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Dust: An Elysian Tail |OT| Become the Storm

Iceblade

Member
Just thought I'd say that this game is awesome. The lengthy demo threw me over the fence, and if you're a prospective buyer, I'd say give this one a go.
 
What the hell is Foghorn Cafe? Where is it?!

Is the Cliff note related to
Braid? Or is the red crystal about something else?

What am I missing here in Blackmoor Mountains?
2296696-blackmoor_mountains_super.jpg


EDIT: OH WAIT there's a door on the bottom Yellow square! And it's all
16-bit looking!!! This must be it!

EDIT 2: OH SO IT'S THAT! Cool way to do it, although made my brain fart with the controls.
 
What the hell is Foghorn Cafe? Where is it?!

Is the Cliff note related to
Braid? Or is the red crystal about something else?

What am I missing here in Blackmoor Mountains?
2296696-blackmoor_mountains_super.jpg

AH I think that I know, in one place where you can get a key you can also
double jump up some rocks and there is a pixelated doorway you can enter, you will find another friend here

I think it's on the right side of the map somewhere before you hit the caves at the top, so about middle? I would have to turn my 360 on to check. Personally I have no idea if it relates to the cafe note or not, I did most of my hunting just running around for hours heh.
 

bumpkin

Member
Man, Noogy has completely thrown off the curve for expectations in an indie 2D game on XBLA. lol. I can't get over the detail and quality of the visuals in this game!
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
I'm just putting this here again, I don't care at all how many times it has shown up in this thread.

2159450-dust_elysian_trail_gif.gif

This is one of the most well-animated creations of all time.
 

watership

Member
Wow. This'll probably be the first thing I ever buy on XBLA.

Some of the best games this whole generation are on XBLA. You need to get buying.


Okay, besides Shadow Complex, what are the purely XBLA exclusives I must play?

Give the demos for these a try. I think a few of these are now multiplatform.

The Twisted Pixel games:
>The Maw
>Splosion Man
>Comic Jumper
Trials HD
Trials Evolution
Geometry Wars 2
Shadow Complex
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Rez HD
Trenched (Iron Brigade)
Bastion
Limbo
Castle Crashers
Braid
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
 

AzBat

Member
Noogy what's status of the Elysian Tail film now that Dust has been released? Are you going to finish it? Would you be interested in getting it crowdfunded if money is the issue? Or are you now going to work on another game, possibly a Dust sequel or a different game in the Elysian Tail world? Whatever you decide to do I want to help out. You have amazing talent & I think it needs to be enjoyed by all.
 
Some of the best games this whole generation are on XBLA. You need to get buying.

Give the demos for these a try. I think a few of these are now multiplatform.

The Twisted Pixel games:
>The Maw
>Splosion Man
>Comic Jumper
Trials HD
Trials Evolution
Geometry Wars 2
Shadow Complex
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Rez HD
Trenched (Iron Brigade)
Bastion
Limbo
Castle Crashers
Braid
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

This is a good list. Id also add the 2 Dishwasher Vampire games in there as well.
 
Okay, so I just beat it on Tough Mode,
117% (is that even a spoiler?)
and 400/400.

Fantastic game, easily one of the top games of the year, if not THE top game of the year.

I think I went doubly insane with this game because it seems like it's been SO long since the last Castlevania game.

It's almost unbelievable to think this was crafted by one man, I hope you are rewarded with many sales.

Noogy, you mentioned
that there was an Ys II reference
. As expected, I must have passed right by it. Care to elaborate?
 
Finished this up earlier today with my final percentage of
117%, not sure if it goes higher
I combed the world map grabbing every trinket, exploring every nook and cranny, generally when a game has me doing this I can conclude that it was doing something right.
This is easily one of the better games i've played this year and I will detail as such below in a spoiler filled text dump of post game analysis.

*SPOILERS WITHIN! ENTER AT YOUR OWN PERIL*

- Visually the game is splendid, stand out backdrops for me were within the caves, the mountain and the statues of the Archer's Pass. Dust has one of my favourite main character designs from this gen, he stands out quite easily among the sea of bald gentlemen I can tell you that much and the colour scheme of his outfit grew on me despite seeming perhaps a bit garish at first.
Weather effects like rain and mist that could seemingly drop in at anytime was a great touch, rain is always welcome in my games.
One of the points buzzing around this games look is "oh it's deviant art furry dreck", well talk about selling things short, it's a damn shame that these days you come under great scrutiny by some for "daring" to use human styled animal designs. I'm not asking anyone to like it, hell you may not like it at all but if the reason is because you're scared it's too furry or some nonsense like that then boo I say, this was fresh to me because you just don't see it anymore and i'd welcome more stuff like it that gives of that more whimsical vibe.
The only gripe I have with it is there seems to be a lack of eye variety at times with most folks having those big bright eyes, notably i'd say General Gaius looks not so intimidating with those big old eyeballs.

