Cave Story

Cave Story
Title sequence
Developer	Studio Pixel
Publisher	Studio Pixel
Platform	PC
Release Date	December 20, 2004

Cave Story (洞窟物語 Doukutsu Monogatari) is a free action-adventure platform game for the PC. It was created by Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya over a five-year period and independently published in December 2004. The game was and continues to be met with near-universal critical acclaim, and many consider it to be the quintessential indie game, citing its one-man development team and influence on the gaming world. Most text in the original Cave Story is Japanese, but a translation patch for the game is distributed by Aeon Genesis.

Cave Story has seen various official and unofficial ports to other video game platforms. With collaboration from Pixel, Nicalis released extended versions of the game to Nintendo's WiiWare and DSiWare services in 2010. A 3DS remake with a new 2.5D aesthetic was released in November 2011 along with Cave Story+, a remake for PC and Mac on Steam. The most recent release was on the Nintendo 3DS eShop; this is likely also the last, as Pixel has stated he wishes to avoid working with publishers in the future. A comparison of all the official ports and remakes can be found at version differences.

Plot

Quote battles the Core

The player controls Quote, an armed scout robot who was sent to the Island ten years before the events of the game. After awakening in a cave with amnesia, he takes the Polar Star from the Hermit Gunsmith and falls into Mimiga Village. The townspeople tell Quote about a Doctor kidnapping Mimiga. Soon enough, the Doctor's minions Balrog and Misery arrive to take the Mimiga Toroko away, mistaking her for Sue Sakamoto. Quote first visits the Egg Corridor to find Sue, and then Grasstown to rescue her brother Kazuma. He then travels to the Sand Zone, where he finds his companion Curly. Here, the witch Jenka explains the Doctor's plan to use red flowers to weaponize the Mimiga. Quote visits a storeroom in the Sand Zone to recover the flowers, but finds that Toroko was forced to eat a red flower by the doctor, making her rabid.

After Quote defeats Rabid Toroko, Misery warps him to the Labyrinth along with Curly. After exploring the area, the two eventually come across the Core of the island and defeat it. Misery arrives at the last second to rescue the Core, claiming that without it the island will fall. After escaping the Labyrinth through the Waterway and climbing the Outer Wall, Quote arrives at the Plantation, where enslaved Mimigas are forced to grow red flowers. After meeting with Momorin Sakamoto and building a rocket, Quote reaches the Balcony, where he fights Misery, the Doctor, and the Undead Core in succession. At this point, if Quote has collected the Iron Bond, he will be able to enter The Sacred Grounds with Curly and defeat the true antagonist Ballos.

Endings

Main article: Endings

• "Bad" ending: Quote leaves with Kazuma at the Outer Wall. They go on to live in the mountains and the doctor takes over the world.
• "Normal" ending: Quote fights Misery and the Doctor, and then destroys the island's Core. The island begins to collapse. Quote jumps off of the Island with Sue and is caught by Kazuma's Sky Dragon, and they escape as the island crashes into the surface world.
  • Mimiga Mask ending: An Easter Egg variant of the normal ending in which Quote wears Mimiga Mask until the end of the game. To trigger it, the player must ride the rocket up to the Last Cave without speaking to Momorin Sakamoto first.
• "Best" ending: Quote defeats the Doctor and Core, as in the normal ending, and then descends into hell with Curly to fight Ballos. After Ballos is defeated, the island stops falling, and Balrog (now released from the Demon Crown's curse) flies away with Quote and Curly.

Gameplay

Inventory screen

Cave Story contains heavy action, adventure, and platforming elements. As Quote, the player collects weapons and items while exploring a system of caves in the island and battling its inhabitants along the way (the game is also famous for its diverse cast of bosses). It is a sidescroller game with a linear story, but with re-visitable areas, some which must be revisited in order to obtain certain powerups, akin to Metroid. The game is linear, but the player is given many choices throughout the game that can lock you out of a certain weapon or even the best of the three major endings.

Controls

	Keyboard	Gamepad	Wii Remote
Interact	Down	Down	Down
Jump	Z	2	2
Attack	X	1	1
Switch Weapon Left	A	4/7	A
Switch Weapon Right	S	5/8	B
Inventory	Q	6	+
Map System (When Obtained)	W	3	-

Trivia

• On the show The Suite Life on Deck, in the episode "Going Bananas", Cave Story can be seen in the background of an arcade.
• In Kirby's Epic Yarn while in the level "Cool Cave", Kirby has to battle a giant frog in a cave. This may be a reference to Cave Story.
• In the beta version, Balrog was a common enemy, and Quote was called Curly Brace.

Gallery

Battling a Polish in the Sand Zone

Saving the game in Santa's house

Quote in the Bushlands

Japanese title screen

Cave Story Title Screen.jpg

Title screen in the Aeon Genesis translation

Control settings for Cave Story if you want the game to control closer to Cave Story+.