revealing he is secretly desperate to win his [[GodOfGood father's praise]].
* WeWillMeetAgain: [[spoiler:If the player performs poorly during the final escape sequence, Satan lets them go, but not before vowing to catch them next time.]]
* [[ThisIsMyHuman You Are My Human]][=/=]YourSoulIsMine: The devil often tries to assert ownership, the protagonist is having ''none of it''.

* GameBreakingBug: In-Universe: Your first attempt to play the first level of the titular game results in the game being unable to load. Naturally, you have to [[ProgrammingGame fix the Start button]] to even begin. They continue to pop up as you continue [[spoiler:and they're very useful in bypassing Lucifer's security protocols]].

** When the 1st version of 2D Pony Island refuses to load a new game, forcing the player to fix it, Satan is dejected arguing, ''it was going to work'', because he tested it "1,000 times". Evidently, he did not.
* BloodFromTheMouth: You are forced to shoot [[spoiler:Louey when he appears on screen]]. Your air breath suddenly turns into a laser, causing him to vomit and cry blood.

* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Lampshaded by Asmodeus.

* DeconstructionGame

** Asmodeus is the demon king of lust, but he doesn't seem all that interested in love or sex over [[spoiler: testing your wits in the most horrendous way possible]]. Also, Beelzebub is another name for Satan, in this game they're different demons altogether.
** Some demonology works have Beelzebub as a separate demon that represents the sin of gluttony.
** Makes a bit more sense if you connect Lucifer's statement immediately before the Beelzebub encounter. [[spoiler:You get to the mostly incomplete ending of Adventure Mode, and he says that HE is the last boss. He's just correct FromACertainPointOfView.]]
* ASCIIArt: [[spoiler: Baphomet is rendered as a red ASCII demon head.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: Theodore escapes Limbo, and makes it to Purgatory. Even the pink pony sprite makes it there, and praises your victory with a wink goodbye.]]
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Satan in a nutshell - I've got to finish this current game I'm working on! It's got to have many levels, suspense, build-up, an epic final boss, and, and ooh... [[MissingStepsPlan here's a cute mascot for a brand NEW game!]]
* BarredFromTheAfterlife: [[spoiler: The protagonist, Theodore, is damned to Limbo for his crimes as a crusader.]]

* CanonName: The protagonist's name is [[spoiler: Theodore]].
* CatastrophicCountdown: [[spoiler: Initiated by the player, when they commence a full system dump. The lost souls, in the vessels of ponies, have to all race to escape the destruction of Lucifer's machine... they don't all make it.]]
* CollapsingLair: [[spoiler: The system dump not only shows game assets degrading around you, but also throws corrupted code that can kill you. You have to use your [[WaveMotionGun pony lasers]] to clear a path for you and your fellow escapees.]]

** Didn't get all the tickets on your first run? And now you know which one(s) you missed? No problem. After completing the game the Start Menu is glitched to include a 'select chapter' option.

* DidYouActuallyBelieve: Azazel.exe mocks you for thinking you could easily delete the system core file, without fighting him.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler: You can use pony lasers to destroy Lucifer]].
* DummiedOut: By the creator Lucifer himself no less, since he's ''never'' satisfied with his work. A lot of content and features made by him remain orphaned and nonfunctional in the machine. Ranging from game options like 'Pony Blades', 'Ponymobile' and 'Unlimited Ammo', to system programs such as Buer.exe an outdated guardian of an important core file.

