History YMMV / CaveStory

* MemeticMutation: "HUZZAH!", Balrog's CatchPhrase in the fan translation of the original game, became a sort of rallying cry for fans of the game.

* PolishedPort: The number of ports of the game are comparable to the number of ports of ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'', and each capitalizes on the last. The UsefulNotes/WiiWare port has redone sprites, the ability to play as Curly, and the European version gets an additional soundtrack.[[note]]Later the NA version would have its debatable soundtrack replaced with the European soundtrack.[[/note]] ''Cave Story +'' has all this and the Wind Fortress, somehow harder than the Sacred Grounds. ''3D'' has polygonal models, and ''Cave Story +'''s eShop release boasts everything ''+'' does but the graphics, and to compensate it's in stunning 3D. The Switch version then adds onto all of this with the Wii's remastered graphics, animated talking sprites, widescreen, some gorgeous subtle lighting effects, and co-op in a later update.

* BetterThanCanon: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRBz1ihz6EU The fanmade fourth ending]] for many, particularly because [[spoiler:you can actually save King and Toroko and the credits suggest Misery finally makes amends with her mother, Jenka]].

** The Waterway, right after the Labyrinth, which has much weaker enemies and the water currents that literally complete most of the level for you.

** The Balcony, especially if the player [[spoiler: is on the path to the GoldenEnding, which rewards the player with the Hidden version of the Last Cave]]. There are only 4 enemies, lots of weapon energy capsules and missile refills higher up the boss area's face, and [[spoiler: is the last place the player goes through before entering the [[BrutalBonusLevel Sacred]] [[NintendoHard Grounds]]]] which only has the falling blocks to worry about as opposed to [[spoiler: the [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Butes]] in the Sacred Grounds]].

** Also, King. Not only is he technically everyone's favorite Mimiga, he also [[CurbStompBattle defeats and nearly destroys Balrog in one hit]] and has without a doubt [[RedEyesTakeWarning one of the manliest faces in video game history]]...all while [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything being a good guardian and making a valiant effort to protect his little sister.]] [[spoiler: Then after he dies, his ''[[PrecisionFStrike motherfucking]]'' ''[[SpiritAdvisor spirit]]'' is still able to leap out of his sword at will, [[TestosteronePoisoning slashing away wildly at enemies]] while looking like one of the stands from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure.'']] ''[[RuleOfCool Hell yes!]]''

* AlasPoorScrappy: Sue might qualify for some of her detractors after being pummeled into submission by a gigantic frenzied Mimiga. But since she declares [[UnwantedAssistance she didn't want your help]] if you tell her you saved her, and then [[{{Hypocrite}} tells you "You're no help"]] [[BeasUnhelpfulasPossible if you tell her you didn't]], some might not feel much sympathy for her.

* RedHerringMole: [[spoiler: Professor Booster. EvilEyebrows? Check. [[RedEyesTakeWarning Signal red glasses]] [[OpaqueLenses that hide the eyes underneath?]] Check. Potential MadScientist acquaintance of The Doctor? Check. [softreturn] 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]].

* PolishedPort: The number of ports of the game are comparable to the number of ports of ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'', and each capitalizes on the last. The UsefulNotes/WiiWare port has redone sprites, the ability to play as Curly, and the European version gets an additional soundtrack.[[note]]Later the NA version would have its debatable soundtrack replaced with the European soundtrack.[[/note]] ''Cave Story +'' has all this and the Wind Fortress, somehow harder than the Sacred Grounds. ''3D'' has polygonal models, and ''Cave Story +'''s eShop release boasts everything ''+'' does but the graphics, and to compensate it's in stunning 3D.

** The Core has five mini-cores that together create an impressive volume of fire, and severely hampers the player's mobility by frequently flooding the room. It TurnsRed by adding a current to the water and starting to use an attack which takes off 20 HP (of a maximum attainable 41 at that point).

