[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tail_of_the_sun.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:One of our protagonists, fighting a hippo.]]

''Tail of the Sun'' is a [[QuirkyWork quirky]], [[ArtGame artsy]] [[LifeSimulationGame caveman simulator]] released in 1996 for the Platform/PlayStation. It was developed by Artdink (''VideoGame/ATrain'', ''VideoGame/NoOneCanStopMrDomino'') and directed by Kazutoshi Iida (''VideoGame/DoshinTheGiant'').

The ultimate goal of the game is to build a ladder to the sun using mammoth tusks. In order to achieve this goal, the cavemen must explore and gather resources in a large [[WideOpenSandbox open world]], and hopefully grow their tribe's [[TechnologyLevels cultural]] and physical levels enough to hunt the fearsome mammoths.

The cavemen also have an infamous tendency to [[{{Sleepyhead}} fall asleep at the worst possible times]].

----
!!''Tail of the Sun'' provides examples of:

* AlienSky: A mild example. The nighttime skybox features a wheeling effect with stars and multicolored planets.
* AllThereInTheManual: The manual is the only place where you're told of your goal, as well as where a map of the world (along with a few landmarks and points of interest that you can search for) is provided. Without that, you're going in blind.
* DefeatEqualsExplosion: Killing any creature, man or animal, causes it to gloriously shatter and explode into many polygonal fragments.
* EyesOutOfSight: One of the three cavepeople you start out with has this look going on.
* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables: The flora in this game are ''sugar cakes''.
* {{Gonk}}: Your caveman can have a number of different faces. While some are relatively normal, others are quite funky-looking.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: This is what your offensive capabilities start out as. By raising your cultural level you can obtain increasingly more powerful weapons, which are useful for hunting.
* GuideDangIt: The game doesn't really explain anything before thrusting you into the action. It can take a while to figure out what you're supposed to be doing.
* MinMaxing: A requirement. Each of your stats are marked in the "Body" screen with a different color, indicating how strong they are (from weakest to strongest, the colors are: purple, blue, green, yellow, peach, and red). Stats cannot be of the same color, so you need to pick and choose which ones you want to raise.
* MisplacedWildlife: Hippos (blue ones no less!) roam the arctic region of the continent.
* TheMonolith: Naturally included as a reference. You can find a group of five [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience colored]] monoliths. Interacting with them imprints a [[PowerTattoo tattoo]] on you that increases one of your stats.
* MultipleEndings: There are a total of nine. Which one you'll get depends on which stats you increase and how you perform.
* {{Permadeath}}: You choose a caveman to control from the ones in your tribe. When it dies, you may pick another one. If you lose them all, it's NoMoreContinues. In order to avoid this, you must increase your village's population by consuming food and increasing your Propagate stat.
* PowerTattoo: The monoliths give you these. Depending on which one you currently have on you, your Brain, Swim, Propagate, Jump, or Run stat increases. The Hand stat does not have a tattoo.
* PowerUpFood: The sugar cakes you can find improve your different stats when you eat them.
* SleepDeprivation: Cavemen need to sleep from time to time, and if they go too long without a nap, they'll die of exhaustion. The US version allows you to [[ButtonMashing button mash]] the circle button to wake them up, though doing this too many times will ultimately be fatal.
* WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath: This happens to the cavemen when they die.
* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: It is possible to starve to death.
----