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Dōkutsu Monogatari
Screenshot from Doukutsu Monogatari.
Developer(s) Studio Pixel
Publisher(s) Independent
Designer(s) Studio Pixel
Engine Custom
Release date(s) 2004
Genre(s) Platform game
Mode(s) Single player
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X
Media Free download
System requirements Windows 98, 2000 or XP, DirectX 5.0+
Input Keyboard or Gamepad

Doukutsu Monogatari (洞窟物語, Cave Story in English) is a freeware PC game made by the independent Japanese game developer Studio Pixel. The game is a traditional action-adventure game, reminiscent of the Castlevania and Metroid games. The game has received praise from gamers worldwide and has been fan-translated to English by Aeon Genesis, .

Contents

[edit] Overview

The game begins as a complete mystery to the player, and plot is dispensed gradually through the course of the game.

The player is an amnesiac robot who awakes in a cavern. He stumbles across a village with rabbit-like creatures called Mimigas who are being abducted by an evil doctor known as "The Doctor". Two of the Doctor's lackeys, Misery and Balrog, are looking for a Mimiga called Sue, but by accident they abduct a Mimiga named Toroko. The player's first quest is to stop the Doctor from taking over the world.

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Thousand of years ago, there was a powerful magician named Ballos, whose powers were far beyond those of mortals. He used his powers to help people, and so the people loved and trusted him more than even their own king. The king, upon discovering this, became jealous and had Ballos imprisoned and tortured. Ballos, strained by and afraid of the torture, allowed his magic to run wild, and in an instant the King was annihilated. Ballos was unable to regain control of his magic, and under its sway he murdered his wife and children and burned the kingdom to ash. So great was the force of his magic that he could not look away, but was made to laugh as he watched his family die.

Ballos had a sister named Jenka. Jenka was a witch, and, like Ballos, her magic was very powerful. When she learned that her brother had gone mad, she confined him to an island that floated in the sky. Even though Ballos's magic could only be stopped by his death, Jenka loved her brother too much to kill him.

The floating island was held aloft by its Core, which lived deep inside the island. To defend the Core, Jenka constructed a labyrinth around its entrance and sealed the entrance with a large boulder. In the labyrinth she imprisoned the Gaudis, a race of giant insects, both so that they may serve as guardians and to prevent them from attacking the Mimigas, a race of flower-eating anthropomorphic rabbits. Upon completing the labyrinth, she retired to the Sand Zone, a desert-like cave in the island, and began to raise dogs.

Jenka had a daughter named Misery, who was also a witch. Misery forced Ballos to make a magical crown called the Demon Crown, which grants magical powers to its wearer. However, the Demon Crown cursed Misery so that she would be the slave of whoever wears the Crown.

Ten years before the game begins, the countries of Earth sent robots to take the power of the Demon Crown. The robots killed indiscriminately, and many of the Mimigas were slain. To defend themselves, the Mimigas ate red flowers, which turn them into frenzied beasts. Eventually, a man gained possession of the Demon Crown, and the robots fell silent. The Mimigas, however, were still frenzied from the red flowers, and the master of the Crown turned them against Earth.

Two special robots, a boy named Quote and a girl named Curly Brace, were sent to the island to destroy the Crown. They fought the new master of the Crown, wounding him but they not defeat him. After the fight, Quote and Curly both lost their memories and took hiding deep within the island.

Shortly before the game begins, a research party of humans came to the island by helicopter. It consisted of research scientist Momorin Sakamoto, her children Sue and Kazuma Sakamoto, Professor Booster, an engineer named Itoh, and a medical doctor named Date Fuyuhiko. The Doctor knew the Crown existed and joined the party merely for the opportunity to find it. After the party landed, he immediately began to search for it. The opening sequence of the game shows the Doctor finding the Crown with Misery and Balrog, the two imprisoned servants of the Crown, floating in the background.

Upon seizing the crown, the Doctor began plotting to take over the world using the island as a base. He planned to force the Mimigas to eat red flowers, and use an army of enraged Mimigas to attack the Earth's surface. The other members of the research party did not want to cooperate, so he ordered them punished. Sue Sakamoto and Itoh were turned into Mimigas before escaping. Kazuma Sakamoto teleported away, but found himself trapped in a room with no exit and a broken teleporter. Once the Doctor had found the red flower seeds, he ordered Momorin Sakamoto thrown off the edge of the island. However, she escaped and is hiding in the red flower plantation.

Sue is hiding in a Mimiga village. The Mimiga village used to be very large, but now has only six inhabitants. In the near past the village was attacked by a Red Demon, but the great hero and Mimiga leader, Arthur, defeated it. Recently, the Doctor has been kidnapping the villagers. Arthur tried to stop the Doctor, but the Doctor slew him. The village's second leader, King, fears that the Doctor is looking for Sue, and does not want her in the village because her presence will assuredly draw the Doctor and his henchmen.

