El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

Lucifel: Allow me to tell you a tale. It took place 360,000... No, 14,000 years ago. But what is time, anyway? To me it seems like yesterday. For you, it might be tomorrow. It's the story of a man.

A game for the Play Station 3 and Xbox 360, developed and published by Ignition Entertainment, released on April 28, 2011. The game consists of staff geniuses such as Takeyasu Sawaki, who was a character designer for Devil May Cry and Okami. The game is loosely based on the apocryphal Book of Enoch. The story follows Enoch, a human scribe in heaven, who must round up the fallen angels that are corrupting the Earth to suit their own ideal image of perfection. God sends Enoch to judge the Watchers and return them to paradise before the human race is irrevocably corrupted with half-human Nephilim, and a Great Flood made inevitable. Along the way, he is guided by Lucifel, God's right-hand angel, and the other Archangels.

Tropes used in El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron include:

2½D: Many platforming stages consist of 3D visuals seen from a 2D perspective, though Enoch can still turn "back" and "ahead." One stage in "The Tragedy of Baraquel" shifts briefly into 3D for unique effect, but is still 2D in execution.
Action Girl: Ishtar, who is able to hold her own against Ezekiel. Later on she becomes a full-fledged Lady of War.
Adaptation Distillation: Although inspired by Apocrypha of The Bible, this game is a very, very loose adaptation.
Airplane Arms: While wielding the Gale weapon.
Alien Geometries: Every world, but particularly obvious in the Netherworld, the End of the World, and Arakiel's Grave.
Alien Sky: If you can see the sky, it's all but guaranteed to be otherworldly.
All Powerful Bystander: Lucifel and Michael, greatest Archangel brothers, Lucifel apparently can pop up anywhere he wants in enemy territory, stop time to give some advice to Enoch, warp reality by snapping his fingers just to resurrect Enoch; Michael is always close to Enoch, he is Lucifel's brother so assuming he has the same finger snaping powers isn't far fetched, and yet all they do is just provide information and gadgets.
Alternate History: In regards to the Book of Genesis (by way of the Apocrypha.) At the end of the game, the Flood is averted, and Man is freed from the Watchers' unnatural evolution and can continue to live in peace according to God's plan. Considering the Watchers were the ones who taught humanity about warfare, science, and vanity, averting that as well as the Flood is a pretty big deal as far as biblical history is concerned!
And Now for Someone Completely Different: After the Armaros Boss fight, Enoch goes after The Darkness who has Nanna kidnapped; Armaros being concerned about Enoch, his former friend, goes after him then you play as Armaros for a little bit.
And Your Reward Is Clothes: Attaining "A" rank in a few stages, or collecting all of Ishtar's Bones, will give you special outfits to wear. Only the latter gives you any benefits beyond the aesthetic.
Animal Motifs: Several of the Watchers and the Archangels have them: Azazel has flies, Ezekiel has pigs, Sariel has bats, and the Archangels are swans.
Another Dimension: The Watchers' Tower is hidden away inside one, within a barrier of "distorted space." Which is why it took Enoch three hundred years to find the portal leading to it.
Anti-Villain: Armaros. Of all the Fallen Angels, he is the least dangerous, his already evolved Nephilim offspring is also harmless. Armaros truly considers Enoch as a friend and broke down on tears after the later went after The Darkness, thinking Enoch was going for a certain suicide mission for doing so, then decides to go for the rescue.
Archangel Gabriel: He's a she in this interpretation.
- Gabriel is often depicted or referred to as very androgynous, if not outright feminine, so it's not all that strange.
Archangel Lucifer: Lucifel, rather.
Archangel Michael
Art Shift: Nearly every time you enter a new location. Especially with Azazel's world, which looks like Tron.
Badass Normal: Enoch, who (rather surprisingly) is also a Badass Biker. Ishtar also qualifies, leading armies of Free Men into battle against the fanatics and the Fallen Angels and can wield God's Weapons without any issue.
Bait and Switch Boss: Just when you beat Azazel's second form and he's going on about his One-Winged Angel form, Armaros comes Back from the Dead as a corrupted fallen angel and bites Azazel in half!
Barbie Doll Anatomy: Enoch, who, unlike the leotard-clad Watchers, is actually naked under the armor of vileness, but has nothing to see even after you've destroyed all of it.
