This is where I'll post my game-related rambles. Sometimes it'll be a review, other times maybe not.
I'd like to start with
Cave Story for Switch, since I've just beaten it to another, three-ending, bloody pulp.
I just want to start by saying that I am already a big fan of Cave Story and Daisuke Amaya's things, as you can quote from anywhere on this forum. Adding to this fact, I generally prefer my playthroughs to be more original-oriented than new/"updated," in terms of how Nicalis likes to spit-shine these already great games with more detailed graphics and altered music. The new sprites they've made look nice, and the remixed music isn't bad (I'll touch more on these topics below), but if given the choice I'd opt for the classics.
Rather than waste your time with another review of a game we all already know, I just wanted to talk about the differences/changes they made for this version. I'll also post about what all this iteration includes in case you're wondering. Below is everything that I noticed was different with the game when compared to previous playthroughs. This might not be definitive so feel free to leave a comment if I missed something.
Visual Differences-The biggest blow is that there is no classic sprite option. Seriously, I've checked everywhere and gotten every ending; it's just not there. The missing option to have it isn't game-breaking in the slightest, it would have just been nice to include. Even cave story 3D let you use the 2D sprites in the new 3D rendered levels (a la paper mario), which was badass. Similar treatment here would have been nice to have, especially for those of us who prefer the original, simplistic designs.
-Water and lava throughout the game now looks and acts more like a liquid rather than it's previous slight color filter. The it moves and wakes when you touch it and they've added visual distortion which actually looks pretty cool. I'm not too big of a fan of the way the lava looks (see the last cave). It's just transparent, red-tinted water, and it loses the immediacy that it once had in previous renditions.
-Sprite animations have been added for the dialogue, which I think looks fantastic. Fits right in.
-They've also added this lighting effect that basically darkens everything and adds a bit of radiance to you, so you tend to light up the area you occupy. If I remember correctly, your weapon's bullets do the same. I'm indifferent, it's hardly noticeable.
Audio Differences -With each new iteration of Cave Story comes some new fiddling around with the music. This time they've added what they call the "Famitracks." This version is the original music using the Famicom sound chip, and I've got to say, I think it's pretty rad. Below is a comparison:
-Right out of the box all four versions of the soundtrack (original, +(wiiware), remastered(3D/+), and Famitracks) are available for you to choose, as well as to swap out whenever desired. The Jukebox (sound test) is also available from the start, and like in previous versions adds tracks as you encounter them in the game. (After completing hell I think it just gives you Toroko's theme and White (King's Theme). Prior you had to beat hell with certain record speeds to unlock these tracks, but they were added to my jukebox simply upon completion of the final ending).
About the jukebox: -The Wind Fortress music is the same for the +(WiiWare) and Remastered versions, but the music is native to the remastered ost (Wind Fortress wasn't included in the wiiware version).
-The track White doesn't loop correctly for the + version, and unlike everything else from that soundtrack it isn't completely rearranged (sounds more like the percussive stuff was just tweaked). If I remember correctly, it also wasn't included in the wiiware version, so Yann van der Cruyssen probably didn't even create a new version.
Gameplay/Story Differences-Control-wise, they've added a strafe mechanic that locks your target direction, allowing you to focus on the target while moving. It's absolutely necessary for Ballos's first form. You activate it by pressing LZ or RZ, so if you're not a fan of it you can ignore it just fine.
-You can now stack Jellyfish Juice in order to reduce the amount of backtracking in the Bushlands. To be honest, I didn't even realize this until leaving the Bushlands, because the way this was originally designed allowed you to always be passing by the big jelly when you needed it. I should have seen how many you could carry at once, but I didn't.
EDIT: Just a little update: you can only stack two jellyfish juices. Chako's text is altered to confirm this.
-The Sandzone Jenka dog hunt part has been altered substantially. Now, like the jellyfish juice, you can stack Jenka's dogs. Also, the dog that previously hung out near the door to the warehouse now hangs out above that area, on the way to Omega. The pros: if you would prefer to round them all up first, you can do so without having to stop by Jenka each time or making the long trek to and back from the warehouse. The con is that now upon returning all of the five dogs (either all at once or individually (yes I tried both)), Jenka will akwardly tell you to leave her house and reenter, which will cause the Balrog scene to occur. Previously, this scene would just happen upon returning the last dog. Between the two, I'd prefer the way it originally was because it just works better. Also, while traveling to the dog near the warehouse might have been considered a chore before, it was necessary to familiarize yourself with sandzone. To players starting with this version, one won't even know where Balrog escapes to once he steals the key, unlike before when you can get their ASAP since you've been there already.
-As for the button layout, you have the option to swap the jump and fire buttons, in case you didn't grow up playing video games and don't know which is supposed to be which. In my opinion, I think the WiiWare version was the most satisfying to play because the buttons on the controller were horizontal, like an NES controller (which is what I prefer for these types of games).
Challenges:Listed below are the included extra challenges that you unlock one at a time by playing the main game. Beat hell and you'll unlock them all. Your best completion times are recorded and there's an online leaderboard (both friend-wide and worldwide). A minor complaint about this menu is that if you press back after selecting an option, it returns you to the top of the list rather than the option you were on. Often times I pressed back and input the direction for the option I wanted to select only accidentally select the wrong one because of this. It's weird.
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Machine Gun Challenge lets you play as Curly with the machine gun and booster 2.0. Race to the finish through an easy handful of levels. I was able to run through it on my first try, so unlike the following challenges this one isn't that difficult.
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Sandpit lets you play as Quote with only the fireball through a sandzone/labyrinth-esque series of levels. I haven't beaten this yet and am not sure if I care enough to do so. It's okay so far.
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Sanctuary Time Attack lets you replay through the Hell level of the main game. You can choose your setup and order of weapons beforehand though. Interesting enough, you can choose both the sword and the nemesis (which, in game would be an either-or decision). You cannot choose both the polar star and the spur though (not that you would want to). My only two complaints about this mode are that 1) they don't give you the option to choose the snake or the machine gun, two guns that you usually don't use in this level which would make perfect sense to have them isolated from the game so that you
could try them here, and 2) just like previous rereleases, once you die you go all the way back to the screen where you have to select your weapons. This is shit because, like anyone who has played and beaten hell can tell you, when you die you want to get right back into it ASAP. Nothing is worse than curbing your in-the-zone-ness with the monotonous re-selection of your previous setup. This screen where you select your items from should only appear once at the very beginning when you select this mode. There's no need for it to return after every death in a mode that is made to be extremely death-inducing. It's bullshit, and I'd rather just play this on my main save.
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Boss Attack is exactly as I remember it from previous versions.
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Wind Fortress is exactly how I remember it. Weirdly enough, in this mode you star with both the 290 counter and the booster 2.0, but neither appear in your inventory. An oversight, perhaps? When I pick up the map system in the first room, it appears in my inventory...
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Nemesis Challenge I think was in the steam version, which I passed up. Oddly, here both the 290 counter and the booster appear in your inventory upon startup. Huh.
Curly Story is it's own thing outside of the challenge menu and appears to be the same as in the wiiware version. I like that you get multiple saves for both the standard and curly modes.
Lastly, there's talk of a future co-op mode being implemented in a coming update. I have no idea how far they're going to go with it, but that sounds rad, especially since with the switch I'll always have two controllers on me.
In my final thoughts, I think I would still prefer the 3DS eShop version of Cave Story, because it is compact, simple, more faithful to the original with additions that only add to the experience and can be disabled upon request, and the price is right. The Switch version is still pretty legit though, and being only $30
with all the free stuff you get makes it worth it to me, I think.
