"Learn how to drown in a safe environment!"

"All of this is in a threat-free environment!" My friend drowned in the pool of water the first time he played.

The only time I needed a guide was for the best ending because of how obscure the chain of events are to get that.

I reeeally like Cave Story, but I feel that the door with an eye at the beginning was a poor design choice. I leapt into it and died, the first time I played, which felt cheap. So what the game taught me there was that doors could be hazardous, but it was literally the only one in the whole game. It teaches the player to be wary of doors for no reason.

"safe rooms are frequent" mfw booster 2.0 during last cave

I actually didn't know the orange guy in the cemetery could be hurt that way, I always attacked him from behind, which works. Also, I NEVER KNEW BOSSES DIDN'T HURT YOU LIKE THAT!

No, Grasstown definitely feels like a fetch quest Fuckin love me some Cave Story though

4:23 "Trying to tank through an area is impossible" Speedrunners: So anyway we crash into misery so she can take only 1 hp then jump and spam swords as close as possible.

Cave Story was the game that said "Platform games aren't dead!"

Hey I just wanted to say that this was a really great overview. I love game design stuff, and you do a really good job at being thorough but also pleasant to listen to. Keep up the awesome work!

6:15 "Save rooms are frequent" Until the blood stained sanctuary that is.

4:00 "In a metroidvania title like Metroid or Castlevania" Well yeah....

Something else I think cave story did really well is encouraging you to keep going in the blood stained sanctuary. On most challenges like that, it becomes extremely annoying to keep trying it over and over and you begin to feel discouraged. However, in the blood stained sanctuary, it reveals a little bit about the story every so often, giving you a reason to keep going. You WANT to keep trying it over and over, because the more you try, the more you learn, unlike in most games where you feel like you have no reason to keep going except for the sake of completion.

Cave Story's Best Ending is often considered one of the negative aspects of the game, as it seems way too obscure, however there are clues that make it much more obvious than some would think. So here's a breakdown of a thought process, that after reviewing, is essentially an essay now so... enjoy. To begin, in the last save room before the final boss there are books that talk about both boosters and says that if nothing happens to him, he could make the better one. This tells the player that something might change if they find a way to stop his death. So if they replay it to see if they can get it, there are few times to interact with Booster, as he is only interactable in-between returning with Kazuma and Entering Sand Zone, minimizing seeing if there is something to do. Upon reaching the chasm, you see him fall, and since this is when one would receive the v0.8 and as such have Booster die, they must think of a way across. If they have the machine gun, they can just hover across, but if they don't they must find another way across, and with the experience of playing through the game, they might realize they can jump quite far, and get across the gap without help. The Tow Rope is found at the bottom of the Core room and it sparkles making it clear that it is there. Since the boss room fills with water, it is common that one will be stuck on the floor and see the sparkles, investigate, and receive it. Once the room floods, you are given a new line of dialogue that you don't remember, and it is given in a way you have not seen before, making it show that something is definitely different, and adding a character that you don't recognize. Inspecting curly allows you to take her with you, which makes it clear the story has changed for the better. In the normal ending, they quite clearly show the flooded room with curly there, meaning that taking her would change her path in the story. The waterway room follows shortly afterwards, and as one would naturally do, they go to the bed to heal and save. However, Curly stays in the bed, and since the computer is past the bed, it is likely inspected next, and it talks about the books. Upon successfully helping Curly, she talks showing that she is alive, meaning that leaving her wouldn't make much sense, as you have her O2 bubble and this is a water level, so one would naturally take her, but lose her in the waterway. Upon going back to Arthur's house, Booster appears, meaning that you can immediately tell that you have changed the course of the story, and are rewarded as such with the booster 2.0, and with such can access places they haven't before, such as where the spur is located. Upon arriving in the plantation, you see her again and she has no memories, and the Cthulhu mentions a mushroom that cures amnesia. The only mushrooms in the entire game is back in the graveyard, so one would go back there either by the teleporter or the long way around. There is an advantage to the long way, as it allows for the Little Man to be reunited with his family when you go to the Graveyeard. Upon talking the Ma Pignon, one could either immediately inspect the badge and find it's useless, or they go back all the way to find it is useless. If inspected immediately, they can quickly fight Ma Pignon and get the mushroom. If not, they will get have to go all the way back which is sure to make them mad at the little guy for being mean. Upon force feeding her, she then gives major backstory, and even your name, which is something that was never stated throughout the game, but other characters made it seem they knew you from the past, and clears up several questions. You receive the Iron Bond, which cements the best ending for you, which is clearly seen in the Last Cave, as it is harder and called hidden, meaning you have gotten onto a secret and better route, as 2 characters that were dead before are now alive. The best ending is quite clearly harder to get than one would think, but that makes sense. Some best ending however require you to utilize your knowledge to the fullest to get the best ending, be that with 100% completion or by going down a different path than normal. The reward for doing things much harder than normal? A harder last cave with an extra bonus boss, and then the Sacred Grounds. These are not expected to be gone into with little experience, you have to have played through the game entirely at least once to naturally find these, and it shows that you should have the abilities of someone who has played that much. So yes, there is a sensible path, and while I still think there is a flaw, namely with making the jump over booster and how the booster prevents the towrope from being obtained, there are breadcrumbs laid out that make it possible to naturally get the best ending through hard work.