Bare-Fisted Monk: Although Enoch fares much better while wielding one of God's Weapons, he's certainly no slouch while empty-handed... and neither is Ezekiel, for that matter.
Barrier Change Boss: A few bosses will be vulnerable only to a specific weapon type, and cycle around their current vulnerability.
The Battle Didn't Count: You fight the Watchers many, many times at random parts of the game. It is quite possible to knock their armor off each time. They'll make a different comment whether they kick your ass or vice-versa; but the game continues regardless.
Battle In The Center Of The Soul: In order to cleanse his spirit of the vileness that had corrupted him, Enoch's soul must ascend to Heaven and seek redemption.
Beehive Barrier: Hitting armored, defending enemies (or you using the Veil as a shield) will have this visual effect.
Big Bad: Semyaza is played up as such, being the leader of the Watchers and the one who instigated their Fall.
Big Eater: The Nephilim devour each other, as well as anything around them, but mostly each other. One stage of "Sariel's Deception" clearly shows bite marks across the entire scenery, and another is spent inside a gigantic Nephilim that keeps gobbling up Enoch and ends up eaten by another, larger Nephilim at the beginning of the next world. Mostly a reference to the Biblical Nephilim that ate so much Earth couldn't sustain them, and eventually started eating humans as well as each other; but in this case, Nephilim that eat each other past a certain point will become gargantuan monsters.
Big Heroic Run: Near the end of Chapter 10, Enoch must race up a massive staircase within Arakiel's Grave to reach Ishtar and Ezekiel's battle while it's happening in the background.
Bilingual Bonus: While the English dub and sub scripts refer to the Darkness as both the vile substance and the place, several subtitle scripts go ahead and call the latter Hell/ Netherworld.
Biological Mashup: Nether Ezekiel, a blob of flesh with the features of an elephant and a hippo.
Boss Banter: The Watchers are big offenders of this.
Boss Room: The Watchers will always show up in Enoch's path and teleport him to a circular (in most cases) battleground in another dimension.
Boss Rush: Azazel, Nether Azazel, and Dark Armaros come one right after the other at the end of the game, after the final save point.
Boss Subtitles: And regular enemies get them too the first time you encounter them.
Bottomless Pits
Brainwashed and Crazy: Dark Enoch.
Breakable Weapons: Use a tainted weapon too often without purifying it, or try to block an attack too powerful for it, and it will break right in your hands. The Veil is no exception.
Bullfight Boss: Foola & Woola, Ezekiel's pigs that fight as a team, and Boola, who fights alone.
But Not Too Black: Some of the official art depicts Enoch as being very dark-skinned. Then some of it makes him very white. His appearance in the game is somewhere in between.
Catch Phrase: "No problem. Everything's fine." This is Enoch's only line in the game. He says it twice in his introduction, and every time he comes back from defeat during combat.
Cel Shading: A few of the environments, and all of the characters (except for Watcher armor.)
Cherubic Choir: Most of the soundtrack. Instead of the children and/or sopranos version, it is of the "Ominous Latin Chanting minus the Ominous" variety.
Chick Magnet: Sariel, quite literally; his idea of love managed to make many women devote themselves to him, even in death.
The Chosen One
Clothing Damage: The more Enoch is injured, the less he wears. The same goes for the Watchers.
- This actually applies to just about everybody in the game, and is pretty much the only way to tell how much health someone has left.
Collection Sidequest: The fragments of Ishtar's Bones hidden in the Dark Worlds. Collect them all, and you will unlock the ultimate armor in the game.
Color Coded for Your Convenience: The few bosses that don't display Clothing Damage instead have some part of their body that goes from green to yellow to red as they take damage.
Combat Tentacles: The Fire Nephilim, who will smash them down on your precarious platform.
Combining Mecha: At the end of Azazel's world, the three wheeled mechas that had been hounding Enoch on the highway combine into a huge robot with imitations of God's Weapons.
Content Warnings: At bootup, the player gets a notice stating that the game is roughly based on religious texts and that it was developed by a multicultural team with people from many faiths. Considering the possible controversy in a few characters' interpretations, it was probably a good idea to include this warning.
Convenient Color Change
The Corruption: Exactly What It Says on the Tin. Falling into the vile substance of the Darkness will invariably corrupt even a pure soul, turning it monstrous and demonic.
