Successor (or not) to Cave Story, Kero Blaster goes against what one might expect from a sequel: the storytelling simplifies, transitioning from a semi-open metroidvania format to a linear game, and the lifespan is half as short. Yet, this shift isn't truly a subtraction but a refinement. Kero Blaster is much more enjoyable to play than Cave Story: the physics, the gameplay, the progression, the enemies, the weapons, etc... all come together in an organic and thoughtful manner. Instead of indulging in the grandiosity of levels and storytelling, it seems Daisuke Amaya worked on his game like a miniature.

Many somewhat pompous terms from me for a game that's essentially fun from start to finish. I'm really a fan of the difficulty progression: if you're stuck in a tough passage, you keep accumulating gold coins which grant access to extra lives and other upgrades. Even in defeat, you make progress.

A great "small" game to absolutely experience.

Neat little run-n-gun, with a bit more focus on the platforming compared to other run-n-gun games. All the weapons are fun to use, and the game makes great use of all of them. It’s got a very charming style, and a nice, simple story with a well-communicated point. The unlockable hard mode that dramatically redesigns every level in the game is genius. It feels more like an expansion or a sequel than a simple change in difficulty. However, the real star here is the level design. Daisuke Amaya freed himself of level design duties, leaving that responsibility to Kiyoko Kanekawa, and it shows. It’s simple, but everything that should be conveyed to the player in a game like this, is done masterfully.

One of my favourite games I’ve played in the last couple years. I believe it’s quite cheap as well, so give it a shot.

From the creator behind Cave Story, here's a small action-platformer starring a frog fighting against dark "thingies", Kero Blaster!

I've known about this game for many years, but now, I've finally been able to play it!
The gameplay is simple. You jump, you shoot, you unlock more weapons, you can upgrade said weapons with coins you find throughout the stages, and you can also upgrade your health... and that's it.

It's very simple, but it's pretty fun! It did get kinda hard by the end, especially because if you get a Game Over, you gotta restart the whole stage again... but thankfully, if you've already defeated a mini-boss, you don't have to defeat again, so that's nice.
You can also see this as an opportunity to get more coins to potentially upgrade more stuff.

The story is quite interesting. While nothing too complex, I like seeing the characters interact with each other and was curious where the story was going. It's nothing ground-breaking, but it was nice.

The graphics feel like they are a mix of Commodore 64 graphics and NES graphics. It's a very simple art-style, but I think it works! And it also helps that the music is very nicely composed.

All in all, Kero Blaster is a nice little blast from the past, and I would recommend it for anybody who likes these types of games.

Kero Blaster is self-consciously retro to a fault. While the music and graphics are well-executed in a low-bit style, the gameplay itself does not improve on the flaws from that era. The varied weaponry combines with level and enemy design to create tense action sequences that challenge both your tactics and reflexes. Unfortunately the outdated checkpoint system only tested my patience. Repeating an entire level because I died on a boss is not fun. Nor is losing a life or starting a level over due to cumbersome, unresponsive platforming controls. Fans of early platformers may find the stiff controls nostalgic, but I just found them irritating.

I might not talk about it THAT much, but I try not to make any secret of it that Cave Story, like La-Mulana, is a game very near and dear to my heart. So then, why in that case did it take me SIX YEARS to play the only other game by the maker of Cave Story since that game? Who's to say :b. But point is, I finally sat down and did it XD. It took me around 2 or 3 hours to beat the game on my PC using a game pad on normal mode.

Like Cave Story before it, Kero Blaster is a game with a cute pixel art style that drops you in media res into an odd and colorful world. You play the role of Frog (presumably) in Cat & Frog corp, which is some kind of disposal company. You play the role of disposer while Cat is your boss who seems to mysteriously get sicker and more deformed as you go on more missions. Your coworkers express concern with you, but ultimately you have a job to do: cleaning up messes, and that means killing monsters! The story is a unique and odd backdrop to the story, but at least on normal mode you aren't given a ton to work on to make it mean much more than just a fun backdrop with oddball characters. This game is absolutely not trying to be Cave Story 2, and it isn't.

Though a run'n'gun, this is absolutely not an adventure game. Kero Blaster is a sort of Mega Man game that has you going through 7 levels in linear fashion. You get a new gun or passive ability after beating each boss, and you can collect money in each stage to spend at shops found at the midway point of each stage. You can upgrade your weapons at the weapon shop, and buy more health, heart containers, and extra lives at the health shop (you can also visit the health shop after a game over, which is nice). You have four guns which all fit different situations differently, and the boss design is really good. It's a very well put together action platformer, from the enemy types to the level design.

While the game might not be trying to be Cave Story 2 in terms of overall design (though I'd say it certainly matches or surpasses that in mechanical quality), the presentation has that Cave Story charm to a T. The pixel art is simply animated but very pretty looking, and the music is excellent as well. Levels all look and feel different, and hunting for secrets of extra lives and money in them is fun too.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. If you like Mega Man-style games, this is absolutely a game you can't afford to miss. While it certainly may not be to the scale of Cave Story, the shooting and platforming have been refined to an even greater degree which makes this a fantastic few hours to play through. Also, beating the game unlocks more challenge modes you can go through if you're not satisfied with your Kero Blast-ing quite yet. Totally worth picking up, especially if it's on sale.