History VideoGame / OneThousandAndOneSpikes

Released by Nicalis on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U in June 2014, ''1001 Spikes'' (Or, its full title, ''[[OverlyLongTitle Aban Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes: The Temple of the Dead Mourns the Living]]'') is the...''touching'' story of a Aban Hawkins, a perpetually furious archeologist put against the sort of odds that make [[IndianaJones Indiana Jones's]] escapades look like a pleasant stroll to the museum. The hotheaded protagonist is stuck somewhere between being a WellDoneSonGuy and just wanting to [[ArchnemesisDad punch him in the face]], to the point where he is instantaneously spurred into action when he learns of his father's demise and subsquently finds a letter that both mocks him and challenges him to search the lost ruins of Ukampa.

Seen as the twisted lovechild of ''[[VideoGame/MeatBoy Super Meat Boy]]'' and ''IWannaBeTheGuy'', 1001 Spikes has a title that ''understates'' the sheer level of tricks and traps laying before you, giving you 1001 lives to get through them all. The difficulty is somewhere in between the two, combining some trial and error gaming with challenges that require platforming skill as opposed to purely memorisation.

Compare with ''IWannaBeTheGuy'' and ''[[VideoGame/MeatBoy Super Meat Boy]]''.

** [[GhostsNGoblins Knight Aban]] has the distinction of being one of only two characters capable of taking more than one hit, at the cost of his melee attack.

* BraggingRightsReward: [[CaveStory Curly Brace]] is arguably one of the most useful characters in the game due to her extreme air mobility. However, unlocking her requires ''all thirty'' golden skulls, which are hidden at best and controller-snappingly frustrating to get at worst (or both), [[CharacterSelectForcing and can only be obtained by Aban]], meaning you essentially have to master each of the levels to even get her. [[spoiler:Even after that, the only way to use her in the second half of the game is to complete it in its entirety with Aban.]]

** Commander Video from BitTrip. Kind of ironic considering he was the first unlock in ''[[VideoGame/MeatBoy Super Meat Boy]]'' too. Has a floatier jump and a huge wide projectile.

** Juni from KnyttStories. She can DoubleJump, Glide, and can both [[WallCrawl Wall-slide]] and WallJump once, letting her effectively jump five blocks high.

** Nyx from NyxQuest. She can perform several small [[DoubleJump Double Jumps]] in the air, and has a strange attack in the form of an orb that pauses in the air then launches.
** Finally, we have Curly from CaveStory. She is armed with a machine gun (though in practice it’s more like an automatic pistol), but more importantly her [[JetPack Booster 2.0]] is present and accounted for. She would be termed as a GameBreaker if it wasn’t for the reasons mentioned in BraggingRightsReward.

* NintendoHard: Come on. With a title like that, can you expect anything less? [[OneHitpointWonder One Hit Kills]], IWannaBeTheGuy style traps that manage to get into your head and put dart traps exactly where you’re jumping, and extremely precise jumps? All par for the course.
* OneHitPointWonder: Every single character apart from Knight Aban dies in a single hit. Knight Aban has two hit points, [[GhostsNGoblins just like the person he’s cosplaying as.]]

* QuickMelee – Aban has throwing knives, but the game neglects to mention that you also have a melee attack, performed by throwing a knife at extremely close range to a scorpion, which causes him to [[SingleStrokeBattle instantly zoom forwards and slash the scorpion for a one hit kill]] as opposed to the standard three attacks.

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: The treasures that give huge amounts of lives in the final levels of each world remain there, albeit greyed out if you re-visit them. However, if you try and be clever and go back to get them for more lives, [[spoiler:they crumble into nothing and give you a 1down.]]

Released by Nicalis on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U in June 2014, ''1001 Spikes'' (Or, its full title, ''Aban Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes'') is the...''touching'' story of a Aban Hawkins, a perpetually furious archeologist put against the sort of odds that make [[IndianaJones Indiana Jones's]] escapades look like a pleasant stroll to the museum. The hotheaded protagonist is stuck somewhere between being a WellDoneSonGuy and just wanting to [[ArchnemesisDad punch him in the face]], to the point where he is instantaneously spurred into action when he learns of his father's demise and subsquently finds a letter that both mocks him and challenges him to search the lost ruins of Ukampa.