Haven't finished watching the video, but the Health boost at the beginning is great design since it's just a LITTLE higher than the minimum jump height, so you learn you can jump higher by holding the button.

I think the reason why the best ending has such weird reasoning is that its almost impossible to find without a guide, which means you are prepared about the game and specifically the blood stained sanctuary because that place is hell, and people just casually playing the game without a guide will suffer a lot in that area.

18:30 I never used the map in my first playthrough (I played the 3DS version, which requires you to use the touch screen to access the item menu, something I only found out towards the end of my run). For the dark house in Sand Zone, I just shot the walls until I found a path to the dog!

I have always thought this game was a true genius masterpiece, and watching this has made me realize even more amazing things that the creator did with it. To me, the very only downside to this game is its length, and the fact that it never got a sequel/prequel. The soundtracks, the gameplay, the leveling-up weapons, and all those amazing boss fights... everything about it is so perfect. The level of amazing design and atmosphere this game has is incredible and I love every part of it. In fact... if someone knows any platformer games with similar gameplay... I'd be delighted to know.

One of the only problems with cave story is the fact that the internet spoiled the bloodstained sanctuary. It’s not meant to be gotten to immediately after beating the undead core, because you are expected to have played through the game dozens of times, mastering everything, and looking for secrets, that lead you to slowly piece together how to get to it. Which is why it has the highest difficulty spike I know of.

This was a great video, really made me realize how well designed it was. I always loved how Plantation used the title screen music, as if the game was telling you that "this is the final normal area of the game." This is further proven by when you take the shuttle up to the entrance to the final cave there is no turning back to the rest of the island, since before entering the final cave you could go back to wherever you wanted on the island, but once you enter the cave its all over. Really loved that even if it wasnt intentional.

"That would be a sadistic, frustrating and player unfriendly choice" Heavy Press: ._.xD

My favorite bit of game design is how it handles weapon upgrades. Now I'm not talking about the weapon leveling, I'm talking about what happens when a weapon is replaced. The first upgrade is the machine gun. While it may be useful in the sand zone and labyrinth, it is quickly replaced by the booster. Also, you can find the more versatile bubbler which performs better as a weapon when leveled up .The next choice is the snake, which has a wall piercing ability, but replaces two of your weapons. There will come times were you will wish you still had the fireball's rolling shots, and the snake's low projectile count can be limiting. Both of these weapons end up being sidegrades to a perfectly serviceable weapon. But then there is the spur. By returning the polar star to the hermit gunsmith, your honesty is rewarded with the best weapon in the game, a true upgrade that will be very useful in the final battles. The final possible weapon upgrade is the nemesis. For this weapon, you have to give up the blade. The blade is by far, the better weapon, even ignoring the nemesis's inverted leveling ability.It's more than just upgrading your weapons, it's making a MORAL choice. King gives you the blade3 with his dying breath, and if you fully level it, you se that his spirit lives on in the blade. That's not something you should ever trade away for some shiny gun.

15:57 "The only time *she* can damage you is when *he* punches", no, that's clearly a cinnamon roll.

"Failing a test doesn't kill you" *trying to do a certain hard jump in order to be able to unlock the good ending flashbacks*

I have seen so many essays on the storytelling of cave story its finally good to hear and understand why it is also a good game functionally.