* EndlessRunningGame: The Pony stages are this mixed with AutoScrollingLevel- Your pony is fixed in one position and you must avoid obstacles to get to the end of each level.
* EscortMission: Of a sort, considering [[spoiler: you are the only one with any ability to protect the ponies behind you during the escape.]] If you don't feel up to it, there's no penalty [[spoiler: other than [[VideoGameCaringPotential keeping the Souls Lost as low as possible]]. It is also impossible to keep the count at zero, as there are ponies in the background that Lucifer will attack with no way to stop him from doing so.]]
* EvilerThanThou: [[spoiler: In the escape, Theodore's soul is the blackest and darkest among the thousands trapped in Limbo. [[AntiAntiChrist He rivals Satan.]] And complete with draconic head firing lasers and wings, he looks like a demon in his own right.]]
* ExactTimeToFailure: [[spoiler: The System Dump has a helpful ExactProgressBar at the top of the screen showing the dump's progress as you make your escape.]]
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Most of the games various options, regardless of the version Satan created, simply do not work. ''Even the text-based adventure has errors.''
* FaustianRebellion: [[spoiler: You use the equine PlayerCharacter from the games Lucifer makes to destroy Lucifer himself]].
* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted. [[spoiler:The protagonist is named Theodore, and he was a Crusader from the 1200s with a wife and kid]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The [[spoiler:pony wings, butterfly enemies, and Lucifer final form]] appear on Satan's desktop.
* FreezeFrameBonus: Looking through the credits of Pony Island reveals that several historical monsters (among them Nero, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, and Osama Bin Laden) had a hand in helping Lucifer with the game. [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Oh]], and {{Dracula}}, who is a distinct individual from Vlad the Impaler since both are credited.
* GameBreakingBug: In-Universe: Your first attempt to play the first level of the titular game results in the game being unable to load. Naturally, you have to [[ProgrammingGame fix the Start button]] to even begin. They continue to pop up as you continue [[spoiler: and they're very useful in bypassing Lucifer's security protocols.]]
* GhostAmnesia: [[spoiler: The protagonist has been in Limbo for so long, they know nothing about themselves. Only through encounters with Baphomet, can you hope to regain any memories at all.]]

* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: After beating Asmodeus.EXE, he congratulates the player, and accepts his demise with dignity.]]

* TheIlluminati: As you browse upon the profiles in the devil's computer, a strange eye starts to follow you around. [[spoiler: Log into the Guest account, and move an image file of a triangle over it, and the eye is finally content. The message "Illuminati Confirmed" displays, earning you a free ticket.]]

* InterfaceSpoiler: Several of aforementioned {{Interface Screw}}s rely on the player playing with specific software. You will still get [[spoiler:fake Steam messages]] when playing [[spoiler:the DRM-free version without Steam installed]]. The [[spoiler:fake crash window]] is in Windows 7's style even if you are on a different OS or version of Windows.

* LovecraftLite: [[spoiler: The game ends with you fighting, and killing, Lucifer]].
* MacGuffinGuardian: The three daemons: Azazel, Beelzebub and Asmodeus.

** Or you playing a game, made by the devil, about ponies? [[spoiler: Or... he is playing a game, made by God... '''about you?''']]
* NewGamePlus: [[spoiler: Replaying the game after beating it will cause Lucifer and Hopeless Spirit to call out on doing this stuff again. [[NightmareFace And then there is Louie...]]]]
* NoFairCheating: You get chastised by the game's creator for cheating and not playing his game the way he intended. Given that the creator is ''Satan'', however, and that it used to be literally impossible to progress in the game ''without'' cheating, (and even now it's a boring grind) you won't be inclined to feel guilty.

** If you decide to mess around with the game's save data, [[spoiler:Lucifer will bluntly tell you to knock it off the next time you load up a game. He also remembers the player if they start a NewGamePlus and changes his opening speech accordingly.]]
** If all the tickets are collected, [[spoiler:the Lost Soul determines that you must be looking for the GoldenEnding and challenges you to a "cathartic" final battle. Once the fight is done, he tells you to close the game because there's nothing else to see.]]

** The fight with the third demon, [[spoiler:Asmodeus.EXE, is NOTHING but this as he tries to trick you into looking away from the game window. This includes faking a UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} friend message, playing social media notification sounds at random, and intentionally causing a program stall that you have to "wait for the program to respond" on.]]

* OminousVisualGlitch: All over the place, [[spoiler: and they only get worse as you delete CORE files.]] The most common one is the CRT De-calibration of Red and Blue, often used by Lucifer and to indicate Hack Portals.