** The Sand Zone. The Egg Corridor prepared you, Grasstown/Bushlands is where the game really starts, the Sand Zone is where the NintendoHard and GuideDangIt nature of the game starts shining, featuring the first opportunity to miss out on one of the two [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Guns]], enemies that gang up on you and can cause notable damage together, and a FetchQuest that forces you to go through the area where the most enemies gang up on you at least five times and forces you to go through that area and the area after it twice. Not to mention Omega and [[spoiler: Frenzied/Rabid Toroko]], the first two [[WakeUpCallBoss Wake Up Call Bosses]]...
** Labyrinth for enemies that gang up on you a lot, a lot of rooms, and Monster X and The Core, the first two [[ThatOneBoss That One Bosses.]]

** Curly Brace, [[spoiler:the only good scout robot other than Quote]]. It helps that she tends to actually be ''helpful'' in any EscortMission with her.

** With Curly bringing up a respectable second.
** King, especially [[spoiler: after he gives the player the Sword, one of the best weapons on a normal run, before dying from his injuries. It even has his soul! It also helps that he [[CurbStompBattle curbstomped Balrog]] just a bit beforehand]] and that he's a signified badass even before that happens.

* HellIsThatNoise:
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNtnjrrXMDU Quiet]], the tune that plays in [[spoiler:Mimiga Village]] after you come out of the Waterway. ''[[WhamEpisode *Shudder*]]''
** It's even worse in [[spoiler: Santa's House, Chako's House, and the Sand Zone Residence.]]
** Your PC has a hardware synth card like a [=SoundBlaster=] X-Fi? Switch your PC to it's onboard audio instead before playing- the game music is an eardrum-splitting wreck if played through the X-Fi for some strange reason.

* FriendlyFandoms: Despite the above, ''Cave Story'' and ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' fans can often get along, complete with many crosovers in their ranks. They share similarly friendly relationships with ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' and ''VideoGame/{{Off}}'' fans, also leading to crossovers.

* CompleteMonster: [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Dr.]] Fuyuhiko [[FourEyesZeroSoul Date]], known [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep almost exclusively]] as [[BigBad The Doctor]], is a sociopathic researcher who came onto the floating island to take control of the powers of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Demon Crown]]. The Doctor is responsible for kidnapping several of the harmless native Mimigas and forcefeeding them the corruptive red flowers, mutating them into savage beasts. The Doctor has reduced the Mimiga's village to a select few survivors in doing this, and plots to use the rabid Mimiga to attack the surface world. The Doctor has his servants forcefeed the young Toroko these red flowers, ultimately leading to her death, and murders King when he tries to intervene, commenting on how "fragile" their bodies are. The Doctor is also responsible for mutating several of the island's infant dragons into undead zombies. At the end of the game, the Doctor mutates his own servant Misery for her dissent, intending to make her his puppet until the day she dies. The Doctor was an [[ItsAllAboutMe unfettered egomaniac]] who puts his pride above everything else, all the while behaving in a calm, perpetually condescending manner.

** King, especially [[spoiler: after he gives the player the Sword, one of the best weapons on a normal run, before dying from his injuries. It even has his soul! It also helps that he [[CurbStompBattle curbstomped Balrog]] just a bit beforehand]] and that he's a signified {{Badass}} even before that happens.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The game is known for its accessible and engaging gameplay and cutesy visuals. [[spoiler: It also features slavery and [[GreatOffscreenWar war]] themes, four nightmarish final bosses (The Doctor, who loses control and mutates, then him possessing the Core, Sue, and Misery, then the Heavy Press which attacks out of nowhere and is a Kaizo Trap if you don't realize what it is quickly enough, then finally Ballos, who has a horrific backstory and red, dripping, tortured faces in his head), and [[AnyoneCanDie most of the cast]] [[KillEmAll dying before your eyes]] [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies at regular intervals.]] ''[[AC:And still goes with a calification of E10+''.]] ]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: The game is known for its accessible and engaging gameplay and cutesy visuals. [[spoiler: It also features slavery and [[GreatOffscreenWar war]] themes, four nightmarish final bosses (The Doctor, who loses control and mutates, then him possessing the Core, Sue, and Misery, then the Heavy Press which attacks out of nowhere and is a Kaizo Trap if you don't realize what it is quickly enough, then finally Ballos, who has a horrific backstory and red, dripping, tortured faces in his head), and [[AnyoneCanDie most of the cast]] [[KillEmAll dying before your eyes]] [[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies at regular intervals.]] ]]

