[Multi] Cave Story

Discuss this great game,code bi one man named Pixel in the course of 5 years, it as been now published in multiple plataforms,redone and moded but never became a bad game!

Great game but the 3ds version is a waste. They should have made it a sequel or at least added some more levels.

Thei did what thei did with OOT3D,just change graphics!

I own the DSiWare version. It was fun on my XL, but I transferred it to my 3DS and now it cramps up my hands.

Originally Posted by Eldír

Thei did what thei did with OOT3D,just change graphics!

Except, unlike with OOT3D, the original wasn't free.

I really liked Cave Story, but I could never beat hell. It was just too hard for me.

I hope this doesnt become a remake VS original thread.
Discuss the game not the remakes

I've never actually played Cave Story. I've thought about it, but I dunno.

Some people treat this game as it was the second coming of Jesus, or something stupid like that.

And I totally agree with them.

Cave Story is just awesome.

Besides just starting a file on the Wii version, I've only played the original free version, but I don't think I'd ever need more than that, the game's already pretty ♥♥♥♥ing great and I don't mind playing it again and again and again.

And again.

The Wiiware remake is the best, they improved the graphics without ruining the charm *Cave Story 3D ahem*

Originally Posted by Labrynian Rebel

The Wiiware remake is the best, they improved the graphics without ruining the charm *Cave Story 3D ahem*

Oh yeah, that's something I liked about the little bit I played of the Wii version, it's still under the same style, but it still improves the look of everything.

I'd argue that they ruined the music, but you can change it back, so whatever.

I have Cave Story + on Steam from a past Humble Bundle.

Not really sure what that means in relation to the original free game. Haven't played it yet, either. D:

A great game and 100% free.

I also have Cave Story + which I got in a Humble Indy Bundle. But I don't understand why someone would pay for this game when it can be downloaded for free legally.

Whatever.

Its a must try, you can definitely see the love the creator put in it.

Played the original when the first english translation came out. (Thank you AGTP!) The whole Ballos route is really cool, and I really liked how they fed you the story as you went through. He was a pain to beat too. Very Contra style. It's completely worth it though.
Multiple endings--like, actual multiple endings based on when and how you escaped--was a great touch.

Forget my final time, but it wasn't bad concidering I wasn't aiming for a speed run or anything.

My only gripe with the game is that the weird little green twiddly-thing could have self-activated. Maybe that's been solved in more recent versions, but it never seemed to work right.

Never played any of Pixel's other games though. Anyone here ever take a crack at them?

Originally Posted by Berry Punch

I have Cave Story + on Steam from a past Humble Bundle.

Not really sure what that means in relation to the original free game. Haven't played it yet, either. D:

Cave Story+ has updated graphics and sound. The original music is very chiptune-sounding and the newer version isn't so much. Also a lot of the graphics overhaul makes the game look at lot more like a SNES game than an NES 8-bit game, so it's simply a matter of preference which you choose to play with. There's also a completely extra level in CS+ that isn't in any of the other versions.

You can't really go wrong with either.

I beat it recently and posted my thoughts here:

Cave Story User Reviews - Giant Bomb

Cave Story is one of the first games to define the "2D retro platformer with pixel art" trend that has served as the default genre for much of the indie videogame scene for the last several years. Originally released as a freeware title on PC, it's made its way to close to a dozen other platforms over the years and has garnered a reputation as one of the best 2D Metroid-style platform games of the decade. In practice, however, the actual game doesn't especially live up to that reputation - while it's got some good ideas and plays well, forced repetition, an overly convoluted story, short game length and occasionally frustrating controls render it less a game than the classics it apes.

Cave Story's biggest flaw is that it combines a whole lot of gameplay elements together into a big mixing pot, and doesn't take much care to actually make them work cohensively. There's shmup-style weapon upgrade levels that decrease as you take damage. There's Metroid-style missile packs and health upgrades to find. The controls feel very similar to the original Super Mario Bros., floaty and momentum-driven in a slightly imprecise kind of way. There's an RPG-style inventory menu which serves absolutely no purpose in gameplay. And, of course, there's tons and tons and tons of dialogue which serves no purpose other than to drive along the meandering, uninteresting storyline that seems to think it's much more interesting and epic than it actually is.

When I found myself enjoying Cave Story, it wasn't because of any subtle fusion of gameplay elements that just worked well together, it was because there was one individual element that happened to work well in a given scenario. Usually, it's the shooting elements - Cave Story features a decent variety of enemies and weapon types, all of which behave a little differently and according to predictable patterns, making optimal play a matter of juggling your arsenal to adapt to the threats at hand. It feels very SNES-era and recalls titles like Contra, but without the same level of challenge (mostly due to your ever-growing health bar).

