Konami's Cave Noire saw release in April 1991 and predates other console/handheld Roguelikes by a clear two years - Torneko's Daibouken didn't appear on the SFC until 1993 and the first Shiren came out in 1995. As both the first and then only attempt in the genre it takes a relatively unique "bite-sized" approach to dungeon exploring.
There are four quests for you to freely choose from, each with a different goal and different challenges. The first is straight up monster bashing; you must defeat a minimum amount of monsters and then escape through an exit door. The second is coin collecting; coins are either in plain sight or collected from treasure chests or enemies, with some being worth more than others. Then there's orb collecting – this one presents a new challenge as orbs must be carried as part of your equipment, meaning each orb you pick up is one less free slot for potions or spells. The final quest has you freeing fairies from cages; first you must locate a key (and there is not necessarily one on each floor) and then find the imprisoned fairy and free her.
Each quest completed gives access to a harder difficulty level, going from 1-9 and finishing with "M" difficulty. Not only does this mean you need to collect more coins or kill more monsters to complete your task, but the game will also place tougher enemies and new items within the randomised dungeons. Dungeon layouts may be completely random, but the rooms are not. However this doesn't mean the game is predictable; rooms can be flipped, contain completely different enemies and treasures or even have secret exits that weren't there before (marked by a "?" over your characters head).
Your characters stats (you are free to choose and rename a male or female adventurer) are based on the difficulty level and are fixed. Certain items can give a temporary boost to these stats while you are within the dungeon but these benefits don't carry over to your next attempt whether you are successful or not.
They key to Cave Noire is understanding monster behaviour. Each monster has very specific movement patterns and attacks, and knowing how to avoid them is often the key to surviving. One enemy is completely passive and will not attack at all, others will actively seek you out and sometimes even the biggest monsters will only patrol in one spot and not attack unless you get too close.
Throughout the quests you will pick up items, some are simply hurt/heal potions or spells that can cure wounds or set enemies ablaze, but others are more subtle – the ability to summon a rock might not seem useful, but careful placement can save you from running into a dangerous enemy.
Cave Noire appears to be Konami's only entry into the roguelike genre, and has received no sequels or remakes.
I really like the name of this one, for some reason. Also, its premise is interesting -- I like that you can choose different quests, to kind of change things up now and then. The actual graphics/gameplay are a bit less interesting than I would have imagined, but I guess that's to be expected of an early-ish GB title. Still, too bad it wasn't released in English, as I'd love to give it a try (and I can't imagine trying to get through a game like this 'blind').
You'd actually be fine with this one - everything's shown as icons, the game auto-saves and there's only one status effect (which rises to two if you want to count "dead").
I like it because it's very easy to play in smalll chunks but has more depth than you'd expect for a first stab in a strange genre (and on the old GB too!).
my favorite thing about this one's box is how inner flaps all have little drawings of items from the game on them. :P
and yes ,it is genuinely impressive how playable this game is without knowing a scrap of japanese, or just being too lazy to look up kanji. the icons and visual information explain everything so perfectly that you always know exactly what's going on.
the only thing i don't like are those damned skeleton knights that show up in the deepest levels.
I've noticed a few games with flap art (sounds a little odd...) - maybe I should do a feature ^^~
You're spot on about the design; everything's so clean and clear that the screen tells you everything you need to know, what a shame they didn'r come back to this later on!
The skeleton knights are annoying, but my personal choice for insta-Fire are the floating scythe-wielding skeletons, they're really creepy to me, sitting their in the datk until they spot you :S
I have this game, but only the cartridge. Did you finish the game, Kimimi? Despite having the game for almost 20 years, until today I never passed to level 9.
I agree with what you said about annoying knights, and most often they are what keep me from continuing the game. There are some items, for example, that I only knew they existed on the Internet, such as the legendary sword and shield (でんせつのけん/でんせつのたて).
Kimimi, I know you do not know me, but could you do me a favor, please? Could you scan the game manual for me? I would love to see its information. If the answer is no, I understand. Otherwise, I will send my email address to you.
Your blog is great and I would like to congratulate you for your splendid collection. I thank Bryan (The Gay Gamer) for having found this place.
I've not finished it yet, the current sticking point is the level 5 orb quest - I keep getting an unlucky floor just when I think I've won -_-;
I might shamelessly copy Bryans manual-scanning posts idea in the future, but I'm not going to reproduce them for individuals. Please don't consider it a personal offense, anyone requesting a scan would get the same response.
Thank you very much for the compliment! It's always nice to know people enjoy looking through here :)
Hahahaha! I'm just kidding! I'm sorry. As I wrote earlier, I understand. You'd have a lot of work if you scan all manuals people ask around here. I decided to try my luck, and I knew the answer would be yes or no, and I was ready for any of the two.
