Finally, after a long and arduous journey, it is time for the hero and his allies to defeat the Demon King. There's just one problem: the hero has lost every memory about how he got here. During the five-minute battle that follows, the words of both his allies and his foe reawaken his memories, which he must relive in order to vanquish the evil before him.
That's right! I remember the Tropes!
- Anachronic Order: While the battle against the Demon King is experienced in linear time, the memories Flash experiences are told at different points in the journey.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: Two of the flashbacks are played from the perspectives of Haru and Fuzz.
- Animate Inanimate Object: The fog turns most inanimate objects into demons.
- Anti-Grinding: Your stats, items, equipment, and levels are determined by which memory you access, making grinding for money, items, or EXP fairly pointless.
- Artificial Stupidity: The Balanced auto-fight option means your party members will only use their weakest healing and offensive spells, focusing on Healing will have them cast healing spells even when not in need of it, and using their strongest attacks doesn't apply to special techniques, which they won't use.
- The Bard: Regent goes against his parents' wishes to be a wizard by becoming a bard.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Yuzu is a martial artist strong enough to break down statues and doors.
- Big Bad: The Demon King is responsible for all the trouble plaguing the land.
- Bittersweet Ending: One ending has Haru die and Fuzz live, while another has the opposite occur. A Golden Ending lets them both live.
- But Thou Must!: Choosing bad endings shows a playable scene of Flash committing horrible acts, but it's revealed it was only imaginary and he'd never do that.
- The Corruption: The Fog changes living and inanimate objects into demons, including the Demon King himself.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Any of the Dark Flash scenarios have him effortlessly dispatching anyone he talks to, even NPCs behind counters.
- Death Dealer: The Casino Queen attacks the party with playing cards and coins.
- Dirty Old Man: There's an old man in Bararakerume who waits by the sea just so he can catch a glimpse of the wind lifting girls' skirts.
- Easy Amnesia: The crux of the game is the main protagonist forgetting everything about his journey upon reaching the final boss.
- Easy Level Trick: Much like Pokémon Red and Blue's rigged slot machines, one slot machine in the Shining City memory will dispense high rates of coins, including an automatic jackpot after about 3 minutes.
- Enemy Scan: The hero and Chloe learn a low-cost "Perfect Scan" spell that reveals an enemy's stats and elemental weaknesses.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The Demon King takes an interest in humanity and the heroes' memories, and is genuinely curious about what they feel and why.
- Face–Heel Turn: One bad ending has Flash become the Demon King's champion where he proceeds to slaughter everyone in the Kingdom of Stockton.
- Golden Ending: The best ending saves Haru and Fuzz.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Chloe, Yanagi, and Kogure join the party at various points, but the main party consists of Flash, Clover, Regent, and Yuzu.
- Guide Dang It!: Getting the second 5:00 memory requires you to not use Fuzz's sword during the final battle.
- Hot Springs Episode: "Magma Bath From Hell" is one.
- How We Got Here: The majority of the game consists of Flashbacks while the protagonists fight the Demon King.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: The Fog was created by humans, and spread demonic magic into the world.
- Ice Magic Is Water: When entering the Gates of Hell near Naraca Springs, Kogure recommends bringing Clover along, as her ice magic can put out the flames in the cave.
- It Sucks to Be the Chosen One:
- Clover, Yuzu, and Regent all want normal lives and are terrified of dying to the Demon King.
- Even moreso with Walking Spoiler Haru, who has the unique power to purify the Fog and can even drive it out of Fuzz at the cost of her own life.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Regent loves girls' breasts, but otherwise is an okay guy.
- Magic Music: Stardust Island has a magic piano that drains people of the will to live.
- The Maze: Stardust Island and Dead Beach are huge mazes.
- Mini Game Zone: Money Heaven has the "Stardust Arrow" mini-game where you shoot down Prinnies and try to trigger chain reactions for points, as well as a casino with slot machines.
- Mood Whiplash: The game is mostly silly, but the bad endings of Flash killing himself, his allies, or an entire town are played dead serious.
- No Final Boss for You: Choosing to kill Fuzz abruptly ends the game, without a final boss fight, a memory scene, or an extensive ending.
- No-Gear Level: The prison has statues that dampen magic, and the party's equipment is removed and must be found.
- Non-Combat EXP: Your party gains "Re-Experience" points (that add to their levels and stats during memory quests) not only by fighting enemies, but also for completing side quests and getting high scores in Mini Games.
- Official Couple: Flash and Haru both declare their love for one another late in the game.
- Optional Party Member: Late in the game you have the option to take Chloe, Kogure, or Yanagi with you instead of your main team.
- Outdoor Bath Peeping: When the party gets to the famous Naraca Hot Springs, Regent tries to sneak a peek at one of the women's hot springs, but Yuzu beats him up over it...only to dash into the men's hot spring a few seconds later and freak out when she gets an eyeful. A second one is built around a thick forest specifically to keep out peeping toms, but one NPC finds a gap between the trees that lets him see through. Another episode has Flash either joining Regent in peeping on the girls or staying back at the hotel room.
- Pinky Swear: The cutscene "Absolutely" has the hero promising a little boy that he'll "defeat all the demons" for him so that the boy can go outside of town again.
- Pixel Hunt: Some sidequests have you searching random squares for lost items.
- Prison Episode: After Regent wins big at the casino, the party is imprisoned on Stardust Island and must escape.
- Punny Name: The main hero's name is Flash Back.
- Rival Turned Evil: Fuzz Heartbreak became possessed by the Malice-corrupted Goddess Sword and became the Demon King out of a bid to become stronger.
- Ship Sinking: Any chance of Clover ending up with Flash are completely dashed when both Flash and Haru confess to each toward the end of the game.
- Ship Tease: The game mainly ships Flash with Clover and Haru, with the latter being the one he ends up with, Regent with Yuzu, and Chloe with Yanagi in the ending where Haru dies.
- Shout-Out:
- The game's art style is heavily reminiscent of EarthBound, while Money Heaven is an extremely obvious reference to Pokémon Red and Blue's Celadon City, complete with a hotel, casino, and department store. Other Pokémon shout-outs include spinning tile mazes and rock-pushing puzzles.
- Kogure mentions that his father's nickname is "Speed-o'-Sound Shigure".
- In the Hero Selection Exam, one of the candidates wonders if he can really become the hero.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Yuzu and Regent have this kind of relationship, especially if you go shopping with Clover.
- Stepford Smiler: Regent uses humor and mood swings to distract himself from pain.
- Talking Is a Free Action: While talking with the Demon King takes time, all of the seemingly lengthy flashbacks are instantaneous.
- 10-Minute Retirement: After the King of Stockwell tasks the party with defeating the Demon King, Clover and Yuzu take time off to think about quitting, and Regent agrees with their reasons. Then they come back together having decided they'll do it anyway.
- Tom the Dark Lord: The Demon King's real name is Fuzz.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can accept any of the Demon King's offers and join him in massacring the world.
- Walking Spoiler: Haru and Fuzz only appear after 4:00, making their very existence spoilers.
- Wham Episode: 4:00. After the party rallies against the Demon King, it's revealed the entire fight was an illusion and his real form is that of a young boy named Fuzz.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Accepting any of the Demon King's offers to join him results in everyone calling you a terrible person.
