Microvolts - TV Tropes

"Microvolts", known in Korean as H.A.V.E. Online and in Japanese as Toy Wars, is a 2010 online third person shooter that has you playing as one of 4 robotic toys that have become sentient, and fights using seven different weapons at once: a melee weapon, a rifle, a shotgun, a sniper weapon, a gatling gun, a bazooka, and a grenade launcher. It was initially compared to Team Fortress 2, but ultimately proved to be a little different. since gains a small dedicated fanbase, and even became accessable on STEAM in July 2012. It has since been renamed Microvolts Surge, and has expanded it's roster of playable characters. Currently, there are 9 playable characters: Noami, Knox, C.H.I.P., Pandora, Kai, Amelia, Simon, $harkill Khan, and Sophitia. Full backstory on the world and characters can be found on the main website and in the character selection stage.

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Tropes associated with Microvolts are:

• Addressing the Player: Commander Chrac tells the player directly which buttons to press during the tutorial.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The robot invasion and Boss modes.
• Allegedly Free Game: Entirely possible to play without spending money, including the rare chance of earning coupons needed to buy the best weapons, but better armor's going to cost you. Luckily, most things don't cost too much, and many things can only be owned for a short amount of time.
• Alien Blood: Blue, presumably for battery acid.
• All There in the Manual: The full backstory and character info. is on the website and character selection stage.
• Always Night: The "Castle","Hobby Shop", "House Top", "Neighborhood", "Bit Map", "Bit Map 2", "Battle Mine", "Academy", "Cargo", Magic Paper Land", "PVC Factory (Night)", "The Studio", "Model Ship", and "Rock Band Club" maps.
• Animal Motif: Pandora with cats, Naomi with bunnies, Knox with hippos.
• Arch-Enemy: Pandora and Noami don't get along.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The tracker boss is several times bigger than the toys are.
• Bland-Name Product: Pandora is a "Goth Lori" doll. Averted with Naomi, who's clearly described as being a Barbie doll, along with the blatant Duracell battery in the Microgun.
• Bribing Your Way to Victory: Subverted. You may be able to buy better costumes and weapons, but the better costumes only grant extra experience points, while the better weapons seldom last long. Plus, the best weapons and accessories are actual behind a third type of currency that only the most skilled and lucky can get.
• Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: Amelia thinks it's her destiny to save mankind. It's not.
• Captain Ersatz: The game itself is a cosmetic one to Team Fortress 2. Also, Simon may be one to RoboCop.
• Cast of Snowflakes: They all may play the same, but they sure don't look the same.
• Cat Girl: Some of Pandora's parts.
• Choice of Two Weapons: Simon and Amelia can start off with a whole set of varying weapons.
• Clothes Make the Superman: Only way to increase character stats are to buy toy parts, each of which will enhance one of two character stats.
• Competitive Balance: Most parts let you choose whether to increase defense/health, or speed.Also, each toy has a specific stat boost attached at base.
• The Conspiracy: "The Company" killed the Awesome Guy for making the toys.
• Cool Old Guy: The awesome guy.
• Crossover: Haruhi and Nagato are playable character in the Japanese "Toy Wars" version, while Sharknife is an unlockable skin in the US "Microvolts"
• Cute and Psycho: Noami. She may be adorable, but let's just say, she wastes no time showing why the chainsaw is her favorite melee weapon.
• Cyberpunk: Simon had most his body replaced with a mechanical suit, much like RoboCop.
• Does Not Like Men: Pandora.
• Double Jump: While wielding melee weapons.
• Dub Name Change: "Toy Wars" in Japan, "Microvolts" in the U.S., and "H.A.V.E. Online" in Korea. Also, Kai/ Yamato.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: For the Western version; the leveling system was lower capped and barred certain clothes and weapons to higher levels (now leveling only determines rank and skill, with a much higher level cap), the tutorial was mandatory (now it's optional, but rewards you with important items), fewer modes levels were available, and the tracker boss fight used to be free (now you need a ticket to fight it). Also, there were only four characters, two of which had to be bought (now there's 9, four of which have to be bought).
• Easily Detachable Robot Parts: C.H.I.P. is a Mix-And-Match robot, with parts randomly made from other things. His base body is made from a stikfas figure, the upper half of a beer can, some metal or tape, old batteries, and a bottle cap. Purchasable parts are made from everything from normal toy parts to rubix cubes, alarm clocks, a frying pan, a computer mouse, and Lego Bricks.
• Endless Daytime: The "Toy Fleet", "Chess", "PVC Factory", "Forgotten Junk Yard", "Wild West", "Rumpus Room Romp", "Beach", and "Toy Garden" maps.
• Equipment Upgrade: Parts and weapons can be upgraded to level 5 to improve their stats. In the case of Weapons, you can choose what gets upgraded. Upgrading a weapon enough also changes its color.
• Everything's Deader with Zombies: unlike the Boss and robot invasion modes, not much explanation is given as to why there's a zombie mode.
• Everything Trying to Kill You: Robots, zombies, robotic monsters, and each other.
• Experience Points: Used to earned a rank level, though it used to also earn you unlockable costumes before they all stopped being level-locked.
• Fan Disservice: Knox's speedo parts.
• Fanservice: Too many parts to account for.
• Fiery Red Head: A lot of Pandora's hair parts are red or pink. She's also the most temperamental.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: The only Status Effects in the game.
• Forced Tutorial: It used to be, at least.
