History VideoGame / ClaDun

Such is the tale behind ''[=ClaDun=][[note]]portmanteau of "classic dungeon"[[/note]]: This is an RPG!'', a downloadable dungeon-crawling ActionRPG released for the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] in 2010 by Creator/NipponIchi. The goal of the game is to fight your way through the dungeons, avoiding traps and defeating enemies in search of the exit. You control a single character, but through the use of the game's "Magic Circle" system, other characters can join you to protect you from harm, while also giving you a boost in strength.

A third entry, titled ''[=ClaDun=] Returns: This is Sengoku!'', was released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} on May 27, 2016 in Japan and June 6th, 2017 worldwide. Set during the Sengoku era of Japanese history, ''Sengoku'' has players traversing the danger-filled dungeons of feudal-era Arcanus Cella to save lost souls who have yet to reincarnate into the real world. In addition to all of the features introduced in ''x2'', ''Sengoku'' adds new classes, the Shuriken and Sickle weapon types, a new Ran-geon type, and multiplayer features.

The same teams would go on to release a SpiritualSuccessor in the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork-exclusive ''VideoGame/{{Legasista}}'' in 2012.

* BonusBoss: In Cladun x2 you can face different versions of the final boss with varying strength after you've beaten him, ranging from level 1000 to level 9999.
** The BigBad from Cladun also returns, only suddenly having surged to level 999. The game notes that they've done a "lot of preparation."

** Each story character has a "bad ending" that can be viewed by going to the door in the tree. Also, once you've beaten the final boss once, you can see the "good ending" for each character (other than "secret character" [[spoiler:Asagi]]) by going back and beating it again using that character as your main. (You get the secret character's "good ending" by beating a BonusBoss.) Some of the endings can even be accessed as early as the first few minutes after leaving the first dungeon.

%%zce* Genki Girl: Pudding.

* AffablyEvil: Even after his [[TheMole reveal]], [[spoiler: Parchmin]] never loses that weird accent and carefree attitude.

* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler: Parchmin in Cladun x2, the guy with the red-and-black cape who goads you into killing monsters. Despite his impressive EvilPlan, however, he is not ObfuscatingStupidity.]]

* BloodKnight: [[spoiler: Death Glutton, post-character development. He lost his love for destruction and death, but his love for battle was truly his, making him virtually a living example of a ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' demon and continuing the tradition of demons being [[NobleDemon Noble Demons.]]]]
* BodySurf: [[spoiler: Parchmin spends the majority of Cladun x2 in Widder's actual body, posing as the Administrator of Arcanus Cella.]]

** Double-subverted when he [[spoiler: joins the party]]: he calls himself out on much of his information being completely wrong, but later on a significant chunk of his information (and the info that mattered) is vindicated and proven to be correct.

* TheCameo: It's a Nippon Ichi game where anyone can be made a "main character", so of course [[spoiler: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhILaDauHRQ Asagi]]]] shows up.

* DemotedToDragon: Played with. [[spoiler: Parchmin first pretends to be opposing the BigBad, then he pretends to ''be'' the actual BigBad, but then it's revealed that the real BigBad is still out there somewhere and he was just performing ThePlan to awaken him.]]
* DevourTheDragon: The ultimate fate of [[spoiler: Parchmin in Cladun x2]]. Luckily, due to how the game is designed you can just turn him into a [[PlayerMooks Player Mook]] afterwards if you really liked him and want him to be around again.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Hilariously (and tragically) spoofed in Cladun x2. [[spoiler: After Parchmin's EvilPlan is carried out flawlessly, Death Glutton proceeds to take offense to it and... instantly kills him on the spot because [[EvilIsPetty he didn't like his conduct]]]], an act so evil it causes the main characters to defend the previously AffablyEvil villain.
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: Parchmin.]]
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Spoofed in Cladun x2: the reason why [[spoiler: Death Glutton]] lost is because he couldn't understand the power of friendship or why life was important. [[GracefulLoser He's a good sport about it, though.]]