I forgot to comment earlier, but in the video that you have embedded in the post I could see that the player probably played the game for the first time. He/she could not even break the walls, fell into holes, and he/she apparently did not know what each item were for, heheh!
About the compliment, you deserve it! It is not everyone that has so well conserved items. Even in Japan is extremely difficult to find Game Boy games in mint condition.
I know the video I linked to isn't the greatest example of Cave Noire gameplay ever but when it comes to these games I'm not really spoilt for choice and tend to be grateful I can find anything at all! I'd make them myself, but I just don't have the time :/
I don't really deserve any praise for keeping my Cave Noire in good condition - I bought it recently so the previous owner's the one that did all the hard work, I just stuck it on a shelf :)
Oh, it's nice to know this one could even be enjoyed by someone who doesn't enjoy Japanese :) Guess I should keep an eye out for a copy of it, then. Thanks as always, Kimimi!
11 comments:
I really like the name of this one, for some reason. Also, its premise is interesting -- I like that you can choose different quests, to kind of change things up now and then. The actual graphics/gameplay are a bit less interesting than I would have imagined, but I guess that's to be expected of an early-ish GB title. Still, too bad it wasn't released in English, as I'd love to give it a try (and I can't imagine trying to get through a game like this 'blind').
You'd actually be fine with this one - everything's shown as icons, the game auto-saves and there's only one status effect (which rises to two if you want to count "dead").
I like it because it's very easy to play in smalll chunks but has more depth than you'd expect for a first stab in a strange genre (and on the old GB too!).
my favorite thing about this one's box is how inner flaps all have little drawings of items from the game on them. :P
and yes ,it is genuinely impressive how playable this game is without knowing a scrap of japanese, or just being too lazy to look up kanji. the icons and visual information explain everything so perfectly that you always know exactly what's going on.
the only thing i don't like are those damned skeleton knights that show up in the deepest levels.
I've noticed a few games with flap art (sounds a little odd...) - maybe I should do a feature ^^~
You're spot on about the design; everything's so clean and clear that the screen tells you everything you need to know, what a shame they didn'r come back to this later on!
The skeleton knights are annoying, but my personal choice for insta-Fire are the floating scythe-wielding skeletons, they're really creepy to me, sitting their in the datk until they spot you :S
Cool!
I have this game, but only the cartridge. Did you finish the game, Kimimi? Despite having the game for almost 20 years, until today I never passed to level 9.
I agree with what you said about annoying knights, and most often they are what keep me from continuing the game. There are some items, for example, that I only knew they existed on the Internet, such as the legendary sword and shield (でんせつのけん/でんせつのたて).
Kimimi, I know you do not know me, but could you do me a favor, please? Could you scan the game manual for me? I would love to see its information. If the answer is no, I understand. Otherwise, I will send my email address to you.
Your blog is great and I would like to congratulate you for your splendid collection. I thank Bryan (The Gay Gamer) for having found this place.
I've not finished it yet, the current sticking point is the level 5 orb quest - I keep getting an unlucky floor just when I think I've won -_-;
I might shamelessly copy Bryans manual-scanning posts idea in the future, but I'm not going to reproduce them for individuals. Please don't consider it a personal offense, anyone requesting a scan would get the same response.
Thank you very much for the compliment! It's always nice to know people enjoy looking through here :)
@Kimimi
I am EXTREMELY offended.
Hahahaha! I'm just kidding! I'm sorry. As I wrote earlier, I understand. You'd have a lot of work if you scan all manuals people ask around here. I decided to try my luck, and I knew the answer would be yes or no, and I was ready for any of the two.
I forgot to comment earlier, but in the video that you have embedded in the post I could see that the player probably played the game for the first time. He/she could not even break the walls, fell into holes, and he/she apparently did not know what each item were for, heheh!
About the compliment, you deserve it! It is not everyone that has so well conserved items. Even in Japan is extremely difficult to find Game Boy games in mint condition.
Heehee! I can see I'm in trouble now! ^^~
I know the video I linked to isn't the greatest example of Cave Noire gameplay ever but when it comes to these games I'm not really spoilt for choice and tend to be grateful I can find anything at all! I'd make them myself, but I just don't have the time :/
I don't really deserve any praise for keeping my Cave Noire in good condition - I bought it recently so the previous owner's the one that did all the hard work, I just stuck it on a shelf :)
Oh, it's nice to know this one could even be enjoyed by someone who doesn't enjoy Japanese :) Guess I should keep an eye out for a copy of it, then. Thanks as always, Kimimi!
My pleasure :)
If you do get it let me know and I'll give you a quick translation of everything to get you started.
Someone other than Team Bondi used the word "Noire"? Very interesting.
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