Virtually Overlooked: Cave Story
by JC Fletcher 
{ Mar 22nd 2007 at 7:49PM }
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.Doukutsu Monogatari (Cave Story) is a free-roaming side-scrolling action adventure game developed over five years by a Japanese designer who goes by Pixel. You can download Cave Story right now and play it on the computer on which you're reading this article, PC or Mac. It's completely free. We have a copy on our own computer that we've played through many times. So why do we want to pay money to play it on the Wii? Because it's that good.
Cave Story tells the story of an amnesiac soldier trapped in an underground society, fighting to save some anthropomorphic rabbity things called Mimigas from an evil doctor called "The Doctor" and his sidekicks, a big rectangular thug named Balrog, who frequently announces his presence with "Huzzah!" and a sorceress named Misery. The Doctor wants to force the Mimigas to eat red flowers that turn them into Hulk-like monsters, and force them to fight for him. The anonymous hero feels compelled to save them, while trying to find his way out of the seemingly endless cave.
Why the game hasn't been announced for Virtual Console yet:
Cave Story would represent some pretty new ground for the Virtual Console if released: it was never put out on any console, and it's freeware. Telltale Games' interest in porting Sam & Max provides a precedent for the implementation of PC content on the VC, but that has yet to occur and isn't even official yet.
Why we think it should be on the Virtual Console:
Nintendo fans have had a longstanding love affair with exactly this type of game: the exploration-based action game has a rich pedigree, including Metroid, Castlevania, Blaster Master, and even Adventure Island IV. If anyone is going to understand the merits of this kind of game design, it's people who appreciate classic Nintendo gaming. The most important part of any such Metroidvania game is level design, and the world in Cave Story is more varied than any game taking place entirely in a cave has a right to be. There are many different varieties of enemies, and the tile-based graphics allow for a look that is both nostalgic and cleanly appealing.
Cave Story plays similarly to Metroid: there are many weapons to choose from; new abilities grant access to new areas of the map; areas are punctuated by giant bosses that range from native creatures to evil henchmen. But here's a controversial statement: the Cave Story's controls and weapon selection are just as good, but the characterization and storyline in Cave Story push it beyond the Nintendo sci-fi series. Please, play Cave Story before you start yelling. This week, we can tell you to try it out with no risk! Then you can join us in begging for a VC release and a wider audience. Pixel deserves compensation for his masterpiece!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Crazylink @ Mar 22nd 2007 8:01PM
Great game. It could even be better with a controller.
PhoenixJ @ Mar 22nd 2007 8:21PM
One of the best games ever made.
Fo'serious
jan_halmes @ Mar 22nd 2007 9:32PM
Could they just make a flash version to play on the Wii browser?
Author X @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:55PM
Caaaave Stoooooory!!!!
Huzzah!
I love this game so much! It would be an excellent addition to the Wii's library. Really, this is a fantastic homebrew game and it never occured to me what a great pick it would be for the VC until now. Of course, if you look at the current efforts to remake it for the PSP, you'll be reminded that if there's one thing the internet hates, it's anyone trying to make money on anything in any way (personally, I don't think that the developers are trying to rip off Pixel's work without clearance... I just thinkt they're lazy, seeing as there's no been no real news or screens or development material in the year since it was announced).
Of course, Pixel's been working on a new game, and has gone on record many times as being too busy to work on any Cave Story port, but there's also a homebrew GBA/DS port that's gotten his approval (apparently, Pixel even gave him the source). More than any of the other virtually overlooked games (well, maybe Snatcher) I think this would be a fantastic move for Nintendo. It would require a completely new port, rather than just being dumped into an emulator like the rest of the VC games, but it would be a great ground-breaker for non-virtual-console games to be in the Wii shop.
Zachary Hinchliffe @ Mar 23rd 2007 9:47AM
Cave Story is an amazing game and everyone who is reading this needs to download it RIGHT. NOW.
Tushar Dayal @ Mar 23rd 2007 11:23AM
"play it on the computer on which you're reading this article, PC or Mac."
What if I'm reading this on a linux box?
Booxatron @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:48PM
Is that Ash from Pokemon? With a gun?
WhatIsThatThing @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:11PM
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes please.
PhoenixJ @ Mar 24th 2007 12:40PM
No, it's Quote D:
Don't you dare compare Pokemon to Cave Story
nameless @ Apr 10th 2007 2:26AM
Tushar Dayal, the game is fully playable with the latest release of Wine, but the audio is a little screwy (which is so unfortunate, the game has such great music) and there's a handful of graphics bugs. I guess play without the sound on and you won't notice issues as much. Gamepads even work fine in it, when configured with the configuration utility (which also works, for the most part). I guess you could search out MP3 (or OGG, if you're a FOSS-fanatic) recordings of the original songs so you can get an idea of what to expect.
I intend to do a proper Linux port *some* day (preferably in SDL, making it mega portable!) but I don't have the time to try doing it. I know Pixel'd throw the source at me if I showed my worth, and maybe even grant GPL'ing the new fork of the code. But, you know, keep the original content copyrighted, so the engine can be used for... interesting things >:).