Cave Story: Impossible in 3D but still better on 3DS

Grass zone

The problem I've always had with Cave Story is that the controls simply aren't tight enough. When platformers feel too loose, jumping is a nightmare. With the 3DS' analog nub, I hoped Cave Story's handheld transition would finally offer the fluid and responsive controls the game so desperately needs.

The PC version is the worst offender for wobbly controls. I've never found keyboards conducive to platformers and quickly lost the will to push through the increasingly more frustrating levels as my fingers fumbled over the keys. Perhaps I lack the innate skill so many people have to play games like this on a computer.... I don't think that's it, though. Keyboards simply aren't smooth enough.

That's why I eventually gave in to the WiiWare edition. Despite the dramatic increase in price from free to $12, I hoped having an actual D-pad to play Cave Story with would solve my problems. If you are unfamiliar with the Wii Remote's D-pad, you might be surprised to learn that it is also woefully unresponsive despite Nintendo's history with designing very solid controllers.

Cave Story 3D is my last hope for a responsive, enjoyable version of this game.

The first thing I do with any 3DS title is test how long I can stand to play it in 3D. For Cave Story, I lasted approximately three minutes before shifting the slider down to 2D in disgust. When I was in 3D mode, lining up very precise and treacherous jumps and trying to prevent the screen from blurring is just as clumsy as platforming with a keyboard. Cave Story 3D is the most persnickety game I had to contend with. It falls in and out of focus so easily that I could not see enemies before they had nearly killed me.

Without the 3D, however, this redesigned Cave Story is the most responsive and rewarding I've played. As I hoped, the analog nub is much more precise and allows for greater control over jumps and angles. The game is still incredibly difficult, but I feel more in control than ever before. But it's hard to call Cave Story 3D the definitive edition based on how abysmal the 3D support is.

Hey, maybe platformers shouldn't be in 3D to begin with, just like they shouldn't be played with keyboards....

Tags: Cave Story, Cave Story 3D

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Jonathan Oyama

November 03, 2011

How strange. I was more afraid that the 3D graphics would look abysmal, compared to the sprites of the original. The graphics look pretty good, though. It's like they made it look similar to the Klonoa style of plain textures.

A few comments though. I don't think Cave Story was ever meant to be easy. Half of the fun for me came from figuring out how to survive all those attacks in the first place.

I suppose some of the monsters could become easier on the hands if it had tighter controls, though. Monster X is still one of the most ruthless bosses. In that level of Gunstar Heroes-intensity, an analog nub would make the attacks easier to dodge.

For me, the DSi was my favorite version, because it had the music jukebox. I managed to unlock all except two of the songs on the jukebox. In case you're wondering why I haven't unlocked those two, it's because I have to beat the final stage of hell under a certain time.

It's one of those challenges that I could never beat for the life of me. I'm actually more afraid of tearing apart the analog nub in that section. Well, if I ever get a 3DS, that is.

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Jasmine Maleficent Rea

My quest for proper controls has nothing to with it being easy. I accept Cave Story's difficulty as I do Dark Souls'. It's meant to be difficult, but there's a difference between programmed and mechanical challenge.

In the earlier versions, I think Pixel was trying to get the Metroid floating effect. It probably gained more acceptance in Its indie days, because he didn't have the big expectations as a big-time developer.

But he probably should have worked the kinks out sooner when Nicalis remade it. Did you find the rocketpack in the game? Jumping becomes much easier when you obtain it, because you can launch yourself in four different directions, depending on how you press the D-pad.

And then there's also the hidden option of finding rocketpack version 2.0. The game really had all sorts of secrets that I had to figure out in the game. It took me forever to rescue Curly Brace.

Ron Dippold

The best controls for this so far (in my opinion) are on PC with gamepad, and then you tweak the heck out it till it responds just how you like it. Of course it's still a little loose since you can't get tighter than the game allows.

Isn't that more like hacking with the control scheme? Lol. Of course, maybe I should consider trying that out just so I can beat hell in an insane speed run.

Well I guess there's a bit of a fuzzy line there, but I just can't find it in me to consider making the controls work The Way They Should (TM) cheating.