Starcraft I/YMMV

"Serve the hive... feel the groove..."
 * Alas, Poor Villain: Duke may have been a bastard, but he didn't really deserve what he got.
 * As with the above example, its difficult not to feel sorry for DuGalle as he writes a last farewell to his wife while his fleet is destroyed by the zerg around him, before he finally pulls a gun on himself.
 * Alternate Character Interpretation: Samir Duran has psychic powers. The only explanation for DuGalle's actions that isn't blind idiocy and incompetence is Duran altering his mind.
 * As a Ghost, he is required to have a certain level of psychic ability (which all Ghost abilities rely on in order to be used). Considering the secret hints that he, this is entirely possible.
 * Cliché Storm: While there is a fair amount of Lampshade Hanging, the whole formula still is formulaic/cheesy enough to qualify as one.
 * Complacent Gaming Syndrome: Many players only play Lost Temple, Big Game Hunters, Python and/or Destination. From the user-created side of things, we have Fastest Map Ever, which was designed initially to speed up the beginning game by stacking minerals directly next to the beginning buildings making mining for resource instantaneous. To say that there are several variations of the map would be an Understatement.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: Terran 1. The second part in particular is spectacular.
 * Ear Worm: Radio Free Zerg.


 * Ensemble Darkhorse: The zerg Cerebrates have a surprisingly strong fandom for giving the mindless swarm a lot of personality.
 * Even now that Starcraft II is out and they're on to developing the expansions, there's still fans hoping Fenix will be revived a second time, or even infested, and come back for another showing.
 * Epileptic Trees: Anything at all concerning Duran. The fans have had more than decade to speculate and some very strange, exotic theories have been put forth. Some insist that the factions are expies of the Imperium of Man, Tyranids, and Eldar, and Starcraft is based on 40k. (With 40k being based on numerous Sci Fi works, it isn't really a surprise) And the reverse was guessed as well, some claim the Tyranids were changed in appearance to match the Zerg better and that the Tau were based off the Protoss.
 * Germans Love David Hasselhoff: They don't call it the "national sport of South Korea" for nothing.
 * Idiot Plot: Brood War. If a couple of characters had spoken up before their deaths, Kerrigan's entire plan would have been ruined. Also, leaving the UED in complete control of a mature Overmind, and thus in complete control of the entire zerg Swarm, including Kerrigan...That would have been just awful.
 * Well, it's pretty heavily implied that they were gonna use the Zerg to wipe out the Protoss. Something Kerrigan would probably do on her own, though.
 * Offscreen Moment of Awesome: When Raynor decided to part ways with Mengsk, did he just run off to some other planet to sulk? No, he stole Mengsk's freaking flagship, the Hyperion, and somehow got away with it, apparently leaving General Duke tied up when he failed to defend the ship from Raynor. Unfortunately this is only mentioned in the novelizations who only describe it in a brief flashback.
 * Porting Disaster: Starcraft 64 is generally considered this way, which is unfortunate, because it really was pretty damn good. Being able to control 18 units at a time rather than 12 is a pretty major jump. On the down side, most of the voice acting and FMV were removed, something expected for that console. The cartridges simply didn't have the amount of space needed for all that.
 * Rooting for the Empire: The United Earth Directorate overthrew Mengsk and temporarily dissolved the Dominion, enslaved the Zerg and took control of them, and used their power afterwards to try and take down Kerrigan's Brood...why was everyone so opposed to these guys again? Okay, granted they come on behalf of the same government that exiled your ancestors to this sector of space, but still, they took out two of the major evil powers in the sector and probably would have taken out Kerrigan too if Raynor and Fenix hadn't helped her. If they had stopped to consider negotiating a deal with the UED, which the UED would have at least considered since DuGalle and Stukov are Reasonable Authority Figures, Raynor and Protoss should have been helping them!
 * Until you see their bases in one of the Zerg campaign missions and realize that they are infesting their own men.
 * So Cool Its Awesome: The original game is frequently called one of, if not the best RTS ever. Hype Backlash and Seinfeld Is Unfunny has come into play over the years, but the game still holds up well up unto the release of the sequel, and probably will continue to do so for some time.
 * Wham! Episode: Episode Six, Mission 5: True Colors. Anyone Can Die is in full effect, with two of the most known characters  killed by the player. To make it feel more cheap, see the Anticlimax Boss entry.