- The core combat, well this was mostly fun with a few down points that i'll get to in a minute. Now first of all I can say is it's damn enjoyable, easy to grasp and soon enough you will be whizzing around the screen as a lightning storm of death and destruction, nothing is quite as exhilarating as being flung high in the sky with the aerial dust storm, grabbing an enemy at the top of the screen and plunging back down to earth with a mighty crash that obliterates the poor sod who was in the impact zone. Parry mechanics are always welcome, across the board the combat nails that satisfactory feeling whether you're completely overpowered mowing armies down like fodder or toughing it out for your very life with each move proving vital to your survival.
The downside is that the combat is kind of limited, Dust only has so many combos, i'm far from expecting Ninja Gaiden here but in a game with this many enemy brawls it can get a bit long in the tooth.

- Dust himself controls very well, it's satisfying just to move him around, the fancy animation does not get in the way of things, each jump is well placed, just the right level of height and airtime. I played through the game on normal, while this was pretty simple (I know the above setting was more recommended but I prefer to play it safe) it still presented moments of challenge, fortunately there are save points everywhere so if you suddenly find yourself say caught by an exploding zombie creature at least it doesn't set you back very far at all.

- The main draw of the game for me outside of its looks was the whole Metroidvania term being thrown around, I love me a good metroidvania and as some have said the layout is quite similar to Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia which is no bad thing as that's one of my favourite DS games. As such Dust presents a variety of settings to dig through in the name of lining my pockets with trinkets and the self satisfaction that comes with discovery, while the rewards tended not to be much to trumpet there was always joy in finding a key or opening a chest, oh and I don't use the 360 too much so it was a good way to learn the face button positions with the chest opening minigame. There were a few odd choices in hidden item locations, one key inside one of the mansions that required a double jump felt like a bit much of a retread for something so minor (unless I was doing it wrong).
But none of the items are hidden in such a way you can't figure things out, having also spent this last week jumping all over the mushroom kingdom in NSMB2 searching for some very questionable secret exits this was a huge relief. Even the Castlevania 2 homage wasn't that cryptic thanks to the note.
Of course the other game Dust gets compared to is Muramasa, another game I quite enjoy except for the repetitive structure of the world map, this game dare I say feels like what Muramasa should've been on this point.

- Music is okay, i'd like to say more on the subject but noting particularly stood out to me outside the cavern music which was great and a few others, the music is of good quality and can set the atmosphere well, I had to turn down the sound effects a bit in order to hear the music over the sound of enemies being slashed, fried, bolted and so on.
As for the sound effects, there are the small things like the satisfying jingles as you progress through a menu and the death scream of that irritating Necromancer fellow.

- The plot, ah it was enough to keep me playing though nothing particularly groundbreaking, I felt that Gaius was a bit tame for someone who commits such dastardly deeds, though maybe that was sort of the idea, more depth on the General would have been nice, I was half expecting a swerve where he would've been the good guy all along or something but I guess not.
Fidget was a great companion character, with just enough wit and the odd fourth wall breaking joke, a suitable voice and never felt annoying like numerous characters that fall into this role. I do wonder what the deal is with the other blades of Elysium.
Voice acting on the whole is good, various accents and variety, well voiced lines, I have no complaints and a great job from Dust's voice over.
Also the best merchant since the Resi 4 merchant, hell throw in the other merchant with the funny hat from Aurora as well.

- So to conclude this text dump i'd say this is a fine game, it brings together a lot of aspects and while it may not knock any particular detail straight out of the park (bar perhaps the visuals, those are some really nice backgrounds) they all are well above average and come together to create a game that's truly enjoyable, it really feels like a game made out of the love and desire to just make a memorable and entertaining experience which is fantastic.
Well worth the money I spent, i'm glad to not have succumbed to refreshing for the many handouts.
 

Arkain

Member
Just finished it on tough difficulty, game was great!

The only thing that bothered me about the game was (Chapter 5 spoiler)
those moonbloods accompanying you near the end of the game. They made it really hard to see what I was doing.
 
For all you high percenters that finished the whole thing through, 400 and all, what was your final hour count?

17 hours 20 or so, but I would put about an hour of that maybe idle on the map screen or something while I had to do something. I played on tough and after every ability or two went around looking for new locations to check out.
 
For all you high percenters that finished the whole thing through, 400 and all, what was your final hour count?
I cleared it in just under twenty.

I'm #17 in the Wealth leaderboard, I think second or third of scores that don't appear hacked/glitched.

By the way, having dual Wedding Rings is EXTREME AWESOME.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
Ok just finished it, loved it! ^_^

Seriously congrats to Noogy on this game cos it's fantastic. Best game I've played this year so well done man :)
 
For all you high percenters that finished the whole thing through, 400 and all, what was your final hour count?

Just went back to grind out the four materials I was missing to hit 117%. My timer is at 15:47 now on Tough difficulty. Likely around twenty minutes of that was idling.
 

