History VideoGame / TheNeverhood

* GoodMorningCrono: The game begins with Klaymen asleep, and the player has to click to wake him up.

A UsefulNotes/PlayStation port of ''The Neverhood'' was released exclusively in Japan, under the title ''Klaymen Klaymen: Neverhood no Nazo,'' where the game [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff became unexpectedly popular]]. This eventually led to an unofficial GaidenGame, ''Klaymen Gun Hockey'', made by the the Japanese publishers, River Hill Soft, and not released outside Japan.

* CurseCutShort: Klogg, moments before [[spoiler:his defeat. Although given how is defeated, perhaps he was going to say "Son of a gun!"]]

* InGameNovel: The Hall of Records. Its size, length and general structure is comparable to that of the Bible. [[http://doo.nomoretangerines.com/nevhood/nevhall.htm Read it here]], if you still couldn't make yourself do it in-game.

* NowWhichOneWasThatVoice: The credits for both the original game and the Japanese [=PS1=] port do not list who played who. The "Making Of" video clears up the confusion by explicitly stating that the staff provided the voices, but the Japanese voice cast remains uncredited.

* MortonsFork: One that applies to the villain. [[spoiler:If Klaymen returns the crown to Hoborg, Klogg loses all the power he previously had and he falls off the Neverhood. If Klaymen puts on the crown himself, then he turns evil as well and immediately ''kills'' to become the sole ruler of the Neverhood. Either way, Klogg loses]].

** '''Bad Ending:''' [[spoiler:Klaymen chooses to wear the crown. Klogg then gloats about how [[TheBadGuyWins he's won]]. Klaymen is transformed into a Klogg look-alike for his greed and and kills Klogg. [[ICanRuleAlone He declares himself the new ruler of the Neverhood]] and laughs evilly.]]

* OrphanedPunchline: An ''orphaned setup'', in this case. One of the houses has a TV monitor with a face sticking out of it. The face greets you with, "Hey, Klaymen! Say 'knock-knock!'" The joke goes no further.

%% * SmugSnake: Klogg.

* BetaTestBaddie: Klogg. [[spoiler:It turns out that he was one of Hoborg's creations, who stole the crown for himself. As Willie's story shows, he looked ''just'' like Klaymen did before the crown transformed him]].

** If you wait too long to make the LastSecondEndingChoice, Klogg comments on it.

* MoonLogicPuzzle: The Neverhood's full of these here and there. For example, [[spoiler:do you remember the BOBBY machine? The title is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin all]] you need to know to get shrinked]].

%% * ThemeMusicPowerUp: See BerserkButton above.

Many years later, the original creators came back together to create a sort of reboot (maybe; it seems, in fact, to have very little to do with the original): ''Return to the Neverhood'', a comic and album, both of which can be bought (digitally) [[https://danielamosboots.bandcamp.com/album/return-to-the-neverhood here]]. There is also a short fangame by Denis Galanin aka "[=mif2000=]," [[OrphanedSeries which was originally intended to be the first episode of a series]]; it can be downloaded [[https://archive.org/details/klaymen_pilot_episode here]].

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: [[spoiler:The bad ending: Klogg successfully corrupts Klaymen and declares that he's won, but Klaymen [[ICanRuleAlone isn't exactly interested in sharing the Neverhood with his big brother...]]

* ICanRuleAlone: [[spoiler:One of possible endings for the game. Klaymen kills Klogg after he puts on Hoborg's crown, declares himself the new ruler and the game ends from there]].

* MortonsFork: One that applies to the villain. [[spoiler:If Klaymen returns the crown to Hoborg, Klogg loses all the power he previously had and he falls off the Neverhood. If Klaymen puts on the crown himself, then he turns evil as well and immediately ''kills'' Klogg to become the sole ruler of the Neverhood. Either way, Klogg loses]].

Many years later, the original creators came back together to create a sort of reboot (maybe; it seems, in fact, to have very little to do with the original): ''Return to the Neverhood'', a comic and album, both of which can be bought (digitally) [[https://danielamosboots.bandcamp.com/album/return-to-the-neverhood here]]. There is also a short fangame by Denis Galanin aka "[=mif2000=]", [[OrphanedSeries which was originally intended to be the first episode of a series]]; it can be downloaded [[https://archive.org/details/klaymen_pilot_episode here]].

* AllThereInTheManual: More like "All There in the Hall of Records". Sift through the bizarre jokes and surreal stories, and you actually get a few important clues as to what the game's universe is like, where Hoborg came from, where Willie came from, and why Willie's even in the Neverhood in the first place [[spoiler:(since Hoborg didn't actually create him)]].

* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler: Good ending--reviving Hoborg. Bad ending--taking the crown for yourself.]]

* BetaTestBaddie: Klogg. [[spoiler:It turns out that he was one of Hoborg's creations, who stole the crown for himself. As Willie's story shows, he looked ''just'' like Klaymen did before the crown transformed him.]]

