Translation Release #50 - Cave Story

[Tallgeese]

OK, I need to know. Did I miss out on some secret by trading in my Polar Star for the Machine Gun from Curly Brace?

I mean, after I did it it hit me that the hermit was sleeping. Maybe if he woke up...

[Tallgeese]

DAMN IT! I KNEW that trade was too good to not have a catch!

Don't trade your first gun. The hermit will upgrade it later. I'm kicking myself.

[Starman Ghost]

I love the machine gun. At level 3 you can fly with it. Is the upgraded polestar that good?

[Tallgeese]

I'd like to know myself.

The fact is, the Machine Gun makes life in the Labyrinth way, way easier. Thus, I would imagine giving that up would net you a serious reward.

On a side note... Is it me, or does Blade Lv. 2 pwn way more than Lv. 3?

[Louis Cypher]

I prefer Blade 3, personally. It's got a wide hit area, and often it'll stay still when it hits something, damaging the area around it for a while. Sometimes its area of effect widens by a sickeningly large amount. You'd appreciate it more if you didn't have the machinegun

Regarding the Polar Star trade - it's worth keeping to give back to the Gunsmith if you're playing for the hidden final area and secret ending. Otherwise, the machinegun will serve you quite well.

[Tallgeese]

True enough, but against a single target that stays relatively stationary that isn't shooting out legions of obstacles, Blade 2 seems to rack up the damage far faster.

...Now tell me the requirements for the hidden stage, pretty please? Hehe. On that note, are there any more sucker/trick choices like Polar Star vs. Machine Gun?

It'll be interesting comparing this translation to sandcrab's...

[Gigafreak]

...Now tell me the requirements for the hidden stage, pretty please? Hehe. On that note, are there any more sucker/trick choices like Polar Star vs. Machine Gun?

I've found a hidden trade...

After the choice to end the game early (if you say no), you can find a mini-sidequest to trade the Blade for a weapon called the Nemesis. It's like an uber-pistol that even penetrates the first thing it hits so you can take on multiple obstacles/enemies, at pretty good damage - 8, I think. Fires almost as fast as you can hit the button.

The thing about this gun is, it's only good at level 1. And it only takes 1 unit of experience/energy to level it up. At level 2 it is weakened somewhat, but 3 is a joke. The birdies are funny the first time, but slow-moving melee-range 1-damage-per-hit is just... unfit for combat.
I suggest equipping it when you know you're about to get hit, so your real weapons don't power down, and you can still fight back with reasonable power.

Now, there are two items I haven't seen traded: Fireball and Bubbler.
I bet that blue mushroom past the graveyard has something to do with it...

[Zuzma]

I've only found afew werid things. The weapon upgrade that I screwed up on, the small guy walking in the graveyard, the blue mushroom in the room above it and the clock room. I'd probably have to replay the game again to figure all this out. Is there really a ton of secrets in it though? I haven't really seen much.

That sucks. It froze for like 5 minutes for me in the graveyard. I can't play it until I figure it out.

Any ideas?

No idea. It's probably something the author would have to fix since it happens in the unpatched one too.

[Gigafreak]

I've only found afew werid things. The weapon upgrade that I screwed up on, the small guy walking in the graveyard, the blue mushroom in the room above it and the clock room. I'd probably have to replay the game again to figure all this out. Is there really a ton of secrets in it though? I haven't really seen much.

There's an optional boss nobody's found yet.

Anyway...

The little guy in the graveyard! When you have the choice to escape from the island, say no. Then, hop off the right edge and fly/jetpack to a little platform beneath the edge you just jumped off. His family is there. Talk to the mother/wife, then go back to the graveyard and get the guy. When you bring him back to his family, he lets you trade for the Nemesis weapon described in my above post.

...There is still another weapon, the Snake, if you do NOT trade for the machine gun, then talk to the roach shop guy. He'll combine your Ploar Star and Fireball together. The Snake penetrates walls and has a narrow zigzag motion that makes its flight path slightly wider. At level 3, it gets 8 damage per hit and pretty good range.

I haven't gone all the way through the Labyrinth with just the Polar Star yet, though. I'm going to do that sometime and find out what the upgraded Polar Star will be...

Also, I've found a "Notebook covered in dust" on one of the bookshelves in a house in the Waterway. Not sure how to use it. Also a mystery is any significance the message "Wife gave birth to child" (in the same room) would have.

[Gigafreak]

Edit: Hmm nevermind it isn't my fault. It's at almost 100 percent cpu usage. I've seen other software with this problem too. I know I saw the reason for it somewhere before but I forget.

That sucks. It froze for like 5 minutes for me in the graveyard. I can't play it until I figure it out.

Any ideas?

It could be that your computer can't handle the game.
The game comes with a program called "DoConfig." Use that and reduce the screen size, maybe it'll go this time.

[Zuzma]

Thanks for all those tips Gigafreak! Also I don't think my 2Ghz computer is underpowered for a game like this.

Edit: It doesn't freeze on my friends 600Mhz laptop with win ME. Weird. I even tried each resolution setting for the game.