** [[{{Halo}} Space Marine Aban]] has the same machine gun, but a melee weapon with an upwards cleave and an inability to grab ledges.

** [[{{Contra}} Soldier Aban]] has a rapid fire machine gun, and is able to grab ledges.

* {{Expy}}: An obvious one of IndianaJones.
** Also, in his green recolour, his sprite bears a striking resemblance to [[LaMulana Lemeza from another ruin-exploring game, La Mulana.]]

Seen as the twisted lovechild of ''SuperMeatBoy'' and ''IWannaBeTheGuy'', 1001 Spikes has a title that ''understates'' the sheer level of tricks and traps laying before you, giving you 1001 lives to get through them all. The difficulty is somewhere in between the two, combining some trial and error gaming with challenges that require platforming skill as opposed to purely memorisation.

Compare with ''IWannaBeTheGuy'' and ''SuperMeatBoy''.

** Commander Video from BitTrip. Kind of ironic considering he was the first unlock in [[MeatBoy Super Meat Boy]] too. Has a floatier jump and a huge wide projectile.

* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The [[spoiler:last five worlds all take place in Antarctica]], but this trope is – for a game like this – bewilderingly yet mercifully averted in the case of the player character. [[FrictionlessIce However, blocks are not exempt from this]] when being pushed, despite being completely safe to stand on without slipping.

* WellDoneSonGuy: This seems to be Aban’s entire motivation to get through the ruins, combined with a sheer hatred of the man. [[{{Jerkass}} Granted, it is completely and utterly warranted.]]

** ”CONSEEEEEIIIIIIL!”

* RedundantResearcher: An extremely rare case of this where [[spoiler:‘’the main protagonist’’]] is the one this trope is referring to. [[spoiler:Aban’s Father]] outwits him at every turn during the story, much to his fury.

* BraggingRightsReward: [[CaveStory Curly Brace]] is arguably one of the most useful characters in the game due to her extreme air mobility. However, unlocking her requires ‘’all thirty’’ golden skulls, which are hidden at best and controller-snappingly frustrating to get at worst (or both), [[CharacterSelectForcing and can only be obtained by Aban]], meaning you essentially have to master each of the levels to even get her. [[spoiler:Even after that, the only way to use her in the second half of the game is to complete it in its entirety with Aban.]]

** [[{{Castlevania}} Slayer Aban]] has a whip as a standard attack and the usual ranged knives by pressing up and attack.

Released by Nicalis on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U in June 2014, 1001 Spikes (Or, its full title, ''Aban Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes'') is the...''touching'' story of a Aban Hawkins, a perpetually furious archeologist put against the sort of odds that make [[IndianaJones Indiana Jones's]] escapades look like a pleasant stroll to the museum. The hotheaded protagonist is stuck somewhere between being a WellDoneSonGuy and just wanting to [[ArchnemesisDad punch him in the face]], to the point where he is instantaneously spurred into action when he learns of his father's demise and subsquently finds a letter that both mocks him and challenges him to search the lost ruins of Ukampa.

* TemporaryPlatform: Seen in multiple places, both of the Temporary-after-hitting-a-switch kind and [[ClassicVideoGamingScrewYous the good old Mega Man toggling variety.]]

Compare IWannaBeTheGuy, SuperMeatBoy.

Seen as the twisted lovechild of SuperMeatBoy and IWannaBeTheGuy, 1001 Spikes has a title that ''understates'' the sheer level of tricks and traps laying before you, giving you 1001 lives to get through them all. The difficulty is somewhere in between the two, combining some trial and error gaming with challenges that require platforming skill as opposed to purely memorisation.

** [[{{Halo}} Space Marine Aban]], has the same machine gun, but a melee weapon with an upwards cleave and an inability to grab ledges.

