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8[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2189cd3b_8d4d_4d70_9f7f_7dd3562572b9.png]]
9[[caption-width-right:350:♫ ''[[Music/{{Brentalfloss}} Tell y'all a story 'bout a cave, story 'bout a robot rollin' with a whole lotta bravery]]'' ♫[[note]]From top to bottom L-R: Misery, Toroko, Balrog, Quote, Curly Brace, Sue Sakamoto and King[[/note]]]]
10
11%%
12->''Cave Story is a jumping-and-shooting action game.\
13Explore the caves until you reach the ending.\
14You can also save your game and continue from where you left off.''
15-->-- Author's description of the game
16
17%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional quotes in the Quotes tab.
18
19[[YouWakeUpInARoom You wake up in a cave.]] You shoot your way out of the cave, so you can get to a village in another cave. Then you have to go to a different cave, followed by...
20
21[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Well, it's aptly named]]. You might just come for the fun, ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man| Classic}}''-style gameplay, [[JustForFun/ComeForTheXStayForTheY but the story is what you will end up staying for]].
22
23''Cave Story'' is a [[FreewareGames freeware]] {{Metroidvania}} game by Daisuke Amaya, aka Creator/StudioPixel. The game thrusts you into the action with no explanations, forcing you to figure out the plot by yourself as you go. You play as Quote, a mysterious robot who finds his way to a village of bunny-like people called Mimiga, who are housing a team of scientists that came to study the caves. Meeting up with fellow robot Curly Brace and a selection of other characters, Quote must save the Mimigas and scientists from [[BigBad The Doctor]], a rogue MadScientist who seized the [[HatOfPower magic helmet]] known as the Demon Crown and is trying to raise an army of robot soldiers and zombified Mimigas to TakeOverTheWorld.
24
25This game was created entirely by one man in his spare time. Daisuke Amaya wrote the scenario, drew the artwork and scenery, animated the sprites, designed all of the levels, composed all of the music, and programmed the entire game engine, all by himself over the course of ''five years''.[[note]] Actually, that's ''lowballing'' it. While fullscale development of the game lasted five years, Cave Story started being made ''five more years'' prior. Daisuke made a game in five years and had people playtest it. When they were unsatified with his work, he took what he had and refined it over the course of the five years that most people know the game for. Let that sink in; Daisuke spent ''ten years of his life, a full decade'' creating this game, and released it ''for free''. Truly, this man is a saint.[[/note]]
26
27Its breeding ground on the English-speaking Internet is [[https://www.cavestory.org/ here]]. While the source code for the game was never officially released, it's extremely easy to reverse engineer and disassemble. That, as well as its freeware nature, has led the game to become the 2D platformer equivalent to ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' in terms of sheer ubiquity - ports are available for Mac, Linux, PSP, Xbox, Amiga, Mega-Drive/Genesis, and much, much more. Multiple source ports [[note]][=NXEngine=], [=NXEngine-evo=], and [=CSE2=][[/note]] also exist, pushing said ubiquity even further.
28
29The game has also seen quite a few commercial re-releases over the years - First on [=WiiWare=], which added an updated graphics option, dubiously remastered music, multiple difficulty levels, the ability to play as Curly Brace, and a BossRush mode. This version was then brought to [=DSiWare=], Steam, the 3DS [=eShop=], and Nintendo Switch, with each version stacking on extra modes, levels, soundtracks, and tweaks along the way - the Nintendo Switch version in particular adds full widescreen support and CoOpMultiplayer. There's also a VideoGameRemake for Nintendo 3DS (in addition to the standard port that's on the [=eShop=]) entitled ''Cave Story 3D''. It's ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin unsurprisingly]]) been given a TwoAndAHalfD overhaul, but otherwise is identical.
30
31In December 2021 ([[TemporaryOnlineContent and ONLY for the holidays]]), Creator/{{Nicalis}}, with some input from Pixel, released a ChristmasEpisode spin-off StealthBasedGame entitled ''Cave Story's Secret Santa''.
32
33Pixel has gone on to create ''VideoGame/KeroBlaster'', which can be seen as a SpiritualSuccessor.
34----
35!!This game provides examples of:
36
37[[foldercontrol]]
38
39[[folder:Tropes # to C]]
40* TwoPointFiveD: The 3DS remake of the game uses polygon graphics instead of pixel art, without changing the side-scrolling gameplay in any way.
41* AbilityDepletionPenalty: Certain weapons such as the Bubbline or the Machine Gun have limited ammo, which quickly recharges once you don't use the weapon anymore. However, let the ammo run out and your attack just stops, leaving you helpless for a good second.
42* AbilityRequiredToProceed: In the first cave, the door that ''would'' allow you to proceed [[EldritchAbomination grows a monstrous]] [[{{BodyMotifs}} red eye]] and prevents you from opening it. You will need to find [[ButThouMust and steal]] the Polar Star gun and blast the door open.
43* AccidentalPervert: There's a hidden chest[[labelnote:Where?]]Check the map and you'll find a hidden passage[[/labelnote]] in Curly's house that [[KleptomaniacHeroFoundUnderwear yields her panties]]. [[EasterEgg They don't do anything in the original game]], but in the ports they unlock Curly Mode.
44* AchievementMockery:
45** The Steam version of the game has an achievement for being killed by Toroko. As in, the harmless little [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Mimiga]] who "attacks" by running back and forth waving a stick that only does 1 damage per hit. If you have more than 1 HP, you have to deliberately [[ViolationOfCommonSense stand still and wait to die.]] [[EpicFail "Toroko Wins!"]]
46** Also in the Steam version, if you get the Bad Ending, [[spoiler:by accepting Kazuma's offer to run away from the island]], then you also earn the achievement called [[WhatTheHellHero "Coward".]]
47* ActionGirl: [[ArmyScout Curly Brace.]] Thanks to being [[spoiler:a RobotSoldier]], she's [[OneManArmy more than competent in battle]]. Momorin Sakamoto also fits the trope, but [[BadassNormal without being physically special in any way.]]
48* AdaptationDyeJob: Misery's portrait has blue hair instead of green in the 3DS remake. This was done because [[JustifiedTrope her actual sprite always had blue hair.]]
49* AdvancedMovementTechnique: On the ground, your speed oscillates rather than staying capped at a maximum, but once you go airborne, your horizontal speed stays constant until you touch the ground again--so you can travel slightly faster with a lot of carefully timed jumps than with walking. Later in the game, you get a Machine Gun that can recoil you upwards if you fire downwards.
50** Damage boosting is a really precise trick where you hit certain enemies at just the right angle so that it will bounce you horizontally faster than you can walk. And of course, you maintain that speed boost even longer if you stay in the air.
51** With the Booster 2.0, you can boost into a slope before your fuel runs out and then jump to preserve your momentum. You can also preserve your momentum by boosting horizontally adjacent to the top of the block, and then jump once you can jump on top of the block.
52** If you have both the Machine Gun and the Booster 2.0, you can preserve Booster 2.0 speeds by boosting forward and then using the Machine Gun recoil to get you back to the ground while you are still boosting forward. Then you can jump once you are on the ground and you will get the same speed if you just kept boosting forward. Then you can use the recoil from the Machine Gun to go upwards in the air while you still have the speed.
53** A fast way to get to maximum falling speed without wasting fuel from the Booster 2.0 is to use a very short amount of fuel to boost downwards. The Booster 2.0 already lets you get to maximum falling speed by boosting down already. Boosting downwards for a long time is the same speed as boosting downwards for a very short amount of time.
54* AdvancingBossOfDoom: Ironhead chases you along a long waterway and occasionally homes in on you. The latter phases are the only times where you can damage him, as Quote is constantly facing forwards due to the current.
55* AffablyEvil: Balrog. [[spoiler:As it turns out, [[TrappedInVillainy he doesn't even want to be evil.]] [[ForcedIntoEvil He has no choice due to the Demon Crown's influence.]]]]
56* AirAidedAcrobatics: Toward the end of Grasstown/Bushlands, you're required to make these kinds of jumps after activating the necessary fans.
57* AllThereInTheManual: [[invoked]] The names of many {{NPC}}s and enemies are only given in the end credits. The writing on the player character's hat (only mentioned once, by someone who doesn't understand what it says) is revealed in [[https://archive.is/A8SDS Pixel's artwork from the Beta version of the game]]. It doesn't seem to have an explanation. ''And that's all there is''--in spite of many clues hinting at a large, interconnected backstory, Pixel has said of everything beyond what's shown in the game: [[ShrugOfGod "It is up to the player to decide".]]
58* AlmostDeadGuy: There's a RobotSoldier in the Core chamber that lives just long enough to warn the player of a powerful entity that killed his team. [[spoiler:Professor Booster becomes this if you speak to him in the Labyrinth.]]
59* AlwaysCheckBehindTheChair: There's plenty of hidden items in this game: EasterEggs, secret pathways, weapons you can't get by simply progressing the story, and so on.
60* AmbidextrousSprite: Averted with [[spoiler:Ballos]], whose right eye is always [[BodyMotifs red]] while his left eye is always white. Malco does fall for this trope, though.
61* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: {{Zigzagged|trope}}; while the [[https://archive.is/ptTep Japanese version]] of ''Cave Story 3D'''s box art is a lot more cutesy than the [[https://archive.is/XLeNF North American version]], it is the latter that came out first, and both versions actually avert CoversAlwaysLie by [[StealthPun depicting a cave scene]] and representing different aspects of the actual game, with the Japanese version being more of a CallBack to the original game's art style, and the North American version placing more emphasis on the context of the game.
62* AmnesiacDissonance: [[spoiler:Quote and Curly ''think'' they]] are combat robots from a past war who helped [[FinalSolution kill countless Mimiga]]. The guilt they feel over this provokes them to help the Mimiga avoid another genocide. However, [[spoiler:when Curly's memory returns, she remembers that their original mission was to destroy the Demon Crown, and that they didn't kill any Mimiga in the process, [[SubvertedTrope ultimately subverting this trope]].]]
63* AndroidsArePeopleToo: Zett, an elderly Mimiga in the Plantation who clearly remembers the [[RobotWar war with the surface]], recounts that among the robots, there were some that "understood speech". He then voices his belief that those particular machines [[OurSoulsAreDifferent had souls]].[[note]]It's never specifically stated, but it's [[{{Subtext}} contextually obvious]] that he's talking about [[spoiler:Curly and Quote.]][[/note]] [[spoiler:Later, when [[HostageForMacGuffin Misery holds Sue hostage]], and Quote backs off, she admits surprise that a machine can care for another.]]
64* AnotherSideAnotherStory: In the Platform/{{WiiWare}} version and ''Cave Story+'', it's possible to unlock "Curly Mode" or "Curly Story", which essentially asks the question of "[[WhatIf What if]] the roles of Curly Brace and Quote were reversed?" [[InSpiteOfANail The story goes pretty much the same way]], the only differences being the fact that you get to see what Curly Brace would say if she was in Quote's shoes (unlike him, she's not a SilentProtagonist) while he remains silent [[spoiler:apart from one brief moment]] (with Curly providing the rest of the dialog for him).
65* {{Antepiece}}: The game heavily relies on this to teach new players various game mechanics they would encounter throughout the game. Even [[NoobCave the room the player starts in]] is designed to allow them to get a feel for the in-game jumping mechanics (and the fact that it's possible to drown within the game).
66* AnyoneCanDie: If you haven't played the game yet, be warned that [[ArtStyleDissonance it's nowhere near as cute and innocent as it looks.]] [[WarIsHell War]], [[FinalSolution genocide]], [[TheSociopath sociopathy]], and CharacterDeath (including [[DeathOfAChild several children]]) are all ''major'' tropes in this story. [[spoiler:Curly Brace gets special mention here: in actual gameplay she is [[GameplayAllyImmortality invincible]], but she has ''no'' PlotArmor.]]
67* ApocalypseHow: The island's backstory is pretty harrowing. [[spoiler:Upon learning about the [[ArtifactOfDoom Demon Crown,]] humanity sent battalions of [[RobotSoldier robot soldiers]] to the island [[WarForFunAndProfit to obtain it]], [[RapePillageAndBurn slaughtering countless Mimiga in the process.]] This [[GodzillaThreshold provoked many Mimiga]] to [[PsychoSerum eat the Red Flowers]], sacrificing their sanity [[SuperpoweredEvilSide to obtain enough power to fight and survive.]] After that, the enraged Mimiga descended to the surface, never to be seen again.]][[note]][[spoiler:[[ImpliedTrope Presumably]], the [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge results were not pretty]]. In any case, [[MuggingTheMonster humanity stopped attacking the Island.]]]][[/note]] [[spoiler:In addition, Mimiga manipulated by the Doctor could easily lead to societal collapse, because he is [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate smart enough and insane enough]] to wipe out civilization as we know it.]]
68* ArcWords: "The surface," "soldier from the surface," and "killer robots." All of these topics are greatly important to the plot, and the characters in it.
69* ArmiesAreEvil: The armies from the surface aren't portrayed in anything resembling a sympathetic light. The first and only thing they managed to accomplish was the [[FinalSolution near-genocide of the Mimiga species]] and a lot of generalized destruction besides. [[spoiler:The Mimiga retaliated with their own, equally evil army - by [[GodzillaThreshold deliberately]] eating the [[PsychoSerum red flowers]], turning themselves into a [[TheHorde raving horde]] of [[SupwerpoweredEvilSide superpowered beasts]], all driven to [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill irrevocable bloodlust]] by the everlasting hatred of a [[MadGod crazed wizard with inhuman power.]]]]
70* ArtifactOfDoom: The Demon Crown is [[TheDarkSide evil magic]] concentrated into a tangible, easy-to-use object.
71* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler:Quote and Curly Brace are RidiculouslyHumanRobots so ludicrously human-like that most of the characters in the game don't realize that they're not human until the truth is revealed by Professor Booster, and even ''he'' had to look twice before he believed it.]]
72** [[spoiler:They sleep, their injuries can be healed by medical doctors, they can [[EatingMachine eat and digest food]] including ''medicine,'' can [[OptionalSexualEncounter have sex]], and even ''drown in water.'' Yet, despite all of their human-like limitations, abilities and appearance, they are ''robots.'' Specifically, they are [[RobotSoldier combat]] [[ArmyScout scouts]], so they are not by any stretch ThreeLawsCompliant.]]
73--->'''Kazuma Sakamoto:''' So you're one of the... I hadn't even noticed. My my, you certainly are well-built.\
74'''A Mimiga:''' ''(to [[spoiler:Quote]])'' Man, these sprinklers just... Whoops. Not supposed to talk to humans.
75** This is spelled out in the "Extra Mode" in ''Plus'', [[spoiler:where clones of Curly are bred inside culture tanks, using the real Curly (who is imprisoned inside a stasis capsule) as a template to create them, giving credence that the recon robots, whom Quote and Curly are part of, are bio-mechanical in nature, which probably explains their near-human attributes]].
76* ArtisticLicenseBiology: As pointed out by the author of a walkthrough, the "Jellyfish Juice," which is presumably made of, well, jellyfish juice, is oddly kept in jars in treasure chests ''inside'' the jellyfish. Wouldn't things be interesting if people kept their blood and internal organs in jars in treasure chests inside of them?
77* ArtStyleDissonance: What appears at first to be a simple PlatformGame filled with [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter endearingly cute creatures]] - including a race of friendly and hospitable [[BunniesForCuteness rabbit people]] - is actually a story about [[WarIsHell war]] and [[FinalSolution genocide]], topped with horrific evils that rival the [[CosmicHorrorStory tone and style]] of Creator/HPLovecraft.
78** [[spoiler:A scientific expedition to a floating island went ''totally'' awry when [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate the doctor that came with them]] turned out to be a [[TheSociopath sociopathic monster]] of a man with [[AGodAmI delusions of godhood]]. He only came along to steal the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Demon Crown]]: a magical artifact with [[ArtifactOfDoom seemingly infinite dark power]] that ''he'' knows was used years before in an act of casual genocide. [[FromNobodyToNightmare He gets it, instantly becoming a threat to literally every living thing in the world.]]]]
79** [[spoiler:That's not even mentioning [[FromBadToWorse where the Demon Crown came from.]] As it turns out, a [[NiceGuy well meaning]] and [[TheArchmage extremely powerful wizard]] - [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished through no fault of his own]] - [[WasOnceAMan became]] an [[EldritchAbomination incomprehensibly dangerous]] MadGod after being tortured for so long that he [[PowerIncontinence lost control of his magic]], which went wild and [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds killed everyone he ever loved.]] He would love nothing more than to die, but thanks to his raging magic, [[ICannotSelfTerminate he cannot kill himself.]] He was [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] inside a floating island, but even then his out-of-control magic [[LeakingCanOfEvil manifests as]] the Demon Crown... ''and'' striking red flowers which, when eaten, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation drive the eater as just insane]] as the madman who inadvertently created them. (In particular, it turns those friendly rabbit-folk into [[TheBerserker raving]] [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk-like]] [[HairRaisingHare monsters]] that can [[KiManipulation shoot energy from their bodies]].) Creatures enraged in this way can be [[BrainwashedAndCrazy manipulated by the wearer of the Crown,]] granting them an [[TheHorde army of powerful monsters]] they can use to [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy all civilization.]]]]
80* AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe: Sometimes, the player's guns hurt only as much as the plot needs them to.
81** The Colons supporting Curly during her battle with you cannot be killed or permanently disabled; shots only stun them for a period of time.
82** Similarly, Toroko only gets briefly stunned when you have to shoot her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, her luck runs out when the red flowers turn her into Frenzied Toroko. Much like Igor, you can't stop the transformed Toroko without killing her.]]
83** [[spoiler:Sue and Misery in the fight against the Undead Core. You can knock them down with sustained fire and knock them out with enough damage, but Sue gets back up after the fight ends, and it is eventually revealed in the good ending that Misery also survived.]]
