5. Cave Story
Developer: Daisuke Amaya
Released: WiiWare
Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya created Cave Story over a span of five years in his spare time. Intended as a tribute to some of his favorite games (most notably Metroid), Cave Story was initially released on PC, where it garnered a rabid following. When Nintendo’s WiiWare service launched, publisher Nicalis thought it would be an excellent fit for the new marketplace, and worked with Amaya to port the game. Eventually landing on both WiiWare and DSiWare, the game became an even bigger sensation, eventually leading to release on a multitude of other platforms.
Quote, the amnesiac hero of the game, made his way though a labyrinthine cave to discover his past, all while interacting with its denizens and resident villains. A 2D shooter/platformer, Cave Story was stuffed with content and challenge. The game’s 8-bit visuals were charmingly retro, making the game stand head and shoulders with the most classic of NES titles. Besides the DS and Wii iterations, there are also two versions available for 3DS: a 3D remake with modern, polygonal characters and environments (called Cave Story 3D), and another that maintains the 8-bit graphics but adds a three-dimensional effect to them (oh, it’s not that confusing!). No matter what form it takes, though, Cave Story remains one of the most excellent platformers produced in recent memory.
Couldn’t agree more with number 2. It’s great! Just started playing Guacamelee! Great stuff :)