Independent Games Spotlight #2

This is honestly one of the best free games I've ever downloaded. The style, story, characters, music, gameplay, and challenge are all top notch. This game reminds me of the best in great 2d franchises like Zelda, Metroid, and Castlevania.

Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari)

Although it came out in 2004, This game looks, sounds, and plays like a game right from the Super Nintendo days. Its developer Daisuke Amaya (aka Pixel) clearly shows his love for games of that era as any seasoned gamer will be able to pick out the countless homages to that time in this game.

Cave Story may not have been played by everyone, but of the people who have played it, it is considered to be among the best ever. I actually stumbled onto this game when looking at all time top game lists. I was surprised to see a game that I have never heard of being mentioned multiple times. There are also currently 8 reviews on Gamefaqs and all but 1 review (9/10) are perfect scores. I tried this game and loved it. Here is a trailer:



Since this is a Japanese game, you have to download a plug-in that has the English translation. Don't worry though, this game has been lovingly and faithfully translated from what I've read. Just follow this link and download the game and the English patch. Follow the readme to get the translation working. This game is also best suited to be played with a controller. A PSP homebrew version has been made if you have a modded PSP and a DS version is in the works. This game has also been announced to receive an official PSP release some time in the future.




-Brad