I was searching for games on Xbox Live (XBLA) and ran across the game Dust: An Elysian Tail. It is a tasteful blend of side scrolling platformer mixed with hack and slash combat with a dash of rpg elements. One of it's strongest qualities would be it's art style. A self-taught illustrator and author, Dean Dodrill created nearly all aspects of this game himself. Dodrill cited his inspirations for the final game were such titles as Metroid, Golden Axe, and Ys I & II.
Luckily, the game is currently on sale for $5.09 USD on Xbox Live and for $3.74 on Steam. I highly recommend everyone to pick this game up, especially at this price!