Item Box

Member
So I explored all the maps, found all the friends/treasure, cataloged all the materials, and only at 116%. What else am I missing?
 

truly101

I got grudge sucked!
Noogy, I love your game so don't take this the wrong way but your love of spiky walls and floors and teleporting wizards make me want to fight you.
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
I'm enjoying the game but at the same time really dreading that I picked the Tough mode. I get one-shotted so often it has really hampered my fun.
 
I'm enjoying the game but at the same time really dreading that I picked the Tough mode. I get one-shotted so often it has really hampered my fun.

you can change that in the options when ever you want, but the game is so much better when you have to find better items to survive imo, or level up a little bit more by looking for missing item boxes around the world.
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
you can change that in the options when ever you want, but the game is so much better when you have to find better items to survive imo, or level up a little bit more by looking for missing item boxes around the world.

Problem is I'm still in the same armor I got 10 minutes into the game and I can't craft anything else. I now have about 800 health, but every stray hit does anywhere between 300-450 damage.
 
Problem is I'm still in the same armor I got 10 minutes into the game and I can't craft anything else. I now have about 800 health, but every stray hit does anywhere between 300-450 damage.

That sounds weird if you not found anything else, don't forget you can buy from the trader though those are way behind found loot most of the time.
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
That sounds weird if you not found anything else, don't forget you can buy from the trader though those are way behind found loot most of the time.

I'm missing one item to craft a much better armor and no enemies so far have dropped it.
 
Problem is I'm still in the same armor I got 10 minutes into the game and I can't craft anything else. I now have about 800 health, but every stray hit does anywhere between 300-450 damage.

Have you been putting your points into defense? I beat it on Tough and health was my last stat I'd upgrade and instead favored Defense initially and then Fidget. Attack and Health I'd level up last though towards the very end I'd put more points into attack before health. Fidget and Defense were always capped, though.
 

TripOpt55

Member
I'm about 60% in. Love this game so much! I managed to get a 1000 hit combo too. I figured on Normal I might be a bit overpowered to do it, but I managed to pull it off.
 
Noogy, I love your game so don't take this the wrong way but your love of spiky walls and floors and teleporting wizards make me want to fight you.

ibzA4J5ZcsVNyG.jpg

Nightmares.

The wizards are super easy, just spam fidget all over and with higher levels he goes down in a few electricity bursts.
 

Grisby

Member
So...has anyone had the game crash straight to your game library? Went to another section of the level, black screen for a few seconds and bam. Only happened once but I was curious if this had happened to anyone else.

The audio is a little messed up too. I've got the thing cranked but it still feels low. And when the characters talk it comes in and out all weird.
 

TripOpt55

Member
So...has anyone had the game crash straight to your game library? Went to another section of the level, black screen for a few seconds and bam. Only happened once but I was curious if this had happened to anyone else.

The audio is a little messed up too. I've got the thing cranked but it still feels low. And when the characters talk it comes in and out all weird.

I got my walkie-talkie thing and I went to craft an item for the first time with the blacksmith and it sent me back to the dashboard! I was kind of scared to craft stuff after that, but it never happened again.
 

Grisby

Member
I got my walkie-talkie thing and I went to craft an item for the first time with the blacksmith and it sent me back to the dashboard! I was kind of scared to craft stuff after that, but it never happened again.
Thanks, I figured it was rare. Outside of some small hitches I get sometimes the game seems really polished.

Just made it to mudpot.
 

Ocaso

Member
I'm 5 hours into this game and wanted to post a couple of things. First off, as many have said, it's an absolutely amazing game. I'm only five hours in, have enjoyed every gorgeous piece of art and moment of fluid combat. Noogy deserves mountains of success.

That said, I did want to address a query I once had and had seen others post; namely, is this a Metroidvania. As I said, I'm five hours in and it's certainly possible the game may shift, but based on what I've played at this point I'd have to say that no, the game is not a Metroidvania. This is an observation, not a criticism. The game is wonderful nonetheless. However, I have yet to experience that crucial where-do-I-go-next? feeling that defines a Metroidvania game. There is no doubt that the game has elements of a Metroidvania, but unless discerning where to go after obtaining a new ability is a key element of gameplay, and based on what I've played thus far it does not, then it's not a proper Metroidvania.

Again, this is an awesome game and anyone looking for a gorgeous adventure with beautifully fluid combat, engaging RPG elements, and tons of secrets would do well to play the game. It's just that anyone with something of a Metroid itch might not find it scratched by Dust.
 

Monocle

Member
Some of the best games this whole generation are on XBLA. You need to get buying.




Give the demos for these a try. I think a few of these are now multiplatform.

The Twisted Pixel games:
>The Maw
>Splosion Man
>Comic Jumper
Trials HD
Trials Evolution
Geometry Wars 2
Shadow Complex
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Rez HD
Trenched (Iron Brigade)
Bastion
Limbo
Castle Crashers
Braid
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
All these and Super Meat Boy. It's not an XBLA exclusive, but whatever. Anyone who hasn't played it should at least try the demo.

Now that I have finished the game, I have to ask...

Can we get a sequel, please?


The Dishwasher Vampire Smile is great if you want a 2D DMC.
I can second this.
 
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