When the game begins, Quote awakens in a cave near the Mimiga village.

[edit] Notable Characters

[edit] Mimigas

King
The leader of the Mimiga Village after the death of Arthur. He feels he is responsible for anything that happens to Toroko. King dislikes Sue because he is afraid of the Doctor's wrath.
Jack
The village's second-in-command. He also wears goggles.
Toroko
A Mimiga who is unafraid to make friends with Sue. She is mistaken by Misery and Balrog for Sue and abducted.

[edit] Research Team

Professor Booster
Head of the research team and a specialist in jet packs, Professor Booster is a close friend of the Sakamoto family.
Momorin Sakamoto
Sakamoto is a rocket scientist and the mother of Kazuma and Sue. She did not want to bring them to the island, but could not leave them on their own.
Sue Sakamoto
The daughter of Momorin Sakamoto, Sue never wanted to come to the island. She was turned into a Mimiga by Misery.
Kazuma Sakamoto
Kazuma is the "occasionally reliable" brother of Sue.
Itoh
A shy engineer of considerable talent who specializes in control systems. He was also turned into a mimiga by The Doctor.

[edit] Allies

Curly Brace
A friendly and feisty female robot who tries to protect Mimigas.
Jenka
A very old witch who has lived on the island for a long time. She resides in the Sand Zone and raises puppies.

[edit] Enemies

The Doctor (Date Fuyuhiko)
The Doctor is the current master of the Demon Crown. He is kidnapping Mimigas.
Balrog
A goofy minion of The Doctor who looks like a large lunchbox or toaster. He is more brawn than brains, but he is not really malevolent; he has to obey the owner of the crown and has no choice. His "Huzzah!" battle cry has become a catchphrase when posting Cave Story pictures on message boards, especially pictures of or about him.
Misery
A witch who is a minion of The Doctor, and also the daughter of Jenka.
Ballos
Jenka's brother and an extremely powerful sorceror, however on the account that he was tortured until he became psychotic and had his powers run wild, he was sealed by Jenka on the island as an eternal sentence.

[edit] Weapons

The weapons in Doukutsu Monogatari each have three levels. A newly acquired weapon is at level one. Weapon levels can be increased by collecting energy crystals, glowing yellow triangles that defeated enemies sometimes drop. Once enough energy crystals have been collected, the weapon increases by one level. When the player takes damage, some of the energy of the current weapon is lost, and consequently it is possible for a weapon to lose levels. It is impossible to have a weapon level higher than three, but level three weapons can still collect energy crystals until they reach a weapon-dependent maximum. The player can only hold five weapons at a time, and weapons cannot be dropped. However, some weapons can be exchanged for others.

Many of the more powerful weapons have area effects, that is, they do damage in proportion to how much of their blast touches an enemy. This is true even of beam-like weapons such as the Spur. The damage values below are given per unit area for such weapons, and consequently are much smaller than the average damage against a standard enemy.

The weapon descriptions below include the location of the weapon in the game. Players who have not completed the game are advised that this sometimes includes plot spoilers.

