History VisualNovel / PrincessWaltz

''Princess Waltz'' is a Visual Novel by Pulltop, notable for being easily the most graphically intensive and text heavy example of the genre to be published in the West. Localized by publisher Peach Princess.

* AccidentalKiss: Between Arata and [[spoiler: Liliana. Made funny by her lampshading it beforehand.]]

* BadassCrew [[spoiler: By the end of the game, BadassNormal Arata ''leads'' one, consisting of the Princesses.]]

** Liesel isn't actually isn't a real princess, as her homeland is a meritocracy without a nobility. For that matter, [[spoiler: she's not the official competitor either. The girl chosen for Waltz was disqualified for... taking the celebration about the fact she was [[DoubleEntendre chosen too far]]. Liesel, who made her dress, was the only one who could have mastered it in the remaining time... And she did, wiping the floor with two arguably strongest princessess in the Waltz, only losing to a Love Power-up.]] Gah.
* BatmanGambit: At the end of the game, it's ''still'' not clear what the hell April was up to, so there's really no way to know which of these apply. [[spoiler: Maybe she was just following orders, or maybe she was just doing it ForTheEvulz. Except she might be the Goddess of Wings and the whole thing was a plot to get rid of Shichiou forever.]]

** Chris, [[spoiler: if anyone so much as hints at her "feminine qualities".]]
** Shizuka, [[spoiler: if anyone tries to harm Arata. That's why even her "beast princess" form is protective of him.]]

** [[spoiler: Also Liesel's battle persona vs. her secret identity]]

* {{Bifauxnen}}: Chris, who makes all the girls {{Squee}}. Even Arata feels like a moron after the reveal. It's THAT obvious. On the official English site, [[spoiler: Chris]] is referred to as "she". This is strange, because it also mentions that Iris always appears when Chris is in danger, but is never around him. The reason is Heavily implied in the first chapter. Just turn off Male voices, and Chris still talks.

** [[spoiler: his adopted sister Shizuka]]. Erm, {{discussed}} and {{lampshaded}} in a sense in their Hentai scene.
** [[spoiler: Chris, his half-sister, cousin, and second-cousin]]. Not mentioned or noticed in (or after) their Hentai scene.

* CastOfSnowflakes: Even minor background characters who barely do anything each have individual sprites, unusual in visual novels where background classmates are usually referred to as "Classmate A" or some such. [[spoiler: This helps set up the reveal that Riko Tanada, a minor background character, is Princess Liesel in disguise.]]

** It's a requirement to participate; this '''is''' a tournament to decide the Emperor's wife after all... Reference: [[spoiler: Nanae.]]

** [[spoiler: Remember Kanada Riko? No? She's the tall girl in Arata's class. The one with glasses that swoons a lot and has a tendency to be a bit of a covert pervert? Yeah, that's the real Liesel.]]

** [[spoiler: Shizuka, aka the Beast Princess.]]

* {{Chessmaster}}: [[spoiler: Kije [[UnwittingPawn tries and fails]] as one of these. April and Shichiou are both genuine examples.]]

* CombatReferee: Princess Waltz has two, Pigeon and Crow, Pigeon being a blue-haired boy wearing white and Crow being a pink-haired girl wearing black, Pigeon being the older of the two. [[spoiler: Crow is completely on the level, but Pigeon betrays everyone because unlike Crow, Pigeon is [[ReallySevenhundredYearsOld old enough to be commanded by Shichiou's magical contract]]. However, it turns out Pigeon was looking for a way to sneakily get around Shichiou, and gives Crow vital information that helps our heroes win a crucial battle. But even that tiny betrayal of Shichiou almost kills him]].

* [[spoiler: CouldSayItBut: This is how Pigeon explains to Crow that Crow needs to free all the princesses so they can't be used to power the devices that are causing the Super Elder Guardener's health to infinitely regenerate. To paraphrase, "Oh, do I hear a little mouse? I guess it's fine if I talk about this, since a cute little mouse couldn't do anything about it. It would be such a shame if I told anybody since I have to serve Shichiou or I'll die, but it's fine if it's just a mouse." Obviously he knows it's Crow who's listening and not a mouse, but this doesn't completely work as even this tiny betrayal ''almost'' kills Pigeon anyway]].