Council of Angels: The Elders, who will unleash the Flood upon Earth to wash away the Nephilim if Enoch can't defeat the Fallen Angels and destroy their offspring.
Dance Battler: Armaros. Enoch while wielding the Gale.
Dark Is Evil
David Versus Goliath: Enoch vs. the Fire Nephilim.
Day in the Life: The level which you play as Armaros.
Dead All Along: Semyaza, who died during the Fall, Arakiel, who died soon after, and Baraquel, who was devoured by the Nephilim.
Deadpan Snarker: Lucifel, usually towards the Grigori.
A Death in the Limelight: Chapter 8, playing with Armaros in a quest to save the corrupted Enoch. He dies in the very chapter he stars in. He comes back as the final boss, Dark Armaros.
Death Is a Slap on The Wrist: As many times Enoch dies, it's a good thing Lucifel can keep resurrecting him.
Demon Slaying
Design Student's Orgasm
Determinator: Enoch. Every time he's defeated and brought to the brink of death, he can summon the fortitude to rise back up and continue the battle (read: mash the controller buttons before his eyes close)... at least, while his strength holds out.
Deus Ex Machina: Played with. When the colossal Baraquel Nephilim takes Enoch by surprise and swallows him, Enoch is saved by the soul of his own descendant, Methuselah. But that's not the DEM. The DEM comes when Methuselah summons a massive, alien-looking device of godly origin, that utterly annihilates the Nephilim. An astonished Michael wonders if that's the power of God. Neither the character nor the device are ever explained, or even mentioned again.
Diabolus Ex Machina: Halfway through the fight with Armaros, the Darkness shows up out of nowhere just to kidnap Nanna, even though it had never displayed nor foreshadowed any sentient will or interest in the protagonists before. Not only does Enoch go in after her (which was the Darkness' true goal) but Nanna herself is Ishtar's reincarnation, so it's a huge bonus for the Darkness.
Die, Chair, Die!: You can destroy idols and icons littering the landscape for extra Flames or health items.
Died Happily Ever After: Sariel, surrounded by the human women he loved who cry for him.
Dragged Off to Hell: What happens to Enoch if the Darkness catches him in a Dark World platforming segment. In-story, the Darkness appears to whisk Nanna away, and Enoch goes in after her.
The Dragon: Azazel, Semyaza's right-hand man.
Early Bird Boss: The very first thing Enoch does at the very start of the game is descend... and fight Azazel. Needless to say, it doesn't exactly go well for Enoch.
Elemental Powers: Although Ezekiel specializes in lightning, she's not afraid to summon gigantic fireballs or pillars of deadly ice after assuming her Nether form.
Eldritch Abomination: The Nephilim, which are the offspring of angels and humans. The Nephilim themselves reproduce and grow in size and power by eating each other. Oddly cute... until they gorge themselves and become the monstrous, all-consuming, many-tentacled Fire Nephilim.
- The Fallen Angels themselves, once they divest their human forms, assume bestial (and often incomprehensible) forms.
Eldritch Location: The Fallen Angels' Tower, hidden in an alternate dimension that is connected to the Darkness, which is itself another eldritch location. The path leading up to it, existing in the boundary between worlds, fits the bill as well.
The End of the World as We Know It: The Flood.
The End - or Is It?: Library notes that all Nephilim born from a certain Fallen Angel will die when its father/mother dies, and they appear to do so along the journey, and yet Armaros' child, The Water Nephilim, is alive and kicking in the end, even though its father was the final boss; that means...
Evil Knockoff: The Headless are decapitated swans with bags covering the stump, in a hideous mockery of what the Archangels look like in this game. Likewise, Martyrs and Zealots will wield imitations of God's Weapons tainted with vileness, given to them by the Fallen Angels. Enoch can purify these weapons and give them true godly light, however.
Evil Old Folks: Azazel and Ezekiel.
Evil Tower of Ominousness: The Fallen Angels' Tower. It rises from the heart of an unnaturally-advanced city, is several miles thick and many more in height, seems grown rather than built, and has evil red eyes looking down upon the world. It doesn't even have "floors," per se, but each tier is an entire world in its own right, ruled by one of the Fallen.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Subverted, strangely enough. The player doesn't get to see Enoch ascend.
- Uriel, the Flame of God, fits his job description to a T.
