History VideoGame / DustAnElysianTail

* CrewOfOne: Meta-wise, developing a video game is usually done with a team and besides voice acting and music, the number of developers is a grand total of one.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consists 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 Creator/HumbleBundle), [=PlayStation=] 4, [=iOS=], and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is an independently-made, side-scrolling, {{Metroidvania}}, action RPG {{Fantasy}} game by former ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' animator Dean Dodrill (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.

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Some of Gaius' soldiers carry [[BladeOnAStick spears]] with a bayonet attached.

** You're playing [[spoiler:an amnesiac who only remember waking up in a forest clearing a few days ago when he gladly commits suicide by lava once he's served his purpose.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler:[=PoPop's=] death. He had been ill for quite a while and even with the restoration of their healing water, he simply didn't have the strength left to last long enough for a full recovery. Momop even admits that he wouldn't have recovered if the water had started running days before.]]

* TheUnintelligible: Matti, Haley's younger brother who only speaks in grumbles.

-->'''Fidget''': We did everything right, Dust. Everything we were supposed to do.
-->'''Dust''': And sometimes that is not enough.

* HarderThanHard: If [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Tough]] mode wasn't challenging enough for you, how about trying your hand at the Hardcore mode? Many enemies can kill you in one or two hits, your invincibility after being hit lasts only half a second, and save points do not heal you [[AntiFrustrationFeatures unless you have less than 10% health remaining]] (and even then only slightly).

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:After braving the dangerous terrain of the Cirromon Caverns and defeating Lady Tethys, arguably the most difficult boss so far, Dust and Fidget return to Mudpot. They are greeted by a cheerful Bopo, and his father's life seems to have been saved... And then his mother comes over to them. ]]

** The best augment is Mithrarin's Augment, while the best armor is Mithrarin's Robe.

* HarderThanHard: If [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Tough]] mode wasn't challenging enough for you, how about trying your hand at the Hardcore mode? Many enemies can kill you in one or two hits, your invincibility after being hit lasts only half a second, and save points do not heal you [[AntiFrustrationFeatures unless you have less than 10% health remaining.]]

* HilariousOuttakes: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTRG0v7TWtg see here.]]

* HarderThanHard: If [[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Tough]] mode wasn't challenging enough for you, how about trying your hand at the Hardcore mode? However, the game modes are rather nonindicative -- while one might expect Hardcore to be NintendoHard, in reality it is STILL an easy game even on the highest possible difficulty, and it isn't hard to defeat the game on hardcore mode the first time through. Indeed, the primary threat in the game is not enemies -- who will seldom even hurt you, and who cannot kill you in a single hit if you are not in flashing red hit points, something which is unchanged in hardcore mode - but environmental hazards, which can trap you in hitstun and kill you without any chance to escape regardless of how much health you have. Regardless of difficulty level, you will soon be mowing down the enemies without taking damage, and the platforming puzzles are identical across difficulty modes.

* 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." There's also the perfectly preserved food you sometimes find in various magically-locked chests.

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:After braving the dangerous terrain of the Cirromon Caverns and defeating Lady Tethys, arguably the [[DifficultySpike most difficult boss so far,]] Dust and Fidget return to Mudpot. They are greeted by a cheerful Bopo, and his father's life seems to have been saved... And then his mother comes over to 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 these examples.

* MoneySpider: Enemies drop gold coins and sacks of gold. They also drop various types of inventory items; some are at least fairly sensible VendorTrash (body parts), others make no sense at all (jewelry, item blueprints, prepared food).

* [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evil In A Box]]: Reed's sidequest. That box he's looking for must never ever be opened.

* VendorTrash: The early materials, such as imp hides and avee claws, become this in late-game, since the items that you need will usually not use them.
** The "junk" material is specifically described as "Serves no purpose. Sell it." Subverted in that you actually ''do'' need it to craft a Ring of the Scavenger.

* StandardStatusEffects: There are enemies that can poison Dust and others that can "silence" Fidget, making her unable to cast her projectiles. [[spoiler:Dust will also be affected by a health-drain effect similar to poison if he opens the mysterious box.]]

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** When Dust and Fidget encounter their first Blomb, which blows up a {{Mook}} in a cutscene (and right next to a save point):
-->'''Fidget:''' "Oh my. He really should have saved first."
** While Fidget is the go-to gal for this (combined with MediumAwareness), Dust gets in on it too at the end of the trial mode stage.
** There's an actual sidequest wherein you need to achieve a 1000 hit combo to complete it; that is all.
** Fidget points out how much Dust flies around the ''screen'' when he activates his Dust Storm while jumping. He's all like ''vwooshzheeooshzoozoosh!'' 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.
** During a quest to find a farmer's strayed livestock, Fidget is freaked out when Dust puts a sheep into his inventory. Dust acts like it is completely ordinary.
** Fidget also points out how Dust always has to start a fire whenever he pulls out the map [[spoiler: when talking to Old Grey Eyes about their flameless light magic]].
** This exchange early in the game:
-->'''Fidget:''' "AHHH!! Monsters!"
-->'''Ahrah:''' "Calm yourself, Fidget. Dust, focus! Remember what you've learned thus far."
-->'''Fidget:''' "No, no! Mash the buttons! DO SOMETHING!!"

* GameBreakingBug: There's a few in the Xbox 360 version in the Blackmoor Mountains. One in particular you should be aware of is that if you try to slide on certain floors, the game glitches out and causes you to fall through the ground instead as if it was a thin platform.

*** Also in PC Version, there's a bug where falling faster than the camera or leaving the camera view could crash the game. Unlike the previously CPU eater bug, this one was not fixed in any update.

Dean has confirmed that a sequel to the game is in development. But it won't be his next game, as he is working on a another project unrelated to ''Elysian Tail''.

* 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]]. However, Dust's spirit remains, drifting though the winds with Ahrah.]]

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is an independently-made, side-scrolling, {{Metroidvania}}, action RPG game by former ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' animator Dean Dodrill (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.

* NonHumanUndead: As can be expected from the setting, the zombies found in the Sorrowing Meadows all have tails and digitigrade gait, heavily implying that they're all [[spoiler: Moonbloods Gauis has slain]].

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:[=PoPop's=] death. He had been ill for quite a while and even with the restoration of their healing water, he simply didn't have the strength left to last long enough for a full recovery. Momop even admits that he wouldn't have recovered if the water had started running days before.]]

* DifficultySpike: The Sorrowing Meadows. Two new types of enemy -- a mook maker who occasionally summons enemies which explode if you run into them and a creature which can knock you out of midair -- are some of the few enemies in the game which present any real threat to Dust. The difficulty bump in platforming/level navigation comes in the previous level, though.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Dust's ''Dust Storm'' technique, from [[WeaponTwirling twirling Ahrah with a single hand]], to an aerial SpinAttack. The latter ability is a GameBreaker due to the enemies' inability to deal with it properly -- only a couple of enemies can knock Dust out of it with any degree of success -- and its increased damage compared to the standing version. The standing Dust Storm is also a great way to rack up high combos on weak enemies, since it does very little damage.

* 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 to do a lot of that in this game. Full completion of the game even yields a 117% progress bar.

Dean has confirmed that a sequel to the game is in development. But it won't be his next game, as he is working on a another project not related to ''Elysian Tail''.

''Dust: An Elysian Tail'' is also part of a series set within the ''An Elysian Tail'' universe; the series currently consists 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.

* 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.