84* AssassinOutclassin: Balrog clumsily attempts to ambush you ''about five times'' and hilariously fails every time. [[spoiler:...except for the time when it actually works, though Quote might've been a bit distracted at that moment by the sudden horrible deaths of two of his friends.]] It doesn't help that he tends to yell [[{{Catchphrase}} "Huzzah!"/"Oh Yeaaah!!"]] whenever he jumps out at you.
85* AsteroidsMonster: The Polishes in the Sand Zone split up into smaller versions of themselves when they take enough damage.
86* AttackItsWeakPoint: All of the game's nastiest bosses also happen to only be vulnerable by shooting them in the face/mouth/eyes during a specific part of their attack pattern, i.e. the part where they are spamming a ridiculous number of bullets onto the screen. Always. Also, [[spoiler:Ballos's second and third forms]], though the weak points don't disappear at any point.
87* BackgroundMusicOverride: While getting Life Capsules and Missile upgrades are usually accompanied by a jingle, they are not in the [[spoiler:Sacred Grounds]]. "Running Hell" plays there non-stop until [[spoiler:the fight with the Heavy Press, at which point "Eyes of Flame" kicks in]].
88* BackToBackBadasses: Curly gets strapped to your back when raiding the BrutalBonusLevel.
89* BadassAdorable:
90** Due to the art style, nearly all the badasses in the game are like this, but Quote and Curly Brace really take the cake.
91** Monster X could qualify for this trope, once you see its true form. [[spoiler:Meow!]]
92* BaitAndSwitch:
93** When Quote first enters Curly's makeshift home in the Sand Zone, she smiles as she remarks upon how rarely she gets visitors. At first it seems like she is welcoming him, but when she suddenly pulls out her machine gun, it becomes clear that she is not pleased to see him. A battle ensues.
94** When Quote and Curly find themselves unable to lift a large boulder, Curly dejectedly states that it's too heavy for just two people. [[DeusExMachina At that moment, Balrog suddenly falls from the sky.]] When Curly tells him to help lift, it seems like he's about to pull a HeelFaceTurn as he wordlessly moves to face the boulder. But after a {{Beat}} he explodes with anger and yells at the heroes for expecting his help. A battle ensues.
95* BaitAndSwitchBoss:
96** After [[RobotBuddy Malco]] is reactivated, he declares you a threat...right before [[spoiler:he gets [[GroundShatteringLanding huzzahed into the ground]] by Balrog.]] This is made even more amusing by the fact that the music normally played during most boss fights starts when Malco appears, but then abruptly cuts out the moment [[spoiler:Balrog lands on top of Malco.]]
97** This is invoked by [[TheDragon Misery]] ''a lot'', as an indication of her pragmatism and love of using resources on hand to kill you, rather than fighting you directly. This includes [[spoiler:turning Balrog into a giant frog to fight you, provoking a gigantic monster from beneath the sand, and simply teleporting you into the Labyrinth, where you spend a third of the game trying to escape]]. It's cathartic when you finally get to take her on.
98* BallisticBone: Some skeletal enemies shoot bones as projectiles. Additionally, you fight the TrueFinalBoss of the game on a floor made of bones. In the first two parts of the fight, he frequently performs a GroundPound which sends out a shock wave of bones capable of hurting you. In the third part of the fight, he drops flaming skulls on you.
99* BarefootCartoonAnimal: Mimiga go barefoot, likely because their feet are so huge.
100* BareMidriffsAreFeminine: Curly's tank top shows off her belly.
101* BattleCouple: Curly Brace and Quote are this on two occasions. The first is when they're making their way to The Core while trying to escape the Labyrinth, and the second has them using a fairly unique variation of BackToBackBadasses (the former actually strapped to the latter's back) during the BrutalBonusLevel.
102* BattleCry: Balrog's "[[{{Catchphrase}} Huzzah!]]", which was changed into "[[ShoutOut Oh Yeaaah!!]]" in [=NiCALIS=]' translation.
103* BewitchedAmphibians: Misery turns Balrog into a giant frog for a boss battle.
104* BigDamnHeroes:
105** [[invoked]] Subverted, [[PlayerPunch painfully]], in the Sand Zone. Twice. [[spoiler:Just as Balrog is force-feeding Toroko a bunch of red flowers, King arrives, only a few spare seconds [[LateToTheTragedy too late to stop him]]. Seconds later, ''you'' arrive... just in time to see King slumped on the ground, dying from injuries he received from [[SenselessSacrifice his foolish attempt to charge the Doctor]], and for Toroko to go [[TheBerserker insane]], forcing you to [[ShootTheDog kill her]].]]
106** The GoldenEnding ''starts'' with [[spoiler:Balrog huzzahing]] into the [[TheWallsAreClosingIn rapidly-narrowing arena]] of the defeated TrueFinalBoss and jetting Quote [[spoiler:and Curly]] out of there by ''smashing his cranium through the ceiling and out of the island''.
107* BigEntrance: In Balrog's first appearance, there's an ominous pounding on a door, then he smashes down the door and the wall around it, shouting (depending on the translation) either "Huzzah!" or "Oh Yeaaah!!"
108* BigOlEyebrows: Santa has ''massive'' eyebrows compared to other Mimiga.
109* BittersweetEnding: Both the Normal ''and'' [[GoldenEnding Best]] endings are bittersweet thanks to the fact that [[AnyoneCanDie not everyone lives to see the end,]] but the Best ending is called "best" for a reason.
110** The Normal ending [[spoiler:shows that the Sakamoto family and several Mimiga escape in a helicopter, while the island was decimated when it crashed to the earth. ''However,'' the [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue epilogue]] shows that much of the place actually survived the landing intact. In particular, the Labyrinth, Jenka's house, the Power Supply Room, and the Mimiga Cemetery all seem none the worse for wear. Balrog becomes a doctor in the Labyrinth, but Misery is nowhere to be seen, [[ImpliedTrope implying that she is dead.]] Curly Brace is also absent, and very likely dead.]][[note]][[spoiler:If you didn't get the Tow Rope, she drowns in the Core and is left to rust. If you saved her from drowning but didn't restore her memories, she was likely in the Plantation - which is near the Outer Wall - when the Island crashed, and would have been crushed. If you restored her memories, she [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness runs off on her own]] to the [[{{Hell}} Blood Stained Sanctuary]] to kill Ballos and ends up severely injured, and very likely killed.]][[/note]]
111** [[invoked]] The Best ending [[spoiler:shows the Island still floating in the sky. The Sakamoto family escapes the island in the helicopter, taking a few Mimiga with them to the surface. The [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue epilogue]] shows that Misery is alive, and [[HeelFaceTurn quite possibly reformed]], and Balrog - [[ForcedIntoEvil no longer bound by the Crown]] - carries both Quote and Curly on his back as he [[OffIntoTheDistanceEnding flies off]] to find a nice, quiet place for the three of them to retire. Everyone who survived essentially lives HappilyEverAfter. ''However'' this ending contains a caveat that reveals the "Normal Ending" is [[HarsherInHindsight actually pretty screwed.]] See, in this ending, [[TrueFinalBoss Ballos]] - who [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil regenerates the Demon Crown as long as he is alive]] - is dead, so the Demon Crown is gone forever. In the Normal Ending, he may ''[[AmbiguousSituation not]]'' [[AmbiguousSituation be dead,]] which means that this tragedy will ''[[HappyEndingOverride very likely]]'' [[HereWeGoAgain happen all over again]], [[ShootTheShaggyDog despite your best efforts]]. Good thing you ''didn't'' get the normal ending... [[OhCrap right?]]]]
112* BlackBeadEyes: The game's [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed art style]] lends itself to the characters all having really beady eyes. That said, their dialogue portraits invariably show more normal-looking eyes.
113* BlackoutBasement: The Deserted House in Sand Zone. You can only see a small part of the house (including one of Jenka's puppies) that is otherwise covered in total darkness.
114* BlamingTheTools: Discussed with Tetsuzuo the gunsmith, who states that people who use weapons made by others often blame the weapons for their own failures.
115* BleakLevel: There are several of these. [[spoiler:The Labyrinth is a desolate "trash heap" full of dead and dying robots. [[FromBadToWorse Even worse,]] Mimiga Village becomes this trope when you return there after escaping the Labyrinth.]]
116* BlindIdiotTranslation:
117** The Aeon Genesis translators didn't notice that the [[spoiler:secret password in the Plantation]] was the game's original Japanese title ''[[SdrawkcabName spelled backwards]]''[[note]]The title is ''Doukutsu Monogatari''. In reverse, "Do-U-Ku-Tsu-Mo-No-Ga-Ta-Ri" becomes "Ri-Ta-Ga-No-Mo-Tsu-Ku-U-Do"[[/note]] The translator missed the intended meaning and [[EpicFail transliterated it phonetically]], resulting in "[[JapaneseRanguage Litagano Motscoud]]". In most other respects, the script is generally accurate, since Aeon Genesis had [[ApprovalOfGod Pixel himself]] assisting them. The [=NICALiS=] translation changes it to "yrotS evaC" in keeping with the original intent.
118** Similarly, the "Nikumaru Counter" in the Aeon Genesis translation is a very literal rendition of its Japanese name (にくまるカウンター), which [=NICALiS=] rendered as "290 Counter".
119* BlownAcrossTheRoom: In the Sand Zone warehouse, [[spoiler:King finds the Doctor and [[HotBlooded voices his intent to kill him.]] In reply, the Doctor very casually summons a lightning bolt that [[TheWorfEffect blasts King all the way to the opposite wall]]. The impact mortally wounds him, and he lives just barely long enough to pass his sword on to Quote.]]
120* BodyMotifs: You will see a lot of [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]]. [[spoiler:All of them are connected to the [[HatePlague rampaging magic]] of [[MadGod Ballos]], whose right eye is bright red.]]
121* BoisterousBruiser: Balrog. He's an all-around fun-loving dude with a generally pleasant and lax attitude, who takes to his every action with a lot of enthusiasm. [[CatchPhrase Huzzah!]]
122* BoisterousWeakling: [[BrattyHalfPint Sue.]] She's convinced that she's a fighter, and claims to never have lost in a fight with her brother ([[NonActionGuy which isn't saying much]]). In the first (of three) times that [[DistressedDamsel you have to rescue her]], she grossly overestimates her fighting abilities, and grossly underestimates those of a berserk Mimiga more than four times her size... ''[[TooDumbToLive in a fist fight.]]'' [[{{Tsundere}} Then she gets rather pissed if you admit that you rescued her.]] Or even [[{{Hypocrite}} if you don't.]]
123* BonusFeatureFailure: Curly mode in the [=WiiWare=]/Steam version simply changes some dialogue and the places of the main character and Curly, and Sanctuary Time Attack denies you the use of missiles (although it lets you use both the Blade and the Nemesis, which is more than a fair trade in B3).
124* {{Bookends}}: The area you start in at the start of the game is titled "[[NoobCave First Cave]]". The last cave before the FinalBoss is titled..."[[ShapedLikeItself Last Cave]]".
125* BossArenaRecovery: Due to how the game's weapon energy system works[[note]]''Cave Story'' uses {{Evolving Weapon}}s. Most defeated enemies drop energy crystals, which can -- similarly to experience points -- be picked up to level up the currently selected weapon, but if you get hit, the current weapon loses energy and, if no energy is left, is reduced in level.[[/note]], most ''Cave Story'' bosses are {{Mook Maker}}s, {{Flunky Boss}}es, or have item-dropping projectiles to allow you to take the drops.
126* BossBonanza:
127** The endgame has you fight against [[spoiler:Misery, The Doctor and his superpowered form, and then the Undead Core, Possessed Sue, and Possessed Misery at the same time]], without any kind of checkpoint and limited ways to heal yourself (namely, {{Mook}} [[BossArenaRecovery drops]], help from a certain purple Mimiga, and the TooAwesomeToUse instant-heal item [[spoiler:which you'll want to save for the BrutalBonusLevel, if you're going there]]).
128** After the endgame, [[spoiler:if you have the [[GuideDangIt Booster 2.0 and Iron Bond in your inventory]], you can enter the Prefab House before leaving the island]] to find the entrance to the BrutalBonusLevel. At the end, you fight two more bosses in a TrueFinalBoss Bonanza: [[spoiler:The [[KingMook Heavy Press]]]] and [[spoiler:[[MarathonBoss Ballos]]]]. [[spoiler:The Heavy Press]] has only one form, but you have to fight it while dodging [[InvincibleMinorMinion the two Rollings]] in the room, and it will kill you in one hit [[KaizoTrap if you do not get to the side of the room after defeating it]]. [[spoiler:Ballos]] has ''three'' health bars, and before you can even damage the third health bar, you need to attack eight little rock things surrounding him, making for a total of five parts to the fight. Apart from the [[TooAwesomeToUse single-use full heal item]] you can carry, the healing you get in between the two bosses is a LuckBasedMission, attempting to go for item drops to heal while fighting [[spoiler:Ballos]] is a borderline SuicideMission, and dying will send you back to the nearest used save point ''[[CheckpointStarvation all the way back at the very entrance]]''. [[NintendoHard Have fun]].
129* BossCorridor: The outdoor bridge to [[spoiler:Ballos']] room.
130* BossRush: The Platform/{{WiiWare}} version and ''Cave Story+'' both have a Boss Rush as an unlockable.
131* BossTease: Misery will occasionally appear just to stir up trouble and get the player wondering if they can shoot her yet, [[BaitAndSwitchBoss only to leave and let someone else fight instead.]] Oddly, the player can do this to ''themselves'' with Balrog - a dialog option in your first encounter will mean that you won't need to fight him there, though you will have to later on.
132* {{Bowdlerise}}: The [=NiCALIS=] releases and accompanying translations often edit parts of the game in dialogue and in other ways.
133** If Quote chooses to sleep in Chako's bed [[EventFlag at a specific moment]], it results in a ''very'' thinly disguised [[OptionalSexualEncounter one-night stand:]] he will wake up to find her sharing the bed with him, and with her lipstick in his inventory.[[note]]taking a trinket from one's lover is a rather common practice in Japan.[[/note]] This was rather clumsily bowdlerized in the 3DS version: he'll wake up to find her sleeping on the floor instead of next to him, presumably because she had nowhere else to sleep with him in her bed. However, ''he still gets her lipstick,'' so [[FailedASpotCheck someone was not paying full attention]]. Later releases on other systems leave the easter egg untouched.
134** Later on, Quote can [[KleptomaniacHeroFoundUnderwear acquire Curly Brace's panties.]] While that in and of itself wasn't considered too much of an issue, in the original game, [[spoiler:the [[https://archive.is/Snnlv panties]] share their color and heart-shaped emblem with the [[https://archive.is/srjRN Iron Bond]], which she gives the player as a [[{{Subtext}} symbol of their connection]]. The [=NiCALIS=] releases had this [[{{Bowdlerise}} Bowdlerised]] by changing the emblem on the panties [[https://archive.is/yHhVX into a red bow]], though [[FailedASpotCheck the description of the item still mentions the emblem.]]]]
135** In one of the prisons near the Plantation, it's possible to speak to a certain incarcerated Mimiga. What they say changes depending on the translation:
136--->'''Aeon Genesis translation:''' Doctor dumb can go screw himself!"\
137'''[=NiCALIS=] translation:''' The Doctor can eat it!
138* BrainsAndBrawn: [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Misery and Balrog.]] Misery is the brains, Balrog is the brawn.
139* BreakablePowerUp: You collect yellow triangles to level up your weapons and make them more powerful. You lose a few of these points every time you take damage, and it's possible to ''de-level'' your weapons this way.
140* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:As per their mission directive, [[BackToBackBadasses Quote and Curly Brace]] both fought against and killed the previous owner of the [[ArtifactOfEvil Demon Crown]]. Unfortunately, they were both severely damaged in the fight and [[AmnesiacDissonance lost their memories.]] Also, the Demon Crown survived the fight, ensuring that [[HereWeGoAgain all of this would happen again...]]]]
141* BrutalBonusLevel: [[spoiler:Hidden Last Cave and the Sacred Grounds]] in the main game, as well as [[spoiler:the Nemesis Challenge and Wind Fortress]] in the Steam and 3DS eShop versions. If you want practice on the first two, you can play Easy Mode (provided you're not playing the original game) and practice for when you do them for real. If you're playing the 3DS eShop version, you can do this for the other two, but your best time is only saved on Classic/Normal.
142* BubbleShield: The Bubble Gun when upgraded to level 3 will have the bubble projectiles orbit around you while holding fire, obscuring Quote from damage. Curly also possesses one that [[OxygenatedUnderwaterBubbles lets her breathe underwater]]. [[spoiler:She gives it to Quote after the battle with the Core; whether or not this results in a HeroicSacrifice depends on whether you made the right preparations beforehand and take the right actions afterwards.]]
143* BullfightBoss: The first fight against Balrog is one of these, while Monster X is quite a threatening take on the same trope. [[spoiler:[[TurnsRed The Muscle Doctor]] is an even ''more'' threatening example]].
144* ButThouMust:
145** It is impossible to leave the First Cave without stealing the Polar Star.
146** While speaking to Ma Pignon to [[spoiler:get a cure for Curly's amnesia]], he will say, "But in reality, you don't really want this, right?" Upon answering [[spoiler:no, he'll say, "You really want it that bad?" Answer yes, and he says, "Are you sure you want it?" Answer yes, and he says, "[[OverlyLongGag But in reality, you don't really want this, right?]]" Answer no, and]] he'll finally give you the Mushroom Badge. Examining the item reveals that it ''isn't'' what you want. However, you still have to get it before you can get what you ''do'' want.
147** Averted during the very first boss fight. Balrog asks if you want to fight him with that "pea shooter of yours". If you say no, he'll leave.
148* TheCameo:
149** The boss of the Waterway, Ironhead, and his Porcupine Fish minions are characters from ''VideoGame/{{Ikachan}}'', an earlier Pixel game. [[spoiler:Beating the boss without taking any damage will cause a swarm of Ikachans to swim across the screen as well]].
