| 1 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e8zfe_xvgauvtmv.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:300:[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to]] Classic Adventure.[[note]]From left to right: [[GadgeteerGenius Marianne]], ???, [[InsufferableGenius Sohee]], [[SupernaturalMartialArts Fei/Mei]], [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Marvin]], [[AntiVillain Aisha]], [[TheHero The Knight]], [[EveryonesBabySister The Little Princess]], [[TheHighQueen Lilith]], [[KnightInShiningArmor Craig]], [[BadPowersGoodPeople Coco]], [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo Kaden]], ???. Above: [[FloatingContinent Floating Castle Heavenhold]].[[/note]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"This is your story."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''The Knight's Book entry.''' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ''Guardian Tales'' is an action [[RolePlayingGame role-playing]] [[GachaGames gacha]] mobile game developed by American-Korean studio Kong Studios and published by Kakao Games (Global and Korea), bilibili (China), and Kong Studios themselves with assistance from Yostar[[labelnote:*]]Partnership ended on September 18, 2023, giving sole publishing rights to Kong Studios.[[/labelnote]] (Japan). It serves as both the canonical sequel and spiritual successor to their previous game ''Dungeon Link'', a puzzle-style mobile game launched in 2015 and shut down in 2019 that was published by GAMEVIL[[note]]Now [=COM2US=] Holdings[[/note]]. It was initially soft-launched in Southeast Asia on February 24, 2020, before its official global and Korean release on July 28 of the same year. The Chinese version followed on April 27, 2021, and the Japanese version was released on October 6 of the same year, with redone art from multiple illustrators and new/re-recorded Japanese voice acting. A standalone port on the Platform/NintendoSwitch, with Kong Studios self-publishing again, would later release on October 3, 2022, 2 years after global launch and a year after CN and JP. |
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| 9 | The game follows you, [[HeroicMime a quiet]], [[WideEyedIdealist young]], [[HotBlooded and passionate]] [[KnightInShiningArmor knight]], as a new recruit to the Kanterbury Kingdom's Guardians. As you were about to be formally inducted into the Guardians, a sudden invasion occurs, and you team up with the captain of the Guardians, Eva, in protecting the kingdom's Queen and Princess. During the escape, a dark-robed figure incapacitates Eva and the Queen, and in the process, you and the Princess are blown away together, finding yourselves in front of the Kanterbury Inn, home to a mysterious innkeeper. Venturing into the nearby forest, you and the Princess find the emerald-colored [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Champion's Sword]], and as you pull it out of its pedestal, you're taken to the heavens where you meet Queen Lili, Queen of Kanterbury from 500 years ago. It is then that [[CallToAdventure she calls upon you]], who she declares a [[TheHero Champion]], to [[TheHerosJourney travel across the world to seek]] [[TheChosenMany the other 12 Champions]] [[TheQuest and restore the Champion's Sword with their blessing to finally fend off the invasion]]. As your quest goes on though, it seems as though you have bigger enemies to worry about than just the Invaders... |
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| 11 | Gameplay is similar to [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda a certain famous action-adventure game]], but with the same "twin-stick" controls on other widescreen mobile games. You have a button to attack, a button to run, and a button to utilize the Weapon Skill of the character you're playing as. If the required conditions are fulfilled, you can perform a Chain Skill with other Heroes, which can have different effects depending on who you chain it with. |
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| 13 | In short, imagine ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY games of old]].. .with a hint of ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'', a smidgen of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', and a ''[[ShoutOut/GuardianTales crap-ton]]'' [[ReferenceOverdosed of references tossed in]]. |
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| 15 | Check the official sites for the game in [[http://guardiantales.com English]], [[https://guardiantales.kakaogames.com/ Korean]], [[http://guardiantales.jp Japanese]], [[https://space.bilibili.com/384136794/dynamic Chinese]], as well as the official website for [[https://gt-console.com the Nintendo Switch version]] here. Also, you can check the developers' own website [[http://kongstudios.com here]]. |
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| 17 | The game has also spawned a 4-koma webcomic spinoff titled "Kanterbury Days", drawn by [[https://twitter.com/parang9494 Junsuina Fujunbutsu]]. Initially a Japanese-only work, more recent entries have now been given official translations in both English and Korean. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | !!All of this was done by you, me, and [[SugarWiki.TVTropesWillEnhanceYourLife the greater purpose:]] |
| 20 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 21 | [[folder:A-B]] |
| 22 | * AbandonedWarChild: At the start of World 2, we meet a forlorn and forsaken Teatan child whose parents had perished shortly prior to our arrival. |
| 23 | * AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: Due to the live-service nature of the game, the level cap grows with each story update, in addition to 5 bonus levels when limit-breaking units. Currently, it's capped to Level 95 once the player reaches World 18, which can be increased to 100 at max limit break. |
| 24 | * AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The sewers beneath the Demon World Capital, as well as Demonshire and perhaps the other two states, have gargantuan sewers filled with the homeless and the destitute, as well and inveighing dissenters seeking refuge from persecution or reprisal. |
| 25 | * AchievementSystem: The game rewards you whenever you clear the achievements, which are easily tracked below the main screens. |
| 26 | * ActionBomb: Bomb Bugs appear in World 6 and 18 and are giant beetles that [[SuicideAttack self-destruct]] upon getting close enough to the lead character, dealing massive damage in their damage radius. |
| 27 | * ActionGirl: The vast majority of recruitable characters are women. |
| 28 | * ActionPrologue: The story begins with the [[DoomedHometown destruction of Kanterbury]] at the hands of the Invaders and a struggle, on the behalf of a newbie Guardian- you- to survive and reach the castle, where the royalty of Kanterbury reside. |
| 29 | * ADayInTheLimelight: The purpose of both side and short stories is to give the spotlight to certain characters as they become either the Knight's confidant at the time or the leading character for a while. |
| 30 | * AdvancedAncientHumans: Around Tetis are ruins and artifacts of an ancient civilization with highly advanced technology. Much of the ruins resemble modern, real-world human buildings and machinery, but some hold much more futuristic technology. The nations of Tetis have varying degrees of access to these [[LostTechnology relics]] based on location, partially explaining why modern Tetis technology seems so [[SchizoTech wildly inconsistent]]. |
| 31 | * AdvancingWallOfDoom: Every co-op stage has zone slowly flood with a seething black mass of [[spoiler:Labose]] that rapidly drains health should it catch the party. |
| 32 | * AerithAndBob: Character names range from generic (Bob, Beth) to foreign but still realistic (Sohee, Aoyuki) to fantastic and bizarre (Lilith, Vishuvac), and so on. |
| 33 | * AfterTheEnd: [[spoiler:Recordings and other Easter eggs reveal that the story is on a planet settled by the descendants of humanity that had fled Earth after it was infested with the deadly Labose bacteria thousands of years before]]. |
| 34 | * AffectionateParody: Of classic [=RPGs=] in general. The tagline says it all. This also applies to whatever pop culture reference it has in its storylines. |
| 35 | * AIBreaker: It's possible to break the AI of world 7's ChestMonster by picking up a fire pit from earlier in the level and throwing it at the idle mini-boss. The OptionalBoss of world 11 has it even worse: You can build a small fort from the pushable blocks in the same room, and since the enemy [[CripplingOverspecialization only uses projectiles that bounce off objects]] and you have an invincible GuestStarPartyMember... |
| 36 | * AlienSky: The sky of Demon World contains what looks to be a large gas giant and numerous moons visible beyond the foggy red sky, [[spoiler:and considering the trailer for Season 3, regular old Tetis has a sky much like this one.]] |
| 37 | * AllInARow: Reminiscent of classic [=RPGs=], the units you don't control will always follow your lead unit around in a row until you encounter an enemy. |
| 38 | * AllThereInTheManual: Each of the heroes' Book entries includes a section detailing the character's story, and often contains details that aren't present in any playable storylines, if such a storyline exists, as not all characters are guaranteed to have a playable story to themselves, although this has become rarer and rarer over time, as newer characters often are released alongside a World update, or the release of their associated Short/Side-Story, Heavenhold Novels, Comic, or even game-mode. |
| 39 | * AllTheWorldsAreAStage: In World 10 Nightmare, [[spoiler:all of the nations you travelled to throughout Season 1 you will return to, as the Little Princess, in your search for the mysteriously absent Knight.]] |
| 40 | * AllWebbedUp: In the second area of Expedition, [[spoiler:Shen City has fallen to an onslaught of [[GiantSpider humongous spiders]] who have cocooned the inhabitants for later consumption.]] |
| 41 | * AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler:As of the end of Chapter 15, Heavenhold, and at least [[BrainwashedAndCrazy four of the Champions]], have been commandeered by the Invader's First Corps Commander, former-Queen of Kanterbury, Camilla.]] |
| 42 | * AlternateUniverse: [[spoiler:What the world you currently are in might be one, as the existence of Earth is shown in the video logs at the inn.]] |
| 43 | * AlternativeCalendar: The game renders its dates with the year A.H. (After Hero), counting the years passed after Kaden's adventures over the course of ''Dungeon Link''. Furthermore, in the past, the nation of Demonshire exclusively used it's own calendar before accepting the official use of the A.H. calendar near the present. |
| 44 | * AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Credit goes to [[spoiler:Beth's final boss fight in Season 1]] being set in another plane, even if it lacks the whole "technicolor" shebang. |
| 45 | * AmazonBrigade: With how infrequent playable male characters are released, the game's roster can practically be considered this as an enforcement of ImprobablyFemaleCast. |
| 46 | * AmbiguouslyEvil: Aside from the shady innkeeper Loraine who's canonically part of the main cast, some of the recruitable units, particularly of the Dark element, are rather dubious in how evil they can be. Special mentions to Arabelle and Lupina, to name a few. |
| 47 | * AmbiguouslyGay: Female characters are treated the same by the Succubi as the male characters. In the Succubus Town level, some Succubi will put you through Dream Therapy, and in your dream, they go on a date with you. Therefore, every female character theoretically goes on a dream date with the [[OneGenderRace all female Succubi.]] Justified in a meta sense as the story mode's script believes that you are the male Knight, and the game does not acknowledge which character you are actually playing as. |
| 48 | ** In Worlds 12-13, the Knight can suggestively imply that they are the ex-lover of [[spoiler:Beth]], and in World 14, can repeatedly declare their intent to make Priscilla their wife and thus become Claude's in-law. This dialogue is completely unchanged even if you're playing as the Female Knight. |
| 49 | ** AmbiguouslyBi: Because of the above case, every female character canonically shown with a romantic interest in men is this trope. |
| 50 | * AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: Downplayed and inverted, while the original art is not really that "hardcore", the Japanese release, and the optional per-character artwork switching introduced around the same time for the global versions, has almost all the characters drawn as bonafide moe-blobs, even making the male knight even prettier than he was. This stopped in 2023 where new characters didn't have alternate artworks. |
| 51 | * AnAdventurerIsYou: Despite the main character's title being The Knight, it's the only class that allows the use of different weapons depending on your choice. |
| 52 | * AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler: Information regarding the truth of the Knight's heroic prophecy and the reason for the world itself being stuck in a wide-scale time loop are being withheld by an unknown group much more powerful than the Invaders and a Knight in full power, according to statements from both the Savior and the Other Knight.]] |
| 53 | * AndYourRewardIsClothes: The rewards for clearing each world and some stages reward the user with a costume that can be equipped to a specific 2-star or 3-star character. |
| 54 | ** Furthermore, each World has a stage where you must collect [[RuleOfThree three]] 'Mysterious Slates', and after placing them in an altar, you get a costume for one of your heroes. |
| 55 | * AnotherDimension: The Demon World exists in a separate plane far from the human world, with their own set of progress and turmoils. Although this has since been subverted, as it appears that Demon 'World' is merely a continent on the planet of Tetis. |
| 56 | * AntiFrustrationFeatures: You only need to spend stamina on any given story or challenge stage once to unlock it. This way, you can keep coming back to challenge a roadblock whenever you get a power bump without having to constantly spend coffee, or if you go in with a unit composition that cannot clear a challenge stage. |
| 57 | ** A lot of stages have barriers you can lower as you progress, making navigation back through the stage much quicker if you wipe to a battle late in the stage or are just trying to collect any remaining pickups. |
| 58 | ** Once you gain a new rank in the Arena, you cannot demote below it even if you run into a bunch of overwhelming opponents after since Arena's matchmaking is entirely random. |
| 59 | ** After reaching a high enough guardian level and clear a rift stage with three stars on full auto, you gain the option of autoclearing the stage. This lets you quickly do your daily awakening dungeons and get your coffee spent farming whatever resources needed so you can move on to other content. |
| 60 | ** Once you've reached the final boss of a chapter, whenever you get a game over fighting it, you start at the beginning of the boss fight instead of the stage should you chose not to use a revive. When fighting [[spoiler:Beth at the end of Season 1, you instead start at the furthest phase of the boss fight that you reached.]] This also applies to [[spoiler:Demon God Belial]] in Season 2. |
| 61 | ** Repeatedly failed at getting the character and weapon you wanted? With each pull, you are given a mileage ticket, which is spark currency. Gather 300 of them, and you can redeem any character or weapon you want at any time, except collaboration characters, as they need 200 of the more limited Collaboration mileage tickets that expire when the collab event ends. |
| 62 | * AntiPoopSocking: As with other gacha games, the game has a stamina system (called Coffee) in which 1 Coffee is restored every 10 minutes, with a hard cap of 76 Coffee as of the latest updates. Initially, this was fully enforced and was a major gripe for many players, particularly because the lowest amount of coffee needed for a mission was 10. It would later be alleviated by the fact that the game would now give free 50 coffee at 12nn and 7pm per day. |
| 63 | * AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:All the {{Arc Villain}}s who actually ''survive'' their respective worlds are few and far in between, including maybe [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Mk.2]], the [[Characters/GuardianTalesEarthUniqueHeroes Mad Panda Trio]], [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Plague Doctor,]] whose fate is [[UncertainDoom unknown,]] and the Fairy from W6, who was put into IndenturedServitude by the gnomes to pay for her crimes, but Future Beth's dead, Alt-Knight's dead, Commander Volt's dead, Camilla's dead, and in Worlds 17-18 alone, [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies Morrian, Erina and Vinette died]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic people were slaughtered by the millions by]] [[WarIsHell internecine warfare]] [[ThePlague and Labose]], and in the Unrecorded World, many of the Champions were killed off prior to your return, while many more could perish in World 11, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen which also was possibly intended to be even more of a bloodbath, with everybody dying except for the]] [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 Knight]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen and the]] [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Future Princess]], [[WhatCouldHaveBeen and some NPCs.]]]] |
| 64 | * TheApunkalypse: While not apocalyptic [[ThirstyDesert (no more than a desert already is)]], the Desert of Madness is an [[AnarchyIsChaos anarchic hellscape]] ruled by mohawk-wearing [[OurElvesAreDifferent desert elves]] who seem to be infatuated with punk fashion. |
| 65 | * ArbitraryEquipmentRestriction: Heroes are usually restricted to only one weapon type upon release: [[HeroesPreferSwords One-handed Swords]] [[KnightlySwordAndShield (usually paired with a Shield)]], [[{{BFS}} Two-handed Swords]], [[MagicStaff Staffs]], [[MoreDakka Rifles]], Bows, [[ImprobableWeaponUser Baskets]], [[WolverineClaws Claws]], and [[PowerFist Gauntlets]]. There are exceptions like [[UniqueProtagonistAsset the]] [[WalkingArmory Knight]] themselves, and as of late, this has begun to be averted with the introduction of alternative Exclusive Weapons, letting certain heroes gain access to weapon types they were initially locked out of. |
| 66 | * ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Normally, the maximum amount of characters you can have in any given party is 2/3/4 characters in the Story game-mode, based on your progression through the first few worlds, and three in Arena. |
| 67 | * ArcNumber: 13. There are thirteen Champions, and there are thirteen [[Characters/GuardianTales Invader]] Corps Commanders. There were thirteen astronauts described the Mysterious Tapes, and the thirteenth astronaut perished. [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 The Knight]] is the thirteenth Champion, while the BigBad of Season 1, [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Beth,]] is the thirteenth Corps Commander. |
