"I always think of you and I'll try to cross the emerald ocean, as long as the stars are guiding me, I don't know how much time I need..."
— Game opening song
The Dog Island is a 2008 video game by Yuke's for the Wii and Playstation 2. The player controls a cute super-deformed dog in the style of THE DOG: Artlist collection. The story starts as the protagonist leaves his/her calm village to go to The Dog Island to save their younger sibling from a mysterious sickness. The player takes a trip on a pirate ship, but the journey goes wrong and they end up in Pupsville. It is here that they meet Dr. Potan, who says he can heal the player's sibling if he has the right herbs. However, this information turns out to be inaccurate, and to truly save their sibling the player must find the Legendary Flower.
The player later encounters an odd creature, an Anc called Petasi, who decides to accompany them after planting a tree in the centre of Pupsville. The player then begins their journey throughout the Dog Island to become a Sniff Master and find the Legendary Flower, in addition to solving the mystery of the Ancs and learning the secrets of the Dog Island’s citizens.
It has a sequel, The Puppy and the Magic Hat, that was released in the West as Petz Catz/Dogz 2.
No relation to 2018 Wes Anderson film Isle of Dogs.
This game contains examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Francis assumed that she killed her childhood friend during an argument, and this became the reason why she was afraid of blood. Subverted when her friend is later shown to be alive and well because she had simply moved away.
- Afraid of Blood: Francis, who is ironically a nurse, is afraid of blood because she thinks she killed her childhood friend. The Victory Gang exploit this by throwing tomatoes at her.
- All Dogs Are Purebred: Despite being a world without humans, all dogs are recognizable breeds—your player character's family, for example, are all of the breed and pelt color you choose. Some dogs even have body modifications, like docked ears, that only exist because of humans.
- Bears Are Bad News: Bears are one of the many enemies you can bark away during the game.
- Beary Friendly: There is a line of "gentle bears" who only eat honey. One of them is met during a sidequest; not only can he speak, he volunteers to join one of the dog's circus show, with the idea of being able to get more honey out of it. Notably, it's colored a somewhat garish pink instead of the game's usual brown, and in an area with few actual bear enemies, to help distinguish it.
- Big Brother Instinct: The reason why the main plot of the game is set off. The player even goes as far as to recklessly jump into the ocean during a dangerous storm to reach the Dog Island when El Dorado decides they need to turn back.
- Character Customization: The player can choose from many different dog breeds and colors, as well as accessories such as hats and bows. They can even choose the gender of their sibling.
- Character Level: The player levels up by learning more scents.
- Disappeared Dad: The player's father left home a while ago to search for a cure for their younger sibling's illness. He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Fortunately, he is revealed to be fine when he returns at the end of the game.
- Find the Cure!: Your younger sibling is sick and the only way to cure them fully is to obtain the Legendary Flower.
- Gang of Bullies: The Victory Gang is a group of obnoxious ruffians who constantly harass the citizens of Pupsville with their insensitive pranks and argumentative nature. They end up reforming themselves after the player beats them all.
- Goldfish Poop Gang: The Victory Gang, though they eventually have a change of heart once the player bests all of them.
- Gotta Catch Them All: The game involves collecting food, fish and bugs.
- Grave-Marking Scene: Dr. Potan visits the grave of his friend who died because he did not save her quickly enough.
- Healing Herb: Dr. Potan uses these in an attempt to heal the player's sibling, but is unsuccessful.
- Heroic Mime: The player doesn't speak much, and only really barks to 'explain the situation.'
- Life Meter: Whenever the player is spooked by a wild animal, a part of this meter will go down.
- Living Relic: The Dinosaur Fossil is the Final Boss.
- Mini-Game: Many found throughout the game.
- The Nose Knows: The player's ultimate goal is to become a Sniff Master so that they can locate the Legendary Flower.
- Permanently Missable Content:
- Once you enter the final leg of quests involving becoming a Sniff Master, you can't do other quests, and some sidequests can become locked after this point. Most of them just give money, but some have unique smells associated with them, preventing you from getting 100 of the scents.
- Sometimes your family and friends will send you mail asking for certain items, and you can't send them after a certain point in the story. These can stop you from getting the useful Homemade Bag that increases your inventory space, and the Sketch that reduces the time you suffer from paralysis.
- Point of No Return: The Anc World. If you save in there and overwrite your main file, you're trapped, meaning you can't complete your collections or play minigames anymore.
- The Power of Love: Petasi's Anc tree grows with appreciation.
- Riddle Me This: Alex creates riddles that the player must solve.
- Rule of Cute: How can dogs build houses, cook, and run their own businesses? Ah, who cares, it's adorable.
- "Save the World" Climax: Towards the end of the game the player must save the island from a meteor attack, as well as the world being frozen for several years.
- Sliding Scale of Animal Cast: A clear 1, with no humans in the story whatsoever.
- Super-Deformed: All the characters are in this style, with big heads and even bigger noses.
- Talking Animal: Downplayed. Almost every character, disregarding enemies and certain non-hostile creatures, only speaks through barking, and their words are presented in dialogue bubbles.
- Trapped in Another World: Petasi was exiled from the Anc World, and your father was trapped in the Anc World.
- Video Game Caring Potential: The player receives letters from their mother, sibling and friends throughout the game, and can send back gifts depending on the nature of the letter. They can also even get themselves a girlfriend or boyfriend later on.
