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The Protagonists[]

Asellus[]

File:Asellus Headshot 6194.jpg

Blue[]

File:Blue Headshot 2428.jpg
Cquote1

 "How...could...you...ever..beat...me?...This...is...un...believe...able."

Cquote2
  • Jerkass- He just sits in his suite on the Cygnus when it's attacked, refusing to help Red because of his name. On his own quest, if swallowed by Tanzer, he ignores the attack by Nomad's fighters against the other passengers, and abandons Fei-On in Tanzer's stomach.
  • Theme Twin Naming
  • Villain Protagonist
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy / Blond Guys Are Evil- Manages to pull off both of these--His sprite has blond hair, though in all the artwork, it's white like Rouge's. Hair color aside, as for why he fits these, see Jerkass above.

Emelia[]

File:Emelia Headshot 9028.jpg
  • Clothes Make the Superman - Being an ex-supermodel, Emelia can get stat boosts in her clothes. Two of her four outfits give a minor benefit in a different skill. More specifically, they swap her "Spark Talent List"--that is, the moves she's most likely to learn, with the other ladies of Gradius.
    • Pink Tiger outfit boosts her barehanded attacks by swapping her list with Liza's
    • Bunnygirl outfit was likely meant to boost her magic skills, but has no effect.
    • Belly Dancer outfit boosts her sword techniques by swapping her list with Annie's
    • Soldieress outfit was likely meant to boost her gunplay, (possibly by swapping her hidden gun/magic stat (0) with Roufas (6)) but does has no effect.
  • Emelia Is About To Shoot You- In one piece of her official art.
  • Giant Poofy Sleeves- On her wedding dress
  • Go-Go Enslavement- Her "Sword Dancer" outfit, unlocked when she's captured by Trinity and forced to join a harem.
  • Impractically Fancy Outfit-
  • Pimped-Out Dress
  • Playboy Bunny- While on her Baccarat mission.
  • Shout-Out- Emelia getting forced into a harem in a skimpy belly dancer outfit is like how Leia was forced into slavery by Jabba the Hut in Star Wars.
  • Win Your Freedom
  • Wrongly Accused- Accused of murdering her fiance, Ren. Unfortunately for her, Ren was Fuse's best friend, so he had her thrown into Despair with no trial.

Lute[]

File:Lute Headshot2 3348.jpg
  • The Alcoholic- Not as bad as Gen, but he has shades of this- He's always found in the Pub in Scrap, and during his story, if you do the quest for the Grail Card, finding the card becomes an afterthought to "Free sake!"
  • All Your Powers Combined - Essence states that his quest was finished last, mainly because he was so busy helping out all the other characters. So they returned the favor and all joined him to finish his quest. All of them. The villain of his story is also revealed to be the Man Behind the Man behind most other villains in the game.
  • Basement Dweller- Actually starts off his quest because he's tired of being a burden to his mom (read: he gets kicked out.)
  • Cool Big Bro- To Thunder
  • Disappeared Dad
  • Expy- He's not the only friendly traveling bard in a game in the SaGa Series-- The Minstrel in Romancing SaGa fits that description as well.
  • Funny Afro
  • Lazy Bum- Starts as of these, and he's forbidden from going back home until he gets a job. His intro outright calls him "shiftless." In the end he's running Trinity after killing off Mondo and usurping his position. He winds up in hiding back home away from everyone.
  • Magikarp Power- He starts out with, essentially, no abilities to speak of, but can be developed to any level in any direction, and learns skills unusually quickly.
  • Magnetic Hero- Always found in the pub in Scrap, gets the other hero to talk about their self, and winds up joining their team. In his own story, he's genuinely friendly to anyone and gets people to join his team easily. In-game, he's got a very high "Charm" stat.
  • Punny Name- A wandering minstrel named Lute...
  • Walking the Earth- He leaves home in search of adventure. Adventure and a decent job.

