Gaming tropes you really like?

[fake-kun]

I love it when the game teaches you how to play through the gameplay (e.g. Mega Man X's intro stage).

 

[robinainthood]

When the tutorial is immersive! There's nothing I hate more than when a game takes you out of the story to tell you how to do things.

 

[Ikagura]

I think another thread is pretty similar to this (link). Anyway, mine is cheat codes. I really like how some games activates the cheat codes, whether by doing a hidden input or after finding secrets in-game

I've forgotten my own thread.

I love it when early game bosses or mini-bosses become common enemies later on. It gives a very easy to understand sense of progression in how much stronger the player has gotten.

Beat'em ups and RPGs love that trope (so do I).

Ultrakill does that for some of the enemies, they appear as a min-boss to make you learn their pattern before they team up with others.

Speaking of which, I love when the same boss comes back for a "revenge" where it gains new patterns (and design sometimes) either in harder modes or later in the game.

Kirby loves that with post-game modes and I think some Treasure game had the same boss coming back for a final round.

Spoiler

 

[nemui-enbi]

• Pause menu with all the options in the world
• Repeated themes (music, mechanics or thematic) under different circumstances, specially boss fights
• Power trip after the game made you feel weak or intimidated
• Unlockable minigames, it's also cool when it's an actual game from the past

I love Neera Li from Freedom Planet for this very reason. And Karai from Shredder Revenge. I guess I have a thing for serious and disciplined fighting women.

Ooo an *actual* pause menu is underrated fr

 

[ciro64]

Ooo an *actual* pause menu is underrated fr

I also love when the pause menu has a photo mode where you can rotate the scenes in all the ways you like.

Talking about pause menus, The Incredibles for the PS2 stuck with me because the title menu is really simple, but upon pausing the game everything is there. You can even watch small bits of the movie then resume gameplay.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

When at the end or near the end, all the NPCs or factions that you helped throughout the game come to help you out, or give some sort of support.

When NPCs can have romantic options with one another, the shipping fuel is always fun.

Wake-up call bosses, meant to make sure you actually understand the mechanics of the game, or get your teeth kicked in.

Being able to read about your accomplishments in newspapers or hearing rumors about the accomplishments you'd made, aka the ego trip.

Good Sanity effects that actually mess with the player, sadly this is only a thing in Eternal Darkness.

 

[Yousef]

Power of friendship. I eat it up like breakfast!

 

[Tonberry]

• Leitmotifs
• Double jumping
• Victory-lap final bosses (like shirtless Sephiroth after Safer Sephiroth
• Forest levels
• Self-imposed grinds (getting a specific armor set in MonHun for example)
• Open-world games that mix relaxing exploration with fast-paced combat (AC Odyssey and Valhalla for example)
• Procedurally generated dungeons
• Handcrafted dungeons

Just off the top of my head. There are billions!

 

[Bakuma1997]

• All those final bosses where most secondary characters and even former enemies joint to cap the final meanie's ass
• Organic tutorials in the intro level
• Superbosses that not only you can unlock, they also retain the things that made them a superboss in the first place
• Credits where enemies and bosses are named
• Carthography side missions, make you feel like you are exploring the game for fun rather than merely wanting to finish a mission
• Lore in the descriptions
• When rather than merely a "YOU WIN" in the menu you get collectables that make your effort worth it

My favorite one, so far, must be shoutout to melancholic soft melody per final boss theme
Gotta be my favorite gaming music genre

 

[RunicOrangejuice]

Some tropes I love no matter what:

• Arcade/casino-style sensory overload. I loved it when Capcom and SNK put them in their fighting games (whether in the VS loading screens or in super moves). (They seem to have backed off from it to some degree in more recent games.) The absolute master of this, though, is Vampire Survivors, which was built by a former slot machine developer, and it shows.
• Latin chorus in the final boss music. This alone makes some of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters incredible. It adds the one thing the original songs were lacking.
• Moe. Judge all you want; I love my cute anime ladies. (Also, fan service that isn't insulting is quite welcome.)
• On that note, the attractive woman who can keep up with the guys. Fighting wifu > damsel in distress.
• Relationship management and/or marriage. As long as it isn't forced and you can do it at your leisure, it adds a bit of a heart-warming element to the game. I wish Dragon Quest made this into a standard feature, as they get it right every time.
• Skill trees. It's really satisfying to build up your character the way you want them to be built and plan out the optimal route for that.