150** The protagonist and Curly Brace themselves cameo as fully-playable classes (though on opposing teams) in ''VideoGame/GangGarrison2''.
151* CantRefuseTheCallAnymore: The end of the Sand Zone. You can only watch, horrified, as [[spoiler:Toroko and King are murdered in front of you, and then you are effortlessly defeated and cast into the Labyrinth by Misery.]] Then [[FromBadToWorse everything gets much worse]].
152* CaptainErsatz: Some enemies are {{shout|Out}}-outs to classic video games. For example, Sandcrocs appeared in a ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' game, and enemies looking like Basil were found in the ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' series. Also, the Muscle Doctor looks a lot like the Cyclops summon from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
153* CastOfSnowflakes: The entire named cast is unique, with no two characters looking or being alike. Quite a few unnamed characters are unique as well.
154* CatchPhrase: Balrog's "Huzzah!", which got changed to a Kool-Aid Man-style "Oh Yeaaah!!" in the [=NiCALIS=] translation, and can be either/or in the ''Cave Story+'' version due to a mod that returns the original translation.
155* CatsAreMean: [[spoiler:Monster X's true form is a ''gigantic'' cat.]]
156* {{Cephalothorax}}: Critters and Balrog both have no separation between their body and their head.
157* ChallengeRun:
158** In the various updated rereleases, the Hard Mode removes all but one of the [[HeartContainer Health Capsules]] (and palette-swaps your character), making it a game-enforced low-health run.
159** Clearing the BrutalBonusLevel in less than three minutes unlocks a special song heard nowhere else in the game.
160* CharacterPortrait: Every major character except [[TheQuietOne Quote]] has one (and even then, [[spoiler:he gets one for his single line in Curly Story]]), and they are generally used if there's more than two {{NPC}}s talking.
161* CharacterTic:
162** Jack ''constantly'' points his finger at people.
163** Mahin ''constantly'' eats.
164** Curly ''[[RunningGag constantly]]'' displays her GenkiGirl personality.
165** [[MeaningfulName Misery]] seems to ''always'' get a kick out of making other people [[{{Sadist}} miserable,]] usually through some form of relatively subtle trolling.
166** Balrog is overly obsessed with [[ThereWasADoor busting through walls]] and [[CatchPhrase yelling "Huzzah!"/"Oh Yeaaah!"]]
167* ChargedAttack: The Spur can be charged to WaveMotionGun levels.
168* CheckpointStarvation: The [[spoiler:[[BrutalBonusLevel Sacred Grounds]]]] area wouldn't be half as frustrating if it weren't for this trope. You will have to beat three bosses in a row, a long platforming section with tricky mooks attacking you and the ceiling falling off, and then you'll have to beat ''another'' boss with three phases. All in one single sitting without checkpoints.
169* ClimaxBoss: The Core battle, which comes after a minor plot revelation and is followed by a more important one, and has its own background music.
170* ColonyDrop: [[spoiler:In his final attempt to kill himself and stop his out of control magic, Ballos tries to crash the island into the Earth. In the GoldenEnding, Curly and Quote kill him and stop the island.]]
171* CognizantLimbs: The Core [[spoiler:and its undead version]] both have separate smaller nodes that can be attacked under certain circumstances and thereby stunned. Defeating them is not relevant for the boss fight itself though.
172* ContractualBossImmunity:
173** [[spoiler:The Spur]] at Lv. 3 defeats any non-boss enemy immediately, but the effect doesn't work on bosses, who instead "only" take substantial damage.
174** Some of the bosses have a defense that activates in case they would receive too much damage. The first is either Curly, who activates a shield to any missile attack, or Omega, who will close its armor if the player fires more than one missile.
175* CoolBike: A rather nifty hoverbike can be found in the Grasslands. Then, Kazuma [[EpicFail takes a crack at riding it.]]
176* CraniumRide: You can ride on the heads of certain enemies for a short amount of time after you've been hit (during the MercyInvincibility timeframe); using this trick, you can reach certain places earlier than expected. The Behemoths in the Egg Corridor don't even damage you if you land on top of them, letting you ride them safely.
177* CreditsMontage: Done in reverse chronological order — and it's a bit longer if [[spoiler:you beat the True Final Boss]].
178* CreepyCave: As the title suggests, the majority of the game takes place in a massive cave system. Most of the caverns are spacious and well-lit, and some even feature vegetation and farmland. They'd probably be a nice place to live if [[EverythingTryingToKillYou the local wildlife wasn't inexplicably out for your blood]]. However, there are several areas that are genuinely creepy. The Core Chamber is dark, partially flooded, and littered with the bodies of destroyed combat robots, serving as an ominous buildup to a ClimaxBoss fight. The Last Cave[[note]](particularly the [[BrutalBonusLevel the optional version you go through if you have the Booster 2.0]])[[/note]] is full of lava, SpikesOfDoom, tricky platforming, and stronger enemies. [[spoiler:The [[BrutalBonusLevel secret final level]], the Sacred Grounds,[[note]](aka [[DubNameChange Blood Stained Sanctuary]])[[/note]] is the most extreme: it's filled with OneHitKill spikes, [[NintendoHard insane platforming challenges]], and new, much more aggressive enemies, and the scenery looks like [[PlanetHeck you're descending into Hell itself]].]]
179* CrosshairAware: One of the TrueFinalBoss's attacks uses this trope. Multiple crosshairs form on the ground where lightning bolts are about to strike.
180* {{Cutscene}}s: Probably the only thing you'll hate about this game is the fact that these are unskippable and you'll have to watch them every time you retry a boss battle. Though at least the ScrollingText speeds up a bit on subsequent viewings or if you hold down the Jump or Fire button.
181* CrutchCharacter: Well, more like Crutch Weapon. The Machine Gun is one of the first weapons you can trade your starter pistol for, and it is a pretty good weapon (particularly due to the fact that at max rank, [[RecoilBoost it serves as a jetpack when firing downward]]). This can trivialize platforming for most of the game (at least if you can avoid taking damage to make sure the gun is always at full strength) and is a lot easier to use than the actual jetpack you can obtain later in the game. That said, the actual jetpack allows for much more precise platforming than the machinegun (and is outright the only way to get past some parts if you get the "proper" jetpack), and the fully upgraded Polar Star is a better weapon for straight up damage than the machinegun.
182* CutsceneIncompetence:
183** There's a room with a Green Ogre in it, the same type as those you may have fought and killed several of in the past area; it guards a teleporter, but you can't hurt it or interact with it at all. If you walk right past it and try to use the teleporter, it knocks you out and throws you in prison.
184** The player character stands right there, with a weapon in hand, while the second boss (the first if you skip Balrog's first fight) punches Sue in the face repeatedly and then carries her away.
185[[/folder]]
186
187[[folder:Tropes D to F]]
188* DamnYouMuscleMemory:
189** In most PC games, pressing the Escape key will pause the game and bring up a save/load/quit menu or similar, and pressing Escape again will close the menu and send you back to the game. In ''Cave Story'', pressing Escape brings up the menu -- and pressing Escape again ''quits the program without confirmation.'' Averted in ''Cave Story+'', where you are prompted to go to the main menu instead of quitting the game (and "No" is highlighted by default).
190** Also, if you upgrade from the Platform/DSi ware version to the 3DS version, the programmers ''switched the jump and fire button'' for no apparent reason. Averted in the 3DS eShop version, where there's an option to unflip the jump and fire buttons.
191** Used to pressing up to enter doors? Or a non-directional button to speak or interact? Too bad. Pressing down serves both those actions in this game.
192* DarkAndTroubledPast: Quote, Curly Brace, and Toroko all have one. The Mimiga [[FinalSolution share one as a race]]. [[spoiler:Also, [[TrueFinalBoss Ballos]].]]
193* DarkFantasy: [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} As cute as this game is,]] the actual story ''definitely'' [[ArtStyleDissonance fits into this trope, regardless.]]
194** Imagine, if you will, living in a world where life is essentially normal... ''except'' for the fact that [[FunctionalMagic magic is real]]. Think that's not that big of a change? Think again: [[spoiler:a ''[[GreatOffscreenWar World War]]'' was rather recently fought over a magical floating island because [[GovernmentConspiracy seemingly every government in the world]] wanted their hands on a [[ArtifactOfdoom certain piece of magical headgear]] called the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Demon Crown]], which allows the user to freely channel the [[PowerIncontinence never-ending magical outflow]] of an [[SealedEvilInACan eternally entombed]], [[TheAgeless ageless]] and [[MadGod hopelessly insane]] wizard with [[TheArchmage power beyond mortal reckoning]]. Said wizard's powers [[LeakingCanOfEvil leak out and manifest in the world]] as a [[HatePlague blind, uncontrollable rage]] that also grants '''''[[MadeOfIron impossible]]''''' [[HulkingOut strength]] by unlocking the affected person's true power. Anyone affected by said rage can be [[BrainwashedAndCrazy controlled by the owner of the Crown.]] If someone - anyone - were to obtain that crown, they theoretically could - at any time of their choosing - release a raging horde of monstrous demonic creatures that would ''easily'' tear apart all of modern civilization, leaving you in a [[VillainWorld ruined world]] ruled by a [[TheSociopath complete psychopath]] with infinite power.]]
195* DarkestHour: The bit between the Iron Head fight and the Outer Wall. All your allies are either dead, kidnapped, injured and lost, or [[DespairEventHorizon telling you that it's hopeless to keep fighting and that you should run away]]. The unexplained [[spoiler:destruction of the Egg Corridor]] (and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5Zt8WJuhQY music accompanying it]]) certainly reinforces this.
196* DarkReprise: Compare the tempo and drumline of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy9ejJiSH2Y Mischevious Robot]]" to that of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5Zt8WJuhQY Scorching Back]]".
197* DeadlyDroplets: In "Last Cave", large damaging lava droplets fall down from the cave ceiling.
198* DeathOfAChild: Several children can and do die during the course of the game.
199* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Ballos]] has been waiting for someone to come and kill him, because he [[ICannotSelfTerminate cannot off himself]], but knows he has to go due to his SanitySlippage.
200* DefeatMeansFriendship: For Toroko, Curly Brace, and eventually [[spoiler:Balrog, with the latter being a particularly notable case as he assisted both Quote and Curly once, even while under the influence of the Demon Crown]].
201* DeflectorShield: Curly Brace has one that [[ContractualBossImmunity deflects missiles.]]
202* DegradedBoss: Igor. He appears as a regular enemy at the Balcony. He's even more powerful than before, shooting more energy balls at once and having more HP. However he never uses his punch attack, and you have more powerful weapons and more HP.
203* DesertSkull: The Sand Zone is full of bones, including [[DemBones animated ones]].
204* DestructibleProjectiles: Many projectiles can be shot and drop hearts, energy crystals, or ammo, allowing BossArenaRecovery.
205* DevelopersForesight:
206** If you beat the game with Mr. Little still in your inventory, he interjects "...Aren't you forgetting something?!" after the last cutscene.
207** If you try to take the sprinkler from the Mimiga Village (in order to deliver it to Momorin), you'll get the message ''"It's fixed firmly to the ground!"''.
208** The Beast Fang is in the item files of the remakes, still being unused. However, its original description has been changed to saying that you're not supposed to have it.
209** [[KleptomaniacHeroFoundUnderwear Curly's Panties]] are called "''Your'' Panties" in Curly Story.
210** In regards to the key to the Storehouse, [[spoiler:Balrog will normally steal it from Jenka after Quote brings the fifth and final puppy to her home. You can actually go out of your way to find all the other five puppies and give them to her one-by-one, in the hopes of getting the key before Balrog does. Despite this, she will not give you the storehouse key immediately if you do, and asks you to go outside and wait for awhile, allowing Balrog to accomplish the same feat]].
211* DidntThinkThisThrough: PlayedForLaughs in the cutscene after Kazuma is freed from the warehouse he is trapped in. Kazuma and Professor Booster notice a nearby motorcycle that Kazuma deduces still works, he and Professor Booster get on board, Kazuma starts the ignition... and realizes too late that he has no idea how to control the motorcycle. He loses control and crashes, damaging the motorcycle beyond repair.
212* DirtyCoward: Kazuma. After spending the whole game generally being useless, [[spoiler:he plans to abandon his captured sister and missing mother to save his own skin. Agreeing to join him results in the game's worst ending.]]
213* DiskOneNuke: If you remember a certain fireplace from the beginning of the game, you can acquire the Bubbline quite early, and it is really useful all the way up to the endgame (where you would obtain it if you didn't pay enough attention).
214* DistressedDamsel: Sue ends up needing rescue more than once. Sometimes, [[BoisterousWeakling it's her own fault]].
215* DoubleEdgedAnswer: After the events in [[spoiler:the Labyrinth and Waterway,]] Kazuma reveals there's a way to actually reverse the Red Flowers' corruption: [[spoiler:destroy the island's Core! The only problem is, if you do that, the [[OutOfTheFryingPan island drops out of the sky like a brick]].]]
216* DoWellButNotPerfect: Although the Blade gains [=AoE=] damage on hit at Lv. 3, it makes each hit take much longer. A properly used Lv. 1/2 Blade can easily out-DPS Lv. 3, leaving Lv. 3 only useful when its large range is preferred.
217* DownerEnding: If you complete the game without taking any extra effort (aka. the bare minimum), it ends with [[spoiler:Professor Booster and Curly [[KilledOffForReal dead]], [[ColonyDrop the sky island crashing to earth, causing devastation to those on it and possibly the people below]], and since you did not find [[GreaterScopeVillain the true source of its power]], the Demon Crown will rise again one day, thus [[ShootTheShaggyDog you have failed in your mission to destroy it for good]].]]
218* DownTheDrain: The Waterway is a massive and complicated piping system that transers water throughout the island.
219* {{Dracolich}}: [[spoiler:Upon returning to the Egg Corridor in the late game, the place will have been destroyed, and the dragon eggs have hatched into "Dragon Zombies". It's unclear if they're actually undead or just malformed due to hatching prematurely. [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Or both.]]]]
220* TheDragon: Misery is the second in power of the BigBad and for most of the game serves as the main antagonist.
221* DualBoss: The Sisters fight together and share a health bar. There's also a trio boss: [[spoiler:the Undead Core, accompanied by a [[DemonicPossession mutated Misery and Sue]].]] They ''don't'' share a health bar.]]
222* DubNameChange: As a result of having [[DuelingDubs two different translations in common use]], a small number of things in Cave Story's will have different names depending on which translation you use.
223** The second area accessed by teleporter is called "Grasstown" in the Aeon Genesis translation, and renamed "Bushlands" in the [=NICALiS=] translation.[[note]]クサムラ is comprised of two words that translate to "grass" and "village", but is unusually written in katakana rather than kanji.[[/note]]
224** The optional weapon known as the "Bubbler" in the Aeon Genesis translation is known as "Bubbline" in the [=NiCALIS=] translation. The latter is much closer to what the Japanese, バブリン (''Baburin''), was going for. Among other things, [=NiCALIS=] is generally more accurate when it comes to names, though they ''kept'' "[[PunnyName Balfrog]]" from Aeon Genesis, which was originally the less imaginative ボスフロッグ (''Bosufuroggu'', Bosfrog or [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Bossfrog]]) in Japanese.
225** Two notable examples: the only purple Mimiga in the game is named "[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Chaco]]" in the Aeon Genesis translation, and "[[UsefulNotes/NamesInJapanese Chako]]" in the [=NiCALIS=] translation. Additionally, in the end credits where [[EnemyRollCall all the enemies in the game are listed]], the Aeon Genesis Translation used the word "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Rabil]]" to describe a Mimiga that has gone crazy from eating Red Flowers, while the [=NICALiS=] translation uses the word "[[JapaneseRanguage Ravil]]" instead[[note]]ラビル or ''Rabiru'' is based on the English word, "rabid"[[/note]]. Pixel himself respectively used "Chako" and "Ravil" as part of his original filenames.
226** The [[PerplexingPlurals plural]] of Mimiga and Gaudi is "Mimigas" and "Gaudis" in the Aeon Genesis translation, but "Mimiga" and "Gaudi" in the [=NICALiS=] translation.
227* DungeonShop: Subverted; The "Labyrinth Shop" is a location within the Labyrinth in which otherwise hostile creatures known as Gaudi are friendly and operate a shop. However, someone stole all their stuff, so they cannot sell anything - though they also take a moment to quip that Quote wouldn't have any money anyway.
228* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler:A dying Mimiga who is suffering from the effects of [[PsychoSerum Red Flowers]] will change back into their normal self right before they expire. This is especially heartbreaking when it happens to [[KillTheCutie Toroko.]]]]
229* EasterEgg: There are an astounding number of them.
230** Finding a hidden corridor in Curly's House and inspecting the chest inside will yield [[KleptomaniacHeroFoundUnderwear her panties]], which do nothing at all in the [=PC=] original. They unlock [[AnotherSideAnotherStory Curly Mode]] in the remakes.
231** When first visiting Chako's House, should the player decide to use the bed ''after'' checking the fireplace, and ''before'' leaving her house, Chako will be sleeping on the bed next to them when they wake up. Additionally, they will have Chako's Rouge in their inventory, which has... [[OptionalSexualEncounter implications]]. Like Curly's panties, this does absolutely nothing.
232** Beating the Ironhead boss in the Waterway area without taking any damage will [[spoiler:cause multiple [[VideoGame/{{Ikachan}} Ikachans]] to swim across the screen and give the player the Alien Medal]]. [[RunningGag Again, it has no use]].
233** Cave Story+, adds another reference to ''VideoGame/{{Ikachan}}'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Okmf4QB5NY an abridged version of that game's theme music]] replaces the main menu theme on Pixel's birthday.
234* EasyLevelsHardBosses: Bizarrely enough, on Hard Mode (3 HP, No Missiles), this is what happens. Most of the levels don't get as much of a difficulty increase as the bosses, especially the Core. Formerly easy bosses such as some of the Balrog fights and Puu/Pooh Black will destroy you mercilessly. [[spoiler:[[BrutalBonusLevel The Sacred Grounds]]]] is the big exception.
