History VideoGame / SilverFallsGhoulBusters

* {{Arcadia}}: Silver Falls is this at first glance. This little town is a world-class tourist destination with incredible landscapes, excellent hiking and fishing opportunities, famous cuisine, and is home to several successful people, particularly writers, artists, musicians, and actors. But once you get past this polished, rugged veneer, it quickly veers into LovecraftCountry. Whenever any adults are encountered, they don't even bother trying to hide what's going on, and tell the kids to go home immediately.

---> '''Bull:''' Hey. What are you doing here? You seen monsters? Which ones you seen? Big shadows? Metal things? Trees? Or was it a thing with tentacles in its neck? How about a thing with bones sticking out its back and legs? How about a three legged thing dragging a long neck? No? Why are you just staring at me?

* CreepyGood: The Mechanic shows up at the start of Starlin's story, still wearing the same coat and gas mask. Not only does he know Starlin's name, but he asks Starlin how many bottle caps he's gotten this time, and then muses that this encounter "must be the first.." This implies that The Mechanic is not only aware of how [[GroundhogDayLoop time can loop]] in Silver Falls, but all these events are part of something larger. He advises Starlin to keep taking "the course of actions which you were intending to take. Make no deviations." He cryptically adds that the "required entities are where they need to be" and asks Starlin to return any Starglass Shards he finds. Starlin obviously doesn't know what to say, and walks away.

* DramaPreservingHandicap: The only reason a couple of kids are able to kill the final boss is because [[spoiler: Fred shot it so many times that he ran out of bullets, leaving the creature still alive, but badly hurt]].
* EldritchAbomination: The enemies are trees that have been possessed and covered with blades and spikes, masses of pulpy flesh and bones, three legged creatures with long necks and no faces, a HumanoidAbomination that leaks writhing tentacles whenever you damage it. The bosses look like bears, but they have massive tusks where their eyes are supposed to be, and their torsos are exposed wounds with tentacles flailing everywhere.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: The subweapons include RC Choppers that serve as rotating shields, as well as [[StockNinjaWeaponry Ninja Stars]]. The sound-based item you get from Cap at the start of the game is an off-brand ''[[{{Toys/Tamagotchi}} Tamagotchi]].'' Fireworks can also be used as a ImprovisedWeapon with a larger AreaOfEffect.

* JustAKid: None of the adults think Starlin and Atticus are up for this, and flat-out tell them to run home because of how dangerous it is. [[JustifiedTrope It's justified]], given that the adults are well-armed and have been hunting monsters for decades, and the kids only have a hockey stick and a slingshot respectively. The only reason the kids are able fight the final boss is because [[spoiler: Fred shot it enough times to nearly kill it, and the kids finish it off]].

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Early on, Starlin will find foreign bottle caps that he thinks are Swedish or Japanese. Then he says, "There's a bunch of grown ups that want to play Ghoul Busters with us. What do you think? Should we let them join our club? These dudes are good at playing Ghoul Busters."

* NintendoHard: Very much in the same vein as ''VideoGame/SuperMeatBoy''. The game starts off easily enough, with using tree branches and logs to get over BottomlessPits. Then they start rotating and have spikes. Then you can start using certain enemies as platforms... but only as long as you hit an ''exact'' part of them, and none of the spikes covering their bodies. Then enemies start being placed in ''just'' the right spots to mess up your jumps or knock you off a ledge. [[SchmuckBait Some pickups will be in specific places that require you to die and respawn]]. When you climb on snakes, you don't automatically hold on if they move, so you'll have to desperately push in the right direction fast enough to stay connected and avoid obstacles. By the last few stages, [[InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt the platforms will be covered in a substance that will make you automatically slide forward or backwards]]. Given that you can't adjust your speed, you'll have to make some careful jumps, or use damage boosts to get through certain areas. Even then, [[DeathTrap there will be enemies and bottomless pits waiting to thwart your efforts]]. Needless to say, this will require some old fashioned TrialAndErrorGameplay.

* PickupHierarchy: There are bottle caps strewn throughout the levels, and they can be later exchanged for items. However, the bigger goal is to collect 3 box tops hidden in each level, which usually require some riskier platforming or use of items. This is downplayed due to the ability to repeatedly replay the same levels farm for everything you need.
* PowerTrio: Honard, Fred, and Bull form the front line of defense for Silver Falls, which makes sense given their experiences. Honard is in his 60s at this point in the timeline, is a master at archery, and has lived in Silver Falls for decades. Fred has been the sheriff in Silver Falls for several years, so he's seen tons of these encounters. His dialogue indicates that he's been in the center of at least one major adventure, but it hasn't been depicted in a game yet. Bull was the main character of ''Undertakers'', and has been killing the titular monsters on his ranch for 20 years by this point.

** Honard also mentions a strange blizzard that happened back in 1964, in which his sister died. But the earliest game currently in the timeline is ''Undertakers'', which takes place in the '70s. Fred also heard that story from Honard. Apparently some kind of monster was involved, but it's not elaborated on. Given that this reference also shows up in some of the other games, it's clearly hinting at the plot of another game.
** The reason Honard mentions his dead sister is because he can somehow hear her voice. Cap mentions that he saw a face in the woods before he dies. In ''[[VideoGame/SilverFallsGaidenDeathlyDelusionDestroyersAndRubyRiver Deathly Delusion Destroyers]]'', this is revealed to be the Facestealer, which steals the faces and voices of people to lure their loved ones into the forest.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: At first, [[NotNowKiddo the adults just tell the kids to get out of the forest immediately]]. Only Bull stops to listen to Starlin to gain intel on what kinds of monsters he saw, and is surprised when the kid stays in the forest willingly. But Fred notices that something is wrong, and tells the kids he'll listen when they're ready to talk. A few levels later, Honard and Bull learn that the kids watched someone die, and they tell the kids to stay close so they can protect them.
* RetiredBadass: Honard is well into his 60s when this game take place. He's an archery master and has gone hunting all over the world. His hunting partner was John Longdraw, Atticus's great-grandfather. The kids often go to him to hear old stories and get candy.