** The green birds and Butes listed as GoddamnedBats below become this in Hard Mode.

** The green birds in the Sand Zone, and Butes in [[BrutalBonusLevel Sacred Grounds]].

* FandomRivalry: Shares a minor one with ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. Cave Story fans get annoyed when ''Undertale'' fanart appears in ''Cave Story'' Tumblr tags. It also doesn't help that trolls are accusing ''Cave Story'' for ripping off ''Undertale'' even though ''Cave Story'' was released a decade before.

* AlasPoorScrappy: Sue might qualify for some after being pummeled into submission by a gigantic frenzied Mimiga. But since she declares [[UnwantedAssistance she didn't want your help]] if you tell her you saved her, and then [[{{Hypocrite}} tells you "You're no help"]] [[BeasUnhelpfulasPossible if you tell her you didn't]], some might not feel much sympathy for her.

* AssPull: The relationship between The Core and [[spoiler:Ballos]]: killing the LoadBearingBoss causes the island to fall, but killing the TrueFinalBoss causes the island to ''stop'' falling. Sloppily handwaved with something vague about "[[VoodooShark negative energy]]".

* TheScrappy: Very few players like Sue until much later in the game, and even then it's not guaranteed she'll be [[RescuedfromtheScrappyHeap Rescued from the Scrappy Heap]] for some players. It doesn't help that she's actually a hinderance [[spoiler: during the fight with the Undead Core]] and, unlike even [[CowardlyLion Kazuma]], she has no impact on the story overall besides a few [[InfoDump exposition dumps]].

* AlasPoorScrappy:
** [[spoiler:If you thought Toroko was annoying at the beginning of the game, you'll feel like crap when she gets kidnapped, and like a major JerkAss when you have to [[ShootTheDog kill her yourself]].]]
** Sue as well for taunting a gigantic frenzied Mimiga and then promptly getting pummeled into submission. But ''much'' less so. Especially since she declares [[UnwantedAssistance she didn't want your help]] if you tell her you saved her, and then [[{{Hypocrite}} tells you "You're no help"]] [[BeasUnhelpfulasPossible if you tell her you didn't]].

** Sue as well for taunting a gigantic frenzied Mimiga and then promptly getting pummeled into submission. But ''much'' less so. Especially since she declares [[UnwantedAssistance she didn't want you help]] if you tell her you saved her, and then [[{{Hypocrite}} tells you "You're no help"]] [[BeasUnhelpfulasPossible if you tell her you didn't]].

* ScrappyWeapon: Subverted by the Bubbline. So many [=FAQs=] condemn this weapon as being "meh" at best, or some say it is horrible, or optional, but a lot of these people must not have really used it much. At level 1, it is the epitome of useless. At level 2, it is "meh". [[MagikarpPower At level 3, this weapon is ''ridiculously powerful'' against certain kinds of enemies,]] including [[WakeUpCallBoss the boss of the Bushlands]]. If you took the time to backtrack to Mimiga Village to get the Bubbline before fighting the last boss of the Bushlands, and leveled it up to Lv3 before unlocking that door, that boss is ridiculously easy, as is the other boss in the same area. The jumps with the bats everywhere? Easy, with this weapon. The only weapon in the game that surrounds you with damaging orbs that kill anything that touches them while you're free to move, and the very first weapon that can fire an entire screen length. What is there to not like, other than how fast it de-levels? (We gotta balance it ''somehow...'')
* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The "heart container" jingle is quite similar to the ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}''

* FandomRivalry: Shares a minor one with VideoGame/{{Undertale}}. Cave Story fans get annoyed when Undertale fanart appears in Cave Story Tumblr tags. It also doesn't help that trolls are accusing Cave Story for ripping off Undertale even though Cave Story was released a decade before.