CSRPG - Cave Story: The RPG

I was originally going to post this under Showcase in the Modding/Hacking section. However, since this is neither a mod nor a hack I felt it didn't fit there. So I posted it here instead. If this happens to be in the wrong section (which it probably is), please move this to where it needs to be.

This is a silly little thing I made in RPGmaker over the past week out of complete boredom.
It is literally the first section of Cave Story remade as a turn-based Final Fantasy style RPG. I've decided to share it with the forums.
The entire thing can be beaten in around half an hour.

Download Links:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gazaauk872d9qrm/CSRPGv1.exe - Smaller file, but will only run on computers that have RPGmaker VX ACE installed.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5yn61em4iant4n7/CSRPGv1RTP.exe - This one is a larger file, but it comes with RPGmaker's RTP data so you don't need RPGmaker to run it.

CREDITS!! (Since they are not listed in-game.)

Spoiler

Music:
- Cave Story OST - Pixel
- Decisive Battle, Dancing Mad First Movement, Dark King - Nobuo Uematsu

Graphics:
-Cave Story Graphics - Pixel
-Quote's (and Curly's, even though she isn't implemented yet.) Overworld Sprites - Fluff8836 (used his sprites from the Tribute Site)
-Spikes (Topdown Perspective) - Evil_Nazgul0616
-Pretty much everything else - RPGmaker

Scripts:
-RSSBSACE (The SBS (Side-Battle System) used in the battle screen) - Reedo

Special Thanks:
-Pixel, for making the awesomeness that is Cave Story.
-RPGmaker, for making this possible.

Features/Notes:

Spoiler

-It's the first section of of CS as an RPG, by first section I mean from First Cave to entering Arthur's House.
-Level layouts were tweaked to fit with a Topdown perspective. However, everything is in the same general location as it is in normal CS.
-Most of the story-related dialogue was literally copied and pasted from the AeonGenesis translation.
-Because of the addition of stats for RPG gameplay, a lot off things (such as Quote's health and the enemies' health) were tweaked to better fit the system. Enemies encountered early on still do damage similar to what they actually do the CS.
-95% of the music is from the CS ost.
-All item icons and most overworld sprites are using placeholders for now.
-Unique enemies (like the Gravekeeper) are ascended to Boss/Miniboss status.
-There are two bosses, one optional boss, and one (currently) impossible bonus easter egg boss.
-Contains a hidden reference to Cavern Tale. (The afformentioned Easter Egg)
-Because it would be hard to implement the weapon level up system in RPGmaker, I instead came up with a new system using TP (or Tech Points.). Every weapon, when equiped, gives access to three techs (representing the weapon levels.) in order to use these techs, you need to accumulate a certain amount of TP. TP automatically fills over time when you either make a successful hit on an enemy or when an enemy does damage to you. EXP crystals are now consumeable items that give a set amount of TP and speed up the process.
-The "From somewhere a transmission" cutscenes are not implemented. So you will not see them in-game.
-The Reservoir is using a placeholder battle background.
-Balrog gets a unique battle theme 'cause he's Balrog.

Controls:

Spoiler

Movement/Selection - Arrow keys
Interact/Select - Z
Cancel - X
Run (On overworld) - Shift

Known bugs:

Spoiler

-I seemed to have fixed all the major ones I found during playtesting, but let me know if you find any.
-One of Balrog's attack animations will occasionally not play. This does not effect gameplay at all.
-The Gravekeeper's Slash attack may seem buggy, but it's not. It's damage formula is to shave off roughly a fourth of the target's current HP (while adjusting for the target's defense stat.). It looks a little buggy because of the low amount of HP you have at that point in the game...

Tips/Secrets:

Spoiler

-Talking to Kanpachi after his usual dialogue will yield interesting information...
-If you manage to get a Chinfish, talk to Kanpachi and he will trade you some items for it.
-After Toroko has been kidnapped and you've alerted Jack, talk to him in the assembly hall and he'll sell you some items.
-Pignons hurt. It's highly recommended to wear some armor when fighting the small ones. (The big ones hurt even with armor on.)
-Pignons have a 5% chance of inflicting poison when they attack. Be wary of this when fighting them.
-Chinfish are your friends...
-Can't find the easter egg/reference? Try investigating a certain barrel in the Mimiga Village...
-Quote has a hidden line.