** [[spoiler:Liesel has everything in her dress from a jetpack, to missles, to a frickin shield!]]
** [[spoiler: Liliana has her water gun, which can shoot water bullets...and can change ammo so it can fire lightning or ice instead...''and'' if it runs out of ammo it can shoot water whips or set up webs to trap the opponent...and if ''that'' doesn't work it can use Liliana's Blood Meridian to set up the Absolute Zero technique. Liliana almost beat Angela by sheer diversity of tactics, always one more just up her sleeve, losing only because Angela managed to beat Liliana's Absolute Zero technique, the strongest one she had. To be specific, Angela only beat Liliana because she had seen and therefore copied Iris' LimitBreak attack from a previous battle. If Liliana had fought Angela before Iris, Liliana would have won hands down, by Angela's own admission.]]
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Angela's quote from below, [[spoiler: plus the whole second half of the game]].

* DeusSexMachina: Expected of an H-game. [[spoiler: The key to beating the BigBad is for Arata to have sex with Chris, and then the "chosen" princess that teams up with him in the second half of the game.]]
* DiabolusExMachina: How [[spoiler: Shichiou beats Angela in his first appearance. We suddenly learn that Angela's clan's deity, the King of Dragons, contracted with Shichiou so all dragons must obey him. Instead of fighting Angela fair and square, Shichiou uses the magical contract to command Angela not to move, and then he just keeps stomping on her and grinding his heel into her while she lays down helplessly on the ground, screaming in frustration]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Halfway through the game, it tells you that you got the bad ending. It's just BaitAndSwitchCredits, but a very mean one that almost makes the player cry.]]
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: [[spoiler: Chris and Arata are 3/4 siblings, having the same father and mothers who were sisters. This is never brought up, even though Arata does seem to have some issues about having sex with his [[NotBloodSiblings adoptive sister]]. Granted, incestual marriages between royals aren't unheard of, but one of the two involved here was raised as a modern-day Japanese teenager.]]

* FakeDefector: [[spoiler: Pigeon. It technically starts off as real, since Shichiou is able to command him and not Crow since Pigeon is old enough to be bound by the Emperor's contract, but Pigeon gives Crow an opportunity to escape upon Pigeon's initial betrayal, and then Pigeon talks about how to beat the Super Elder Guardener while Crow is within earshot so that Crow can free the Princesses and take away the Super Elder Guardener's source of infinitely-regenerating health.]]

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: The non-human members of the cast do this. In Glen's case it's involuntary (he's forced to take on a tiny cartoon dragon form), Pidgeon and Crow do it deliberately, with Pidgeon apparently matching Crow's appearance for aesthetic appeal. [[spoiler: April may very well be doing this as well, given her AmbiguouslyHuman status.]]
* FusionDance / GenderBender / SharingABody: [[spoiler:The Iris form is a combination of Arata and Chris. Later on, when Chris is PutOnABus, Arata can combine with the other Princesses to fight.]]

** If you look at some of the dialogue of the characters, especially Lun Lun and the BigBad, they seem to be VERY aware of the H-Game and RPG tropes the game runs on. Angela also has a few moments where she does a very snarky LampshadeHanging on how poorly the ChekhovsGunman trope was hidden. In fact, Nodoka even notices the clichedness of the stock excuse that is given for Arata knowing all the girls, but Nanae convinces her to follow the MST3KMantra. Hell, it approaches LeaningOnTheFourthWall levels when [[spoiler: April speaks with Pigeon about how the Elder Guardener has infinite HP!]]

* GodsHandsAreTied: [[spoiler: The three gods of Eldhiland and their servants are bound by magical oaths of loyalty to Shichiou. As such they have to obey him, regardless of their feelings on the matter, leaving his defeat in the hands of Arata and the Princesses.]]

* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: After Shichiou gets one-shot by the Arata/Chris/6 Princess-powered Eldhi Arc sword he acknowledges that the heroes are stronger than him and Iris has won their millenium-long game, the two then make-up with Iris admitting she always loved him and the two gently fade away to the afterlife to watch over their descendants.]]