For the room at 17:49, the simplest way is instead to shoot randomly and watch where your shot collisions against the available path.

I almost stopped playing this game and thought that this game was incomplete because of Egg Corridor. The requirements to advance and open the red barrier at the end was quite confusing for someone new to the game and had I not googled it (after taking a hiatus for a year or so), I might have never finished Cave Story and would've thought it's just another indie game.

12:17 was gold.

24:33 The labyrinth is kind of a drawn out slog to get through, but that makes sense. The labyrinth is supposed to be hard to escape, after all.

Late, I know, but i just wanted to say that I think that it is GENIUS how the game rewards players who challenge themselves by skipping the booster etc with the secret ending.

I also absolutely LOVE the way how to get the Spur. You have to go back to where you've found the Polar Star.

You were talking about starting the game in a safe room so you can learn and I immediately thought about how RE2 starts you off in the middle of a zombie swarm. A minute later you're talking about that very thing.

I actually got the best ending without a guide, the only thing I knew was “there is a rope that you need to carry curly” I knew someone who was a fan of Cave Story. I loved the game so much that I was not upset when messing up the good ending several times. My final goal with this game is beating Hard Mode, I had rage quit a few years back because of how hard the Blood Stained Sanctuary was with only 3 hearts.

5:43 This is called "in medias res" in storytelling. Dropping the reader/viewer/player into the middle of a story, usually to give a more impactful and chaotic start to a story. The middle of the story is usually slower, to give time for backstory and flashbacks.

Obtaining the best ending can take a couple playthroughs to do it naturally but it's not as impossible as people make it out to be. Not helping booster makes sense as it is hinted towards in two areas. The same pit he is in where the prof could fix the broken teleporter if he didn't give you the remaining electronics he has on him and the book later on the balcony with the book outright telling that he wanted to continue development on the thing. Allowing him to fix the teleporter means more time and that allows him complete the booster. Otherwise, helping Curly is also quite intuitive. The only thing I had a problem with was the tow rope that only appeared after a set amount of pre-requisits whereas there is no reason why anyone couldn't pick it up otherwise. The game could have just kept going by saving curly but still denying the more difficult version of the last cave but it felt that Pixel wanted the player to miss out on that and leave Curly behind in the room with all the other broken robots... which has an impact but could have done differently. The difficulty spike in the sanctuary is also a little bit high but this is for an optional ending after a series of secrets and that's pretty cool. It appears to be designed that someone who already played the game several times figures this out and is given a new challenge. The normal ending is already satisfactory so it's not something that is forced upon the player for some form of good ending.

To be fair, I'm not immediately defending RE2's decision for throwing you right into the chaos, but I believe the point actually was that they expected most players would have played the first. If you notice, RE 1 doesn't do that. You actually get a few rooms to yourself to figure things out before the first zombie comes after you. However, most every resident evil after that, with a few exceptions here and there, throw you into some sort of danger sequence from the very moment the game starts. I also believe it was to tie in with the whole horror theme it wished to portray.

Cave Story is one of the very few games I've ever been confident in describing it as "perfection." There's no filler, very few cryptic sections, (although saving Curly IS a bit player-hostile) excellent replay value, and it always keeps the difficulty at a perfect level. Likewise, this video is about as fantastic as the game. Seriously man, well done.

To be fair, Resident Evil 2 is a much different game, I felt that the WTF ZOMBIES factor and not being able to figure it out safely added to the tension of the game.

I would have to say if there's one criticism I'd have it's that there's some moon logic to the additional endings: I'm not sure how you're supposed to determine that _not_ helping the Professor is the right thing to do and helping him will somehow kill him, and it's quite easy to end up down there accidentally since the jump over the pit isn't the easiest thing in the world.

With how many times I’ve watched this video during quarantine I could easily quote this as a bedtime story to my grandchildren . Settle down now children and let grandma tell you how pixel is the grandfather of indie video games

(21:07) The instant death spike is not obscured by weapon icons. Even if the player fails to notice it, the player is inclined to use the space to the right to let the small spikes fall, causing all three spikes to miss.

Honestly I think the 2nd lvl is definitely the worst. While some backtracking is ok, it's a wee bit to much here. Also The flow is severely broken in the secret last level and getting there without a walk-through is almost impossible. Yet the game remains one of my favorites.