Expy: A few. Enoch as the expy of Brad Pitt, Sariel to David Bowie, and Armaros to Michael Jackson.
- Players familiar with Shin Megami Tensei will very likely have flashbacks to the Tower of Kagutsuchi while exploring Arakiel's world.
Face Heel Turn: Enoch, if he gets corrupted by the mass of darkness during Ishtar's plataforms segments. During the main plotline, something similar happens when he is consumed by The Darkness in an attempt to save Nanna. However, this time both Armaros and Nanna can either fight or call out to him to bring him back to his senses.
The Faceless: Even in painting, we never see Michael's face.
Faceless Goons: The Watchers' human followers wear masks or helms that sometimes reflect their Lord's environment (such as "Ezeks" wearing masks with porcine features, or denizens of the Abyss wearing crustacean or mollusk-like helmets.)
Fallen Angel
Fauxlosophic Narration: The bits of dialog given by the various people Enoch met through his 300 years of traveling to find the Watchers in the sequence after the opening of the game. Questionable whether that was necessary or just confusing.
Fighting Your Friend: Any encounter between Enoch and Armaros, the kind-hearted angel that first welcomed Enoch into Heaven and who was fascinated by Enoch's tales of Earth.
Foreshadowing: At one point, after meeting a dying man, Lucifel gets a phone call from God and states that "I was mistaken for you again." And then he laughs.
- Methuselah's appearance is half this, half Chekhov's Gun: the latter, because he will show up again at the end of the world; the former, because it hints heavily at the divine power that Enoch will wield when he becomes the Metatron.
Fourth Wall Observer: Lucifel, looking directly at the player, states: "You could clear this in 7 hours, if you're good enough". Make a wild guess as to how long the game is.
Full Boar Action: Ezekiel loves breeding gigantic pigs to use as beasts of war. Nevermind that they cry blood from the eye sockets in their masks.
Futuristic Superhighway: Chapter 6.
Genre Shift: Chapter 6, Azazel's Zeal, is a motorcycle chase.
Gentle Giant: The Water Nephilim.
Giant Mook: Nephilim get bigger and bigger as they eat, especially each other. They're usually gentle, at least until the largest one eats the second largest one and it becomes the King Mook Fire Nephilim.
God
God Guise: The Watchers are mistaken for, and worshipped as gods by their followers, a position they revel in.
God Is Good: While the Watchers want to force "unnatural" evolution upon Mankind, and the Council of Elders wants to wipe the slate clean with the Great Flood, God tasks Enoch (via Lucifel) with bringing the Watchers back to Heaven and sealing them so that the Flood can be averted. He also worries constantly about Enoch's well-being, to the point that Lucifel, of all people, has to assuage His concerns. It is also hinted that the Archangels would be willing to forgive the Watchers if the latter repented their transgressions.
Gotta "Purify" 'Em All: While descending to Earth, Lucifel briefs Enoch on each of the seven Fallen Angels that he will need to defeat and seal within Michael's Rings. But things do not go as planned...
Grim Up North: The Watchers' Tower, which Enoch must ascend.
Half-Human Hybrid: The Nephilim. They don't particularly resemble either parent.
Healing Hands: Not only can Enoch purify the tainted Weapons by running his hands across them, but also drive away the vileness that was corrupting Ishtar.
Heel Face Turn: Armaros abandoned all the glory in his realm to save Enoch who was consumed by The Darkness, and died doing so, only to come back as the final boss.
Hell: In two different forms.
To Hell and Back
Heroic Mime: Enoch, for the most part. His lines are few and far between.
- With the introduction of Armaros, it is indicated that some lose their voice when they leave Heaven.
Holy Halo: Angels have radiant halos in their natural, "humanoid blob" forms, including the Grigori in the illustration of their fall. Enoch and Ishtar are depicted with them as well in murals. Fire Nephilim (and greater) have a mockery of a halo made out of dark smoke. The Gale weapon appears to be a visual reference, since the "bits" are controlled by a halo that hovers over Enoch's back.
Hopeless Boss Fight: Almost every time you see a Watcher for the first time. Especially early on in the game.
Human Popsicle: After being corrupted by the Darkness, Enoch's soul leaves his body behind to seek salvation. Said body is thus frozen in crystal for ten years during his soul's journey.
