Cave Story was made entirely by one man: Daisuke Amaya. It took five years, and is one of the most famous independently developed games ever made.

In the beginning, the game throws players into action immediately without a tutorial, and that’s surprisingly one of the best things about it. Nothing is laid out on the table. Players learn the controls and everything else through experience. It’s much more different than most modern games, when the introduction is bogged down by constant tutorials.

Cave Story follows Quote, a robot who wakes up in a cave on a floating island with no memory. He ends up meeting Sue, a member of the research team who came to the island. A fellow researcher, simply called The Doctor, stole an artifact known as the Demon Crown that gives him immense powers. It’s up to Quote to travel throughout the cave to stop him.

The lack of instructions combined with the simple story lends to this game’s retro aesthetic.

As the game progresses, players gain access to different types of guns. These guns level up and become more powerful by picking up experience, which is gained by defeating enemies. However, getting injured will cause the guns to lose experience.

However, there’s one pretty big problem with the game: the baffling requirements for the best ending. Around the halfway point of the game, an event occurs where one of the members of Sue’s research team is seen falling from a great height. Common sense dictates that a player should go and check on the man, but by doing so, that guarantees the normal ending. The requirements are far too cryptic to find out by oneself.

The elephant in the room is the last level of the game, the Blood Stained Sanctuary. There’s a sign at the start of the area that proclaims “Welcome to Hell!” This level is frustratingly difficult as a huge contrast to the rest of the game. The first time I attempted the Blood Stained Sanctuary, it took three hours to beat, and by the end, my hands were cramping badly.

Graphically, the style emulates 16-bit systems and it pays off. Every sprite is very detailed, even the larger ones. Musically, its chiptune style matches its graphics.

Cave Story serves as a fun throwback to gaming in the 90s. However, the cryptic requirements for the best ending as well as the huge difficulty spike make it hard to fully enjoy. Despite that, Cave Story is worth playing.