Cave Story has some very clever designs and I really like the game, but in my opinion it's not the perfection you make it out to be. E.g. the backtracking/fetch quest in the grasslands annoys me every time and the way to unlock the real challenge (hell) is so convoluted you are unlikely to find it without a guide. Still you manage to point out some good designs in your video, I just don't agree with every single one. :)

this is probably the best video i have seen in this channel . you should make more videos like this . Talking about a full game not just a mechanic because that just makes the video worth watching a lot more .

Cave Story is one of the greatest games of all time and the best indie game of all time. I need to buy it again on Steam. So much nostalgia.

You know, thanks for the idea. I am now going to set my alarm to Rive of The Valkyries

I have played this game 6 times and I still love it. I like how you really bring out all of the little things in this game and show its true value.

24:56 Toby Fox: Hold my quiche

And this is why Cave Story is one of my favorite games of all time. Fantastic video!

Great video, your explanation was on point and easy to understand. Thank you for doing what u do.

actually, the "unreachable" treasure at 17:19 can be reached without trading away your polar star, if you run right at the platform and jump at the enemy that jumps up below you it makes you bounce up to the treasure at the price of losing a bit of health. it's just another little puzzle you have to do if you chose not to take the machine gun

I saw this video and I recognized everything I did playing Cave Story

Nice overview and review, very in-depth!

Excellent video. Lots of detail!

"He's a toaster" Huh, apparently Pixel himself has stated that Balrog was based off of a bar of soap.

Great content my man 👍👍 Enjoyed it muchly

Excellent Analysis-Subbed.

Thank you very much for this vid lol. I now understand why the entire game was so confusing. I never got the map until I got the Booster v2.0 and had to backtrack to the graveyard to save Curly Brace... I then coincidentally found it. Not to mention I never found the sign saying I can pass through certain blocks until after I got 3 of the dogs this way. I was really confused.

Subscribed! I love these deep analysis :)

24:56 Wait till this guy plays Deltarune.

this is a great video. I enjoyed cave story so much, always wanted to replay the game. now I will do it. good ending mode.

Really well made video and analysis, keep it up 😊

The first time I played through Cave Story, I escaped with Kazuma and I didn't know it was a bad ending.

Such good explanation!

Thanks for this video. This is a great channel also!

That was great, good job!

Another thing i noticed about balrog asking if you want to fight him is that the game makes sure that you know you're descisions matter. In most games except CaveStory that i have previousely played, yes/no questions did NOT matter, such as in pokemon when professor oak asks if you want to fill the pokedex (he forces you).

Beautifully done video The last ending was so hard,that it broke my will.I had to use mod to get past it,to see the ending

Awesome explanation of this game's genius!

Subbed! thanks for this great videos! I am a Game Developer so...it is useful for me ^^ thanks again!

Really great video, hope you get more views~!

Great analysis.

I don't care if grasslands feel like a fetch quest. Some of the best music in the game right there (And that's saying something) Just means more time to rock out. I agree that the true ending is nearly unfindable without a guide, but it DID add a whole extra playthrough worth of replayability to the game for me.

the backtracking in bushlands and sand zone are greatly remedied in the switch version, where you can carry more than one jelly jar at once, and you can stack all 5 dogs at once in sand zone.

amazing video my friend!

8:16 - Well, no, not really, there's no way you checked what's in the upper part of the map. You'll get there much later in the game.

17:15 You can also damage boost to get there, which even further cements how good the level design is imo

Erik Coburn's favourite game. (Part of the Thomas Brush team behind Pinstripe/Once Upon a Coma). "It was the first game I played that showed the impact a single developer can have on the industry. It showed that it doesn't take a complex story to have a long lasting impact on a player."

I think it would be amazing if someone modded games to break these fundamental rules of game design. It would be a fun way to hopefully illustrate how game design works. And I don't just mean something like "Kaizo Mario" that is too hard, I mean if you changed graphics and level design in such a way that things didn't "flow" as well or something. It could be fun, but sounds like a lot of work.

the arms shield at 17:22 isnt actually unreachable without the machinegun/booster. right before it there is a small ramp and one of those jumping enemies which barely appear in the level at all. Players might remember that taking damage knocks you around a bit and take the ramp and enemy as an invitation to do just that. damage boosting off the jumping jelly right as its at the apex of it's jump will get you in there relatively easily which is pretty nice. at first i thought i was breaking the progression of the game when i discovered this my first playthrough but after noticing that the only other enemy around was the cockroach it became kind of obvious.

