Cave Story

Cave Story

Website: http://www.cavestory.com/
Designer: Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya
Platform: Windows / Mac / Linux / PSP / Xbox / Amiga OS / GP2X / WiiWare
Download: http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/downloads_1.php

Cave Story was first released as a freeware Metroidvania game that grew to immense popularity among indie gamers. It's recently released on WiiWare with improved graphics and music (the screenshots here are from the free PC version). The game features some of the best pixel artwork in games and the soundtrack is pretty awesome too. What's most amazing about Cave Story is that it's the sole effort of one Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya.

It's an extremely well polished game too. The character movement is one of the most important elements in any platform game, especially the jump. The player character, a robot "from the surface", feels very 'natural' as he jumps around performing shooting maneuvers (you can shoot in all four directions), evading enemy fire. The feel is right and few games achieve that; one of the most notable being the Super Mario games. At one point in the game, you get a machine gun that propels you upward when you shoot it at the ground. How frigging amazing is that?

The story's very engaging with its colorful characters and a deep emotional arc. The Mimigas (bunny-like people) are the target of the evil Doctor and it's up to you to save them from being turned into rabid monsters to be unleashed on the human race. The story unfolds bit by bit as your character traverses beautifully created environments, gaining new weapons along the way. Each weapon could be upgraded by collecting the yellow bits that fallen enemies turn into. Weapons like the Machine Gun have a surprise for the player. When it is upgraded to Lv 3, it gives the aforementioned ability to propel the player upwards. Suddenly, there's new crevices to explore and Cave Story has a lot of hidden surprises.

The monsters are meticulously designed with cute details and it's a delight looking at these creative monsters and environments from the mind of the artist. It's quite a tough game (I'm still struggling to beat the tank boss in the Labyrinth level) and surely provides a challenge for the most hardcore player.

--Benjamin