Cave Story Tips, Tricks, and Secrets

[@elrobotman9856]

The biggest secret of Cave Story is: the good ending

[@Nerdieo]

This isn't wrong LOL

[@elrobotman9856]

@@Nerdieo the real question is, how did they discover the good ending?

[@Nerdieo]

I believe Pixel has come out about the good ending, but I could be wrong. I'll have to double check is bulletin board

[@skew5386]

@@elrobotman9856 I somehow managed to figure it out on my third playthrough without even knowing it existed. I was combing the entire game for secrets and extra stuff and I ended up actually fully activating the ending

[@elrobotman9856]

@@skew5386 HOW!!?????

[@coldmanyt8438]

Another tip: If you want the upgrade that would trigger the sisters fight, if you’re quick enough, you can open the chest, and boost over to the exit window before the fight is triggered. However, it’s a bit hard to pull off, you’d be missing out on the save point and health regen, and it may only work on the freeware version. But many speed runners use this trick, and it’s quite helpful. ;)

[@Nerdieo]

Believe it or not, it works on the Nicalis ports, too!! For some reason, Nicalis kept the trigger system the exact same. Why it's exactly the same for just this fight is unknown, but believed to be for it's popularity!

[@HeyoOkDG]

Actually! If you go back through the same hole after skipping the fight, the save point just appears as if the fight was beaten already! no health regen tho.

[@JessesGameRoom]

6:46 I remember this happening in one of my playthroughs as a kid. It was the first time any piece of media ever made me cry, and to this day is only one of two games to have done that

[@Nerdieo]

If this happened in my playthrough, I would've been scarred for life, haha.

[@harakat6665]

Hmm, What was the other game ?

[@JessesGameRoom]

@@harakat6665 The only other game that ever made me cry was Omori. Beating the game nearly brought me to tears several times, but what got me to finally cry was watching my friend start to playthrough the game. There wasn't even anything sad happening at the time, it was just all the memories if the game that got to me

[@harakat6665]

@@JessesGameRoom oh omori, i probably should check it out

[@JessesGameRoom]

@@harakat6665 I highly reccomend it, it's on steam and consoles, though the console version has some extra content

[@lynnlantern7513]

I feel like if you're going to keep Misery alive you might as well not bother with Sue either. Sue barely ever seems to even hit me and when she's down Misery spawns the rockets. The rockets have singlehandedly killed me more than anything else in that fight

[@Nerdieo]

Maybe it's just me, but I never had too much of a problem with the rockets. I do love me some bullet hells after all, haha. But I also think tons of hearts being on the field at the cost of more tricky platforming is worth it to me IMO. But I get where you're coming from!!

[@robotdude2206]

Yes. My strategy for the Undead Core fight is to immediately kill Misery, then just dodge everything else and only focus on the core. Sue is only a problem when you get careless, and that's hard to do because her pattern is so predictable. Those fish missiles are the hardest thing for me to deal with at any point in the game.

[@SilentSputnik]

@@robotdude2206 Yup I killed Misery first on hard.

[@hunterotte9555]

Ngl, I remember playing it a LONG time ago. And after finishing it, hearing about alternate paths, decisions, secrets, and endings. I am struggling to remember: but I believe my ending wound up with me fighting some mad doctor character, some big machine (may have fought that first, idk, I also think I had to fight 2 brainwashed characters as well), and the island falling with you needing to escape. I should honestly get and replay it, as I remember it being insanely challenging and fun.

[@YellowpowR]

Oh my gosh, I got the Arms Barrier through knockback without even knowing there was a different way to do it!

[@Ahlnie]

You missed some secret dialogue you get if you go out of your way to talk to different characters while wearing the mimiga mask. I specifically remember Curly and Booster say something different, but Misery also has slightly different dialogue as well. Good luck getting there with the mask though, as that means going through the last cave without the booster.

[@Nerdieo]

I should've included this! You're right! That said, I forget all Mimiga Mask stuff cause you can't get true ending with Mimiga Mask!!

[@oneguyy]

Omg I forgot about this and stumbled on it by mistake. I forget what curly says but I believe booster says something about humans being bad and apologizes for the events before/during the game

[@emberthefox4951]

I went through the final segment with the Mimiga mask on for my first playthrough since I heard about the secret dialogue. Not my smartest moment. Absolutely not my smartest moment. Pretty sure I cheated myself out of the good ending, too.