235* EasyModeMockery: Picking easy mode will make the player character wear a [[ColourCodedEmotions yellow costume]] (as opposed to the normal Red). When this costume was first announced, there was great public outcry because many fans did not realize that various difficulty modes had been implemented for the game.
236* EarnYourHappyEnding: The path to the GoldenEnding is ''far'' more hazardous than the path to the bittersweet one. If you're playing blind, it is ''nearly impossible'' get the good ending on your first try unless you're clairvoyant.
237* EmergencyEnergyTank: The Life Pot. You can only carry one at a time, and you only get two over the course of the whole game (unless you backtrack), so you'd better make good use of them.
238* EmpathicWeapon: The Blade, at its maximum level, [[spoiler:summons King's spirit, who slices and dices up anything near whatever it hits first]].
239* EnemyRollCall: The credits list shows the names of all the characters, then all the bosses, then all the regular stage enemies.
240* EnergyBall: Energy balls seem to be the default ranged attack of everything in the game. They can be fired both by you and enemies... moreso by your enemies.
241* EquipmentBasedProgression: The game has you collect various guns, each one leveling up and down individually as you collect XP triangles and take damage.
242* EquipmentUpgrade: In addition to each weapon being an EvolvingWeapon, there's a sidequest which allows the player to upgrade the [[EmergencyWeapon Polar Star]] into a powerful charging weapon with infinite ammo (assuming they [[PermanentlyMissableContent didn't trade it away]]).
243* EssenceDrop: When defeated, enemies drop hearts that refill your health, energy crystals that increase your weapon power, or missile ammunition.
244* EventFlag: Jellies? Never seen 'em before, but now that you mention it, they're right out the door!
245* EverythingFades: In most videogames, dead enemies just [[NoBodyLeftBehind disappear.]] The Original [=PC=] version of Cave Story uses this as part of its storytelling: any living thing that is fatally injured will disappear in a puff of smoke when it expires. Anything that ''doesn't'' disappear in this way is [[NotQuiteDead still alive.]] [[UpdatedRerelease Cave Story+]] changes this so that characters important to the plot ''do not'' disappear on death, presumably to heighten the drama. [[spoiler:Case in point, note the contrast between the deaths of King and Toroko in [[https://youtu.be/ydH8e4ldsO8?t=5137 the Original PC game]], and [[https://youtu.be/FqLkz04CSoo?t=2671 Cave Story+]]. Compare to [[https://youtu.be/ydH8e4ldsO8?t=1244 Igor being rendered unconscious]] and [[https://youtu.be/ydH8e4ldsO8?t=10598 returning later on]] in the original game.]] Notably, dragons break this rule, as dead ones ''don't'' fade.
246* EvolvingTitleScreen: Beating Sacred Grounds and the TrueFinalBoss quickly enough will change the cursor on the title screen (normally in the shape of the player character) into a different character and also changes the music that plays. Interestingly, this is the only way to hear the songs "White" or "Toroko's Theme" in the game.
247* EvolvingWeapon: Every weapon (except the Spur) changes slightly as it collects experience points, especially the Blade and the Bubbline.
248* EyesAlwaysShut: Kazuma is always depicted with both eyes closed. The Sky Dragon is as well.
249* FaceOfAThug: King has a massive scar on his face and his eyes are constantly red from eating cooked [[PsychoSerum red flowers]]. He's a [[GoodIsNotNice good guy]].
250* FateWorseThanDeath: The effects of the [[PsychoSerum red flowers]], filling any Mimiga who eats them with such intense rage that not only their sanity, but their entire personality is lost[[note]]though one Mimiga, Igor, has somehow managed to retain a small part of his sanity[[/note]]. It is heavily implied that the effects are permanent, and that there is no known cure [[spoiler:other than killing [[GreaterScopeVillain Ballos]], whose perpetual [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil fury after being tortured]] manifests in the form of the red flowers]]. [[spoiler:The player is forced to give [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth Toroko]] a MercyKill after she's forcibly fed red flowers by Misery and Balrog.]]
251* FetchQuest: There are several, one of which involves [[StealthPun puppies]].
252* {{Fireballs}}: You can fire them from the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fireball weapon]].
253* FirstTown: Mimiga village contains the Player Headquarters and is home to some of the most important [=NPCs=] in the game.
254* FissionMailed: After the fight against the first LoadBearingBoss, the room floods, leaving you trapped underwater with your AirMeter ticking down to [[GameOver zero]]. [[spoiler:Curly gives you her air tank after you lose consciousness, saving you [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost of her own life]] [[GuideDangIt if you haven't taken the proper steps towards saving her]].]]
255* FlashOfPain: All enemies in ''Cave Story'' will shake, flash, or otherwise react on being hurt to let you know that you are damaging them.
256* FlawlessVictory: Defeating [[spoiler:Ironhead]], the Waterway boss, without taking any damage awards the Alien Badge, [[CosmeticAward which does nothing besides look cool in your inventory]].
257* FlunkyBoss: Many, many boss battles are of this type, primarily because your weapons lose experience points each time you take damage; destroy the flunkies, collect experience crystals, keep your weapons up to level. Most of the bosses which don't summon minions have projectiles you can shoot for powerups.
258** The battle with the [[spoiler:Undead Core]] actually has two levels of this - It already has two minions, and one of them is a MookMaker.
259** Special mention goes to [[spoiler:G-CLONE from the SecretLevel, Wind Fortress, in ''Cave Story+''. The battle consists of a stationary computer that does nothing but sporadically shoot bullets and send naked Curly clones to do most of its dirty work. You have to focus on attacking the computer to do damage.]]
260** The [[spoiler:Heavy Press]] has, in addition to regular enemies, two {{Invincible Minor Minion}}s fighting alongside it.
261* FloatingContinent: [[spoiler:The cave you wake up in at the beginning of the game is part of an interconnected series of caves inside a floating island -- the setting for the adventure.]]
262** The game actually does a fairly good job of hiding the fact that [[spoiler:the island's floating for quite some time. It's easy to assume that you're in an ''underground'' network of caves until the nature of the island is spelled out for you.]]
263* FloatingInABubble: Misery's (and the Doctor's) favoured method of capturing and transporting people.
264* FoeTossingCharge: Mimiga (especially the ones mutated by the demon flowers) and Balrog love to do this.
265* ForcedTransformation:
266** Sue and Itoh [[spoiler:are humans whom Misery transformed into Mimiga]].
267** Balrog gets transformed into [[spoiler:a massive frog by Misery for his third fight [[IncrediblyLamePun (named "Balfrog")]]]], though he returns to normal as soon as the fight is over.
268** Misery herself [[spoiler:gets [[LaserGuidedKarma transformed into a horrendous creature by the Doctor]], as does Sue.]]
269* {{Foreshadowing}}:
270** After Grasstown/Bushlands, if you find Jack and talk to him, he'll mention why Arthur was a hero: He drove away a demon that was eating Mimiga, making him a true hero. [[spoiler:If you're on the path to the True Ending, you'll have to finish what Arthur started and defeat it in the Hidden Final/Last Cave, becoming a true hero yourself. As the credits say, true heroes fight him, and both you and Arthur are/were.]]
271** A room in Grasstown has a bed with red flower petals scattered around it. Should you open the chest inside, [[spoiler:[[JumpScare a rabid Mimiga jumps out]] of the empty fireplace. This foreshadows the true nature of the red flowers, and what they do when fed to the Mimiga.]]
272* ForgotASpotCheck: When the protagonist is captured at one point in the Plantation, he gets thrown in jail, but his captors don't bother to take any of his weapons away--nor the letter in his pocket that shows him how to escape from the cell.
273* FriendshipTrinket: Curly Brace gives the protagonist the Iron Bond after [[spoiler:regaining her memories]] as a sign of friendship.
274** The silver locket you find early on was a gift from Sue to Toroko for Toroko's kindness to her.
275* FromBadToWorse: Most of the plot does this, even the ''opening screen.''
276* FungusHumongous: The Mimiga Graveyard is festooned with various walking mushrooms. The small ones already come up to your chest, while the singular big one just barely beats you in height.
277* FunnyAnimal: The Mimiga. [[spoiler:They [[HairRaisingHare stop being so funny]] when they eat [[PsychoSerum red flowers]], though...]]
278[[/folder]]
279
280[[folder:Tropes G to J]]
281* GameMod:
282** The original PC freeware version became rather easy to mod once the tools were developed. Also, Curly Mode in the Wii version is based off a well-known sprite hack for the PC version.
283** A fan [[FanRemake recoded the entire engine from scratch]] and [[http://nxengine.sourceforge.net/ released it open-source]], opening up the door for even more advanced mods to be made.
284* GameplayAllyImmortality: When you tag-team with Curly deep in the Labyrinth, Curly takes no damage whatsoever from enemies or spikes. The same also applies in the BrutalBonusLevel, which has Curly strapped to the player's back.
285* TheGhost: If you don't get [[spoiler:the Booster 2.0]], you only get an optional reference to [[spoiler:the Red Demon/Ogre and, consequentially, Ballos.]]
286* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The commercial release managed to get away just fine with a barely-subtle OptionalSexualEncounter and a hidden pair of women's panties without so much as an "Innuendo" flag from the [[https://www.esrb.org/ratings-guide/ ESRB]].
287* GiantMook: Giant Pignon, Basu (giant beetle), Power Critter, and [[KingMook Kulala]] (giant jellyfish).
288* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Several bosses in this game seem to serve no purpose aside from providing a boss fight. Puu Black, Monster X, Ironhead, and Heavy Press are all examples. This trope [[AvertedTrope does not apply]] to the Red Demon/Ogre, who IS foreshadowed if you talk to a certain NPC at a certain point.
289* GlassCannon: King. [[spoiler:He defeats [[StoneWall Balrog]] in a single slash, but gets defeated himself with a [[TheWorfEffect single attack from Misery]] and bleeds out several minutes later.]] This is reflected in the weapon you get from him, which contains [[spoiler:his soul]]. At level 3, it is ''very'' powerful but ''any'' hit will immediately drop it back down to level 2.
290* GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed: Cave Story's graphics basically insist that all the characters are represented as very simplified sprite images. As it turns out, this is quite deliberate, and used for storytelling purposes: [[spoiler:The limited graphics are used to obscure the fact that the main character [[TomatoInTheMirror is a robot]]: he has two, hard-to-notice antennae on the sides of his head that act as visible {{Foreshadowing}}. The difficulty of noticing this detail is somewhat exacerbated by the color scheme of the protagonist's head, which, to the untrained eye, may appear as a sideburn, an eye, and a nose, rather than two eyes and part of an antenna, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190930172410/http://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/c__/images/e/eb/Quote_o.png/revision/latest?cb=20150225183526&path-prefix=cavestory since the character appears in semi-profile.]] This trope is deliberately preserved with later releases: Cave Story+ retains very small antennae [[https://web.archive.org/web/20200525043628/http://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/c__/images/2/28/Quote_r.png/revision/latest?cb=20150225183527&path-prefix=cavestory despite having substantially larger sprites]], and the characters of the 3DS remake are still fully Super Deformed [[https://archive.is/cIBiM despite being 3D polygon renders.]]]]
291* GreatOffscreenWar: [[spoiler:Ten years before the events of the game, humans sent an [[RobotSoldier army of lethal military androids]] to the island to [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum steal]] the [[HatOfPower Demon Crown]] for their own use. They [[InnocentBystander killed countless Mimiga]] (alongside humans who attempted to protect them) on the way in (despite not being hostile to them), forcing the Mimiga [[GodzillaThreshold to eat red flowers to fight back]] and nearly wipe out the attacking robots in self-defense. After that, some of the rabid Mimigas were last seen landing onto the surface, though their fate is currently unknown. One human, named [[EvilOverlord Miakido]], eventually got his hands on the crown and attempted to instigate a huge war to TakeOverTheWorld before he was stopped by Quote and Curly.]]
292* GreenHillZone: [[DubNameChange Grasstown/Bushlands]] is a fine example of this trope. However, it is not the first level.
293* GrimyWater: The Last Cave features water with a dark red colour that harms Quote on contact.
294* GroundShatteringLanding: Downplayed with Balrog. Although his off-screen entrances from the ceiling never do any visible damage to the ground, the entire screen always shakes whenever he lands, and it is shown a few times throughout the game that anything that happens to be standing beneath him [[OneHitKill feels the full weight of his bulk]].
295* GuestStarPartyMember: Curly accompanies you like an AttackDrone throughout Labyrinth M. [[spoiler:If you save her life and restore her memory, she will rejoin you in Sacred Grounds as a BadassBack.]]
296* GuideDangIt:
297** You will very likely ''not'' get the best ending on your first playthrough.
298** Getting certain gear will also fall under this. Want to get the best version of the starter gun? You have to turn down the offer to trade it for better (than the starter gun) weapons two separate times and then return to where you first got it late in the game without prompting.
299* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Several Mimiga wear only a shirt to cover their torsos, leaving their bottom half completely bare. Some of them subvert this trope as their their bottomwear is either one pixel tall in the original game or the same colour as their top, hence easily missed, while others avert this, such as the Colons and Igor, as they are clearly shown fully dressed.
300* HarmlessEnemy: The Chinfish (or Egg Fish) is a UniqueEnemy in the Mimiga Village fishing hole who never attacks or interacts with the player character, [[VideogameCrueltyPotential but can still be destroyed for XP.]]
301* HatePlague: [[spoiler:Ballos]] gets this from SanitySlippage due to being DrivenToMadness and deciding that MurderIsTheBestSolution.
302* HatOfPower: The Demon Crown, the source of the Doctor's power.
303* HeadPet: The FetchQuest to collect Jenka's dogs. [[LetsPlay/DeceasedCrab "Puppyhat!"]]
304* HealTheCutie: Curly Brace is a friendly, upbeat girl who takes motherly care of a group of rabbit-creatures, but loses all of them to the MadDoctor. She then makes a desperate attempt to help the protagonist fight back, [[spoiler:and is forced to [[KillTheCutie sacrifice herself to save him]]. With some VideogameCaringPotential and a good deal of GuideDangIt, you can change the ending and bring about this trope. When Quote initially saves her, she's left an unresponsive amnesiac, but after her memory is restored, she remembers her and Quote's original mission, and returns to her former self.]]
305* HealingCheckpoint: Most save points are accompanied by life refills or beds.
306* HeartbeatSoundtrack: The song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK4v0XkNrVE Pulse]]".
307* HeartContainer: Although could be changed to Energy Tank, considering its appearance and the [[ShoutOut Metroid-style]] riff that plays when you pick it up.
308* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Balrog, and Misery as well. Balrog reveals that she was the one who sent him to rescue you after you defeat Ballos.]]
309* HeliCritter: Flying Critters.
310* HeroicMime: From context, it can be induced that the protagonist is speaking, but the player isn't privy to most of his lines.
311** And in [[AnotherSideAnotherStory Curly Story]] mode, in the scene where the two meet, he is STILL a heroic mime, while Curly says what our hero presumably said originally. [[spoiler:Except when you force-feed him the Ma Pignon -- and it's ONE line.]]
312--->[[spoiler:'''Quote:''' Curly? It's me! Quote!]]
313* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:After the fight with the Core, you drown. Curly gives you her oxygen tank to save you, drowning in your place. You do have a chance to save her, [[GuideDangIt but getting that chance is not in the least intuitive]]. It's a remarkably sad moment if you fail to save her, and as you leave the room where she lies, the door clangs ominously shut behind while some of the game's saddest music plays.]]
314* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: Monster X and the Core are completely inert and harmless until the boss music kicks in.
315* HolidayMode: Playing on Christmas or Halloween in the Platform/{{Wii}} version will change your sprite.
316** The HolidayMode for the PC versions is frankly ''insane''. Nearly every asset in the game is altered, including the music, sprites, backgrounds, and enemies, though it's a bit less so for Christmas.
317* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Just as Toroko is being force-fed the [[PsychoSerum Red Flowers]], [[PlayerCharacter Quote]] and King both [[BigDamnHeroes arrive to save her]]... just [[SubvertedTrope seconds too late]]. King gets there first and is promptly murdered by the Doctor. Quote [[LateToTheTragedy arrives]] just as Toroko [[SuperpoweredEvilSide starts transforming into a rampaging beast]], and has no choice but to [[ShootTheDog put her out of her misery]] and be present for King's final seconds alive.]]
318* HubWorld: Mimiga Village is connected to almost everywhere else by a teleporter.
319* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: "Humans can be terrible creatures indeed..."
320** [[spoiler:Just to make it clear, a human king who was [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] of Ballos' [[LovedByAll popularity]], imprisoned him and subjected him to a very, ''very'' cruel torture, leaving Ballos insane and [[PowerIncontinence unable to control his magic]]. Even worse, his own niece forced him to make the [[ArtifactOfDoom Demon Crown]], a powerful tool that has been the cause at least one brutal war.]]
321** [[spoiler:Zig-Zagged. On one hand, humans sent an army of robotic soldiers to an island in order to get their hands on the Demon Crown, resulting in countless senseless deaths of innocent Mimiga just for being in the vicinity. On the other, other humans actually attempted to defend the Mimigas from the invading robots (though they all perished in the process). In addition, Quote and Curly were both made by humans, but were sent to ''destroy'' the crown (and are implied to not endanger the Mimigas on the island), and - barring [[BigBad the Doctor]] - the entire scientific expedition that came to the island are reasonably decent human beings.]]
322* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Ballos]].
323* IllKillYou: [[spoiler:What King vows to the Doctor, just after finding that Toroko has been force-fed red flowers...]] Also what [[spoiler:Ballos says before fighting you.]]
324-->[[spoiler:'''Ballos:''' Long, long have I waited... Waited for the one who would finally subdue my magic's fury. Now, kill me! Or I -- shall kill YOU!!]]
325* ImpactSilhouette: Balrog tends to leave these [[ThereWasADoor wherever he enters]].
326* ImpossibleItemDrop: Monsters of all kinds can to drop experience crystals, floating hearts and missiles.
327* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Balrog [[AssassinOutclassin tries so hard.]]
328-->'''Balrog:''' Are YOU even listening to ME?
329* IncomingHam: Everytime Balrog appe- '''Huzzah!''' (or "Oh Yeaaah!!" on the [=WiiWare=]/Steam version)
330* InexplicableTreasureChests: There are treasure chests scattered all over the place, including inside a few monsters. Why they aren't opened already is up to imagination.
331* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Machine Gun is the first weapon you can get in exchange for the Polar Star, and is still quite useful despite the ease of obtaining it. It does damage at a reliable rate and, at maximum level, you can [[RecoilBoost fire down to use it as a makeshift jetpack]], giving you extra mobility until you get either version of the Booster.
332* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Spur. Getting it requires skipping both previous opportunities to replace the Polar Star (trading for Curly's machine gun, combining the Polar Star and Fireball into the Snake), but once you get it, you get a weapon that is EXP-independent and uses {{charge|dAttack}} instead; at zero charge it's a permanent level 3 Polar Star and at full charge it's a WaveMotionGun.
333* IntelligentGerbil:
334** [[https://archive.is/GQODX Mimiga]] are essentially sapient rabbits with opposable thumbs. They have powerful jumping legs, and live in large burrows beneath the Earth. Their diet primarily consists of various flowers, though they can also [[AscendedToCarnivorism eat fish]]. They are quite friendly, hospitable, and docile. [[spoiler:That is, as long as they don't eat Red Flowers, in which case they [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/igor_r.png go rabid,]] becoming [[AxCrazy murderously insane]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide monstrosities]] that [[TheBerserker don't understand fear.]]]]
335** [[https://archive.is/FRk1B Gaudi]] are giant, intelligent cockroaches. They are also carnivorous - at least a few of them [[SapientEatSapient have a taste for Mimiga flesh]]. Unlike Mimiga, they are very tough, and ''quite'' violent, which is why [[spoiler:Jenka sent them to the Labyrinth to protect the Core from intruders.]] Despite this, they aren't all violent or dangerous, and at least one of them [[https://archive.is/sZuqA runs a shop.]]
336* InterfaceSpoiler: Double-subverted. The number of puppies you bring back is one more than the number that would fit between Jenka and the door.
337* InvincibleMinorMinion: Basil and Rolling cannot be destroyed by any means.
338* ItAmusedMe: Presumably the reason why Misery [[spoiler:also banished Balrog to the Labyrinth]].
339* ItemAmplifier: The Machine Gun has limited ammo, but automatically replenishes itself. The Turbocharge item increases the rate at which this ammo replenishes.
340* JumpPhysics: Really weird ones at that, but they're wonderfully intuitive. You more float/glide than jump. This can prevent some new players that are used to NES-style platformers from [[DamnYouMuscleMemory even leaving the first cave]].
341[[/folder]]
342
343[[folder:Tropes K to O]]
344* KaizoTrap:
345** [[spoiler:The Heavy Press boss in the final zone will fall through the floor after it's defeated. Better not be in the way when it does.]] It's fairly obvious if you've met a similar fate from its smaller brethren.
346** Minor example: contact with Puu Black still damages you after it's defeated.
347** When going for a normal ending, after defeating The Doctor and surviving a rain of stone blocks from the sky, all you have to do is leap off the side of the screen to trigger the final cutscene. It's still possible to die if you don't jump far enough and fall off the ''bottom'' of the screen instead.
348* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler:Mimiga become this]] when they eat the innocuous-looking [[PsychoSerum red flowers.]]
349* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Toroko, after [[CorruptTheCutie she is fed a red flower.]]]] An achievement on the Steam version [[spoiler:[[InvertedTrope has Toroko put you in the scrap, by]] [[CherryTapping weakly flailing a stick]].]]
350* KingMook: Heavy Press
351* KleptomaniacHero: Quote doesn't seem to have a problem with stealing things and not returning them. He steals the Polar Star--the first gun he gets at the beginning of the game--from a hermit blacksmith. Later, he can take the Bubbline from Mimiga village, and later on, [[KleptomaniacHeroFoundUnderwear Curly's panties]]. The player doesn't have to return any of it. [[spoiler:However, in the case of the Polar Star, returning it to its owner comes with a ''[[InfinityPlusOneSword very]]'' [[MercyRewarded substantial reward]].]]
352* LampshadeHanging: Curly is knocked unconcious for the duration of the fight when Balrog attacks her and Quote in the Labyrinth. Not long afterwards, she gets knocked unconcious yet again when the island's Core activates. If you attempt to interact with her during this time, an incredulous-sounding dialog box pops up: "Out again???"
353* LaserCutter: The Spur fires penetrating lasers and ''only'' when it is fired between Level 2 and 3. Firing it with a MAX charge unleashes a blast of WaveMotionGun proportions. The Steam Achievement for earning it is named "Freakin' [[XtremeKoolLetterz Lazer]] Beams!"
354* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler:The fact that the [[SilentProtagonist main character]] is a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots strangely humanlike]] [[WalkingArmory heavily armed]] [[RobotSoldier scout and recon robot]] named [[OnlyOneName Quote]] is supposed to be [[TomatoInTheMirror revealed in the course of gameplay]]. Unfortunately, ''everything'' from zealous fans to official advertisements seeks to spoil it for newcomers.]]
355* {{Leitmotif}}: Balrog, the Doctor, and [[spoiler:Ballos]] have them.
356* LethalJokeWeapon: The Nemesis. On its lowest power level, it fires devastating bolts at very high speed. But as it gets powered up, it gets weaker! On its highest setting? It shoots rubber duckies. To add insult to injury, to get it you have to trade a powerful weapon that has sentimental value to the player character. On the other hand, it's [[LethalJokeItem quite powerful]] as long as you DON'T power it up. Gets quite tricky when one crystal is enough to take it up a level and you're paying attention to things other than the swarms of little bouncing triangles. Which is all the time.
357** The Bubbline. [[BubbleGun It shoots bubbles]], producing four shots at 1 or 2 damage each. At level two, the [[MoreDakka bubbles act as a machine gun]], a bit slower than the actual Machine Gun you can get later in game. But on level three, the bubbles float around you to form a shield, and when they burst, they shoot projectiles in the direction you're facing. You can either tap the fire button to spam single shots or hold the button down to create a shield of floating bubbles that will eventually begin to fire automatically at different heights, allowing players to hit enemies on lower or higher levels.
358* LetsMeetTheMeat: Ma Pignon doesn't want to be eaten. Thankfully, he's a complete prick about it, so most won't feel too bad about [[spoiler:feeding him to Curly.]]
359* LetsYouAndHimFight: Curly assumes you're there to kill the Mimiga and attacks you before you have a chance to explain yourself.
360* LevelDrain: Happens twice on the path to OneHundredPercentCompletion: "You feel a black wind blow through you. All weapons dropped to Level 1!" Though you're almost guaranteed to have at least one weapon -- the Spur, the Nemesis, or the Blade -- that still deals out good damage at Level 1. Arguably, the de-leveling in Sacred Grounds is an equalizer, so that your chance of success isn't affected by how well you fared in the preceding boss fight.
361* LevelMapDisplay: There's a map item that can be acquired in the Mimiga Village. It can be handy, as it shows all hidden passages in your current room.
362* LiftOfDoom: Two are present in the Labyrinth: the first requires utilization of the hovering JumpPhysics to avoid either death by spikes or death by falling platform; the second, arguably simpler lift comes immediately after, and only needs to be tricked into rising without you in its path.
363** Also present when ascending to the Final Cave, though in a much more deadly fashion: watch out for those Presses!
364* LivingStructureMonster: The exit from the NoobCave is blocked by a cyclopean door that [[CollisionDamage hurts on contact]], but is easily dealt with.
365* LoadBearingBoss: The Core. [[spoiler:When it is almost completely defeated, the villains swoop in and inform you that it's the only thing keeping the island airborne; they then zombify the Core to save the island. Near the end of the game, when the Doctor possesses the Undead Core, you're forced to destroy it for good, and the island begins falling. Then Ballos inverts this; since Ballos was the one pulling the island down, defeating him ''saves'' the island from destruction.]]
366* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: ''Cave Story 3D'' is prone to this due to the entire game being rendered in full 3D on the 3DS's hardware, which results in the game taking about a second or two longer to load ''every'' location. It is also {{exaggerated|trope}} as ''3D'' has an actual loading screen compared to the original game and ''+'', which don't. The amount of loading required is thus especially noticeable during Sue and Kazuma's conversation when you return to Arthur's House from Egg Corridor, since it switches between Sue's and Kazuma's perspectives several times, requiring the game to load Arthur's House or the shack in Grasstown/Bushlands nearly every other time you advance the conversation.
367* LockedOutOfTheFight: On two separate occasions, Curly Brace gets knocked out just before a boss fight. (On the second occasion, after a short while she does get up and help you.)
368* LongSongShortScene: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itQ94NuNVjo White]]", a scrapped theme for King which can only be unlocked by beating [[spoiler:Sacred Grounds]] in ''three minutes''[[note]]The world record is ''two'' minutes and 17 seconds, to give you an idea as to how tough this is[[/note]]. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_DkaVDUzt0 Toroko's Theme]]" as well, but not to as great an extent.
369* LowLevelAdvantage:
370** The Nemesis actually ''weakens'' if you level it up. At Level 1, it's the strongest weapon in the game with massive damage, accuracy, and firing rate. At Level 3, it shoots rubber ducks that have pitiful range and do 1 damage.
371** The Blade is a possibly unintentional example. At Level 2, the shots disappear instantly. At Level 3, it can pierce through multiple enemies. Since the only limit to how fast you can use the Blade is that there can be only one shot on-screen, keeping the Blade at Level 2 can be preferable since getting right next to an enemy will make the projectile disappear instantly after shooting, meaning it can be fired ridiculously fast and shred most bosses.
372* LuckBasedMission: There's a corridor in the [[spoiler:[[BrutalBonusLevel Sacred Grounds/Blood Stained Sanctuary]]]], where blocks, both large and small, rain down upon you completely randomly. Regardless of size, they all do ten damage, which can add up pretty quickly. To make matters worse, the corridor is ''also'' filled with angels. If you take five damage from the angels and run/use the Booster 2.0 as fast as possible, it's significantly easier.
373* MagikarpPower: Technically, almost every weapon in the game is this, but special mention goes to the very first weapon you get: it's a tiny pistol with a very short range that is [[ScrappyWeapon quickly outclassed by every weapon in your arsenal,]] even at Level 3. You have two opportunities to trade or upgrade it into something better; if you refuse both of them, you can get it remodeled into the game's [[InfinityPlusOneSword most]] [[ChargedAttack useful]] [[WaveMotionGun gun]]... hey! [[PermanentlyMissableContent Why are you kicking yourself all of a sudden?]]
374** The Bubbline, which at the first level shoots [[BubbleGun pathetically weak bubbles at short range]], and has limited, slowly-auto-reloading ammo to boot. It upgrades to a moderately useful [[MoreDakka rapid-fire stream of bubbles that reloads faster]], and upgrades again into an awesome all-rounder weapon which can hit at long range, shield you from enemies, and charge up for a hail of bullets.
375** The Machine gun, one of the possible trades for the Polar Star, is nothing to get excited about when you first take it (although the damage output is better than the Polar Star, given the continuous fire). When fully upgraded, firing it downwards ''propels you into the air'', and you can use it as a limited form of ''[[RecoilBoost flight]]''; later on, when you get an upgrade that speeds up your ammo recovery, you can stay airborne almost indefinitely. The downside is that if you get used to moving around like this, [[DamnYouMuscleMemory doing a run with the Snake or the Spur is so much harder]].
376* MacrossMissileMassacre: Balrog uses this in one of the fights with him, and you can get a miniaturized one of your own via the level 3 Missile Launcher.
377* MadDoctor: The Doctor, natch.
378* MalevolentArchitecture: Chako's fireplace is a passageway to the deeper parts of Grasstown/Bushlands. And why does Santa have a [[SpikesOfDoom deathtrap]] in his house?
379* TheManBehindTheMan: The way to the best ending of the game reveals that [[spoiler:the TragicVillain Ballos was the one responsible for both the creation of the Demon Crown that The Doctor and his predecessors sought after, and for the curse of Misery and Balrog to serve whomever bears the Demon Crown]].
380* MarathonBoss: The last five bosses play more like two massive {{Sequential Boss}}es. And the last of them is a MarathonBoss on his own.
381* {{Masquerade}}: The red flowers will ''supposedly'' kill any Mimiga who eats them in an instant. [[spoiler:That is actually ''true,'' just [[MetaphoricallyTrue not in the expected way.]] Any Mimiga who eats red flowers will [[SuperpoweredEvilSide unlock their true strength]], [[HulkingOut growing incredibly huge and powerful]], but at the cost of losing their mind and entering a never-ending [[AxCrazy murderous rage]] in the process. It can be argued that this is effectively "death", as the Mimiga's original personality is gone.]]
382* MeaningfulName: Misery sure loves making others... well, miserable.
383** Throughout the game, Professor Booster provides you with special jetpacks called... Boosters.
384** Mimiga is the Anglicanization of the Japanese word for "ear". Mimiga have very large ears.
385** The mushroom, Ma Pignon, takes it's name from the French word for mushroom, ''champignon''.
386** [[spoiler:Quote, Curly Brace, and the Colons are all named for keys used commonly in programming.]]
387* {{Melodrama}}: [[invoked]] As in, [[RuleOfDrama drama]] set to [[BackgroundMusic music]]. Cave Story's deliberate use of {{Leitmotif}} to create moods and connect characters, areas and events is notable among videogames in general. For a few examples, [[spoiler:The music heard in the first room of the Labyrinth is the same as the theme that plays in Jenka's house, as she is the one who made the Labyrinth to protect the Island's core. Also, the theme that plays in the Egg Corridor is [[DarkReprise replaced with a moodier melody using the same baseline]] when the place is destroyed late into the game.]] Musical tropes like this are used throughout the game, and because the game's writer, programmer, and composer [[TooManyCooksSpoilTheSoup are all the same man]], the music always reflects exactly the mood he wanted to convey. Note that the original soundtrack was recomposed by other people with ''each'' of the [=NiCALIS=] releases, with [[BrokenBase varying results.]] Cave Story+ includes all of the official soundtracks.
388** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDfT_EUQaSg Cave Story OST]]: The entire original soundtrack Pixel made. Notably, he didn't just program the music into the game: ''he programmed the software that the music was programmed in,'' using a similar method to the one used to make soundtracks for classic 16-bit games.
389** [[https://rushjet1.bandcamp.com/album/cave-story-famitracks Cave Story Famitracks]]: composed by by [=RushJet1=], this is essentially the original Cave Story soundtrack as it would sound coming from an [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES.]]
390** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ7EsIroAUY Cave Story Remastered]]: First composed for Cave Story 3D by Danny Baranowsky and Dustin Kulwicki, this is a re-orchestrated version of the soundtrack with new, higher quality samples and embellished notation.
391** [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvLatRCmX9nWgybLOasHzZ2PVvbLsbP_8 Cave Story+ Ridiculon]]: A Heavy Metal version of the soundtrack made by Ridiculon.
392** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ApqcxFmNHk Cave Story Wiiware]][[note]]erroneously labelled as "Cave Story+" soundtrack at the link. Cave Story+ ''includes'' all the above soundtracks[[/note]] by Yann van der Cruyssen and Nicklas Nygren. Curiously, they chose a minimalist interpretation with deliberately lower quality samples compared to the original game.
393* MeltingPotNomenclature: You have a bunch of Western first names such as Jack, King, Arthur, Curly or Sue next to non-Western names such as Igor, Kazuma, Momorin, Toroko, Chie, Kanpachi, Mahin, Sandaime, Megane...
394* {{Metroidvania}}: While Cave Story is definitely heavily influenced by Metroidvanias, it's ''much'' more story-oriented than almost every other game in that genre. As a result, the game is fairly linear by necessity, with very few sidequests. Additionally, the game is separated into four broad areas that that don't obviously interact except via teleporter.[[note]](First Cave/Mimiga Village/Labyrinth/Waterway, Egg Corridor/Outer Wall/Plantation/Balcony/Final Cave/Sacred Grounds, Grasstown, and the Sand Zone.)[[/note]]
395* MissingSecret: In the inventory screen, there are six spaces for weapons, yet the most weapons you can have in the game at one time is five; this could probably be explained by saying that there was supposed to be another weapon originally, but it was cut.
396* ModularEpilogue: During the Normal ending, there's a montage of various places on the island [[spoiler:just before it crashes]], with one change based on your actions: [[spoiler:Curly Brace's body is shown in the underwater chamber if you failed to save her]]. Both the Normal and the Best ending feature a WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue over the end credits, with slight changes between them, such as Professor Booster appearing if you saved him, and Puu Black taking Balrog's place at the hospital if the latter leaves with you.
397* MoodWhiplash: Towards the end of the Sand Zone, things get a [[{{Understatement}} little dark]].
398** [[spoiler:For context: the little girl you were trying to save is now [[ShootTheDog dead by your hand]], King died in vain trying to save her, you find out after the fact that you ''[[NearDeathExperience almost]]'' destroyed the [[NiceJobBreakingItHero island's core]]: the thing that [[LoadBearingBoss keeps the island floating in the sky]]. Curly gives you her Air Tank, [[HeroicSacrifice causing her to drown in your place]], and when you finally wash back up at Mimiga Village, every last soul is gone, christened by a quiet, melancholy background track. Then Kazuma - possibly the only one left - [[DespairEventHorizon offers you the chance to flee the island with him.]]]]
399* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: The Doctor.
400* MostGamersAreMale:
401** One Easter egg has an OptionalSexualEncounter with Chako.
402** Later on, Quote can acquire his new female partner's panties. They don't actually do anything; they just sit in your inventory for you to look at. [[spoiler:Why a robot would need panties, we may never know... though considering what Quote can do with Chako, It's pretty easy to infer that both he and Curly completely avert BarbieDollAnatomy.]]
