eShop version

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Like Cave Story before it, Ikachan was picked up for a rerelease onto the Nintendo 3DS eShop by Nicalis. It had a fairly lengthy development, reportedly being worked on in between other Nicalis projects, to the point where it was originally planned to be released on the DSi Shop as well.¹ Several changes were made to this port compared to the original, arguably more substantial than in the port of Cave Story that preceded it.

General Differences#

• Right off the bat, the player has three save files to choose from, and the player is able to see their progress on the save file select screen.
• The introductory cutscene with the picture of Ame in the background has been removed.
• The game's field of view was extended to fit the 3DS' wider screen.
• A mini-map is constantly displayed on the bottom screen.
• A circular gradient, referred to as a "fog of war" in the files, covers the top screen at all times.
• Experience points are represented with a meter, rather than numbers dictating the amount of experience currently obtained and the amount of experience until the next level.
• The health system is slightly reworked: the player's health is represented by hearts, with half a heart representing one point of damage taken, and the player gains a single extra heart each time they level up. Collectible fish now restore a quarter of a heart each, or about half a health point.
  • Perhaps as a consequence of this change, spikes and Ironhead, which both dealt 3 damage in the original game, now deal 2 damage.
• The credits are now scrolled in a unique scene with several fish swimming through the ocean, including Ironhead and the player character. The original credits scene, a static picture of all the characters in a ship flying away from Earth, has also been changed to be an animated scene, which is played after the credits.
  • The dialogue for the ship scene plays before the credits in the original version. It now plays after the ship scene itself fades to black.
• After beating the 3DS version of Ikachan, the player is booted back to the file select screen. In the freeware version, the player is stuck on the end screen, forcing them to close the game.

Map Differences#

The most notable difference about the 3DS release of Ikachan is the complete graphical overhaul of the map, mostly using tiles from multiple different iterations of Rockfish. Aside from this, the shape of the map is roughly the same, though there are other notable changes:

Original	3DS

• The skeleton with the Pointy Hat is located just to the right of Oto in the freeware version. However, the 3DS version does not have a skeleton here, instead forcing the player to enter the path to the right to find...

• ...an entirely new section exclusive to the 3DS version! The player must swim past yellow fish that will jump up if they see the player (referred to as "Launcher" internally), where the Pointy Hat will be waiting for the player at the end of the cave. The player then returns to the first breakable block via a newly added shortcut.

Original	3DS

• One of Zoo's attack stars has an additional block keeping it in its cage. This was done to address an oversight with the freeware version's fight where one of the attack stars did not actually need to be killed, allowing the player to take it outside the arena. This notably allowed players to lead it to the Food Storage, where the player could manipulate the star to clip past Tobias, and from there clip out of bounds to trigger the credits early.

Original	3DS

• The skeleton that has the Sand Dollar was moved up to its own alcove, and a clam was added at the bottom of the room, most likely because of...

Original	3DS

• ...the introduction of yet another new area, this time a few connected square rooms featuring purple bouncing enemies (internally named "Bounder"). The original current that spat the player out in front of the Food Storage has been cut off, forcing the player to get past this new room.

• The path the player had to take after finding Pinky is blocked off in the 3DS version. What was originally an out-of-the-way stash of fish has been expanded and redesigned into a maze of fake blocks, which the player must now travel through. At the end of the maze, the player encounters the final new enemy, a flat-faced teal fish that swims back and forth (called "Stamper" according to its spritesheet's filename), which has the dubious honor of being one of two enemies to deal 1 damage, the other being the Porcupine Fish.

Graphical Differences#

Aside from the tileset, several other sprites were redone for this rerelease.

Original	3DS

• The crab enemy gained an attitude, and with it eyebrows and a mouth. Additionally, its right claw was turned yellow.

Original	3DS

• Pinky's mom was given a unique hairstyle (or is it tentacle-style?) for this version. However, whoever drew the new sprites failed to notice that the shading on her sprites isn't supposed to be flipped when she turns around. Whoops!

Original	3DS

• Zoo now has a unique color palette, rather than reusing Tobias's color scheme. His glasses were also changed to sport more colorful frames, and one of the extra pixels on the bottom frame's glasses was removed.

Original	3DS

• The fish skeleton was given some more color and anti-aliasing, the Food Storage sign was redesigned, and a brand new graphic was added for the warning sign in front of the booby trap room.

Original	3DS

• The items were all given fully colored redesigns! Additionally, the background of the inventory menu is no longer part of the sprites.