[@JrIcify]

In the waterway if you miss the cabin, the currents will flush you to the end of the level with no turning back anywhere. I saw the drowning message quite a few times because of that. From my perspective it's weird that a slim minority of players have ever messed up there.

[@eragons1894]

I think it's because most of the people just restart the game to previous checkpoint right after they miss the cabin.

[@eric-nicolasormerat2825]

Could you please give me the list of background music in this video ? Especially the one from 0:00 to around 4:30, and the one from 9:20 to 14:30. Thanks! Edit: Nerdieo replied on Discord, these are "Quote's theme" and "Training room" from Blade Strangers.

[@BIGROYFAN7000]

I'm just gonna save this one: Blue Quote in Easy/Normal playthrough. Hold L button… B->Y->B->Y->B->B->B->⬆️

[@user-nb6gc9es6h]

If you're fast enough, you can skip the Sister's fight while getting the missile upgrades

[@Nerdieo]

PROOF OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN I believe you, but damn, I'd probably never be able to hit that, haha

[@salt.io257]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHbbm6GcbMZ_iMU The video also explains why it works.

[@hallie342]

8:15 I found out you can technically get all four in one save. First: bad ending Second: mimiga mask ending Third: (after back tracking through final cave with mask) good ending Fourth: normal ending

[@Halucygeno]

One of my favourite tricks in the game is one I saw speedrunners use. They boost through the Labyrinth Fight air currents by manually rapid-firing the Machinegun upwards. Apparently, this only works on the freeware version because of the lower framerate or something like that. In terms of casual gameplay, the saddest tip of them all is "keep Blade at Lv.2", because it actually hits slightly behind you, and the ability to fire as soon as your first shot hits completely melts bosses at close range. Very uncool, but true. No King ghost if you wanna maximise that dps. Oh, and this is completely unrelated, but the introduction to this video just reminds me how much I dislike Ridiculon's remixes for the Cave Story stages in Blade Strangers. I feel you could do something really dramatic and cool with the "Balcony" melody, but Ridiculon just opted for a generic sounding electric guitar segment and awkwardly wove a sped up version of the original melody into it. It's a shame. EDIT: Actually, I think the electric guitar is supposed to be imitating the ambient melody we hear at the start of "Balcony" before the main part kicks in, but again, sped up. I still think it sounds pretty bad, but at least it's trying to play off the original.

[@user-nb6gc9es6h]

You can also use the same rapid-fire trick in the Waterway to skip a lot of the level

[@Nerdieo]

Honestly, using the machine gun is just easy mode lmao, it has so much utility, even outside of normal gameplay, just like you said. And yeah, Lv.2 Blade is the biggest disappointment but also the best tip you can give anybody. I LOVE Lv.3 Blade because of King's Spirit but damn, does it really suck that it's genuinely the best weapon in the game. And honestly, I get it. I like it a lot, but only because I view it as a whole new song under a different vision. I know it is supposed to be a Balcony remix, but I more view it as "Quote's Theme" as the game implies. But yeah, the soundtrack is p generic. Only reason I use it is because this is my 20th video and I've used most of the game soundtracks already, haha. Just trying to use all my resources here

[@periwinkle.]

You can go backwards through the currents in Labyrinth M and Waterway with the Machine Gun in any version of the game.

[@Nerdieo]

LETS GO. I'M RACING PEOPLE FROM ONE END OF LABYRINTH M TO THE OTHER.

[@Halucygeno]

@@periwinkle. Eyo, thanks for clearing up my misconception.

[@eragons1894]

Okay, so i don't know if that's more of a secret or a glitch, but i've been grinding hard mode cave story lately, and right now i'm stuck in the last boss rush on the balcony. Earlier today, while fighting Misery, i've managed to kill her basically on the same frame i've died, and something strange happened. On my game over screen i saw that large energy crystal (the exp triangle thingy) dropped from her, which never happens normally.

[@alfombracitario]

If you somehow enter the first cave again after leaving without the machine gun or booster and go to the room where you get the polar star there will be a sign that says "OUT"

[@Chard01]

Lets go Nerdieo! back at it again! With another banger of a video!

[@Nerdieo]

You already know, haha, just doing my best!!

[@Thechozengamer734]

Yyeesss thank you for more cave story videos

[@Nerdieo]

I'll always try and keep more Cave Story videos coming! I have a lot more ideas too!!

[@assassinv0299]

I'm glad people are still playing this game.

[@Nerdieo]

I will play this game for eternity LOL

[@Desonic310]

@@assassinv0299 I started playing this recently after someone made a port of the original game on Roblox and the game is perfectly playable there.