Immortality: Enoch, taken bodily into Heaven to become the Scribe of God, has Type II, "The Ageless," with a dash of Resurrective Immortality (up to a point, though.) During his three hundred-year quest to find the Watchers' Tower, several characters point out Enoch's immortality and agelessness.
I Have Many Names: Enoch, a whopping total of 72 names. Just like God in Hebrew mysticism.
"I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: On two fronts: first, Armaros must fight Dark Enoch to destroy the armor of vileness that covers him, and Enoch himself will pause his assault to clutch his head as he resists the corruption. Once that's done, Nanna's voice and devotion give Enoch the fortitude to cleanse his spirit and attain salvation.
Impossibly Cool Weapon: Three weapons created from shards of God's wisdom, color-coded to display their holiness (white weapons with blue and gold energy for pure ones, black weapons with red and orange glow for tainted ones.)
- Laser Blade: The Arch. A blade of holy light arcing between the two ends of an extensible pole (which can be retracted to carry on your back.) The arc is "studded" with diamond-shaped teeth that flow from one end to the next, giving it a buzzsaw-like appearance. Balanced in speed and defense, combo-oriented, it allows Enoch to dodge-jump out of danger as well as glide while descending from a jump.
- Flechette Storm: The Gale. Six small missiles orbit Enoch's body, while a halo-shaped control unit hovers over his back. They can be fired individually or sent out all at once in a tiny Macross Missile Massacre that flows up and around like a hurricane and sweeps enemies off their feet. Fast, missiles can be aimed at several foes at once, and lets Enoch perform an air-dash move, but is the weakest weapon and doesn't combo well.
- Power Fist/Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The Veil. A massive, circular shield impervious to all but the strongest attacks, projecting a transparent barrier in front of Enoch while still letting him slide side to side and front and back while in defense mode. For offense, Enoch can split the shield down the middle, transforming the halves into armored gauntlets with studs at each fist, each projecting a halo of divine energy. This is the strongest, but slowest, weapon in the game, and the speed of its combos can put Enoch at risk while other enemies sneak up on him.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Ishtar, in spades. "My soul wanders the Darkness but does not rot." And considering what happens to anyone else that falls in the Darkness, that's quite a feat! Later on, her entire body is engulfed by The Corruption of the Darkness, but her spirit is as pure and determined as ever. Subverted with Enoch, who can appear to be this in the "main" timeline (and there's an entire chapter dedicated to showing this,) but if you get the Bad Ending by falling into the Darkness in a Dark World stage it proves that even this person can succumb to evil.
Intrigued by Humanity: Michael to a lesser degree, he at least finds interesting the way humans see him, his brothers and other Archangel companions, while appreciating their crafted images in Ezekiel's realm. Lucifel is endlessly amused by "humanity's Shards Of Wisdom" (such as designer clothes, cellphones, and umbrellas.) The Watchers... yeah, they kinda went overboard with their fascination.
Its Pronounced Tropay: It is meant to be pronounced el shah dah yy (or ee with a sharper intonation.)
Interface Screw: The first part of the "fight" with Armaros involves you beating up his backup dancers while he covers half the screen in the foreground.
Kick the Dog: After Armaros has saved Enoch from the corruption, the Darkness tries to swallow them both when they are at their weakest. Lucifel handily takes Enoch away... and nonchalantly (some might say gleefully) abandons Armaros to his fate.
Kill It with Fire: Summoning Uriel will cause him to shoot jets of flame in sync with your attacks, dealing phenomenal amounts of damage in a single hit.
King Mook: The Fire Nephilim. Which, in turn, is eaten by the even bigger and more dangerous Baraquel Nephilim, but you don't get to fight this one.
Knight Templar: All of the Watchers believe their course is right and just, they make excellent points about freedom and mankind's evolution, and they will smite whoever opposes them. However, the Archangels, Lucifel, and the Council of Elders are the same way, just playing for the opposite side.
La Résistance: The Free Men, devout followers of God who infiltrate the city and tower of the Watchers to aid Enoch with whatever scraps of information they can dig up. Their leader, ironically, is named Sin.
Light Is Good
Like a Badass Out of Hell: If Enoch is corrupted during a Dark World segment, and reaches the far end of the hellish dimension during the credits of the Bad Ending, it's implied that he's so deeply corrupted he will battle both Heaven and Hell, and begins by destroying the entity in control of the latter.
