Cave Story/Fridge

Fridge Brilliance

• Cave Story: At first, I thought the music of the Plantation stage was a bit out of place, as it's a very jaunty tune for the place where the Mimigas are being forced to grow the very flowers that would transform them into monsters. Then, after a pointer from another troper, I realized: Plantation seems pretty pleasant at first glance. It's a Breather Level, and one of the brighter caverns in the game (and if you're on track to unlocking the True Final Boss, it's where you get reunited with Curly Brace). The nasty bit about the Mimigas farming the instruments of their own destruction is something that only becomes apparent after some thought (or obtaining the Mimiga mask). The music mirrors this: It starts off sounding quite upbeat and determined, and loops through a complete melody twice--then in the third loop (1:38 into the song) a counter-melody begins playing and the whole song goes confusing and dissonant. (None of the other tracks in the game feature a fakeout along those lines.) In other words, the level is Fridge Horror, and the music matches that. -User:Meta Four
  • What really had me thinking was that the Plantation theme and the main theme used in the title screen are identical. It's at this point of the game when you finally realize exactly what you're supposed to do, and how you're going to do it. When you began, you only had a faint idea of what to do, and everything felt unexplained. But now you've taken a huge responsibility, and after this is the point where things become Nintendo Hard. It's also a bit of a musical Title Drop.
    • It is also the first time you actually enter a cave in-game.
  • I'd been wondering why Curly hadn't tried to help you during the fight with the Doctor. I mean, she said she wanted to get back at him for kidnapping the Colons, so I thought it'd make sense for her to show up and help out. Even more confusing was her appearance in the Sacred Grounds. But then I remembered what she'd said after memory was restored: She and Quote had been sent to destroy the Demon Crown. She must have figured Jenka might know something about it, and so went to see her. Jenka would've explained the whole 'Ballos' thing, and Curly, armed with this knowledge, would have gone to destroy Ballos, and thus, the Demon Crown! -User:phazonfarmer
  • Everyone who's played the game will tell you that Moonsong is one of the greatest pieces in the game. When asked, they will invariably respond "Because that's when you finally get outside!" It wasn't until recently that I realized that it's more than that: When playing the game for the first time, by this point in the game you've lost four of your friends to the actions of the Doctor. Walking through the emptied Mimiga Village adds to this, as you can safely assume that that same man has abducted all of its inhabitants. The only indicator that anyone escaped is a one-sentence message that tells you to head to the Egg Corridor. When you go there, you have to fight your way through a large number of powerful enemies, and when you get to the end, you'll be ready to tear something apart. Then Kazuma shows up, explains what happened, and offers you a chance to cut your losses and leave the island. When you select 'No' and step outside to continue pursuing the Doctor, the beauty of the clouds rolling by, combined with the music, will dispel any rage the player had been feeling, and replace it with Heroic Resolve. That moment contains so much emotion that goes unnoticed: Sadness, anger, but with an undercurrent of hope. The music understands this and simply adds to it. The fact that you're outside is more like a dose of Fan Service. -User:phazonfarmer
• People remark about how the Blade is ridiculously overpowered if you spam it at point-blank range (as it works by the One Bullet At a Time mechanic, the closer you are to your target, the quicker the blade will hit and disappear and thus the quicker you can fire off another one). Think about it. The game isn't broken by this, it is rewarding you for using the Blade as what it is - a melee weapon. - K.o.R
• In the Nicalis translation, Balrog calls Jenka "auntie". It might seem like he's just teasing her about her age, but in the harder ending, Jenka turns out to have a brother who would be very capable indeed of creating Balrog. -User:unclghost
• There's only one Mimiga colored a different color than all the rest. Her name? Chaco. Pronounced as in 'chocolate'.

Fridge Horror

• How many Mimiga children is Curly Brace raising? Four. On the balcony, how many frenzied Mimigas are there? Four... Firmly cements the Doctor as a Complete Monster.
  • Some of the sidequests can invoke this depending on the ending that is being invoked, especially the Normal ending whilst holding Mr. Little inside your inventory. indirectly, you may have killed his entire family by destroying the Undead Core and causing the island to plummet to the Earth, he still says ""...Aren't you forgetting something?!"
  • Not to forget the red flowers in Arthur's basement. The Red Demon has suspiciously rabbit-like appendages on its head...
    • The flowers also explain the enraged mimiga gaurding the Dragon egg in the egg corridor. In the Nicalis translation, before the fight, the enraged Mimiga will say that "Nobody can touch masters eggs", and, after defeating him, in the unnoficial and official translation, you learn his name was Igor. Which means that, in the end, Kazuma fed an innocent Mimiga red flowers to use as a body-gaurd.
    • Visiting Jack around the time you go to Sand Zone nets you some exposition, revealing that Arthur actually banished the Red Demon from Mimiga Village before The Doctor even came along, thus earning his title of "Hero".
  • When you're in the Plantation, you can find Sue, Jack and Mahin in jail. Later, when you're sent there, two are accounted for... Where did Jack go???