| 68 | * ArcSymbol: A rather inconspicuous spiral symbol which is embossed into most surfaces that you will encounter on your journey. Dozens of them appear on, inside, and around Heavenhold, a spiral is the symbol that represents the Basic element, the [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Future Princess's]] Awakening tree resembles a spiral, [[spoiler:a pair of spiral symbols appear in the eyes of the Little Princess in 18-1,]] and so on. The meaning of this is currently unknown. |
| 69 | * ArtStyleDissonance: The game's reliance on pantomimed expressions during cutscenes makes it jarring when the story is faced with dark scenarios involving death and cruelty. |
| 70 | * ArtificialStupidity: The auto AI does a decent enough job of avoiding some boss attacks, but they'll sit there and take other attacks, especially since computer-controlled characters can't run. Cursed Towers in particular are NOTORIOUS for allies standing on the attack indicator right until the laser fires and kills them. Some characters' AI also fishes way too hard for optimal damage or healing at times and will happily throw themselves in the line of fire to do so. |
| 71 | * ArtisticTitle: The opening sequence contains sketches of the [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 Knight]] and [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Queen Lilith]] as well as an animated intro sequence [[MediumBlending intermixed]] with what looks to be [[TitleMontage actual gameplay.]] |
| 72 | * AscendedMeme: The Knight with a gatling gun, an enemy type notorious for ruining player's lives in Kama-ZONE and the Orbital Lift, becomes its own Unique character in the form of the [[spoiler:Future Knight with her exclusive weapon]]. Another would be the addition of an idol-themed costume for Marvin during April Fool's 2022, acknowledging the various fan creations of Marvin wearing Idol Eva's costume throughout all parts of the Guardian Tales fanbase. |
| 73 | * ATasteOfPower: The last stage of a side-story switches your character to that particular plot's Unique character wielding their exclusive weapon, letting you "test drive" them for a bit. Later on, an update gives players the ability to "try out" the featured unit in their banner before deciding to pull. |
| 74 | * AttackAnimal: The game features many humanoid animals, but special mention to the White Beast and Kang, who look like a normal wolf and tiger cub, respectively. |
| 75 | * BackFromTheBrink: [[spoiler:[[DarkFuture The world beyond the portal]] is a grim reality where the [[VillainWorld Invaders are on the precipice of victory]] and humanity's last hope, the [[LaResistance Resistance]] stationed on Heavenhold, is on the [[NearVillainVictory brink of collapse.]] But your appearance, as the hero of the story, was enough to arouse what little hope the dejected resisters had left and [[ArcWords take back their future.]]]] |
| 76 | * {{Backtracking}}: Some stages force the player to backtrack in order to achieve HundredPercentCompletion. Case-in-point, after a pair of competitors shove you off a bridge in 5-1 into a cave of sorts, you have to first defeat some Viper Clan {{Mooks}} to open a door, then walk all the way to the opposite end of the cave, through areas you've already been to, to collect some [[PlotCoupon Purple Coins]] and even free [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld5 Girgas.]] Other stages have minor examples like this, and some Worlds, like World 5, have story quests that make you return to familiar, already completed stages, to resume that quest and achieve full completion. |
| 77 | * BadassAdorable: Applies to the younger-looking heroes of the roster, like {{N|ecromancer}}oxia, [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot [=AA72=]]], and [[FluffyTheTerrible White Beast]] [[GiganticAdultsTinyBabies (in his present puppy form at least)]]. |
| 78 | * BadassBoast: Each obtainable hero has their own, which you can hear during battle or through their profile. |
| 79 | * BadFuture: After being sent to the future by the Dark Magician in World 9, [[spoiler:when you reach the other side of the portal you are greeted the ruins of the FloatingContinent you and hundreds of people called home during your time. The mountains of Shen City are burning, the world known to you at the point was beneath the jackboot of the Invaders, people are being harvested [[PeopleFarms like cattle]] for antibodies, Demon World is extinct,[[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lilith]], [[Characters/GuardianTalesBasicUniqueHeroes Erina]], and the [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 Demon Gods]] were all dead, many of the Champions and the Knight's old friends have perished, their surviving friends have become [[DividedWeFall divided,]] and the 13th Corps' conquest of Heavenhold [[NearVillainVictory is on the verge of victory.]]]] |
| 80 | * BeachEpisode: The short story ''When You Wish Upon a Star'' is a long-awaited summer story with the summer units, two of them being released a year before said story, taking leading roles, set on a peaceful beach spot called Starlight Beach. |
| 81 | * BearsAreBadNews: [[FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter Bipedal]] Bears represent a significant threat in World 5 and continuously ambush you in the bamboo forest in 5-4. They also reappear as obstacles in ''The Blossoming of Shen Mountain''. |
| 82 | * BeefGate: World 10 lets you progress all three screens before forcing you to fight a boss three levels above your standard level cap with only your lead unit. The good news is that you've just unlocked the last piece of content geared toward character improvement, so if you can't clear the fight you can at least get your characters prepared. |
| 83 | * BigFishInABiggerOcean: Valencia is legitimately a very strong and skilled warrior, but she's nowhere near as powerful as she thinks she is. When she proclaimed that she was the strongest fighter in all of Demon World and set out on a journey to prove it, she beat most fighters so effortlessly that it outright bored her. [[BreakTheHaughty Her ego was severely deflated]] when she had [[CurbStompBattle back-to-back encounters]] with [[OldSoldier Old Erina]] and [[FallenHero the Other Knight]] which proved she had a long way to go to be a real world-class fighter. |
| 84 | * BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: Yetis appear as minor enemies in [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Mount Shivering.]] |
| 85 | * BittersweetEnding: In the ending of Season 1, [[MultipleEndings you either]] [[spoiler:travel back to your past leaving the future [[TheMultiverse which can't be altered]], or stay in the future and leave your Little Princess behind]]. Both can be thankfully chosen again if you decide to re-enter the level to try and get the other ending, but later chapters reveal the first option to be the canonical end. |
| 86 | ** World 13's can potentially be this if [[spoiler:you weren't able to save some of the survivors [[PointOfNoReturn by the time you fight and win against the Other Knight]]]]. |
| 87 | * BlankWhiteEyes: Used in-game to express terror in story characters. Also exists as an emote in the Guild and as an emote to monsters inside the Monster Ranch. |
| 88 | * BlockPuzzle: Geometrically perfect grey blocks of either small or large size are a recurring design element which usually must be pushed out of the way to proceed, or pushed onto buttons to activate some mechanism, or more specific puzzles, like the symmetry puzzle in World 13 Nightmare. |
| 89 | * BlueIsHeroic: Very common in ''Guardian Tales.'' The Champion's Sword is bluish (turquoise) and Heavenhold has blue as a recurring, defining element (alongside [[WhiteIsPure white]]), Kanterbury Kingdom, the home of the heroes of both [=GT=] and it's prequel ''"Dungeon Link"'' is abundantly cerulean, and the Knight's weapon skill, using the Libera one-handed sword, is blue [[ShockAndAwe lightning.]] [[spoiler:(which is especially highlighted by the Weapon Skill of the Champion's Sword in W18.)]] |
| 90 | * BodyArmorAsHitpoints: Some characters or cards have one of their buffs/party buffs (or their sole buff in the case of cards) manifest as "Shield on Battle Start" or "Shield on Enemy Kill", which functions as a [[MultipleLifeBars second life meter]] that effectively bolsters the health of the character, up to a certain percentage of their HP, taking precedence over base health in absorbing damage while active. |
| 91 | * BodyHorror: Two cases: [[spoiler:Beth grotesquely transforming into her OneWingedAngel form in the transition to her final boss battle's second phase in World 11]], [[spoiler:and Priscilla's body being forcefully transformed by Demon God Belial in order to fight against the Knight and Claude in World 14's climax boss fight]]. |
| 92 | * BombWhistle: When falling from great heights (or simply falling into a BottomlessPit), your descent will be accompanied by a loud whistling sound. Usually, though in more dramatic moments [[spoiler:like your [[CrashThroughTheCeiling mercurous entry]] into the second phase of the [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes 1st Corps Commander's]] boss fight,]] this is instead [[SubvertedTrope subverted.]] |
| 93 | * BookcasePassage: Starting with World 3, various [[SecretPath secret passageways]] can be found behind moveable bookcases and fake bookcases. Where these all are is up to you, the player, to find out. |
| 94 | * {{Bookends}}: In ''4th District, 29th Street,'' [[spoiler:the short-story begins with an epigraph involving [[Characters/GuardianTalesEarthUniqueHeroes Parvati's]] thoughts regarding her father's wish for her to live a 'normal life', before moving into a small apartment at Standfield Apartment complex on the eponymous 4th District, 29th Street. At the end of the short-story, after assassinating threats to Kamazon's monopoly in 29th Street, she recalls her father's words, again, and moves to ''30th Street'', where the ViciousCycle continues.]] |
| 95 | * BondOneLiner: After a battle is over, one of the characters in your party will be randomly selected to make a statement about the fight or your triumph over the enemies. |
| 96 | * BossArenaIdiocy: |
| 97 | ** Winning the fight against old Erina fairly requires the player to train to level 70, in order to survive her one-hit kill attacks...Unless the player takes advantage of the four torches in the arena, which blocks her melee attacks, but not yours. This allows lower-leveled players to hide behind a torch and spam her to death. |
| 98 | ** [[spoiler: A similar thing happens in World 11, during the first phase of Beth's bossfight, in which you can hide behind the regularly interspaced torches to avoid her dash attack. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], as she has plenty of other tricks up her sleeve to get around this minor handicap.]] |
| 99 | ** While not ''bosses'' by any definition, the Rah Empire soldiers that [[NPCRoadblock obstruct your escape from]] [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld9 Shapira]], for some reason the path seemed to be rigged with the key to their defeat in a way readily accessible to a fleeing Kanterburian such as the Knight. |
| 100 | * BossRush |
| 101 | ** What World 11's 5th stage is. |
| 102 | ** In Heavenhold Tower 40, you have to fight three bosses in quick succession: Goblin Chief, Lava Slime King, and [[Characters/GuardianTalesWaterUniqueHeroes Grand Admiral Marina.]] |
| 103 | * BossSubtitles: Sometimes the description of the character you're fighting, sometimes the funny phrase you need in the middle of a not-funny situation. |
| 104 | * BreakMeter: Each Weapon has it's own dedicated 'Weapon Skill' which, upon activation, adds a certain amount of progress, determined by the Hero wielding the weapon, towards so-called 'Ailments'. Once that progress (recorded by a meter beneath the health bar of the effected enemy unit) reaches 100%, they will be stunned, upon which you can combo the Chain Skills of each character in your party, provided that you have unlocked each of their first Awakening Nodes. |
| 105 | ** In later worlds, some bosses, like [[spoiler:the [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Plague Doctor]]]], are capable of pulling off the same tactics against the player. |
| 106 | * BribingYourWayToVictory: If your rich (and bad at managing resources) enough, you can get through Story Mode with an otherwise unviable team lineup by buying [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist revives]] using Gems. Of course, this isn't recommended, as Gems are better used for ''actually improving your team and it's survivability.'' |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:C-F]] |
| 110 | * {{Callback}}: In 1-7, you can make your way through the [[EldritchLocation Maze Forest]] by following the Little Princess' handkerchiefs. [[spoiler:In 16-1, you get to the area where the 1st Corps Commander is by following used handkerchiefs dropped, against by the Princess.]] |
| 111 | * CannotSelfTerminate: In ''Ruined God's Paradise,'' [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Eleanor]] mentions that it is impossible for gods to die naturally or kill themselves, either by letting themselves go or actively taking their own lives. The only way a god can die is if they are killed by another god, or a sufficiently power mortal [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu manages to kill them.]] |
| 112 | * CanonImmigrant: A few characters are ported over from ''Dungeon Link''. |
| 113 | * CantDropTheHero: Zigzagged. This is a gacha game first and foremost, so you can practically bench the main character forever even if GameplayAndStorySegregation ensues. Nevertheless, there are times when players are forced to use the Knight for the entirety of a story chapter[[labelnote:*]]which isn't necessarily the Knight the player uses, but a set one that the game provides[[/labelnote]], in particular: World 11-1, World 13, and World 14. |
| 114 | * CartoonBomb: Flower Bombs and their magnetized variants resemble iron spheres with the obligatory match cord to boot. |
| 115 | * CastingGag: Not the first time Creator/RieKugimiya (The Little Princess) voiced a [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure child character]] beloved by both fans and in-universe characters alike that are actually very powerful and very important to the overall storyline. |
| 116 | * CerebusSyndrome: [[CerebusRollercoaster The game storyline swings this around whenever it wants to]]. One minute you're laughing at a few pop culture references here and there, the next minute you find yourself in a [[spoiler:BadFuture where the TokenMiniMoe becomes a disgruntled badass leader and most of your friends are either dead or worse off than the last time you saw them]]. |
| 117 | * ChainOfDeals: "Gremory's Bartering" is triggered by the eponymous MadScientist giving you a cracked microscope lens, whereupon you travel about Demon World's Old City District, trading for- and turning in- various NoodleImplements until you can buy a functional microscope lens for her. |
| 118 | * ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: In 5-3, Tao orders you, Mei and Fei to wear a heavy tortoise suit, which all three of you simply [[SpectacularSpinning spin]] into. |
| 119 | * CharacterNameLimits: Your player name is restricted to ten characters. |
| 120 | * CharacterPortrait: Two-star Heroes that are unlockable through the main story will have their character art displayed next to their text-bubbles, in portrait form. |
| 121 | * CharacterSelectForcing: Some Tower levels require you to have a "Cannon Dealer" hero or someone that can hit differing heights and/or through walls. You'll have to [[TrialAndErrorGameplay test out your ranged attackers]] to figure out who can do so. The Towers of Horizon take this a step further and outright lock out anyone that isn't the correct element. |
| 122 | ** For some reason, the melee character Lilith can clear these stages, and yet the game doesn't mark her as such. If you're wondering how, Lilith can use a skill that damages enemies (and increases her damage to them by marking them), and this damage from this skill is what enables her to hit enemies the game says she shouldn't be able to. |
| 123 | * ChekhovsGun: As of early 2024, there have been two prominent examples where some seemingly useless element is needed to achieve HundredPercentCompletion in their useful stages: |
| 124 | ** [[spoiler:In the stage 'Invader Lab', you can get an Orbital Lift Key Card which has no function until you reach World 13, in which you can use the key card to retrieve the tenth and final [[StoryBreadcrumbs Mysterious Tape.]]]] |
| 125 | ** [[spoiler:Loraine will give you a 'Mysterious Card Key' at the end of World 17, which you can only use to access 18-15.]] |
| 126 | * TheChosenMany: The [[spoiler: initial]] goal of the Knights journey was to unite the all Thirteen Champions, of which they are just one. |
| 127 | * {{Cliffhanger}}: |
| 128 | ** The World 9 ending. Just when the problems in Rah had been resolved, the Knight is found by the Dark Magician as they end up getting thrown into a dark portal by their hands. The last scene shows the Knight in front of a destroyed Heavenhold Inn, not yet knowing they were thrown ten years into the future. |
| 129 | ** The World 16 ending. [[spoiler:As Queen Lili, inside Queen Camilla's body, was about to drive flying blades into the Knight and the Princess, Camilla regains control of her body one last time to aim the blades at herself, killing her and taking Lili with her. The Princess, in pure shock of seeing her big sister die right before her eyes, starts to "glitch out", and the abrupt ending implies that the world had glitched out as well, seemingly reversing the status of the twelve Champions and the Knight. Time will tell what this actually means]]. |
| 130 | ** The ending of World 17 is little better [[spoiler: because, while it ''does'' tell us what became of the Little Princess and Heavenhold following her sister's untimely death, not only does it leave the meaning of the esoteric "champion sword inversion" of the last world unresolved, but it leaves the fate of Morrian's fate uncertain, and closes with Lilith's turmoil, the civil war yet still raging on, the activation of Heavenhold and Erina's rampage to exact vengeance upon the fallen hero Kaden and the birth of his vile Labose monster.]] |
| 131 | * ClosedCircle: [[DownplayedTrope A very minor example]], but for the most part, once you step into an arena, you cannot retreat, and are forced to defeat the enemies to leave [[GhostButler because of a barrier suddenly appearing behind you.]] |
| 132 | ** In 1-7, after defeating the Mad Panda Trio, you can no longer backtrack because of a barrier blocking the path back. You can only go forward. |
| 133 | * CoincidentalBroadcast: In 12-2, [[spoiler:when the Knight tries to convince the police station receptionist that they are the real deal, the television nearby [[{{Hellistics}} just so happens]] to be on a channel televising a ceremony involving the resumption of diplomatic relations between Human World and Demon World, and the presence of an unexpected [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 doppelganger.]]]] |
