Do youself a favor and set the graphics and audio to their original forms regardless of what platform you play this on!

Sure, the floaty Metroid-inspired platforming is tight, the retro graphics are charming, and the challenging Metal-Slug-Meets-MegaMan style shooting is solid, but what keeps Cave Story alive in your head long after putting it down is the music. These chiptunes reflect the story so well that even the bare skeleton of a plot you follow manages to evoke a larger sense of the strange and brutal world.

This is an unforgettable five year labor of love created entirely by one man, so there just isn't quite anything like it.

There's something very compelling about rendering horrible and twisted things in a cute and approachable style, and game artist Ed McMillen relies on that to display incomprehensible amounts of gore in ways designers can use and players can quickly react to... This demanding blend of twin stick shooting and old school zelda level design is wrapped in the "just one more attempt" randomness of a roguelike to great effect. Check this out if the Biblical horror themes won't gross you out and you enjoy a challenge!

As part of the "platformer generation" of gamers whose formative years were defined by Mario and Sonic, this game feels like a precious artifact; Something that should have been then but IS now. If the platforming is inspired, it's inspired BY the amazing chiptune music. To give you an idea of how infectious it is, the game was originally $15 and they had a deal on the soundtrack for $4... I elected to pass on the game until it came down a bit and tapped feet to the chiptunes for months before playing (and loving) the whole experience!