History VideoGame / CaveStory

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Storyline-wise ''and'' gameplay-wise. The bonus dungeon and the bonus boss ''will'' make you their bitch. The bonus dungeon starts off with tricky jumps that require pin-point accuracy and 1337 skills with your jetpack, as well as a dash of [[TrialAndErrorGameplay trial and error]]. Then there's the next room, where there's a crapload of debris falling from the ceiling, which is very difficult to dodge as well as a bunch of evil cherubs [[ZergRush zerg rushing]] you. The NEXT room consists of MORE evil cherubs [[ZergRush zerg rushing]] you as well as bigger cherubs throwing debris as you, with some PlatformHell thrown in for good measure. In this room, however, you're given a saving grace in the fomr of an old ally [[spoiler: Curly]] tied to your back that, while EXTREMELY useful, takes a bit of getting used to. Then, you have a BossBattle that you probaly won't be on enough health to survive unless you've memorised its patterns -- and even when you DO, after it dies it pulls off a KaizoTrap that can catch you unawares. After you've done all that, it's time to take on the BonusBoss with three forms, none of which are a pushover in any sense of the word. Also, [[CheckPointStarvation you have to do ALL THAT without ANY save points]] or health stations, meaning you have to do it all in one run. Oh, did I mention the fact that the SCREEN IS RATTLING LIKE CRAZY THE WHOLE TIME, which only serves to make the whole sequence harder!? EarnYourHappyEnding? If you manage to complete this BonusLevelOfHell, you deserve a ''trophy''. Oh, and there's a bonus for completing the whole thing, BonusBoss and all, [[spoiler:in under six minutes]]. Better hope you saved your Life Pot...

* ButThouMust: Subverted. [[spoiler:If you save curly, then go to the mushroom to get his cure for her amnesia]], he will say, "But in reality, you don't really want this, right?" Upon answering no, he'll say, "You really want it that bad?" Answer yes, and he says, "Are you sure you want it?" Answer yes, and he says, "But in reality, you don't really want this, right?" Answer no, and he'll finally give the Mushroom badge. [[spoiler:It really ''isn't'' what you want, although you still have to get it to get what you do want.]]

* FridgeHorror: How many Mimiga children is Curly Brace raising? Four. [[spoiler:On the balcony, how many frenzied Mimigas are there? Four... Firmly cements the Doctor as a CompleteMonster.]]
** Some of the sidequests can invoke this depending on [[spoiler:the ending]] that is being invoked, espcially the [[spoiler:Normal ending]] whilst holding [[spoiler:Mr. Little]] inside your inventory. indirectly, you may have [[spoiler:killed his entire family by destroying the Undead Core and causing the island to plummet to the Earth, he still says ""...Aren't you forgetting something?!"]]
** Not to forget the [[spoiler:red flowers in Arthur's basement. The Red Demon has suspiciously rabbit-like appendages on its head...]]
*** Visiting Jack around the time you go to Sand Zone nets you some exposition, revealing that [[spoiler:Arthur actually banished the Red Demon from Mimiga Village before The Doctor even came along, thus earning his title of "Hero".]]
** When you're in the Plantation, you can find [[spoiler:Sue, Jack and Mahin in jail.]] Later, [[spoiler:when you're sent there,]] two are accounted for... [[spoiler:Where did Jack go???]]

**** Wow, I learned something today. The [[spoiler:flower petals]] still qualify as Fridge Horror for me, though. Look for a WMG about "substance abuse".

*** Visiting Jack around the time you go to Sand Zone nets you some exposition, revealing that [[spoiler:Arthur actually banished the Red Demon from Mimiga Village before The Doctor even came along, thus earning his title of "Hero".]]

Daisuke has confirmed that a sequel is very, very likely.

Its breeding ground on the English-speaking Internet is [[http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/ here]]. Due to its popularity, there have been many ports. There's a Mac OS X port available [[http://www.wctc.net/~luvmimac/cavestory/ here]], and a Linux port available [[http://www.cavestory.org/downloads_1.php here]]. A port to the original Xbox also exists, as well as a [[http://dl.qj.net/psp/homebrew-games/cave-story-psp-rc1.html PSP port, here]] (requires custom firmware).

Daisuke has confirmed that a [[AndTheFandomRejoiced sequel is very, very likely.]]

