Line #40 VideoGame/ZookeeperBattle


1	[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zookeeperbattletitle.jpg]]
2	''[[VideoGame/ZooKeeper2003 Zookeeper]] Battle'' is the competitive online version of the MatchThreeGame series. It is available for Facebook, iOS and Android devices since 2012. Players face each other in 30-second puzzling turns, matching as many animal trios as possible to rack up attack and defense points. Once a turn ends, their stats are compared, and whoever's defense is reduced to zero will start taking damage. This goes on until either player is defeated.
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4	There are several kinds of single-player distractions as well, such as an avatar customization side mode and the occasional minigame events that appear in it. Events change from week to week, encouraging players to PlayEveryDay.
5	----
6	!!This game features the following tropes:
7	* AchievementMockery: The game records what was your worst chain of losses, but only displays it on your personal profile menu.
8	* AntiPoopSocking: There is a limit on how much you can play in a single session, and different gameplay modes have different costs. As to be expected, you can buy credits with real money.
9	* AutoPilotTutorial: Every first level of any Invading Boss' Quest minigame robs the reins from the player to illustrate the mechanics of that particular minigame.
10	* BlindIdiotTranslation:
11	** When all three phases of the Jungle Adventure event are cleared, the curator says "You are finished the hunt this time now!"
12	** From the Bingo mission: "''Let's Challenge!'' Put your heart into the challenge!" That particular use of "let's" [[https://legendsoflocalization.com/japans-mysterious-love-of-the-word-lets/ is an instance]] of GratuitousEnglish.
13	** From the Flower Blooming Boss Quest: "Unbelievable! You're able to get flowers(!) Collect all flowers to complete (the) level! Let's get climbing!"
14	** The western Android version has a strange promo code menu that doesn't ever see any use, to the point its interface is left untranslated.
15	* BossBattle: There are various kinds of challenges against the CPU.
16	* BreakMeter: Either player only loses health after running out of defense.
17	* BribingYourWayToVictory: Players can use real money to purchase three kinds of defensive items to counter the special ones that appear during gameplay, Power Bottles for credits and Platinum Medals for unlocking collectibles. In fact, many elements of the game are more accessible to those willing to pay for those boosters.
18	* {{Cap}}:
19	** CP credits cap at 5, with the value being raised to 6 when a power bottle is used.
20	** There's a limit of 10 visitors in the My Zoo feature, which will irritatingly interrupt your play sections by not only forcing you to go there and click on them but also spawning an invader boss on the zoo.
21	** The Supporters' heart level caps at 100.
22	* CharacterSelectForcing: One of the tasks in each Bingo event is to win 5 matches with a specific kind of animal.
23	* {{Combos}}: You should keep a single chain going for as long as possible to rack up points. Multiple small chains are worthless.
24	* ComebackMechanic: Practically inverted. Heart panels and other powerups seem to come entirely at random, and a second turn with a hippo or elephant for the lucky animal generally spells doom for the player with less HP.
25	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: The CPU on boss fights has pre-set large amounts of attack and defense regardless of which lucky animal is on, plus a chance of triggering either or ''both'' status effects. Got a hippo or a elephant turn? Then you're dead. Oh, and if you run out of turns it is a loss even if you're in the lead!
26	* ContinuingIsPainful: CPU battles and certain objectives let you continue after failure in exchange for a Power Bottle -- which [[TooAwesomeToUse is worth six credits]].
27	* CurbStompBattle: Any landslide victories, especially if the winner takes no damage. And if a player runs out of defense early enough, the accompaining animation will show the attacker firing an aura beam while the target screams in pain.
28	* EpicFail: Whenever the player scores what seemed like a very good chain only to look up and see their stats somehow have barely increased at all or that defense is low enough to make an high attack value irrelevant.
29	* FlawlessVictory: Some of the most nerve-wracking missions in the game require you to win battles in a single round without losing HP, and at least twice in a row. Not only is that hard on its own, but getting a Hippo[=/=]Elephant turn is pretty much a guaranteed failure.
30	* ForcedTutorial: Every first attempt on an Invading Boss' Quest minigame has an AutoPilotTutorial for the first level out of five. During the Dream Tower event, the tutorial will play on ''every attempt'' for every minigame.
31	* GameBreakingBug:
32	** If a play session lasts for too long, the music suddenly shuts down. Upon loading the next match, you'll see that all avatar graphics have been corrupted and replaced by the basic ones all across the game. After restarting the app, it will then re-download all the damaged files. Most of the game will work fine under this state, but viewing the Bingo card will freeze it.
33	** It is possible for Zoo Vandals to not spawn ever again for no apparent reason. Reinstall the game if that happens.
34	** Sometimes a timed event will be postponed due to technical difficulties, but once it resumes it will fail to appear again to many players until it is too late.
35	** An update in late January 2020 broke the entire My Zoo section, as it would display a connection error no matter what. Finishing normal matches wouldn't even award My Zoo visitors. This update also glitched avatars such that big characters were displayed as miniatures and decorations that shouldn't flip for player 2 did.