[@abdcdfefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz]

another tip: if you get the missle upgrade and dart to the exit you can skip the sisters fight and still get the missles. im not sure if the save point is there when you go back though

[@Nerdieo]

I remember reading about this one and even seeing footage of how it works mechanically, but I am nowhere near good enough to pull it off

[@alexevaldez]

Sick man! Thanks for this!

[@Nerdieo]

No problem! I hope you enjoy the video!!

[@ogn1k110]

if you somehow manage to get to first cave after you first get out of it and before you go through waterway back to village, instead of hermit there would be sign with written on it "Out."

[@ogn1k110]

also, i discovered this secret about mister little very recently and accidentally when we played cave story online with my friend. we got him, trade blade and played a little with nemesis, but then game crashed and we just forget to trade it again so we get to best ending with him

[@Nerdieo]

The "Out" message was originally gonna be in the video, I just forgot to get footage for it, haha. As for the Mister Little thing, that's in the video, but I appreciate you sharing!!

[@alfombracitario]

10:15 If you are REALLY FAST you can take the chest and skip the boss

[@lnee]

At monster x I create a program that slows down the game this is really helpful in boss fights how it works is by pausing and unpausing it really quickly it also does not pull up the pause menu it doesn't OS level

[@AnythingSpark]

at 9:53 I thought that was the intended way to get it lol so I did that every time I played threw the game

[@alfombracitario]

5:15 lol I born in 04.08.07 (DMY)

[@Empath_Enby]

After watching this video I decided to give the 1.5x speed on hard mode a go, and wow is it a rollercoaster! You do get accustomed to how fast Quote moves and shoots, but the bosses are pure pain, I'm personally only up to the core at the moment and I feel like I'm either going to become a TAS trying to effectively hit all the bullets or get a repetitive strain injury from trying to keep to 3 cycles 😅 (I'm going for the spur although the machine gun is probably a better choice for this battle) An interesting thing I found is that Rabid Toroko feels a lot harder by comparison when going this fast as she hops around almost as much as a real life rabbit, and it got me to effectively try using the strafe function in the game letting me do some extra damage while I dodge the blocks Overall I wish there was a guide or just a playthrough with the added speed, and to see if there's any different strategies to accommodate for this optional and hidden difficulty spike 💖

[@Nerdieo]

1.5x on Hard Mode I would imagine is INSANE! And oh my god, as sad as the fight is, imagining Rabid Toroko at 1.5x speed is genuinely the funniest thing ever LOL I will say that I was recently contacted by someone who sent me a Twitch VOD and it's them completing Cave Story+ Hard Mode WITH The 1.5x Cheat Code!! Sadly, the VOD is down, I would've loved to provide you with some sort of guide, but it was AMAZING to see when it was up!!

[@Empath_Enby]

@@Nerdieo I'm sure there will be another video with it, otherwise maybe I'll have to when I get better at the game 😅 do you have any tips for the core? I'm using the level 2 blade to deal with the mini core projectiles so maybe I should learn how to better use the level 3 blade? The mechanics of that one are wonky though sometimes you'll hit things way off on other side of the screen and not know how you did it haha The only other thing I can think of is my positioning in the fight, the first bit I'm on the platform closest to the core, after being blown back I go to what I'd say is the centre platform? And then 3rd cycle I'll try to get to the very top platform where the cutscene played starting the battle All in all, it might just be down to luck, much like (heaven forbid) whatever the sanctuary is going to be like, I've not actually managed to beat that yet on any difficulty 😅

[@Nerdieo]

I genuinely wish I had some help to give you! I haven't done this challenge myself, but the Cave Story community is filled with FAR better players than me!! The best I would recommend, or at least what I would try, is just playing the game normally with my fingers crossed, haha

[@shyguyisaac504]

I know a lot about Cave Story but didn’t know any of the cheat codes.

[@Nerdieo]

Don't worry, even I still learn a lot about the game day-by-day and I've been playing for over a decade, haha

[@BillErak]

The cheat codes aren't particularly useful to me as I only play freeware, but it's cool that they exist. The one thing in this video I didn't know besides that, though, was the "Curly's life force has terminated" text. I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned before, and since to me playthroughs are a binary of booster 0.8 or 2.0, in which I always either save or leave curly behind, I hadn't encountered it. It makes me sad to think that's there.