| 134 | * ComMons: The various One-Star heroes. They're the weakest class of adventures, usually not worthy of any investment over even the weakest hero of a higher class. They have no voiced lines, unique equipment or attacks, or even individual artwork (instead having cloaked, androgynous figures in the character screen). They're, at best, secondary characters for a world's plot and are by far the most common draw in the game's gacha. Despite this, each one still has a unique bio and sprite design and have been required for certain quests. |
| 135 | * ContextSensitiveButton: The button usually dedicated to [[VideoGameDashing sprinting]] often changes functionality depending on context: When facing a portable object, the sprint functionality is deprecated by a "pick up" and "throw down" functionality, which is possibly an intentional design choice since this reduced mobility is often exploited in puzzles. The sprint button is replaced by a "plant seeds" when in the vicinity of a crop plot in the Farm gamemode. |
| 136 | * CostumeEvolution: Heroes that aren't ComMons/collaboration characters have different sprites per evolution level, gradually becoming more grandiose with each rank up. |
| 137 | * CoupDeGraceCutscene: Some boss battles are concluded through means of an ActionCommand, like the [[spoiler:Bad Omen in World 17, or the Plague Doctor in World 18.]] |
| 138 | * CrackInTheSky: [[spoiler:During World 18, thousands of jagged dimensional rifts began to rend asunder spacetime, acting as portals between [[DarkWorld The Otherworld]] and Demon World.]] |
| 139 | * CrapsaccharineWorld: The game's setting appears brighter and much more optimistic than some of its gacha contemporaries, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Even ignoring the invasion having depictions of cruelty and murder, the world itself has other problems shown like FantasticRacism and FantasticTerrorists. |
| 140 | * CrashInThroughTheCeiling: [[spoiler:How the player ultimately enters the arena where they will fight Hero Camilla.]] |
| 141 | * CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The priest of Chapter 4's ReligionOfEvil is a FatBastard that gets ferried everywhere by a team of his Desert Elf followers. You'd expect him to be a pathetic boss...that is, until his throne activates its rocket thrusters and attaches itself to a ''tank''... |
| 142 | * CuteGhostGirl: Slightly averted in Magic School, where the female ghosts that block the way are drawn in chibi style but still look creepy. |
| 143 | * CutscenePowerToTheMax: |
| 144 | ** Craig's stand against the Archdemon in World 8, where he eats multiple 9999-damage hits at once and got burnt to a crisp, and yet he still stands like it didn't even leave dents on him. |
| 145 | ** [[spoiler:The duel between the Knight and his Other version in World 13. Despite it being a disappointingly easy climax boss, this boss fight is chock full of quick-time events, cinematic shots, moves from the Knight that the player normally does not have access to, and just overall hype throughout the whole fight sequence that you can just tell this was more of a climactic showdown than the usual stat check.]] |
| 146 | * CyberpunkForFlavor: The Demon World's capital city is a highly technologically advanced city in a dimension separated from the human realm. Within an unspecified amount of time in between the 500-year gap from the end of ''Dungeon Link'' to the beginning of ''Guardian Tales'', the current queen Lilith, with the help of her "human" companion Erina, managed to turn what was once a chaotic realm into a PostCyberpunk-styled futuristic world full of high-rise buildings, neon lights, android assistants, and a generally peaceful populace. That doesn't immediately mean she managed to stomp out all crimes though. The other parts of the Demon World outside the capital aren't lacking in this department either, though they generally don't have the same level of cyberpunk flavor compared to the capital. |
| 147 | * CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: At the beginning of World 15, Demon World was laden with floodwaters and rivulets of rainfall from a light, inclement thunderstorm. [[spoiler:Though this would be the least of their troubles to come.]] |
| 148 | * CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler:The Future Princess became the way she is because of: the Knight's disappearance at the end of World 9, [[KidsAreCruel the constant bullying she received]] as a result of said disappearance, her seeing the deaths of Big Jack and Sandy, among future deaths she would later see as a warrior and Resistance leader, and the difficult decisions she's had to choose over the course of ten years.]] |
| 149 | * DamageIncreasingDebuff: Two of the three Ailments will increase the damage dealt to the afflicted character when [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown they are attacked]], depending on the source of that damage and the type of damage they deal: |
| 150 | ** The '''Airborne''' status ailment increases dealt range damage; |
| 151 | ** And the '''Downed''' status ailment increases melee damage. |
| 152 | * DamageOverTime: By contrast, the third Ailment, '''Injured''', steadily drains the life of the affected enemy. |
| 153 | ** Towers of [[PoisonIsEvil Toxicity]] also inflict Injury damage over time, which can be negated using "Injury Negation" cards. |
| 154 | * DamagerHealerTank: Co-op Expedition introduces three character classes that are exclusive to the game-mode and are dependent on the hero in question. These are, of course, the '''Dealer''', the '''Tanker''', and the '''Healer''' classes. The first one specializes in dealing a lot of damage in a short amount of time, to many enemies. The second class specializes in [[DrawAggro taunting]] enemies and [[BarrierWarrior projecting shields]] to absorb their attacks and projectiles. And the third class specializes in healing teammates and [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist reviving]] them. |
| 155 | * DarkestHour: |
| 156 | ** In 10-5, [[spoiler:the [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Princess']] barrier, a woven fabric of conciliation with humanity's downfall, had collapsed under the relentless onslaught of countless [[BioweaponBeast Super-Invaders]]. Surely, the Resistance was doomed, and the Future Princess's [[DreamingOfThingsToCome nightmare]] would come true. But then, the monsters were beaten back, by the unexpected return of an old ally.[[SugarWiki.AwesomeMoments The candle of hope has been relit,]] as the [[BigDamnHeroes armies of Rah]], under [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld9 Aisha]] and [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld2 Marianne]], [[ChangedMyMindKid return to save their brothers-in-arms.]]]] |
| 157 | ** In World 16, [[spoiler:the Knight has been betrayed, defeated, and nearly killed by a [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes perfidious Invader commander]] and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy those four they once could call allies.]] Now regarded as an infiltrator in a familiar place that no longer recognizes them, they must fight for Heavenhold and their friends, and also for their very existence.]] |
| 158 | * DarkReprise: [[spoiler:In 18-1, the soundtrack of [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Vinette's]] flashback is a slowed down, distorted version of the theme that plays in the background inside Vinette's Lab.]] |
| 159 | * DashAttack: Some weapons, like [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld7 Craig's]] EX 'Silence', allow the hero equipping it to use a dashing Weapon Skill. Additionally, [[DamagerHealerTank Dealers]] in Co-op Expedition can also use a dash skill periodically. Also, some enemy {{Mooks}} can employ dash attacks as well. |
| 160 | * DeathFromAbove: Immediately after entering the stage 2-5, you will be targeted by [[Characters/GuardianTales Invader]] OrbitalBombardment, ''constantly'', until you get out of the antechamber of the stage. |
| 161 | * DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: You can spend Gems to revive if you perish during a fight. [[DownplayedTrope That being said]], the cost to revive gradually climbs to cost-prohibitive prices that can quickly drain your stockpiled Gems should you put to much faith in reviving, and some stages restrict the maximum number of revives to 3 or even 1. |
| 162 | ** More pertinently, when the player makes a stupid mistake that should cost them their life, like falling into a BottomlessPit, they'll simply start over at an unofficial sort of checkpoint, [[AntiFrustrationFeature rather than have to redo the stage all over again.]] |
| 163 | * DefeatEqualsExplosion: Most bosses don't actually have a death/defeat animation, and will erupt into rays of light and golden fire when defeated. |
| 164 | * DepopulationBomb: [[spoiler:Months prior to World 12, over 93% of the population of Demon World's District 51 had been wiped out by [[ThePlague L-bacteria]] in the span of ''hours'', leaving the infrastructure untouched but what few survivors remained mortified and desperately clinging onto life, waiting for a rescue that may never come.]] |
| 165 | * DifficultButAwesome: Learning how to use Chain Skills can be an arduous journey, not just because of the resource investment required to ''unlock'' them, but also because you must study the Ailments inflicted by your units' Weapon Skill ''and then'' their own Chain Skills in turn so that you can properly "chain together" the Chain Skills of all your party members, and then couple that with proper planning so that you can disable the enemy for the maximum amount of time, without waiting ''too'' long and losing your ability to finish the chain before the enemy gets back up- and that's ''before'' you realize that Chain Skills have cooldowns significant enough that you might not be able to use them again when you stun the same enemy again. Of course, once you get the hang of the mechanics of Chain Skills, you can design specific teams that, when combined with judicious timing and the right leader, you can fire off the Chain Skills of all four party members in quick succession while maximizing the down time of the afflicted enemy and the damage inflicted onto that enemy, and ''not'' lose damage to wasted stuns, allowing you to swiftly dispatch even the toughest of bosses in record time. |
| 166 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:[[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Dark Magician Beth]] acts as the FinalBoss of Season 1, after nine worlds of acting as the [[GreaterScopeVillain primary agitator of much of it's conflict.]] The Plague Doctor also very similar, as the final boss of Season 2]] |
| 167 | * DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Mk. 2 and the Other Knight. Mk. 2 somehow survived a helicopter crash and reformed her Turing gang, and the Other Knight somehow survived a drop from the tallest building in the Demon World just to end up getting locked up in prison for their crimes.]] |
| 168 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Park illegally in the Guardian Tales universe and you will be subject to having your vehicle smashed to pieces and blown up. |
| 169 | * DistantSequel: ''Guardian Tales'' is set around 500 years after the events of Kong Studios' defunct puzzle game ''Dungeon Link''. |
| 170 | ** Dungeon Link's lead character Kaden [[spoiler:vanished off the face of the earth while leading the construction of Heavenhold and has not been seen or heard from for 500 years]]. |
| 171 | ** Clara the Cleric, one of Kaden's companions, managed to live for 500 years despite being human, but for some reason, she became an EmptyShell who now acts as a Saintess for Veronica's cult. |
| 172 | ** Kaden's demon mentor-of-sorts Lilith and his heroic predecessor Erina stopped adventuring and eventually went back to Demon World to rule over it. |
| 173 | ** The human gods mostly lost their powers following the burning of the World Tree some time after said game. The gods and angels all took to their own paths after that. Kameal founded KAMAZON as part of a plot to slowly recover enough money and power to restore the World Tree, Eleanor entered human society for her own amusement, and Plitvice somehow ended up sealed in crystal on Heavenhold for centuries. |
| 174 | ** Akayuki, one of ''Dungeon Link'''s starter units and viewpoint characters, was [[TakenForGranite turned into stone for 500 years]]. |
| 175 | ** Belial, one of the Demon Gods that Kaden and his party subjugated in ''Dungeon Link'', [[spoiler:started using demons that inherited his blood as vessels to try and resurrect himself, and was almost successful when he possessed Priscilla had not the Knight, Sohee, and Count Claude intervened.]] |
| 176 | ** The other three Demon Gods were tricked into severely weakening themselves when they attempted to possess demon women as vessels. Now they're magically forced to serve their former enemy Queen Lilith and kept on a very short leash. |
| 177 | * DomedHometown: The remains of Kanterbury were encased in a forcefield by the Invaders, making it impossible for unauthorized entities to enter or leave. |
| 178 | * DoomedHometown: More like "Doomed Kingdom" since the kingdom of Kanterbury is this for the Knight, Eva, and the royal siblings Queen Camilla and the Little Princess. |
| 179 | * DoomyDoomsOfDoom: '''"Doom"''' is a status debuffs applied by Cursed Towers of Toxicity and various Weapon Skills that inflict the Injured Ailment that results in DamageOverTime. |
| 180 | * DoorToBefore: Many Stages contain passageways that lead to easily accessible areas, from sections that would be a pain to return to because of extreme battle difficulty or strenuous and lengthy puzzles. These corridors [[AntiFrustrationFeature allow the player to bypass these challenges, should they return to the level on a later date, or simply wish to reduce travel time between two areas of the stage]]. Of course, [[UnnaturallyLoopingLocation not all of these doors make sense geometrically]], like the ones in 3-4. |
| 181 | * DoubleEdgedBuff: The "Flower From Hell", an Artifact usable in the now-defunct Kamazone game-mode, can reduce the health of up to four enemies, depending on how many of your party members are left, by 4% every seven seconds. The caveat, however, is that the same deterioration is applied to your team, as well. |
| 182 | ** The "Lens of Light and Darkness" works in much the same way, increasing your party's Weapon Skill Regen Speed by 50%, but decreasing their Atk by 20%. |
| 183 | * DoubleMeaningTitle: World 18 - Two Heroes. [[spoiler:It could very well refer to one or all of the following pairs: The Knight and Kaden, and the duel that would decide the fate of the world; Erina and Kaden, two friends turned enemy; Heavenhold and Kaden, two Champions logged into the Champion's Sword; The Knight and the Little Princess, the two owners of the Champion's Sword; or the fact that two heroes remain to be collected.]] |
| 184 | * DragonsAreDemonic: The four Demon Gods can transform into so-called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Demonic Dragons."]] |
| 185 | * DualBoss: [[spoiler: At the end of the Laura SideQuest, after her vengeful soul possesses the Occult Girl's body, she sics both of her Shadow Beasts at you, and you must defeat them both to continue.]] |
| 186 | * DualWorldGameplay: [[spoiler:[[DarkWorld The Otherworld]] in World 18 has interactable switches that act as anchors between two distinct but deeply intertwined modes of the universe. Interacting with these switches is necessary to solve puzzles within the Otherworld and progress forth.]] |
| 187 | * ElementalPowers: Each Hero is attuned to one of six: [[NonElemental Basic]], [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[MakingASplash Water]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[LightEmUp Light]] or [[CastingAShadow Dark.]] |
| 188 | * ElementalRockPaperScissors: There are two wheels: Water beats Fire beats Earth beats Water, while Basic beats Light beats Dark beats Basic. An elemental advantage or disadvantage gives attacks a 30% bonus or penalty, respectively. |
| 189 | * EmpathicWeapon: [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement The Champion's Sword]]. It will determine [[PlayerCharacter the Guardian]] to be it's rightful owner and reveal it's true power to them once they unite the [[TheChosenMany thirteen Champions]]. [[spoiler: In spite of this, according to Camilla's admission in World 16, the Guardian was seen as far too ''weak'' and the Champion's Sword [[RejectedByTheEmpathicWeapon refused to accept them as it's owner]]]]. |
| 190 | * TheEmpire: The Rah Empire, rivals to the Kanterbury Kingdom. Not counting Duncan's... hostile acts towards the Kanterburian refugees in World 9 to put it lightly, the Empire leans more on the AntiVillain spectrum with one of its princesses Aisha being part of the 13 Champions. |
| 191 | * EnemyMine: [[spoiler:The terrorists hired by the Other Knight in World 13 forces former Invader commander Beth, the DiscOneFinalBoss [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen now just a janitor in Lilith Tower]], and the Knight to cooperate with each other to protect the survivors, Beth prioritizing the safety of the two other janitors that picked her up from the dumps of the Demon World capital and gave her a job. Beth still has contempt towards the Knight, but on a smaller magnitude than when she was still with the Invaders.]] |
| 192 | * EquipmentUpgrade: Available once you meet the Blacksmith in 1-5, whose in-story attempts to enhance equipment almost always fail. Thankfully a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation: While she can trash a whole lot of gear in the process of using them as upgrade materials, there's no way to break whatever item you're currently working on. |
| 193 | ** Essentially, using so-called 'Strengthening Hammer's', and paying a small fee, you can upgrade any equipment to a maximum level equal to the maximum level of your Heroes, which is determined by your completion of the Main Story- so as of World 18, the maximum level for equipment is [[AbsurdlyHighLevelCap Level 95]]. This {{cap}} can be limit-broken to Level 100 in a manner similar to with Heroes, except using Legend/Epic Limit-Breaking Hammers instead of Hero Crystals, depending on the rarity of the equipment. |
| 194 | ** You can also raise the Grade (measured in stars) of an equipment via the Blacksmith for a larger fee of Gold, which will further increase it's combat effectiveness, though only up to a Grade determined by the equipment's Rarity, or up to a hard cap of five stars. And finally, you can 'mystery evolve' (typically lower grade, though not strictly so) equipments into other equipments, which is useful later in the game for transmuting useless equipment into potentially useful equipment, or even EX weapons, if one's lucky enough. |
| 195 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: Whenever you summon a new hero from the game's [[LootBox gacha mechanic]], the hero will take care to properly introduce themselves, allowing the player to a brief glimpse at their character beyond what can be inferred from their bio or storylines alone, if they have the latter. |
