A couple of days ago, homebrew coder ufo_z came up with the unofficial demo version of the video game Cave Story. We say unofficial because Variant Interactive last year mentioned that it is planning to port this freeware PC sidescrolling adventure title to the PlayStation Portable.

Despite that, we think that ufo_z's take on the project somewhat holds more water as the developer has gotten the approval of Cave Story owner Daisuke Amaya (Pixel). Anyway, this is the second demo released and a lot of improvements have been implemented since the last version.

ufo_z wasn't able to include a changelog for Cave Story PSP Release Candidate 1 but the following reminders were provided:

• Firmware 1.0: should work with no modification
• Firmware 1.5: needs kxploiting
• Custom firmware: (3.xx OE): should work with no modification; goes in the GAME150 folder
• Game saves: works with saves from the windows version; filename needs to be Profile.dat (case sensitive); (same for 290.rec)

Download: Cave Story Release Candidate 1

 

About a year ago, Variant Interactive let out word that they were developing a PSP version of Cave Story - the PC sidescrolling adventure game that was initially released as freeware by developer Daisuke Amaya (aka Pixel). The game was initially dated for a 2007 release, but much like the memory of the title's lead character, updates for this game port were a complete blank. At least until now.

We've just picked up word that homebrew developer ufo_z has tried a hand at porting Cave Story to the PSP - with Pixel's blessings - and has so far developed this demo version. As the author explained, this Cave Story release is playable up to just the first boss fight, and might have bugs that'll need ironing out.

In-game features include an English and Japanese language mode, with these tweaks expected to be added for later versions:

• Get the windows version working with the alternate screen size (480x272)
• Port filesystem+graphics+input handling
• Port sound+music
• Add menus (key config) etc. 

On a last note, ufo_z notes that this release was the version he sent to Pixel for checking - let's hope the original author gives the game a thumbs up.

Download: (Unofficial) Cave Story demo