I'm looking for games that are similar to Cave Story in their gameplay. I recently watched a Cave Story stream, downloaded the game, and have been hooked ever since. Now that I'm nearing the end of the game I'm hoping that there are similar titles out there to play next.
Things I like about Cave Story:
The action sequences, fighting and getting past obstacles The 2D side-scroller viewpoint The variety of weapons and items to collect throughout the game The Zelda-esque puzzle aspect of talking to people, trading items, etc
Things I don't like:
The leveling system for weapons, this really had no impact on gameplay other than making my OCD go crazy when a weapon was only 95% maxed The shortness of the story!
Games can really be for PC, or any console, they can have any system requirements, be paid games or free to download.
Cave story fan-trailer to show what I'm talking about:
I haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but I believe La Mulana may be quite close to what you are looking for. I rememeber watching a bit of an LP for it a while ago and thought it looked fun so i put it on my long backlog of games to get around to playing.
Shadow Complex which is available on xbox live (maybe elsewhere) is a metroid style game set in a near future world.
Features a large underground complex to explore. Lots of back-tracking to previously inaccessable areas once you get the proper weapon ect. Its very rewarding though. The combat and platforming controls are tight. They used unreal3 to develop the game and its quite pretty, the platforming is strickly 2D but the combat is what they call 2.5D which means enemies can be in the forground or background. So you will be firing your weapons in all directions. The main character eventually gets a power suit which will be upgraded with new abilites throughout the game. The game world reminds me a lot of something like Ghost in the shell. with big walking tanks and stuff.
Anyway, i really enjoyed the game. well worth the price. My first playthrough took around 10-12 hours probably. High replay value.
cheers
edit:
also, Super Metroid & Symphony of the Night if you have not played those classics.
Ok I just joined and I'm not sure if this is a good enough reason, but I have a game that hasn't been said yet (I think): Knytt Stories. It's really a master piece, you should try it. And here's the link: http://nifflas.ni2.se/?page=Knytt Stories
EPT