* BossArenaRecovery: Due to how the game's weapon energy system works[[hottip:*:Weapons have [[LevelUp levels]]. Most defeated enemies drop energy crystals, which can -- similarly to experience points -- be picked up to level up the currently selected weapon, but if you get hit, the current weapon loses energy and, if no energy is left, is delevelled.]], most ''CaveStory'' bosses are {{Mook Maker}}s, {{FlunkyBoss}}es or have item-dropping projectiles to allow you taking the drops.

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: In most PC games, pressing the Escape key will pause the game and bring up a save/load/quit menu or somesuch, and pressing Escape again will close the menu and send you back to the game. In ''CaveStory'', pressing Escape brings up the menu -- and pressing Escape again ''quits the program without confirmation.''

** [[TheDragon Misery]] is subject to this a LOT of times, but instead of her being upstaged, it's her not bothering to fight you, instead [[spoiler: powering-up Balrog to fight you, summoning a gigantic monster from beneath the sand, and simply throwing you into the Labyrinth, which you spend a third of the game trying to escape]]. It's cathartic when you finally get to take her on.

* ApocalypseHow: Never explicitly spelled out, but [[spoiler: the first time berserk mimigas reached the surface, humans built a small army of robot soldiers to go to the island and kill everything there. Crazed mimigas under the control of the Doctor could easily lead to societal collapse, because he is smart and insane enough to wipe out civilization as we know it.]]

* ActionGirl: Curly Brace. She's never incompetent in combat [[GameplayAndStorySegregation when the player is given the opportunity to fight with her]] (in either sense.) However, she badly suffers from the WorfEffect off-screen, and is nearly killed by the Doctor and his minions (the main character didn't fare any better the first time around.)

* ActionGirl: Curly Brace. She's never incompetent in combat [[GameplayAndStorySegregation when the player is given the opportunity to fight with her]] (in either sense.) However, she badly suffers from the WorfEffect off-screen, and is nearly killed by the Doctor and his minions (the main character didn't fare any better at the time.)

* ActionGirl: Curly Brace. She's never incompetent in combat [[GameplayAndStorySegregation when the player is given the opportunity to fight with her]] (in either sense.) However, she badly suffers from the WorfEffect off-screen, and is nearly killed by the Doctor and his minions (the main character didn't fare any better.)

* ActionGirl: Curly Brace. Although she does get beaten up several times, requiring the player to save her, and takes it upon herself to raise a group of orphaned Mimiga children, she's never (at least from a [[GameplayAndStorySegregation story perspective]]) incompetent in combat when the player is given the opportunity to fight with her, in either sense.

** BadassAdorable: You and Curly. Heck, due to the art style, nearly all the badasses are like this, but those two really take the cake.

* AccidentalPervert: The hero after finding his partner's panties, even more 'cause they have no use and just lay there in the inventory, [[spoiler:however they unlock owner of those panties as a playable character in the Plus version]].

* AccidentalPervert: The hero after finding his partner's panties, even more 'cause they have no use and just lay there in the inventory.

** Getting the Super Missile Launcher in the {{Steam}} version nets you the achievement [[Film/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut "Super, thanks for asking!"]]

** Getting the Super Missile Launcher in the {{Steam}} version nets you the achievement [[SouthPark "Super, thanks for asking!"]]

* WarringWithoutWeapons: Oddly averted. When the protagonist is captured in the Plantation, he gets thrown in jail at one point, but his captors don't bother to take any of his weapons away.
** But they didn't need to. He apparently couldn't find a way out before reading the note. If anything, it's THAT they should have taken away.

Also, it's [[http://www.cavestorywii.com/ on the Wii]], DSIWare, and [[http://www.tuaw.com/2011/09/09/cave-story-out-for-the-mac-app-store-with-new-content/ the Apple Mac Store]] as now you can pay for it. [[http://www.gamesradar.com/f/cave-story-remake-announced-for-3ds/a-2011021016228990012 It's also available for the 3DS as a remake with complete 3D, new content, and more!]] And UpdatedRerelease called ''Cave Story+'' (Cave Story Plus) has been released on ''{{Steam}}'' on November 22nd, 2011.

Also, it's [[http://www.cavestorywii.com/ on the Wii]], DSIWare, and [[http://www.tuaw.com/2011/09/09/cave-story-out-for-the-mac-app-store-with-new-content/ the Apple Mac Store]] as now you can pay for it. [[http://www.gamesradar.com/f/cave-story-remake-announced-for-3ds/a-2011021016228990012 It's also available for the 3DS as a remake with complete 3D, new content, and more!]]

** Quote and Curly Brace themselves cameo as fully-playable classes (if on opposing teams) in ''Gang Garrison 2''.