# Cave Story

> 2004 video game

**Wikidata**: [Q1051853](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1051853)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_Story)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/cave-story

## Summary
Cave Story is a 2004 Japanese indie platform-adventure game created entirely by Daisuke Amaya. Released as freeware for Windows, the single-player Metroidvania follows an amnesiac robot named Quote who explores a floating island and uncovers its dark past.

## Key Facts
- First self-published by developer Daisuke Amaya on 20 Dec 2004 for Microsoft Windows.
- Runs natively on Windows, Linux, macOS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch.
- Localized title in Japanese: 洞窟物語 (Doukutsu Monogatari); Chinese: 洞窟物語.
- Commercial enhanced edition “Cave Story+” released on Steam with ID 200900.
- ESRB rating: Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence.
- Single-player only; no multiplayer modes.
- Copyright holder: Nicalis, Inc. (US studio founded 2007, Santa Ana HQ).

## FAQs
### Q: Is Cave Story free?
A: The original 2004 Windows release is freeware. Paid versions such as Cave Story+ on Steam and console eShops add widescreen graphics, extra modes and soundtrack options.

### Q: What genre is Cave Story?
A: It is a 2-D Metroidvania platform-adventure: exploration-focused side-scrolling action with weapon upgrades, back-tracking and multiple endings.

### Q: Who made Cave Story?
A: Japanese developer Daisuke Amaya (Studio Pixel) designed, programmed, scored and drew the entire game alone over five years.

### Q: How long does it take to finish?
A: Main story averages 6-8 hours; completionists hunting every item and ending will clock 10-12 hours.

## Why It Matters
Cave Story is widely cited as the game that proved one person could still deliver a commercial-quality experience, sparking the modern indie boom. Its 2004 freeware release showed digital distribution could bypass traditional publishers, inspiring later hits like Braid and Super Meat Boy. The title’s tight controls, branching narrative and chiptune soundtrack became a template for low-budget, high-polish design, while its later Wii and 3DS ports demonstrated how bedroom projects could reach living-room audiences. By retaining authorship and releasing for free, Amaya modeled ethical creator control and community goodwill, influencing today’s indie-friendly storefronts and game-jam culture.

## Notable For
- Entirely created by one person—code, art, music, story—across half a decade.
- Freeware release years before “indie” became mainstream, amassing millions of downloads.
- Multiple official ports; among the first indie titles on a Nintendo console (WiiWare, 2010).
- Maintains a 97 % positive rating on Steam after 20 years and 200 k+ reviews.
- Speed-running staple with dedicated categories on speedrun.com and a built-in timer in Cave Story+.

## Body
### Development & Release
Daisuke Amaya began Cave Story in 1999 as a hobby project after work, building his own game engine and pixel editor. The finished Windows build debuted on his Studio Pixel website on 20 December 2004 with no price tag. Word-of-mouth among Western fans led to an English fan-translation patch months later, widening its audience.

### Ports & Enhanced Editions
- 2010 WiiWare version (Nintendo, WCVENV/WCVPNV product codes) added remixed music and widescreen.
- 2011 Nintendo 3DS eShop release (App Store ID 456447717) offers stereoscopic 3-D layers.
- 2017 Switch port via Nicalis bundles cooperative “Curly Mode” and challenges.
- Steam release ID 200900 carries the subtitle “Cave Story+” and integrates achievements, cloud saves and the original graphics toggle.

### Legacy & Cultural Impact
Academic papers and post-mortems cite Cave Story as a master-class in scope management: a compact map, reusable tilesets and modular weapons deliver 4–6 distinct endings without scope creep. Its open-source engine, NXEngine, enabled community ports to Linux, OpenPandora and even Dreamcast, keeping the game alive on unsupported hardware.

## References

1. Steam
2. MusicBrainz
3. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
4. Humble Store
5. Nintendo eShop
6. USK Classification Database
7. RAWG
8. [Source](https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/11/2020-11-19-nicalis.md)
9. [Source](https://www.cavestory.org/downloads/LIN32-NXEngine-1.0.0.4-Rev-4.tar.gz)
10. [Source](https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/C34782)
11. [PCGamingWiki](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Cave_Story)
12. Giant Bomb