A little more specific take on 3 is Fanservice Villains.
<3 Edea/ Ultimecia
Edit: Not ashamed to admit Ultimecia just literally frightened me everytime I saw her. Only FF boss to ever frighten me, IMO

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

When the protagonist is struggling in the final fight and all your friends give you a power boost. Makes me emotional every time.

 

[NobodyHere]

Personally more customization the better. In RPGs I like bigger playable casts. Multiple endings, same vain story branching/ player choices that actually matter.

 

[ciro64]

I love a final boss that has the same abilities as the player, but I love even more when the previous protagonist switches from being the playable character to the boss in question. Especially when you get to play as the villain!

I think this fight in Half-Genie Hero DLC is one of the coolest things ever, even if I don't think the game holds that well in terms of gameplay and story

 

[SolemnlyDoc]

When a group of friends gets dragged into a dangerous mission/quest because they refuse to leave one person to their fate. Love the camaraderie.

 

[RunicOrangejuice]

It was cool for me to see Ultimecia use Shockwave Pular, even though I didn't get it first playthrough. It was the final dried glue in my Quistis love diorama.
I got it second time around, but never finished the game due to various reasons.
Currently playing it again, determined to go head-to-head.

Post automatically merged: Feb 20, 2025

When a group of friends gets dragged into a dangerous mission/quest because they refuse to leave one person to their fate. Love the camaraderie.

Seifer, you delinquent.
Here is cute video of a v-tuber playing though that section. It's @35 min, but does get around to the part I mean:

fujin raijin after balamb garden given up on garden scene ff8 - Google Suche

www.google.com

Post automatically merged: Feb 20, 2025

That girl may as well have been me during my first FF 8 playthrough. I went into it that with that same level of naivety. I'm glad she got to share that. It's genuine.
Edit: Haha, that girl IS me. (Not literally). Yes, I even cured Fujin too.

Post automatically merged: Feb 20, 2025

Skip to around 28 minutes in to see the actual scene.

 

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

Sunken shipwrecks and ghost ships. Pretty much my favorite aesthetic/theme for areas.

Game worlds that are basically a "water world" where it's mostly several islands and small continents connected by boat.

Character customization.

Interconnected worlds that blend seamlessly, without being just "open world" or "sandbox." Think Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne.

The "serene beach" area that ends up being super important.

"Evolving" weapons, like Dark Cloud and Curse of Darkness.

Literal world rebuilding and rearranging, like Dark Cloud an Actraiser. Especially when it ties into the plot and can have different results depending on how you do it.

The world/story itself radically changing based on your actions.

 

[Ikagura]

I love a final boss that has the same abilities as the player,

While "dark counterpart" may be lazy I like when they have equivalent while having their own twist on these powers (like Shiva from SoR 2&3 who had the same moveset as the protags).

Green in Gunstar Heroes is said to have the Gunstars' actions since he was part of the team.

Spoiler

but I love even more when the previous protagonist switches from being the playable character to the boss in question. Especially when you get to play as the villain!

I love that too!

This is a trope that works well if you have a long lasting series obviously

Spoiler alert:

Dueling Player Characters - TV Tropes

Most single-player video games have a single Player Character whom the player steers throughout the adventure. Some feature more of them, with the player controlling each one of them in turns. And then there are some that pit one player character …

tvtropes.org

Interconnected worlds that blend seamlessly, without being just "open world" or "sandbox." Think Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne.

