What's a better weapon--the spur or the snake?

[rambo_fox]

I've given up trying to beat the game on normal--largely b/c I traded the polar star too early for the machine gun. So... I wanted to ask--which is better: the spur or the snake?

[Pafti]

The machine gun is good though, it opens up the path to more mobility which is a lot of fun, and it does a lot of damage, also you don't have to mash the button to make it work, which your fingers and controller/keyboard will thank you for.

The snake in comparison does less damage, but lets you clear enemies through walls, which is kind of cheap and boring, but it'll certainly see you to the end of the game. You'll still have Blade for when you need more Burst Damage.

The Spur is supposed to be the Ultimate weapon, you need it to get the Whimsical Star which is a fun gimmick to have. It does really good damage, though lvl2 Blade spam still leaves it behind. The charge is cool, and holding it through screen transitions and boss dialog to start the fight with a max shot is always nice to have. I always go for the Spur in most of my playthroughs, but you need to know that you get the spur in the last third-quarter of the game, and that until that point you'll be stuck with the Polar Star. So if you're in the middle of the game thinking the Machine gun is holding you back, aiming for the Spur might not be ideal for you.

[Mackenzie]

Polar Star.[i.imgur.com]

[rambo_fox]

Originally posted by Pafti:

I always go for the Spur in most of my playthroughs, but you need to know that you get the spur in the last third-quarter of the game, and that until that point you'll be stuck with the Polar Star. So if you're in the middle of the game thinking the Machine gun is holding you back, aiming for the Spur might not be ideal for you.

I made it to the 4-boss marathon at the balcony and kept dying at the core. Finally, I decided to give up and start over on easy and get a better weapon.
Another question--do you think Nemesis is better than the Blade? I decided to make the trade, but I find Nemesis annoying, since it levels downs rather than up and makes power-ups something to avoid...

[Pafti]

Originally posted by rambo_fox:

Originally posted by Pafti:

I always go for the Spur in most of my playthroughs, but you need to know that you get the spur in the last third-quarter of the game, and that until that point you'll be stuck with the Polar Star. So if you're in the middle of the game thinking the Machine gun is holding you back, aiming for the Spur might not be ideal for you.

I made it to the 4-boss marathon at the balcony and kept dying at the core. Finally, I decided to give up and start over on easy and get a better weapon.
Another question--do you think Nemesis is better than the Blade? I decided to make the trade, but I find Nemesis annoying, since it levels downs rather than up and makes power-ups something to avoid...

Specifically for the Undead Core, the best option is Spur, since you can just charge it in safety, or when the boss is inactive, and fire it off when there is an opening. Machine Gun is not a bad alternative at all though, it's probably the second best option in terms of safe reliable damage for that fight.

I haven't really bothered with the Nemesis outside of Sanctuary Time Attack, and there you just spam it at a Boss that doesn't move, and you only take it because you can take the Blade as well. It's a special challenge you unlock after getting the True Ending, so the rules are different from the Story. Trading away blade never sat right with me, for Story reasons, and because Blade is already so damn good. And while I think it's a cool concept that a weapon gets worse as you level it up, it's not really something I personally want to deal with much either.

Some tips for Undead Core if you want them: The most important part is to deal with Misery as fast as you can, using lvl2 Blade and spamming it into her face until she falls is pretty much the best way to start the fight. You can also throw some Blades into the Core at the beginning until it goes inactive, but unless you're going for speedrun times you might as well just let it be and focus on dodging attacks and taking out Misery. After that you can either also take out Sue, or just lazily dodge her while dealing with the core. Until Undead Core is at his last ~30% health you'll mostly be centered vertically in front of him dealing damage from a distance and dodging incoming attacks, when you're at the home stretch you should default to standing on the ground and temporarily jump/boost/machine gun up to dodge grounded attacks and do the last bit of damage. If the Core is really far left, you may want to play it safe, and chill on his right side until he went back enough to leave plenty of space to the left again.

[freshbutteredpopcorn]

I prefer the Spur over the snake. Although the machine gun is definitely a viable weapon the defeat the normal ending of Cave Story. It's also the most fun weapon to use in the game. The spur is good if you're accurate and want to deal huge damage to bosses. I recommend picking it up if you're going for the best ending. Although tbh, I mostly used the missile launcher to defeat the final boss than the Spur.

[St. Haborym]

Originally posted by rambo_fox:

I've given up trying to beat the game on normal--largely b/c I traded the polar star too early for the machine gun. So... I wanted to ask--which is better: the spur or the snake?

Machinegun lets you literally fly and will trivialize the secret boss. Spur was a huge headache trying to beat him, but when I went back with the mg, I think I beat him on my first try. At the very least, it was super easy.