I absolutely adored Cave Story as a kid, and after this replay I'm happy to say that I can still see why. CS is deservedly one of the most well known indie games of all time. The story and characters are simple and cute, the music is surprisingly great, the world is so much fun to explore, and the pixelart is beautiful (especially the updated art in CS+). The game is overall so well made that it's hard to believe the original game was entirely made by just one guy in 2004!

Cave Story isn't perfect, getting the true ending is basically impossible without a guide, backtracking is a little annoying in the Bushlands/Sand Zone, and some of the dialogue feels strange or poorly written, but that doesn't stop it from being a great experience that is fun to play. If you enjoy Cave Story I would strongly recommend playing Amaya's other game Kero Blaster as well, which plays a lot like CS.