The Ys series with entries like Ys I, Ys Ark of Napishtim and even Lacrimosa of Dana?

Literal world rebuilding and rearranging, like Dark Cloud an Actraiser. Especially when it ties into the plot and can have different results depending on how you do it.

Terraria once you reach hardmode?

 

[Bakuma1997]

I FUCKING LOVE FINAL BOSSES WHERE THE PLANET THE GAME IS SENT APPEARS IN THE BACKGROUND

I LOVE SEEING THE THINGS I AM PROTECTING SILENTLY CHEERING FOR ME TO STOP THE EVIL ONCE AND FOR ALL

(For the curious Clockwise from upper left:
Megaman Zero 4
Sonic Frontiers
Transformers Devastation
Zen the Intergalactic Ninja)

 

[Ikagura]

I FUCKING LOVE FINAL BOSSES WHERE THE PLANET THE GAME IS SENT APPEARS IN THE BACKGROUND
View attachment 36277
I LOVE SEEING THE THINGS I AM PROTECTING SILENTLY CHEERING FOR ME TO STOP THE EVIL ONCE AND FOR ALL
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(For the curious Clockwise from upper left:
Megaman Zero 4
Sonic Frontiers
Transformers Devastation
Zen the Intergalactic Ninja)

Outer space final battle are cool indeed.

The Sonic series loved to do that starting from Sonic 2

Kirby as well sometimes

Although Sin & Punishment's is probably my favourite of them all

Spoiler

 

[DaxterDotEXE]

More broadly and thematic over gameplay:

Dying Earth, Ancient Civilization but it's actually Futuristic Technology, Reality & Fantasy Intersecting, Lovecraftian Horror (Thanks Bloodborne), Greek/Roman/Aztec/Mayan Mythology, Post Human Fucked Up World, Drugs/VR induced Matrix-like alternative world. Extremely Gratuitous Gore, Acid Trip Visuals.

 

[Yousef]

Power of friendship

 

[CargoRoms]

Berserker Mode/Devil Trigger Mechanic.

Feels good to let it out.

 

[Ikagura]

More broadly and thematic over gameplay:

Dying Earth, Ancient Civilization but it's actually Futuristic Technology, Reality & Fantasy Intersecting, Lovecraftian Horror (Thanks Bloodborne), Greek/Roman/Aztec/Mayan Mythology, Post Human Fucked Up World, Drugs/VR induced Matrix-like alternative world. Extremely Gratuitous Gore, Acid Trip Visuals.

Dying Earth as in post apocalyptic? I do enjoy seeing remnants of what was before.

I can thank Phantasy Star with Dark Force/Dark Falz and Kirby for otherworldly creatures.

Mayan/Mesoamerican aesthetic is so underrated. I liked it in Sonic Adventure but it's rarely used. I feel that Egyptian and Nordic mythos and aesthetic are getting overused.

Berserker Mode/Devil Trigger Mechanic.

Feels good to let it out.

Glass Canons too?

Personally I'll also add:

Surprise boss rushes before the finale (especially when it's about older bosses having a new card in their sleeves)

Or as a post game for a challenge

 

[DaxterDotEXE]

Dying Earth as in post apocalyptic? I do enjoy seeing remnants of what was before.

I can thank Phantasy Star with Dark Force/Dark Falz and Kirby for otherworldly creatures.

Mayan/Mesoamerican aesthetic is so underrated. I liked it in Sonic Adventure but it's rarely used. I feel that Egyptian and Nordic mythos and aesthetic are getting overused.

Not necessarily Post Apocalyptic, Dying Earth just means a world that is about to end, think about Dark Souls.

 

[Ikagura]

Not necessarily Post Apocalyptic, Dying Earth just means a world that is about to end, think about Dark Souls.

Oh, so more like pre-apocalyptic or just "not with a bang but a whimper".