History VideoGame / Skullmonkeys

''Skullmonkeys'' is The Neverhood's claymation sequel to their eponymous game, released by Electronic Arts exclusively for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation in 1998. It's not an AdventureGame anymore, though: now it's being a PlatformGame done in aesthetics and wackiness closer to the original ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'' and slightly to ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'', only with [[NintendoHard buffed-up difficulty]], more areas to explore and less gameplay differences between each level (which also counts for {{Unexpected Gameplay Change}}s too): the whole thing relies on platforming, running and stomping the foe apes more than it does on shooting and carrying/escorting stuff from one point to another. It doesn't include a huge variety of powerups or stage hazards other than enemies and spikes, though, so what really makes ''Skullmonkeys'' challenging is its pretty ''hellish'' level design, which requires medium to little reaction time from the player to get on with.

* GuideDangIt: A really heavy offender of this trope, thanks to the fact that not only it doesn't give several CameraScrew-based secret, but it also violates all common sense imaginable by starting the game from the second world. [[spoiler: And making the first one available only through passwords.]]

* EyeScream: The boss Joe Head Joe has a very... disgusting attack: He pops out his lower eyeballs (I say "lower" because this boss has two heads), which roll at you, possibly in an attempt to flatten you, all the while [[NauseaFuel making slimy sounds]] until they fall off the platform.

Remember Klogg being thrown into space after the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheNeverhood Neverhood]]''? You think he'd be lost forever, floating around the orbits of unknown planets and not harming anyone?

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The third episode of ''Skullmonkeys'' (which is, the portion of the game after you beat Joe-Head-Joe) completely discards all the Skullmonkey enemies as such, replacing them with Ynts [[labelnote:Plus]]There's only a couple of Ynt enemies, however, discounting Glenn Yntis, with both being used throughout the entire Ynt level set[[/labelnote]].

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: You're on a planet full of them!

** ReallyDeadMontage: A [[BlackComedy humorous take on it]].
* ArtEvolution: The animation in ''Skullmonkeys'' seems to reflect Doug [=TenNapel=]'s art style more than The Neverhood did. Also, Willie is a LOT skinnier and lankier. It also would be fair to say that the animations became even more smooth than ever, especially if you consider that [=PS=] has no more than two megabytes of RAM.

The game itself turned out to be the last Neverhood installment to be officially released by [=TenNapel=] and his crew, bringing the entire series into stagnation. Until, that is, the announcement of its SpiritualSuccessor: ''VideoGame/Armikrog''.

The game itself turned out to be the last Neverhood installment to be officially released by [=TenNapel=] and his crew, bringing the entire series into stagnation. Until, that is, the announcement of its SpiritualSuccessor: ''Armikrog''.

-->'''Klogg''': I...am...''Kloggmonkey''! The king of all Skullmonkeys!\\

The game itself turned out to be the last Neverhood installment to be officially released by TenNapel and his crew, bringing the entire series into stagnation. Until, that is, the announcement of its SpiritualSuccessor: ''Armikrog''.

** [[spoiler: ReallyDeadMontage]]: a [[BlackComedy humorous take on it]].
* ArtEvolution: The animation in ''Skullmonkeys'' seems to reflect Doug Ten Napel's art style more than The Neverhood did. Also, Willie is a LOT skinnier and lankier. It also would be fair to say that the animations became even more smooth than ever, especially if you consider that [=PS=] has no more than two megabytes of RAM.

* BodyHorror: Joe Head Joe, a boss who has [[NightmareFuel a realistic human head for a body]].

* CloudCuckoolander: Klaymen. Why Klaymen? Well, in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pof6aL3qdb0 one scene]], he reaches into a hole that he saw a sandwich go into, gets his arm reduced to bones for it (yet he's still able to move it around), and...he smiles and says, "Cool!"

* DevelopmentGag: A standing, walking, fire-breating and eyeball-plucking example of this is Joe-Head-Joe, the second boss.

* HeroicMime: Klaymen still doesn't speak much, except to say "Word" when he gets an extra life and after a Skullmonkey's vehicle blows up in one cutscene. In another cutscene (see CloudCuckoolander or ShoutOut), he [[NightmareFuel gets his arm shredded to bone]], and reacts by smiling and saying, "Cool!"

* BreakingTheFourthWall: The Lil' Bonus Room. So creative and inventive way to talk to the players. May be a EarWorm or ParanoiaFuel to those who hear it.