GAME: Cave Story

And now time for something completely different, which is similar to a few other well known games, yet retains such a unique feel of its own. It's Doukutsu Monogatari! I mean, Cave Story!

Legend has it that this game was created by one single man, Daisuke Amaya, who wasn't even specially trained in the many set of skill that are pulled together to create great video games. He wasn't a professional writer, heck, he didn't even know how to read or write music, and yet this game has some of the most memorable and catchy tunes I have ever heard. Even if that story turns out being fake, well, we are still left with an incredible story, a Cave Story.

Cave Story is an action platformer video game that was inspired by other classic NES games such as Megaman, Metroid, and Castlevania. Few similarities can be seen through the gameplay, yet Cave Story manages to capture its own feel and a slightly different style of play. It's a game about jumping and shooting... downward, and upward as well.


You play as boy robot. (But you don't know that, yet, because you woke up with AMNESIA!) You make your way out of the small cave that you found yourself in and you find a small village of bunny-like creatures called Mimigas. Turns out that there is an mad doctor who is kidnapping these people one by one and it's up to you to help them out.

I'll say that the story itself is quite engaging. Sure, it's a simple game at first but then you'll find yourself moving along just to find out what happens next. By the end of the game, you would have talked to many characters for such a small game and there will be several things happening at once in the plot. Though the game itself is quite linear, in terms of the levels you will play through, the game has multiple story endings, each affected by the responses that you give to characters in the game. In addition to the linearity, there aren't really any side quests, which helps the plot move along a lot faster. Pretty much every favor you carry out moves things along. Just as a forewarning, this game does feature quite a bit of back tracking.

Cave Story's gameplay is solid. As the boy robot with a gun, you can jump and shoot in both directions, aim upwards, and shoot down from above while you are in the air. Throughout the game you can find other weapons to utilize in your arsenal. The main mechanic that made this game stand out apart from the rest is the "Level" system. When you defeat enemies they drop Doritos, and eating these Doritos offers grants your weapon Double XP. Gain enough Experience for your weapons and they'll become more powerful. However, this "Level up System isn't simply a "nowhere but up" kind of deal.

Taking damage has more consequences than simply losing HP. Your weapons are also downgraded slightly and will "Level Down" if enough damage is taken and enough Doritos are thrown up in the process. (No, you cannot pick up barfed out food and eat it again. This isn't Sonic the Hedgehog.) But not to worry. Although the game is quite challenging, it's a very forgiving game. Some of the bosses aren't hard to defeat and they even spawn minor enemies that still drop Doritos for your weakened weapons and Hearts for your weakened body. But remember, this game is still challenging, and it'd be unwise to not save often as you will start out from your last saved state if you die. Making it through the stages is probably where most of the difficulty comes from as they are usually crowded by many enemies and there are many environmental hazards scattered throughout the game, especially in the later stages.

I recommend this game to everyone, especially since it's FREE! [It's a free game, and it's a great game.] That right, this game is a freeware game; well, at least the original is free. You can download the original version of the game, the version that I played, from this website. Cave Story is available for purchase in the remastered versions Cave Story+ [On the Nintendo eShop, Wiiware, and Valve's Steam Store] and Cave Story 3D [For Nintendo 3DS].

I still wonder why this game is called Cave Story.

GAME: Platformerman

Talk about video games? Alright, I'll start off with something simple. Platforming games are one of my favorite genres of video games, the kinds where your character jumps from platform to platform while avoiding bottomless pits. These are games like Super Mario, Megaman, the original Ninja Gaiden. But here is a game that I downloaded a couple of years ago after a friend recommended it to me that I just recently dug up from some old files. Platformerman.

Yes, it's Platformerman, the game where you become Platformerman, a "man" who jumps from platform to platform, wall crawling up surfaces to rescue his friends and explode his enemies out of existence. And he does this in a race against time! Did I mention that he can blow things up along his path?

Platfromerman is a platforming style game that makes a statement about how video games don't necessarily require fancy "next generation" graphics to be enjoyable. When my friend told me about this game I laughed because it was obvious what kind of game it would be, the question on my mind was: "What does Platformerman look like? What kind of world does he trek?" At first I was slightly hesitant since I had to download the game (At the time I wasn't a fan of having to download flash games just to play them) but I gave it a chance anyways. To my surprise, Platformerman is just a cyan square. [For now] Everything in the game is made of square and there is no fancy world. Just a black void and gray squares.

The game runs smoothly and the controls are very responsive. The levels are quite challenging and I'd say that it is an enjoyable game. It also doesn't take very long to load. The version of the game beta I downloaded back then had 10 levels. The website is http://www.platformerman.com/ and here is a trailer for the game.

Just look at him go! That music is also very nice. [The game features no soundtrack.] 

I like to imagine what he could really look like.

I recommend this game.

Ascending a Tower of Heaven

And now it is time for something completely different; but boy, do I just love finding awesome things on the internet! Recently I found a flash game called Tower of Heaven. It is challenging platformer game, but it is very short and has a simple story to follow it. In addition to being a simple game with a simple narrative, the music is great! I am a fan of video game soundtracks and the songs in Tower of Heaven are some of the best (chiptune) music I have ever heard. (They are probably the best chiptune only songs I have heard.)

To Set the mood here is my favorite song from the game.

Now, I don't want to spoil any story details because I'd like for you all to try playing this game, or at least to check it out if you find it too difficult and not worth your time. However, what made this game unique to me was its plot device to justify the increasing difficulty of its levels. In the game, you are assigned new laws to follow as you run through each level, and breaking those laws results in divine wrath. Overcoming these challenges made it much more satisfying to complete the game, especially with the story's touching ending.

What I find very appealing about this flash game is the quality of its craft. I actually found this game when I stumbled upon a "demake" of Super Smash Bros. called Super Smash Land. The purpose was to make a "Gameboy version/port of Super Smash Bros.", and watching the promotional video for that game actually made me believe that Tower of Heaven was some obscure Game Boy release that only a small fan base would have remembered, since a level was added to Super Smash Land that carried over elements from the original flash game. 

But as it turns out, Tower of Heaven is only a couple of years old. The game can be played on Newgrounds and is available for download (for free) on the creator's website. The music is made by Flashygoodness. If you are a fan of good catchy video game music, flashgames, or platformer games, then this should be worth your time to look into. As I've said, it's a challenging game but it's short and possible to beat. And, remember to follow each of the Commandments... I mean, the Laws!