History YMMV / TheMessenger2018

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[spoiler:The Corrupted Future is not really very explored, you're there to collect a Musical Note and then you have to run away. How the demons turned Earth into just abominable landscape and what were the fates of the characters are never mentioned or even worked on. Even after returning to the Tower of Time there are no real explanations or even any talk about it besides one brief joke at Ninja's expense]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[spoiler:The Corrupted Future is not really very explored, you're there to collecte a Musical Note and then you have to run away. How the demons turned Earth into just abominable landscape and what were the fates of the characters are never mentioned or even worked on. Even after returning to the Tower of Time there are no real explanations or even any talk about it besides one brief joke at Ninja's expense]].

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_5Tei-Y8so&list=PLS7CYzATG6xDP_YQjs9qHANTNnXoRgz9Y&index=10 Hills of Destiny]], Autumn Hills theme is the very first thing you hear once you start your journey. It should be more than enough to let you know this game is going to be amazing.

** Barma'thazël, the Demon General. The Shopkeeper says he's fast and he's not kidding, he has a nasty dash attack and will chain it several times the closer he is to being defeated, he will also make damn sure that you know how to cloudstep with a flame attack that cover the entire ground for a very long time. If you try to play cute with shurikens he will simply spin his blades to reflect them.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''Hell yes''. You know the soundtrack is good when the game feels the need to credit the composer ''on the title screen''. [[MediumAwareness Even the Ninja likes it!]]

* NightmareFuel: A late game level, the [[spoiler:Corrupted Future, an EldritchLocation where the ground is made out of black flesh with blinking eyes, the moon in the background is completely shattered, and at the end of the level the player encounters a huge invincible EldritchAbomination which can eat the Ninja in one bite, forcing the player to make a mad dash back to the entrance]].
-->'''Ninja:''' Never...again...

** Barma'thazël, the Demon General. The Shopkeeper says he's fast and he's not kidding, he has a nasty dash attack and will chain it several times the closer he is to being defeated, he will also make damn sure that you know how to cloudstep with his flame that cover the entire ground. If you try to play cute with shurikens he will simply spin his blades to reflect them.

** The Dragon at the end of Cloud Ruins is no joke, he's one of the few bosses where you fight on precarious grounding and he ''will'' break chunks of it making the fight even more dangerous. Near the end you'll have to cloudstep your way to make him vulnerable and one mistake means being kicked back to the beginning of the fight.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Elemental Skylands scenario, especially the boss at the end, feels a little out of place for the rest of the game's tone, with no effort to really explain [[spoiler:the Clockwork Concierge]]'s existence. Even the Shopkeeper thinks it sounds utterly ridiculous when you tell him about it, and thinks the lack of oxygen from being at such high altitudes is causing the Ninja to hallucinate.

* EndingFatigue: You could be forgiven for thinking that [[spoiler: The Underworld is TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and the Demon General is TheDragon, rather than a DiscOneFinalBoss who signals the game's GenreShift and rough halfway point. But much later, after you've collected every item and power-up, made your way through the Demon King's lair, and beaten him, you then find out that you need to travel to an AfterTheEnd level with an EldritchAbomination AdvancingBossOfDoom, after which you listen to an extended cutscene explaining the world's backstory, and ''only then'' do you get to attempt the real TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and final boss. Some players may even be expecting another fake-out at that point.]] Perhaps amusingly, they seemed to anticipate this, as the achievement for getting the credit's roll is "I liked the fake ending better".

* PowerupLetdown: Despite it being hinted by the Shopkeeper as an "overpowered item" the [[spoiler:Windmill Shuriken]] you get from collecting all the Power Seals is surprisingly situational. [[spoiler:Sure it being a shuriken that constantly follows you can be quite damaging if you get good at dodging it but it being of much shorter range than the regular shuriken which is the Messenger's main weapon to deal with far away enemies, can be seen as a letdown]].

* EndingFatigue: You could be forgiven for thinking that [[spoiler: The Underworld is TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and the Demon General is TheDragon, rather than a DiscOneFinalBoss who signals the game's GenreShift and rough halfway point. But much later, after you've collected every item and power-up, made your way through the Demon King's lair, and beaten him, you then find out that you need to travel to an AfterTheEnd level with an EldritchAbomination AdvancingBossOfDoom, after which you listen to an extended cutscene explaining the world's backstory, and ''only then'' do you get to attempt the real TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon and final boss. Some players may even be expecting another fake-out at that point.]]

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Elemental Skylands scenario, especially the boss at the end, feels a little out of place for the rest of the game's tone, with no effort to really explain [[spoiler:the Clockwork Concierge]]'s existence. Even the Shopkeeper doesn't believe it when you tell him about it, and thinks the lack of oxygen from being at such high altitudes is causing the Ninja to hallucinate.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Elemental Skylands scenario, especially the boss at the end, feels a little out of place for the rest of the game's tone, with no effort to really explain [[spoiler: The Clockwork Concierge]]'s existence. Even the Shopkeeper thinks The Messenger is making the entire thing up when you tell him about it.

* BrokenBase: The GenreShift to [[spoiler:a {{Metroidvania}}]] halfway through the game. Some people feel this is a welcome surprise and enhances what is already a great game, while others feel it causes FakeLongevity since there really isn't any new equipment the player gets after the halfway point of the game.

* AwesomeMusic: ''Hell yes''. You know the soundtrack is good when the game feels the need to credit the composer ''on the title screen''. [[MediumAwareness Even the Ninja likes it!]]

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Upon reaching the FinalBoss, [[spoiler:Phantom, the Ninja assures him that humanity got his message and never gave up on him]].

* PowerupLetdown: Despite it being hinted by the Shopkeeper as an "overpowered item" the [[spoiler:Windmill Shuriken]] you get from collecting all the Power Seals is surprisingly situational. [[spoiler:Sure it being a shuriken that constantly follows you can be quite damaging if you get good at dodging it but it being of much shorter range than the regular shuriken which is the Messenger's main weapon to deal with far away enemies, can be seen as a letdown]].

* BaseBreaker: The GenreShift to [[spoiler:a {{Metroidvania}}]] halfway through the game. Some people feel this is a welcome surprise and enhances what is already a great game, while others feel it causes FakeLongevity since there really isn't any new equipment the player gets after the halfway point of the game.

* BaseBreaker: The GenreShift to [[spoiler:a Metroidvania]]. Some people feel this is a welcome surprise and enhances what is already a great game, while others feel it causes FakeLongevity since there really isn't any new equipment the player gets after the halfway point of the game.

-->'''Ninja:''' Never...again...

'''Ninja:''' A little bit harder than I thought, but the music is amazing.