* HalfwayPlotSwitch: A pretty epic one, too. The game looks like a TournamentArc with a {{Chessmaster}} working behind the scenes, but then halfway through [[spoiler: The apparent BigBad is killed through a tertiary character stabbing her in the back, Chris crosses the DespairEventHorizon and commits SuicideByCop via Arata, and following BaitAndSwitchCredits, a new BigBad shows up requiring everyone to work together to save the world.]]

** Given how any and all of the Princesses tend to be a lot more heroic around him ([[spoiler: his BackToBackBadasses moment with Angela, Lun-Lun's resolve to fight returning simply from remembering something he said to her days before, Liesel's badass return to action in order to protect him, and the fact that they can join with him to become Iris]]), let's face it: Arata '''''is''''' the HeroBall.

** [[spoiler: Princess Liesel, the ice-cold CombatPragmatist of the group. It turns out that the {{Meganekko}} HugeSchoolgirl Kanada who's willing to run into a damaged building to save a classmate is her true personality.]]
** [[spoiler: Pigeon, too. He comes across as a humongous jerkass during the moment where he betrays Crow in favor of Shichiou, and he almost kills Crow twice! ''But'', turns out he did want to foil Shichiou's schemes after all, and was just looking for an opportunity to try to do so without being killed by disobeying the Emperor.]]

* IntimateHealing: [[spoiler: Chris has to do this to save Arata from his wounds.]]
* {{Irony}}: Wait a minute... [[spoiler: It's considered ''foolish'' for the Emperor to assist in the tournament that decides his wife? [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Where does this balance of power come from?]] Are you sure the [[HenpeckedHusband Emperor's the one running the country?]]]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: whichever girl you choose in the second half lets Arata get back together with Chris after you rescue her.]]

* {{Kiai}}: [[spoiler: Used with Shizuka & Arata's finisher, an overhead swing, the most basic move in kendo.]]

* LevelUpAtIntimacy5: However, the mechanic is a bit different than other visual novels. Instead making a girl stronger and making her affection rise with "correct choices", it's mostly determined by [[spoiler: picking a princess for Arata to fuse with. If he fuses with the same girl three times during the mansion segment, he'll get that girl's ending. If he fuses with a different girl every time, he gets Shizuka's ending]].

** Practical Reasons: Due to the events of the game plot having caused major political uncertainty, polygamy would be a great idea for political expendiency (with the added bonus the prince and princesses would actually be pretty okay with it), and considering the whole plot was an UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny to determine the continuance of the political balance, polygamy benefits all sides.

** [[spoiler:Liesel instantaneously goes from being about to deliver the finishing blow to completely screwed in a ''single move'' from Suzushiro. The look on her face is a picture.]] [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "I have brought down the bird in the sky."]]
** [[spoiler: Liliana's reaction is the same when Angela manages to burn her way out of Absolute Zero, her most powerful technique she had to use the Blood Meridian to charge, just because one of Angela's fingers wasn't frozen. Liliana then uses a much-less powerful version of it to try to just break Angela's tiara for a technical victory, and has another Oh Crap when ''that'' doesn't work ''either'']].

* OutOfTheInferno: [[spoiler: If you go with Angela for the 2nd chapter, the battle with the Super Elder Guardener not only involves their Iris form doing this, but turning on their rival and '''''[[FlamingSword REDUCING]] [[FinishingMove IT]] [[KillItWithFire TO]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ASHES.]]''''']]

* PlayingWithFire: Angela's FinishingMove has her cloaked in huge dragon made of fire. [[spoiler: Also, as Liliana learned the hard way, if you leave something as small as her fingertip sticking out of the ice block you've imprisoned her in, she can burn herself out.]]
** Made especially impressive in that said FinishingMove was [[spoiler: thought of right on the spot, based solely on observing Iris' Eldhi Arc technique ''once'', and figuring out exactly how it was powered perfectly just from that.]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Liesel. Not evil as such, but certainly not a very nice person. [[spoiler: Becomes outright inverted after you figure out that Riko and Liesel are the same person. She was putting up a {{Jerkass}} front.]]

* SealedEvilInACan: Eldin/Shichiou. [[spoiler: It turns out the whole Princess Waltz was just to keep him trapped.]]

