History VideoGame / ZoneOfTheEndersTheFistOfMars

''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEndersTheFistOfMars'' (''Z.O.E. 2173 Testament'' in Japan) is a 2001 spinoff of the ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' franchise. Unlike its mecha action console brethren, it's a TurnBasedStrategy game, not dissimilar from the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' franchise by the same developer, Banpresto. The twist is that during combat, attacks' success is not determined purely by stats (or the RandomNumberGod), but also by a short first person minigame where the player targets/evades the enemy, thus adding a degree of skill to the proceedings.

* AFatherToHisMen: Deckson from ''The Fist of Mars'' is such a gifted leader partially for his skills, his noble goals, his genuine care for his subordinates, and the loyalty to him that all this creates.
* ActionGirl: Semil and Mebius from ''The Fist of Mars'' are both skilled runners and unapologetically feminine.
%%* TheAtoner: Easily all the good guys in ''The Fist of Mars'', in one way or another.
%%* BattleButler: Twede from ''The Fist of Mars''. Battle Secretary would be more accurate though.
%%* BitchInSheepsClothing: Amante from ''The Fist of Mars''
%%* BodyCountCompetition: There's one in ''The Fist of Mars''. What's particularly strange is that this competition [[spoiler:determines which story path you go on, and what ending you get]].
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:Ares and Myona, two of the people closest to Cage]] suffer through this in ''The Fist of Mars'', being turned against him through no fault of their own.

%%* ChronicBackStabbingDisorder: All the antagonists in ''The Fist of Mars'' seem to suffer from this.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: Done in ''Fist of Mars'', where halfway through, the storyline splits depending on whether you destroy more or less enemy units than a trio of [=NPCs=]. However, while the routes are notably different, the ending is more or less the same for both routes.
* DamselInDistress: [[MysteriousWaif Myona Alderan]] from ''Fist of Mars'' is also targetted by the villains because of her special ability.

%% * GambitPileup The plot of ''The Fist of Mars''.
* GreenEyedMonster: [[spoiler:Phil]] from ''The Fist of Mars'' has a million different misgivings with Cage and they all tie back to this, namely that the girl he has a crush on is attracted to Cage, and that Cage gets to take the helm of every sortie despite being the newbie while [[spoiler:Phil]] himself is marginalized and stuck in a support role. [[spoiler:Depending on which route the player takes, he may even pull a FaceHeelTurn because of this trope. Fittingly enough, Phil even has green eyes.]]
%%* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Deckson and Pharsti]] in ''The Fist of Mars''. Depending on the route, [[spoiler: Phil]] might also pull one.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: [[spoiler:Myona]] in ''The Fist of Mars'' falls into this line of thinking [[spoiler:after regaining her memory]]. [[spoiler:She even tries to die in the facility where she got turned into a {{Tykebomb}} so her friends do not get hurt by people who may come after her in one of the two possible scenarios.]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Myona]] in ''The Fist of Mars'' begins the game with very convenient amnesia.

%%* OlderThanTheyLook: Possibly [[spoiler:Amante]] in ''The Fist of Mars''.
%%* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Bolozof]] in ''The Fist of Mars'' due to his [[spoiler: overexposure to Metatron]].
%%* WickedCultured: Lance Jimmer from ''The Fist of Mars''.

%%* AFatherToHisMen: Deckson from ''The Fist of Mars''.
%%* ActionGirl: Semil and Mebius from ''The Fist of Mars''.

* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: [[spoiler:Myona]] in ''The Fist of Mars'' falls into this line of thinking [[spoiler:after regaining her memory]]. [[spoiler:She even tries to die in the facility where she got turned into a {{Tykebomb}} so her friends do not get hurt by people who may come after her in one of the two possible scenarios.]]

%%* ChristmasCake: Mebius from ''The Fist of Mars''.

The story is set in 2173 (as the Japanese title implies) and follows Cage Midwell a worker on an interplanetary express ship who, finds a strangely powerful LEV hidden when he spots a MysteriousWaif in the cargo hold. The ship falls under attack and he [[FallingIntoTheCockpit takes control of the LEV]] along with the girl, Myona, to make their escape. The pair eventually fall in with a resistance group trying to fight Earthnoid superiority and get caught up in the conflict between Earth and Mars.

[[redirect:VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders]]