Cave Story is an superb game that mixes elements of platform, shoot ‘em up, adventure and rpg all into a classy little package. The storyline is a little bit hard to decipher at first but it seems that you are on a quest to find someone. The game involves jumping from platform to platform, shooting enemies, leveling up, solving problems and talking to various characters.
At first glance the graphics look blocky but after a little adjustment, they actually seem very classy in a retro type way. The backgrounds, foregrounds, enemies and general animation are simple and yet really quite impressive at the same time. This almost feels like an ‘enhanced’ Commodore 64 game. The soundtrack is nothing short of excellent – it also harks back to retro times when games weren’t expected to have complex music to impress people. Just good, solid and very listenable tunes to suit the game play.
The game play is what really makes the game shine. All of the games’ elements are melded together beautifully and it flows very smoothly. It is one of those games that gets you so involved that you almost forget where you are in the process. The platform element of the game is what seems to dominate, followed closely by the shoot ‘em up and adventure elements with the rpg elements trailing a little way behind. They all work perfectly. There are sections that play in a fast and furious fashion, which in turn work perfectly with the fact that every time you rise a level, you gain a more powerful weapon. Then there are sections of the game that are slow and contain adventure elements, which work perfectly with all the platform elements of the game.
It has been a while since I have played a game that feels this polished, while retaining a retro feel and I can’t recommend this game enough. Thumbs up.
Tested on Win XP.
Unknown.
Our Review For Cave Story
