History VideoGame / DustAnElysianTail

* ThreeDEffectsTwoDCartoon: Most noticeable is probably the Blade of Ahrah, though the airborne gunships used by Gaius' army are also plainly [=CG=]. It actually ''helps'' their aesthetic; most of their details are still hand-drawn, and the result is that they look shiny, polished, and just a tiny bit unnatural, which is entirely fitting for the only mechanical enemies in the entire game. Gaius' soldiers are also partially [=CG=], most notably the armor and weapons.

* ConspicuousCG: Most noticeable is probably the Blade of Ahrah, though the airborne gunships used by Gaius' army are also plainly [=CG=]. It actually ''helps'' their aesthetic; most of their details are still hand-drawn, and the result is that they look shiny, polished, and just a tiny bit unnatural, which is entirely fitting for the only mechanical enemies in the entire game. Gaius' soldiers are also partially [=CG=], most notably the armor and weapons.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:After the final showdown with General Gaius, Dust accepts that [[HeroicSacrifice his time of living has reached its climax]], allowing himself to be swallowed by volcanic magma [[GoOutWithASmile and die]]. A TearJerker moment ensued for Fidget and Ginger. However, Dust's spirit remains, drifting though the winds with Ahrah.]]

* PettingZooPeople: There are no humans in the game[[note]] Except TheCameo Friends from other video games, who some of which are cartoonish representations of humans done in their own source art style.[[/note]]. Everyone is an anthropomorphic animal of some kind, with most being some kind of mouse on account of the primary hub in the game being a village of theirs.

* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: Just about everyone is an anthropomorphic animal.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consist of this game and an animated film titled ''Elysian Tail'' that is also currently in production. The game was originally released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on August 15th, 2012 as part of the "Summer of Arcade" titles, and has since been released on Windows, Macintosh, Linux (via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, Website/{{GOG|DotCom}}, and UsefulNotes/HumbleBundle), [=PlayStation=] 4, [=iOS=], and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

* OneHundredPercentCompletion: If exploring every nook and cranny of area while helping the needy in various {{side quest}}s and making items from every last blueprint you find is your thing, then get ready do a lot of that in this game. Full completion of the game even yields a 117% progress bar.

* CreatorCameo: One of the "friends" that are rescued from cages is one of the members of Hyperduck, the composers for the game.

* {{Irony}}: General Gaius believes that [[spoiler: Dust is merely his friend Cassius under a spell by the Moonbloods.]] The ironic part is that [[spoiler: this is ''true''. While this in no way justifies the genocide, the Moonbloods cast a spell that would call upon the Sen-Mithrarin, one warrior made from two opposite souls that could always keep each other in balance. Cassius was the fearless warrior half, and became Sen-Mithrarin along with a boy named Jin, who'd killed him for murdering his family of Moonblood sympathizers. They hoped that Jin's conscience would temper Cassius' bloodthirstiness, and they needed Cassius' body and fighting skills, but the resulting gestalt entity has his own personality, due largely in part to the amnesia caused by the fusion.]]

* TwentyBearAsses: Fale has a ''long'' series of these. They're completable from the enemies in the Abadis forest, but you can make a profit from simply buying the requested materials from the nearby shop. You also get an achievement for completing all of them.

* LampshadeHanging: Of the game's many {{Metroidvania}} tropes. Really, there's a good chance that Dust's NiceHat ''is'' a lampshade. Check out the LeaningOnTheFourthWall entry and the [[ShoutOut/DustAnElysianTail Shout-Out page]]; expect a lampshade for most of thse examples.

* TwentyBearAsses: Fale has a ''long'' series of these. They're completable from the enemies in the Abadis forest, but you can make a profit from simply buying the requested materials from the nearby shop. You also get an achievement for completing all of them.
** Blop, an elder character in Mudpot, is similar to the classic woodsman example, desiring vengeance on the monsters inhabiting the Cirromon Caverns.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is an independently-made, side-scrolling, {{Metroidvania}}, action RPG game by former ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' animator Dean Dodril (a.k.a. [=NoogyToad=]) of Humble Hearts for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}, UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}}, Windows, Mac, and Linux [=PCs=], and iOS on the App Store.

