Lately I have been searching for a good game. Many gamers believe this comes down to graphics. Techno­logical advancements continue to raise the bar, but even after playing games with spectacular graphics, I felt starved. Sure, games continue to evolve to more closely resemble reality, but graphics weren’t what I was hungry for. No, I needed story line and gameplay, which many games lack.

“Cave Story,” by Daisuke Amaya (who goes by “Pixel”) and the company StudioPixel, is a free, downloadable sci-fi/ fantasy computer game that follows a mysterious cyborg boy suffering from amnesia. After a bit of adventuring, he finds a town inhabited by rabbit-like creatures called Mimigas. When the main character arrives, the town’s population has dwindled to six. As the story progresses, you uncover information about their history and find out why you are there. You befriend Sue, and the mysteries start to build.

Although the game is in Japanese, fans have made an English patch to translate it. Five years of work has resulted in a side-scrolling, 8-bit slice of nostalgia that reminds me of the old NES games. The gameplay is a mix of old-school Megaman and Metroid side-scrollers – basically, a 2-D world. The keyboard controls are easy to get used to.

Since this game is freeware, it’s absolutely free to download and play. A run-through of “Cave Story” would take at least seven hours, which can triple (or even quadruple) when exploring the many secrets and different endings.

The graphics are not top-notch and have been criticized. What many forget, though, is that Daisuke never intended them to be the best. Although the graphics aren’t wonderful, they serve the purpose. The soundtrack is also old-fashioned, resembling that of an ­arcade game. Even so, the composer made each song unique and catchy. The plus side is that since the graphics and sound quality are both quite low, most computers should be able to run “Cave Story.”

This game isn’t famous for its graphics or music, but for its story. The game itself isn’t very hard, but it isn’t a stroll on the beach either. The quests are easy, and the comfortable controls won’t leave you frustrated. Once you submerge yourself in the plot, you will want to tear past levels and decimate monsters so you can learn more about the story.

So what are you waiting for? Grab the Deluxe Package from www.miraigamer.net/cavestory. You are only a download away!