Perhaps more importantly than making a good game, Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya has assured the world that, provided you have *a* computer (any computer still running can play this, I imagine) and an internet connection, you will always have free access to something universally cherished, something intelligent and forthcoming with ideas of simple design, and something (in its original form) untouched by the inherent evil that coats large-scale game development.

I love this game, but let's be real: it's a public service first, great game second. Give Pixel a key to a city or something.

the first game I'm reviewing as Shelved because the final area that gives you the third ending is slop (I got filtered)
(UPDATE 11/28/2023: nvm I did that shi the day immediately after, can confirm Last Cave is actually worse lol)

I finally got this game out of my backlog after so long and yeah, the game's great. now this game is flawed, very flawed at that (fetch quests slowing the pace early in, the third ending requirements, Last Cave, etc.), but personally I think the positives outweigh the negatives and I have to say that I don't regret trying it out. if you haven't already played Cave Story then you should try it at least once the game's free you don't have much of an excuse lol.

I don't want to spoil the story much because there's some cool and important moments sprinked throughout, so as a summary, you're basically some robot dude who finds himself wandering into a village full of Mimigas, some rabbit creatures who are being pursued by this dude named The Doctor who along with his minions, Misery and Balrog, are planning to kidnap and use for his nefarious deeds, so it's up to you to put a stop to his plans as well as unravel the mysteries of the island you're on. a thing I appreciate about the game is that while there's some dark stuff that happens throughout, it's not really in your face about it like a lot of other modern games I've seen in recent years. for example, there's a point where two somewhat major characters are killed off (not spoiling who) however the game doesn't drag this moment on or make a huge deal about it, it just happens and it's up to you to decide how to feel about it rather than the game forcing you to feel how they want you to. basically what I'm saying is that Cave Story does not insist upon itself.

Cave Story's kinda like Mega Man where you play as a robot that goes around shooting enemies while obtaining different kinds of weapons to use, but at the same time it feels like its own thing with a few of its hub areas as well as a good amount of NPCs sprinkled throughout the levels to talk to. for some reason a lot of people consider Cave Story a Metroidvania, and after playing it myself I just can't agree. usually in Metroidvanias you gain new abilities that incentivize to revisit previous areas to reach sections you couldn't before, and while you do revisit an area or two, the areas here are more or less self contained and straightforward, and while you do get two major new abilities (or rather items that let you perform them), most of the collectibles are either health upgrades or key items with some new weapons every once in a while. for me Cave Story is more of a traditional platform shooter, which becomes much more evident when you see the level layout of the later areas (spikes anyone)?

Cave Story's graphics are really neat and pleasant looking, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe this is the first indie game to go for a pixel art style (oh hey even the dev calls himself Pixel). though unlike a lot of later indie games that go for a nostalgic feeling or something else of the sort with its pixel art, Cave Story looks like this because that's just how it wants to look. now if we're talking about the music, well it's really good. I'm not sure if I can post some highlights since every track in this game is a highlight in some way, so instead how about I post a playlist of this game's OST instead? go listen to it and decide on your own favorites.

I don't really know how else I can give this game justice that a bunch of people online haven't already discussed about before me, so I'll instead have this next section be about specific things that I enjoyed throughout my time playing Cave Story, minor spoilers ahead if you haven't yet played this game

- you get your first weapon by stealing it from a sleeping dude, and near the end of the game you can choose to go back and be confronted by the guy
- there's a Mimiga named Kanpachi who spends his time fishing oblivious to everything around him, and by the time you meet up with him again near the end where the stakes have grown significantly, he's still only concerned about fishing
- anything about Balrog, dude is peak character design and you can even skip his first boss battle if you choose to say no to him, very epic
- there's a graveyard early on where you visit and read a tombstone to get a key and that reminded me of Dragon Quest where the first dungeon you go to has the grave of Erdrick at the end of it, I'm not sure if this was a shoutout or not but if it was then that's epic
- you can go in a house with a Mimiga inside and even sleep in their bed, once you wake up you get lipstick in your inventory, no further explanation is given
- there's a quest you can do where you help a character retrieve their lost puppies, how sweet I hope those puppies go on to have a wonderful life :^))))))
- Curly Brace who spends a majority of her screen time jobbing in some kind of capacity, though she does get some moments to shine that helps balance it out
- the Blade, yeah that's it just the Blade
- "OH THAT'S THE AREA IN THE TITLE SCREEN"
- "OH THAT'S THE MUSIC FROM THE TITLE SCREEN"
and last but not least
- realizing how overpowered missiles are to the point that they shred some bosses in a matter of seconds

so yeah that's it. apologies if this review is a little messier than usual, I just got done a five hour session of the final final area of the game before writing this and I'm understandably upset my gamer skills weren't able to get me through to the very end, but hey at least the area's optional. anyway, go check Cave Story, I already said that earlier but now I'm doing it again because this game is neat and you should check it out. if you already have, well idk do it again it's Cave Story man

