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I love Cave story with my whole heart. The platonic ideal of the indie game came at a time when "metroidvania" was barely part of our lexicon. The same went for "indie," really, because before this enhanced Plus release, solo developer Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya first published the game in Japanese way back in 2004. Its legendary status grew from message board word of mouth, eventually spawning an official translation, WiiWare release, and many more ports. It's a perfect videogame.
Cave Story also factored into one of the surreal moments of my career. In November 2014, while I was interviewing 17-Bit founder Jake Kazdal in a then-temporary office setup in Kyoto, I mentioned the game—probably as an example of Japan's still nascent indie scene—and he casually mentioned that Amaya worked out of an office a few floors down. "Want to meet him?" We took the elevator down and knocked on his door. I've still got his business card somewhere.
If this were my review, I'd probably be trying to type "98" into the score box while the rest of PC Gamer's senior staff hold my fingers away from the keyboard. Chris Donlan's short but sweet review gets to the heart of why a seemingly simple game has stuck with so many people for so long.
Cave Story+ review - PC Gamer issue #236 (UK, February 2012)
From the archives: The review below appears as originally written, with only minor changes in formatting and newly taken screenshots. By Chris Donlan
Over on a Cave Story messageboard, X-Calibar has a problem with Cave Story+. It’s to do with Balrog, a boss who looks like a suitcase. In the old days, his catchphrase used to be “Huzzah!” Now, thanks to the HD upgrade’s alternate translation, it’s “Oh yeah!”
X-Calibar isn’t happy. “‘Oh yeah’? What kind of charge is that?! Even ‘Booyah!’ might make more sense.” If you’re wondering how a game could inspire criticism of this granularity, you probably haven’t played Cave Story. Daisuke Amaya’s homebrew classic is a uniquely polite 2D platform adventure in which you’re dropped into a subterranean world where a villainous doctor threatens a group of bunny people.
What is it? A retro-tinged platformer with great upgradable weapons.
Release date November 22, 2011
Expect to pay $10/£7 (in 2012)
Developer Studio Pixel
Publisher Nicalis
Play it on Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 512MB RAM
Steam Deck Playable
Link Steam
You save the day by exploring, shooting weird animals, fighting bosses, and collecting items that, more often than not, open up new parts of the environment, where the whole thing repeats.
Except the whole thing never feels like it’s repeating. Cave Story’s levels manage to be intricate without appearing confusing, and they retain a clear sense of forward momentum even as the storyline branches and the Easter eggs pile up.
An orderly series of unlocks brings shape to the game’s wayward narrative, and each new gadget you’re handed broadens your options, allowing you to double-jump with special boots, for example, or use the kickback from the machinegun to pogo your way from one ledge to the next.
There’s a levelling system, but it focuses on your weapons rather than your character, and it rewards skilful players with more powerful attacks while punishing the careless with regular downgrades if they take too many risks. It’s a reminder that, while Cave Story is sugary on the surface, it’s pleasantly tart underneath. Even before you turn to Cave Story+’s new bonus challenges—a boss rush, some pitiless platforming gauntlets, and the option to repeat the campaign with a different lead—you’re going to struggle to see absolutely everything on your first playthrough.
By the time you’re considering that second playthrough, you’ll have crossed over to the other side, joining the informal community of speedrunners, FAQ writers and Cave Story cartographers who have fallen into this deceptively slight platformer never to emerge again.
It’s not so bad down here, though: there are secrets to find, endings to unlock, and plenty of lovely weapons to master. Cave Story’s upgraders, Nicalis, may have instigated a contentious dehuzzahification of the original, but they also delivered a perky and stirring soundtrack remix, and new art that evolves the retro stylings of the first game without lapsing into twee indulgence.
It’s a sensitive reworking, and Cave Story is entirely deserving of the attention. Huzzah—as a dear old friend of mine used to say.