* TheOverworld: The devil later adds an "Adventure Mode" to Pony Island, where you go from stage to stage a-la SuperMarioBros [[spoiler: The devil's shoddy programming means you soon go OffTheRails to explore it.]]
* OneHitPointWonder: Your pony in the Pony Island segments can only take one hit, otherwise you'll have to start the stage over again. [[spoiler: During the escape from the machine, you'll still "die" in one hit, but another pony takes your form and your place. The only effect is adding one to the "Souls Lost" count.]]

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Try not to have an existential crisis as you read this. [[spoiler: But apparently, Theodore's soul is both simultaneously inside ''and outside'' the arcade cabinet machine. He's trapped in not just Limbo, an empty arcade, but also in the [[TailorMadePrison Devil's game machine]]. He can't move, until he either surrenders his soul, or tears down the prison itself. Not just him, but thousands of other damned souls too. Each in their own empty arcades, [[AndIMustScream stuck in their own profiles]].]]
* OutrunTheFireball: [[spoiler: It's technically a full system dump you have to stay ahead of, but the trope still applies in the finale of the game.]]
* PlayerExclusiveMechanic: The effects are shown [[spoiler: during the escape: you're the only one with the Pony Wings and the Pony Lasers.]]
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Lucifer delivers one [[spoiler: a third of the way through the full system dump]], which shows that [[LetsGetDangerous he's no longer playing around]]: "You don't want to give me your souls? Fine. '''I am no longer asking'''."
* ProgrammingGame: The hacking sections, where you must place command blocks to guide the program counter—represented by a key—to the desired instruction. It starts out simple with simple arrows, then adds "portals" that cause the key to warp to the other portal upon passing one, splitters that creates a second key on the right side, and variables that require passing through certain bits of code multiple times while avoiding code that will reset the variable.

* ReligiousHorror: You fight Satan [[spoiler:as a crusader stuck in purgatory.]]

* TheReveal: Getting all the truths is a slow version of this. [[spoiler:You play as a Crusader named Theodore who left behind a mother and daughter to fight alongside King Louis IX during the 7th Crusade. You died in 1252 in the waning summer sun to Abu Al-Kindi who fought for his city along the walls of Jerusalem. You died far from home wearing plate armor and riding a horse and your soul was damned from a presumably vicious streak. The place you are in is purgatory except, in here, you have to prove you are redeemable. [[note]]Specifically, your character was killed 1252 years after the birth of Christ. Modern historians believe Jesus was born some time during 6 B.C. to 4 B.C. Assuming they mean he died in 1252 exactly, then it should be noted that there was no mass assault on Jerusalem that year. So your character may well have thrown himself on the sword, so to say, by attacking Jerusalem solo to fulfill his oath after Louis IX failed to reclaim the city.[[/note]]]]
* TheScottishTrope: To say Lucifer has [[AntagonisticOffspring a negative relationship with his father]], is putting it rather lightly. He ''never'' speaks his actual name, and gamers who sift through the code long enough [[spoiler: discover he only refers to him as "father, pure evil". Baphomet warns the player not to go around uttering that slanderous nickname, [[TheWatcher since he is always watching and listening.]]]]

-->[[spoiler: Lucifer]]: ''I wanted there to be more of a build-up, but if you're here we might as well do this.''
* SelfDestructMechanism: [[spoiler: The System Dump, in no uncertain terms, destroys the arcade machine trapping you and thousands of other damned souls. Once you start the Dump, you have to high-tail it out before it all unravels around you.]]

** The way the colored version of Pony Island starts out as a bright and cheerful world and gradually decays into something more nightmarish is more than a little reminiscent of ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}'', including trees withering away and the screen briefly flickering at some points to a screen showing only a setting sun that looks similar to ''Eversion'''s World 4.

* TheStinger: [[spoiler:After the credits, Hopeless Soul appears and requests that you uninstall Pony Island so that his own soul can be free as well. Also by typing "David" in the red devil face where it tells you about your background, then digging through some hidden in-game control options. It will reveal you the title of the sequel -- "Pony Island 2: Panda Circus"]]
* StoryBreadcrumbs: The only background information you get about your character depends on [[spoiler:your interactions with Baphomet.]] It might require a couple of playthroughs to get every tidbit. Not to mention that if you somehow manage to [[GuideDangIt board the boat in Adventure Mode]], the pony sprite [[spoiler:changes to a crusader]].