Curly Jobber

I want you to imagine briefly that you're just sitting around, minding your own business, when all of a sudden an idea pops into your head. An idea that is so clear and compelling that the mere thought of it fills you with a burning desire to see it brought to fruition. Depending on the kind of person you are, that kind of creative impulse manfests itself in a myriad of ways. Perhaps you pick up a paintbrush and sit in front of an easel. Maybe you grab your guitar from the corner of your room and start strumming out a few chord progressions. Or maybe you sit down in front of a computer screen and crack open your video game review site of choice. For most people, a creative endeavor tends to be fairly straightforward in execution - not at all to say that to create is easy or inherently lacks complexity, but those with the intent to create are seldom held back by anything but a need for a medium. Video games are a largely digital medium, and while they themselves can vary broadly in complexity, most modern examples are created from a multitude of media cobbled together into a whole work. Mathematics and logic, sound, visuals, story, and game design. When all of these elements come together, they ideally create more than the sum of their parts. As a result, some aspects of game development can be taken for granted as things that are simply to be expected, or downplayed in favor of a different aspect. Even so, I think it's fair to say that most will take notice when one of these parts is found sorely lacking.

So ask anybody who's in the know, and they'll tell you that game development is no easy feat. It often requires a group of people with varied talents who can work together to build a new experience from the ground up, or sometimes an individual who finds other avenues to reach their desired goals. However, every now and again, that rare person comes along: One who has not only the talent, but the willpower to see their vision through from concept to reality. I want you to imagine briefly that you are that person. You want to make a game as a love letter to the ones you enjoyed growing up. You code the game from scratch. You compose its soundtrack - in fact, you create the tool used to compose its soundtrack. You design the characters, translate your art to sprites, and then breathe life into it by weaving a tale that ties all of these elements together. You polish the gameplay until you're satisfied with the end result, and then finally, after five or ten long years of off-and-on effort, balancing your project with your work life, you sit in front of your finished game and let out one deep sigh of relief. You did it.

And then you put it on the Internet for free.

If the experience I just described sounds uncannily familiar, there's a decent chance it's because of one of two things. Either you're Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya, the developer of Cave Story and a few other small titles, or otherwise, you may be one of the great many independent developers that have either been directly or indirectly influenced by Cave Story's release in 2004. Of course, not all of them did or would even consider freely giving away the fruit of their labor, and you can't rightly blame them; that's a lot of effort to go to in exchange for no return on investment. But Pixel did, and if that doesn't constitute a "labor of love", I have no idea what does.

Cave Story serves as an example to many aspiring game devs that not only is it possible for you to create a game from nothing, but it might even be good. That might sound like a no-brainer in the current day, where the indie sector is alive and thriving, with many smaller devs or teams rising to join the ranks of the more famous development studios or perhaps even kicking off their own massive success stories. And yet, in spite of how many out there would likely cite Pixel's pet project as a source of inspiration, there's a decent chance this is the first time you've ever even heard of it. It's like settling down in a town built inside of a giant's footprint - you could go your whole life living there, but it might take zooming your perspective out a bit to realize what makes your home so unique.

So what exactly is Cave Story, then? Does it truly represent the years that were spent creating it? I think if you were to introduce the game without the fanfare I just provided for it, the average answer is likely to be "no". Here is, in the creator's own words, a description of Cave Story:

"Cave Story is a jumping-and-shooting action game.

Explore the caves until you reach the ending.

You can also save your game and continue from where you left off."

He's not wrong.

Yes, it's underselling the end product a bit, but it's a perfectly apt description of the game. You wake up in a cave, find a gun and start jumping and shooting. You will explore many caves by the game's end (it might even have more than one ending!) and you will likely save and continue at some point. There's even characters, and a story - sorry for the spoilers. It's a short game and a simple one, which you might be able to gather from such a humble introduction. When you get to the end of Mr. Amaya's brief cave escapade, however, you might find yourself having a few more things to say about it than he did. Whether those things are positive or not is ultimately down to you to determine.