Screenshots:

Spoiler

Videos:
Gameplay Clips: Shows the entirety of First Cave, the Shack Cutscene, the Balrog boss fight, and the Cavern Tale reference in that order.

The Entire Easter Egg Boss Fight In Full: Shows the entirety of the Easter Egg boss, which is impossible to beat in the current game, fought with Quote and Curly at maximum level equipped with the best gear. Also shows all of the battle items currently coded in. (most of them are unimplemented in the current version.) I recommend you either find the Easter Egg in-game or watch the ending of the above video before you watch this.


I hope you guys enjoy it.
Also, do you guys think I should try to remake the entire game in RPGmaker? I'm leaning towards this idea anyways, but I want some outside opinions before I proceed any further.



...Why hasn't anyone done something like this before?

 

Screen shots are always appreciated when you make a mod or game or anything similar. It's nice to see you have a video posted but some people may be like me fucking off in class unable to play the video.

I'll give this a try soon when I am home.

 

 

Screen shots are always appreciated when you make a mod or game or anything similar. It's nice to see you have a video posted but some people may be like me fucking off in class unable to play the video.

I'll give this a try soon when I am home.

Added some screenshots.

 

The sprites for the characters don't match the scenery. At all. It looks very off-putting.

You need to either make the characters match the scenery, or the scenery match the characters.

 

The sprites for the characters don't match the scenery. At all. It looks very off-putting.

You need to either make the characters match the scenery, or the scenery match the characters.

As I said in the OP, there are currently tons of placeholders. They will eventually be replaced with graphics that will match better.

 

I can't run it because I don't have rpgmakerXV acE!

 

I can't run it because I don't have rpgmakerXV acE!

I was wondering if people were going to have that problem. I'm going to make a new version of the executable that comes with the VX Ace data and see if that fixes it.
Sit tight.

EDIT: Done. Check the OP for the new link. See if it works now.

 

If you're really going to do this, please rip and use the original game's graphics in the design (all of the designs), and refrain from resizing monsters in-combat for no reason; it doesn't add anything other than the question, "Why are these pixels larger than those ones?".

And, incidentally, single-character RPGs are never fun, especially when fighting more than one enemy at a time. It becomes a huge clusterfuck wherein the player spends more time watching the enemies do things than they do. why does the combat interface allude to four party members when I know only two will be available? I know nobody pre-coded what you want to do, but you should really prioritize learning Ruby and customizing things yourself.

 

If you're really going to do this, please rip and use the original game's graphics in the design (all of the designs), and refrain from resizing monsters in-combat for no reason; it doesn't add anything other than the question, "Why are these pixels larger than those ones?".

And, incidentally, single-character RPGs are never fun, especially when fighting more than one enemy at a time. It becomes a huge clusterfuck wherein the player spends more time watching the enemies do things than they do. why does the combat interface allude to four party members when I know only two will be available? I know nobody pre-coded what you want to do, but you should really prioritize learning Ruby and customizing things yourself.

As I said before, most of the graphics currently are placeholders. If I do decide to do the full game, I will at some point replace the placeholders with (in the case of the overworld, slightly modified) CS graphics.

As for the monster sprites, their larger size is simply because I find it more pleasing than using smaller sprites, because a smaller sprite would leave a lot more empty space on the battle screen (Plus, as a Final Fantasy player, I prefer larger monster sprites, as it's what I'm used to.). Though, if they become a major issue, I'll reduce the size.

As for the party slots, I'm mainly keeping them there in case I find a use for them later (such as for temporary party members or something.). If I don't find a use for them I will get rid of the extra slots.