| 196 | * EveryoneJoinTheParty: Just before going to World 16's final two stages, [[HundredPercentCompletion provided you've completed every available sidequest before moving on with the story]], almost every playable unit that you've rescued within the depths of Heavenhold, even the ComMons, will gather right around the Justice Lift and interact with each other. You can talk to them to have one final conversation with them and to give you some support before you and your party go up to challenge [[spoiler:Camilla]]. |
| 197 | * EvolutionaryLevels: Heroes can be evolved using enough of their specific Evolution Stones, which increases their stats, allows more Awakening Nodes to be unlocked, and changes the appearance of 2-star and 3-star heroes. |
| 198 | * ExperiencePoints: Not as a statistic, but as a raw material. EXP can be gained through adventuring and defeating monsters, and can be given to your Heroes at will to level them up. |
| 199 | * ExplodingBarrels: Powder Kegs are explosive barrels that detonate when attacked. [[HairTriggerExplosive Or if they're thrown to the ground to hard]]. |
| 200 | * {{Eyedscreen}}: Used to portray units activating their Chain Skills, being displayed as cut-ins with associated voice lines from said units. Downplayed as these cut-ins actually show the face than just the eyes. |
| 201 | * FallingChandelierOfDoom: [[spoiler:Can be [[InvokedTrope invoked]] in 13-5 to kill nine terrorist occupiers.]] |
| 202 | * FantasticFightingStyle: The Shen Mountain Fist, practiced by resident martial artists Fei and Mei, as well as the Knight for a while. |
| 203 | * FantasticRacism: Everywhere! There's a lot of discrimination going around between the various races, from a significant chunk of Rah looking down on Kanterburian refugees (something you take a lot of steps to address in World 9), Snowmen marginalizing and oppressing Innuits, Teatans being often made fun of for their appearance, Demons and Vampires being at odds due to centuries of strife, Werebeasts are stereotyped as vicious animals, and naturally, Invaders [[HatesEveryoneEqually absolutely despising every single inhabitant of Tetis.]] Even androids face discrimination in Demon World! |
| 204 | * FantasyGunControl: Averted; Guns turn out to be [[SchizoTech far more common]] than what one would initially expect for a game that begins in a seemingly standard MedievalEuropeanFantasy [[FantasyCounterpartCulture counterpart culture...]] |
| 205 | * FillerArc: World 6 is much shorter than the other worlds and has no champion to find for the Guardian Sword, basically only existing for you to finally recruit Dolf and Amy and for the increased level cap upon finishing the world. The Nightmare plot isn't much better, although there is a side area that shows how Oghma came to be. |
| 206 | * FireBreathingWeapon: Dozens of flamethrower traps appear throughout [[spoiler:the Invader Lab substage of World 11, the ninth stage of World 15, and beyond.]] |
| 207 | * FireOfComfort: During your adventure through [[TheLostWoods Kanterbury Forest,]] you and some of your comrades can be seen camping by a small bonfire in the woods when you access the lobby. |
| 208 | * FishingMinigame: The November 1, 2022 update introduced a fishing minigame to Heavenhold Farm, complete with a fish archive, fishing coins by selling caught fish, and an aquarium to place your favorite fishes in. Said minigame involves tapping on a button in time with a visual indicator aligning with an outline in the middle while making sure your HP is enough to beat a fish's within a certain number of taps. |
| 209 | * FissionMailed: In World 11, [[spoiler:during Heavenhold's last stand, the player will end up fighting against a Super Invader and die. The game presents you with the game over screen... but the buttons that would let you restart the level or go back to the main menu are nowhere to be found. A few seconds later, it's revealed that it was just the Future Princess DreamingOfThingsToCome, which leads to her attempting to fix relations with the Rah Empire to combat this inevitable battle]]. |
| 210 | * FlashyProtagonistsBlandExtras: While most [=NPCs=] borrow from a restricted set of sprites that are, usually, by no means decorated or garish, the sprites of Heroes easily stand out because of their relative flashiness. In fact, some people inferred that [[spoiler:Vinette from World 17 would be a hero because her sprite is far to detailed to be a mere side-character.]] |
| 211 | ** Though sometimes this rule is subverted, particularly in World 7, in which some of the [=NPCs=] use the sprites of as-of-yet DummiedOut Heroes or costumes or are [[ShoutOut references]] to other media, and thus stand out amongst the crowd of bland [=NPCs=] without being playable characters. Furthermore, some quest-giving [=NPCs=] definitely ''do not'' have standard, bland sprites. |
| 212 | * FloatingContinent: Your main base of operations, Heavenhold, is this. You can build several facilities there to generate Gold over time and garner Soul Points from all your owned Heroes. These Soul Points can then be used to upgrade facilities or get special rewards. It is later revealed that [[spoiler:Heavenhold was actually supposed to be a powerful weapon that the Hero Kaden spearheaded the building of 500 years ago as a preemptive plan for any future invasions, but he suddenly vanished afterwards, leaving Heavenhold in an incomplete state. "Completing" Heavenhold then becomes the end goal of Season 2 as a whole. Later chapters in said season would hint at Heavenhold's true nature being a HumongousMecha, an idea further fueled by World 16's FinalBoss stage being set [[https://i.imgur.com/TkUGWZH.jpeg in front of a mysterious mecha's face]] located within the deepest floors of Heavenhold, and finally realized [[https://youtu.be/VVHORNkBPqU?si=378De758z0NSYk6M at the end of World 17]] as it transforms into its mecha form with the influence of the Little Princess.]] |
| 213 | * FogFeet: Truly dead spirits can be identified by their lack of feet and the presence of a ghostly tail in it's place, as the Knight's journey through the Afterworld shown. |
| 214 | * ForDoomTheBellTolls: [[spoiler:In 16-1, if you choose to [[DespairEventHorizon give up]] and surrender to the [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes 1st Corps Commander,]] she will [[NonStandardGameOver immediately strike you down]] using the Champion's Sword, while a haunting knell reverberates as it impales you.]] |
| 215 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 216 | ** Shortly after Kanterbury is attacked by the Invaders in the prologue, you are saved by a mysterious character whose identity is unknown. [[spoiler:It is not until World 10 that you learn that she is the [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Future Princess]], and that she was sent to the past to save ''you'' by [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld10 the Savior]] in W11 Nightmare.]] |
| 217 | ** When you first meet the Queen and Princess of Kanterbury, the Little Princess will briefly look at you and seems to recognize you, however faintly. [[spoiler:It is not until World 11 that this is revisited, where it is revealed in 11-6 that LP and the Knight have been together some time in the past.]] |
| 218 | ** When escaping Kanterbury Kingdom, a long number, 834,527,817, appears beneath your name in the credits. [[spoiler: It's not until World 13 that we learn that that number is the number of elapsed iterations of the timeline.]] |
| 219 | ** When the Invader warlock attacks your entourage, while [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 you and the Princess, and Eva]] are jettisoned to disparate regions of the world, Camilla doesn't actually fall with any of you. [[spoiler:This is because she was taken by the [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Dark Magician]] to the Savior, who then turned her into a replacement for the 1st Corps Commander, which we only learn in World 16. This was also foreshadowed by the background featured in Beth's illustration.]] |
| 220 | ** At the end of World 1, after dislodging the Champion's Sword from the pedestal in the ruins of an old city, and after concluding your meeting with [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 Queen Lili]], she says to herself that 'the Little Princess' presence was unexpected.' (well she actually says 'she was unexpected', but this remains unchanged regardless of the players' gender.) [[spoiler:This is because the Princess is a ParadoxPerson and isn't supposed to exist, according the prophecy.]] |
| 221 | ** In Season 1, after completing World 1 and retrieving Heavenhold, you might notice some design features such as a giant fist being embedded into it's main body. [[spoiler:This is because the FloatingContinent is actually a HumongousMecha.]] |
| 222 | ** In World 12, [[spoiler:as Heavenhold is about to be shot out of the sky by a massive Invader Mothership, the ship's commander says a rather cryptic line: ''"Found you, my cutie."''']] [[spoiler:This is because she is actually the 1st Corps Commander Camilla, a fact that is not revealled until World 16.]] |
| 223 | ** In 16-2, [[spoiler: for some reason the ghost of [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Future Princess]] is associated with the button of the tenth champion, instead of [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lilith.]]]] [[spoiler:This is most likely because, as revealed in World 18, Little Princess is actually one of the champions due to unwittingly siphoning away a part of the Knight's power.]] |
| 224 | ** Really, the entirety of the Champion's Sword screen can be considered Foreshadowing, as it allows one to preview heroes that will be collected in the future, such as [[spoiler:Kaden]] and [[spoiler:Heavenhold.]] [[spoiler:Well, almost, but in World 18 the Champion's Sword is no longer as good for prediction as once thought...]] |
| 225 | * FourIsDeath: There are four known [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 Demon Gods,]] who are some of the vilest entities on Tetis. |
| 226 | * FrothyMugsOfWater: Just assume any instance of "tea" is some sort of beer. No, it doesn't matter that Loraine's portrait features a pair of rather foamy drinks, or that one sidequest involves going through a series of bars drinking their signature barley tea, where you wind up getting so hammered you black out at one point. |
| 227 | [[/folder]] |
| 228 | |
| 229 | [[folder:G-J]] |
| 230 | * GameplayAllyImmortality: {{Guest Star Party Member}}s cannot perish in battle- even if their health is depleted to a [[HPToOne mere sliver]], they will no longer be able to loose anymore hitpoints until they are healed. [[spoiler:This fact is at times exploited by players, for example it is possible to defeat the Dark Magician in World 10 using [[MemeticBadass Bob]] by letting AI Future Princess do all the heavy-lifting while you dodge the Dark Magician's attacks.]] |
| 231 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: |
| 232 | ** Unless the game forces you to use a specific party for a stage, it will always assume that the Knight is the lead unit in your party as far as the story is concerned. It doesn't matter if your actual lead is the same character that is the focus of the current plot, an AlternateTimeline Knight, or even the ''BigBad'', when it comes time for a cutscene, everyone talks to them like they're the Knight. |
| 233 | ** The story also assumes the Knight fights alone when they don't have any [[GuestStarPartyMember guest-star party members]] joining them. Any party members that the player has in their own party is completely ignored. |
| 234 | * GatelessGhetto: As all stages are finite, they have to be physically bounded ''somehow'' to prevent the player from leaving the stage, and seamlessly so. So stages are bounded by [[InsurmountableWaistHeightFence insurmounted fences]], [[LockedDoor perpetually locked doors]], walls, elevations, and so on. Can be justified in the case of indoor Worlds like World 3 or World 7. |
| 235 | ** Of course, this is sometimes [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], for example in the case of World 5 or World 6, whose levels are bounded by [[GravityBarrier gravity barriers]], though even then [[DoubleSubversion those cases are limited]]. |
| 236 | * GatheringSteam: Some Cards or Heroes possess the property of 'Atk Increase On Enemy Kill', which is extremely useful in game-modes where the player can expect to be swarmed by swathes of enemies, like Story or Expedition. After a few waves of enemies have been dealt with, characters with these buffs can become a force to be reckoned with. |
| 237 | * GetBackHereBoss: Harvesters love to hop around all over the place (making them difficult to land a good weapon skill on) and occasionally fly offscreen for a few seconds. This isn't too much of a problem in the story, but it makes Harvesters in Guild Raid[[note]]A server-wide guild competition where you try to do as much damage to a boss as possible within 60 seconds[[/note]] particularly infuriating to fight, to the point where attempts generally go better once the boss begins using its DesperationAttack. Mitigated later down the line, though they still are pretty annoying to fight against. |
| 238 | * GiantMook: In both the main story and Kamazone, sometimes enemy units will be [[DownplayedTrope slightly]] larger and, consequently, tougher and harder to kill. They can be easily differentiated from their conspecifics due to a spiked red-orange circle marking the ground around their feet. |
| 239 | * GiantSpider: [[spoiler:Thousands of the creatures infest Shen City during the events of Expedition.]] |
| 240 | * GrapplingHookPistol: The Hookshot, obtainable in World 3, allows the player to jump from one distant ledge to another using pillar-like stakes. |
| 241 | * GreaterScopeParagon: Kaden of ''Dungeon Link'', who's been MIA for 500 years now. Alongside his acts in his original game, he prepared Heavenhold in anticipation of the Invaders. Plus points for being hinted as one of the Champions that the Knight will eventually find and recruit. |
| 242 | * GroundhogDayLoop: |
| 243 | ** [[spoiler: In the Halloween short story, it is implied that the Halloween monster, posing as the Princess, is causing a time loop to force everyone to indefinitely enjoy Halloween (reminiscent of the [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya Endless Eight]].) Only when the knight starts messing with the time loop and refuses to trick or treat does the monster freak out and disappear, ending the loop.]] |
| 244 | ** [[spoiler:Gets used as a plotline again in World 14. The citizens of Demonshire are stuck in a 1-day time loop that resets every time Count Claude makes the artificial sun explode. Only outsiders like the Knight and Sohee keep their memories from the previous loops. There are notable variations with every loop, noted by Count Claude as being caused by the two outsiders.]] |
| 245 | ** [[spoiler:The [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 Little Princess]] experienced this on a smaller scale during World 17, after the death of [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Camilla]] [[BreakTheCutie disturbed her so much]] that she shrunk into [[HappyPlace an alternate dimension to escape from reality.]] The loop takes place on Camilla's birthday at an unspecified date, and everytime the day ends, the universe loops back, though this loop is imperfect and quickly deteriorates with each iteration.]] |
| 246 | ** [[spoiler:It is slowly revealed that the entire story is stuck in a time loop. This is first hinted at during World 11 Nightmare through the Savior's dialogue. Then at the beginning of World 13, you're temporarily given control of the Other Knight, whose world had seemingly ended after killing the Savior, when a fairy-like being appears and suggests they be taken to the next loop for a "second chance". In addition, the fairy-like being refers to the Other Knight as "winter farmer #83452781'''6'''". For reference, the "credits roll" that appears near the end of Prologue and the start of World 12 contains the numbers "83452781'''7'''" which could refer to the current Knight. By World 16, it is explicitly spelled out that the world is trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth that is actively maintained by hidden manipulators like Queen Lili from ''Dungeon Link'' for an unknown purpose. The only reason the current iteration of cycle is notable is that the unforeseen presence of the Little Princess has caused events to deviate significantly from the usual "script", granting a glimmer of hope that the cycle could finally be broken for good.]] |
| 247 | * GuestStarPartyMember: Different characters from different worlds join and fight alongside your character/team in some stages, such as Marianne in World 2, Sohee in World 3, etc. Some of them, especially the destined Champions (except Lilith as of World 14), even join you on your quest to restore the Champion's Sword at the end of the chapter. |
| 248 | * HamsterWheelPower: [[MalevolentArchitecture For some reason,]] [[spoiler:Lilith Tower is isolated from Demon World's electric grid and it's electricity is supplied internally by a pair of rooms whose layout must be symmetric across a dividing line to function. If anything goes wrong with the layout of both rooms... then power will have to be supplied by two guys running on a treadmill. [[BellisariosMaxim Some how.]]]] |
| 249 | * HappyDance: After completing a side-content like a Rift or Tower stage, or after looting a chest, your heroes will do a small dance. |
| 250 | * HardTruthAesop: ''Folktale'' ultimately teaches that all the world suffers from the excessive greed of the corrupt and powerful, and appeasing them is an ultimately fruitless, if not harmful, gesture. [[spoiler:Garam gave a village a well of magic healing water to cure a plague; the village blocked out everyone else who suffered and hoarded the cure. He gifted a magic sack of food to save a pack of tigers from famine; another village's gluttony leads them to attack the tigers in pursuit of the sack, which causes rampant attacks on both sides. He left a water stone behind to replenish a lake for a third village and left faeries to guard it; the village eventually goes faerie hunting in an attempt to seize control of the stone. When Garam was targeted by a fourth village for his magic bead, which brought about these miracles in the first place, and lost his close companion to that village's chief as a result of his self-defense, he snapped ''hard''. Nari has to play the dark shepherd that takes away the villages' blessings (blowing up the well to cure the tired and sick outside the first village, siccing a transformed knight to [[ScareEmStraight ravage the second village]] and transforming its chief into a dog, and taking away the water stone from the third village after the faeries are killed), but their people are ultimately better off for her involvement.]] |
| 251 | * HarshTalentShowJudge: The player can be asked to judge a talent contest. They are requested to act rude to boost the ratings. Their remarks can be so mean, such as calling one girl a gorilla, that [[TheDogBitesBack the contestants retaliate]] as the screen FadesToBlack. Thankfully, this is not a NonStandardGameOver. |
| 252 | * HealingCheckpoint: You can find towers throughout the game that allow you to heal your Heroes back to full health. [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity Beware, though]], for the presence of a healing tower suggests a boss or other challenge lies ahead. |