The game was first planned as an Xbox LIVE Indie Games title during its early developmental stages, although after the submission of the game at Microsoft's Dream.Build.Play contest at PAX East of 2009, Dean Dodril won the grand prize of a contract with Microsoft to release the game as an UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade title at the event. Aside from the game's music (provided by [[http://hyperduck.co.uk/ Hyperduck SoundWorks]]), voice acting, and parts of the story, the game has been developed entirely by Dean Dodril himself.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consist of this game and an animated film titled ''Elysian Tail'' that is also currently in production. The game was originally released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on August 15th, 2012 as part of the "Summer of Arcade" titles, and has since been released on Windows, Macintosh, Linux (via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, Website/{{GOG|DotCom}}, and UsefulNotes/HumbleBundle), UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, [=iOS=], and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consist of this game and an animated film titled ''Elysian Tail'' that is also currently in production. The game was originally released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on August 15th, 2012 as part of the "Summer of Arcade" titles, and has since been released on Windows (via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, Mac, UsefulNotes/Playstation4, iOS, and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consist of this game and an animated film titled ''Elysian Tail'' that is also currently in production. The game has been released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on August 15th, 2012 as part of the "Summer of Arcade" titles, while a Windows port was released on May 24th, 2013 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, both priced at $14.99. A [=PlayStation=] 4 version was also released with graphical improvements in October 2014, and was part of that month's [=PlayStation=] Plus Instant Game Collection. The game's Windows and Mac ports were released on November 7, 2013 on Website/GOGDotCom as a DRM-free title. A launch trailer of the game can be seen from Dean's Website/YouTube channel [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg81GcutanQ&hd=1 here]]. The game was later released to iOS.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consist of this game and an animated film titled ''Elysian Tail'' that is also currently in production. The game has been released on Xbox LIVE Arcade on August 15th, 2012 as part of the "Summer of Arcade" titles, while a Windows port was released on May 24th, 2013 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, both priced at $14.99. A [=PlayStation=] 4 version was also released with graphical improvements in October 2014, and was part of that month's [=PlayStation=] Plus Instant Game Collection. The game's Windows and Mac ports were released on November 7, 2013 on Website/GOGDotCom as a DRM-free title. A launch trailer of the game can be seen from Dean's YouTube channel [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg81GcutanQ&hd=1 here]]. The game was later released to iOS.

* VendorTrash: Defeated creatures often drop body parts such as a bit of hide or a tooth, which can be sold to vendors or used to craft items.

* TheCameo: "Friends," who hang out at the Sanctuary once they're found. Examples include: [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/{{Fez}} Gomez]], [[VideoGame/{{Braid}} Tim]], [[VideoGame/{{Spelunky}} The Spelunker and Damsel]], [[VideoGame/MeatBoy Meat Boy and Bandage Girl]], VideoGame/TheMaw, [[VideoGame/{{Bastion}} The Kid]], [[TheDishwasher The Dishwasher and Yuki]].]]

* FrenchJerk: Gianni, who'd rather not go outside Aurora Village to do his laundry for fear of being attacked by monsters. So he has a small child do it for him, and shows less concern for the boy's safety when he's attacked than he does for whether or not his laundry is done. When you retrieve his laundry, you have to option to put some poison ivy in with it to give him some comeuppance.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: Obviously the only way to rid yourself of a life-draining curse is to [[spoiler: kill yourself before the curse does. Fortunately, you get better.]]

* InexplicablyPreservedDungeonMeat: Lampshaded with the Mysterious Wall Chicken. Its in-game description reads "Found embedded in a wall, this fully-cooked and seasoned chicken comes from unknown origins."

** Fidget points out how much Dust flies around the ''screen'' when he activates his Dust Storm while jumping. He's all like WOOOOOOOSHHHSHHH!!! She also wonders how it's possible for Dust to see anything straight ahead of him, what with that hat of his always obscuring his eyes.

* DeepSouth: The denizens of Mudpot come across as this, complete with Texas-style accents.

The game was first planned as an Xbox LIVE Indie Games title during its early developmental stages, although after the submission of the game at Microsoft's Dream.Build.Play contest at PAX East of 2009, Dean Dodril won the grand prize of a contract with Microsoft to release the game as an XboxLiveArcade title at the event. Aside from the game's music (provided by [[http://hyperduck.co.uk/ Hyperduck SoundWorks]]), voice acting, and parts of the story, the game has been developed entirely by Dean Dodril himself.