** When the kids first encounter Fred, he hears them by doesn't look up, thinking that it's Henry Henceforth. He even says, "Alright, Henry. What are we up against this time?" before he notices his mistake. This is a nod to Fred and Henry's previous adventure that happened offscreen.

---> '''Bull:''': Hey. What are you doing here? You seen monsters? Which ones you seen? Big shadows? Metal things? Trees? Or was it a thing with tentacles in its neck? How about a thing with bones sticking out its back and legs? How about a three legged thing dragging a long neck? No? Why are you just staring at me?

* CoolOldGuy: The kids often come across Fred, Bull, and Honard. At the end of Starlin's story, [[spoiler: Bull invites Starlin to work at his ranch whenever he gets strong enough to swing an axe]]. At the end of Atticus's story, [[spoiler: Honard tells him to come visit, so Honard can teach him archery]].

* EveryoneHasStandards: Bull is dismissive of the kids, and has a somewhat abrasive personality. When Starlin asks him for food, he makes a comment about being self sufficient. But when he hears that the kids watched Cap die, he ''immediately'' drops the attitude and tells the kids to stay close so he can protect them.

* TheCorruption: Wild animals have been infected by something, causing their skin to mutate into fleshy pulp with massive spikes, mushroom-like tumors, or writing tentacles growing out of them.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Aside from the various Lovecraftian monster roaming the forest, the ''trees'' will get possessed and start floating and sprouting spikes. The only things that don't try to kill you are the few patches of ground near the BottomlessPits.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: At first, [[NotNowKiddo the adults just tell the kids to get out of the forest immediately]]. Only Bull stops to listen to Starlin to gain intel on what kinds of monsters he saw, and is surprised when the kid stays in the forest willingly. But Fred notices that something is wrong, and tells the kids he'll listen when they're ready to talk. A few levels later, Honard learns that the kids watched someone die, and starts taking them more seriously.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: The subweapons include RC Choppers that serve as rotating shields. The sound-based item you get from Cap at the start of the game is an off-brand ''[[{{Toys/Tamagotchi}} Tamagotchi]].'' Fireworks can also be used as a ImprovisedWeapon with a larger AreaOfEffect.

** The reason Honard mentions his dead sister is because he can somehow hear her voice. In ''[[VideoGame/SilverFallsGaidenDeathlyDelusionDestroyersAndRubyRiver Deathly Delusion Destroyers]]'', this is revealed to be the Facestealer, which steals the faces and voices of people to lure their loved ones into the forest.

* TakeUpMySword: An unintentional version. At the start of his story, Atticus finds Cap, who is on the verge of death due to being mauled by the monsters. In his dying moments, he mistakes Atticus for his son, Brad. He gives Atticus the Tamagotchi that'd he'd bought as a birthday present for Brad. This is later revealed to be an effective weapon; the Tamagotchi's screeching sounds have the side effect of forcing certain enemies to retract their spikes, which turns them into makeshift platforms. Atticus uses also this as a motivation for surviving the ordeal, so he can give Brad his present.

* RetiredBadass: Honard is well into his 60s when this game take place. He's an archery master and has gone hunting all over the world. His hunting partner was John Longdraw, Atticus's great-grandfather.
* ShoutOut:

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Fred and Bull were the main characters of ''Galaxy Bound Curse'', and ''Undertakers'' respectively.

Originally released on 7/14/22 for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS eShop and later ported to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch on 2/16/23, ''Ghoul Busters'' is the fourth entry in the ''VideoGame/SilverFalls'' series. In terms of the story's in-game timeline, however, it's currently the third after ''Undertakers'' and ''Guardians And Metal Exterminators.'' It's a combination of the ActionAdventure and PlatformHell genres, with the visual and musical styles of the original UsefulNotes/GameBoy. Starlin Allerdyce and Atticus Longdraw are both playable, but use different weapons and can access different parts of the levels, and get different story dialogues. In terms of the story, it's firmly in the ActionHorror genre, with a few monsters that would fit right in with a 2D ''Franchise/ResidentEvil''.

* GameBreakingBug: In the initial version, the game was prone to crashing frequently. This was since patched out, but random crashes still occur, especally if you die against the final boss.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: The subweapons include RC Choppers that serve as rotating shields. The sound-based item you get from Cap at the start of the game is an off-brand ''[[{{Toys/Tamagotchi}} Tamagotchi]].''

** In Atticus's ending, Fred Hardluck mentions a previous adventure with Henry Henceforth, and how he thought they'd somehow put an end to all these bizarre nights. However, Fred's only onscreen adventure currently is ''Galaxy Bound Curse'', which takes place in 1997, years after ''Ghoul Busters''. Fred's lines here are foreshadowing something new.
** Honard also mentions a strange blizzard that happened back in 1964, in which his sister died. But the earliest game currently in the timeline is ''Undertakers'', which takes place in the '70s. Given that this reference also shows up in some of the other games, it's clearly hinting at the plot of another game.

* ShowWithinAShow: At the start, the kids playing a make believe version of ''Ghoul Busters'', which is apparently a cartoon. There's also ''Blader Bears from Jupiter'', ''Ninja Burger Dogs'', and a talking bear named ''Sassy Frass'' who solves mysteries.