It would be very cool to have an analysis on the differences between each version of the game.

I don't agree with all of your points (mainly the difficulty, the 2nd area, and the caves) but god damn it, I can at least see where your coming from (point being well made, citing evidence, etc). Well done, subbed.

this channel is wonderful thanks !

Is it really a bad thing that RE2 defies the "Safe Room" concept? It's more overwhelming than it should be, but it's also a horror game. Throwing you into a tense situation off the bat seems like just setting the tone. Liked the rest of the video however, although the Plinkettisms and memes felt a bit jarring.

This game was pretty good I found most of the secrets the bubbline almost all of the life capsules I got stuck at the plantation so I decided to go on normal mode instead of easy got the SPUR after I found out my mistake it was really fun also I almost left booster but I decided to rescue him.

17:39 "okay, we'll throw you a bone" while the enemies are throwing bones at you

Great video

One thing I love about the choice to get the bad ending is that it's excellent motivation to continue on through the final stretch. You're faced with certain doom, a lot of the characters you've known have died, and you're given an active choice if you want to just up and leave. If you do leave, you feel guilty through the sheer act of your actions and their deaths being for nothing. Everything you've known so far in the game world and all you've done, left behind for the sake of your own life. It makes you want to go back and fight with determination, give meaning to the deaths of the people you met, and end the cycle of destruction. It's excellent storytelling and it's fantastic at giving you a reason to fight. You do it because you have the opportunity, and you take it, not out of force but from your own determination.

ur able to get the arms barrier thing with polar star jump and use that boost using the purple criter damage jump

Fascinating

Brilliant analysis. Thanks. Game designers take note.

Actually I wake up to though the fire and flames. I'm a heavy sleeper, and I need to wake up

So, started the game blind just yesterday. I fell into the village. First I've walked around, checked everything, talked to the few people, visited some houses. Saved at the very beginning because it was the first building. I've spend a few minutes finding the map, the garden with its heart container and so on. The left room with the water was actually my last room. In this room I didn't get the item under water at first - I thought, the animation should be bubbles that refill my air. Kinda looked like it and this is a known concept. After a second or so I saw my Air still depleting, then I "used" the bubbles and got the item. However, my air was not enough to get out alive. I died there. The game asked me if I'd like to try again. And you know what happened? Did I start in the same room? Did I keep any items, or upgrades? No, I've started back at the save point I've activated in the very beginning before all hat exploration. No checkpoint before a death trap in the tutorial. Of course I could have used thatsave point more often, but you don't think about this in a peaceful hub world, do you? So I've quit the game after a few minutes with the opinion that this might be one of the worst designed games I've played in some time. Watching this video right now to see if the game really sucks that hard. Hm. Does not seem to, does seem to be well made. Still, my blind and first experience shows: It's not as clever or obvious as it seems - it is one of those games that frustrate you already in the tutorial hub world. Wow.

Masterful analysis

YOU KILLED THE FISH BYE BYE ACHIEVEMENT :DDDDDDD

when I played Cave Story I didn't notice the map and didn't pick it up. I didn't trade the polar star (I think I did it at first and didn't like the machine gun so I reloaded my save), I didn't know how much easier the platforming got! I think I knew there'd be a jet pack so I assumed the higher treasures were for when I got it. I didn't know that that dark room was so much easier with the map, that's much more reasonable. also I never bothered to get the best ending

22:05 or perhaps there isn't a victory jingle just to amplify the drama of just how BAD things have suddenly become. (King dies, You have to kill Toroko to survive and Misery completes her objective *anyway* after Balrog attacks Jenka for the key. Then he lands on you and Misery sends to the garbage heap.)

Cave Story has been one of my favorite games for almost 5 years now. i dont think anything is gonna surpass it. Zelda in second, Skyrim in 3rd, and Assassins Creed in 4th.

Great video! would love to see one on Resident Evil 4 or REmake.

17:21 you can actually damage boost up there due to the very conveniently placed critter.