* SurpriseIncest: [[spoiler: Arata and Chris don't learn they're cousins and half-siblings, until long after April all but forces them to have sex with each other, and by then they're magically addicted to having sex with each other.]]

* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: It's rather convenient that the only real "special technique" that [[spoiler: Suzushiro]] has, besides her extreme fighting skills and strength of course, is a [[spoiler: ''gravity-manipulation'' technique. Convenient that Suzushiro's single technique is somehow ''perfectly matched'' against an opponent, Liesel, that has been beating her so far by flying]].

** The [[SixthRanger Sixth Princess]], [[spoiler: Shizuka]], uses a Halberd, a different kind of BladeOnAStick. [[spoiler: Appropriately enough, there is some antagonism between her and Angela, due to their personalities being stark opposites.]]

* FiveManBand: In the second half we have;
** TheLeader: Arata
** TheLancer: Angela, literally in this case.
** TheSmartGuy: Liesel/[[spoiler:Riko]]
** [[TheBigGuy The Little Guy]]: Suzushiro
** TheStrategist: Lun Lun
** TheSixthRanger: The Beast Princess [[spoiler:Shizuka]].

* NotSoDifferent: The BigBad claims that Arata will eventually come to the same conclusions he did, which will lead to the exact same thing happening again. Iris retorts that if it does, then the current generation will have to deal with it.

It is a tale of a land called Eldhiland, where for years the [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses six princesses of the land]] have competed in the titular tournament in order to win the hand of the Prince of the Imperial Family. Now it is time for the ladies to compete for the hand of Prince Chris, these six beautiful girls showing off their graceful dancing skills as they discover the values of friendship, love and embroidery...

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses:
** {{Subverted}} with Liesel. Since the country Palmied is run by a merchant oligarchy rather than a monarchy, "princess" is simply the designation for whichever girl is selected to participate in the Waltz, rather than an actual noble title...though it's hinted that the princess is usually upper-class, since [[spoiler:Riko was only a lowly engineer, but the only one qualified to use the Dress after the original girl [[SurprisePregnancy was disqualified]]]].

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Liesel. Not evil as such, but certainly not a very nice person. [[spoiler: Becomes outright inverted after you figure out that Riko and Liesel are the same person. She was pulling a {{jerkass facade}}.]]

* JerkassFacade:
** [[spoiler: Princess Liesel, the ice-cold CombatPragmatist of the group. It turns out that the {{Meganekko}} HugeSchoolgirl Kanada who's willing to run into a damaged building to save a classmate is her true personality.]]
** [[spoiler: Pigeon, too. He comes across as a humongous jerkass during the moment where he betrays Crow in favor of Shichiou, and he almost kills Crow twice! ''But'', turns out he did want to foil Shichiou's schemes after all, and was just looking for an opportunity to try to do so without being killed by disobeying the Emperor.]]

** TheSixthRanger: The Beast Princess [[spoiler:Shizuka]]

* CoolVsAwesome: Both the company that translated it to the USA, and the gamers who have [[DoubleEntendre tried]] this game have ALWAYS compared it with VisualNovel/FateStayNight. It has even IMPRESSED some fans of the actual VisualNovel/FateStayNight. So, it should be no surprise that this game has a HIGH HolyShitQuotient.

''Princess Waltz'' is a Visual Novel by Pulltop, notable for being easily the most graphically intensive and text heavy example of the genre to be published in the West. Indeed some reviewers have declared it a possible and quite intentional CrowningMomentOfAwesome for publisher Peach Princess, who it is safe to say have produced what is easily the most accomplished of their localizations so far ([[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish which is to say that spotting a spelling mistake]] is ''rare'').

Not getting by simply on the strength of its high production values [[CastOfSnowflakes (Even the minor characters get unique paperdolls!)]] Princess Waltz combines likable and interesting characters with a tone that shifts seamlessly between comedy and drama with equal attention and skill paid to both. The plot isn't anything new but it's well told, and even if it occasionally veers towards thin excuses for everyone to punch each other the fights are so damn good it doesn't matter. So good indeed that at times you ache for them to be animated, excellent sound effects and clever use of paper dolls combining with strong writing to produce some truly badass stuff.