** [[spoiler: Parchmin implies that this is the case with the "prison" he's set up in Cladun x2 and the people fated to die there, but it's subverted when it turns out that he's misunderstood humans and it tuns out to be nearly utopian for them.]]

* FreakyFridayFlip: [[spoiler: Parchmin and Widder]] in Cladun x2. A rare villainous example that isn't PlayedForLaughs.

%%zce* Genki Girl: Pudding
%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GracefulLoser: Surprisingly enough, [[spoiler: Death Glutton]] in Cladun x2. Once you defeat him the first time, he promptly asks you to leave him alone so that he can end up reflecting on why exactly it was that he lost. The second time you beat him and after your main character explains the concept of Magic Circles to him, he begins to laugh uncontrollably and says that it's no wonder he lost, if he didn't even know the process that you were able to grow stronger.

* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: Upon first appearing in Cladun x2, the main characters question whether Death Glutton is truly evil; then he murders Parchmin, his Dragon, who had worked throughout the entire game to bring him back to life again, because he was annoying.]]

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The prisoners of the Arcanus Cella in Cladun x2 have all had their memories wiped clean of the crimes they have done. [[spoiler: Or at least the criminals who came before Arcanus Cella was condemned - by the time Cladun x2 rolls around the only denizens present are Pekora, Lamb, Mouton, and the player character, who have not sinned and are being told this by Parchmin to fool them into losing hope.]]

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Bob is Despina's grandfather. Also, Crosstine is his familiar.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Parchmin in Cladun x2]], though he is who he says he is. Sort of. It gets complicated.

* MysteriousProtector: Sherbet, for Dotache the bartender [[spoiler: who is actually a ''princess'']].

** The second game has this, but it's virtually useless apart from being able to revisit the tutorial [[spoiler: and the first true fight with Death Glutton,]] as well as respawning all of the old red treasure chests that were present in the dungeons.

* NobleDemon: [[spoiler: Death Glutton, when separated from his bloodthirsty side. It's even hinted slightly before that when he kills Parchmin for making a fool of himself.]]

* NumberTwoForBrains: [[spoiler: Parchmin in Cladun x2, while his {{plan}} was impressive, wasn't exactly a paragon of intelligence.]]

* OneTimeDungeon: Strangely enough, in Cladun x2 the tutorial dungeon is the only one you can't revisit. [[spoiler: You can actually revisit Death Glutton's boss level, Descent of Might Symbol, but nobody will be there and an exit is placed at the beginning of the level instead.]]

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: [[spoiler: Parchmin the shape-shifting, fashion-conscious, slang-hurling ''human administrator.'' He's also TheMole.]]

* ThePlan: [[spoiler: A particularly awe-inspiring example by Parchmin in Cladun x2. After hearing that Arcanus Cella is going to be condemned to stop the resident EmotionEater Death Glutton from awakening and wreaking havoc on the outside world, he [[FreakyFridayFlip body-swaps with the administrator of Arcanus Cella]], Widder, to impersonate him, and then once again opens up channels and starts pulling innocent people in. Once there, he lies to them and says that their crimes have been erased from their memory via amnesia when in fact they have committed none. He then gives them the choice of either fighting in vain through the multiple dungeons in Arcanus Cella, giving Death Glutton power from the deaths of monsters that are occurring, or by giving up, living a life of opulence and pointlessness, and letting Death Glutton feast on resignation and despair. The only flaw in his plan was failing to comprehend how much Death Glutton cared for his subordinates: that is, not much.]]

** Spoofed: Magic Circles are more or less magical enchantments that give a physical form to the power of friendship that powers up the "main character." It's even [[{{Lampshade}} Lampshaded]] in the second game, where [[spoiler: Death Glutton points out that since he didn't even know such a process existed, it's no wonder he lost to you.]]

* TooKinkyToTorture: Lamb is explicitly stated ingame to be a masochist, in compensation for the crimes she has [[spoiler: not actually]] committed.

* RebelliousPrincess: [[spoiler: Dotache, the middle-aged, ''male'' bartender, is a princess who deliberately cursed herself with a permanent disguise so she could run away.]]
** Lamb in Cladun x2 was a princess who started and led a rebellion against her home country, throwing the kingdom into disaster. [[spoiler: It's a lie told by Parchmin (and justified via LaserGuidedAmnesia) to convince her that she had sinned.]]