* SurrealHumor: Much of the game's humor comes from the idea of Hell as a video game...programmed by Lucifer, who is quite possibly the most incompetent game designer in existence.
* SugarBowl: At one point, you have to replay a reskinned version of the game with obnoxiously-cutesy graphics and a lengthy ForcedTutorial explaining things the player has already learned from earlier playthroughs. [[spoiler: It actually gets a little ominous when the player pulls out the pony wings before Louie explains how to use them.]]
* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler: Satan had trapped thousands of souls in an arcade machine to play his ill-programmed games. During the escape, several of these souls-turned-ponies dogpile him.]]
* ThinkingUpPortals: [[spoiler: The Hopeless Soul can make portals to the inner workings of the machine via [[PowersAsPrograms a utility program.]] The problem is that he needs to find corrupt data to create the portals. That's where you, playing Satan's buggy games, come in.]]

* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Subverted. The Daemons tell you the Hopeless Soul isn't to be trusted, and if you collect all the tickets...he still does absolutely nothing to seem he isn't on the up-and-up, he just decides to become the TrueFinalBoss to give a satisfying conclusion to the completionist run.]] Played with in that [[spoiler: after you beat the game then tamper certain variables in the save file, come back into the game and hit continue will lead you to a screen where the typical 'devil head' sprite will appear blue and talk first with the sound effect of Lucifer, berating the player messing with game files, but afterwards switching to the sound......of the Lost Soul. Then it will let you in on a secret -- sometimes he talks "in different voices", and he asks you to "not to tell [[{{God}} dad]]". He still never does anything to betray you; it's unclear if he secretly wanted you to escape, was simply sick of having people who hated his games playing them, just wanted to amuse himself, or had some other motivation.]]
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler: The Hopeless Soul, which can only be accessed if you've collected every single ticket in the game, which in itself is already a difficult feat to accomplish (see GuideDangIt).]]
* UnendingEndCard: The regular ending doesn't qualify (Although the [=H0peles$0uL=] tells you to uninstall the game and closes the game on you, you can reopen it at any time and continue). The [[GoldenEnding ending]] you get via HundredPercentCompletion qualifies. After beating [=H0peles$0uL=] in a boss fight, he tells you there is nothing left to the game and leaves you to continue running an endless void.

* [[WeCanRuleTogether We Can Play Together]]: The devil laments during 'Adventure Mode' that you're going to fix/exploit bugs, and not going to play by the rules, however, becomes excited that the player will help them play-test his newest "game design revolution" together. What makes it tragic for him (see YMMV) is you make progress faster than he can code up levels, and refuse to take breaks.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The pony game to ProgrammingGame was just the start, and then you find [[UnexpectedShmupLevel PonyGalaxy.exe]]. [[spoiler: At one point you need to dig into Lucifer's old games to find one buggy enough to break. One is a first-person 3D version of Pony Island, and another is a ''text adventure.'']]
* {{Unicorn}}: The basic Pony sprite has a single horn to resemble one of these. Gaining the [[{{Pegasus}} Pony Wings]] upgrades you to a WingedUnicorn. [[spoiler: Devil Island and the System Dump stick two horns on you instead, making them look more like HornsOfVillainy.]]

* WeWillMeetAgain: [[spoiler: If the player performs poorly during the final escape sequence, Satan lets them go, but not before vowing to catch them next time.]]

* YouBastard: [[spoiler: The game will call you out if you killed Jesus during the Colored section.....and if you didn't kill him.]]

* ReligiousHorror

** When the 1st version of 2D Pony Island refuses to load a new game, forcing the player to fix it, Satan is dejected arguing, ''it was going to work'', because he tested it "a 1,000 times". Evidently, he did not.

* DoesThatSoundLikeFunToYou: Arguably Satan's biggest flaw as a designer. He has no idea how to make his games fun.