| 253 | * HeartbeatSoundtrack: [[spoiler:Whenever the Knight is under extreme duress, the [[SuddenSoundtrackStop background music grinds to a halt]] and is replaced by their heavy heartbeat. Notably, in World 16, whenever directly confronting [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Camilla]], this trope is played straight when they realize that they [[VillainHasAPoint can't produce a counter-argument to her statements]]. This is taken to it's conclusion with her [[SugarWiki.AwesomeMusic boss battle theme]], which does have the faint echo of a heartbeat.]] |
| 254 | * {{Hellistics}}: The Knight's [[spoiler:unexpected döppelganger]] from World 12 appears on TV just as they're trying to convince some police officers that they're the real deal. |
| 255 | * HelloInsertNameHere: You can name the Knight whatever you want. You can even change it later in exchange for gems. |
| 256 | * HereThereWereDragons: In the past, Kaden and his allies burnt down the WorldTree to destabilize Heaven and deprive Vellenus of the power that she was going to use to destroy humanity. However, the world tree's destruction also deprived much of the world of [[WhiteMagic Holy Magic]], meaning that they could no longer effectively tend to their wounds and heal their infected anymore. Furthermore, the gods and angels that were not aligned with Vellenus, or opposed her, suffered as well. |
| 257 | * HeroesPreferSwords: The Knight has the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Champion's Sword]] that they have to power up to fully use, as well as their personal weapon Libera, which is primarily a one-handed sword. The Knight themselves are not bound to swords though, [[WalkingArmory since they can also equip bows and guns alongside one- and two-handed swords]], and the Libera itself is [[MorphWeapon capable of transforming into a two-handed sword and a bow]]. |
| 258 | * HeroicMime: The protagonist is only seen communicating through pantomime whenever there are no dialogue choices presented. This stays true even when they're not controlled by the player and become an NPC. |
| 259 | * HighAltitudeBattle: Season 2 opens up with one, with the Invaders launching an assault on Heavenhold, [[spoiler:with the heroes gradually losing the battle due to the sheer amount of enemies piling on them in addition to a mothership blasting Heavenhold down so badly that it had to be transported to the Demon World to be saved]]. |
| 260 | * HoldTheLine: In 17-3, [[spoiler:your task is not to confront the Saul forces directly, but to rather supply the front lines with materiel so that they can stop Saul from breaking through and pursuing it's goals.]] |
| 261 | * HopelessWar: [[spoiler:By the time we get to the Unrecorded World, it is far beyond repair, and there is no longer any chance of salvaging that timeline. [[LaResistance The Resistance]] could barely expel the relatively small contingent of Invaders, and the [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Dark Magician]], from Heavenhold- yet she is the ''[[TheWorfEffect weakest]]'' of the thirteen Corps Commanders, and to have even the faintest of hopes at defeating [[Characters/GuardianTalesUnrecordedWorld the Savior]] and destroying the Invaders' Order, they need the Champion's Sword, which was discarded [[AlwaysNeedWhatYouGaveUp because they thought it was useless]] without the Knight. But many of the needed Champions are dead so even if they ''did'' have the sword, it would still be a useless hunk of [[RejectedByTheEmpathicWeapon recalcitrant]] garbage. [[FromBadToWorse And,]] even if they somehow ''do'' [[HopeSpot kill the Savior]], [[SuddenDownerEnding the world will just be destroyed again by Labose.]]]] |
| 262 | * HotterAndSexier: The Japanese redesigned artwork is known for placing the female characters in more revealing variations of their outfits and suggestive poses. Many of said characters received significant [[BuxomBeautyStandard "enhancements"]] to their figures in the transition, as well. |
| 263 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: Two cases: the muscular merc Marvin with the young cactus juice seller Laila, and D-list warrior Craig with dungeon scavenger Ailie. |
| 264 | * HumansAreTheRealMonsters: [[spoiler:From the hidden tapes and backstory, it seems that the Invaders are in fact humans. Confirmed by Season 1's final boss fight, in which Beth outright says they're humans.]] |
| 265 | * HumongousMecha: The Iron Teatan in Chapter 2 and in the Science Club in ''21 Kanterbury Street''. [[GlassCannon Weapons for days, but easily dismantled.]] There's also the mecha Champion hinted in both the silhouettes in each chapter's ending card and the Season 2 teaser trailer, [[spoiler:which is revealed in World 17 to be Heavenhold's complete form.]] |
| 266 | * HundredPercentCompletion: Each normal stage has a 50 gem reward for collecting all the Star Pieces and collecting all the Purple Coins. Completely clearing a world unlocks [[AndYourRewardIsClothes a new costume for a character]], as well as the ability to replay stages in that world. |
| 267 | ** You have an item encyclopedia that tracks what pieces of gear you've obtained, and also contains "Collections" for obtaining and levelling certain gear sets. Filling out the book becomes an important part of your progression in the late game, as each item tab and collection gives you a permanent stat bonus as you fill them out. |
| 268 | * IdiosyncraticWipes: [[spoiler:Unlike stage transitions in the map screen of World 16, the transition from World 18 to [[DarkWorld The Otherworld]] is quite conspicuous, as is the transition between different [[GroundhogDayLoop time loops]] in World 14.]] |
| 269 | * ImprobableWeaponUser: One of the main weapon types is ''baskets'', generally used by healers and caster-types. While quite a few weapons of this type are actual baskets, a lot of the exclusive baskets are simply magic catalysts such as a magical bead or fan. In general, anything that wouldn't readily fit into one of the other weapon types is usually categorized as a basket for convenience, which leads to "baskets" encompassing a very diverse collection of weapons and tools. |
| 270 | * ImprobablyFemaleCast: Male heroes are very few and far between, especially within the Unique Heroes space[[labelnote:*]]Only six male heroes have been released post-launch: Alef, Garam, Kamael, Claude, KAI and Chun Ryeo[[/labelnote]], which has become one of the more vocal criticisms with the game as a whole[[labelnote:*]]The longest gap between a male hero's release to the next is 9 months (Garam to Kamael)[[/labelnote]]. [[WordOfGod The developers attribute this mentality of theirs]] to the main demographic of the game being males. |
| 271 | * InformedEquipment: Equipped accessories, relics and merch do not affect the appearance of Heroes equipping them. |
| 272 | * InGameNovel: Heavenhold Novels and Expedition Archives novels provide a glimpse into the genuine tales of other characters, lands and times through a Visual Novel-style medium. |
| 273 | * InSpiteOfANail: [[spoiler:Despite the fact that the current timeline has irreparably diverged what is to be expected from the prophecy, some events that happened in our timeline still happened in other timelines, as shown by 18-9: namely, the Demon World Civil War, though instead of [[GuardianTalesEarthUniqueHeroes Morrian]] leading the charge, it was instead a war between Saul hardliners and Neo=Federation.]] |
| 274 | * InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: Giant golden keys are often used in stages to unlock {{Locked Door}}s. Hypothetically, they can be used in any given key door, and disappear into the aether upon use. Subverted by keys that are explicitly quest items, stored in the player's inventory (accessible through the Heavenhold menus), which are decidedly ''not'' interchangeable and remain in existence after using them. |
| 275 | * InterfaceSpoiler: The bios of two characters[[note]]Future Princess and Beth[[/note]] and the existence of a few skins spoils a major plot event in world 9. {{Averted}} in later updates where these bios got updated to become locked behind story progression goals. |
| 276 | ** Going into the Purple Coin shop tends to spoil which characters have plot implications in each world based on what evolution stones you can purchase. |
| 277 | * InTheBack: There are a few areas of the game where enemies in a combat area are on patrol instead of waiting to engage you. Sneaking behind them gives you the option to club them in the back of the head with a nail bat, doing heavy damage to the target. However, performing this attack may instantly alert everyone and is not guaranteed to kill. It may be better to just sneak up to a group and blast them with your weapon skill at that point. |
| 278 | * InvulnerableCivilians: While of course averted when demanded by the plot, [=NPCs=] are completely unfazed by your attacks- and in the Guild HQ, a place where [=NPCs=] ''do'' [[WhatTheHellPlayer respond to attacks]], still show no signs of actually being hurt. |
| 279 | ** Can be taken to extremes, and then promptly exploited; in 2-4 there is a field of land mines that blocks the way to a star piece. You ''could'' do it the normal way, or you could pick up the old man from earlier in the stage and ''throw him into the land mines, blowing each and every one of them up.'' Fret not, for he is perfectly unscathed! |
| 280 | ** Subverted in World 12, [[spoiler:where it is a game mechanic in which you can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential mug and kill civilians for their money]] if you cannot get 50,000 Demon World dollars through ethical means, which should really make you question the Knight's rectitude and sense of morality...]] |
| 281 | * IrisOut: Most Stages are concluded in this style. {{Subverted|Trope}} with the final stages of worlds, which abruptly cut to a black screen reading 'WORLD CLEARED'. |
| 282 | * JuxtaposedHalvesShot: [[spoiler:Right at the end of World 18, as the Knight and the Little Princess combined their collective synchronization with the Champion's Sword to purge Labose from Demon World, right as they plunge the two projections of the sword into the ground below, their portraits merge half-way, so that both of their faces are shown as two sides of the same coin.]] |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:K-O]] |
| 286 | * KarmaHoudini: Everywhere! [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lupina]] gets little to no retribution for terrorizing the inhabitants of Mt. Shivering for centuries, [[AssholeVictim insufferable though they may be,]] the Rah Empire still sends thousands of Kanterburian refugees to concentration camps since Aisha is still a princess with limited authority, the [[spoiler:sniper in Demon World never received their comeuppance,]] Beth still has freedom despite having engaged in conspiracy to dismantle dozens of nations and destroyed Kanterbury and Adela, [[Characters/GuardianTalesEarthUniqueHeroes Kamael]] still remains as the despicable CEO of Kamazon and still continues to assassinate all of it's enemies, and so on. |
| 287 | * KarmaMeter: One exists but it currently has no impact on gameplay. |
| 288 | * KeepAway: There are multiple cases in which an antagonistic entity tries to keep some important object out of your hands. In any case, the solution is to use your wits to trap the perpetrator and deal with them when they are knocked out, because they are faster than you and always have multiple escape routes. |
| 289 | ** In 1-3, a goblin steals a [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld9 Rah Empire]] girl's purse, and when you [[ChronicHeroSyndrome inevitably opt to retrieve said purse]] the goblin attempts to keep it out of your hands, [[IShallTauntYou taunting you all the way.]] |
| 290 | ** This is revisited throughout World 15, where [[spoiler:a small, robotic [[Characters/GuardianTales Invader]] attempts to keep a [[PlotCoupon Plasma Bomb]] out of your grasp.]] |
| 291 | * {{Kiai}}: Most heroes have multiple voicelines for when they attack, which range from grunts of exertion to short, spoken sentences. |
| 292 | * KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: A major gameplay mechanic. Using weapon skills on enemies builds up a stun on them, and upon fully stunning them you can unleash [[FinishingMove Chain Skills]] to inflict extra damage and another stun. With a good team composition and timing, it's possible to stun a boss for over 10 seconds while you pound away. One of the potential stuns is even called Downed. |
| 293 | * KidsAreCruel: |
| 294 | ** Some students of the Magic School decide to relentlessly bully a freshman ForTheLulz. They go so far that they completely BreakTheCutie and she goes [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope completely flying off the slippery slope]] into dark magic. The shadow beasts she summons as a result are still around in the present day and serve as the world's midboss. |
| 295 | ** You see a bunch of Innuit children tormenting one of their own in the Nightmare story. The girl they are tormenting is Mako, who was ''just framed for murder'' in the Normal plot. |
| 296 | ** Not even the Princess is safe from this [[spoiler:as she starts being bullied about the disappearance of her Knight during the TimeSkip.]] |
| 297 | * KillerRabbit: Quite common in Ice Mountain. [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse They are physically indistinguishable from regular rabbits.]] |
| 298 | * KungFuProofMook: Various enemies throughout the game may exhibit immunities against Ranged attacks or Melee attacks, but thankfully [[InvincibleMinorMinion never both]]. |
| 299 | * LaserHallway: Laser detection systems intermittently appear in Worlds 10-11, and throughout Season 2, where stepping in their path of detection will result in an immediate failure, though interestingly, [[InsecurityCamera they seem to ignore non-player entities and objects like bombs...]] |
| 300 | * LastEpisodeThemeReprise: [[spoiler:The final level for World 11, and Season 1 as a whole, has Cecil hum the title theme of the game to calm the survivors down and to give them hope that the Knight and the Future Princess will return victorious]]. |
| 301 | * LastSecondEndingChoice: [[spoiler:Season 1 can end in one of two ways; Either return to the past to continue the fight against the Invaders and gather the remaining heroes, or stay in the future and fix the damage, which means that the Guardian can never return, leaving only their helmet to the present Princess.]] |
| 302 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In 13-4 Nightmare, [[spoiler:an exhausted Lilith Tower maintenance man remarks that the building is supplied electricity by a pair of rooms that have to have symmetric layouts to function, almost like some kind of puzzle game.]] |
| 303 | * LethalLavaLand: The aptly named 'Lava Zone' of World 7 is a section of Dungeon Kingdom that is filled with lava pools and flame traps galore. |
| 304 | * LevelCap: Starting at an initial level cap of 30, it can be increased by increments of 5, per completed world, up until World 7, after which the cap increases by increments of 3 instead (with the exception of World 17, in which completion boosts the level cap by 5 to level 95). You can increase this cap further, by an extra 5 levels in a process called 'limit breaking' (but only for specific character caps), using a currency known as Hero Crystals. A similar level cap exists for weapons and accessories, except limit breaking is only possible through specialized limit breaking hammers. |
| 305 | * LimitBreak: Not to be confused with the identically-named leveling mechanic, but, using specific teams of five-star heroes, you can use so-called 'Team Combination Skills'. Unlike other mechanics (except for ''maybe'' Chain Skills), these skills cannot be used in rapid succession, and must be charged to use. Progress towards these attacks is measured by a gauge on the right side of the screen and is filled by killing enemies. Once full, it can be used to pretty much wipe out an area, [[ContractualBossImmunity so-long as none of the enemies are bosses]]. |
| 306 | * LockedOutOfTheFight: In the passage 18-4, [[spoiler:the arena for the [[MiniBoss Worker287634 mini-boss]] functions in a way such that the gates that enclose the arena prevent your team-members from following you inside, forcing you to fight alone.]] |
| 307 | * LongLived: Demons and pure-blood Vampires, while not undying, can live for centuries, millennia, even, as evidenced by characters like [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lilith and Claude]] living for >1500 and >1800 years, respectively. |
| 308 | * LootBoxes: Of two kinds! You can summon up to ten 1-3 star Heroes or ten pieces of gear using gems. You get Mileage Tickets for each summon you make (up to 10 at a time for the batch summons), and can use those to buy heroes in case the RNG hates you. Copy summons of heroes give stones you can use to raise a hero's maximum level. |
| 309 | * TheLostWoods: Kanterbury Forest is a grassy forest filled with ruins. |
| 310 | * LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Shields are items that can be equipped in conjunction with One-handed Swords that bolster defensive capabilities, as well as provide incoming damage reduction and, for higher rarity equipments, a slew of benefits for the wielder. Of course, as said, ''only'' heroes actively wielding One-handed Swords [[KnightlySwordAndShield can wield shields too]]- but this does not mean that all heroes that use One-handed Swords can use shields; for example, Marina is a One-handed Sword user who cannot equip a shield. |
| 311 | * MacroZone: The Inn...? world has you getting shrunken down to the size of a bug and exploring the kitchen in the Inn. |
| 312 | * MalevolentArchitecture: Given that ''Guardian Tales'' is a game in which progress through the main story is impeded by increasingly circuitous puzzles, it shouldn't come as a surprise that even inside buildings like Magic School or [[spoiler:Lilith Tower]] have these puzzles scattered everywhere, even though in real life, this would be incredibly impractical for pretty much anyone else. |
| 313 | * ManualLeaderAIParty: In most PvE game-modes, your PlayerParty will generally be lead by a hero that you pilot, and 0-3 AI heroes AllInARow. |
| 314 | ** Averted in Co-op game-modes, where your allies will be human controlled. |
| 315 | ** Also averted in the Arena game-mode, where your (now three-man) party functions as a line-up of heroes ready to replace whatever hero is currently being fielded should they perish. All party-members are piloted by the player in this way. |
| 316 | * TheMaze: |
| 317 | ** In stage 1-7, the only way forward is to pass through a geographic anomaly known aptly as the '[[TheLostWoods Maze Forest]]'. Of a hybrid breed of the Asymmetric and Tricky varieties of video games Mazes, there are two possible outcomes resulting from two possible paths through the maze; the obvious path, hinted at by the Princess' used handkerchiefs, and a more subtle, [[ShoutOut referential]] path. |