Yes, if I do decide to do the full game, I will learn Ruby at some point (especially for when I'll have to code the Nemesis, because I'm thinking of giving it a new gimick to fit with the TP system.)

---

On a completely unrelated note: It's a pleasant surprise to see a member of the UFF here. I honestly didn't expect it.

 

I'm everywhere.

because a smaller sprite would leave a lot more empty space on the battle screen

Then make the battle screen smaller? Or make ALL the battlers bigger?

 

It's an interesting concept. I've considered making a Cave Story RPG before, but I lack a computer and the necessary knowledge...

Anyway, while you could just remake the game, you should also think of the possibility of taking a few creative liberties with the story in order to make the gameplay more interesting. (For example, having party members besides Quote and Curly). And of course, I'm sure you thought of things in the original that could be changed or expanded on to better facilitate the gameplay change. I'm mostly thinking of Chaba and how you could maybe upgrade weapons at his shop or buy items there, but you may be able to think of other stuff. As for the battle screen, why not make Quote's sprite larger and make the enemies slightly smaller? That could balance it a little better, right now it looks very odd. Also, you could indicate spike damage with a screen flash and a sound instead of a message, but that's your call, really.

I personally love RPGs, so I'd like to see where you can take this. ^.^

 

you should also think of the possibility of taking a few creative liberties with the story in order to make the gameplay more interesting. (For example, having party members besides Quote and Curly). And of course, I'm sure you thought of things in the original that could be changed or expanded on to better facilitate the gameplay change. I'm mostly thinking of Chaba and how you could maybe upgrade weapons at his shop or buy items there, but you may be able to think of other stuff.

I've already sort of done some of that.
For instance, you can trade Kanpachi a Chinfish (If you're lucky enough to get one.) for health-restoring items. I've also made Jack the first "Merchant" in the game (Talk to him in the assembly hall after Toroko gets taken and he'll sell you items.).

I'm also planning on adding in some temporary party members if I decide to do the full game. (Sue and King are the current candidates I have in mind...)
Coincidentally, I was also thinking of having Chaba as a merchant.

you could indicate spike damage with a screen flash and a sound instead of a message, but that's your call, really.

I'll probably do that, since it would flow better.

 

It looks like dodging spikes and deathtraps will be easier for Quote now
D=

Anyway, Cave Story as a RPG can work... Although the battle system will probably be very lackluster compared to the original, unless you come up with some kind of gimmick or minigame that isn't just a time sucker...
Though, even just a well made RPG battle system could be amusing...

???? launches a volley of Polar Star lvl 1 blasts!!
PEW PEW PEW

Balrog shrugs at 1 DMG!
Balrog starts to give a funny look!

Command? (Atk / Dodge / Jump / Item / Flee)
>Jump<

???? starts to leap over Balrog!
"HUZZAH"
Balrog catches ????? in mid-air!
"Gotcha"

*KABLAMASPLAT SFX*
You have died.

 

It looks like dodging spikes and deathtraps will be easier for Quote now
D=

Well, hypothetically the game can have Quote jump around the map like in Mario RPG. And have some map hazards that can harm him.

 

It looks like dodging spikes and deathtraps will be easier for Quote now
D=

Don't worry, I'm already thinking of some creative solutions to the problem. (Perhaps some troll floor tiles/fans that cause you to slide into deathtraps by walking on them, or maybe some parts (like hell) that force you to walk through non-lethal (but still damaging) spikes to proceed.)

 

Also naming the main character "????" is kind of obnoxious, it might be better if there's no listed name at all until Curly tells you it.

 

Ahh, so I see that one was indoctrinated into knowing the... impressvely large power of Mahin. (He was far from the most powerful, though).

I think the startup is pretty cool (early development does mean early development), though I have to agree with the others that you should at times veer away from following the original genre-different game to give it it's own flare to this very diffrent genre (if you continue through this).

Though it seems you are already coming over this, as you are considering more characters and the Mahin fight shows a wealth of item ideas unseen in the beginning inventory.

 

nice

 

why did you just bump a 3 year old thread

why