[Gigafreak]

COOL!!

The upgraded Polar Star... it...

It doesn't use weapon energy at all. No matter how many hits you take, the weapon stays exactly the same.

Instead, you need to hold the attack button down to charge power. The weapon energy bar will start to fill up. The level you charge to determines what kind of attack you get.

If you tap the button, you get the Polar Star's level 3 shot.

If you charge to level 2, you get a long (VERY LONG!) piercing beam that does minimal damage.

If you charge to level 3, you get a double beam (Looks like the old Polar Star's level 2 attack) for greater damage.

If you hang in there and charge 'til the level 3 bar is MAXED, you get a GIANT WHITE BEAM OF DEATH (22 to 23 damage).

It takes a while to charge to the max, but then again, some bosses are only open for brief periods of time and usually launch a cloud of obstacles at the same time - PERFECT for the Upgraded Polar Star (called the Spur).

You can still mash the button for the old level 3 shot if there's no time to charge. I think I LIKE this thing...

[Gigafreak]

I've had more time to play around with it...

The beams that the Spur fires conrinue to deal damage until they have passed by or the target is no longer available (Dead, or blocking its weak point).
I've seen about 18 damage from the first beam, 40-50 damage from the second beam, and over 80 damage from the highest-charged beam. (I don't have a more precise number, because I was panicking that this particular target had survived and was about to kick my ass.)

Edit: I should have edited my previous post with these details, but then I couldn't find a Delete button... Sorry.

[kevman]

Edit: Hmm nevermind it isn't my fault. It's at almost 100 percent cpu usage. I've seen other software with this problem too. I know I saw the reason for it somewhere before but I forget.

That sucks. It froze for like 5 minutes for me in the graveyard. I can't play it until I figure it out.

Any ideas?

It could be that your computer can't handle the game.
The game comes with a program called "DoConfig." Use that and reduce the screen size, maybe it'll go this time.

No, no, that's not it. I run at 3 gigahertz. It runs perfectly for about 10 minutes, then will halt the computer for about 3.

[Tallgeese]

Is there a secret involving the fish? In the Sand Zone, one of the Mimagas moans about wanting fish. There's a fish in the resevoir, but you can't seemingly 'acquire' it.

[Noxious Ninja]

Anybody figured out the significance of the notebook or the message "04-08-08 Wife bore child."?

What about the chest in the clock room or the broken teleporter in the labyrinth?

[Tallgeese]

Clock Room? Where?

And which broken teleporter? There's two.

[Gigafreak]

Edit: Hmm nevermind it isn't my fault. It's at almost 100 percent cpu usage. I've seen other software with this problem too. I know I saw the reason for it somewhere before but I forget.

That sucks. It froze for like 5 minutes for me in the graveyard. I can't play it until I figure it out.

Any ideas?

It could be that your computer can't handle the game.
The game comes with a program called "DoConfig." Use that and reduce the screen size, maybe it'll go this time.

No, no, that's not it. I run at 3 gigahertz. It runs perfectly for about 10 minutes, then will halt the computer for about 3.

In that case, I have no idea... Is there anyone better-versed in the game's requirements?

[Tallgeese]

A post in AGTP answers the Clock Room question... When Professor Booster drops into the Labyrinth, don't talk to him to get Booster 0.8. Skip him and go on, and somehow you get the Booster 2.0. Seems to be a requirement.

Along with some mystery requirements on reaching the 'Sacred Grounds'.

[Noxious Ninja]

Clock Room? Where?

At the end, as you're climbing the wall area.

And which broken teleporter? There's two.

Really? I only found one.

[Tallgeese]

Bevermind, one fixes itself.

As for the one at the bottom of where Booster falls... i have NO idea.

Here's an interesting question... What happens if you decide to NOT get Curly the Cure-All and just take it for yourself? Can you even do that?

[Noxious Ninja]

Bevermind, one fixes itself.

As for the one at the bottom of where Booster falls... i have NO idea.

When you try to use it, you get something along the lines of "maybe a skilled engineer could fix it". I wasn't able to get Itoh to follow me, and even if I could, I don't know how to get back to that room.

Here's an interesting question... What happens if you decide to NOT get Curly the Cure-All and just take it for yourself? Can you even do that?

That's is an interesting question. If you can, then either she heals herself, or the boulder is moved in a different way and you don't get the bubble later on.

[Tallgeese]

The thing is, the apparent sole reason she dies is because she drowns.

If you just totally skip getting the Cure-All or hoarding it yourself, it provides the following possibilities akin to getting Booster 2.0:

1) Curly heals herself or somebody else gets the Cure-All for her.
2) You can use the Cure-All on someone else.

Any ideas about my fish secret theory?

[Noxious Ninja]

If only I could beat the end bosses... this got really hard all of a sudden.

[kevman]

[
In that case, I have no idea... Is there anyone better-versed in the game's requirements?

It has nothing to do with speed or anything like that. I just booted into Linux and tried it via WINE. It runs good! I just need to find the ID card now, to get through the egg corridor