Favorite RPG Tropes/Cliches?

[Wolf Kanno]

We all have one or two we don't mind. Some may dislike them others love them. Do you like stories about amnesia? Treacherous Chancellors? Is you favorite party member always the badass loner or plucky young girl/jailbait? Do you love having kids grow up and save the world or are you more of a AFGNCAAP.

[Fynn]

I do like the Unreliable Narrator trope a lot.

Also, Big Bad Friend.

Anything that involves betrayal and hurt. I'm a huge fan of bittersweet endings, so the more pain I need to go through in the game, the better

[FFNut]

I enjoy that at some point in almost every game, I hop on something that fly's and I get to experience the whole world map from the sky!

[Anzai]

If absolutely loving an Eldritch Abomination as an antagonist or other form of Boss Fight is wrong, I never want to be right. Sanity Slippage is another favorite... Because honestly living through an RPG would eventually weigh on anyone's mind. Seeing something other than unflappable, seemingly flawless heroes staying totally unaffected through the whole journey is strangely refreshing.

Despite this, I'm not a fan of Cosmic Horror Story being played completely straight. Finishing an RPG to be greeted with an unavoidable Downer Ending just feels wrong on several levels. Even if it has to be diluted down to Lovecraft Lite, lets see a Bittersweet Ending at least.

[Fynn]

I love it when we start speaking Troperese

[Zanmato]

I love that "from zero to hero" thing and "friendship power". XD

[Bright Shield]

The Heroic Rematch takes my vote.

So it goes a little something like this. The hero will come across a villain that is simply too powerful for him to defeat. The hero will be badly beaten and left for dead/impisoned/spared/saved/whatever. The hero will then face this villain again later in the story; after growing stronger. This time much more will be at stake, and the hero will win.

[Mirage]

i like bittersweet endings, but let's be real, that's far from an RPG trope

[Vermachtnis]

I like snarky characters. Especially since voice acting and they talk during battles. And cloudcukoolanders are a very close second.

The Heroic Rematch takes my vote.

So it goes a little something like this. The hero will come across a villain that is simply too powerful for him to defeat. The hero will be badly beaten and left for dead/impisoned/spared/saved/whatever. The hero will then face this villain again later in the story; after growing stronger. This time much more will be at stake, and the hero will win.

[Pumpkin]

THERE ARE TOO MANY TO NAME

I'm one of those people who very rarely minds tropes, even if they're cliche. I'll still get enjoyment out of them. Video games just make me happy even if they're a huge cliche fest, especially RPG's.

One I do like is deconstructions though. I may like tropes a lot but that doesn't mean I can't see their faults or anything, so it's neat to see them deconstructed. Might be why I'm such a big fan of the Tales series

[Karifean]

I do like the Unreliable Narrator trope a lot.

Seconded.

I'll also say that the amnesia trope, when done well, is great. As long as it doesn't allow for too convenient plot development and there's a believable explanation for it, and it's not just "oh I forgot about this really important part of my life for no reason."

I have a soft spot for wedding crashes. They're strangely delightful every time.

I also admittedly get caught up in heroic sacrifices pretty easily. Speaking of which-

I'm a huge fan of bittersweet endings, so the more pain I need to go through in the game, the better

Also seconded, but on that note, I love fakeout endings as well. Regardless if they go from bittersweet to happy or vice versa. Of course it can easily be a cop-out, but even if it does end up being one I usually forgive it for the sake of having the characters be happy.

[Shorty]

Amnesia tropes and fakeout endings always get me. I usually like them, but the FFX fakeout ending was awful.

[FFNut]

Amnesia tropes and fakeout endings always get me. I usually like them, but the FFX fakeout ending was awful.

Agreed the the game was much better than the ending.

[Mr. Carnelian]

I really like a bit of Lampshading.

That's where the game deliberately draws attention to something implausible, often to humorous effect.

For example, a gameplay element that doesn't really make sense, like looting corpses after every battle.

It's not something I've really noticed in Final Fantasy, but Bioware are pretty good at it.