* BraggingRightsReward: [[CaveStory Curly Brace]] is arguably one of the most useful characters in the game due to her extreme air mobility. However, unlocking her requires ‘’all thirty’’ golden skulls, which are hidden at best and controller-snappingly frustrating to get at worst (Or both), [[CharacterSelectForcing and can only be obtained by Aban]], meaning you essentially have to master each of the levels to even get her. [[spoiler:Even after that, the only way to use her in the second half of the game is to complete it in its entirety with Aban.]]
** The bigger example of this, however, is Thompsoncare. It costs a staggering 100001 coins, a figure that can only be achieved by grinding the extra modes of the game. When obtained, it gives you infinite lives, which in most games would easily warrant that price. There's just one slight issue, however. [[spoiler:you effectively ''have'' infinite lives anyway. Any time you run out, you get a small game over and then get given some lives back. Seeing as there's no checkpoints in the stages, this is utterly superfluous, and all it effectively does is remove your lives counter.]] However, buying it is required for two achievements.

Released by Nicalis on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in June 2014, 1001 Spikes (Or, it's full title, ''Aban Hawkins and the 1001 Spikes'')is the...''touching'' story of a Aban Hawkins, a perpetually furious archeologist put against the sort of odds that make [[IndianaJones Indiana Jones's]] escapades look like a pleasant stroll to the museum. The hotheaded protagonist is stuck somewhere between being a WellDoneSonGuy and just wanting to [[ArchnemesisDad punch him in the face]], to the point where he is instantaneously spurred into action when he learns of his father's demise and subsquently finds a letter that both mocks him and challenges him to search the lost ruins of Ukampa.

Compare IWannaBeTheGuy , SuperMeatBoy.

* BraggingRightsReward: [[CaveStory Curly Brace]] is arguably one of the most useful characters in the game due to her extreme air mobility. However, unlocking her requires ‘’all thirty’’ golden skulls, which are hidden at best and controller-snappingly frustrating to get at worst (Or both), [[CharacterSelectForcing and can only be obtained by Aban]], meaning you essentially have to master each of the levels to even get her. [[spoiler: Even after that, the only way to use her in The second half of the game is to complete it in its entirety with Aban.]]
** The bigger example of this, however, is Thompsoncare. It costs a staggering 100001 coins, a figure that can only be achieved by grinding the extra modes of the game. When obtained, it gives you infinite lives, which in most games would easily warrant that price. There's just one slight issue, however. [[spoiler: You effectively ''have'' infinite lives anyway. Any time you run out you get a small game over and then get given some lives back. Seeing as there's no checkpoints in the stages, this is utterly superfluous, and all it effectively does is remove your lives counter.]] However, buying it is required for two achievements.
* CharacterSelectForcing: Somewhat – Aban, in his normal self, is the only one who can find the Golden Skulls. Everyone else is stuck with finding coins instead. [[spoiler: It’s then enforced far more strictly in the second half of the game. As soon as you get to Antarctica, you can only use Aban until you’ve completed all of the Antarctica levels, after which you’re allowed to use the others.

* EasyModeMockery: Of a sort. You are allowed to skip levels, but you cannot access the end of Ukampa with any levels flagged as skipped - You get a single screen of text and are booted back to the map. [[spoiler: In Antarctica you're not allowed to skip at all without an item from the shop.]]
* EmptyRoomPsych: [[spoiler: 5-5 ]] does this to a tee. The previous level is by far one of the most gruelling that the character’s come up against, so every second the player spends in here tends to be terrifying because they expect spikes or a JumpScare to come up. But…No. The only risk is falling in the lava at the bottom. Even the level’s name, “Too Easy” reinforces this. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny The confusion from most ]][[LetsPlay Let’s Players]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny is palpable and hilarious.]]
* {{Expy}}: An obvious one of IndianaJones .

* HonestJohnsDealership: Conseil’s Duty Free, to an extent. All of the costumes he sells tend to be not quite as advertised, a ploy to get Aban into advertising contracts, or both. The rest of the stuff he sells though, such as the Skull Detector, Extra lives and [[spoiler: Thompsoncare]] are fully above board, though.
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: In addition to the ones previously mentioned [[spoiler: as well as Tina and Jim Hawkins]], lots of different characters from other games are present. See LotsAndLotsOfCharacters –

** Sugimoto from Tempura of the Dead. Has a SwordBeam, can pause his momentum in midair by attacking and can also [[VideogameDashing Air Dash.]]