* SealedEvilInACan: The reason why Arcanus Cella [[spoiler: was condemned in Cladun x2 and everyone was evacuated out of the area: Death Glutton was posing a massive threat both to Arcanus Cella and the world as a whole. Unfortunately, due to Parchmin's interference, it didn't work.]]
* SexFaceTurn: Mouton tries to instill one of these in the player in the second game so that he can stop raiding dungeons [[spoiler: and stop giving Death Glutton more power to awaken with]] by telling Pekora and Lamb to try and seduce him, saying that it can't possibly fail. He promptly throws a fit when the player walks away due to anticipating the motive behind the action.
* ShapeshifterModeLock: Invoked by [[spoiler: Parchmin]] as part of his {{plan}} : while he's a natural shapeshifter, inducing a FreakyFridayFlip in one of his weakest forms would leave the victim stuck in a particularly weak body that poses little threat.

* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: [[spoiler: Widder in Cladun x2, while actually being human, has a ton of dog-related mannerisms due to being trapped in a FreakyFridayFlip in a dog's body for a manner of years.]]
* ThrowTheDogABone: [[spoiler: Asagi finally gets her shot at being TheHero...]]

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: A particularly scary example in Cladun x2 with [[spoiler: Parchmin]], naturally a dragon, and who on top of this can also BodySurf. Due to this, it gets incredibly difficult in the middle of the game to figure out what the heck is going on, and who's who.

* WeHaveReserves: Played with in Cladun x2. Killing the evil minions in Arcanus Cella [[spoiler: actually powers up their boss, Death Glutton.]]

* FauxActionGirl: Pekora and Lamb in Cladun x2.
* FiveManBand: The player and the four characters who eventually join you in Cladun x2.
** TheHero: The player
** TheLancer: [[spoiler: Widder]]
** TheBigGuy: Lamb
** TheSmartGuy: Mouton
** TheChick: Pekora
** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler: Parchmin]]

* GenkiGirl: Pudding

* IdiotHero: Battleblo

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:In ''Sengoku'', the BigBad's grand scheme is the extinction of the human race, although for an incredibly petty reason: she found that judging human souls was taking far too long compared to how many kept stacking up, so she figured that if she killed humanity, she wouldn't have to judge souls anymore. In short, ''she got sick of her job.'']]

* SpeedRun: Finishing levels under the allotted time will give you access to higher-quality items in Coco's shop.

* ClassicVideoGameScrewYous:
** Enemies that can move through walls (Immortals)
** Complete absence of MercyInvincibility
** CharacterSelectForcing, especially on the graveyard levels, with a Saint
** Flying backwards after getting hit
** Rarely, when entering a lower-level floor an Immortal will spawn directly on top of the player
** InvisibleMonsters (ghosts)
** SpikesOfDoom ''everywhere''

* ShopKeeper: Coco

* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler: Widder in Cladun x2, by being on the wrong side of a FreakyFridayFlip.]]

* IllGirl: Pudding has the incurable [[SoapOperaDisease "Die Laughing" disease]] that is guaranteed to kill her in about six months, but she has ''absolutely none'' of the personality traits or physical frailty usually associated with the trope. Instead, she's hyperactive and acts as though she has carte blanche to do whatever she wants, and her bucket list's biggest item right now is "explore dungeon, get treasure."

A sequel, ''[=ClaDun=] X2'', was released late August 2011 in the U.S., taking the editing UpToEleven with editable weapons, armor, animations, and even background music. The sequel also introduced new characters and new classes, such as a long range archer class. Now on [[http://www.nisamerica.com/index.php?nav=n&article=pbomb/PrinnyBomb_Vol257.html Steam]].

* DifficultButAwesome: The MML editor in ''x2'' and ''Sengoku''. It can be really frustrating to work with if you have absolutely no idea how MML works, but if you can figure it out, your only limits with the system are your own creativity.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In Cladun X2: "The bed's really messy. Used tissues are laying around everywhere."