* FreezeFrameBonus: Looking through the credits of Pony Island reveals that several historical monsters (among them Nero, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, and Osama Bin Laden) had a hand in helping Lucifer with the game. Oh, and {{Dracula}}, who is a distinct individual from Vlad the Impaler.

* ButThouMust: Early on, Lucifer will force you to type yes master regardless of what keys you press, or if you complete the message. [[spoiler: Also, as he actually lampshades at one point, doing what Hopeless Spirit asks is the only way to progress the plot, despite all the warnings that he's not on the up-and-up.]]

* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted. [[spoiler: The protagonist is named Theodore, and he was a Crusader from the 1200s with a wife and kid]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: The pony wings, butterfly enemies, and Lucifer final form]] appear on Satan's desktop.

* AffablyEvil: Asmodeus gets this treatment. He isn't as outright rude as Azazel or destructive like Beelzebub, he gives you genuine compliments at points, and concedes defeat when you win and seems to be satisfied with the game he played. Whilst most definitely an antagonist, he seems the most decent of the Daemons.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Asmodeus is the demon king of lust, but he doesn't seem all that interested in love or sex over [[spoiler: testing your wits in the most horrendous way possible]]. Also, Beelzebub is another name for Satan, in this game they're different demons altogether.
** Some demonology works have Beelzebub as a separate demon that represents the sin of gluttony

* HopelessWithTech: Satan. He's an abysmal game designer, to the point where [[spoiler: a Crusader with no knowledge of video games or technology whatsoever is more capable of fixing it than him]]

* StoryBreadcrumbs: The only background information you get about your character depends on [[spoiler:your interactions with Baphomet.]] it might require a couple of playthroughs to get every tidbit. Not to mention that if you somehow manage to [[GuideDangIt board the boat in Adventure Mode]], the pony sprite [[spoiler: changes to a crusader.]]

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: Digging through the code (and cryptic information Baphomet reveals) shows the crusader Theodore died because he failed to storm Jerusalem. The reason? He tried to go in ''through the Golden Gate''. Of all the eight gates to the city, its the only one that's permanently closed.]]
* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Subverted. The Daemons tell you the Hopeless Soul isn't to be trusted, and if you collect all the tickets...he still does absolutely nothing to seem he isn't on the up-and-up, he just decides to become the TrueFinalBoss to give a satisfying conclusion to the completionist run.]]
** Played with in that [[spoiler: after you beat the game then tamper certain variables in the save file, come back into the game and hit continue will lead you to a screen where the typical 'devil head' sprite will appear blue and talk first with the sound effect of Lucifer, berating the player messing with game files, but afterwards switching to the sound......of the Lost Soul. Then it will let you in on a secret -- sometimes he talks "in different voices", and he asks you to "not to tell [[{{God}} dad]]". He still never does anything to betray you; it's unclear if he secretly wanted you to escape, was simply sick of having people who hated his games playing them, just wanted to amuse himself, or had some other motivation.]]

In need of [[strike: your soul]] [[NeedsWikiMagicLove Wiki Magic Love]]

* BigBad: [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]].

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: Theordore escapes Limbo, and makes it to Purgatory. Even the pink pony sprite makes it there, and praises your victory with a wink goodbye.]]

** [[spoiler:You will still get fake Steam messages when playing the DRM-free version EVEN if you don't have Steam installed. In addition, the fake crash window is in Windows 7's style even if you are on a different OS or version of Windows.]]

** Played straight, actually. [[spoiler: After you beat the game then tamper certain variables in the save file, come back into the game and hit continue will lead you to a screen where the typical 'devil head' sprite will appear blue and talk first with the sound effect of Lucifer, berating the player messing with game files, but afterwards switching to the sound......of the Lost Soul. Then it will let you in on a secret -- sometimes he talks "in different voices", and he asks you to "not to tell [[{{God}} dad]]".]]

** [[spoiler:You will still get fake Steam messages when playing the DRM-free version EVEN if you don't have Steam installed. In addition, the fake crash window is in Windows 7's style even if you are on Windows 8 or higher, at least for the Windows version of the game.]]