cave story - 6/10
talking bout a ...
did a normal ending run (forgot to read the book with curly, my bad!), got through it in just a few days with small little play sessions. it's pretty decent, just... you know when you play a game, and you can feel that it was influential, completely get why, even want to revere it for what it's clearly done to inspire so much... and you just can't bring yourself to personally dig it all that much? i get that experience with cave story.
don't get me wrong! at the time, groundbreaking, amazing revelation that just one guy can make a full, fleshed-out metroidvania and release it and have a great many people play and enjoy it and effectively spearheaded the very beginning dregs of the more mainstream pushing of indie games.
playing it now, though? whoof. a few things here just frustrate me greatly, not least of all the baffling true ending requirements that i could never logically intuit and i only know of because of internet discussions. the combat feels sort of flat, where enemies are either one-shot no problem pushovers, or are like the worst enemies from super metroid on crack and steroids and bane's venom all at once. it feels like it arbitrarily picks moments where it wants to kick you in the dick, not on an actual difficulty progression basis but just.. kinda where it feels like it?
no, what makes me still attached to this game is the artistic side of it. i played with all of the original assets, including patching back in the original translation (seriously, fuck nicalis for removing all of this game's swag). it's a really cute, funny, wholesome little jaunt with many catchy little tunes and adorable little creatures, as well as some dumbass big creatures and some BAD BITCHES. MISERY SQUAD WE UPPP. such a gender goals character she's so pretty.
i may not jive with it as much these days nearly as much as i did as a kid playing it on wiiware but its still a pretty solid time, warts and all. i like it plenty! good ass game.
