Cave Story was once a frontrunner for the title of best game you've never played, until you all rather selfishly started playing it.
Originally a free PC exclusive before becoming a long-awaited WiiWare title and now currently worming its way through the labyrinthine series of loop-the-loops and fire pits that is DSiWare's release process, it was once a celebrated, obscure indie triumph.
Thanks a lot, you game-loving idiots. It's people like you who ruined the Arctic Monkeys for everyone.
In all seriousness, that Cave Story's getting the attention it deserves is fantastic news for fans of old-school platform adventures. Cave Story 3D marks the game's first full-price, boxed release, and rather than wrapping up the same game we've seen on WiiWare, it's been given an aesthetic transformation, from 2D into proper 3D.
And we're not taking Paper Mario-style sprites in a cardboard cutout landscape, either. Cave Story 3D is to Cave Story what New Super Mario Bros. was to Super Mario Bros., retaining the key game mechanics while applying the Midas touch of the 3DS's depth-mirage magic.
But while the visuals have changed (the audio too, as the game's chiptune soundtrack is being remastered), the underlying game will remain as true to the original as possible. Locations, characters and dialogue will be familiar to anybody who's played Cave Story before, as the protagonist sets off to roundly thump the nefarious Doctor, rescue the cutesy Mimiga tribe and generally encounter some of the weirdest villains, allies and enemies in gaming.
Things play out in true Metroid and Castlevania style, with large and explorable areas of the world becoming increasingly accessible as you progress and discover new weapons and tools.
Caving In
Weapons are upgradeable, with each defeated enemy dropping a number of experience-bestowing shards - these shards increase your weapon's level, turning peashooters into gatling guns and missile launchers into carnage-dealing explosion-parades.
Weapon experience deteriorates as you take damage, requiring that you either avoid running headlong into enemies, or at least keep topping up your experience by sweeping up power-giving shards. Elsewhere, upgrades that will amplify your maximum health or increase the amount of ammunition you can carry doff a reverential hat to other games in the genre.
But it's whether or not developer Nicalis can retain the almost indefinable character and heart of the 2D Cave Story, arguably tied up in its now-missing retro art stylings, that will make or break this 3D iteration. Fans have ported the game onto almost every platform imaginable, from Linux machines right the way down to graphing calculators, but rarely has its essence been manipulated so heavily as with Cave Story 3D.
Everything we've seen suggests that the three-dimensional tinkering won't erode the original's charm, however. If anything, the newfound sense of space makes the game's world a more inviting place, especially for returning players. Cave Story, it seems, isn't about to return to obscurity any time soon.
This preview appeared in the July issue of Official Nintendo Magazine. For the very latest previews, buy the August issue of Official Nintendo Magazine which is on sale now. You can buy it here. Want to make sure you never miss an issue? Subscribe and get a 3DS Starter Pack.
I'm definitely getting this! I think the 3DS games change of style looks incredible and may well end up being the definitive version of Cave Story.
"Originally a free PC exclusive before becoming a long-awaited WiiWare title"
it was on Mac, Linux, Xbox, PSP, and GP2X before WiiWare. not officially, but still, if you know your stuff (which you do due to your mention of the calculator reimagining), i'd suggest expressing it correctly.
i also like the way the review is implying that the game has gotten worse because it's more mainstream now.
cave story is generally not particularly similar to metroidvania in the exploration aesthetics, as the majoirty of the game is fairly linear.
i'm not too sure about the remake yet. i'll be getting it, certainly, but i'm not sure whether the 3Dification will be all that benificial and i'm skeptical regarding the effects it will have on the mechanics and physics.
guess i'll have to wait until i actually get a 3DS to see
The writer is only talking about official iterations in that sentence, and so to go on to talk about the other machines people have ported it to would just be misleading. They talked about people porting later, as you pointed out. They just didn't feel the need to exhaustively list every machine it'd been ported to by someone or other. There's no need.
As it is, I'm sort of looking forward to this. I like the new art style and the sense of freedom it gives... though I suppose it may be a little hard to justify shelling out for yet another 3DS remake. On the fence over here I suppose
One of the main reasons I played the original was because of it's old style graphics and music, and here they've made it look....really generic, in my opinon.
Kinda made it lose a lot of appeal for me :C
This is looking pretty good so far, apart from the plants. They look awful! I hope they change it soon
Anyone else seeing black dots between the corners of the images at the bottom of the article!?!
I loved the WiiWare version, and will certainly consider this. Anything with a hint of Castlevania/Metroid in it, is already considered by me
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I can't help but think ive already played this game thousands of times, and for free, however this is a superb game and this looks like a sufficent enough update to warrent a purchase, im sold!
I hated the WiiWare version so I'm not to excited about cave story 3d.