Polar Star
The Polar Star is the first weapon in the game. It is made by a Hermit Gunsmith near the Mimiga village. It shoots one straight shot at a time (two at level three), and it can be traded or upgraded to the Machine Gun, the Snake, or the Spur later in the game.
Level 1. 1 damage. 10 energy to level up.
Level 2. 2 damage. 20 energy to level up.
Level 3. 4 damage. 10 energy to maximize.
Missile Launcher
The Missile Launcher is a limited ammunition weapon first found in the Egg Corridor between eggs 3 and 4. Picking up any missile launcher expansion enables this weapon, similar to Metroid's missile launcher. The Missile Launcher shoots missiles, which are area effect weapons. Because of their area effect, they can damage several enemies at once and can damage the same enemy multiple times with a single blast. The first level shoots a single missile, the second level shoots a larger missile with a wider area effect, and the third level shoots three level 1 missiles at once (but uses only one unit of ammunition). Once the Missile Launcher has been found, missiles can be collected from defeated enemies just like energy crystals and life. Different missile expansions hold different quanties of maximum missiles. The Missile Launcher can be upgraded to the more powerful Super Missiles.
Level 1. 4 damage. 10 energy to level up.
Level 2. 4 damage. 20 energy to level up.
Level 3. 4 damage. 10 energy to maximize.
Fireball
The Fireball shoots fireballs which roll along the ground. It can be used to attack enemies which are below the player. It is a gift from the Mimiga named Santa in Grasstown. It and the Polar Star can be combined to form the Snake by Chaba, the Labyrinth shopkeeper.
Level 1. 4 damage. Two fireballs at once. 10 energy to level up.
Level 2. 6 damage. Three fireballs at once. 20 energy to level up.
Level 3. 6 damage. Four fireballs at once. 20 energy to maximize.
Bubbler
The Bubbler is found behind the fireplace of the Assembly Hall in the Mimiga village. It has 100 shots of ammunition, but these recharge automatically when it is equipped but not in use. Its first two levels shoot small, weak streams of bubbles a short distance. Its third level shoots small rays, and can be charged up, causing a cloud of bubbles to form around the player. These bubbles turn into rays, and, if the fire button is released, the entire cloud of bubbles becomes rays, causing a spread fire effect.
Level 1. 1 damage. 10 energy to level up.
Level 2. 2 damage. 20 energy to level up.
Level 3. 3 damage. 5 energy to maximize.
Machine Gun
The machine gun is a rapid fire weapon with 100 rounds of ammunition. Like the Bubbler, the ammunition regenerates when the machine gun is not in use. The machine gun has a slight spread which increases at higher levels, and consequently it can be used to attack enemies slightly above or below the player. If a third level machine gun is pointed down, it will push the player up into the air, or down if pointed up. This can be used to float upwards, much like the Booster item. Curly offers the machine gun in exchange for the Polar Star when you defeat her in the Sand Zone. The machine gun can be upgraded with the turbocharge, which is a gift from the shopkeeper Chaba in the Labyrinth. The turbocharge increases the rate at which the machine gun replenishes ammo. A third level turbocharged machine gun can be used to float in the air indefinitely.
Level 1. 2 damage. 30 energy to level up.
Level 2. 4 damage. 30 energy to level up.
Level 3. 6 damage. 10 energy to maximize.
Blade
The Blade is King's weapon. It is left behind after King's death in the Sand Zone. The first and second level blades shoot a single blade at a time in a straight line. The second level has, curiously enough, a shorter range than the first level, and is potentially most powerful weapon (Damage per second) if used at close range. The third level blade shoots a ghost-like image of King in a straight line. The image of King stops when it hits an enemy and does area damage at that location. It always stays on screen for one second, regardless of how long it traveled before hitting an enemy. Additionally, small bursts of light follow King, doing one point of damage to each enemy they strike.
Level 1. 15 damage. 30 energy to level up.
Level 2. 18 damage. 60 energy to level up.
Level 3. 16 damage (King's image), 1 damage (bursts of light). 0 energy to maximize.
Snake
The Snake is a combination of the Polar Star and the Fireball. It is made by Chaba in the Labyrinth in exchange for the Polar Star and Fireball weapons. In particular, players who traded the Polar Star for the Machine Gun are unable to obtain the Snake. The Snake shoots rotating square boxes. At higher levels these boxes wave up and down in a serpentine fashion. The Snake is unique in that its shots pass through walls. This makes it possible to attack enemies that would be unreachable with any other weapon.
Level 1. 4 damage. 30 energy to level up.
Level 2. 6 damage. 40 energy to level up.
Level 3. 8 damage. 16 energy to level up.
Super Missiles
The Super Missiles are an upgrade to the regular missiles which are left behind by Balrog after he is defeated in the Labyrinth. Each level of Super Missiles acts like the same level of regular Missiles, but has a wider area effect and moves faster.
Level 1. 4 damage. 30 energy to level up.
Level 2. 4 damage. 60 energy to level up.
Level 3. 4 damage. 10 energy to maximize.
Spur
The Spur is an upgraded Polar Star. It is created from the Polar Star by the Hermit Gunsmith. Note that players who traded the Polar Star for either the Machine Gun or the Snake are unable to obtain the Spur. The Spur is unique among the weapons because its levels are charged by holding down the fire button, not by collecting energy crystals. At level one, it shoots energy blasts like the third-level Polar Star, but with an unlimited number of shots on the screen. At level two it shoots a thin beam which passes through enemies. At level three it shoots two beams, and when maximized it shoots a single thick beam. The Spur's beam is an area effect weapon, and against a large enemy it can do five times or more damage than the amounts listed here. Because the second and higher levels of the Spur pass through enemies, it can damage multiple enemies with a single beam, but later enemies are damaged less than earlier ones. The maximized Spur is the most powerful weapon in the game and can do over 150 points of damage in a single strike.
Level 1. 4 damage.
Level 2. 7 damage.
Level 3. 14 damage.
Maximized. 23 damage.
Nemesis
The Nemesis is offered by the little man in exchange for the Blade when you return him to his home. This weapon exchange is reversible: The little man will give back the Blade in exchange for the Nemesis if asked. This exchange can be repeated an unlimited number of times. The Nemesis is the most unusual weapon in the game because it gets weaker at higher levels. The first level shoots rapid blasts of lightning. The second level does not shoot as far or as fast. The third level shoots rubber ducks. The Nemesis is very easy to level up, and consequently it is very difficult to use well. It is tempting to intentionally injure onesself so that the Nemesis goes down to level one, but this is a very dangerous tactic.
Level 1. 12 damage. 1 energy to level up.
Level 2. 8 damage. 1 energy to level up.
Level 3. 1 damage. 1 energy to maximize.

[edit] External links

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