** [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep Zombie the, well, zombie]], again from Tempura, has a semi-aimable bubble shot that’s affected by gravity (Unless you press forward while shooting), and is the other character capable of surviving a hit, at the cost of losing his head and [[ArsonMurderandJaywalking being forced to use melee attacks.]]

** El Testigo, an AuthorAvatar of Jonathan Blow (The developer of VideoGame/Braid .) He attacks with a glitched ball of code, altering the appearance of blocks and slowing moving objects. He can also GoombaStomp enemies.

* MeaninglessLives: ZigZagged. Initially the enormous amount of lives you start with – 1001 – sounds like you’d never run out. [[NintendoHard You will soon learn otherwise.]] However, whenever you beat a world, you find a treasure that gives you a good amount of lives, up to 256 in some cases. This can be repeated with every character. Also, when playing as Aban, every time you collect a Golden Skull, you get a 1up, which works as pretty good life insurance. [[spoiler: However, all of this is negated when you discover that if you run out of lives, you simply have to read through a few lines of text in a game over screen, and are then given a few lives back.]]

* [[QuickMelee]] – Aban has throwing knives, but the game neglects to mention that you also have a melee attack, performed by throwing a knife at extremely close range to a scorpion, which causes him to [[SingleStrokeBattle instantly zoom forwards and slash the scorpion for a one hit kill]] as opposed to the standard three attacks.
* RedundantResearcher: An extremely rare case of this where [[spoiler: ‘’the main protagonist’’]] is the one this trope is referring to. [[spoiler: Aban’s Father]] outwits him at every turn during the story, much to his fury.

* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The [[spoiler: Last five worlds all take place in Antarctica]], but this trope is – for a game like this – bewilderingly yet mercifully averted in the case of the player character. [[FrictionlessIce However, blocks are not exempt from this]] when being pushed, despite being completely safe to stand on without slipping.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: The treasures that give huge amounts of lives in the final levels of each world remain there, albeit greyed out if you re-visit them. However, if you try and be clever and go back to get them for more lives, [[spoiler: They crumble into nothing and give you a 1down.]]

* NintendoHard: Come on. With a title like that, can you expect anything less? [[OneHitpointWonder One Hit Kills, IWannaBeTheGuy style traps that manage to get into your head and put dart traps exactly where you’re jumping, and extremely precise jumps? All par for the course.

* Quick Melee – Aban has throwing knives, but the game neglects to mention that you also have a melee attack, performed by throwing a knife at extremely close range to a scorpion, which causes him to [[SingleStrokeBattle instantly zoom forwards and slash the scorpion for a one hit kill]] as opposed to the standard three attacks.

* Expy: An obvious one of IndianaJones .

* Determinator: Not even hundreds of deaths can stop Aban in his quest to prove himself for parental recognition and profit.

* EmptyRoomPsych: [[spoiler: 5-5 ]] does this to a tee. The previous level is by far one of the most gruelling that the character’s come up against, so every second the player spends in here tends to be terrifying because they expect spikes or a JumpScare to come up. But…No. The only risk is falling in the lava at the bottom. Even the level’s name, “Too Easy” reinforces this. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny The confusion from most ]][[LetsPlay Let’s Players]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny is palpable and hilarious.]]

Released by Nicalis on the PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in June 2014, 1001 Spikes is the...''touching'' story of a Aban Hawkins, a perpetually furious archeologist put against the sort of odds that make [[IndianaJones Indiana Jones's]] escapades look like a pleasant stroll to the museum. The hotheaded protagonist is stuck somewhere between being a WellDoneSonGuy and just wanting to [[ArchnemesisDad punch him in the face]], to the point where he is instantaneously spurred into action when he learns of his father's demise and subsquently finds a letter that both mocks him and challenges him to search the lost ruins of Ukampa.

** [[StreetFighter Fighter Aban]] can only have one Hadoken on screen, but it has an enormous hitbox which helps to deflect shots. While the Hadoken is on the screen, he has a spinning melee attack he can use while moving, and his Shoryuken high jump can actually kill enemies if timed correctly.

** [[GhostsNGoblins Knight Aban]] has the distinction of being one of only two characters capable of taking more than one hit, at the cost of his melee attack.