403** Obtaining the Ma Pignon mushroom is necessary to [[ItMakesSenseInContext to restore Curly's memories.]] Upon actually giving it to her, ''[[https://archive.is/6dlpp this happens.]]''
404* MultipleEndings: Several characters may die or survive depending on your actions, and the results will be reflected in the cut-scene at the standard ending. It's even possible to get a Bad Ending by [[spoiler:accepting one character's offer to run away in the middle of the game.]] Overall, there are three main endings total, with slight variations depending your actions.
405** One variation is beating the game while still wearing the Mimiga Mask. Misery comments about how ridiculous the character looks, and the end credit illustrations are tweaked to reflect the character wearing the mask.
406* MultiStageBattle: The fight against [[spoiler:The Doctor]] has two phases with independent health bars.
407* MutuallyExclusivePowerups: There are three possible upgrades to the Polar Star, your first weapon: the Machine Gun, the Snake, and the Spur. You can only get one of them. Similarly, you can only get the Booster 2.0 if you don't acquire the Booster 0.8.
408** If you can locate a certain NPC, he'll offer to exchange your Blade for his Nemesis gun.
409* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Misery, Balrog, and ''Franchise/{{Cthulhu|Mythos}}.'' The former two are an AffablyEvil QuirkyMinibossSquad, and the latter ... [[NonIndicativeName are a race of harmless, friendly [=NPCs=]]].
410* NerdGlasses: Jack wears these.
411* NiceJobBreakingItHero: After defeating [[spoiler:the Core]] near the middle of the game, the protagonist discovers that its main purpose was [[spoiler:to keep the floating island afloat...Thankfully, [[PragmaticEvil Misery and the Doctor swoop in to save the Core and zombify it.]]]] However, this can happen a ''[[FromBadToWorse second time]]'' [[spoiler:when the Doctor possesses the core, forcing the player to destroy it. The island crashes]], the ending cutscene features a slow pan over the different areas over the island accompanied by slow music, featuring all the creatures who were trying to kill you, [[spoiler:as well as Curly's dead body in the Core]]. Some of the monsters, such as the Hoppers, are even cute. [[DownerEnding Nice job killing them all, hero.]] [[spoiler:This is, however, avoidable if you go through the BonusLevelOfHell.]]
412* NintendoHard: Things are quite bearable until you get to [[spoiler:Misery or Last Cave, depending on your booster version]] in which case it becomes this. And then there's [[spoiler:the BrutalBonusLevel, which is PlatformHell at its finest, and the last two bosses, the Heavy Press and Ballos. UGH.]] Plus the aptly named "Hard" mode in which your protagonist becomes a OneHitPointWonder.
413** Monster X is no walk in the park either.
414** Hard Mode in the various ports is a minimal HP, no Missile run. This actually ends up being a case of EasyLevelsHardBosses barring [[spoiler:the Sacred Grounds]]; the levels aren't that bad (except for maybe Labyrinth M in ''Cave Story 3D''), but the bosses are horrifyingly difficult. ''Especially'' [[OneHitKill the Core]].
415* NonstandardGameOver: A simple "You were never seen again." if you fall off the Outer Wall. The worst ending can be considered a NonStandardGameOver, since rather than a series of scenes followed by credits, there's one scene, narrated with a "You have died"-like box, followed by nothing.
416* NoobCave: First Cave is a particularly good example of this trope due to its excellent use of the {{Antepiece}} as a tutorial, without actually using a tutorial. To break it down:
417** [[YouWakeUpInARoom When you first wake up]], before you even enter First Cave, you are given no weapons or tools of any kind: just a pool of water beneath you, two [[NoticeThis bright red items in an otherwise gray-blue room]] that you can interact with, and a door located well above you. Getting to that door requires some slightly complex jumping, familiarizing the player with Cave Story's rather unique JumpPhysics. It's likely the player will slip and fall into the water, which is ''just deep enough'' to activate your OxygenMeter - safely introducing you to the possibility of drowning - and the red items save your game and refill your health, respectively. When you see them again, you will remember what they are.
418** [[invoked]]First Cave itself has [[GeoEffects very uneven terrain]], and your first damaging foes: [[GoddamnBats bats]] that will ignore you, but [[CollisionDamage hurt if you touch them]], and [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]] protruding from odd points on the ground, forcing the player to get a lot better at gauging their jumps to avoid hitting things. The path to the right - the only way out - is barricaded by unusual looking blocks, while the far left wall contains another highly conspicuous red item [[HeartsAreHealth with a heart on it]] that will [[ItemGet trigger fanfare]] and permanently increase your HitPoints upon interacting with it.
419** The very bottom of the cave has a room with a sleeping man in it, and a [[InexplicableTreasureChests chest]] that contains the first gun you can ever acquire. [[ButThouMust You must steal it from him to proceed]], because those blocks near the exit door can only be destroyed by a gun. If you feel [[MoralMyopia a bit bad about]] that, ''[[IntendedAudienceReaction GOOD]]'' - this game has a hidden moral system[[note]]NOT a KarmaMeter[[/note]] that ties into the plot, and can ''strongly'' affect the game later on. Once you shoot through the blocks and approach the exit door, it ''[[LivingStructureMonster suddenly grows]] a [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eye]]'' and hurts you if you touch it. Kill the door, and remember its eye: [[BodyMotifs it's very important.]]
420* NoPlotNoProblem: Subverted. The game starts in a typical platform cave with no plot information given, and the author's description of the game (see quote at the top) seems to be written with the purpose of making people believe it has no actual plot. Then the player encounters more and more actual characters and exposition until there's a detailed story.
421* {{Novelization}}: A fan-made one [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5733045/1/Cave_Story_A_Novelization here.]]
422* NumberTwo: Jack is King's second-in-command. Also, Misery serves as the Doctor's second.
423* OffscreenTeleportation: [[JustifiedTrope This makes sense]] - [[VillainTeleportation teleportation]] is something the Demon Crown explicitly allows its wearer to do to both themselves and others. That said, some characters really do get around the map fast, especially Curly.
424* OhCrap: The dying robot tells you and Curly: "Current forces insufficient. Retreat! RETREAT!" [[InescapableAmbush Then the door slams shut, and the boss wakes up.]]
425* OneBulletAtATime:
426** Most weapons have a limit on the maximum amount of shots that can be onscreen -- three Polar Star bullets, four Snake shots, two Nemesis bolts or one high-level Spur laser can exist at once. Only one Blade shot can exist at a time, but each blade deals a great amount of damage and (unless on level 3) the shot disappears when hitting an enemy, making it ''the'' deadliest weapon at point blank.
427** Averted with the global bullet count, which has no limit.
428* OneHitKill:
429** The Blade is strong enough to one-shot most enemies, even at its lowest level.
430** The Spur's charged shot ''will'' kill and [[OneHitPolykill over-penetrate]] any non-boss enemy in a single shot.
431** On the enemy side of things, the Press kills you by falling on top of you for 100 HP of damage, which is [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill just under double the max HP than you can ever have]], though in ''[=3D=]'' it's barely above the possible max HP of 98 thanks to the increased Life Capsule count. [[spoiler:The Heavy Press in the [[BrutalBonusLevel Sacred Grounds]]]] attempts the same [[LastDitchMove after you've depleted its lifebar]].
432** There's also the Basil that slides around the bottom of the Egg Corridor. Like the Presses, it deals 100 damage.
433** Finally, there are the massive SpikesOfDoom (not to be confused with the smaller ones that do 5 damage), which deal ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill 127 damage]]'' if touched.
434* OneHitPointWonder: Hard mode removes all {{Heart Container}}s from the entire game [[spoiler:except for the one given by the puppy in the Plantation, which is worth 5 HP]], forcing you to survive with only 3 HP. Against enemies and bosses that frequently do much more damage per hit. Monster X and The Core have literally no attacks that do less that 4 HP of damage, meaning getting hit once is death.
435* OneHitPolykill: A [[ChargedAttack charged-up Spur attack]] can pass through numerous {{Mooks}}, though most bosses stop the shot after one hit. The Fireball can hit two targets, and Blade lvl 2 can hit three targets. The Snake can even pass through terrain!
436* OneWingedAngel: Many bosses have stronger forms, sometimes multiple phases of them.
437* OnlyOneSaveFile: In in its original freeware version, it only has one save slot. But the various upgraded ports of the game (starting with the Wiiware version) increased the save slots to three.
438* OptionalBoss:
439** [[spoiler:Ma Pignon and the Red Demon]] are completely optional bosses when you're going for the normal ending, but they have to be fought in order to get to the real final level. Also [[spoiler:the Sisters]], {{Skippable Boss}}es who guard a missile upgrade in the Egg Corridor(?).
440** The bonus level Wind Fortress has [[spoiler:G-CLONE, a mysterious machine that makes Curly clones.]]
441* OptionalSexualEncounter: One of these exists as an EasterEgg (by way of SexyDiscretionShot). At one point while you're working through Grasstown/Bushlands, Chako will step forward and stand next to her bed. If you go to sleep in her bed at that point, then she'll be sleeping in the bed next to you when you wake up, and her lipstick will be in your inventory. [[spoiler:Exactly how a ''robot'' is implied to have sex with a ''rabbit'' is left as an exercise to the reader.]] In the 3DS remake, if Quote sleeps in Chako's bed, [[{{Bowdlerization}} he'll wake up to find her sleeping on the floor instead of next to him]]: presumably, she had nowhere else to sleep with him in her bed. However, he still gets her lipstick, so [[FailedASpotCheck someone was not paying full attention]].
442* OutOfTheFryingPan: The Core attacks you. When you defeat it, Misery and the Doctor show up, having been alerted to your presence by the fight. They take the Core, flood the chamber, and teleport away, leaving you to drown in a locked room.
443* OxygenMeter: One of these appears whenever you go underwater. [[spoiler:It disappears when you get Curly's Air Tank]].
444[[/folder]]
445
446[[folder:Tropes P to T]]
447* PaletteSwap: [[invoked]] Puu Black, a recolored form of [[DevelopmentGag Balrog's earlier existence in the game's beta as Puu]].
448** In the [=WiiWare=]/Steam version, the protagonist's costume is a different color, depending on what difficulty level you're playing. In Easy mode, the red tones in his outfit are now Yellow and in hard mode, they are now Blue, his skin is Tan and is blonde.
449** The enemies you encounter in First Cave [[UndergroundMonkey reappear in multiple colors throughout the game.]]
450* PaperThinDisguise: The Mimiga mask, which tricks half of the characters, ''including Professor Booster''. Misery and The Doctor have special dialogue if you manage to get there without trading the mask back to Momorin for your jetpack.
451* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Averted, partially by accident; see the Blind Idiot Translation example above.
452* PathOfMostResistance: If you don't have this in mind, you probably won't get the GoodEnding. And sometimes, not even that works, as there is at least once crucial part in the game where you ''have'' to exit an area the fastest way instead of exploring further.
453* PeoplePuppets: [[spoiler:The Doctor intends to use the Mimiga this way after having them eat the [[PsychoSerum red flowers.]] He also uses Misery and Sue like this during the Undead Core battle.]]
454* PermanentlyMissableContent: Aside from the MutuallyExclusivePowerups, there are several items that you only ever get one chance to collect. Most of them (such as the Tow Rope) are necessary only to get the best ending, while others (such as Chako's Rouge and the Alien Badge) don't do anything and seem to only be there for the sake of HundredPercentCompletion. Some of them come with a note that actually ''tells the player'' that they don't do anything.
455* PhraseCatcher: [[spoiler:"You're a soldier from the surface, aren't you?"]]
456* PhysicalGod: Jenka and [[spoiler:her brother Ballos,]] are "far beyond the power of mortals", capable of powerful magical feats and having lived for what seems to be several times longer than normal human lifespans. However, they are never stated to be gods, and Jenka hints that she will eventually have to die if you visit her late in the game.
457* PlanetHeck: Although its official name is "Sacred Grounds" (or "Sanctuary"), a sign hidden near the entrance clearly says "Welcome to Hell!" And the "angels" turn into demons when they die and drop the illusion entirely when they surround the TrueFinalBoss.
458* PlatformHell: The Last Cave. Good luck landing on that single safe spot between dozens of deadly spikes. [[spoiler:The Sacred Grounds are even worse.]]
459* PlayerPunch: [[invoked]] When you defeat most bosses, a block of text comes up on the screen comes up saying "You defeated [insert boss name]!" along with an accompanying jingle. When you defeat [[spoiler:[[TragicMonster Frenzied Toroko]]]], the exclamation mark is replaced with a period (or in the [=NiCALIS=] translation, an ellipsis...) and the music ''[[MomentOfSilence cuts out completely]]''.
460* PlotDevice: The [[ArtifactOfDoom Demon Crown]] [[spoiler:is a [[HatOfPower magical helmet]] that grants its user vast magical powers. At least one [[FinalSolution genocidal war]] has been fought to obtain it, and now a [[TheSociopath complete madman]] has it. To end the conflict forever, the Demon Crown ''must'' be destroyed.]]
461* PointOfNoReturn:
462** Gameplay-wise, there's only one ''true'' point of no return: If you save in the shack before the BrutalBonusLevel, you can never return to the caves. There's a book on the shelf that offers to "rewind time" so you can go for the normal ending instead, but it only takes you back to the moment just after you defeated the FinalBoss [[spoiler:and started causing the island to plummet.]]
463** There's a temporary one if you save in the Labyrinth after [[spoiler:defeating Toroko]]. There's no way to get to the rest of the caves by going ''back'', but by pressing forward you eventually escape and find a new way to [[spoiler:Mimiga Village]].
464* PoorCommunicationKills: Jenka keeps the key to her storehouse so that no one will be able to abuse the Demon Flowers within. She doesn't clue into the fact that Quote is there to ''[[JustEatGilligan destroy]]'' the flowers. Jenka's hesitation buys the villains enough time to accost her for the key [[YouCantThwartStageOne before Quote can plead his case]], and everything quickly goes downhill.
465* PostDefeatExplosionChain: Some bosses, like Omega or Monster X, give out a few explosions here and there before vanishing in a white flash of screen-filling "+"-shaped explosion. Balrog explodes repeatedly but doesn't get physically destroyed.
466* PowerIncontinence: [[spoiler:This happens to the Doctor after his first form is defeated.]] This foreshadows [[spoiler:Ballos, who lost control of ''his'' magic by being tortured by an unnamed king.]]
467* TheProfessor: Professor Booster. He acts as the general planner for the good guys, and spends the most time monitoring and organizing attempts to undo the Doctor's plans as they unfold.
468* PsychoSerum: The red flowers, [[spoiler:which turn the delicate Mimiga into homicidal, hulking monstrosities when eaten]].
469* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Jenka's theme is a Finnish dance called ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47kFCzE3BXc "Letkajenkka"]]''.
470* PunnyName:
471** One of the enemies is named [=BuyoBuyo=] Base, which kinda sounds like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse]].
472** Balrog's [[ForcedTransformation frog form]] is given the title of "Balfrog" in the credits.
473* PurelyAestheticGender: Whether you play as Quote or Curly does not make any difference stats or story wise, and only certain dialogues are changed.
474* PurposelyOverpowered: ''[[InfinityPlusOneSword The Spur,]]'' the Blade, and the Super Missile Launcher.
475* RainbowSpeak: ·Interpuncts· are used to highlight item names in dialogue.
476* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Misery and Jenka. [[spoiler:And Ballos, Jenka's brother.]]
477* RecoilBoost: The machine Gun at level 3 generates enough recoil for the player to use it as a ''jetpack.''
478* RecoiledAcrossTheRoom: The level 3 machine Gun can [[RecoilBoost propel you into the air]] (and even lets you hover indefinitely) when you shoot straight down. [[RuleOfFun For some reason]], it doesn't recoil that hard when you shoot horizontally. [[spoiler:[[JustifiedTrope It makes sense]] when you find out Quote is a [[RobotSoldier combat robot.]]]]
479* RecollectionSidequest: Downplayed: you reconstruct the AmnesiacHero's backstory as you complete the game — but you're just learning about it through dialogue with various {{NPC}}s, and there are no flashbacks or other implications that he's regaining any memories from it.
480* RecurringBoss: You will fight Balrog more than once.
481* RedEyesTakeWarning: A massive amount of the enemies in the game have red eyes. [[spoiler:'''Everything''' with red eyes is [[BodyMotifs connected to the power]] of [[TrueFinalBoss Ballos,]] either directly, or indirectly through the [[ArtifiactOfDoom Demon Crown]]. This is without exception: Misery (who is slave to the bearer of the crown), enraged Mimiga (who consumed the Demon Flowers that [[LeakingCanOfEvil arise from his uncontrolled magic]]), even the [[LivingStructureMonster monster door]] you encounter in the First Cave. The Presses make this into a warning; when they open up their mechanical red eye, they're about to crush you. Make sure you remember this after beating the [[KaizoTrap Heavy Press.]]]]
482** Also averted with [[spoiler:Professor Booster. He wears signal red, [[OpaqueLenses opaque glasses]] and [[EvilEyebrows doesn't look too friendly]], seemingly putting him in the role of TheMole. Fittingly, he is in fact only a RedHerringMole. If you meet him in the Labyrinth after he's been wounded, one of his lenses is broken, revealing that his eyes have a regular, dark-shaded iris.]]
483* RedHerringMole: [[spoiler:Professor Booster. EvilEyebrows? Check. [[RedEyesTakeWarning Signal red glasses]] [[OpaqueLenses that hide the eyes underneath?]] Check. Potential MadScientist acquaintance of The Doctor? Check. Nonetheless he never switches sides, and even stays loyal until his death in one continuity of the game, giving away the Booster 0.8 to you with his last bit of strength that he could otherwise have used to save himself]].
