Basic Trope: By exploiting a simple trick or exploit, it is possible to beat a level in significantly less time and effort.
- Straight: In Tales of Troperia XIX, Big Boo's Haunt contains plentiful respawning ghosts that are immune to physical damage and resist magic, making the level a time-consuming slog as you fight through them. However, the otherwise Useless Useful Spell "Petrify" turns them to stone which allows them to be killed with a single physical attack. Ghosts killed in this fashion also do not respawn, making the level a cakewalk.
- Exaggerated:
- Killing just a single ghost in this fashion causes the rest to stop spawning as well.
- A mass "Petrify All" spell can be acquired just before the level.
- Downplayed: The Petrify/physical attack combo works on individual ghosts, but they still respawn at a high enough rate that you'll likely run out of Mana to cast the spell before you can complete the level.
- Justified: The Petrify spell was made by a local mage specifically to deal with the ghosts and he teaches it to you immediately before the level.
- Inverted:
- Self-Imposed Challenge
- The game can recognize any attempt to exploit the mechanics and will automatically make the level more difficult and time-consuming if you attempt them.
- Subverted: Any ghosts you kill with this method power up the boss at the end of the level, ultimately making it much harder.
- Double-Subverted:...they power up the boss, who can be dispatched with the exact same method for an easy win.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig-Zagged: Any ghosts you kill with this method power up the boss at the end of the level, but he can be dispatched with the exact same method, however, this makes his later Boss Rematch even harder and there, he cannot be dispatched using this method...
- Averted: The game is well-balanced and there are no tricks or exploits to make parts easier.
- Enforced: The game is based on a book in which the protagonist uses this trick to get through the area.
- Lampshaded: ???
- Defied: The Petrify trick is nerfed in a patch.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: Hiro comments during the party's first battle against the ghosts that they should "use Petrify and make this level super easy".
- Deconstructed: The Big Bad is a Necromancer who is bringing the dead back to life as part of his Evil Plan. Dispatching the undead in an exploitative manor locks them out of the afterlife, which gives you negative karma. Enough negative karma, and you'll be locked out of the Golden Ending.
- Reconstructed: Despite being locked out of the Golden Ending, it is commonly agreed that the "Petrify ghosts" method is actually far more effective for getting the bad endings precisely because it's one of the easiest (and least tedious) ways of getting negative Karma in order to Earn Your Bad Ending and eventually unlock the Omega Ending.
- Played for Laughs: ???
- Played for Drama: ???