• Freudian Excuse: Pandora hates men because of a neglectful owner.
• Fun with Acronyms: H.A.V.E. Online and C.H.I.P.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: See informed flaw, below.
• Genre Deconstruction: Of Online shooters. A large reason for the wars is because toys were becoming sentient too fast, leading to overpopulation and scare resources. Likewise, the reason for the robot and zombie fighting modes are due to the Company trying to capture them.
• Goth: Pandora is described as a "Gothic beauty".
• Hollywood Density: While it makes sense for the melee weapons to grant a run speed boost, it makes a lot less sense for the Gatling guns to.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: Your character carries a melee weapon, a rifle, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, a Gatling gun, a bazooka, and a grenade launcher all at the same time, pulling them out of nowhere.
• Informed Flaw: The C.H.I.P. supposedly can't speak properly, due to a broken voice chip, while Pandora is claimed to hate men, thanks to a neglectful owner. Neither show up in-game.
• It's Up to You: The one player "Robot Invasion" mode, and the one to four player "Boss Fight" Mode.
• Justified Tutorial: Boot camp for your figure, while you're directly told what to press when.
• Keet: C.H.I.P.
• LEGO Body Parts: C.H.I.P. has some literal Lego body parts. Averted elsewhere; every toy has their own distant body types, making it impossible to exchangle body parts between them.
• Lovable Coward: Knox, though he tries not to show it.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Naomi and Pandora. Not that either are inherently good.
• Luck-Based Mission: Mystery capsules and capsule machines. Mystery capsules because you can get virtually anything from them, including more capsules, or the elusive coupons needed to buy the best gear in the game. Capsule machines because you'll randomly get a part, with random stats and availability duration.
• Ludicrous Gibs: Certain bazooka and grenade launcher deaths. Less so for the rest of the weapons.
• Lucky Charms Title: $harkill Khan's name.
• Lowest Common Denominator: In-universe; the reason why $harkill Khan was manufactured.
• Masquerade: The toys fight where humans can't see them, usually in both abandoned locales and at night. Too bad John, a regular guy, finds out....
• Macro Zone: Nearly the entire game, due to the characters being robotic toys. One of the few exceptions are the Academy and Toy Gardens levels.
• More Dakka: The Gatling Guns.
• Ms. Fanservice: Every female is pleasing to the eyes to a degree, but none better than Pandora. Bonus points for being customizable.
• My Little Panzer
• Newcomer Saves the Day: When the prototypes go missing right after The Awesome Guy's death, Commander Crac tries to find them, only to be rescued from battery depletion by them.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Kai/Yamato.
• Ontological Mystery: Several maps clearly show signs that humans exist in this world, yet they are mysteriously absent,and the maps are ofyen closed off with no known way of getting in WITHOUT human help. Special mention goes to the "House Top", "Hobby Shop", and "Neighborhood" maps.
• Our Elves Are Different: Amelia.
• PAL Bonus: Different versions of the game got different perks. The Japanese "Toy Wars" version got Haruhi and Nagato as playable characters and a different backstory, while the korean "H.A.V.E. Online" version let's you play and Commander Crac instead of C.H.I.P., and the US "Microvolts" version has an unlockable skin of the Rock Hippo mascot and of Sharknife.
• Perpetual Frowner/Perpetual Smiler: The toys show the same expressions one their face as one their parts image, no matter what they say. Subverted with Amelia, Kai, and Pandora, who all have a purchasable "emotions chest", allowing them to emote their feelings.
• Playboy Bunny: Some of Naomi's parts.
• Properly Paranoid: John and Knox
• Quick Melee: Melee weapons grant double jump and can one-hit enemies.
• Recruitment by Rescue: Inverted. It's the rescuers who got recruited to war, not the rescued.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Pandora's basic face design.
• Religious Bruiser: Sophitia is a priestess, but she still fights the same as everyone else.
• Rescue Introduction: How Commander Crac got properly introduced to the characters in the story page of the website.
• Revenue-Enhancing Devices: The capsule machines. Luckily, you can get some really rare parts with good stats out of them.
• Ridiculously Human Robot: C.H.I.P.
• Short-Range Shotgun: Still usable from a distance, but still a one-hit K.O. at point blank.
• Shout-Out:
• Sliding Scale of Living Toys: There are regular, inactive toys, there's the living ones the player controls, and then there are just toys. Only John is aware of the living ones, at first.
• Soul Brotha: $harkill Khan, who's in-story reason for being created was to appeal to western audiences.
• Sprint Shoes: A possible stat boost from armor. Also, you gain a run speed boost from using either your melee weapon or (somehow) Gatling gun.
• The Stoic: One of Pandora's purchasable face parts is the "Straight Face" part, which is described as never showing emotion.
• Stripperiffic: Pandora, most of the time.
• Take That, Audience!: At the end of their what happens next? Series of videos, C.H.I.P. gets ban kicked for "coarse language", mocking players who ban kick others from server rooms for being too good.
• Unmasqued World: John was just some person who discovered that the toys are alive. Luckily for him, he manages to prove this.
• Wutai: Some of Kai's parts. Justified, as he was the only one made in a far eastern toy company.
• You Have to Believe Me!: John convinced a co-worker to record what happens when he leaves his Knox toy alone with a C.H.I.P. and Naomi toy in the teaser trailer, despite the co-worker not believing him. Then Naomi starts attacking Knox with a chainsaw from behind, while unknowingly being recorded....