484* RedSkyTakeWarning: With very few minor exceptions, whenever you encounter anything in a bright red shade in this game, it's bad news-- namely in that it's corrosive to the touch[[note]]red water[[/note]], does huge amounts of damage in a hurry[[note]]red enemies[[/note]] or is just going to kill you outright[[note]]the spike traps and Presses[[/note]]. [[spoiler:It's a case of GameplayAndStoryIntergration with the Red Flowers, the Red Crystal and etc. above, as they're all indicative of Ballos' influence [[LeakingCanOfEvil leaking out.]]]]
485* ReducedToRatburgers: Kazuma says that if he isn't rescued soon he'll have to eat cockroaches. He's kidding. [[spoiler:But if he has to, he really will...]]
486* RemixedLevel: The "Egg Corridor (?)". Yes, the question mark is part of its name.
487** Also, Last Cave is different when you're on the path to the good ending.
488* RespawningEnemies: Whenever you move between "rooms", the enemies will respawn. A couple of areas, such as the Egg Corridor, will also periodically throw flying enemies at you.
489* RescuedFromTheUnderworld: [[spoiler:First you fight your way through Hell/The Sacred Grounds, then once you kill Ballos, Balrog falls/smashes his way ''into'' hell to get to you, then flies you and Curly out of there. Honestly, a DeusExMachina like that was preferable to another escape sequence after fighting Wizard Satan.]]
490* RestingRecovery: There are health stations which refill your health immediately, but you can also sleep in a bed to achieve the same effect. And sometimes, both options sit right next to one another.
491* RestrainingBolt: [[spoiler:The Core isn't what it seems. By the Doctor's belief, it's what's keeping the island in the sky, and while in a sense that's true, it's specifically just keeping the island from ''falling''. This isn't a distinction without a difference; the source of the HatePlague on the island, [[GreaterScopeVillain Ballos]], wants ''very'' much to die, and without the Core, he'll send the island careening into the earth to see his wish granted, collateral damage be damned. The only way to truly set things right is to get rid of ''both'' of them.]]
492* {{Retraux}}: Low-res pixel art graphics and a {{Chiptune}} soundtrack for a computer game released in 2004. Unlike a lot of {{Retraux}} games, ''Cave Story'' doesn't just superficially look this way, but is retro-styled to its very core, being structured in the same way that allowed NES and SNES games to fit onto tiny cartridges, and itself weighing in at under 5 Megabytes for a full-length game.
493* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: An extreme majority of the creatures in the game are really, ''really'' cute, even the ones that [[BewareTheCuteOnes want nothing more than to kill you in horrible ways.]][[note]]Probably because [[UsefulNotes/{{Kawaisa}} the game is from Japan.]][[/note]] Mimiga stand out the most.
494* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Kazuma didn't even notice that [[spoiler:Quote was a [[TomatoInTheMirror robot]] until Professor Booster pointed it out to him. It's likely that a first-time player (and perhaps, Quote [[LaserGuidedAmnesia himself]]) wouldn't either: after all, an [[OxygenMeter "Air" counter]] appears whenever you go underwater, and if it hits zero, [[GameOver you drown.]] At one point you're directly informed "you can breathe", which indicates that Quote has a working and ''essential'' respiratory system. He can [[TraumaInn sleep to repair damage]] (and for ''[[OptionalSexualEncounter other]]'' reasons), receive medical care from physicians, takes medicine by mouth, and can regain his memories by ''[[EatingMachine eating a special mushroom.]]'' Despite all of that being true, he's a robot. At very least, the fact that he can drown ''does'' get an in-game {{justifi|edTrope}}cation.]]
495* RobotGirl: Curly Brace, natch.
496* RobotHair: [[spoiler:Both Quote and Curly Brace respectively have black and blonde hair, making them stand out from other, less humanoid robots.]]
497* RobotSoldier:
498** An army of these was sent to the Island during [[GreatOffscreenWar the War]] and [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar butchered the Mimiga]] while searching for the McGuffin. [[spoiler:The player character is one of them, although both he and Curly Brace were sent to stop the war by eliminating the cause of it, and not the Mimiga.]]
499** As of the present, Quote/Curly will encounter a handful of recon robots who managed to survive and hide away from the chaos ten years ago, and are not hostile towards them. When Quote/Curly were thrown inside the Labyrinth, they meet with the remaining three, who are also imprisoned there by Misery. [[spoiler:Sadly when the three took the opportunity to escape when Quote/Curly opened the door, they were all destroyed by a lone Gaudi stationed outside.]]
500* RobotWar: The Mimiga race was nearly wiped out when humanity sent an army of robot warriors to exterminate their species and take their island. [[spoiler:It is only when the Mimiga decided to consume Red Flowers that they managed to fight back and destroyed most of them.]]
501* RouteBoss: ''Cave Story'' has several bosses you only encounter if you're en route to getting the GoldenEnding. One prerequisite is completing the optional side quest to restore Curly Brace's memories, which leads to a fight with Ma Pignon. You then have to go through an alternate version of Last Cave, which involves a fight with the Red Ogre. Finally, you must brave the [[BrutalBonusLevel Sacred Grounds]], ending with a fight against the Heavy Press, then the TrueFinalBoss, [[spoiler:Ballos]].
502* RushmoreRefacement: Those statues of the Demon Crown wearers can be revisited right before the fight with the TrueFinalBoss -- shooting them turns them into statues of you, King, Toroko, and Curly Brace. And you get powerups for doing so!
503* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:King and Toroko, both of whom have been around since the ''very'' early game, are killed off in the same scene, one right after the other. Curly Brace and Professor Booster will ''also'' die unless the player makes the right decisions. [[KilledOffForReal They don't come back.]]]]
504* ScarfOfAsskicking: Quote wears a green one.
505* ScaryShinyGlasses: The Doctor's eyes are always obscured by the glare of his spectacles.
506* SceneryPorn: The 3DS version of the game contains wonderfully detailed backgrounds.
507* SceneryGorn: [[spoiler:The Egg Corridor after it gets damaged.]]
508** The room in which you fight [[spoiler:Ballos is carpeted in skeletons. During his final form bloodied spikes grow from the floor.]]
509* SchmuckBait: A sign placed next to some SpikesOfDoom clearly warns "One touch means instant death!" Unfortunately, the swathes of spikes littered throughout the rest of the game do not have a similar warning -- neither are they so easy to avoid. When you first see them, ANYTHING kills you instantly.
510* SchrodingersGun: There's a number of plausible explanations for why your decision to talk to Professor Booster determines whether he lives or dies. For example, if you talk to him, you can take his invention, the Booster v0.8, from him so you can use it. Using it is the only way to get out of the pit he (and now you) have fallen into[[note]]You might not notice this if you carry a Lv3 Machinegun[[/note]], and you can't take him with you when you use the Booster v0.8 to escape. ''However,'' your decision to talk with Booster also determines whether a tow rope in the ''very'' securely locked room adjacent is loose or stuck [[spoiler:which affects whether you can get the good ending or not.]]
511* ScreenShake: The whole game shakes after defeating the [[spoiler:[[LoadBearingBoss Undead Core]]]].
512* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Two-thirds of the way through the game, one of your allies gains a means of escape and encourages you to run away with him rather than staying to fight. You can take him up on this offer; however, doing so gets you the worst ending.
513* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Ballos, although he's not completely evil.]]
514* SelfDestructiveCharge: King attempts one of these, but [[spoiler:[[SenselessSacrifice unfortunately fails miserably]].]]
515* SequentialBoss: The Doctor, who is the second of a three-part BossRush. Also, the TrueFinalBoss. To a lesser extent, Monster X, who can't even be hurt until its turrets are destroyed.
516* SendInTheClones: [[spoiler:As you progress through ''Cave Story+'''s Wind Fortress, the only enemies you'll be fighting through the last end of the level are naked clones of Curly.]]
517* SenselessSacrifice:
518** [[spoiler:King, out of anger for force-feeding Toroko red flowers, attempts to charge at the Doctor in an attempt to kill him, not only this failed (thanks to Misery), but he is unable to avenge Toroko and dies while passing his sword onto Quote or Curly.]]
519** [[spoiler:When the Killer Robots launched an invasion on the island and butchered a lot of the Mimiga on sight, the humans attempted a HeroicSacrifice by fighting the robots to protect the Mimigas present. Going by how the Mimiga were forced to eat the red flowers in order to stand a chance, it's safe to conclude that the humans failed to protect them.]]
520* SharedLifeMeter: The Sisters get their health from the same life bar.
521* ShieldBearingMook: The Gravekeeper is invulnerable from the front unless he's preparing to attack or has just attacked.
522* ShieldedCoreBoss: Monster X's vulnerable zone is protected by an impenetrable iron shield that he occasionally opens. And inside, there are green, gooey dots which have to be destroyed before you can actually do anything against his health bar.
523* ShiftingSandLand: The Sand Zone is a desert-themed stage with plenty of sand.
524** Same deal with the small sword-wielding 'Bute' enemies in the BrutalBonusLevel.
525* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:Toroko is a friendly and cute little Mimiga who is utterly harmless... ''until'' she is force-fed some read flowers and transforms into a deranged monster, requiring you to put her down.]]
526* ShoutOut:
527** The dying [[RobotSoldier Team 9 robot]] in the Core [[https://archive.is/wE9iU looks very much like]] a damaged [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Terminator.]]
528** You get a {{Fireball|s}} weapon [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros of infinite ammo which bounces up and down as it moves forward.]]
529** The Jellies look almost exactly like [[Videogame/{{Metroid}} Metroids.]] Additionally, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEyuw3AoaFA "Heart Tank" tune]] is deliberately similar to Metroid's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoubsOsFPs8 "Item fanfare".]] The tune was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2audY_joEY recomposed in Cave Story 3D]] to sound even more like Metroid.
530** The [[https://cavestory.fandom.com/wiki/Gravekeeper Gravekeeper]] seems to be based on the [[https://archive.is/mXsm5 tonberries]] of Final Fantasy.
531** [[spoiler:Ballos]]'s PreAsskickingOneLiner "Kill me... or I shall KILL YOU!" presumably references a very similar line in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''.
532** Getting the Super Missile Launcher in the Platform/{{Steam}} version nets you the achievement [[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut "Super, thanks for asking!"]]
533*** While we're still talking about Steam achievements, the one for getting the Alien Medal is called [[Film/TheShining "Here's Johnny!"]], and the one for getting the Spur is [[Film/AustinPowers "Freakin' Laser Beamz"]].
534** Jenka's theme is actually an old Finnish song, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2NvAn7ujjw Letkajenkka]]".
535** Most of Balrog's entrances in [=NiCALIS=]' translation involve him [[ThereWasADoor bursting through the wall (or ceiling)]] and shouting "Oh Yeaaah!!", not unlike a certain living pitcher of Kool-Aid.
536** ''Cave Story+'''s [[HolidayMode Halloween Mode]] is ''filled to the brim'' with references. Sue dresses as [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess Peach]], Kazuma dresses as [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]], Curly dresses as [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Samus Aran]], Kanpachi dresses [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]], Misery is dressed like [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Morrigan]], Sue ''also'' gets a look based on Felicia [[spoiler:during the Undead Core fight]], the Doctor is dressed like Dracula, and... King is dressed like [[ComicBook/VForVendetta V]], even though it makes him look [[TheComicallySerious utterly silly]]. Furthermore, the grassland jellies are a dead ringer for Metroids, the ghost-like enemies in the same area look like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasy Cactaurs]], the roaches in the Labyrinth are also dead-ringers for Xenomorphs (even the eggs), and the big bugs in the Egg Corridor are dressed like [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina]]. [[spoiler:Ballos' first form is also pretty much [[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins Astaroth]]]].
537* SituationalSword: [[invoked]] Every single weapon in Cave Story has a situational use, and as they level up, they may gain more or different uses than they had before. So, don't get [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome too comfortable using a single gun.]]
538** The Polar Star is your [[RangedEmergencyWeapon backup handgun]]. It consumes no ammo, and fires weak projectiles at a short-to-moderate range. At max level, it's a reliable general-purpose weapon.
539** The Missile Launcher is best saved for targets with higher HP, like bosses. It has limited ammo and its projectiles do significant SplashDamage. At max level, each shot will fire [[MacrossMissileMassacre three standard missiles]] in a wide range, making it also good for crowd control.
540** The [[MoreDakka Machine Gun]] is everything the Polar Star was, but much better. It continually fires similar projectiles over a far longer range. It carries 100 rounds of ammo, which [[RegeneratingMana regenerates when you aren't firing.]] At max level, each shot will [[RocketJump propel you into the air if you aim down]], causing it to function like a jetpack.
541** The Bubbline is the most defensively-oriented weapon of the bunch, but this doesn't become apparent until it reaches max level, which enables it to produce bubbles that orbit around Quote. At a high enough concentration, said bubbles can protect you from incoming projectiles, and can form a handy InstantDeathRadius that quickly chews up enemies' health upon contact.
542** The [[{{Fireballs}} Fireball]] shoots bouncing spheres of flame that are extremely useful for clearing enemies on the ground.
543* SkippableBoss:
544** In your first encounter with Balrog, he actually asks you if you're going to fight him. It looks like a ButThouMust situation at first, but if you say no, he just shrugs at it and leaves without any fuss.
545** It's more of a "Skippable Miniboss" example (considering the miniboss in question has less HP than the ''first Balrog fight''), though considering the game still plays a boss theme, it still counts -- there's a house in the Grasslands that has a missile expansion inside. Grabbing it causes [[spoiler:a rabid Mimiga to [[JumpScare jump out from the fireplace]], though the player can just [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leave through the same way they came in]]; if the player enters the house again, the Mimiga is gone]].
546** The Sisters only show up if you grab a specific missile upgrade, so you can skip the fight just by not touching that chest.
547* SlidingScaleOfLinearityVsOpenness: Minor interconnectivity. The game is fairly linear and you will have to complete almost every stage from one end to the other, however, you can return to most stages if you'd like, there are teleporters between areas, and you have multiple smaller sidequests just a bit off the path.
548* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence: [[spoiler:Quote and Curly]] fall somewhat above level 3 "Average Joe Android". They have memories and are quite capable of performing tasks autonomously, and they are also able to show compassion and other emotions such as grief or self-devotion. Malco, on the other hand, is a good step back and somewhere between level 1 and 2, as all he does and can do is build bombs.
549* SpamAttack: The Bubbline's Level 3 shot allows you to do this if you hold down the fire button for a few seconds first. Also, the Super Missile Launcher, particularly when used as the definitive way of defeating [[spoiler:[[BossBonanza Heavy Press and Ballos.]]]]
550** In the boss battle with the Doctor, his second form has an attack which shoots out a ''huge'' amount of red bats.
551* SpikesOfDoom: Spikes with varying levels of lethality are present from the very start of the game; the basic variety just causes damage, but Grasstown/Bushlands introduces another version that causes a OneHitKill. Last Cave and [[spoiler:the Sacred Grounds]] are filled with them.
552* SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom: The Presses, especially later on in the Plantation, both versions of the Last Cave, and a few in [[spoiler:the Sacred Grounds, which also has their [[KingMook boss]]]]. In the case of the Plantation, you can bypass the trap early by using an exploit (taking damage and using MercyInvincibility), but the door past them still won't open (claiming it's too early to come here.)
553* SpeedRunReward: If you collect the Nikumaru Counter, it records your time to beat Sacred Grounds and displays your best time on the title screen. If you can beat it in less than 6 minutes, a different character appears on the title screen, and different music plays.
554* SpritePolygonMix: Classic Mode in the 3DS version does this, retaining the original character, enemy and item sprites but using 3D backgrounds.
555* StalactiteSpite: Revisited Egg Corridor. Stalactites hurt enemies too, though.
556* StarterGearStayingPower: At the start of the game, you enter a house and pick up your first gun to defend yourself with while the owner is asleep. Over the course of the game you get the opportunity to trade the gun in for more powerful weapons, but if you decline, you can take it back to the original owner who will upgrade its abilities to become the most powerful in the game.
557* StationaryBoss: [[spoiler:The Heavy Press and Ballos' last form]], though in the latter's room everything you can step on either moves or damages you.
558* StealthPun:
559** To craft a bomb, you need to get coal. You find the coal in the fireplace of a Mimiga named [[spoiler:Santa]].
560** There's a FetchQuest that involves ''dogs.''
561** Also, Jack - self-proclaimed NumberTwo of Mimiga village - is locked in the Number Two jail in the Plantation.
562** If you play on Easy Mode, [[EasyModeMockery your outfit is]] [[TheSoCalledCoward yellow]].
563* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Halfway through the game, you will witness Professor Booster falling into a chasm. Major spoilers ahead: [[spoiler:Going down the chasm to help him will have him reward you with the Booster v0.8 with his last breath. What happens if you do not go down the chasm and ignore him entirely? He is perfectly fine a couple of levels later and will provide you with the vastly improved Booster v2.0. Ignoring Booster also [[GuideDangIt triggers the mere existence of an object required to save Curly]], and the Booster v2.0 is required for reaching the BonusDungeon]].
564* SugarApocalypse: Once you reach the end of the [[spoiler:Sand Zone]], it becomes obvious [[MoodWhiplash fairly quickly]] that this game [[{{Understatement}} isn't completely sweet and cuddly.]] Unlike many examples of this trope, the destruction [[PlayedForDrama isn't played for laughs in any way.]]
565* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Initially Quote sinks like a rock and has roughly 15 seconds to surface before drowning. Once [[spoiler:Curly sacrifices herself and gives you her oxygen tank]], you can stay underwater indefinitely.
566* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[spoiler:Mimiga are naturally a very weak and docile species. However, ''all'' of them have the ability to become [[SuperStrength fantastically strong]] and [[MadeOfIron incredibly hard to kill]] [[TheBerserker berserkers]], at the cost of losing [[AxCrazy every semblance of their sanity]]. All they have to do is eat the [[PsychoSerum Red Flowers]].]]
567* SuperweaponSurprise: [[spoiler:The red flowers' actual effect is this trope. It's so secret, [[{{Masquerade}} the Mimiga no longer know the truth about them.]]]]