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%% * BadassPrincess: The Princesses who beat the living daylights out of each other, using humongous bizarre weapons.
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** Most [[NotSafeForWork after-fight CG]] subverts it, oh-so-blatant ClothingDamage, numerous visible bruise, and LITTLE blood for that much damage...[[FetishFuel of course]]!

* BadassCrew [[spoiler: By the end of the game, BadassNormal Arata ''leads'' one, consisting of the [[BadassPrincess Princesses]]. ]]

* BadassPrincess: The female characters who fight.
* BatmanGambit / EvilPlan / GambitRoulette: At the end of the game, it's ''still'' not clear what the hell April was up to, so there's really no way to know which of these apply. [[spoiler: Maybe she was just following orders, or maybe she was just doing it ForTheEvulz. Except she might be the Goddess of Wings and the whole thing was a plot to get rid of Shichiou forever.]]

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* ShoutOut: Maybe it's just a coincidence, but Suzushiro's BigOlEyebrows combined with her WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer power set puts one in mind of a certain [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} Ninja.]]

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Glen, Sacchi and above all the poruns.

* TheGlassesComeOff: To OminousLatinChanting no less. [[spoiler:Go Liesel!]]
* TheOjou: All the Princesses really, though it's Suzushiro who really embodies the trope.
* TheFaceless: The [[OracularUrchin very creepy]] Kije.
* TheNoseless: A classmate who resembles a hulking brute (but seems friendlier).
* TheWorfEffect: Shichiou proves his credentials [[spoiler:by effortlessly beating Angela in his first appearance. Also a KickTheDog, as he makes an effort to humiliate and degrade her at the same time. Although the ''only'' reason he effortlessly beats Angela is because Angela's ancestors' deity, the King of Dragons, signed a contract before she was born that all dragons must obey Shichiou. That allows Shichiou to magically command Angela and Glen not to move and then beat the tar out of the magically-paralyzed Angela]].

* {{Tsundere}}: Chris and Angela, neither of whom fit the standard mold.

* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Poor Nodoka doesn't even get a second glance. And given the nature of the game her lack of a nude scene, more or less and H-scene is very telling.
** [[spoiler:The "true ending" you get after completing all the others implies that she follows Arata to Eldhiland and is determined to become a princess herself.]]
* WhamEpisode: Chapter 12-13 : Those that Fall.

* WorthyOpponent: Angela does this for everyone, [[SayMyName screaming out their names,]] [[SpiritedCompetitor encouraging them to fight harder]], showing mercy when they lose... she even mentions after the fight against [[spoiler:Liliana]] that she would have called the woman a friend.
** [[spoiler:The reasoning behind her later alliance with Arata is that she feels the {{Chessmaster}}s are dishonouring the pride of the fallen Princesses and the honour of the Waltz by using both as pawns.]]
* YaoiFangirl: All the schoolgirls except Nodoka and at least one princess.

* MarryThemAll: There are endings for each princess, though they vary so little in detail that you might as well consider them the same thing. However, each ending carries a level of ThreesomeSubtext apart from the final one, which implies more of a {{Marry Them|all}} ''[[MarryThemAll All]]'' ending.
* MegaManning: [[spoiler:Angela manages to defeat Liliana by using Iris's FinishingMove on her, having observed it in a previous fight.]]

** Actually, [[spoiler:Lun-Lun had more combat experience, but Angela had more raw power. Finesse vs Brute Force]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Liesel instantaneously goes from being about to deliver the finishing blow to completely screwed in a ''single move'' from Suzushiro. The look on her face is a picture.]] [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "I have brought down the bird in the sky."]]