Red[1][]

File:Red Headshot 8077.jpg
  • Anime Hair- A few drug users comment on it, calling him "Cactus Head". Also, Doll finds it easy to find him due to his "hip-hop hairdo".
  • Crutch Character- Alkaiser form. While few non-bosses can stand up to his immense power, ending a battle as Alkaiser voids any stat bonuses that Red would get. Since Red's stats directly influence Alkaiser's, the result can be a very weak superhero.
  • Emergency Transformation- After nearly being killed by Shuzer, he's turned into a superhero by Alkarl in order to save his life.
  • Expy- His appearance appears to be based off that of a character named Red in a little-known Square Soft game called Treasure Hunter G. There's also a Blue in that game, although he looks nothing like this one's.
  • Filk Song: The song Fight! AlkaiserNow sounds like an Anime/Toku Opening theme
  • Henshin Hero
  • Light'Em Up - Many of his moves as Alkaiser use light, either directly offensively or just as added special effects.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname- Word of God says his real name is 'Retsu'.
  • Parental Abandonment- His family is killed by Black X about thirty seconds into his game. It's revealed that his mother and sister are actually still alive near the end
  • Power Glows- Morphing into Alkaiser is accompanied by glowing and a flash of light.
  • Secret Identity- One that, if revealed, will lead to him being Depowered in addition to having his memory erased
  • Superheroes Wear Capes- Even when he's not dressed as Alkaiser.

Riki[2][]

File:Riki Headshot 1616.jpg

T260[]

File:T260G Headshot 3218.jpg
  • Heart Drive- T260's "core" apparently functions as one of these, enabling it to swap body types at will. Presumably, it's the same for other Mecs, too.
  • Living Ship- Its original original body, before crash-landing in Junk.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia- T260 cannot remember its original mission.
  • Samus Is a Girl- Sort of. As a mec, T260 is genderless, but it's original body was a ship, and ships are considered female, so...
  • Robo Speak- "Affirmative"s, "negative"s, various calculations and repeated instances of Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness make up T260's dialogue.
  • Robot Names- Of the "string of letters and numbers" variety. "T260" actually its model number.
  • Wolverine Claws- on its default body.


Recruitable Humans[]

Annie[]

  • Knowledge Broker - She sells Red the location of Shuzer's base and knows her way around Despair, among other things.

Captain Hamilton[]

"Doll"[]

Fei-On[]

  • Bare-Fisted Monk
  • Warrior Monk- Even went so far as to shave his head to look the part. He was on his way to Kyo to train before his ship was swallowed by Tanzer.

"Fuse"[]

File:Fuse Headshot 3802.jpg
  • Casanova Wannabe- It doesn't come up in the game, but in Essence, he's quite the... ineffective ladies man.
  • Code Name
  • Cowboy Cop
  • Dead Partner- Ren, Emelia's fiance, was his partner and best friend from way back in their academy days.
  • Demoted to Extra- Was originally going to be one of the main protagonists, but his quest had to be cut due to disk space.
  • Jerkass- Knocks Red unconscious for talking out of turn, gets Emelia thrown in Despair with little evidence because he doesn't like her, insults Lute a bit... he's not a particularly pleasant individual.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Connections: Throws Emelia into Despair without a trial, because he's the boss at IRPO and can do whatever he wants.

Gen[]

File:Gen Headshot 9556.jpg
  • The Alcoholic- A full-blown drunk. Just sits around getting wasted in Scrap and Junk, and both his status screen and victory pose involve him drinking.
  • Cool Old Guy- Has the personality, and at age 35, he's definitely this to Rose(14) and Thyme(12). To everyone else in-game, he's borderline- none of the protagonists are older than 25 (Lute), and short of Roufas(40) and Capt. Hamilton (48), he's still got 6 years on the next closest character who can join the group.
  • Drowning My Sorrows
  • Drunken Master- A drunken samurai, and possibly the best sword user in-game.
  • Implausible Fencing Powers- He cuts through a rope by using an iron pipe as a sword, although he later claims he didn't use the pipe to cut it. Lampshaded by T260, who Divides By Zero trying to figure it out.
  • The Lancer- to T260G
  • Last of His Kind - He's the last survivor from Wakatu, a region whose inhabitants were slaughtered by Trinity.
  • Master Swordsman

Liza[]

Mei-Ling[]

Roufas[]

Rouge[]

File:Rouge Headshot 2 5996.jpg
Cquote1

 "How...could...you...ever..beat...me?...This...is...un...believe...able."