* BigNo: Klogg gets out one of these right before [[spoiler:you revive Hoborg in the good ending.]]

* BookEnds: The game begins in a big empty room with a door, and a one-way path to a room with ring switches and a flytrap. The final puzzle [[spoiler:also uses ring switches and a flytrap, and it's a one-way path to a big empty room with a door.]]
** The game begins with Klaymen waking up alone. The game ends with Klaymen waking up [[spoiler:surrounded by new friends.]]

* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:Klogg being Klaymen's quintessential evil older brother. Although the evil did come before he even HAD a brother.]]

** When you first enter the building with the mouse/memory puzzle, the first thing you're likely to do is to step on the floor-pad, which causes the actual mouse on the floor to be sucked away. Nothing interesting happens after that. [[spoiler:Seeing the same mouse under a similar device inside Klogg's castle much later on might clue you into what the thing actually does and how it can be used to your benefit.]]

*** One of the rings in the Nursery is vital to [[spoiler: turning on the radio found later in the game.]]

*** A seemingly-random sequence of glowing symbols near the cannon turns out to be [[spoiler: the key to opening a hidden door.]]
*** The weird glowing symbols on the Hall of Records are [[spoiler: one of the cannon codes.]] Similarly, the extending spikes in the same area are needed to [[spoiler: create a ladder in the Pipe House]].

* CreationMyth: The player slowly discovers that the Neverhood was in the process of its own creation myth before [[spoiler:getting interrupted by Klogg taking Hoborg's crown.]] As a result, the world they explore is finished, but it's almost devoid of life.

* DancePartyEnding: The good ending. [[spoiler: "And now it is time... to GOOF OFF!"]]
* DealWithTheDevil: Klaymen is offered to take Hoborg's crown at the very end of the game, [[spoiler: a choice given to him by the sickly-sweet-talking villain who also took that crown for himself... and became horribly disfigured in the process.]]

** Willie isn't all that bright, but he's a pleasant fellow. He even aids the player by [[spoiler:giving them the key to Klogg's fortress.]]

* EveryoneIsRelated: [[spoiler:All four of the game's important characters are related. Hoborg is Klaymen and Klogg's creator-father and Willie is their cousin.]]

** Big Robot Bil himself is...a big robot named Bil. Yep.

* FakeKing: Subverted by Klogg. [[spoiler: He technically ''is'' the king of the Neverhood, but only because he stole the crown from ruler Hoborg; since the crown was the source of his life, he froze solid.]]

* ForbiddenFruit: Hoborg's crown. [[spoiler:It's introduced as the sole thing Klogg cannot have in his new paradise, but it's all Klogg seems to want. When Klogg takes the crown for himself, it transforms him into an ugly-looking creature, symbolizing how his greed has corrupted him.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Pulling a lever inside the Hall of Records shows [[spoiler:moving glyphs of a giant robot having its head blown off by a cannon, foreshadowing what you must do to Big Robot Bil.]]

* GuideDangIt: You're pretty much guaranteed to run into one sooner or later. Hands up if you figured out the mouse maze by yourself. ...Yeah, didn't think so. You're much more likely to bruteforce the puzzle instead of solving it as (apparently) was intended (by letting the mouse follow its nose). Also, in the same area, you'll encounter an unsolvable "memory" game. [[spoiler: It's not a memory game at all. You're supposed to write down symbols and how many times you find them, and then use this on the crane holding Big Robot Bil's teddy bear.]]
** About midway through the game, you find a radio sitting in a small room with no door. You figure it must be important, but there are no buttons to press or puzzles in the room to activate it. [[spoiler: The trick is to pull on the fifth ring in the Nursery--which you left hours ago. This one seems deliberately planted by the developers: if you're totally stuck, you might go back to the Nursery to check the in-game hint system...and thus be right next to the ring you need to activate.]]

** [[spoiler:Willie, who dies in the battle of Robot Bil]]. However if you choose the good ending, [[spoiler:Hoborg brings him back to life.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: This is what happens to [[spoiler:Klogg]] in the good ending. [[spoiler:He attempts to stab Hoborg, but he accidentally steps on his remote, causing the cannon he used to shoot Bil and Willie with to fire on him, knocking him out of the castle and into the void below the Neverhood.]]

* ICanRuleAlone: [[spoiler:One of possible endings for the game. Klaymen kills Klogg after he puts on Hoborg's crown, declares himself the new ruler and the game ends from there.]]
* IdentityAmnesia: Subverted. [[spoiler:You have no memories prior to waking up in the room where you start because you were created there.]]

* ListSong: One of the radio songs, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRG_u7w_wzw "Coffee And Just Other Desserts"]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking ...which ends by throwing accordion into the list.]]

