Paper Jam Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 I came across this list of console RPG cliches, which you may read here if you wish: http://project-apollo.net/text/rpg.html As I read through it, I somehow thought about Path of Radiance, because quite a few of those cliches seem to be present, or at least played with, in Path of Radiance. As old as the game is, I don't think I need to give any SPOILER WARNINGS... but I just did, just in case... So... 1. Sleepyhead Rule. The very first scene in the game is not Ike waking up after oversleeping... but the second scene is. It isn't his mother who wakes him up, but he wakes up on his own after having a dream about his mother. 2. "No! My beloved peasant village!" The closest thing Ike has to a "beloved peasant village" is the Mercenary Fort, which does indeed get sacked by Daein quite early in the game. However, as evident from Radiant Dawn, it was not annihilated in a spectacular fashion. 3. Thinking With The Wrong Head. Despite his lack of romantic interest in Elincia, Ike is quite eager to defend her even when he barely knows her. 4. Cubic Zirconium Corollary. It isn't Elincia who wears a strange pendant; it's Mist. On the other hand, the first time we see it is when Mist shows it to Elincia. This pendant is, indeed, the key to either saving the world or destroying it. 5. Logan's Run Rule. Most of the Greil Mercenaries are young, such as Ike and Boyd (17), Soren (19), Mist (14), and Rolf (early 10's). On the other hand, there is also Oscar (mid to late 20s), Titania (30s?), and Shinon (27), and most of them are good fighters too. 6. Single Parent Rule. Ike and Mist lost their mother more than ten years before PoR. Her death could certainly be considered mysterious and traumatic, and Greil's death at the end of chapter 8 could certainly be considered awkward. 7. Some Call me... Tim? Does not apply to PoR: The only characters with last names that we know of are Elincia Ridell Crimea and Sanaki Kirsch Altina, and they're both good guys. One could infer that Ashnard's last name is Daein, but that would make Ashnard his first name... 9. The Compulsories. Also N/A. Most of the maps are outdoors, and the indoor maps are just ordinary castles. 8. Nominal Rule. The only characters with names are chapter bosses and recruitable characters. 10. Luddite Rule. There isn't much technology to speak of in Fire Emblem, but ballistae and catapults are ALWAYS positioned to the enemy's advantage, and the Feral Drug is just plain evil. 11. Let's Start from the Very Beginning. Nope. Ike at the beginning of Radiant Dawn is about as strong as he was at the end of Path of Radiance. So are most of the characters from Path of Radiance. 12. Poor Little Rich Hero. Ike's family had indeed fallen on hard times; in fact, Greil threw away his title before Ike was even born. On the other hand, Ike doesn't know that he is the son of a Daein noble until about halfway through the game, and he doesn't really care afterward. 13. The Higher the Hair, the Closer to God. Ike's hair is more spiky than anybody else's, but not enough for me to consider it outrageous. I'd say that this one doesn't apply. 14. Garrett's Principle. You can't just walk into ANYBODY'S house; only houses that have open doors. On the other hand, you are pretty much stealing from everyone you visit... 15. Hey, I Know You! The "big, tough, angry guy who, deep down, is a total softy" could be Boyd. The "hero's best friend" would be Soren, but YMMV as to whether he is cooler than Ike. Shinon probably qualifies as "the grim, selfish mercenary." And that makes the requisite three... 16. Hey, I Know You, Too! The "amazingly good-looking and amazingly long-haired pretty boy" describes Sephiran pretty well. The "mad scientist" is most definitely Izuka. On the other hand, you never get to fight either of them... yet... 17. Hey, I Know You, Three! "Hilariously incompetent and cowardly soldiers" are a pretty good description of most of the soldiers in the game. (Sorry.) "The wise and noble captain/king/high priest"... Could I insert "empress" in there and use Sanaki as an example? And she does have a "splutteringly evil second-in-command", too... or an entire Senate full of them... 18. Crono's Complaint. Ike does say enough to rightly get him in trouble, so this one is pretty much N/A. 19. "Silly Squall, Bringing a Sword to a Gunfight." Ike vs. the Black Knight. Ragnell and Alondite. Both stronger than any other weapons, and both capable of ranged attacks. Ignoring the absence of guns, this cliche is played straight. 20. Just Nod Your Head And Smile. Of course Ike doesn't stand out in a crowd despite his BFS; the only crowd he's ever in after he starts wielding Ragnell is his own army... I could go on, but there are another 174 cliches, and I don't want this post to become tl:dr. So... any questions, comments, or flames? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Cynthia- Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 (edited) Well all Fire Emblems are fairly cliched, it has its own page on TVtropes as well. Jill's last name is Fizzart. The rest of the list applies pretty well too. Edited July 13, 2009 by -Cynthia- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Spoon Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 (edited) Here's another that applies. 86. Wait! That Was A Load-Bearing Boss! Defeating a dungeon's boss creature will frequently cause the dungeon to collapse, which is nonsensical but does make for thrilling escape scenes. Edited July 14, 2009 by Miror B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paper Jam Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 170. Luke, I Am Your Tedious, Overused Plot Device (Lynx Rule) This one isn't played completely straight, but I think that Intelligent Systems knew about the cliche and played with it a bit; there is no doubt whatsoever that Greil is Ike's father, and Greil is not a villain. Then again, even though there isn't even a hint in Path of Radiance that Ashnard could have had a child in secret, and Ashnard himself implies that he didn't... it turns out at the end of Radiant Dawn that he was Soren's father. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikethfc Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 At the only bosses/ recruitable characters have faces I have 3 words Yo ho har Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT075 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 23. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Melfice Rule) If the male hero has an older sibling, the sibling will also be male and will turn out to be one of the major villains. If the hero has a younger sibling, the sibling will be female and will be kidnapped and held hostage by the villains. Mist is Ike's younger sibling and is kidnapped at the beginning of the game. 24. Capitalism Is A Harsh Mistress Once you sell something to a shopkeeper, he instantly sells it to somebody else and you will never see the item again no matter what. I could say that if you sell a basic weapon to Jorge (or Daniel), Muston will have it again sometime later, but I don't think that counts. 34. Zap! Most villains in RPGs possess some form of teleportation. They generally use it to materialize in front of the adventurers when they reach the Obligatory Legendary Relic Room and seize the goodies just before you can. The question "if the bad guy can teleport anywhere at any time, then why doesn't (s)he just zip in, grab the artifact, and leave before the adventurers have even finished the nerve-wracking puzzle on the third floor?" is never answered. Hi, I'm Zelgius the Black Knight and I can warp around where ever I please! 40. Zelda's Axiom Whenever somebody tells you about "the five ancient talismans" or "the nine legendary crystals" or whatever, you can be quite confident that Saving the World will require you to go out and find every last one of them. Technically there is only one relic, but it does count. 59. Apathy Principle Your group is the only bunch of people trying to save the world. All other would-be heroes will either join your party or else turn out to be cowards and/or con men. Uh-huh. Pretty looks like it to me. I could list some more, but I'm too lazy to actually read all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paper Jam Posted July 19, 2009 Author Share Posted July 19, 2009 (edited) The question "if the bad guy can teleport anywhere at any time, then why doesn't (s)he just zip in, grab the artifact, and leave before the adventurers have even finished the nerve-wracking puzzle on the third floor?" is never answered. Yes it is: The Warp Powder exhausts the Black Knight, so he only uses it when he absolutely has to. Usually, he doesn't have to. And the Rewarp staff hadn't been invented yet. And the Black Knight doesn't have any skill in staves anyway. Edited July 19, 2009 by Paper Jam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikethfc Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 59. Apathy PrincipleYour group is the only bunch of people trying to save the world. All other would-be heroes will either join your party or else turn out to be cowards and/or con men. GOLDOA WILL NOT MOVE I know its said in Radiant dawn but Most of Goldoa remains Neutral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasori Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Well all Fire Emblems are fairly cliched, it has its own page on TVtropes as well. Whats tv tropes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ϲharlie Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Whats tv tropes? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage Check it out for yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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