Lust: Half of Sariel's motivation. The other half is becoming In Love with Love after experiencing the emotion firsthand from humans.
Magitek: Azazel granted humans the knowledge to create angelic technology. As with all divine devices, it's difficult to tell where the tech begins and the godly power ends.
Man Behind the Man: One of Ishtar's Prophecies talks of a "Prince" that appeared from the Darkness and not only instigated, but assisted the Grigori in their Fall to Earth.
Mask Power: When wearing their armor, Fallen Angels will "collapse" their heads into their bodies and replace them with one-eyed helms. Dark Enoch just skips the "collapsing head" part and dons a very evil-looking helmet.
Mind Screw
Mission Control: The Archangels. Although they sometimes give warnings about environmental hazards or cry out when you're getting hurt, Uriel is the only one that assists you directly.
Mission from God: The point of the game is to take down the Grigori to save humankind from The Flood.
Moral Dissonance: Lucifel. For an angel, he enjoys taking out the fallen angels a little too much.
Mr. Exposition: Lucifel, he drops much of the plot points from the game, also most of the Library information is written from his point of view.
Never Mess with Granny: Ezekiel is one of the only female Grigori and one of the most elderly, but unlike the other Grigori, who fight with a balance of projectiles and melee, her moveset mostly consists of pulverizing bare-handed force.
Never Say "Die": Archangels will often say that Enoch must find the Gregori and "purify" them, Lucifel downright says that they're going to die, Enoch must kill' them.
Nonstandard Game Over: If Enoch gets consumed by the darkness during the Ishtar's plataform segments, he will be corrupted into becoming one of the Watchers, also the credits will pop up in rapid succession.
No Ontological Inertia: Nephilim are said to vanish if the Grigori that sired them is killed or sealed.
One Bad Mother: Ezekiel, whose motherly love instills fear into her followers, and who considers her war pigs "her children."
One-Winged Angel: Appropriately, several of the fallen angels have these forms.
Out of the Inferno
Our Angels Are Different: Gabriel and Ezekiel are female. The Archangels appear as swans when they aren't in any human-like form. Non-corporeal angels, such as the Elders of the Council, appear as roughly human-shaped things with halos fixed on their heads.
Painting the Fourth Wall: Part of Armaros' dance routine is to feel up the screen.
The Paragon: Enoch. Also Nanna, to some extent.
Perpetual Molt: Certain techniques, skills, or events (such as Enoch returning from a Watcher duel) will shower Enoch with dozens of white angel feathers.
Platform Hell: The 2D stages are not so bad, but the 3D ones will give you premature baldness, if only because the Bottomless Pits mean you can't use Enoch's shadow to gauge his leaps until it's too late.
Playing with Fire
Possession Implies Mastery: Although Lucifel does instigate some basic training for Enoch in the begining of the journey, the following adventure has Enoch being very proficient at any new given thing Lucifel and other Archangels present him with, the motorcycle is certainly the best example, as soon as Enoch got his hands on it, he became a demon on wheels.
- Even GOD seems surprised at this. Shortly after you collect the last of the three Godly Weapons, you can hear Lucifel chatting with God on his cell phone about it.

Lucifel: Look, you worry too much. He's figured out how to use everything so far, right?

The Power of Love: Seeking this was the main reason Sariel fell. He also invokes this during his fight with Enoch, using it to transform into Nether Sariel. At the end he laments that even his love for his followers wasn't enough.
Product Placement: Enoch and Lucifel both wear Edwin jeans. Their specific pairs were reproduced in real life as promotion for the game.
Proud Warrior Race Guy: Nanna, actually, by Ishtar's influence.
Really Gets Around: All of the seven Fallen Angels, all of the Nephilim population present in the game were fathered and mothered by them, Sariel in particular has many in his realm, many who are his and many whom he just sheltered.
Recurring Boss: Azazel, Ezekiel, and Sariel seem to enjoy popping into your path during the early stages merely to to trade blows and threats.
Recurring Riff: Variations on Theme of El Shaddai and Theme of Enoch are scattered all over the place in the soundtrack, particularly their introductory fragments. These variations run the gamut from the playful and whimsical ("Floral Arrangement") to the heroic ("The Bell of Hope Resonates On High") to the solemn, mournful versions you'd expect to hear in a church.
