Game: Cave Story

Platform: WiiWare

Game length: 5-10 hours depending on exploration and ending you go for.

Completed? Beat it with the “normal” ending.

Lead Reviewer: Shawn

Cave Story is a game that has been out for quite some time (and for free, at that) that I’ve never really sat down to play. I tend to avoid most computer games, as I find mouse/keyboard to be completely uncomfortable in situations outside of first-person shooters and real-time strategy. It’s not something I had never seen, though. An old roommate of mine had played Cave Story around me before, but I never saw more than a glance of it. After watching a few of the trailers for the WiiWare version following its announcement, I officially became excited and downloaded it immediately once it went up on the shop channel… even though it was priced higher than most WiiWare games are.

Shawn: Classifying Cave Story isn’t the easiest thing to do, because it combines multiple genres all into one great package – and makes them work wonderfully. Its biggest influence clearly comes from Metroid, as it has hidden life increases, missile increases, a weapon progression system, and focuses on exploration. It balances this well with its action/shooter elements, and the RPG moments come in the form of leveling up the various weapons that you find. Killing enemies gets you experience, and the weapon equipped when picking up the experience will gain levels and become more powerful. This isn’t the only way to beef up your arsenal, however. You also have story segments that allow you to switch out a current weapon for a new one, or you can search the game world for better weapons as well.

The story isn’t the most compelling tale you’ll ever experience, but the way it’s told deserves some praise. The plot centers around the main character who has no idea how he ended up in the underground place he is in. You quickly find a simple weapon and a village filled with creatures known as the Mimigas. A ton of different events involving them surface, the most important of which is the fact they are being captured by “The Doctor”. From here on, you focus on saving them and finding a way to escape this unknown world. I know this doesn’t sound super interesting, but the way the story unfolds is. It progresses in a way that leaves the player guessing what happens next. You are legitimately just thrown into the gameplay with no explanation as to who you are, or what you are doing there. As you play, questions you have are answered while discovering the game world and yourself. I sometimes hate when games leave you in the dark, but this adventure is a good enough length that the pacing allows everything to fall into place in a steady manner.

Giant Frog!

The biggest compliment I can give to Cave Story is how much personality and charm it has. This was the main reason I couldn’t put my controller down, as I couldn’t help but want to meet the next interesting character, or stumble upon a new enemy. The retro 8-bit style works wonders for this game, so much so that I can’t imagine playing it any other way. The controls themselves are a bit floaty, but I’m positive that this is the definitive way to play the game. Using a keyboard would be an injustice, as Cave Story is really just a glorified NES game – and if you’ve played NES games with a keyboard, then you know it’s not how they should be experienced. Part of me wishes Cave Story had been released much farther in the past, so I’d have more nostalgic memories of it. As it stands, it’s still a great retro game – but most retro games are held to such high standards because of nostalgia. Cave Story lacks that, so I can’t say that it out-does NES favorites … but Cave Story just may be good enough to not need nostalgia to remain memorable.

How “worth it” you think Cave Story on WiiWare is will all depend on if you’ve experienced it before or not. I’m actually quite happy with the purchase, because I had never had a chance to play it prior to now. If you are in the same boat as me there, then don’t hesitate to download it and enjoy it. However, if you have played it on your PC, you’ll have to make the decision if it’s worth the jump for the new additions. The sprites have been completely redone to look much better than they did in the past, and the music has been remixed a bit to go with the new look. They’ve also added new difficulty modes, a boss rush mode, and the ability to play through the game as a new character. The multiple endings are still intact, too. The $12 price point may throw a few people off, though. If every other company can release higher-end WiiWare games at roughly $10 (like Capcom does with the brand new Mega Man games), I fail to find good reasons why this is more expensive… especially when it’s free elsewhere. I’m not saying it’s not worth it, it’s just a small complaint that should be noted.

Conclusion?
Cave Story is a fantastic retro game, and even holds its own against today’s releases. While the controls could be a bit tighter and the price point could make more sense, the things it does right far outweigh the things it doesn’t. The choice to download it will all depend on if you’ve played it or not… but even if you have, I’d recommend grabbing it on WiiWare. This is the way the game was meant to be played.

Score

8.5

(7’s and 8’s are good to great games that excel in certain areas, but fall short in others. It needs to have some great ideas and be consistently fun. Technical flaws may hold it back, or it may be held back by not expanding upon a previous entry in the series.)