* OmniscientMoralityLicense: Frigging [[spoiler:APRIL]].
* [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Our Dragons Are Butt Monkeys]]
** Poor, poor Glen.
* OutOfTheInferno: [[spoiler: If you go with Angela for the 2nd chapter, the battle with the Super Elder Guardener not only involves their Iris form doing this, but turning said inferno on their rival and '''''[[FlamingSword REDUCING]] [[FinishingMove IT]] [[KillItWithFire TO]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ASHES.]]''''']]
* PaperThinDisguise: No one connects Iris and Chris, despite the fact they even have the same hairdo.
** [[spoiler:May have something to do with Identical Grandparents. The real Iris and Cecilia (Chris' mother) look a lot like Chris as well. It might not be too surprising to people that every female that comes out of Soldia looks like Iris. Shichiou actually comments upon Iris appearance and reveals that Arata resembles her more than Chris do.]]
** Even if you don't wind up teaming with the 6th princess, the game does a very terrible job of disguising who she really is.

* PornWithPlot: Very, very plot heavy, with the porn, while unskippable, brief, rather tasteful, and it compromises about maybe 3-5% of the game content at absolute best.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Liesel. Not evil as such, but certainly not a very nice person.
** [[spoiler: Becomes outright inverted after you figure out that Riko and Liesel are the same person. She was pulling a {{jerkass facade}}.]]

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Self explanatory.

* SecretIdentity: [[spoiler:The other princesses do not know that Chris is Iris, Liesel is gathering data in the form of Riko, Arata's HugeSchoolGirl classmate.]]

* MarryThemAll: It's implied that this could easily be the case through dialogue, plot implications, and practical reasons. To wit:
** Dialogue: ALL of the girls (especially in the true ending), wind up liking Arata to some greater or lesser degree, ranging anywhere from profound respect to outright love.
** Plot Implications: We are given very broad reason to believe that not only is the world the Princesses have come from very relaxed standards wise (they aren't as hung up over illegitimate kids), but the BrotherSisterIncest implications in the plot are not regarded as {{Squick}} by the other girls. In fact, they SUPPORT Arata/Chris (with the broad implication on both sides that they wouldn't mind being haremettes or in a polygamous relationship, which is actually not uncommon for royalty)
** Practical Reasons: Due to the events of the game plot having caused major political uncertainty, polygamy would be a great idea for political expendiency (with the added bonus the prince and princesses would actually be pretty okay with it), and considering the whole plot was an UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny to determine the continuance of the political balance, polygamy benefits all sides.
** The above said, the plot begs for an extended epilogue FanFic.
** And at the very least, the game pretty much says flat out that although Chris is the more important, Arata also gets together with at least the princess he merged with at the end.

* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: Remember Kanada Riko? No? She's the tall girl in Arata's class. The one with glasses that swoons a lot and has a tendency to be a bit of a covert pervert? Yeah, that's the real Liesel. Also April.]]
** Also [[spoiler: Shizuka, aka the Beast Princess.]]

* ChristmasCake: [[spoiler:Liliana spends most of the game pretending to be a middleschooler, yet rather pointedly asks Arata if he likes 'older women'. His mother on the other hand outright accuses her of being a cradle-snatcher.]]
* CombatReferee: Princess Waltz has two, Pigeon and Crow, Pigeon being a blue-haired boy wearing white and Crow being a pink-haired girl wearing black, Pigeon being the older of the two. [[spoiler: Crow is completely on the level, but Pigeon betrays everyone because unlike Crow, Pigeon is [[ReallySevenhundredYearsOld old enough to be commanded by Shichiou's magical contract]]. However, it turns out Pigeon was looking for a way to sneakily get around Shichiou, and gives Crow vital information that helps our heroes win a crucial battle. But even that tiny betrayal of Shichiou almost kills him]].
* CombatPragmatist: Liesel. This pisses off the other Princesses, who lecture her about using dirty tricks instead of fighting with her heart.

* CrazyPrepared: [[spoiler:Liesel has everything in her dress from a jetpack, to missles, to a frickin shield!]]
** [[spoiler: Liliana is another example. She has her water gun, which can shoot water bullets...and can change ammo so it can fire lightning or ice instead...''and'' if it runs out of ammo it can shoot water whips or set up webs to trap the opponent...and if ''that'' doesn't work it can use Liliana's Blood Meridian to set up the Absolute Zero technique. Liliana almost beat Angela by sheer diversity of tactics, always one more just up her sleeve, losing only because Angela managed to beat Liliana's Absolute Zero technique, the strongest one she had. To be specific, Angela only beat Liliana because she had seen and therefore copied Iris' LimitBreak attack from a previous battle. If Liliana had fought Angela before Iris, Liliana would have won hands down, by Angela's own admission.]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Angela's quote from below. [[spoiler: plus the whole second half of the game.]]
* {{Determinator}} and {{Plucky Girl}}s: Everyone. Arata actually notes that more than anything else the Waltz seems to be a test of just how stupid and stubborn you are.

