Cave Story/Windows vs. Wii
This is a sub-page of Cave Story.
The Wii release of Cave Story is the same game, but with some big changes. Internally, the gameplay, maps, etc. are still the same. Only the following has been changed:
- The graphics have been updated.
- The music has been, to put it nicely, remade.
- New game modes have been added.
- Curly Mode
- Boss Rush
- Sacred Grounds time attack.
- Selectable difficulty modes.
- Alternate character costumes, depending on the time of year and difficulty.
Additionally, the text is not the same as the official fan translation's. This is because the game has been translated from scratch on the Wii version. This translation is a bit more literal than the fans'.
Other than that, it's the same game. This means that, unless noted otherwise, unused content in the Windows version is unused in this port. However, there are a few changes...
Contents
Noteworthy Changes
To do: Are the map issues an emulation problem? |
Compared to the original Windows version, the file naming system and file formats are relatively the same, and several files (the credits images, music files, font) were also separated from the executable. The individual files are compressed, which works well for the raw bitmaps. However, quite humorously, the compression makes several smaller files larger.
- Although most dialogue box face graphics were merely upscaled, Toroko's were completely redrawn.
- The map doesn't render all the way, and is hence useless when in:
- Yamashita Farm.
- The Reservoir.
- Curly's room.
- The dark house in the Sand Zone.
- Arthur's House.
- The First Cave (loads more than halfway, though).
- Start Point.
- Hermit Gunsmith.
- Side Room (Egg Corridor).
- Storage Room (where Ma Pignon is).
- Jail #2.
- Statue Chamber.
- The inclusion of Curly Mode has made use of the previously unused portrait of Sue as a human.
- You don't get different title screen songs depending on your Sacred Grounds' completion time in the Wii port.
- The Sacred Grounds are called the Blood Stained Sanctuary, possibly in order to remove religious references.
Unused Content
To do: Finish sprite list at the very least - go through NPC sheets/tilesets, etc more carefully. Also, unused content in CS+ needs to be reorganised at some point, it's all over the place... The unused credits sprites still need to be added, too. |
There are things in the Wii versions that came from the Windows version, but are still unused. Some of them have been updated, as if they were meant to be used in any point, while others are still exactly as they are in the original game.
Sprites
For the sake of efficiency, only unused sprites that have been remade will be documented here.
NpcSand
Image | Notes |
---|---|
The spiked/bladeless Polish. | |
Unused Baby sprite. | |
The winged puppy in all its HD glory! | |
The shading on this is very ugly and pixelated, implying that whoever revamped its sprites didn't get far before realising it's unused. |
NpcMaze
Image | Notes |
---|---|
The unused Gaudi sprites that would go on to be used in Wind Fortress. |
ArmsItem
To do: Verify if the Beast Fang can still be picked up in CS+ and document the affiliated dialogue. |
Image | Notes |
---|---|
The Beast Fang. While the event to get it is still in the script, the dialogue has been changed to reference its unused nature. |
Title
Image | Notes |
---|---|
An older version of the title spritesheet. Found in the original graphics folder (ogph), but nonetheless, is unused due to the new title screen. Seems to be taken from the AGTP translation, except the actual title logo is all stretched vertically... |
Audio
Inside the game's .wad, a folder under the name of "Org" can be found. Inside are numerous .wav, .xm, and .org files.
A fan-made ORG to XM converter (Org2XM) released in 2008 was apparently used for these files: decompressing an .xm and opening it in a hex editor will reveal the string "Org2XM by Rrrola".
Some might recognise the org files as the Windows version's sequenced music. The Windows version's soundtrack is available in the Wii version as the 'Original' soundtrack. Despite this, these files are unused. For whatever reason, Nicalis chose to replace the space-efficient sequenced .org files with .ogg files, these being responsible for the Wii version's massive size (the .oggs alone take up 14.8 MB!). Why the .xms were ignored is a mystery, as .xms are self-contained, containing the sequences, instruments, and samples. All that had to be done was have an interpreter programmed.
This would later be rectified in Cave Story+, where they fixed the .org playback... and broke the MIDI playback, resorting to .ogg files once again. Whoops!
Cave Story
An unused version of the main theme.
Credit Wii
Another unused version of the main theme. As the name of the file suggests, it was likely intended to be used during the credits.
Item
An unused version of "Get Heart Tank!"
Plantation
A rougher version of Credit Wii.
Early Ending Illustrations
To do: Check the Wiiware and 1.2 Switch versions for these pictures. |
Somehow, for some, unfathomable reason, the Steam version of Cave Story+ shipped with rough versions of the final ending illustrations. One plausible explanation is that the source tree for Cave Story simply had these versions so they went with them. The original North American release of the WiiWare port uses these rough graphics as bases - this can be most well noticed with Curly in the Labyrinth Clinic. The European versions seem to have used the final versions as bases for their improvements, however.
Filename | Rough (Steam) | Final (Freeware) |
---|---|---|
CREDIT01 | ||
CREDIT02 | ||
CREDIT03 | ||
CREDIT04 | ||
CREDIT05 | ||
CREDIT06 | ||
CREDIT07 * | ||
CREDIT08 | ||
CREDIT09 | ||
CREDIT10 | ||
CREDIT11 | ||
CREDIT12 | ||
CREDIT14 | ||
CREDIT15 | ||
CREDIT16 | ||
CREDIT17 | ||
CREDIT18 |
An asterisk indicates no difference between the rough and final versions. Interestingly, "CREDIT13" is absent from all releases of the game, meaning Pixel may have cut it in favor of another illustration.
Mimiga Mask Ending Alternative Images
While CREDIT02b is identical to its final counterpart and the only difference in CREDIT03b to the final is a brick is not detailed directly behind Quote (although this may have simply been an artist's mistake) CREDIT01b is completely different from both the rough and final. Not only is the image overall rougher, but it uses an entirely different palette.
Filename | Rough (Steam) | Mimiga Mask (Steam) | Final (Freeware) |
---|---|---|---|
CREDIT01b | |||
CREDIT02b | |||
CREDIT03b |