Did you know that the witch-woman Jenka once had a brother? His name was Ballos. Like his sister, he wielded powers far beyond those of mortals... He led and protected the people with his magical power. They loved and trusted him. Even more than their own king...
Difference between revisions of "Cave Story"
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In one of the endings that the players can end up with following their choices during the game, the player might seek refuge to a remote mountain outside of the Doctor's control, alongside one individual, travelling on one of the last surviving baby dragons, the only vehicle available to escape a floating landmass in the sky. The individual is named Kazuma, who is the brother to one of the first people we met during the game's opening. | In one of the endings that the players can end up with following their choices during the game, the player might seek refuge to a remote mountain outside of the Doctor's control, alongside one individual, travelling on one of the last surviving baby dragons, the only vehicle available to escape a floating landmass in the sky. The individual is named Kazuma, who is the brother to one of the first people we met during the game's opening. | ||
By accepting defeat, you allow the abuse from the Doctor to | By accepting defeat and escaping, you allow the abuse from the Doctor to proceed, leaving the rest of Kazuma's family and all of your new friends to be used as army fodder and to be eventually destroyed. By giving up, you knowingly abandon contact with the rest of Kazuma's family, all of the Mimiga, and all of the other races you meet... This journey for refuge is portrayed as an silent, endless excursion to our own safety, leaving you to reflect on all of the people and places you've knowingly left in harm's direct path due to your unwillingness or inability to overcome a tyrannical colleague. Indeed, the [https://www.halcove.com/outer_wall/ outer wall] is an area that signifies one of the devastating and thought-evoking resolutions of Cave Story's story, a reminder to think deeply about your next choices when you feel like giving up. | ||
At the expense of every person you've started your new life with, whose team were you really on for the entirely of the scenario up to this point? The connections and bonds made thus far -- if your final choice was to give up and leave them to die for your own safety, were they ever of any value to you? Whatever the case might be, you' | At the expense of every person you've started your new life with, whose team were you really on for the entirely of the scenario up to this point? The connections and bonds made thus far -- if your final choice was to give up and leave them to die for your own safety, were they ever of any value to you? Whatever the case might be, you'll once again be heading into isolation. Together. | ||
== Lasting Impact == | == Lasting Impact == | ||
This game taught me the value of independence, not only from the events of the game, but also by virtue of being entirely conceived by one person. The synopsis of the Outer Wall above summarises only ''one'' of the complex narratives that the game has to offer. The story is one that I wish every person can experience, even if they don't play games themselves. This is why I started a webcomic conversion at [https://bloodstainedsanctuary.com/ Blood-Stained Sanctuary]. I plan to eventually finish this alongside a prequel going over the events leading to the | This game taught me the value of independence, not only from the events of the game, but also by virtue of being entirely conceived by one person. The synopsis of the Outer Wall above summarises only ''one'' of the complex narratives that the game has to offer. The story is one that I wish every person can experience, even if they don't play games themselves. This is why I started a webcomic conversion at [https://bloodstainedsanctuary.com/ Blood-Stained Sanctuary]. I plan to eventually finish this alongside a prequel going over the events leading to the war, which occurred shortly before Cave Story takes place. The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0H9GUGAtKs&list=PL0A12ED38862DB0F5&index=1 OST] is also phenomenal, allowing me to appreciate how music can make or break the atmosphere during an exposition. | ||
The PC freeware version of the game and its translations are available to download [https://www.cavestory.org/download/cave-story.php here]. | The PC freeware version of the game and its translations are available to download [https://www.cavestory.org/download/cave-story.php here]. | ||
Latest revision as of 05:23, 2 August 2024
Cave Story is a PC game created solely by developer Daisuke Amaya, known online as Pixel. He is credited as Studio Pixel in-game. It released in 2004, predating the widespread recognition of the "indie" video game genre. This game is where I get my profile picture from; the primary protagonist is a character sometimes referred to as Mr. Traveller. He has a real name, but that's neither here nor there.
洞窟物語 (doukutsu monogatari; "cave story") follows the events of a defeated warrior from a recent war, which took place between a floating sky island, and the surface below. He was left unconscious in a cave by himself for nearly ten years. He comes to his senses, but not without the loss of all of his weapons and retrograde amnesia, not even remembering his own name. Fending for himself until he encounters a legion of native inhabitants, he quickly is dropped into an ongoing crisis within a race of talking animals referred to as Mimiga. The traveller is soon laid witness to a murderous research doctorate, a person who arrived alongside colleagues to study the aftermath of the war, and also to research the force keeping this cavernous island afloat above the Earth. Along this narrative, the player is placed into positions of uncertainty as they balance self-preservation over the looming threat on life upon the island.