* DeusSexMachina: [[spoiler: The key to beating the BigBad is for Arata to have sex with Chris, and then the "chosen" princess that teams up with him in the second half of the game.]]
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: [[spoiler: Chris and Arata are 2/3 siblings, having the same father and mothers who were sisters. This is never brought up by anyone, ever. Even though Arata does seem to have some issues about having sex with his [[NotBloodSiblings adoptive sister]]. Granted, incestual marriages between royals aren't unheard of, but one of the two involved here was raised as a modern-day Japanese teenager.]]

** There's a subversion with Liesel. Since the country Palmied is run by a merchant oligarchy rather than a monarchy, "princess" is simply the designation for whichever girl is selected to participate in the Waltz, rather than an actual noble title...though it's hinted that the princess is usually upper-class, since [[spoiler:Riko was only a lowly engineer, but the only one qualified to use the Dress after the original girl [[SurprisePregnancy was disqualified]]]].
* [[spoiler: FakeDefector: Pigeon. It technically starts off as real, since Shichiou is able to command him and not Crow since Pigeon is old enough to be bound by the Emperor's contract, but Pigeon gives Crow an opportunity to escape upon Pigeon's initial betrayal, and then Pigeon talks about how to beat the Super Elder Guardener while Crow is within earshot so Crow can free the princesses and take away the Super Elder Guardener's source of infinitely-regenerating health.]]

* GenreSavvy: If you look at some of the dialogue of the characters, especially Lun Lun and the BigBad, they seem to be VERY aware of the H-Game and RPG tropes the game runs on. Angela also has a few moments where she does a very snarky LampshadeHanging on how poorly the ChekhovsGunman trope was hidden. In fact, Nodoka even notices the clichedness of the stock excuse that is given for Arata knowing all the girls, but Nanae convinces her to follow the MST3KMantra. Hell, it approaches LeaningOnTheFourthWall levels when [[spoiler: April speaks with Pigeon about how the Elder Guardener has infinite HP!]]

* HeroBall: Arata repeatedly charges into battle against monsters that totally outclass him. It tends to work out for the best, but, as the other characters point out, it's extremely foolish.

* {{Irony}}: Wait a minute... [[spoiler: It's considered foolish for the Emperor to assist in the tournament that decides his wife? [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Where does this balance of power come from?]] Are you sure the [[HenpeckedHusband Emperor's the one running the country?]]]]

* JerkassFacade: [[spoiler: Princess Liesel, the ice-cold CombatPragmatist of the group. It turns out that the {{Meganekko}} HugeSchoolgirl Kanada who's willing to run into a damaged building to save a classmate is her true personality.]]

* AwesomeButImpractical: The skills in the game during the card battles. Sure they can deal way more damage than the usual damage but there's a catch. To give you an example: 1st phase throw a Feint: you get initiative. Fair enough. 2nd phase throw an Overdrive. Oh look, the enemy has a card and is using it to block using Parry. Too bad try again '''the next day.''' Skills are one shot only and they can only be refilled the day after.

* BadassCrew [[spoiler: By the end of the game, BadassNormal Arata is the ''leader'' of one, consisting of the other [[BadassPrincess Princesses]]. ]]
* BadassNormal: OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent (well, mostly) Arata manages to do some pretty badass things, though he often has to suffer afterwards. He never tires of going after monsters who could kill him with a look, armed with some ImprovisedWeapon.

* BerserkButton: Suzushiro has quite a few, including touching her or pointing out that her ProperLady facade is looking a bit shaky.
** [[spoiler: Also Chris, if anyone so much as hints at her "feminine qualities".]]
** [[spoiler: Shizuka's berserk button is triggered if anyone tries to harm Arata. That's why even her "beast princess" form is protective of him.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: The contrast between Suzushiro's normal personality and her personality in battle is... dramatic, to say the least.

