I like the writing, the story, and the way the game deals with player choice. I like how big and impressive the world is and how much hidden stuff there is in it. I was blown away when I first found the Tears ending.

I'd agree with it being unfinished :/


I also don't like the bugs, there are a lot of bugs that can screw up your game pretty badly. Some of them are fun, like the one that lets you have unlimited Life Capsules and the one that lets you make the Ghost Dragon Sisters disappear, but some of them, like the one that can make the Myst Zone inaccessible, are kind of lame. Don't really like the Sea Zone either, it's a bit boring and kind of poorly designed. Fortunately, it's optional.

Here are mine:
Likes
(+) The various Quality of Life improvements are rather nice.  The intro can be skipped, 3-HP Mode is optional and be chosen at the start, there are Warp Doors to reduce backtracking, Save Points fully heal you when you go elsewhere. You can also choose not to have blocks in Micren’s boss fight and you can also skip most of Aidan’s dialogue.

(+) Misery’s End is my favourite weapon. Aside from the nice pink design, it’s a weapon that never loses it’s usefulness and is great for tearing bosses to shreds. If anything, it more than makes up for the loss of Invidia.

(+) For the most part, the music choices are great. The calming White plays early on, which is great for new players and sets this somewhat melancholy tone. The Wily Boss Theme also makes for an appropriate choice for Sycor II (though it’s only one of many choices) and also appears during the final boss fight.

(+)  Grialdyn is one of the best boss fights in the entire game, with a neat gimmick that doesn’t feel intrusive or needlessly difficult. Three of the boss fights (Azehr, Ataraxis and dual battle against Shinica and Luna) had interesting ideas behind them and I hope a finished Lunar Shadow mod would make them the best they can be.
Valkyrie X (and her true self) is built up so it doesn’t come out of nowhere. What also helps is that Serenity’s reunion with her mother Valkyrie is rather touching (though the mention about the Pikachu costume may dampen it a bit), furthermore instead of a cutscene, the player has to kill Valkyrie themselves which adds onto the scene’s emotional factor.

Dislikes
(-) There’s no Sound Test/Cutscene Viewer/Ending Viewer or Boss Rush, which is minor but would make the game enjoyable if added in. Honestly, it’s a shame you can’t refight any of the bosses (aside from the final boss). And yes, while you can listen to the game’s music in a house in the Entrance Area, it would be better if a proper Sound Test option was put in the Main Menu.

(-)The Ghost Dragon Sisters (Tia and Mat) are a poorly designed boss fight. The air fans only serve to hinder you by pushing you into them, and the only options are to stay on the switch or stay under it and fire your shots there. From what I assume, they’re merely supposed to be a mini-boss. At least the Grialdyn fight makes up for that.

(-) Azehr is the buggiest boss in the entire game. This is because the fight takes place in multiple rooms, which must have taken it’s toll on the game. As the fight with Ataraxis proves, bosses can have multiple health bars which only makes this problem worse. A simple change to that would have the fight take place in a singular room where Azehr changes bodies whenever it’s current body is defeated.  Considering that the Azehr’s forms have a theme (according to their file names), it’s possible to make the boss room fit that theme and tie it to the Clock Tower used to change Grialdyn’s visibility.

(-) After the fight with Azehr, the endgame seems to lose steam. You end up backtracking to Alexis (or Bullet Hell Ballos as I call her) then go and fight Axataris. The final boss could have been better. Aidan's dialogue is nothing but references, and the last 3 phases are just against the Death Orb Mk:2. Aidan's mech appears to be unfinished considering that it looks like a purple Ballos (and the cockpit is only visible for one phase, which is rather inconsistent). The music choices aren't bad but, chances are the player would have heard all the tracks before the fight, so none of them feel surprising.

If you get killed by those blocks, after beating phase 1 Valkyrie, there's different text than usual, apparently.

Even KIM is tired of Azehr and his bugs, though, that much I know from late 2017...

Wait, really? I don't remember any blocks after Valkyrie X's first form. However, there is an alternate ending if you die to Valkyrie X's second form. Also, if Kim is tired of Azehr being so buggy, why doesn't she just redesign the entire fight? Then again, I can understand that Cave Story modding is hard considering I've been trying to make my own mod. The mod in question is called Gun.

1. I prefer to think that second phase isn't a phase, though... I was talking about that.
2. Because Azehr is apparently Azehrys Chan, an ancestor of the Flamberges. Besides, if he wasn't such a stupid illiterate idiot (Alexis' words - Tower TF tablet in secret area) he could have killed Serenity the day she was born.

Sounds like something to have fun with-- *shot with a tranq dart*

1) To be fair though, it's more of an interactive cutscene, which is actually better than it being an actual cutscene.
2) One of the ideas I had was that Sycor, Grialdyn and Azehr were all machines created by the Castle Master that could go invisible. Each of them have differing designs designed to make them stand apart from each other.