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• Break On Through The Underside

  Announcements about fan-run game projects have a way of making us all slump our cheeks into our fists with a sigh. This could have something to do with the tendency of fan projects to never get anywhere. Oh sure, people gather and they talk all sorts of great ideas. That's the easy part. Then comes time to translate those big ideas into ones and zeroes. Suddenly, enthusiasm dulls. Everyone's too busy with work, school and peeling their flesh off their arm inch by inch, a far less painless endevour than programming game code. Six months pass since the last update, then a year. The forums because a ghost town. The hit counter starts to roll backwards. Somewhere, a big dog barks. But maybe we need these creative failures; they make us all the more receptive to great ideas that are seen all the way through. For instance, The Underside. Inspired by Cave Story (great!), The Underside features an adorable little cat-character in exploration-based gameplay (great!!) as he tears through his corrupt world with the aid of a chainsaw (YES!!). Read More... Posted Oct 15 2008, 05:31 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: metroid, earthbound, mother 3, cave story, fan projects, nadia oxford, the underside, fan games

• The Best News In Sixteen Thousand Years: Cave Story Coming to WiiWare

  Well, there were rumours about this possibly happening. I remained cynical and said, "Naaaaah," but I was just putting on my icy bitch act (wait, act?) to keep my heart from being broken. Oh the tears I shed at night in hopes that Pixel's beautiful Cave Story would come legitimately to WiiWare, XBLA, PSN, a Tiger Handheld game, anything that let me get my fix through a different means. And now, Praise Ballos... I've ripped through Cave Story forwards, backwards and upside-down; if someone wrote a Cave Story Gama Sutra, I would totally flip through it and nod confidently at, uh, half the positions, I guess. I haven't finished Hell, you see. I have reason to delay my attempts even further, since there are whispers that the WiiWare edition of Cave Story will have extra features. Fascinating. I wonder what they'll be? Probably Mega Man 9-style achievements that will validate our lives like religion and community service never could. Read More... Posted Oct 02 2008, 05:06 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: wii ware, cave story, pixel, nadia oxford

• EPIC Cave Story Medley on Piano

  He's not the first to adapt Cave Story's EPIC score to piano, but he's the first to post it to Youtube in a giant 24 minute suite. Check out Sebastian Wolff's video: It must have taken forever to transcribe those battle scenes! If there was any justice in the world, this cat would be invited to tour with Video Games Live and Daisuke Amaya, aka Pixel, would be given whatever award that goes to digital music composers (they have that, don't they?). This game was created by one dude, and his compositions rival those of any game. In the words of esteemed "dirty south" hip hop star T.I., "Creme de la creme, homey. Top shelf, ya know?" Download sheet music at Sebastian's site.   Related Links: Spelunking Through Cave Story Underpowered Cave Story "Ports" Action Button Top 25 Games Ever List Up Posted Sep 22 2008, 03:54 PM by Cole Stryker with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, cave story, video games live, soundtrack

• Yahtzee Says, Support Your Local Independent Developer (He's Right).

  If you're 1) a gamer and 2) not insane, then one of your favourite all-time games is Cave Story. Cave Story was planned, designed and developed by one demigod, the radiant Pixel. One of the greatest games of all time came from two arms, two eyes and one brain. Cave Story works so well because the graphics, sound, story and gameplay all compliment each other beautifully. But what if Pixel had proposed the title to, say, EA and had a hive mind work on the game? For starters, it would look and sound radically different because players today are all about the big noises and shiny things according to the Big Men In Charge (which is why Mega Man 9 has everyone leaping like dogs at a lambchop). The aesthetic shift alone would have sent Cave Story's delicate feng shui swirling down the toilet. Yahtzee talks about the importance of indie games this week, specifically Braid on XBLA. His argument for indie titles against corporate titles is that too many cooks spoil the broth—or rather, too many faceless men in suits destroy the original intent. Sometimes we all need to step back and clear our heads with games that don't stray far from the man or woman who originally thought up the idea. Read More... Posted Aug 27 2008, 06:42 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: yahtzee, zero punctuation, cave story, pixel, rant, atari 2600, braid, indie games, corporations

• Underpowered Cave Story "Ports"

  I've already done some mouthing off about how much I love Cave Story, the one-man miracle game that looks great, sounds great and plays better. Not surprisingly, Cave Story has a significant fandom. In fact, a member  at the Way of the Pixel forums recently posted a relevant challenge: whip up "screenshots" of what Cave Story might look like if it were ported to less-powerful systems. The results are amusing, especially the Spectrum ZX mock-up. I'd like to see something done in the style of the Apple ][ or better yet, the Commodore 64. Read More... Posted Jul 11 2008, 09:21 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: fan project, nes, commodore 64, adventure games, cave story, master system, fans, mock-up, spectrum zx

• Spelunking Through Cave Story

  Something in the air--I'm going to blame all that dang fireflower pollen blowing around out there--has me in a retro mood. For all the 3D delights I could be indulging in (my brother loaned me Guitar Hero III), I've recently made a happy return to Pixel's Cave Story. If you haven't played Cave Story, drop what you're doing and download it. No, I don't care if you're performing CPR on your half-dead mother, you simply must experience one of the most endearing and well-balanced 2D platformers ever developed. It's easy to find and it's free. You have no excuse. No, I don't care if trafalmadorians are lifting you into their saucer right this minute. Granted, I avoided Cave Story for years because the name sounded like some slow and winding "adventure" through a key-driven maze. "Cave Story" brings to mind cheap NES bargain-bin knockoffs that your well-meaning aunt would buy you at Christmas. Wow, thanks Auntie Shiela. I can't wait to throw this at the dog next time he gets into the garbage--I mean, I can't wait to play this. Read More... Posted Jul 03 2008, 05:29 PM by Nadia Oxford with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: 8-bit, retro, computer games, freeware, 2d, doukutsu monogatari, platforming, cave story, pixel, spelunking