Jables’s Adventure

Squiddy: Aren't you the hero?
Jables: I don't know.
Squiddy: Would you like to be?
Jables: OK.
Squiddy: Let's try this again. Hellllloooo, hero!
Jables: Yo.

Jables's Adventure is a freeware platform game created by Jason Boyer (with help from Ryan Pietz on the dialogue and plot, and music by Kevin "Frantic Panda" Carville) and released in 2010. It's a Metroidvania game (it plays like a less-linear Cave Story) with a surreal, self-aware sense of humor.

You play as Jables, a 15-year-old boy who wakes up one morning to find a squid perched on his head. Its name is Squiddy, and he insists that Jables is the hero. So Jables sets off to go exploring and a-hero-ing.

In spite of the game's short length (Boyers estimates that it has 30-60 minutes of gameplay), it's surprisingly Troperiffic.

Press [X] to become the tropes!

Shop keeper: Don't worry, we're running a special promotion.
Jables: What's that?
Shop keeper: I hid weapons and items outside the town to drum up publicity.
Jables: Isn't that reckless?
Shop keeper: It's a game, kid. Don't be so serious.

  • Bubbly Clouds: Can be visited via jet pack at the top of every single above-ground screen. Some of these areas contain Easter Eggs.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: King Squid.
  • Chainsaw Good: Lumber Jacques' weapon of choice.
  • Chekhov's Skill: The high five isn't just used to save progress...
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: The princess. Squiddy doesn't even mention the princess until the game is almost over--it comes across like he just made her up. Then King Squid, in spite of being a card-carrying villain, vehemently denies kidnapping her, further calling into question her involvement with the story. Then she shows up at the end of the game anyway.
  • Everything's Better with Princesses: Apparently you can't have a heroic quest without one.

Jables: If we've found a jet pack, then we're probably nearing the end of the game.
Squiddy: Oh, I guess you're right.
Jables: Yeah.
Squiddy: On the bright side, you'll get to meet the princess soon.
Jables: I didn't know there was a princess.
Squiddy: Neither did I...

Squiddy: Have you noticed how much the trigger looks like an [X]?
Jable: The resemblance is uncanny!

Jables: I had no idea there was a villain.
Squiddy: I bet he's the one who kidnapped the princess.
Jables: Let her go, King Squid!
King Squid: I didn't kidnap any princess.
Squiddy: Then where is she?
King Squid: My plan doesn't involve the princess.
Squiddy: Yet you kidnapped her anyway.
Jables: That's evil.
King Squid: ...

  • Lethal Lava Land: Squidville, which is in a volcano.
  • Let's You and Him Fight: Neither of the first two bosses are evil. Lumber Jacques attacks because he thinks you're a walking tree. Rutherford Goldbeard attacks because he thinks you're a cattle rustler.
  • The Lost Woods
  • Jet Pack: In practice, functions like an infinite Double Jump.
  • Medium Awareness: Everyone is apparently aware that this is a game.
  • Misplaced Wildlife: Pokey the cactus, first encountered in the middle of a forest. Jables asks him what he's doing there, and he himself isn't sure. Later, Pokey shows up inside a volcano, and explains that he got there by digging.
  • Mission Control Is Off Its Meds: The creator's description of the game calls it "an adventure filled with ... useless advice..." and he's not kidding. Squiddy thinks Jables couldn't jump before meeting him; he tries to teach Jables how to break blocks with his mind; and some of his useful facts about fruit are complete nonsense.
  • Morton's Fork: Employed by Rutherford Goldbeard. First he thinks Jables is a cattle rustler, who therefore needs to die. When Jables convinces him he's not there for any cattle, Rutherford concludes Jables has been possessed by a brain squid--and Rutherford's brain-squid-removal procedure is no less lethal than his anti-cattle-rustler measures.
  • Music Soothes the Savage Beast: After gaining the strawberry, Jables spontaneously sings the Strawberry Shortcake theme song, which calms the SCUBA bear's rage.
  • Nigh Invulnerable: Pokey the cactus is "over 9000% fireproof".
  • Offscreen Villainy: While King Squid claims to have a villainous scheme, no details are ever revealed. As far as we can tell, the scheme may have consisted of nothing more than declaring himself the villain and waiting for a hero to come fight him.
  • Only Sane Man: King Squid
  • Oxygen Meter: It depletes quickly enough that you can't really do anything underwater until you get the SCUBA gear.
  • Scars Are Forever, Good Scars, Evil Scars: King Squid boasts a pretty badass scar over his left eye.
  • Schmuck Bait: The mermaid gives you useless things to make you go away, eventually culminating with, "Listen, if I tell you a secret, will you leave me alone? ... If you pester the mermaid too much, you're gonna have a bad time." If you talk to her again, she says "I warned you," and kills you instantly.
  • Sorry I Left the BGM On
  • Talkative Loon: The mushrooms.
  • Underground Level: Two different cave systems.
  • Underground Monkey: Palette Swapped versions of the slimes appear in darn near every area. On the other hand, the normal bear, SCUBA bear, and flamethrower bear are all unique sprites.
  • Under the Sea
  • What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?
  • Yeah! Shot: High five! Iris Out. Roll credits.
  • You Have Researched Breathing:

Squiddy: I will now bestow on you the power to jump. Press [Z] to clear that gap!
[jump]
Jables: I could already do that.
Squiddy: Oh. Good for you then.

High five!

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