Redemption Equals Death: Although Armaros doesn't seem to accept the idea he's not one of the good guys, he was against God and the heaven after all, he does feel bad for going against Enoch; later Armaros has a chance to save him, but is not redeemed by any of the Archangels and dies after saving Enoch, but comes back again as the final boss.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Each of the "Nether" versions of the Fallen feature eyes that shift from green to yellow and finally red as they get closer to defeat, their attacks getting increasingly frantic and damaging along the way.
Reincarnation: It has been prophesied that Ishtar will resurrect and continue her war against the Darkness.
Rise to the Challenge: Dark World stages, where Enoch must escape the ever-rising flow of Darkness while trying to retrieve fragments of Ishtar's Bones. There's no penalty for missing these fragments, and you can try again and again, but if the Darkness catches you...
Rule of Cool: Lucifel's awesome, but otherwise unexplained paraphernalia from the future. It doesn't make sense that he talks to God with a cellphone, but it sure is cool.
Rule 63: Gabriel and Ezekiel.
Satan Is Good
Say My Name: Everyone has a thing for over-pronouncing Enoch's name.
Sealed Evil in a Can: The original plan is for Enoch to defeat, bring back, and seal each of the seven Watchers within the Rings of Michael, where they will remain for all eternity. As it turns out, only Sariel and Ezekiel are thus sealed; all other Watchers are killed or were dead to begin with.
Secret AI Moves: The chapter you get to play as Armaros, some of the attacks from his boss fight is available to the player, but they're all toned down versions of the devastating ones he previously had. Another instance in this same chapter is the boss, an evil power boosted Enoch, who doesn't get to keep any of the nifty powers after being beaten and becoming playable. Considering that even powered down Armaros managed to beat this character, the moves may not have been so hot though, but still. What's a guy gotta do to keep all those juicy darkness induced powers?
Scary Impractical Armor: The Fallen Angels' and corrupted souls' armor, with its wide round extensions, is every bit as intimidating as it is cumbersome. Lucky for them they have supernatural agility and coordination.
Scenery Porn: The strong point of the game, even the less positive critics praised its visual art.
Series Mascot: The Nephilim.
Sequel Hook: The Stinger shows Armaros's water nephilim is still alive.
Scripted Battle: The last phase of the final battle. After Enoch has been caught in an unavoidable, armor-shattering blast from Dark Armaros laser, he will come back automatically and be given infinite Overboost. You can wail on Dark Armaros all you want, but the battle will only end when you use an Uriel Smash to finish Armaros off.
Sharing a Body: Nanna with Ishtar; she was fated to become Ishtar's new body. When Nanna grows up, it's ambiguous who she actually is, just a grown up Nanna, Ishtar in her new body, or both. The gallery refers to the scene where Nanna takes the front in the battle against Ezekiel as her being Ishtar.
Shirtless Scene: If Enoch's armour is destroyed, he'll run around in little more than a pair of jeans.
The Slow Walk: Armaros' deliberate, sexy strut across his stage when he decides to fight you personally.
Smashing Survival: After Enoch's armor gets completely destroyed, a number of buttons must be mashed to bring him back into action, with the possibility of mashing recovery decreasing each time this happens, eventually it will force the player to restart at the last checkpoint.
The Speechless: Armaros, as Lucifel put it, lost his voice when he fell down with other angels, but still can make sounds and scream normally.
Spell My Name with an "S": Lucifel's name - done for a reason, though. The end of his name signifies that he is an Archangel who has not fallen.
Spirit Advisor: The Archangels to Enoch throughout his journey.
Spiritual Successor: Of Devil May Cry and Okami.
Stairway to Heaven
Stealth Pun: The Fallen Angels are also known as the Watchers. What do they wear into battle? A scary helmet with a bigass eye on it. And that's not mentioning their eye-covered Tower.
Super Drowning Skills: Enoch can apparently only walk through puddles.
Super Mode: Overboost. Collecting Flames from breakable objects or enemies, as well as diligently purifying weapons, will build up Overboost, eventually igniting Enoch's weapon. Hit L1+R1 at this point and many things will happen: Enoch will summon Uriel (see above,) his armor will regenerate to full (and continue to regenerate if it's damaged during this state,) his defense will skyrocket so only the most potent attacks will damage him, his attacks will be enhanced, and you'll gain access to weapon-specific Uriel Smash attacks that will deal ridiculous amounts of damage and end Overboost instantly.