[@Nerdieo]

Freeware is the true neutral, haha. You're still valid here. And I tried reaching a ton of different text boxes, I'm glad you learned at least ONE thing in this video!!

[@pixelhavoc4950]

what version of cs are you playing?

[@Nerdieo]

CSE2!

[@DrewPDrawerz]

I was hoping that this vid would help me with my no life capsule playthrough. I'm still stuck in the Labyrinth with Monster X, so getting that weapon upgrade might help. Thx!

[@Nerdieo]

No problem!! Good luck with the run!!

[@rjray5132]

at the start it just him being 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 robot

[@Captn_crunch]

I'm having a really hard time beating this game. I need to use the heart pot to kill the doctor once he rejuvenates but then I can't beat the core. I will try keeping misery alive like you said.

[@Nerdieo]

Good luck!! I believe in ya!!

[@soupertap7051]

what about if you play in pixels birthday in cs+ on switch

[@Nerdieo]

Sadly, there's no cheat code or advice to give on the holiday events, and they aren't really secrets as Nicalis shares what happens every year on social media, haha. I want to find a way to cover the events in a video, but I haven't found a fun way to cover them yet! But don't worry, the events will pop up in SOME video as I haven't talked about them yet.

[@crushingvictory]

You forgot Dog Stacking in the + and Switch ports ;D

[@Nerdieo]

True, but I feel like those aren't much of a secret! Nicalis was very vocal about this feature as well as dog stacking being a huge meme in the community, haha

[@crushingvictory]

@@Nerdieo it's been long enough that some might not know about it, so figured it was worth mentioning

[@Zoey_Online]

Died right at the start of the gameplay. GG.

[@Nerdieo]

LOL S H U S H

[@Zoey_Online]

no >:]

[@Fairygroveyt]

The curlys life force seeping one.. I would get that all the time... Oh my God I suckk

[@Nerdieo]

NOOOOO At least you know how to save her now!!

[@GhERM2SOIED72]

No mention of the Beast Fang? I wish that the Prinny hat made it into newer versions- even if it had to be made into a non-trademarked "penguin" hat for cool doods.

[@Nerdieo]

The Beast Fang got it's own video. Also, this video is meant for POSSIBLE advice, tips, and secrets, not unobtainable ones.

[@GhERM2SOIED72]

@@Nerdieo Understood- trying to keep everything neat. Thanks for taking the time to reply, by the way.

[@devnoms]

Sucks that you can't use the multi-player skins in single-player. Guess that means no Samus Curley Playthrough.

[@Nerdieo]

Use the Halloween cheat code and start up a Curly Story playthrough!!

[@devnoms]

@@Nerdieo You know, that's a good idea!

[@connorlego5229]

5:30 …Cave story is as old as me?

[@lancelnce]

I love sleeping with Chako

[@Blank-ho7di]

After watching this video I am still confused as to how I got the Halloween skin by accident when I played this on my 3ds when I was around 14.

[@Nerdieo]

The 3DS version wasn't new to visual glitches, but of course, you could've always just played the week of halloween, haha. If you can replicate it, tho, definitely let the community know!

[@ahomestucker]

the worst thing about cave story + for switch is that it doesnt have easy and hard mode for curly.. and hence it doent have those curly sprites

[@Nerdieo]

Another reason the 3DS eShop version is just superior

[@ahomestucker]

@@Nerdieo yeah but.. sand pit tho. and what if u wanna play with some of the remastered stuff a bit. its just sad that the switch version couldnt be the perfect version. (tho to be rly perfect theyd have to have the dm dokuro arangment as an option lol)

[@CodeTrader19]

Not getting the rope , help plz

[@Nerdieo]

Do you have the Booster v0.8?

[@CodeTrader19]

@@Nerdieo yess

[@staymonspencertcb7046]

TCB🌠 HOW DID YOU GET THE TYPE OF CAVE STORY THAT GUY I WEARING A CHRISTMAS HAT

[@Nerdieo]

Watch the video and let your mind be blown :D

[@ryanm2]

What's wrong with sleeping with Choco?

[@Nerdieo]

Maybe it's just me overthinking, but implied relations between a machine and animal isn't something I personally condone, haha.

[@McNibbler]

Me playing through the game for the first time on hard mode with 3hp and thinking about how most of these don't apply to me oop

[@Nerdieo]

I JUST REALIZED LIKE 3 THINGS APPLY TO HARD MODE LMAOOO

[@Cristi20071]

Bro what i played mobile version and this thing you show me is new to me

[@robinmoylan662]

idk