Cquote2


Recruitable Mystics[]

Dr. Nusakan[]

File:Dr Nusakan Headshot 1655.jpg

Ildon[]

  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold- Although his heart of gold doesn't show up until near the end of Asellus' game when he rejoins your party following The loss of White Rose.
  • Oranyan: To Rastaban. He's well aware that Rastaban's completely off his rocker, and doesn't mind snarking bitterly at him whenever they get a scene together, but he does love him.
  • Word of Gay - All There in the Manual, he and Rastaban are together.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Light green

Mesarthim[]

File:Mesarthim Headshot 7298.jpg
  • Apologizes a Lot- For perceived disrespect to upper class Mystics.
  • Cast From Hit Points: Her [LifeRain] ability sacrifices her LP to heal the party's HP.
  • Extreme Doormat
  • Happiness in Slavery - She's quite eager to be Asellus' slave when Asellus comes back to her. Averted with the Lord of the Manor; she's not happy at all when he confines her to his house.
  • I Owe You My Life- If Asellus goes back to Owmi for her after the Dark Labyrinth, Mesarthim invokes this trope, insisting that she be Asellus' slave. Incidentally, she also feels this way about the Lord of the Manor, but can't stand the constant smell of humans or her confinement in his shower.
  • Our Mermaids Are Different- They're water mystics.
  • White-Haired Pretty Girl

Rei[]

File:Rei Headshot 3595.jpg
  • Better to Die Than Be Killed- She threw herself into the fires of Kurenai, so she wouldn't have to live as one of Orlouge's mistresses.
  • Boomerang Bigot- In Asellus' game, the first thing she says is "I smell the foul stench of a Mystic," referring to White Rose, despite she herself being one.
  • Miko- Acts as one at the shrine in Devin.
  • My Hero Zero- "Rei" means "Zero" in Japanese, and she's the only character able to use Mirage magic.
  • Pride- Essence says that her portrait during the battle with Orlouge symbolizes "Pride that bows to none."
  • Reincarnation- Committed suicide to be reborn into human flesh, by using the "cycle of birth".
  • Wise Beyond Their Years- Despite knowing about Time and Space magic, having mastered Mirage magic and her reaction to Asellus and White Rose, she's only 12. Justified, since she's been re-incarnated.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Purple

"Silence"[]

File:Silence Headshot 332.jpg

"Time Lord"[]

  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"- No one knows what his true name is- "Time Lord" is just a title he's taken for himself.
  • Power Perversion Potential- Invoked in Essence when he uses Time Leap to allow Fuse to feel up Doll. Unfortunately, since the person is outside of time, they can't be affected by anything, and feel as hard as stone. Unfortunately for Fuse, Time Leap's effect doesn't last very long.
  • Time Master

White Rose[]

Zozma[]


Recruitable Mecs[]

BJ&K[]

  • The Medic- For Humans.
  • Secret Keeper- He recognizes Red as Alkaiser pretty early on, but keeps it secret on pain of being disassembled.

Engineer Car[]

Leonard[]

Pzkw V[]

  • Arms Dealer- Found in the backstreets of Koorong, selling guns smuggled from Trinity.

Rabbit[]

ZEKE[3][]

Recruitable Monsters[]

Cotton[]

Kylin[]

  • Friend to All Children- So much that he created a magical paradise just for them.
  • Papa Wolf- He seems quite jolly until Blue announces he's going to kill him and take his gift of Space Magic.
  • Reality Warper- Due to having the Gift for Space Magic, he was able to create a magical region.

Red Turnip[]

King Sei[]

Slime[]

Suzaku[]

Thunder[]

  • Big Little Brother- Thunder's easily twice Lute's size but still calls him "Big Bro."
  • Disc One Nuke: He can turn into a powerful Trisaur easily, which makes his Ground Hit cause 1000 points of damage to any enemy in range.


And All The Rest[]

Berva[]

Ciato[]

Cindy Campbell[]

Dr. Klein[]

  • Eyepatch of Power
  • No-Nonsense Nemesis- Orders Metal Black III to kill Alkaiser before the latter has a chance to rest.
  • Man Behind the Man
  • Rival Turned Evil- To Dr. Okonogi. They went to college together, but Klein "became obsessed with strange and dangerous experiments for a secret organization [...] and was eventually expelled." Okonogi still considers him a friend, wishing only to stop Klein before he commits any more crimes..