Around the time I started playing, I recently moved house and was forced into a new school, and going through the whole deal of finding my own place, new friends, typical childhood struggles. In what originally was a game I intended to find solace in to cope with these feelings, I found myself more concerned about the problems of the characters in this game. It's truly an experience I can't forget; a eleven-year-old whose main idea of "sadness" was 'being a little lonely', is now exposed to complex interpersonal interactions, such as being forced to destroy and avenge some of the innocent neighbors I've previously sworn to protect, as they are now a threat to the rest of society. During one of the possible endings of Cave Story, you traverse Hell itself in order to kill a physical embodiment of resentment and anger, who is the game's ultimate antagonist. Here is an excerpt from the game to give you a feel of the narrative:
Introduction[edit | edit source]
While the game outwardly boasts an inviting, whimsical atmosphere within its graphics and soundtrack, it is a volatile story that sometimes delves into heartbreaking situations that can leave a lasting impact on the player, testing their own morals and priorities in multiple scenarios. This form of atmospheric juxtaposition is by far my most favored, appearing also in games such as OMORI. And with its multiple endings, the narrative can become truly impactful to the player with every choice they make.
I was introduced to the game via the free WiiWare demo, as I was a child and had no access to funds to buy games with at will. Doing some research online about it, I found out that it has its origins on PC. And even better, on PC, it was free! Based on what I played in the WiiWare demo, and the archetypes I interacted with, sure as hell I would do all I could to get my hands on the freeware release and work my way through the story.
I came across the fan tribute website and downloaded the original game executable, which was around 2011 on a decrepit family laptop. The freeware release of Cave Story only ever released in Japanese; I was hooked on the game while playing a broken fan translation that on a version of the game that had no readable dialogue text; the morose atmosphere and upbeat soundtrack was enough to keep my attention and get a feel for the game.
I figured out how to fix the text shortly after, and on this version of the game, it was translated into English by an independent development group known as Aeon Genesis. Aeon Genesis had some contact with Pixel, so it is an official translation to some extent. Compared to the translation from Nicalis, which is a company that now has rights to the IP, the Aeon Genesis translation features more raw, unmitigated emotion from characters, contributing to more realistic conversations.
As I still prefer this translation compared to Nicalis's offering, I ported this Aeon Genesis translation to the most complete version of Cave Story+, available on Nintendo Switch.
Scenario[edit | edit source]
- Below this point will contain spoilers for the game, detailing one of the minor endings.
Just staring at the outer wall forces so many thoughts through my head... but overall, it represents the consequences of giving up.
A running theme in Cave Story is isolation, what with being left in a cave by yourself and having to relearn the world around you.
In one of the endings that the players can end up with following their choices during the game, the player might seek refuge to a remote mountain outside of the Doctor's control, alongside one individual, travelling on one of the last surviving baby dragons, the only vehicle available to escape a floating landmass in the sky. The individual is named Kazuma, who is the brother to one of the first people we met during the game's opening.
By accepting defeat and escaping, you allow the abuse from the Doctor to proceed, leaving the rest of Kazuma's family and all of your new friends to be used as army fodder and to be eventually destroyed. By giving up, you knowingly abandon contact with the rest of Kazuma's family, all of the Mimiga, and all of the other races you meet... This journey for refuge is portrayed as an silent, endless excursion to our own safety, leaving you to reflect on all of the people and places you've knowingly left in harm's direct path due to your unwillingness or inability to overcome a tyrannical colleague. Indeed, the outer wall is an area that signifies one of the devastating and thought-evoking resolutions of Cave Story's story, a reminder to think deeply about your next choices when you feel like giving up.
At the expense of every person you've started your new life with, whose team were you really on for the entirely of the scenario up to this point? The connections and bonds made thus far -- if your final choice was to give up and leave them to die for your own safety, were they ever of any value to you? Whatever the case might be, you'll once again be heading into isolation. Together.
Lasting Impact[edit | edit source]
This game taught me the value of independence, not only from the events of the game, but also by virtue of being entirely conceived by one person. The synopsis of the Outer Wall above summarises only one of the complex narratives that the game has to offer. The story is one that I wish every person can experience, even if they don't play games themselves. This is why I started a webcomic conversion at Blood-Stained Sanctuary. I plan to eventually finish this alongside a prequel going over the events leading to the war, which occurred shortly before Cave Story takes place. The OST is also phenomenal, allowing me to appreciate how music can make or break the atmosphere during an exposition.
The PC freeware version of the game and its translations are available to download here.
It is also available on pretty much any other platform via unofficial ports to PSP, DS, Genesis, and more.
Cave Story+ is the paid edition of the game offered by Nicalis, officially available on Steam, Wii Shop Channel, Nintendo 3DS eShop, and Epic Games Store. It also has a separate version called Cave Story 3D, released as a cartridge on Nintendo 3DS, released by NIS America in conjunction with Pixel.