We here at WingDamage consider ourselves pretty serious gamers. We play and discuss games on a regular basis; in reviews, opinion pieces, and the occasional anecdote. Everyone here has their own tastes, opinions, and feelings on what makes a quality game.

I believe everyone has a game that they have a special connection with. A game that you can point to, and confidently call it your favorite.

For me, that game is Cave Story. When Cave Story was first released, indie games were essentially quirky mini games you found on the internet. Cave Story’s independent status had no right to be as fun, thoughtful, and intelligent as it’s commercial cousins, Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of The Night.

Yet, Cave Story got it all right: great pacing coupled with tactile shooting and tight platforming. It seemed to come from a completely different universe as other independent games of the time. It is a game blessed with a unique hindsight that its contemporaries don’t seem to share, mixing and matching small elements of various classics games like Gunstar Heroes and the afore mentioned Metroid series.

Daisuke Amaya, nicknamed Pixel, imbues his world with its own feel. Some stages are light and fluffy, others are haunting and brooding, but they all share a distinct vibe. Pixel is a saint in my eyes, reportedly spending five years of his life dedicated to programming and designing Cave Story from the under ground up (see what I did there?). Cave Story holds a unique honor of being one of the few games designed under a single man’s uncompromised vision. He never once had to worry about deadlines, budgets, or executive overheads messing with the game he made.

The game’s story wouldn’t have escaped the fist of a corporate identity. Entering a new game, you’re introduced to a voiceless amnesiac (known to the fans as Quote), who just so finds himself trapped in a lonely cave. After stealing a gun from the local, slothenly gunsmith, he escapes his prison only to find his self mixed up in the cause of the Mimiga’s, the local bunny-rabbity thing’s.

The Mimiga’s dwindling population are in constant fear of raids by the tyrannical villain simply known as “the Doctor”. Quote befriends the kindly young Toroko, a villager who has been mistaken by the Doctor’s hounds as a mysterious Mimiga named Sue. Toroko is kidnapped shortly after your discussion with her, a battle with the local witless henchman Balrog ensues, and then you’re off to rescue Toroko and discover the secret of the mysterious Sue. Fairly kiddy stuff, right?

Cave Story is a bleak, bleak game. Possibly the bleakest I have ever played. How Pixel was able to infuse his cutesy retro-graphics and music with such a sense of dread and melancholy befuddles me. He conveys more emotion in a single five minute action set piece than any over-produced cutscene could ever dream of.

Pixel evolves his game into a living, breathing universe. You can almost feel the weight of history in the world’s scenery, the dialogue shared between characters, and the events that carry you through the world. I don’t know where Pixel mastered the art of pacing, but I only wanted to explore this world more and more. It’s a game that demands you keep moving, and you’ll find yourself totally willing to comply.

Cave Story ends with an epic gauntlet of boss battles, where your skills are put to the ultimate test. Struggling through to the very depths of hell, Quote earns his happy ending. In a medium nearly devoid of soul, where good graphics and a few gimmicks can get you rave reviews, Cave Story has an ending with actual heart. I’m always glad to come home to Cave Story, and remind myself of a time when you could feel the care put into a game.

The WiiWare version of Cave Story delivers what is hands down, the definitive version of the game. This new version features widescreen support, brand new art from Pixel, and a slew of bonus features.

The one discrepancy I had was with the revised soundtrack. I had a hard time listening to it, seeing as they completely misinterpreted the tone of the soundtrack. I can count on one hand the tracks that capture the spirit of the game. Worst of all, there are little flaws in the transitions keeping them from steaming continuously between scenes as they do in the original PC game.

Play Cave Story. Play it now. It isn’t a long game, but it’s just long enough. You owe it to yourself to at least try the completely free PC version (Here, I even provided a link http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/downloads_1.php) and savor it. You’re playing a lone man’s vision of game design in tangible form, and my favorite game of all time.

Tags: 2d, Castlevania: Symphony of The Night, cave story, Daisuke Amaya, Gunstar Heroes, independent games, platformer, super metroid, WiiWare

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.