568* SwordBeam: King's blade always casts energy rays in a straight line, even on the lowest level.
569* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: King's Blade ''combines'' this trope with ItWasAGift, [[CantRefuseTheCallAnymore just as the plot takes a turn for the worse.]] [[spoiler:Upon entering the Sand Zone storehouse, Quote gets there just in time to [[LateToTheTragedy witness the murders of King and Toroko.]] As he is dying, King [[TakeUpMySword hands him his sword,]] asking to be avenged with his dying breath.]]
570* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Lampshaded if you talk to Santa during the fight with the Doctor.
571-->'''Santa:''' Interesting priorities you've got.
572* TearsOfBlood: [[spoiler:The zombie dragons in the wrecked Egg Corridor.]]
573* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Misery's "Heavens, that felt good!" while nobody is around.
574* TeleportSpam: When you fight [[spoiler:the Doctor's first form]], he'll frequently send a double-helix energy ray at you, and by the time you jump over it to get to him, he just teleports again. Yay.
575* ThemeNaming: [[spoiler:"Curly Brace" and "Quote" are (computer programmers' terms for) the { and " symbols, respectively. Also on a keyboard, the curly brace key is directly on top of the quote key]]. Curly's adopted Mimiga children were given the last name Colon.
576** Also, the leader of the Mimiga is named King and the second-in-command is named Jack, as in the cards. The former leader of the Mimiga was named [[Myth/KingArthur Arthur.]]
577** The two guardians of the Mimiga Village are King and the now-deceased Arthur.
578** The angel enemies in Sacred Ground appear to be named for flat-topped hills: Bute (one letter off from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butte Butte]]) and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa Mesa]].
579** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenkka Jenka]] and [[spoiler:[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballos Ballos]]]] have names taken from dance styles.
580* ThereWasADoor: But it was just too small for Balrog, so he has to bust through the wall, door included. Likely why his catch phrase got changed to a Kool-Aid-Man-style "Oh Yeaaah!!" in the [=WiiWare=]/Steam release.
581* ThisIsGonnaSuck: "You feel a black wind blow through you. All weapons dropped to level 1!"
582* ThisWasHisTrueForm: The defeat of Monster X. Blink and you might miss it. [[spoiler:[[Webcomic/{{XKCD}} It's a kitty!]]]]
583* ThroughAFaceFullOfFur: Toroko has [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter absolutely adorable]] [[BlushSticker blush stickers]].
584* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The Blade is only used like this. [[spoiler:When it's used at full power, King physically manifests himself, shoots from the sword and [[BladeSpam slashes every enemy in and around his path to ribbons.]]]]
585* TinCanRobot: Malco and the robots in the Labyrinth fit this trope, as they look rather stereotypically robotic, in stark contrast to some other robots in the game.
586* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler:The main character]] is revealed to be a RidiculouslyHumanRobot [[RobotSoldier Soldier]] one-third into the game. The surprise of this revelation depends entirely on whether you noticed [[spoiler:the robot ears on his sprite]] before this point -- they are small and easy to miss. At least one of the {{NPC}}s didn't notice them either.
587** [[spoiler:[[https://youtu.be/ydH8e4ldsO8?t=957 One of the Cthulhu]] says to you "Well, till your juice runs out, have fun wandering." He's referring to [[DoubleEntendre the juice in your]] ''[[PowerSource battery]]'', hinting at his robot nature early.]]
588** Another one that's mentioned in passing, and later becomes important. Being a game called "Cave Story", you wouldn't expect [[spoiler:[[FloatingContinent the surface to be]] ''[[FloatingContinent below]]'' [[FloatingContinent you.]]]]
589* TooAwesomeToUse: The Life Pot, to the point you'll forget you have it when [[BossRush you really, really need it]]. You'll want to save it 'till the [[spoiler:BrutalBonusLevel]] anyway. Played with because, thankfully, you can go back and get another any time you use it up so long as you haven't passed the PointOfNoReturn.
590* TooDumbToLive: Misery in the final fight. [[spoiler:Defying and trying to attack the Doctor, even if he is technically dead, is a very bad idea. Unless you're Quote.]]
591** [[spoiler:Also, the king who imprisoned Ballos. Torturing an immortal mage with powers you cannot comprehend? Bad idea.]]
592* TookAShortcut: No matter where you go, Curly Brace will get there ahead of you. However, the shortcuts appear rather tough on her, since she's usually heavily injured by the time you get there.
593* TorturedMonster: The TrueFinalBoss. [[spoiler:He's a PhysicalGod who [[PowerIncontinence lost control of his immense magic powers]] under [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil torture]], and had to watch himself [[PersonOfMassDestruction kill and destroy everything he loved.]] Afterwards, he was entombed inside a floating island for god-knows-how-long... [[WhoWantsToLiveForever and he can't naturally die]], [[ICannotSelfTerminate no matter how hard he tries]].]]
594* TragicMonster: Every speaking villain except [[BigBad the Doctor]] has a tragic, or even sympathetic backstory, but this trope is especially obvious with [[spoiler:Toroko and Ballos, both of whom became psychotic monsters through circumstances ''entirely'' beyond their control.]]
595* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The video interview for the [=WiiWare=] version has the game playing in the background, showing off several areas. This includes [[spoiler:[[BrutalBonusLevel the Sacred Grounds]]]]. IGN's one-paragraph description of the game spoils the player character's name, which you only learn on the path to OneHundredPercentCompletion. The fact that [[spoiler:Quote and Curly are both robots was originally a [[TomatoInTheMirror huge reveal,]] deeply buried under their [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots astonishingly human-like existence.]] Now, it's openly spoiled by the cover art of almost every commercially released version of the game, because the artists just cannot resist adding [[https://archive.is/jaH2a obvious robot details to him.]] For contrast, [[https://archive.is/Y4PFS this is how his close-up actually looks in the game.]]]]
596* TraumaInn: Beds just restore health. Computer screens also restore missiles.
597* TrueCompanions: [[spoiler:Curly and Quote]], but only if you get OneHundredPercentCompletion.
598* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:The Heavy Press and Ballos, found at the end of the [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Sacred Grounds]], constitute five forms in two bosses. In short, a BossBonanza.]]
599* TubeTravel: It helps you get out of Plantation's reservoir faster (possibly in case you fall in without the jetpack equipped).
600* TurnsRed: Virtually all bosses unveil new attacks at lower HP, most notably Omega, who changes his whole attack pattern, and [[spoiler:the Undead Core]], who, at low health, sticks to a new attack. The elephant-like Behemoths from the Egg Corridor also turn red and stampede if they take enough damage, though this is rarely seen because they're not hard to defeat in the first place.
601[[/folder]]
602[[folder:Tropes U to Z]]
603* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Thanks to (most) Mimiga lacking TertiarySexualCharacteristics, Jack and Toroko look very much like [[GenderBender gender-bent]] versions of each other.
604* UndergroundCity: Mimiga Village. [[spoiler:To a degree, the ''entire island'' is this, having both shops and homes scattered from Grasstown/Bushlands to the Labyrinth and everywhere in-between.]]
605* UndergroundMonkey: The Critters and Bats have variants that work like this.
606* UnexpectedShmupLevel: The boss fight against Ironhead is one of these, sort of, thanks to the underwater physics.
607* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Professor Booster]], if you [[ViolationOfCommonSense choose to ignore him]] when he suddenly appears in the Labyrinth and free-falls into a deep pit; he will appear much later on, alive and well, and give you the Booster v2.0. Choosing to drop into the pit to help him (which instead results in his death after he gives you the Booster v0.8) {{reconstruct|ion}}s this trope by revealing that there is a broken teleporter directly below the platform he landed on; upon examining said teleporter, it is mentioned that it could be fixed by an engineer with sufficient skill.
608%% This implies that [[spoiler:by leaving the professor to his fate, his HeroicResolve kicks in as he realises that you cannot stop the Doctor's planned invasion of the surface unless you have the Booster, but to this effect, he ''must'' stay alive to ensure that you receive it. Thus, the professor eventually recovers from his fall and continues working on the prototype Booster v0.8 in the Labyrinth, turning it into the finished Booster v2.0. He then proceeds to fix the broken teleporter and use it to escape the pit and teleport to Arthur's House just as you arrive there shortly after all the Mimiga were brought to Plantation.]]
609* UniqueEnemy: There's a few of them, like the Chinfish, The Door, Gravekeeper, Giant Pignon, and Basil (which is more of a stage hazard than an enemy, considering it's invincible).
610** There's also the [[ActionBomb Time Bomb]] that appears in the Egg Corridor?, though ''[=3D=]'' adds two more.
611* UpdatedRerelease: Ever since the game was picked up by [=NiCALiS=], it saw a number of commercial ports over the years with new enhancements.
612** The Platform/WiiWare and Platform/DSiWare versions of the game in 2010, which featured remastered graphics and a "New" remixed soundtrack, runs at 60 FPS as opposed to 50 FPS in the freeware version, added an Easy and Hard difficulty level, increased the number of save slots for the main game to three, promoted Curly Brace to playable status, and added a BossRush mode and a Jukebox where players can listen to the game's music and swap between the different soundtrack options. The European release later updated the [=WiiWare=] and [=DSiWare=] versions by touching up the graphics and improving the sound quality, which would later be ported back into the North American release through an update. This version of the game was later ported to PC in 2011 as ''Cave Story+'' with a new Challenge Mode, [[HolidayMode seasonal graphics]] during the Halloween and Christmas season, and a third "Remastered" soundtrack. There were also a port for the 3DS that is identical to the freeware version in terms of visuals and sounds but has the extra Challenge Modes from ''Cave Story+'' and can toggle between the original 4:3 aspect-ratio or the wider 5:3 ratio from its 3D remake. In 2017, ''Cave Story+'' was ported to the Nintendo Switch with further enhancements such as 16:9 widescreen presentation, new lighting and water effects, animated character portraits for dialogue scenes, a new Sand Pit challenge, two more "Famitrack" and "Ridiculon" soundtrack options, and other quality-of-life improvements.
613* VentPhysics: Most notable in Grasstown/Bushlands, but fans can be found elsewhere too.
614* VideoGameFlight: Both versions of the Booster, and the Level 3 Machine Gun all provide the player with the ability to fly in different ways.
615* VillainOpeningScene: Exaggerated in that this happens during the ''opening logos'' before you even get to the main menu. On the "Created by Team Pixel" screen, the player gets a brief glimpse of the Doctor, the game's BigBad, who is mentioned frequently throughout the game, but not seen in the game for quite a while.
616* VillainOverride: [[spoiler:The Doctor does this to both Misery and Sue in the ending.]]
617* VillainTeleportation: Misery and the Doctor use this heavily.
618* ViolationOfCommonSense:
619** [[spoiler:During the Undead Core battle, Possessed Misery will ignore you if you can avoid damaging Frenzied Sue. The battle is still tough, but in a different way.]]
620** At one point in the game, you enter a room and see Booster fall into a pit below. The logical choice would be to go down and check on him. Doing so causes you to to receive the incomplete jetpack from him just before he dies. HOWEVER, if you just ignore him, jump over the pit, and continue on your way, he later shows up unhurt and gives you the superior completed jetpack, which by extension unlocks the true ending.
621* TheVoiceless: Your main character has virtually no dialogue of his own. Even when you're playing the game as Curly. In the [=WiiWare=]/Steam version, [[spoiler:he does talk, but only if you get the mushroom and meet with him in the Plantation, and even then it's only a single line.]]
622* WakeUpCallBoss: Speaking of the VentPhysics, anyone who hasn't mastered them is very likely to get their butt kicked by Balfrog several times on their first playthrough. Other factors play a part, but it's usually the fans that screw one up.
623** [[spoiler:Frenzied Toroko]] is also one as well. Her attacks are surprisingly difficult to dodge and do almost-unseen levels of damage at that point in the game, and she's also pretty fast.
624** For Hard Mode (or a 3 HP, no Missile run), it's the second fight with Balrog. He can kill you in one to two hits, the Fireball is near useless, and the Polar Star still has to get past his energy balls.
625* WalkDontSwim: Quote sinks like a rock in water. [[spoiler:Since he is a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot robot]], [[JustifiedTrope he is likely too heavy to swim.]]]]
626* TheWallsAreClosingIn: [[spoiler:The walls of Ballos' chamber close in when the hero and Curly Brace defeat him for good. They would be crushed if not for Balrog.]]
627* WarIsHell: The War between Humanity and the Mimiga [[GuiltFreeExterminationWar very nearly ended the Mimiga race]]. [[spoiler:If and when the player feeds Curly Brace the Ma Pignon, she remembers the war, and her description is extremely unpleasant:]]
628-->[[spoiler:'''Curly:''' Back then, a huge number of robots were sent to this island from countries on the Earth's surface. [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum Their target was the awesome power kept within this island]]... [[ArtifactOfDoom the Demon Crown]]. But you and I, we were different. [[CuttingTheKnot The two of us were sent in order to destroy that power]]. [[LateToTheTragedy When we got here, the island was in a shambles]]. [[WatchingTroyBurn The robots had torn it all to pieces]]... [[EverybodysDeadDave and countless Mimiga had been slaughtered]]... it was... terrible... Finally one man got the Demon Crown in his possession. The robots' work was done and the island fell silent. [[FromBadToWorse But that was just the beginning of the tragedy]]. [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide With the Crown in hand]], the man [[PsychoSerum turned the Mimiga into killers]] and began his assault on the Earth. I tried to stop him. You were there too. ... That's as far as I can remember. I'm pretty sure we were able to wound him. [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu But we seemed far out of our league...]]]]
629* WaveMotionGun: The Spur, if you fire it when its EXP. bar is at maximum, will release a large white beam that will pierce through and completely reduce ''any'' non-boss monster in the game into its component atoms. There is no better example of ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill in this game than this alone.
630* WelcomeToHell: A sign reads this, verbatim [[spoiler:near the beginning of the end-game BonusDungeon, the Sacred Grounds.]]
631* WhamEpisode: The entirety of the Sand Zone [[spoiler:and the surprise of the Labyrinth. Toroko dies, thus making your entire adventure to rescue her up til now all in vain, King dies, thus your only Mimiga ally is gone, you get chucked to the deepest pit of the island with no teleporter back, and to top it all off, you learn you can't put hard brakes to the Doctor's plan because doing so will drop the island out of the sky and kill everyone.]]
632* WhamLine:
633** Misery drops one after the Core fight, explaining that [[spoiler:you almost pulled a NiceJobBreakingItHero]]:
634--->'''Misery:''' Do you even know what this thing is!?!\
635'''Curly:''' Huh?\
636'''Misery:''' This is the reason why I HATE ROBOTS!!! This is [[spoiler:the heart of the island! [[LoadBearingBoss The island will fall if THIS stops!!]]]]
637** A relatively unassuming NPC in the Labyrinth drops this:
638--->''Have you ever seen the outside of this island? [[spoiler:This island is floating high in the skies.]]''
639* WithThisHerring: You begin the game with ''[[OneHitPointWonder three]]'' [[OneHitPointWonder hit points]] and no weapons. Presumably something bad happened to you beforehand. As it turns out, you are [[spoiler:an [[SubvertedTrope elite combat android]] sent to destroy an artifact that gives its wearer unthinkable power, on an island populated by rampaging monsters. Once Curly gets her memory back, it's heavily implied that the previous wielder of the Demon Crown [[CurbStompBattle beat the robotic crap out of you]]; also, other robots are found near the Core and are in ''really'' bad shape]].
640-->''Analysis complete''\
641''Current forces insufficient''\
642''Retreat''\
643''RETREAT!!''
644* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Ballos. Poor, poor Ballos.]]
645* WorldOfWeirdness: ''[[MindScrew Hold onto your butts]]'' - a common [[QuirkyMinibossSquad recurring boss]] is a sentient brick of ''soap'' that can fly by flapping its arms, and attacks by spitting bubbles at you. It only gets loonier from there. [[spoiler:The plot involves ''[[BewareTheCuteOnes seemingly]]'' harmless [[IntelligentGerbils bunny people]], that commonly eat ''[[AscendedToCarnivorism fish]]'', who can [[HairRaisingHare turn into monsters]] when they eat a magic flower that acts like PsychoSerum. A [[CatsAreMean murderous]], ''[[PantheraAwesome house-sized]]'' house cat can apparently [[TankGoodness drive a tank]] that uses [[AbnormalAmmo rocket-propelled fishes]] as a weapon. A gun that shoots a stream of bubbles that [[LethalJokeWeapon turn into deadly]] [[EnergyWeapons energy blasts]] is ''just randomly sitting'' in someone's fireplace. An intelligent mushroom must be found and [[SapientEatSapient eaten]] to cure amnesia. And the protagonist - [[RobotSoldier who is a robot]] - can have a [[OptionalSexualEncounter one-night stand]] with one of the bunny creatures.]]
646* WreakingHavok: Cave Story makes use of a unique momentum system that intuitively affects its JumpPhysics in a way unlike any other platform game. Here's some examples of this momentum in action: you can use the booster to make a long jump [[https://archive.is/gKLxV using a hill]] or even [[https://archive.is/TNRKO using a level platform]] by jumping just as you make contact.
647* YouBastard: The text the game displays in the worst ending has shades of this. It's worth noting that the only way to get that ending is to [[spoiler:flee the island and let the [[BigBad Doctor]] win.]] The Steam Achievement goes further, and directly calls you a coward.
648* YouHaveFailedMe: Misery ultimately decides she's had enough of Balrog, and teleports him into the Labyrinth along with the protagonist.
649* YouMeanXmas: This trope is parodied in ''Cave Story+'', in which the achievement for playing the game in [[HolidayMode Christmas Mode]] is "Merry Holiday Happy Euphemism" with the description "For the rest of us!"
650* XMarksTheHero: Sue Sakamoto has two perfectly intersecting scars on her nose that form an "X".
651* ZigzagPaperTassel: The boulder that blocks the entrance to Labyrinth M is decorated with shide.
652[[/folder]]
653----
654->''You have died. Retry?''

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