Cave Story

Cave Story is one of the best games I've ever played. I don't say that lightly. I mean, as in, Cave Story is in the top five of my all-time favourite games.

This is one of the first games that I've obsessed over. I'll let you in on a little secret – I'm really not much of a videogamer, to be honest. Sure, I think they're interesting, and I spend a lot of my time with them, and sometimes I think they're fun, but I honestly very rarely spend more than an hour per playtime actually playing a single game. Cave Story is different, though. It hit some sort of nerve, something deep within myself – that same Matthew who has played more Super Mario Bros. 3 than any other game I've ever owned. If I had had Cave Story at the age I was obsessing over SMB3, I would have been obsessing over Cave Story instead.

OK. Here's another way to put it. I have these games sitting, waiting to be played: Metroid Prime Trilogy, Majora's Mask, Super Paper Mario, Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII, NHL 2K10, Skate It, The Orange Box, Sky Crawlers, and Ogre Battle 64. I haven't even thought about playing any of them, because Cave Story rules that much.

You're probably saying, "enough with the hyperbole!" But every single aspect of this game rules. For one, it's one of the most insanely enjoyable experiences I can think of. The game plays like Super Metroid, but with easy to understand controls that make every action, so, so satisfying. Flying through the air and using your machine gun as a jetpack is one of the best things ever.

Or how about the incredible story that's presented in a completely unusual fashion. You're dropped into the game with no idea of who you are or what you're doing there. And little by little, you start to pick up fragments of the story until you realize, "holy shit. This is one of the best game plots ever." I don't want to tell you anything about it in case you decide to pick up the game, because the discovery element is the best part of it. There's a sequence where you have to get an old lady's dogs for her, and each time you bring her back one of the dogs, she casually informs you about huge elements of the plot. It's so charming and so effective.

The game looks and feels like a Super Nintendo game, but it's better than every Super Nintendo game I've ever played (well, except maybe Chrono Trigger…). It has depth in abundance. I could seriously lose myself in this game, exploring every nook and cranny. If I didn't have a full-time job, I'd probably be in the throes of full-on addiction (to counteract this, I've made sure I have Cave Story with me wherever I go – it's installed on my work computer and my personal laptop, too). Cave Story puts all "retro revivals" to shame.

In case you weren't aware, Cave Story was written, programmed, designed, and scored by ONE GUY. That one guy, Daisuke Amaya (otherwise known as Studio Pixel), has just become my new favourite game developer. Cave Story was originally released as a freeware PC game back in 2005. Now, in 2010, it's been re-released on the WiiWare service. You might wonder why you should pay $12 for a game you can get for free, but that's like asking, "why should I play MarioKart on my TV when I could emulate it for free?" The WiiWare release is like a laundry list of awesome features: enhanced graphics and sound, a new and funnier translation (there's a boss named Balrog who, in the original version, entered into every scene with the phrase "Huzzah!" In the new translation, it's so hilarious when he enters and says "Oh Yeahhhh!!!"), a new story mode where you can play as secondary character Curly Brace, a boss attack mode, the option for the original graphics and sound, and more. Oh, and you can play it with the NES style Wiimote controls, which blows the keyboard setup on computers out of the water.

Simply put: you need to get this game, by any means necessary. It epitomizes the type of game that we here at Vigigames are looking for, and a game that more games need to be like. Nintendo should just start paying out of pocket for Studio Pixel to make games for them. Usually when I finish reviewing a game, I don't play it again out of necessity – hell, there's new games that need to be reviewed coming out every week. I can already say that that's not the case with Cave Story. I'm going back to it as soon as possible. Had it not originally come out in 2005, I can confidently say it would be my Game of the Year, hands down. It might even be Game of the Decade.