| 318 | ** In World 13, [[spoiler: there are multiple sequences in which you have to crawl through [[AirVentPassageway circuitous ventilation systems]] within the tower, which are infested with [[MechaMooks robotic spiders]] that will [[CollisonDamage immediately reset all progression through the maze upon contact]]]]. |
| 319 | * MechaMooks: [[spoiler: For much of World 13, the primary enemies consist of minor variants of robotic spiders.]] |
| 320 | * MedievalStasis: Kanterbury Kingdom has been at the same technology level for five hundred years, at minimum. |
| 321 | * MilitaryMage: When the antagonistic force of a particular world is more sophisticated and organized, like [[Characters/GuardianTales the Invaders]], they will often deploy ''en masse'' significant quantities of wizards, healers/priests, and, from World 13 and onwards, wall wizards. |
| 322 | * MiniMecha: After the Iron Teatan is destroyed, Marianne goes to work making these for the TDF, and even uses one during the chapter's boss battle and as a playable character. Higher evolutions cause it to resemble [[Anime/GurrenLagann Lagann]]. |
| 323 | * MirrorBoss: The aptly-named Mirror Rift has the party battle clones of your allies. |
| 324 | * MissingSecret: |
| 325 | ** The "Veteran Resistance" card has been in the Book's card tab since the release of World 10. It could be obtained as of the release of World 11 Nightmare. |
| 326 | ** There are 40 purple coins missing from world 6, meaning you can't get everything from Kamazon for that world. A later update would let you get them as a reward for completing world 6. |
| 327 | * MissionImpossibleCableDrop: [[spoiler:In 10-3, there is a puzzle where you must cable-drop the [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Future Princess]] into an underground chamber filled with mines and monitored by a [[LaserHallway laser security system]] to disable the Invaders' security network in that section of Heavenhold.]] |
| 328 | * MobileMaze: The Maze Forest in 1-7 is technically this, as it consists of only a single chamber with four corridors radiating without, with their destinations shifting with each iteration. |
| 329 | * MobileShrubbery: How you ultimately avoid notice in 9-1. |
| 330 | * ModernStasis: Apparently, Demon World was already technologically advanced five hundred years ago, as shown by the Manga/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime collaboration short-story, and hasn't advanced further since. |
| 331 | * MoodWhiplash: Beneath the cutesy and nostalgic art style belies a rather dark tone that you can clearly see for the first time as early as the opening stage of World 2, with you getting to see a Teatan mother get stabbed in front of you. And to [[BlackComedy twist the knife]] further in, you're treated to the sight of her child looking for her right on the next screen, and you can even follow him back to the previous screen to see him trying to "wake up" his mother. The game keeps this tonal whiplash in later chapters. |
| 332 | * MoreDakka: Gun-wielding units are generally this, but no one encapsulates this trope more than Future Knight and her giant {{Magitek}}-powered gatling gun Cosmic Destroyer, which can unload more than 40 bullets in one magazine + being able to shoot more with her weapon skill while she reloads, practically having an infinite magazine. |
| 333 | * MortonsFork: [[spoiler:The conclusion of the Prophecy is this for ''the entire world.'' Either, the Knight [[OffWithHisHead beheads]] the Savior with the Champion's Sword, resulting in a reaction that unleashes Labose flies across the world, who then proceed to [[TheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy it]] and rebirth it, or they forsake their duty, meaning the Invaders [[TheBadGuysWin conquer Tetis]], subjecting it's inhabitants to a [[CrapsackWorld nightmarish]] [[PeopleFarms future.]]]] |
| 334 | * MustHaveCaffeine: The game's main stamina equivalent is Coffee, and you can upgrade your stamina limit with coffee grinders. |
| 335 | * MysteriousStranger: During the prologue of the game, the knight is saved by a woman that appears out of the sky. [[spoiler: In Chapter 10, this is revealed to be the Future Princess. As to how and why she appeared to save you, this is not shown until Nightmare 11]] |
| 336 | * NamedWeapon: While regular weapons typically have very generic and/or descriptive names (like 'Holy Sword' or 'Scale Sword'), [[InfinityPlusOneSword EX Weapons]] typically have actual, personal names, like [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Beth's]] 'Predator' or [[Characters/GuardianTalesWaterUniqueHeroes Veronica's]] 'Messiah'. |
| 337 | * NearVillainVictory: [[spoiler:The Unrecorded World. The situation is horrible when you get there as humanity as we know it is on its last legs. Even worse is that without your timely reappearance, the Invaders would have killed everyone a day or two later.]] |
| 338 | * NitroBoost: Of the first variety: boost pads are recurring structural elements that immediately accelerates the player to maximum speeds significantly higher than their max running speed for a second or two- [[InertiaIsAHarshMistress and you lose control of movement for this duration.]] Of course, because of this, they can just as easily be insurmountable obstacles. |
| 339 | * NonIndicativeName: The game features increased difficulty levels for each world, but these higher difficulty levels actually feature new maps and plotlines instead of simply being "this world but everything is higher level". |
| 340 | * NonStandardGameOver: World 11 has two; |
| 341 | ** World 11-2 has a scene where you rescue an android who will make food. However, after she makes the food, she then puts on a creepy face. Choosing to eat the food will give you a game over. |
| 342 | ** [[spoiler:World 11-6 Nightmare has the Savior destroying everything after rejecting the decision to travel back in the past. This decision is mandatory given that the prologue has Future Princess save you.]] |
| 343 | ** [[spoiler:In 16-1, should you [[DespairEventHorizon resign to your fate]] and cede full control of the Champion's Sword to Camilla, she will immediately motion to [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice strike you down with it,]] resulting in non-standard death.]] |
| 344 | ** [[spoiler:And again, in 18-11, if you allow Kaden to destroy the Champion's Sword, thereby eradicating any lifeform synchronized with the sword, namely, you and the Princess, you ''will'' be killed off and [[TheBadGuyWins he will finally win...]] for a moment, at least, before LP reverses this decision using her [[DefenceMechanismSuperpower ever-abstruse powers.]]]] |
| 345 | * NoOSHACompliance: [[spoiler:Apparently, the Invaders do not regard the safety of their employees in high regard, given the startling presence of flamethrower traps and bottomless pits in World 15.]] |
| 346 | * NothingIsScarier: [[spoiler:In 15-10, there is a 'maze', so to speak, that you must navigate through to get one of the stage's Star Pieces. However, there is ''something'' terrifying shrouded in the abject darkness of that corridor that gets closer and closer until it eventually lashes out and ''attacks.'' Fortunately, whatever it is seems to be merciful, because you are safety tossed out of the corridor unscathed.]] |
| 347 | * NotTheIntendedUse: "Exclusive Weapons" are only exclusive in that they give the intended wielder a passive effect and higher-levelled weapon skill and can otherwise be equipped on any hero that can use its weapon type, either to change the character's attacking element or utilize a weapon skill that easily stuns a raid boss. |
| 348 | * NPCRoadblock: Appears ''alot'' in World 12 and elsewhere. |
| 349 | * OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Beth, Priscilla, and the Plague Doctor gain their own forms during their respective boss battles, complete with BodyHorror transformations.]] |
| 350 | * OnlyOneName: Most characters do not have known last names and are only known on a first name basis. The only exceptions are [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 Eva 'Dealsalot']] (shown in the credits of the prologue) and ''possibly'' [[spoiler:[[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 Jerry Little Volt.]]]] |
| 351 | * OptionalStealth: For many stealth missions, you can just as easily stab all of the patrols InTheBack. |
| 352 | * OurDemonsAreDifferent: Devils and demons are common species in the planet. Beyond a greatly extended lifespan and some minor physical/magical changes, they are effectively the same a humans with no innate inclination towards evil. |
| 353 | * OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Werebeasts are LittleBitBeastly humanoids who can [[VoluntaryTransformation transform, of their own volition,]] into a single animal form associated with their physical animal traits as a humanoid. |
| 354 | [[/folder]] |
| 355 | |
| 356 | [[folder:P-S]] |
| 357 | * PartyScattering: The Champions and other story-relevant allies gathered over the course of Season 1 end up getting split apart right at the start of Season 2 after the fall of Heavenhold and subsequent crash onto Demon World soil. The Knight now has to look for them again alongside gaining the batteries needed for Heavenhold's full activation. As of the end of Chapter 15, more than four in-story months after the initial attack, the Knight has recovered two of the lost Champions and located another who had yet to be found before. |
| 358 | * {{Pastiche}}: This is a game that's not afraid to wear [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} its influences]] on its sleeve. The gameplay, graphics, and overall feel of the game are highly reminiscent of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games of yore. The game's tagline is [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast "A Link To Classic Adventure."]] Hell, there are even characters that are an ''{{expy}}'' of Link and the [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario Bros.]] themselves! General ''Nintendo'' game [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] are also the most common by far. In addition, the humor generally feels somewhat ''[[VideoGame/PaperMario flat,]]'' [[VideoGame/PaperMario so to speak.]] |
| 359 | * PermanentlyMissableContent: The various cross-over content, alongside their associated Short-Stories, cannot be accessed once the collab is over. The only exception is the cross-over with [[{{Literature.Slayers}} Slayers NEXT]], which was temporarily re-run due to [[Characters/SlayersMainSlayers Lina Inverse]] being [[GameBreaker unfairly overpowered]] in [=PvP=]. Of course, after that, the collab was never re-ran again. |
| 360 | ** Expired seasons of Co-op Expedition and the lore and gameplay they provide may be unplayable forever once the season is done. However, it has only been two months since the release of Co-op Expedition as of March 2024, so it's far too early to judge if the content really is gone forever or if replay options will be added in the future. |
| 361 | * PhantomThief: The game has the infamous criminal Lucy as its resident recruitable phantom thief. Nari can also be one with her own phantom thief costume, which [[VideoGame/Persona5 definitely isn't referencing another famous phantom thief]], that can be bought from the Arena shop for Battle Medals. |
| 362 | * PictorialLetterSubstitution: The game's port for the Nintendo Switch has a [[https://assets.nintendo.com/image/upload/ar_16:9,c_lpad,w_656/b_white/f_auto/q_auto/ncom/software/switch/70010000041655/2c8e04df5b0a67cadda0b78f4848ee28d901ee581028bcaea5c2adf861b7b145 stylized logo,]] one different from the logos used for the Global version of the game that features the Champion's Sword in place of the 'i' in the title. |
| 363 | * PineappleRuinsPizza: One of the [[PoisonMushroom Cursed Artifacts]] found in the KAMA-Zone is the Pie from Hell, which is just a slice of pizza with pineapple on it. The name is literal: one of the punishments for evil souls in the Afterworld is to bake these pizzas. |
| 364 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: The Teatans, who are smaller than average humans. They're normally ''not'' this; that is, until [[GadgeteerGenius Marianne]] builds them all {{Mini Mecha}}s to fight against the Invaders. |
| 365 | ** Two costumes for Marianne have her not use the mecha, but still pack just as much of a punch. |
| 366 | * PivotalBoss: [[spoiler:Elphaba]] stays in a painting, but transfers her spirit to one of three paintings around the room. |
| 367 | * PlaceOfPower: You eventually unlock a Training Room that empowers anything put in it, instantly boosting heroes to max level, evolution, awakening, and eventually limit break, while exclusive equipment are boosted to max level, limit break, and eventually options. However, these boosts only last as long as you keep them in the training room, you can't power them up normally while they're in there, and there's a 24-hour/10-day cooldown on switching characters/equipment respectively. |
| 368 | * PlanarShockwave: [[spoiler:At the end of World 18, the WorldHealingWave generated by the power of the Champion's Sword created a supersonic planar ring that radiated outward from the sword.]] |
| 369 | * PlayerDeathIsDramatic: When you fail, a faint DramaticSpotlight befalls and highlights your fallen form as mysterious beings descend all around you, while dreary, downtrodden music plays. |
| 370 | * PlayEveryDay: As expected for a mobile game, ''Guardian Tales'' motivates it's players to return daily to retrieve 28-day Attendance Rewards, sometimes alongside other daily rewards during events. [[AntiPoopSocking During the player's downtime]], stamina will regenerate, typically twice-per-day, so that they can farm for items, EXP, and other stuff. Guild Raid Entry Tickets are regenerated every midnight and useable during daylight hours, and the potential gem rewards from participating in raids is quite enticing. Entry Tickets for Colosseum and other [=PvP=] modes are regenerated in a similar manner. And finally, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin daily]] packages are purchaseable once (or multiple times) per day. |
| 371 | * PlotCoupon: In World 15, [[spoiler:you need to defeat all four [[KillerRobot AMMIs]] in the Invader Mothership to retrieve their [[OffWithTheirHead disembodied heads,]] upon which you can use them to access the [[SecretStage 1st Corps Commander's room]] and achieve HundredPercentCompletion.]] |
| 372 | * PostApocalypticGasMask: According to the first Mysterious Tape, and according to the Orbital Lift, [[spoiler:surviving humans were mandated to wear full hazmat suits and gasmasks to avoid Labose infection.]] |
| 373 | * PowerEqualsRarity: Rarer weapons are more powerful, rarer accessories and relics have better stat-scaling and provide better boosts to defense, attack, and so on, and both generally have superior options to lower-rarity items. Furthermore, they can be upgraded to higher grades then lower-rarity weapons. |
| 374 | * PreAssKickingOneLiner: A random party member will usually deliver one upon starting combat. If the enemies are stronger than you or a boss, some characters will have an OhCrap or BringIt line instead, while weaker enemies will produce [[IShallTauntYou taunting]] or exclamations of boredom. |
| 375 | * PrecursorHeroes: The game has two: |
| 376 | ** The Legendary Hero Erina, a human hero from ''Dungeon Link'''s backstory who, together with Demon Princess Lilith, defeated the four Demon Gods 1500 years ago and sealed them within herself, giving her near-immortality. In the present day of the story, she has long since retired from active adventuring due to her age. She now serves as Queen Lilith's chief of national security and closest confidant. |
| 377 | ** The [[Characters/GuardianTales Hero Kaden]], protagonist of ''Dungeon Link'': a young hero from 500 years ago who would later end up stopping the great evil looming over the world with a PyrrhicVictory by burning the World Tree and making humans and gods lose access to holy magic. Some time afterwards, he learned of the coming danger of the Invaders far in his future. Together with Queen Lili and Demon Queen Lilith, Kaden sought out the Champion's Sword and built Heavenhold as a weapon to be used centuries later by his successor, the Knight. For unknown reasons, he disappeared without a trace before he could finish his preparations, leaving Heavenhold virtually powerless by the time the Knight and Little Princess find it. |
| 378 | * PremiumCurrency: Gems, which are split between Free Gems (obtained through participating in multiplayer modes) and Paid Gems (obtained by paying real-world money). In-universe, Gems are noted to be capable of healing and even [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist reviving downed characters]], as seen with the Little Princess being capable of healing characters by throwing gems at them whenever she's in the party. Also, the Little Princess may also find such gems and give them to you whenever you log back in to the game, also seen in-universe in the ''Rue the Red'' side story, [[spoiler:the 300-gem chest the Future Princess had inside her tent while waiting for you to come back in World 10, a gem being used as one of the ingredients of the cure-all potion found in World 11, and the Little Princess's use of gems as a healing item in your fight against the Other Knight in World 13]]. |
| 379 | * PressXToNotDie: [[spoiler:When captured by an AMMI, there still exists a narrow time window for you to escape and survive through the use of an ActionCommand.]] |
| 380 | * PromotedToPlayable: Case in point: [[{{Planimal}} magical-alpaca]][[LittleBitBeastly -with-a-human-form]] Mayreel, who was only Bari's Exclusive Weapon for almost a year since the latter's release in May 2020. And she even power creeps her hard. |
| 381 | * TheProphecy: The whole deal with the 13 Champions and the Champion's Sword, with a lingering hint of ProphecyTwist as the narrative goes on. It's better explained in the Video Record obtained in World 13: [[spoiler:according to cave murals found by Astronaut No.7, when darkness comes and threatens humanity, [[TheChosenMany 13 heroes]] will step up to fight against this evil. [[HeroicSacrifice One will end up dying while protecting their comrades]], while the leading hero will wield the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement sword of light]] to finally banish the darkness. If ever the darkness returns again, a new set of 13 and the sword of light will rise again to protect humanity, repeating the prophetic cycle]]. Astronaut No.7 [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this trope by mentioning it almost sounds like them given their current situation. |
| 382 | -->'''No.7''': [[spoiler:''"An unknown monster, 13 explorers, and 12 remaining Tetitians... No.13's sacrifice..."'']] |
| 383 | * ProphecyTwist: [[spoiler:What the kings and queens of Kanterbury, led by [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 Lili]], lead us to believe is that the Prophecy was merely a benign foretelling of the future by the gods and the Champion's Sword, of a great evil that would befall humanity and attempt to destroy the world or mold it into it's own twisted image. However, what she neglected to tell us was that defeating the [[Characters/GuardianTalesUnrecordedWorld "alpha"]] of that evil would destroy the world and reset it back to how it was hundreds of years ago, leading to the cycle repeating forevermore- and that the "prophecy" didn't result from foretelling the future, but rather from remembrance of the past by the Sword.]] |