* MinimalistCast: Within the game itself, there are only about five characters who contribute to the plot in a worthwhile way. However, the game's lore discusses several other characters not present in the game, subverting this trope. Also, [[spoiler:this is subverted in the game's GoodEnding, where Hoborg creates several more creations to act as friends for Klaymen.]]
* MoonLogicPuzzle: The Neverhood's full of these here and there. For example, [[spoiler:do you remember the BOBBY machine? The title is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin all]] you need to know to get shrinked.]]

* MortonsFork: One that applies to the villain. [[spoiler:If Klaymen returns the crown to Hoborg, Klogg loses all the power he previously had and he falls off the Neverhood. If Klaymen puts on the crown himself, then he turns evil as well and immediately ''kills'' Klogg to become the sole ruler of the Neverhood. Either way, Klogg loses.]]

** '''GoodEnding:''' [[spoiler:Klaymen returns Hoborg's crown to him, restoring him from his slumber. Klogg tries to kill Hoborg and Klaymen, but accidentally [[HoistByHisOwnPetard shoots himself with a cannonball, catapulting him out of the castle.]] Hoborg makes Klaymen some new friends, and Bil and Willie come BackFromTheDead. All is well.]]

* NoFourthWall: Willie's discs. Not only does he talk directly to Klaymen, he also becomes a literal subject to this trope by [[spoiler:[[TheTelevisionTalksBack giving him the key to Klogg's lair right through the screen.]]]]

* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The Battle of Robot Bil ends with [[spoiler:Willie and Bil, your only allies up to that point, falling off the Neverhood. Klaymen has to explore Klogg's castle and the game has little in the way of humor, and the in-game hints from Willie are discontinued and replaced with Klogg sending letters to taunt you.]]

** Klaymen's reaction when [[spoiler: he accidentally summons a Weasel crashing through the wall behind him by playing with a musical toybox he found just seconds ago]].

** [[spoiler: In the Bad Ending, Klaymen realizes that he's messed up once he puts on Hoborg's crown and hears Klogg laughing.]]
* OntologicalMystery: The game begins with Klaymen waking up in a strange room with no backstory or plot explanations whatsoever. [[spoiler:Willie's tapes reveal that Klaymen had been created in the room just a little while ago and he has no backstory.]]

* PantsPullingPrank: Done in the good ending by Klaymen to distract Klogg, [[spoiler: so he can take the crown back and give it to Hoborg.]]

** Close to the pit with Big Robot Bil, you can hear Willie calling you: "Klaaaaymen, up here!" [[spoiler:If you look up, he drops a flowerpot on Klaymen.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: Klogg would have gotten away with everything had it not been for [[spoiler: the single Life Seed Hoborg was holding when he froze in place. Willie stole that Seed and used it to create Klaymen, who in turn defeats Klogg.]]

* SuddenlySpeaking: [[spoiler:Klaymen has exactly two lines in both endings of the game.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: This is actually the solution to one of the {{Moon Logic Puzzle}}s. Near the end of the game, you come across a room with five ceiling rings and a flytrap, nigh-identical to the room in the Nursery. There is a door to the right, but it's blocked by spikes and a drawbridge. One of the rings lowers the drawbridge, and one removes the spikes, but there is only one flytrap to hold a ring down and make the choice stick. The solution? [[spoiler: Hang from the rightmost ring and fall into the flytrap, which will spit you out to the other side of the door.]]

* TakenForGranite: [[spoiler:Without his crown, Hoborg can't move. Klogg remarks that he's now frozen solid.]]

* TriumphantReprise: "The Battle Of Robot Bil" gets a slow and brief one in the Good Ending when [[spoiler:Hoborg brings Bil and Willie back.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: Klogg [[spoiler:killing Willie off]], then ''taunting you about it'' when you get close, alongside making desperate attempts to lead you away from good by promising you a 'present' if you rule with him. He doesn't get any better after you [[spoiler:save Hoborg, outright breaking down and attempting to stab Hoborg after his back is turned.]]

* WallsOfText: Done literally (it's a wall, and there's a ''lot'' of text engraved on it) in the Hall of Records. Backstory, humor, worldbuilding and (in particular) enormous amounts of randomness. Reading the Hall is optional; unfortunately, traversing it [[PlotCoupons is not]]. However, [[spoiler:the cheat code *enter* fastforward *enter* allows players to move through the Hall more quickly.]]
* WeCanRuleTogether: At the end of the game, Klogg offers Klaymen Hoborg's crown with the promise that the two can rule together. [[spoiler:If you take Klogg up on his offer, Klaymen [[ICanRuleAlone betrays him the first chance he gets.]]]]
* YouNoTakeCandle: This is how Willie speaks.

* StoryBranchingFavoritism: There are two endings, a good one and a bad one. The good ending is an involved five minute long cutscene, while the bad "ending" is less than half a minute long and has an extremely abrupt end.

* NowWhichOneWasThatVoice: The credits do not list who played who. The "Making Of" video clears up the confusion by explicitly stating that the staff provided the voices. However, the Japanese voice actors remain uncredited.