Summon Backup Dancers: You literally battle Armaros' backup dancers as he...dances in the front.
Super-Powered Evil Side: Dark Enoch and Dark Armaros.
Sympathy for the Devil
Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors: The main weapons work this way: Arch beats Veil, Veil beats Gale, Gale beats Arch.
Take My Hand: Enoch can't escape the Dark Worlds by himself. He must reach the spirit of Armaros, who will pull him back to the real world by this method.
Teleport Spam: One of Azazel's specialties. As well as Lucifel's... but he's just being playful, right?
Time Skip: Of some ten years.
Time Travel: Lucifel exploits this ability, given that he has a cell phone and wears designer jeans. He even admits to the viewer, at the beginning of the game, that time is no longer linear to him.
Tragic Monster: Dark Armaros. Some of the Nephilim, such as Nanna's friend, are actually good and seek an end to their own torment.
Tragic Villain: Armaros, after going for the rescue of his friend Enoch, it seemed he died consumed by The Darkness, then he comes back as Dark Armaros, the final boss, still unlike the other Fallen he doesn't seem angry or mad at Enoch, it didn't look like he was in control either; in the end Armaros thanks Enoch for putting him out of his misery.
Tron Lines: Enoch's outfit and motorcycle... and the entire level that comprises Azazel's world initially.
Turns Red: Nether Azazel, more than any other Fallen Angel.
Unexpected Gameplay Change: "Azazel's Zeal" is a surprisingly solid Vehicular Combat/Racing Mini Game.
The Unfettered: Lucifel and, by proxy, the other Archangels, Armaros switching sides just to save his former friend Enoch didn't change their judgment of him, death was still on for Armaros, Lucifel was even glad he died, temporaly, saving Enoch, not for gratitude but for convinience.
The Unfought: Baraquel, who was devoured by the Fire Nephilim before Enoch had the chance to meet him; also, when Baraquel's powers took its influence on the Fire Nephilim, turning into Baraquel Nephilim, Enoch didn't battle against him either.
- The same goes for Arakiel and Semyaza. Both died during the process of falling from heaven, and their levels are a grave and an empty life support system, respectively.
- The entity in the Darkness, whose roles is that of an unstoppable force that devours spirits and corrupts them. Going by chapter titles, this entity would be Belial, or it might be the "Prince" mentioned in Ishtar's prophecy Or they could be one and the same.
Unwitting Pawn: According to Ishtar's Prophecies, the Fallen Angels are this, having accepted the help from "The Prince in the Darkness," unaware that the latter only craves souls, the souls of all mankind. Worse, anyone who dies in the Watchers' new world will fall into the Darkness instead of ascending to Heaven.
Vision Quest: Chapter 9, "Enoch's Indecision."
Year Outside, Hour Inside: Time flows differently in Heaven, where a few minutes can mean years on Earth.
You Can't Go Home Again: Lucifel explains that the Grigori must die.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Sorry, Armaros. You tried.
Warrior Monk: Enoch is one badass scribe.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Grigori. They really do want to do right by humanity, and grant it gifts of wisdom long before its time, and are willing to die, kill, or defy God Himself for their ideals. But in forcing humanity to evolve this way, they also take away its ability to learn from its mistakes, and to appreciate progress as the reward for hard work. Thus, the Watchers' followers end up as little more than zealots, wholly dependent on their "Lords" for their happiness.
What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?
What Happened to the Mouse?: Neph, Nanna/Ishtar's Nephilim friend, stays behind while the latter says goodbye and goes to help Enoch. That's the last we ever see of him. We know that Nephilim return to oblivion when their progenitor dies or is sealed, but at that point Azazel and Armaros are both still alive, and the latter's Water Nephilim survived past the end of the game. Did Neph disappear with Azazel's death, or was he another one of Armaros' benevolent, friendly offspring?
What You Are in the Dark: Lucifel gives Armaros his chance to help Enoch but Armaros doesn't realize that he's doing it to use him. After he saves Enoch, Lucifel lets Armaros sink into the Darkness alone.
The Worm That Walks: Nether Azazel, a giant, humanoid fly, is made up of millions of smaller flies.

Lucifel: You sure that's enough tropes? If not I could...
Enoch: No problem. Everything's fine. (Daijobu da, mondai nai)

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