| 384 | * PsychologicalTormentZone: [[spoiler:The Trial of Courage in 16-2 actively harrows the Knight with [[IKnowWhatYouFear their worst fears made manifest,]] namely, the fear of [[IShouldHaveBeenBetter being too weak to save everyone]], being helpless [[YouCantFightFate to avert fate,]] and [[ItsAllMyFault watching those they love suffer because of their failings.]]]] |
| 385 | * PuttingTheBandBackTogether: Season 2 starts with the Heavenhold being shot down by the Invaders and falling into a portal into Demon World. In the attack, most of the characters, including the Champions and other story-relevant characters found by that point, were scattered randomly about both worlds, forcing the Knight to slowly recover their teammates all over again. |
| 386 | * PuzzleReset: Generally manifesting as small green buttons, they exist in pretty much every complex puzzle in which the player can accidentally screw up their chances at progressing pass because of a misplaced [[BlockPuzzle block.]] |
| 387 | * QuicksandSucks: Quicksand represents a major obstacle in World 4. |
| 388 | * RandomlyGeneratedLevels: The mechanic behind Kama-Zone. |
| 389 | * RareCandy: Coffee Grinders are items that can only be bought in the Shop using Purple Coins, and, once you've bought five of them, you can increase your maximum Stamina by one, permanently. |
| 390 | * RareRandomDrop: If you're lucky enough (or simply have enough Coffee to burn), you can get four- and five-star equipment from the Item and Gold Dungeons, and that includes EX weapons as well. The infamously hard to get Earth Necklace is definitely this, as farming is the only way to get it. |
| 391 | * RedFilterOfDoom: [[spoiler:At the end of World 16, we are treated to the sight of a completely ''[[JustBeforeTheEnd ruinous]]'' [[JustBeforeTheEnd Demon World]], with the ominous sight of [[HumongousMecha Heavenhold]] standing amidst the chaos.]] |
| 392 | * ReducedToRatburgers: [[spoiler:In [[BadFuture Unrecorded World,]] refugees on Heavenhold are accustomed to the idea that the only food they'll have in awhile are skewered rats.]] |
| 393 | * {{Retraux}}: The character graphics and models for the environment and world are intentionally designed to resemble games on the Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, such as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''. |
| 394 | * RequiredPartyMember: In stage 15-6, [[spoiler: [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld12 Gremory]] is required to be the lead character to hack into the two computer terminals located within the stage, to access the MiniBoss and [[HundredPercentCompletion achieve 100% completion]]. Of course, once you disable the security systems, you can easily back out of the stage and replace her with a more viable hero if necessary.]] |
| 395 | * RevisitingTheRoots: The September 2022 "World 15" update has the aforementioned story chapter return to the standard world map formula found in Season 1[[labelnote:*]]Worlds 1-11[[/labelnote]], around a year after World 12's initial release in May 2021. As Season 2 has mostly consisted of only main story stages and stat check passages, World 15 brings back sub-stages that are utilized for certain side quests. |
| 396 | * RewardingVandalism: Destroying stage objects and tearing up the scenery may drop hearts which [[HealThyself heal]] your heroes by a certain percentage of their maximum health. Not to mention all of those [[PlotCoupon Purple Coins and Star Pieces]] often hidden under those objects... |
| 397 | * RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Heavenhold's androids are all fully sentient and have individual personalities with the full range of human emotions. They eat specially-made food, rest by sleeping, and, apparently, have confirmed souls that go to the same afterlife as any other mortal. If it wasn't for their slightly distorted speech patterns and drill "ears", they would be indistinguishable from humans. For inexplicable reasons, regardless of their other personality traits, nearly all of them share a distinct [[LazyBum lazy streak]] that leads them to slack off on their duties whenever possible. The only two that aren't lazy are unique androids made explicitly separate from the main production lines. |
| 398 | * RightJustifiedFantasyMap: The World Exploration mode shows a somewhat full view of the known world the player has stepped foot in throughout the game, and only the known nations, as anything beyond them, which lies beyond the right side of the map, is not shown, cut off even. |
| 399 | * RobotGirl: A whole fleet of identical robot girls operate Heavenhold, programmed to obey the holder of the Champion's Sword. They're also used to upgrade facilities, and you can buy or find more scattered around the world to upgrade more buildings at once, much like [[VideoGame/DragaliaLost the smithwyrms.]] They are advanced enough to not only have individual personalities but are so [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots human-like]] as to actually have souls that go to the After World like any other mortal (a fact that causes significant confusion to the staff of the underworld when attempting to judge one). Two of them, the only surviving combat models from their initial production, become playable characters with unique third one from an in-universe new production joining later. |
| 400 | * RopeBridge: For some reason, the peaks of Mt. Shivering are connected by precarious rope bridges built over [[BottomlessPit bottomless chasms.]] |
| 401 | * RunningOnAllFours: [[spoiler:Invader AMMIs can sprint on all fours in their pursuit of a designated target.]] |
| 402 | * RunOrDie: |
| 403 | ** In 3-4, you have to run to the safety of [[WeakenedByTheLight the light]] to escape the nigh relentless onslaught of the Shadow Beast. |
| 404 | ** In 9-1, when one of the [[UngratefulBastard Rah citizens]] that you had assisted moments before loudly shouted in [[FantasticRacism disgust]] at the presence of a [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld1 Kanterburian knight]], [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld9 Shapira]] will be deployed and will [[ImplacableMan relentlessly pursue you]]. You cannot defeat her, and if she gets to close to you she can easily [[NonStandardGameOver dispatch of you,]] so the only way to survive is to flee. |
| 405 | ** [[spoiler:In 16-1, the only way to survive is to evade the relentless attacks of the [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Beguiled Champions,]] while being chased out of the throne room of the castle on Heavenhold. Fortunately, DeathIsCheap, and failure will result in you getting kicked back to predetermined checkpoints which are impossible to miss when you pass through them.]] |
| 406 | * SceneryGorn: [[spoiler:Much of World 18 takes place in the crater-pocked, Labose infested ruins of Demon World.]] |
| 407 | * ScratchDamage: Any hero is capable of doing a minimum of one damage, which can be "achieved" by depriving them of a weapon to fight with and putting them as the lead of a team, which is important since the AI will not attack using a weaponless character. [[DeathOfAThousandCuts It's possible to defeat enemies like this.]] |
| 408 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: [[spoiler:In 12-4, you can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential mug as many people as you'd like]] and [[KarmaHoudini get away scot-free]] by talking to a Chosen One cultist in the north-east corner of the city district who will [[ClearTheirName clear your name]], who themselves probably has connections in the Demon World [[DirtyCop police force.]]]] |
| 409 | * SecretArt: All 2-star and 3-star heroes unlock a special passive ability upon reaching their 5-star evolution. |
| 410 | * SecretPath: There are many of these in many stages of the game. Usually, finding them is not required to progress, but they often have [[PlotCoupon Purple Coins]] behind them and various [[StoryBreadcrumbs lore pieces]]. |
| 411 | * SeriesMascot: The Little Princess, due to her EveryonesBabySister status as well as her overall role in the story, not to mention the fact that she's voiced by Creator/RieKugimiya in Japanese. She even made her way to become the game's newest app icon, succeeding Lilith and the Female Knight. |
| 412 | * SheatheYourSword: [[spoiler:The only way to [[FaceYourFears 'defeat']] the "Inner Fear" MiniBoss in the Trial of Courage in 16-2 is to do nothing at all, and allow the apparition whittle you down, whereupon you will realize that it cannot hurt you.]] |
| 413 | * ShoutOut: Now has [[ShoutOut/GuardianTales its own page]]. |
| 414 | * SizableSnowflakes: While not ''true'' snowflakes, the [[PlotCoupon Purple Coins]] collectibles found exclusively around Mount Shivering are massive purple snowflakes [[ExaggeratedTrope the size of the players sprite.]] |
| 415 | * SkillScoresAndPerks: You can use Awakening Stones to Awaken characters and increase their HP, Attack and Toughness (defense). Each section of their Awakening chart you fill out unlocks the sections attached to it, and you can give them special passive or active abilities using Dream or Legendary Awakening Stones when all the nodes around one particular node are unlocked. |
| 416 | * SlippySlideyIceWorld: World 8 is definitely this, with fields of slippery ice, windswept, snow-covered peaks, snowmen, and yetis. |
| 417 | * SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: [[spoiler:Invoked by the Future Princess when the Savior sent her back in time to [[StableTimeLoop save the Knight.]] Upon noticing that the 13th Corps had already dispatched it's [[EliteMook high-tech grunts]] to Kanterbury, she realized that they would quickly overwhelm the weak Knight, so she set out to clear them out and improve their chance of success.]] |
| 418 | * SoundtrackDissonance: [[spoiler:In the "Mysterious Vending Machine" side-quest in World 10, you, as Lana, have to dash away, in a wheelchair, from a pursuing Invader, all the while her upbeat theme song plays.]] |
| 419 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: |
| 420 | ** Heavenhold is sometimes romanized as "Hevenhold", and, in one instance, as "Heavehold". |
| 421 | ** Favi is spelled as "Pavi" in one of the quest descriptions. |
| 422 | ** Loraine is sometimes spelled as "Lorraine" by both the game and the fanbase. |
| 423 | ** Lala is spelled as "Lara" in one of the quest descriptions. |
| 424 | * SpritePolygonMix: Characters are displayed as sprites, while the environment is rendered as [[{{Retraux}} intentionally primitive]] models. |
| 425 | * StarterMon: The Knight (of a functionally-identical male or female variety) is the first character you get. You also get the White Beast and Lorraine by completing the first chapter. |
| 426 | * StatusBuff: {{Support Party Member}}s that are not primarily healers provide various active or [[FieldPowerEffect passive]] stat buffs to other heroes in the party, which may be permanent for passive buffs. |
| 427 | ** For example, [[Characters/GuardianTalesBasicUniqueHeroes Idol Captain Eva's]] Chain Skill augments allies' attack power by 30%, while [[Characters/GuardianTalesLightUniqueHeroes Eleanor]] also boosts Light attack power depending on the number of Light characters in the party. |
| 428 | * StatusEffectPoweredAbility: Your heroes can only use their Chain Skills against enemies that are stunned by some Ailment. |
| 429 | * StopPokingMe: Almost every character you can tap on in Heavenhold has at least one positive and one negative reaction to being tapped on. |
| 430 | * StoryBreadcrumbs: Often, the lore of the game is delivered in loosely connected and typically very vague indices and databases, most notably in the "[[SpaceElevator Orbital Lift]]" on Heavenhold. |
| 431 | * SuccessionCrisis: As shown by some records in 17-1, after the death of Demon King Beelzebub some 500 years ago, the continent was left with a vacant throne, as none of the rulers of each of the states of Demon World could come to an agreement on who would succeed him. Eventually this plunged Demon World into a state of chaos and civil war that only ended once [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lilith]] brought order to the chaos and became Queen under the principle that [[MightMakesRight 'the strongest rules over all.']] |
| 432 | * SuperMovePortraitAttack: When using a Chain Skill, the corresponding character's portrait will be displayed as an {{EyedScreen}}. |
| 433 | * SuperDeformed: The in-game character sprites and background characters in character card art are all in this style. |
| 434 | * SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: World 12-1 shows that even the civilian model Heavenhold androids are equipped for aerial combat. They're nowhere near as powerful or durable as true combat androids like Mk. 99, but they can hold their own surprisingly well for handful of maids and construction workers. They still passive-aggressive complaints about this not being their jobs throughout the stage while they fight. |
| 435 | * SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: |
| 436 | ** In Chapter 4, you can find an android in a chest. After making an attempt to bribe you to go away with [[ComicallySmallBribe a bit of EXP and Gold, which is chump change at the part of the game you're in]], she fakes a system reboot and tells you [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain that all data from the past conversation was deleted]], then tells you that she was definitely NOT slacking off, because resting is unnecessary for androids, then returns to the Heavenhold. |
| 437 | ** In 11-6 Nightmare, [[spoiler:there is a sign in front of debris, blocking the way to a chest, that claims that "there is no treasure chest behind it.]] |
| 438 | * SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity: A lot of the stages feature stations you can activate to get a full team revive and heal. There is almost always a major battle or boss after. |
| 439 | [[/folder]] |
| 440 | |
| 441 | [[folder:T-Y]] |
| 442 | * TakeAMomentToCatchYourDeath: In ''The Travels of Ice Mountain,'' [[spoiler:a Snowman is [[YouWillBeSpared spared]] by [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lupina]] of all people, only for their brief moment of reprieve to be disrupted and [[Characters/GuardianTalesBasicUniqueHeroes Lahn]] ''tried'' to free him [[BystanderSyndrome (or, at the very least, record him)]], only for him to back away in fear, off the cliff and into a BottomlessPit. Although you could say that they brought it up on themselves.]] |
| 443 | * TakeThat: A [[PoisonMushroom Cursed Artifact]] you can find in Kama-ZONE is called the "Pie from Hell" which mentions that you'd lose your appetite forever after seeing it. You'd think it's some sort of [[CordonBleughChef some sort of crime against the concept of food]], right? Nope, it's just [[StockYuck a pizza with pineapple on it.]] The story ''Afterworld Inc.'' takes it even further by showing that the name is literal: one of the punishments for evil souls after death is to make pineapple pizza until they work off their karmic debt. |
| 444 | * TakingYouWithMe: World 11 has one android that if you turn it on, it then decides to explode on you. |
| 445 | * TemporalParadox: This is basically what happens at the end of world 11. |
| 446 | ** As Sohee explains, the fact that their future did not change means that they created a separate timeline, proving what she calls the [[Anime/DragonBallZ Future Underwear Theory]]. |
| 447 | ** This becomes a big thing at the end of Nightmare 11. [[spoiler:The Future Princess is forced to go to the past by the Savior, the leader of the Invader Forces, promising a 3-year ceasefire if she does or personally destroying Heavenhold if she does not. Regardless, she is thrown into the very beginning of the game, having to protect the Knight as they go through the prologue of the game. This itself means that the Knight had to be sent to the future to create the new timeline so that the Future Princess could go back and save them at the start of the game.]] |
| 448 | * ThreadOfProphecySevered: World 16 [[spoiler:confirms this after months of foreshadowing. The prophecy was supposed to go like this: the Guardian finds the Champion's Sword, which accepts them, then they unite the other twelve Champions and slay the Savior. This plot was followed by the universe, unerringly, for the past ''eight hundred million'' iterations, yet, with this one iteration, something changed. The point of divergence, if you will, for this iteration started a decade ago, before the game begins, with the anomalous birth of LP, who absorbed much of the now-weakened Guardian's power. As such, the latter was too weak to kill Beth where she stood at the throne of Kanterbury, meaning she could lock them away ten years in the Unrecorded World, while Lili's hand was forced to find a replacement for the weak Knight. And the prophecy kept unravelling from there.]] |
| 449 | * ThrowDownTheBomblet: Many enemies, such as traditionally unarmed enemies like medics, can throw damaging grenades at the team leader. In later worlds, passages start to introduce a new enemy class that can throw [[TimeBomb timed bombs]] at the leader, which explode after several seconds. |
| 450 | * TimeAbyss: [[spoiler:It is implied that the world has been trapped in a GroundhogDayLoop for up to 834,527,816 iterations, which each iteration presumably spanning hundreds, if not ''thousands'' of years.]] |
| 451 | * TimedMission: ''Many'' missions of this type exist throughout the game, from 3-3 to 12-5 Nightmare. |
| 452 | ** Really, any puzzle that requires lighting up a number of temporarily lit torches is one of these. |
| 453 | * TitleMontage: The opening sequence features footage from Kanterbury Forest, the Inn and Rah Empire. |
| 454 | * TogglingSetpiecePuzzle: First debuting in World 7, color switches can either be toggled to [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience blue or red.]] If blue, then associated pillars of the same color will be raised while red pillars will be lowered, and vice versa. |
| 455 | * TotallyNotAWerewolf: Almost literally in this case, but [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves,]] who in ''Guardian Tales'' are [[VoluntaryTransformation animal-shapeshifters]] with a LittleBitBeastly humanoid [[ShapeshifterDefaultForm default form]], are often confused with innuits, who are a distinct species who can be identified by their inability to transform into wolves, or any kind of animal. This fact is often exploited by innuits to make profits and get special treatment by organizations such as [[Characters/GuardianTalesFireUniqueHeroes Rey's]] 'Tooth and Fang', much to her honest chagrin. |
| 456 | ** There are also divine beasts, which are highly-intelligent animals of great magical power, and many can willingly transform between humanoid and animal form- an example is [[Characters/GuardianTalesEarthUniqueHeroes Mayreel]]- so there's even ''less'' distinction between them and a highly magically potent werebeast. |
