Treating it as the only option is missing the point. The ending is way too obtuse and super hard, how is a new player supposed to get through this?ДЄnd sure, the BS Sanctuary is an ending, but not THE ending. But if you read about this crazy in-depth secret in this famous game, then now you're missing out on so much without it.Д«ut because of this, lots of people criticize the game itself. If only a few dozen people played the game in general, it'd work as an awesome reward for the few who know it exists, but the game feels mostly complete without it. If you don't, you haven't really beaten the game.ДЄnd that makes sense, in a way. And you have to do all of that for a cutscene that's literally just the island staying afloat and the main characters escaping death through the power of Asspull, followed by twenty seconds of casual dialogue and slightly altered credits. You have get through these two difficulty spikes that'd be ridiculous for anyone who hasn't mastered the game. You have to do all these complex steps that make no sense.

A happier ending with more stuff in it usually the happiest ending is the best, most fleshed-out one, so it was the Best ending, maybe even the only True Ending.Д«ecause of that, this True Ending is considered mandatory. But since Pixel put so much effort into it and added more than most of the games that have one, it wasn't called that. It probably didn't happen immediately, but as the game got more players, more people learned of the secret bonus level/boss, even though who would never find out about it themselves. Just like the game in general.ДЄnd then Cave Story got famous, more than anyone could've expected. He ended up putting a lot of effort into it, even if it was only for a few people. Players who don't find it have little reason to believe it exists in the first place, and so probably don't feel like they're missing out. Hint at the bonus content so that some players could still find it themselves, but only if they were really attentive and probably after several playthroughs. And maybe he decided to add on a couple bosses before the bonus level, tie up a few loose ends, make it less sad, and have the game end differently. He could've tried to integrate it better, but it makes some sense from the perspective of one guy who's adding bonus content onto a huge, mostly-done solo project. Some of the events don't make sense (Tow Rope is only in the Core Room if you ignore Booster?) because if it did, it might be more likely that someone would get it on their first try.Ballos and just about everything that you need for it seems tacked on and out-of-nowhere, because it kinda was. The 290 Counter is there because pretty much everyone who got this bonus in the first place would be the type to try speedrunning it. The Sacred Grounds was a bonus challenge for people who had mastered the game and knew it inside-out (mainly Pixel's personal friends), which is why it's so obtuse. So he ( presumably) patched on a couple cutscenes and items to the game to lead up to it, both so it has some buildup and so you'd need to replay the game from the start to access it. Lots of games have some secret super hard bonus dungeon or boss, but Pixel (presumably) realized there wasn't much room for one as the game was then, and ( presumably) didn't want first-time players to find it and get absolutely wrecked. I think a lot of us know about Pixel adding the Sacred Grounds (and Hidden Final Cave) because his playtesters thought the game was too easy as-is.

I don't think that's a good decision on his part at all, but it got me thinking about the BS Sanctuary and its place in the game. He refuses to play any other part, since he wants to beat this not because it's fun, but because he has to so he can say he did, even if it's by dumb luck. To Jay, it's like hitting his head against a brick wall, and he doesn't think he's improving at all with his attempts. The game is far from a priority now, and he only picks it up once or twice a month, does a few attempts, and then stops for the next few weeks. About a year ago he got to the Sacred Grounds. It went really smoothly and he had lots of fun. A few months later, he got the Switch version, and we decided he should get the Best Ending this time. He was pretty new to this kind of game, but beat the Normal ending and really liked it despite having some trouble. About two years ago, I got my friend (let's call him Jay) to play freeware Cave Story.

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