Cave Story 3D - Nintendo 3DS

Cave Story in all its incarnations has been an excellent product. I first played through it when the english translation patch was released many years ago for PC. I played it all the way through again when it hit the DSi store. This is the third time I've played the product and by large, the experience remains the same. Solid platforming mechanics with fantastic level design and player progression. Anyone who enjoys the gameplay styles of classic Metroid or Castlevania will feel right at home with Cave Story.Gameplay aside, I have run into a few small issues with the 3DS version of the game.1.) 3D Depth falls apart in certain limited areas in the game. Developers are still coming to terms with how to develop camera systems that work well with stereoscopic displays. One of the issues I have encountered on a number of 3DS titles is that the developers allow the 3D assets to get too close to the camera causing the images to tear/separate further apart than the eye can compensate for which is one of the primary causes of eye strain with stereoscopic images. Adjusting the 3DS' depth slider does little to alleviate this issue. There's a simple fix that can prevent this from happening which is to set an optimal camera plane distance, and to not allowed 3D assets to clip beyond this plane. If you can't implement this, then have items nearest the camera fade out so they don't break the ideal plane. Ocarina of Time and Skylanders Sypro's Adventure both do not exhibit this issue and should be used as reference for future developers working with stereoscopic images.2.) Sometimes the graphic fidelity seems to take precedence over readability of the environment. What does this mean? too many details in the environment makes spotting spikes and death pits more difficult than it original was. This is coming from someone who is already very familiar with the layout of most of the content in the game. The foreground and background elements that help add parallax to the scene interfere with the main gameplay plane.Both of the above are severely nit picky on an otherwise spectacular product.

We always hear about old classics that have been re-released with juiced up graphics. This is a new classic thats been re-released with juiced up graphics. Alot of people don't like the new graphics, I am not one of those people. I like the graphics, I think they compliment the original game. The original Cave Story and Cave Story HD (among other names) was an 8 bit and 16 bit game respectfully, bar a few changes. They were the same game. Now you have this game, which is again, the same game, few changes with more modern 3D based side scrolling. Some call it 2.5D. This version of the game is 3DS exclusive...if you beat the game, you get an option that turns the characters from their 3D models into 2D sprites but the backgrounds remain in 3D. This is also interesting looking. A hybrid of sorts. The gameplay itself is fantastic but with a few minor add ons, its basically the same game that Cave Story has always been. If your a hardcore fan of the game, you may dig playing it again with 3D levels. If you've never played it before, you may also dig it. But if your the kind of person who wants a sequel or a brand new game. Look elsewhere. This is a remake in the end. The 3D effect is good, the controls work well, the music is possibly the games highest point. Fantastic remastered version of the originals, very cool retro inspired music using modern tools. My only gripe is that, the 3DS version is expensive, the original Cave Story is free, you can get Cave Story HD for around 10 dollars. This is a full priced 3DS game. For that price, they could have at least thrown in the original and the 2D HD upgrade alongside the 3D and hybrid versions of the game. Essentially giving 3DS gamers the COMPLETE Cave Story. That would have justified the price alot more and probably would have helped to garner more interest. But as it is, this is still a very fun game, it has alot of charm, retro love and great music. A fantastic sidescrolling adventure.

I won't add much that hasn't been said in other reviews, as Cave Story is a great game. The main issue I have with this 3DS version is the controls. Yes, CS was already a slippery, floaty platformer, but it has become entirely frustrating in this version. I think this is in part due to the new 3D environments and the dubious edges, as things slightly turn while you walk, and everything generally is much darker and more muddled than in the old 2D game. In a game that often requires high levels of precision and reaction time, it drives me bonkers when I am consistently running off the edge without jumping, or getting caught on the edge of a moving object before jumping. It almost feels like a delay, but if I am jumping in place it seems responsive enough. I think that in many cases the edge just isn't where you think it is when trying to quickly respond. So with the already floaty jumping and the game's tendency to keep running four steps off the edge of something when you land, it's almost not fun anymore. I had few problems with the original until the craziness towards the end, but this 3d version has me dying over and over in some situations, all because of this poor responsiveness. Not a bad game by any means, but it is definitely lacking in precision...just be prepared to feel like tossing your system against the wall. Or save some money and buy the much cheaper but generally better version from the online shop.

Fantastic game. This version stays true to the original game, but the 3D graphics and depth are a definite plus. The seller was great, too. I received my product on time and as advertised. It was in excellent shape.

My son loves this game!