| 457 | * TheTower: World 13, Lilith Tower, [[spoiler:takes place in the [[StarScraper tallest skyscraper]] in Demon World, soaring far beyond all nearby high-rises to an extent that it sticks out like a sore-thumb. It functions as the palace of the Demon Queen, [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Lilith.]]]] |
| 458 | * TrickBoss: The top floor of the Magic School pits you against Flamel, who turns herself into a banshee and is a complete pushover. Then you go back to the main hall to report your success to Elphaba, thinking your job is done, and PSYCHE! [[spoiler: It turns out Elphaba was the mastermind behind the ghost infestation the whole time!]] Naturally, you then have to fight them. |
| 459 | * UndergroundCity: [[spoiler:What remains of the ancient city of [[Characters/GuardianTalesWorld14 Demonshire]] is the underground city of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires.]] Demons from the surface section of the city fled beneath the earth in hopes of co-existing with the vampires after the [[GreatOffscreenWar Demon World Reunification War]] completely annihilated the surface city, where they together created the Artificial Sun to support the life of the refuges without harming the natives.]] |
| 460 | * UndergroundMonkey: Enemies in the various farmable dungeons are usually palette swaps of enemies that appear in other game-modes such as the main story, and these palette swaps [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience are typically associated with their assigned element.]] |
| 461 | * TheUnderworld: Guardian Tales's concept of the afterlife, After World, is based on the Ancient Greek version, but it has two faces: one is a [[{{Heaven}} vacation spot]] where the honorable dead can spend Soul Energy generated by good deeds in life on some rest and relaxation before re-entering the cycle of {{Reincarnation}}. The other is a [[{{Hell}} labor camp]] for sinners to pay off their Soul Energy debt before reincarnating, or, for souls whose sins were so [[MoralEventHorizon numerous and/or damning]] that they can't be kept with others, a maximum security prison where they "work off" their massive debt by suffering solitary confinement for as long as it takes to cleanse their souls of negative karma. It's run as a semi-modern large company split into [[Mystical108 108 divisions]] that manage souls from regions of the living world and trade Soul Energy as currency. They employ spirits who can't or won't reincarnate due to excessive regrets in life as Grim Reapers that manage the various operations of the After World until they either overcome their regrets and rejoin the reincarnation cycle or abandon it permanently to seek [[GodJob higher positions]] in the company. As [[YearInsideHourOutside the normal flow of time]] [[YearOutsideHourInside doesn't apply here]], spirits in After World can remain for as long as needed before reincarnating without interrupting the cycle of life in the living world. |
| 462 | * UnexpectedGameplayChange: Has happened on multiple occasions: |
| 463 | ** End of Prologue: UnexpectedShmupLevel, avoiding dark balls from a cloaked magician |
| 464 | ** World 2: Shooting rockets from a giant steampunk mecha |
| 465 | ** World 4: Motorcycle-powered sand surfing [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential using a beaten-up mercenary as a surfboard]] |
| 466 | ** World 11: Shooting down an Invader aircraft with a gatling gun while riding a trike |
| 467 | ** World 12: ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars''-style strategy game for the first stage, later shifts to a stage-based pseudo-open world level design ala early ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' for the rest of the chapter |
| 468 | ** World 13: Scaling a skyscraper up to the top floor while avoiding falling debris and slowly-approaching robotic spiders |
| 469 | ** World 14: An endless runner-style driving minigame chock full of ''Anime/InitialD'' references |
| 470 | ** ''Rue the Red'': A ''VideoGame/StarFox''-style ShootEmUp, complete with barrel rolls for days |
| 471 | ** World 15: Riding a Demonic Dragon to fly toward an Invader battleship above the skies of the Demon World capital. Similar to ''Rue the Red'''s but focused only on dodging incoming fire. |
| 472 | * UnholyHolySword: [[spoiler:As the plot progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that the something ain't right about the Champion's Sword. As tempting as it is to blame the end of the world on the death of the Savior, or on the will of Labose, it's possible, especially with the revelations of World 18, that the sword itself is the cause of destruction, rather than a mere tool of the Prophecy.]] |
| 473 | * TheUnreveal: The Inn...? world's Nightmare story has the Little Princess introduce herself to a new companion she meets while shrunken down...except the screen goes black when she does so. [[spoiler: The same thing happens when her future self tells you who she is in Unrecorded World.]] |
| 474 | * VersusCharacterSplash: When entering the Arena game-mode, entry into a spar with another player will show your heroes on one side of the screen and their heroes on the other, with a 'vs' in between the two halves. |
| 475 | * ViciousCycle: [[spoiler:The entire setting is stuck in a perpetual time loop. Events follow the same path until the Knight slays the Savior and destroys the current universe. After that, everything resets and repeats. The reason for this cycle is unknown, but the unexpected presence of the Little Princess has allowed this iteration to deviate from the usual script enough that it might be possible to avert the fated catastrophe.]] |
| 476 | * VictoryByEndurance: Due to how the Arena game mode works, it's possible to win using a [[StoneWall Tanker]] or a healing Support unit to survive the thirty seconds with more health than the enemy player- and because the player with the lowest health loses, they win without much actual effort or skill. AndThatsTerrible! |
| 477 | * VideoGameCrueltyPotential: |
| 478 | ** Occasionally, a blimp will fly in from the left side of Heavenhold towards the landing zone on the northeastern area carrying some of your Facebreak followers on a rope, who you can tap for Soul Points. You don't have to wait until it reaches that landing zone, however: If you notice the blimp in time, you can tap the passengers '''before they get over Heavenhold''', causing them to plummet offscreen. |
| 479 | ** You can attack and kill civilians to get money in Demon World. |
| 480 | * VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Attacking and killing civilians in Demon World will increase your wanted rating, which hampers you with debuffs, increasingly difficult law enforcement sent out to stop you (that when overcome, ''also'' increase your wanted level), a drone equipped with a machine gun that forces you to constantly move or be shot, and finally Erina herself shows up to put an end to your rampage. |
| 481 | * VideoGameDashing: Players have access to a dash button right from the start, but it's comparable to a brisk walk at best. Around halfway through World 1, players will then obtain the [[SprintShoes Pegasus Sneakers]], unlocking the full dash functionality with no restrictions whatsoever. |
| 482 | * VillainWorld: In the [[BadFuture Unrecorded World]], [[spoiler:the Invaders [[TheBadGuyWins have pretty much won.]] Even though [[LaResistance The Resistance]] may have extinguished [[Characters/GuardianTalesDarkUniqueHeroes Beth]], she is but one of the thirteen Corps Commanders, who have already [[TakeOverTheWorld conquered much of the world]] and stamped out all opposition- and the Resistance has far too little manpower to even consider taking back Tetis from the Invaders.]] |
| 483 | * ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: [[spoiler:The only way to achieve HundredPercentCompletion for World 12 is to kill a bunch of citizens in 12-4 to boost your infamy to the point where the Chief of National Security [[Characters/GuardianTalesBasicUniqueHeroes Erina]] is forced to strike you down herself- then defeating her will give you a Star Piece.]] |
| 484 | * TheVirus: Technically a bacteria, but the Invaders are fleeing from a man-made bacteria called Labose, that has destroyed their planet, somehow developed sentience, and now chasing them across the stars. It becomes more detailed in tapes found in the story and logs found in the Orbital Lift. In chapter 11, [[spoiler: it turns out the innkeeper, Loraine, is Labose itself]]. |
| 485 | * TheWallAroundTheWorld: Heaven and Demon World are described by Kamael as being so-called 'Primordial Lands', which are sealed off from the rest of [[TheOutsideWorld Tetis]] by a magical barrier, called a Primordial Barrier, wherein the only way to pass it is through the use of portals and teleportation. These Primordial Lands cannot be interacted with from the outside without magic, and cannot even be perceived, so long as those barriers are up. They are often home to powerful beings, such as the gods and the demon gods, along with more mundane creatures, such as angels and demons. Of course, those two examples are not the only examples, there is also the so-called 'Ruined God's Paradise', which is protected by an entity named Pan. |
| 486 | * WeakenedByTheLight: Rather intuitively, heroes attuned to the [[CastingAShadow Dark]] element experience major resistance debuffs against heroes of the [[LightEmUp Light]] element. |
| 487 | * WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: No matter how many allies remain alive, you get a Game Over if the unit you control is defeated. |
| 488 | * WhamEpisode: The end of World 9: You've defeated the BigBad of the world 9 plot, hurray! As you're celebrating that fact, you see [[spoiler:Penny, who was supposedly killed off earlier in the plot]]. You follow her, at which point [[spoiler:she then reveals her real form as the '''Dark Magician''', before chucking the Knight into a rift in space and time]]. This leads directly to... |
| 489 | ** Chapter 10: Unrecorded World. [[spoiler: [[BadFuture You're sent 10 years into the future,]] [[DarkestHour where the Invaders are on the cusp of victory]] and a partially crumbled Heavenhold is the last line of defense against them. Most of your friends are dead, and the ones that are still alive are stretched thin. [[BreakTheCutie And the Princess has]] [[TookALevelInCynic taken a couple levels in cynicism.]]]] |
| 490 | ** Stage 10-2 goes into much more detail on what has happened, and then has the DreamingOfThingsToCome scene: [[spoiler: Soon after you go to sleep, you're awoken by Invaders launching an all-out attack to finish off Heavenhold, and you go to HoldTheLine with the Princess, Craig, Lavi, Marshmallow, the Mad Panda Gang, and Sohee manning a laser cannon. The situation gets progressively worse until you are thrust into a HopelessBossFight that lasts all of about three seconds, FissionMailed, thankfully it was AllJustADream]]. When will it be coming? Oh, tomorrow. |
| 491 | ** Worlds 12 and 13 waste no time in setting the plot back on track after the Unrecorded World, and boy they're not pulling any punches. World 12 opens you up with [[spoiler:Heavenhold being sieged by Invader fighters, shot down by the mothership, and then transported to the Demon World, where everyone ends up scattered and someone has managed to steal your identity, rendering you ''persona non grata'' and even have you branded as a criminal!]] Then when this plot is continued in World 13, what should have been a meeting involving politics and ethics is disastrously derailed by [[spoiler:an utterly horrifying and brutal terrorist attack on Lilith Tower and the surrounding city, turning the chapter's story into a survival thriller where you have to sneak around terrorist patrols and rescue survivors of the initial attack.]] And for World 13 in particular, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero making the wrong choices (or failing to take decisive action at key moments)]] can and ''will'' [[PlotlineDeath get people killed]], impacting the outcome of the ending. |
| 492 | *** 13-9 goes the extra mile to cap off this intense arc by [[spoiler:killing off everyone involved in the arc. The survivors, the terrorists, the other Guardian, '''even you.''' It is only the Little Princess unleashing her mysterious powers in the peak of distress that manages to revert this horrible tragedy.]] |
| 493 | ** The end of World 15. [[spoiler:The Knight, the Little Princess, and the Demon Gods manage to successfully infiltrate and destroy the Invader Queenship sieging the Demon World capital and recover one of the missing Champions. Although the Invaders' 1st Corps Commander was nowhere to be found, Queen Lilith, Erina, and the various law enforcement groups for the capital manage to push the Invaders back so victory seems assured... Then one of the soldiers alert you all of an massive unidentified flying object floating towards the capital in place of the Queenship: it Heavenhold, hijacked by the 1st Corps Commander, who escaped before you even got to the ship's bridge. The with accompanying cutscene showed she has corrupted the Champion's Sword by brainwashing four of the eight found Champions (Marianne, Marvin, Craig, and Coco), moving the ownership of said sword to her. What's more is that she had already obtained the two remaining Mana Singularity Drives needed to power Heavenhold and access its true power, destroying two of the major nations of Demon World in the process. '''Then''' the cutscene finally reveals who the 1st Corps Commander actually is: it's Queen Camilla, [[TheBusCameBack returning after going AWOL since the start of the story]], with the implication that she had been allied with the Invaders the entire time.]] |
| 494 | ** World 16 drops follows up its predecessor with some bangs. [[spoiler:Camilla is revealed to have been working with the Invaders in exchange for protection from her evil ancestor Queen Lili who has worked behind the scenes for untold eons to enforce the prophecy that dooms the world. She confirms that the Knight will destroy the world should they meet and kill the Savior, so she took over Heavenhold to kill them so she could take their role as "Hero" for herself to avert it. After the Knight defeats her, she is possessed by Lili and is forced to sacrifice herself, directing upon herself a lethal magical attack, to protect the Little Princess and deny Lili a new host. When Camilla dies, the Little Princess' grief causes her to release so much of her hidden power that reality itself warps. The full effects were unknown, but the scene ends with a scene of the robot form of Heavenhold standing in a ruined city and the Knight left as the only Champion found once more. It is also hinted that the mysterious Plague Doctor is really the Hero Kaden who became disillusioned after learning that Lili was manipulating him into helping perpetuate the cycle.]] |
| 495 | ** World 17 continues this cycle: [[spoiler: Right off the bat, the Princess is shown to have fallen into a state of extreme despair and denial, enough so to disappear herself and ''the entirety of Heavenhold'', seemingly excluding it's personnel, into an alternate reality ([[AmbiguousSituation perhaps of her own design]]) where the Invader attack never happened and Camilla still lived, temporarily living in that reality with only scattered and disturbing memories of real life and the Guardian. Meanwhile, and Demon World falls into civil war with the specter of the Invaders still lingering over the world and a new, baleful Labose flower blossoms over Saul. Then, after Lorraine makes her return after nearly ''six worlds'', it is confirmed that Kaden is, in fact, the Plague Doctor, researcher and master of Labose, and creator of the aforementioned innkeeper. And while the ongoing war may not be of his design, it will come to consume and depopulate much of Demon World. Finally, at the end of the world, after the Princess came to her senses, and returned at the behest of one of the Knight's broadcasts, she brought back Heavenhold, and activated it, causing it to transform into it's HumongousMecha form, to combat the newly birthed Labose monster.]] |
| 496 | * WhamLine: |
| 497 | ** There's mention of deadly bacteria called "Labose" that ancient humans created that eventually overran their home planet and then drove them off. [[spoiler: Then Lorraine finally mentions what she is: that same corruption.]] |
| 498 | ** Once Beth goes OneWingedAngel in 11-6, she drops this line: |
| 499 | --->'''Beth:''' [[spoiler: [[TheReveal For the survival of humanity!!]]]] |
| 500 | * WhatIf: [[spoiler:The flashbacks in 18-9 serve to preview what had transpired in a world in which the Princess did not exist.]] |
| 501 | * WhyIsntItAttacking: [[spoiler:In the hidden Expedition trial area 'Crawlers' Chapel', you will be treated to the sight of a group of normally hyper-aggressive {{Giant Spider}}s, who seem enamored by a carven idol of their goddess and won't attack. [[BerserkButton If you should steal it, however...]]]] |
| 502 | * WorldHealingWave: [[spoiler:At the end of World 18, the Knight and the Little Princess ultimately expunge all (or at least most) of the lingering Labose from an addled Demon World using their combined powers, amplified by the Champion's Sword.]] |
| 503 | * WorldOfJerkass: Mount Shivering. The Snowman tribe is practically defined by its FantasticRacism of the Innuits. The Innuits are better, but are still quick to turn against anyone different and not above using the prejudice against werebeasts as a cover for crimes. There's an Ice Witch also over there that likes to go on random hunts just to sate her ego, but the one time she does it on-screen [[AssholeVictim will probably not be met with sympathy for the victim]]. The mountain is so bad that the major characters of the story washed their hands of the whole place and [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere left in disgust]]. |
| 504 | * WorldTree: Well, there ''was,'' before it was destroyed during the chronology of ''Dungeon Link''. It granted the gods much of their extrinsic power and magic, and provided a link between the mortals of Tetis and divinity, allowing them to use [[WhiteMagic Holy Magic.]] While it [[CrypticBackgroundReference hasn't appeared in the main story,]] or any of the supplementary material or side-stories, it's non-existence is central to the side-plot involving Heaven, and reviving it is one of [[Characters/GuardianTalesEarthUniqueHeroes Kamael's]] core motivations, as of yet. |
| 505 | * WorldWreckingWave: [[spoiler:On a far smaller scale than the world healing wave example above, every time Claude decides to press the reset button and destroy the Artificial Sun for more borrowed time, the cutscene depicts Demonshire being shredded into dust by a SphereOfDestruction in this manner.]] |
| 506 | * YinYangBomb: The Ultimate Fire Ice Bomb combines the powers of the elements of it's namesake. |
| 507 | * YouBastard: When commiting a immoral or atrocious act, a character in your party will vocally excoriate your act, unless if they themselves are particularly [[JadeColoredGlasses jaded]] or [[TokenEvilTeammate evil]]. |
| 508 | -->'''Future Princess:''' [[WhatTheHellHero "This is not the you that I remember..."]] |
| 509 | [[/folder]] |
| 510 | |
| 511 | ---- |
| 512 | ->'''Work Page Complete.''' |
| 513 | ->''The Troper's Sword partially recovered its power.'' |
| 514 |
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