* {{Bifauxnen}}: Chris, who makes all the girls {{Squee}}. Even Arata feels like a moron after the reveal. It's THAT obvious.
** Hell, on the official English site, [[spoiler: Chris]] is referred to as a she. Which is strange, since it also mentions that Iris always appears when Chris is in danger, but is never around him. The reason is Heavily implied in the first chapter. Just turn off Male voices...you'll notice she keeps on talking.

* ButtMonkey:
** Poor Chris proves to be a PrincelyYoungMan for about ten seconds before the whole world gathers together to make his life hell.
** Princess Angela's advisor Glen: back in their country, he was a powerful dragon lord. His appearance in this world is as a miniature flying dragon, whom nobody takes seriously. Children call him a chicken, and chase him to get him as a toy or pet. His attempts at badassery go embarrassingly wrong.

* {{BFS}}: Iris's FinishingMove. Angela and Liesel's weapons are also ludicrously huge.

* CallingYourAttacks: This is a given, considering the genre.

* CastOfSnowflakes: Even minor background characters who barely do anything each have individual sprites, unusual in visual novels where background classmates are usually referred to as "Classmate A" or some such. Justified, because [[spoiler: this helps set up the reveal that Riko Tanada, a minor background character, is masquerading as Princess Liesel.]]
* CelibateHero: All the Princesses, mostly for 'Love Is A Distraction' reasons (Seems a requirement for participation is being a PluckyGirl). Liliana has three married sisters and falls into 'Love is Beneath Me', she frowns on their lack of ambition and won't settle for anything less than a Prince.

* CoolVsAwesome: Both the company that translated it to the USA, and the gamers whom have [[DoubleEntendre tried]] this game have ALWAYS compared it with VisualNovel/FateStayNight. It has even IMPRESSED some fans of the actual VisualNovel/FateStayNight. So, it should be no surprise that this game has a HIGH HolyShitQuotient.

* HoYay: InUniverse example; Chris and Arata, something commented on repeatedly by the other characters.

* CoolVsAwesome: Both the company that translated it to the USA, and the gamers whom have [[DoubleEntrende tried]] this game have ALWAYS compared it with VisualNovel/FateStayNight, and it even has IMPRESSED some fans of the actual VisualNovel/FateStayNight. So, it should be no surprise that this game has a HIGH HolyShitQuotient.

* ButtMonkey: Poor Chris proves to be a PrincelyYoungMan for about ten seconds before the whole world gathers together to make his life hell.
** Glen too, who despite being a powerful dragon lord is invariably referred to as a chicken and tends to have every attempted moments of badassery go horribly wrong before the scene is out.
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Shichiou.]]
* BloodlessCarnage: Despite the characters clearly being described as being covered in blood this is rarely evident in any of the CG's, where they sometimes don't even seem ''bruised''.

* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler: Arata and his adopted sister Shizuka]]. Even more so [[spoiler: Arata and Chris who are half-siblings, cousins, and second-cousins]]

* {{Chessmaster}}: [[spoiler: Kije [[UnwittingPawn tries and fails]] to be one of these. April and Shichiou are both genuine examples.]]

* CombatReferee: Princess Waltz has two, Pigeon and Crow, Pigeon being a blue-haired boy wearing white and Crow being a pink-haired girl wearing black, Pigeon being the older of the two. [[spoiler: Crow is completely on the level, but Pigeon betrays everyone because unlike Crow, Pigeon is old enough to be commanded by Shichiou's magical contract. However, it turns out Pigeon was looking for a way to sneakily get around Shichiou, and gives Crow vital information that helps our heroes win a crucial battle. But even that tiny betrayal of Shichiou almost kills him]].

* {{Badass}}: Most of the main cast.
** BadassCrew [[spoiler: By the end of the game, BadassNormal Arata is the ''leader'' of one, consisting of the other [[BadassPrincess Princesses]]. ]]
** BadassNormal: OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent (well, mostly) Arata manages to do some pretty badass things, though he often has to suffer afterwards. He never tires of going after monsters who could kill him with a look, armed with some ImprovisedWeapon.

** BadassPrincess: The female characters who fight.