The other elements of the game that feel borrowed from Metroid and JRPGs are distinctly less successful. While a lot of people compare Cave Story to Metroid, in truth it has none of the intelligence, finesse and tact of Nintendo's famous game franchise. Whereas Metroid is a game that uses level design to effortlessly guide players towards goals by gradually unlocking new ways to explore the environment, Cave Story simply sends your character platforming back and forth around the (often linear) levels, sometimes five or even ten times over, in pursuit of collectable. Metroid is a game that lets you figure out how to progress on your own; Cave Story gives you twenty dialogue boxes to point you in a direction. It doesn't help that the in-game map has no annotations, is tiny, and borders on useless, as well.

Where Cave Story does let you explore on your own, most of it lacks real direction and pacing; there are alternate endings, hidden items etc., but there's no logic to their placement and you'll miss out on things because you didn't pass up or collect the right items previously in the game - unless you're reading a guide as you play, it's more dumb luck than skill whether you can unlock the final stage, or the best ending - did you talk to X NPC at the right time, or backtrack for 30 minutes to find Y secret that unlocks Z door for no clear reason? There are choices to be made and some gameplay consequences to boot, but the lack of coherence behind them robs them of impact.

When the story does take over, Cave Story fails to understand the strength of suggestion and the "show, don't tell" rule. It's not so much that anything about the story or writing is especially bad, but there's simply far too much of it and it's constantly at odds with the fast-paced platforming. Many of the plot details ring completely hollow because there's no emotional depth or complexity to anything going on. "Revelations" that are clearly intended to be shocking or gripping aren't effective in the slightest - at one point halfway through the game, you learn that your character is actually a robot (or android? whatever?), but nothing interesting or meaningful is done with this, and I certainly wasn't given reason to care about my character in the first place. Cave Story has the plot of a Mega Man game spun into 1000+ lines of dialogue and many, many scripted scenes - and it's exactly as enjoyable as that sounds.

Beyond all this, there are a few minor issues dragging Cave Story down. Its rigid adherence to its plot means that many sequences in the game must completed in a very specific order, and if you miss talking to a character you'll have to replay the same section over again as you run back and forth between goals. This isn't helped by the fact that there are relatively few levels in the game, and when combined with both the intended and accidental backtracking required by the gameplay, you'll quickly grow tired of them. I'm certainly not exaggerating when I say that Cave Story would likely be an hour or two long at most if it wasn't for the dialogue, and the fact that it makes you fight and jump through the same sequences over and over (though it's still only about three hours long even with all that). This is occasionally exacerbated by the floaty, awkward platforming, and while the levels are large enough to accommodate it, I never felt like I was truly in control of my character in the same way I am in, say, Super Mario World or Super Metroid, and the similarly floaty camera only adds to the feeling of imprecision.

So, is Cave Story a bad game? No, not really. It's definitely got a few moments of enjoyable gameplay, mostly in the combat and boss battles, and I liked the shmup-style upgrade system that encouraged consistently good play. But it's also a game that feels bloated and overlong, pretentiously full of itself, and simply can't execute its ideas with anywhere near the same level of intelligence that all its inspirations did years ago. Considering it's available free or for fairly low prices on so many platforms, it's not a terrible way to kill a few hours - but when judged next to the genre classics or even other indie titles, it falls very, very short.

That roughly agrees with my perception: A fun game that could've been much better.

Too much dialogue (I usually like dialogue in games, but only if it's largely optional. I don't want to sit through five mandatory minutes of text for every ten minutes of gameplay), waaaaaaaaay too much backtracking, and controls that are just too floaty to fit with the precision shump-ish gameplay.

I certainly don't regret buying Cave Story+, and I still play it every so often, but it's a bit curious the amount of adoration it's gotten.

I dont like that you compared it with Metroid and Super Mario.Just because it is inspired in it doesnt mean it is like it!

It is very similar to both of those games, though. Metroid pioneered the "explore with a gun" genre, and Cave Story takes many cues from it, most of which eric noted.

The only comparison he made to Mario was the control physics, which are very Mario-esque, being floaty with lots of momentum.

I mean, what part of that do you disagree with? Does Cave Story not let you explore? Does it not have multiple weapons? Does it not have extra life containers? Missiles? Floaty controls? What?

Uhm, in my original playthrough I only had to backtrack once, and that was because I managed to completely get turned around in the desert area and found it easier that way. Unless you count backtracking as cutting through one area to reach a place connected to it. Most of the game is a directed course, and it is quite easy to find the NPCs you need to talk to. They're usually in a door or out in the open. The work camp is the only place where you have to hunting for a specific person, and a couple of the workers give you hints about it.

Incidentally, the two big endings are dependant on whether you fall into the hole and get Boomer's jetpack or jump the gap. There's even a line drawn to show where you should jump from. It was noted in the original readme for the game, but that probably didn't come with any of the rereleases.

There's plenty of back-tracking. The whole jellyfish-juice to get past fires, dog hunting, egg corridor...There's no area in the game that you don't have to cross, turn around, cross, turn around, cross again at least once.