Cave Story 3D

Cave Story 3D is a Metroidvania platform-adventure game developed by Nicalis and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released on November 8, 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS. A remake of the indie video game Cave Story developed by Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya, the game was redesigned with 2.5D graphics, with the ability to switch between 2D and 3D characters and enemies, and the soundtrack was remixed by Danny Baranowsky.

The game received positive reviews from critics, who praised its design as remaining exemplary, although they criticized its similarities to the original and the loss of Curly Brace and Boss Rush mode, saying it was a poor value compared to other versions. Cave Story takes place within the cavernous interior of a floating island. The island is populated by Mimiga, a race of sentient, rabbit-like creatures. A particular species of red flower that grows in the island causes the normally peaceful Mimiga to fall into a violent frenzy when ingested. 

The island also conceals an artifact called the Demon Crown, which has vast magical powers. An army of robot soldiers was sent to the floating island on a military expedition, seeking to harness the Demon Crown as a weapon for wars on the surface. These robots slaughtered the Mimiga indiscriminately in their search for the crown, but were defeated when the Mimiga decided to eat the red flowers as a last resort. Shortly before the game begins, Professor Booster, the Sakamoto family, and various assistants formed a scientific party to research the island.

But they became stranded when their medical doctor, Fuyuhiko Date, managed to acquire the Crown; he then forced the expedition to search for the red flowers. The player controls the on-screen character directly using a keyboard or gamepad. They progress by navigating platforming challenges and shooting enemies with the equipped weapon. When the player collects multiple weapons, they may be toggled at any time with the press of a button.

Defeating enemies may yield yellow triangular crystals, which give experience points to weapons when collected, hearts that partially restore their health, or missile ammunition. Weapons may be improved up to level three, but taking damage causes weapons to lose experience and levels. Health and missile capacity upgrades are scattered throughout the game world. The player also interacts with many non-player characters and objects while playing the game.