Here's what I think: I love the designs of the characters and their personalities. I love the pleasant spritework composed from Pixel's namesake. I love the memorable and surprisingly varied soundtrack. I love the floaty but tight jumping physics, the snappiness of the shooting and the fun selection of weapons you can collect. I love the creative world presented that introduces some exciting concepts while never dwelling too long on any of them. I love the fact that the game has a good, moderate difficulty level that can be heightened if you really want it to be. I love the little secrets that pepper the game and entice you to come and revisit it a few more times to make sure you haven't missed anything. I love the design sensibilities that keep the experience feeling fresh from start to finish. And I love that everything I just mentioned comes together to make a tidy but understated package that has stuck with me since the first time I played it on my crappy laptop about fifteen years ago.

I don't want to say anything else about the game; I'm banking on you getting to experience it all for the first time so you can hopefully understand how such a little game could have such a big impact, even if you still don't think it's anything special. It's a gift from one talented Japanese dude who loves games to - with the help of some dedicated translators - the rest of the world. Check it out sometime.

Here's one of those games I saw everybody raving about but didn't really feel the punch of OH WOW THIS IS GREAT

And yet I've bought it at least twice, played through to the early ending, and then again (dropping it shortly before the end cos it kicked my ass). There's something about it that wouldn't leave me be, so I had another go just after Christmas, and there it is. Finished just now and loved every minute.

I like when a game can establish its own little world without battering you over the head with it. You press start, stuff is happening, you're already in the middle of something big, it's not even about you, just do your best to understand and help if you can.

I've immediately started it again so I can save Curly Brace x

A Cave Story lo hace su empaque. El juego no es excelente en nada: ni su acción, ni su diseño de nivel, ni la historia que cuenta. Es un mix tirando a conservador de mecánicas y feeling de la época de 8-16 bits que destaca por sus espacios y cómo la navegación por y entre ellos construye poco a poco una sensación de mundo y narrativa infrecuentes (¿inéditos?) en los títulos de acción de los que bebe. En definitiva, el shooter plataformero clásico reformulado como gran aventura, con sus niveles diseñados como lugares de un mundo (distintos entre ellos pero conectados) y dispuestos como sucesión de eventos subyugada al ritmo de la narración (lo que propicia una sensación de ritmo y urgencia creciente improbables en un metroidvania o plataformas común).

Ver cielo por primera vez tras dos tercios de juego bajo tierra y que el nivel se juegue tan solo subiendo (con ese logrado scroll parallax de las nubes y la evocadora Moonsong acompañando la escalada) es quizá el ejemplo más evidente de los logros de Cave Story. Que son este mismo una y otra vez, solo que de forma menos evidente.

Cave Story is a very admirable game, but I'm not saying this because of the story within the game (which I also thought was very good), but because the fact that such a polished and charming game is free, and also has been developed by a single person, is something that moves and is worthy of great admiration.

Speaking of the game itself, I loved it. Its gameplay, its story, its characters, its music, everything about this game is so beautiful, but I won't delve into those aspects because I think this game is best when you play it by yourself.

Without a doubt, it is one of the best indie games, and also a great source of inspiration because of its development story.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys platformers, shoot 'em up and retro games in general.

Cave Story immediately pulls your attention with its charming retro style and simplistic, but tight gameplay. Controlling Quote feels great and through the early level design, it teaches you the very basics of Cave Story's platforming and combat. For me, it all felt very nostalgic to play a game like this again.

Although the core gameplay of the game is quite simple in execution, it revels in that simplicity through its more complex level design. While using level design to further enhance the gameplay and the way you have to utilize your movement and controls is nothing unique to Cave Story, it is one of the better examples to do it out there. This feels especially true for some of the boss fights that ask more elaborate movement than your regular levels.

And while there's not too much to say about its actual story, it's fun and creative enough to keep you engaged with its plot and characters. Through its silly dialogue and message of kindness, it's clear how this is one of Undertale's many inspirations.

Probably the greatest one-man game of all time. The weapon leveling mechanics are brilliant and it's a real shame that pretty much no other games have tried imitating or expanding on them up to this point. The characters are all presented in such a way that ingrains them into your memory even though none of them are given very much screen time. Despite the poorly handled branching endings, it's also a game that I find myself compelled to replay on a regular basis- its quick pacing, alternate weapon trading paths, and additional modes like Curly Story found in certain versions of the game all contribute to that. The game's music is also a big part of what makes it special. Throughout its wide range from somberness to frantic action, the soundtrack maintains an air of eeriness that perfectly compliments the setting and provokes the player into wanting to learn everything possible about the Mimigas, the floating island, and the main character's history.

Metroidvania, platforming, and storytelling perfection in a single 4 megabyte freeware package. Not only was it the one game to get me interested in video games even more than I already was, but it is indeed one of the games that defines the indie game movement as a whole, that really shows what one man can make with sheer motivation alone. Even if it's been slightly tainted because of unjust publishers, this still remains my favorite video game of all time simply because of how much of an emotional impact it left on me.