Gina[]

Lion Princess[]

File:Lion Princess headshot 9246.jpg
  • Action Girl- Even before being turned into a mystic.
  • Blood Knight
  • The Brute: To Orlouge
  • Darkskinned Blonde
  • Red Baron- She's also known as "The Golden Mane"
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unclear what happened to her after her second defeat by Asellus. In the Human and Half-mystic endings,she shows up on a scrapbook card with no context, although it's implied by the Full-Mystic ending that she and Orlouge's other princesses are killed.

Hawk[]

Metal Black[4][]

Mondo[]

  • Affably Evil-At first, he seems like a genuinely nice guy- In Emelia's quest, he gives her the Angel Broach, and in Lute's game, he gives him a ride out of Yorkland... he's also the head of Trinity, killed Lute's father, and plans to rule the world with a Humongous Mecha.
  • Galactic Conqueror- Plans to use his Spriggan to conquer the Regions.
  • Humongous Mecha- The Spriggan
  • Rival Turned Evil- He was Lute's Dad's best friend...then he killed him.
  • The Man Behind the Man- Between events in game and happenings in Essence, he's in some way involved in at least five out of the seven stories.
  • Wave Motion Gun- The Spriggan's "Buster Launcher", which does about 1,000 damage to the first person it hits, and 10-100 to everyone else.

Orlouge[]

File:Orlouge Headshot 307.jpg
  • Bad Boss/Villainous Demotivator- After Asellus' escape, Ciato questions the wisdom of not punishing Ildon... and gets hurled around the room for his trouble.
Cquote1

 Orlouge: Don't ever question me again.

Ciato: Yes, lord...

Cquote2

Rastaban[]

File:Rastaban Headshot 9428.jpg
  • The Chessmaster- Turns out, he's behind a plot to help Asellus overthrow Orlouge. Depending on how Mystical she is, he either gives her some Pluto Armor or fights to absorb her mystical power and be strong enough to fight Orlouge himself.
  • Dark Chick
  • The Starscream- One of the few mystics of Chateau Augille not loyal to Orlouge, plotting his downfall either by way of Asellus or overthrowing him on his own.
  • Wild Card
  • Word of Gay - With Ildon.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair- Green, blue in game.

Rosemary & Thyme[]

Ren[]

Shuzer[]

  • Cyborg
  • Luke, I Am Your Father- Although he may just be trying to mess with Red's head, during the battle at his base in Koorong, just before Alkaiser deals the final blow, he claims to have Dr. Okonogi's brain and asks Red/Alkaiser if he could kill his own father.
  • Rocket Punch- He shoots his hands off when he uses the move "Claw Bit". Once every turn they fly back around and attack a character.
  • Swiss Army Appendage- While his hands are detached, the rest of his arms can function as a rail gun, machine gun, or flamethrower.
  • Wolverine Claws

Tanzer[]

Virgil [5][]

  • A Glass of Chianti
  • Cool Chair- A golden bat and angel winged throne set atop a massive dragon!
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed- In Essence, he's also referred to as "Fireworks Lord". The artist based his face on her favorite Visual Kei band vocalist- Atsushi Sakurai. Sakurai's band is named "Buck Tick," which is pronounced "bakuchiku," which translates to "Firecracker."


Organizations[]

Bio Research Lab[]

Black X[6][]

The Caballero Family[]

  • The Mafia- Runs a protection racket in Junk, a factory in Scrap.

Gradius[]

IRPO[7][]

  • Oddly Small Organization- The only patrol officers are Fuse, Ren, Doll, Silence, Cotton and Rabbit. In Essence Suzaku, Engineer Car, and ZEKE are deputized as well. Fuse also deputizes Red in one instance.
  • Space Police- Although whether the regions are planets or just places is... kind of ill-defined.

Trinity[]

  1. Retsu Okonogi
  2. Coon
  3. Type-ZERO
  4. Shortened to MBlack in battle
  5. Ring Lord/Fireworks Lord
  6. Black Cross
  7. Inter-Regional Patrol Organization
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