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Fatal Labyrinth - TV Tropes

  • ️Tue Jul 31 2012

Fatal Labyrinth (Video Game)

A 1991 Roguelike released by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Originally available as a download-only title in Japan (via the failed Sega Meganet service), it was released in other countries on ordinary cartridges.

One fateful day, the sinister castle Dragonia suddenly appeared in the outskirts of a village to wreak havoc on the world as it once did eons ago. Under the command of a legendary evil dragon, ghouls from Dragonia attack the village and steal the Holy Goblet, the source of light for the world. In doing so, the entire world is plunged into darkness. After many warriors try and fail to slay the dragon, one warrior decides to take his chance in the Fatal Labyrinth.

The aim of the game is to reach the 30th floor of the titular labyrinth in an attempt to recover the Holy Goblet from the dragon and save the world.

Considering the genre, it isn't quite that simple.

Fatal Labyrinth provides examples of:

  • Blob Monster: Jellies, Amoebae, Blue Jellies and Mercuries.
  • Character Level: Instead of numbers, each level has a different title.
  • Cursed Item: Weapons, armor and rings are sticky pieces of equipment, but will automatically unequip themselves after some time. Cursed consumables work as intended with their negative effect, springing themselves upon the player by being unidentified.
  • Death by Gluttony: You never know how much food is on the ground, and if you reach 99+ fatigue, you die on the spot, your last words being "I'm stuffed."
  • Everything Trying to Kill You: Even the food is trying to kill you.
  • Have a Nice Death: Depending on how much money you have when you bite it, more or less people will show up at your rock/modest headstone/shrine.
  • Inventory Management Puzzle: You've got different menus for potions, staffs, weapons, scrolls, armor, helmets, shields, bows, and rings. There is only so much you can carry in each, but they're independent from each other. So you have to manage nine different inventories.
  • Lonely Funeral: As stated under Money for Nothing, gold does nothing but change your funeral on the game over screen. Having little to no gold reserves results in nobody appearing at your funeral.
  • MacGuffin: The Holy Goblet, which is the source of light for the entire world. The primary goal of the game is to get it back. When the hero claims the goblet, light is immediately restored to the world and any remaining monsters on the level are wiped out.
  • Medusa: Medusa and Gorgons, in all their blinding, confusing and power draining glory. No Taken for Granite though, luckily.
  • Money for Nothing: You can find gold in the labyrinth, but you can't spend it. So what function does gold serve in this game? Getting you a nicer grave and more people to attend your funeral in the event of a Game Over.
  • Necromancer: Who can't actually raise the dead. Those flames and confusion spells can hurt though.
  • The Night That Never Ends: When the Holy Goblet is stolen by ghouls of Dragonia, the world is plunged into darkness.
  • Ninja: Ninjas, Shinobis and Sasukes.
  • No Name Given: The hero has no known canon name. The Wikipedia page even refers to him as an “undistinguished hero”.
  • Powered Armor: Unfortunately not available during gameplay. The Dragon Armor gives the hero the ability to fly, but he only has access to the armor after he defeats the Final Boss.
  • Randomly Generated Levels: Sort of. There are 28 different level designs for as many levels (10, 30 and 31 are always the same), but they appear randomly - level 4 in one playthrough could be level 23 in another, albeit with different coloured tiles. Played straight with item and enemy placement though.
  • Regenerating Health: HP is recovered over time, in small amounts after taking several steps.
  • Respawning Enemies: When enough time has passed on a level, a red background flash will indicate all monsters respawning at once.
  • Schizo Tech: While storming this medieval castle with your primitive weaponry and magic gear, you will encounter robots armed with ray guns. It's never explained why. The first ones you encounter, Robots, are passive until disturbed, for a good reason. Chasers and Dunes are encountered later, and are aggressive from the get-go. They're all fast, tough, powerful, relentless and can kick your arse at any range.
  • Shout-Out: The Floor Shark's attack animation is a clear reference to the iconic poster for Jaws.
  • Skewed Priorities: While many of the townsfolk understand the seriousness of the situation, others see it as a minor inconvenience. One example being a woman who complains that she cannot finish her laundry because the world has been plunged into darkness. And humorously, a child ponders if because of the crisis if he has to go to school the following day.
  • Trap Door: These traps drop you down to the lower level. Monsters on lower level respawn, and players that remember their position could exploit getting additional items.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Granted, you'll likely be carrying around multiple weapons, but throwing a weapon you aren't intending to use is actually a valid strategy. Throwing any useless equipment is a good way to test for Ghosts and Mimics.
  • Unknown Item Identification:
    • Although weapons and armor have fixed values, they're kept hidden until they're used at least once for a given character.
    • Canes, Potions, Scrolls and rings are referred to by colour. When they're identified by experimenting with them or by reading an appraise scroll, the effect will be stated in the description.
  • Wizard Needs Food Badly: The player needs to eat to survive, and food is finite per floor.