The Dog Island

The Dog Island
Box art for the Wii version
Developer(s)	Yuke's
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft Neko Entertainment
Platform(s)	Wii, PlayStation 2
Release	JP: April 26, 2007 AU: March 13, 2008 EU: April 11, 2008 NA: May 6, 2008
Genre(s)	Adventure

The Dog Island (often stylized as THE DOG Island) is a 2008 role-playing video game for the Wii and PlayStation 2 consoles in which players control a dog and must go on a journey to search for a special flower to aid their sick sibling, which can only be found by achieving their goal to become a "sniff master". The player interacts with various other animals in the game that give hints and information to aid on the quest. It was released on April 26, 2007 in Japan by Yuke's. The video game is based on The Dog and Friends franchise.

The Dog Island is a role-playing game wherein the player controls a dog in exploring and navigating through different environments while completing tasks. The player can walk, run, crawl, and bark, the last of which is used as defense against the hostile enemies populating the area. In the game, several types of enemies are found, including snakes, gorillas, bears, and bats, all of which, except for bats, are able to be stunned by barking behind them; holding the button used to bark eventually produces a howl, which stuns the enemy indefinitely until the player exits the area. Failure to contain an enemy will cause them to attack the player, depleting their HP or causing a poisonous status, which depletes HP overtime, or shock, which slows movement. The player starts out with 3 HP, which gets upgraded up to 8 at certain points in the game; losing them all forces the player to start over from the last save point.

The player can sniff and dig for items underground, including fruits, vegetables, and other items, indicated by two circles appearing in the bottom of the screen (blue for plot-related items and yellow for generic things). This ability is mandatory for the tasks, most of which requires the player to search for items; non-plot related items can be recorded in an encyclopedia owned by an NPC, rewarding the player with bones. Additionally, the player can fish and catch insects by successfully beating a short minigame beforehand; again, the animals gained can be exchanged with the NPC for bones. Bones, or "Woofs" as they are referred to, the game's currency, are also rewarded after task completion, and can be used to buy healing items, accessories, and clothing.

The player can explore 23 locations, one of which is only used for the prologue section and a brief plot-related visit midgame, while another is only visited as part of the end-game dungeon, a point of no return. While most locations contain enemies, there are several that acts as a hub, where there is no enemy and the player can buy items or sleep, which fully replenishes their HP. Sleeping is for free when done in their house in Pupsville; otherwise, the player has to pay a bone. The player can also save through a mailbox and store items in a chest for later use (the game only permits a number of items in the inventory) in the hubs. After clearing a story task, the player can talk with an NPC called Boris, who can deliver the player between certain locations for a bone fee. Boris can be spotted in all hubs and some hostile areas. Additionally, a letter system is featured, where the player can receive and reply letters as part of the tasks, though this can only be done in Pupsville.