36	* GameOverMan: In Group Battle mode, the screen [[PlayerDeathIsDramatic fades to black]] if you lose and the Curator appears to console you. As this game seems to take place after the original, his comments [[TookALevelInKindness are always supportive]].
37	* GlassCannon: Typically, you'll have much less defense than attack at the end of a turn -- especially if the current lucky animal is an elephant or a hippo. Learning to influence this by collecting elephants and hippos as late as possible in a chain is critical to perform well.
38	* HealthMeter: In a standard duel, both players have 150 HP.
39	* HopeSpot: The opponent's stats are hidden to both players, so while the winner will immediately know they won if they break the opponent's defense with enough attack left to KO them, the losing player will cling on to the hope of the opponent not having enough attack until the end.
40	* InterfaceSpoiler: While clearing the missions from the Bingo and Jungle Adventure events, you'll notice the game actually calculates things like post time limit points and who wins the match instantly behind the scenes as the mission clear pop-up will appear before the corresponding result is shown by the interface.
41	* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading:
42	** Being a smartphone game and all, the hardest thing about starting out is waiting for it to download over 5 years of thingamabobs. And every so often there will be an internal or external update to add more trinkets or change the active events.
43	** Each online match takes roughly 30 seconds to load.
44	* LuckBasedMission:
45	** Players are at the mercy of the RandomNumberGod, such that it rarely feels fair whether one wins or loses. The game frequently plays itself for one player while being unwinnable for the other.
46	** Most of the unique mission modes are luck-based at least and seemingly deliberately unwinnable at most. Like the "Disturbing Mecha Boss" game, in which the target will eventually always produce a situation that makes it impossible to hit it. The only exceptions are the minigame that asks you to clear ten increasingly large stacks in a single chain each or the one that requires you to place blocks on empty spots in a stack. Those just require quick thinking.
47	** Group Battle events involve upgrading a certain avatar by collecting component itens as random drops from bosses. It is very likely to be unable to upgrade the avatar even once despite winning several dozen times.
48	* NoPlotNoProblem: There's no story in the game.
49	* PlayEveryDay: Encouraged by the daily bonus and the various timed events. Fortunately, the player only needs to play for 25 days every month, and it doesn't need to be in a row.
50	* PowerupLetdown:
51	** The No More Moves bonus boosts both attack and defense by just 30 and spawns a SP tile, and that rarely, if '''ever''', compensates for the worthless board that let it happen. The bonus' animation itself wastes two seconds! And to add insult to injury, if it happens after the turn ends it doesn't count!
52	** Whenever you tap a SP panel to prolong a chain and it doesn't. The [[TooAwesomeToUse limited]] Shuffle items also can end up yielding no good results.
53	** The status effect panels seem oddly likely to appear on turn 2, despite matches rarely lasting for more than that.
54	* SequentialBoss: The Chain Battle event requires the player to play a modified version of the Disturbing Mecha Boss game five times in a row. You can interrupt the event between rounds to spin a roulette of increasingly better prizes, and you should stop before the horribly difficult fifth round unless you're REALLY confident about yourself.
55	* SeriesMascot: The Zoo's Curator appears everywhere in the game. His son, who is the titular Zookeeper, [[DemotedToExtra less so]].
56	* SomeDexterityRequired: High-level play requires eagle-like eyes and precise fingers to keep a chain going, especially if you want to consciously influence your stats.
57	* SoundCodedForYourConvenience: Both battle themes are composed such that you'll be able to tell how much time is left until the end of the match without needing to look at the countdown. Playing with the sound turned off can be very disorienting!
58	* StatusEffects: Two of them. You can only counter one kind per match with limited-use items.
59	** Getting doused with paint [[InterfaceScrew turns all blocks monochrome]] for most of the turn.
60	** The drunken Boss status makes Curator tiles appear on the board. They're worth no points or combos and stay for the rest of the damn turn. Sometimes the No More Moves bonus turns this off, and sometimes it doesn't.
61	* TimedMission:
62	** Each battle lasts for up to 5 turns that take 30 seconds each.
63	** Several events have short time limits or give special rewards to the first thousand winners.
64	* TooAwesomeToUse
65	** Power Bottles are worth 6 credits or a single continue for bosses and missions. Worth noting is that there's nothing to prevent distracted players from spending bottles when not out of credits.
66	** Playing 10 Platinum Medals at once on the Platinum Gacha awards points for the Special Gacha, but there are occasional events where 5 Platinum Medals are worth 10 rolls...
67	* UnwinnableByDesign: There comes a point (at around 680 to 775 rounds) where it becomes impossible to defeat the Quest Bosses. Not because your selected avatars aren't worth enough points, but because your Supporters don't have enough HP. You can earn better avatars with enough resources or cleared missions, but the Supporters are out of your control. The system is so botched that it could take ''several years'' of playtime for a rarity 3 supporter to have as much health as the weakest rarity 1 supporter.

Context VideoGame / ZookeeperBattle