Original	3DS

• The numbers that pop up when the player gains experience or takes damage have a darker palette, and were given a less tab-like design.

• The inventory container and the dialogue box are changed to be blue, and both are now properly transparent. Additionally, the length of the dialogue box was slightly reduced. Given that the 3DS' screen is actually wider than the original game's resolution, this is most likely a relic from when the port was developed for the DSi, which does have a smaller resolution.

Sound Differences#

The sound effects for failing to deal damage to an enemy, an earthquake triggering, and Ironhead taking damage, respectively, are actually hardcoded to play at a different sample rate than what is defined in their files. ...In the freeware version, at least. The developers at Nicalis must've failed to notice this, as in the 3DS version these sound effects play at full speed in all their 22KHz glory.

Text Differences#

The text in the Japanese eShop release has some differences from the original freeware script.

粉々に飛散りました・・・。
ゲームオーバー？

You've been shattered to pieces...
Game Over?

粉々に飛散りました・・・。
ゲームをリトライしますか？

You've been shattered to pieces...
Would you like to retry the game?

• The text "Game Over" was replaced with a proper question.

読み込みました。

Loaded.

ここは？

Where is this?

• The file loading text was changed to the Japanese equivalent of the English translation's "Swim, Ikachan!" catchphrase. However, the line that the US release translated as "Swim, Ikachan!" means something entirely different in the original Japanese script. In fact, "Swim, Ikachan" actually originates from a fan translation that was partially created using machine translation. As a result, the Japanese line used in the rerelease is somewhat unfitting.

☆の形をしたくぼみがある。
・・・ヒトデ？

There's a depression shaped like a ☆.
...A starfish?

☆卵の形をしたくぼみがある。
・・・ヒトデ？

There's a depression shaped like a ☆ egg.
...A starfish?

• The text when interacting with the Ship was tweaked.

Ｚボタンを押しっぱなしで

Hold down the Z Button to

AかBボタンで押しっぱなしで

Hold down the A or B Button to

• The Compressor's description was changed to mention the A and B buttons instead of the Z key.

おい、ジョニー！
いくらなんでも乗せ過ぎだろ・・・。
魚臭いのは苦手なんだよ。
・・・まったく。

Hey, Johnny!
I think we have too many passengers...
I'm not too fond of the smell of fish.
...Sheesh.

頑張れっ！
魚を入れすぎた・・・
船が臭い。
こんちくしょう、ジョニー！

Hang in there!
We brought in too many fish...
The ship stinks.
Dang it, Johnny!

• The ending cutscene text has been completely changed.

Unused Text#

Continue saved game?

By starting a new game you will
overwrite your existing game state.
Are you sure?

Text for a save file system similar to that used in the freeware version. It was even changed so that continuing the save file is the default option, unlike in the Windows release. It's a shame this act of kindness was for naught, as the final game's file select screen makes these messages obsolete.

＜＜＜　スタッフ　＞＞＞


企画：

　「　開発室Ｐｉｘｅｌ　」


シナリオデザイン：

　あまや　だいすけ
　さいかい　ともひさ
　かなり行き当たりバッタリ


空間デザイン：

　かおす
　気持ち程度


キャラクターデザイン：

　Ｐｉｘｅｌドット絵部


キャラクタードット

　Ｐｉｘｅｌドット絵部
　うらまつ　りょうじ
　なかがみ　ごう


背景パーツドット：

　あまや　だいすけ
　なかがみ　ごう


プログラム：

　あまや　だいすけ
　ふくしま　たつや


音楽：

　「水の中で」
　「いかちゃん」
　「Ｑｕａｋｅ」
　「雨に紛れて」
　「ブリキの行進」
　「しおだまり」

　　　Ｂｙ

　ＰｉｙｏＰｉｙｏ
　Ｐｉｘｅｌ音楽部


効果音：

　あまや　だいすけ
　たわ　たかし
　その辺は常に適当


シナリオモニタ

　なかはら　まさはる
　なかがみ　ごう
　みやざわ　しゅうへい

シナリオデバッガ

　なかはら　ましゃはる
　みやざわ　しゅうへい


機材環境提供：

　なかはら　まさはる
　刀根山病院


ファイルトリッカー

　なかはら　まさはる


テーマソング：

　「ゴーゴーいかちゃん」
　　　　　ｂｙ
　　　たわ　たかし


　　　　↑没です


スペシャルサンクス：

　ＮＡＯ


ひとくちアクションアドベンチャー

　　　　「いかちゃん」

1999/04/10 beta
2000/06/23 v.1.3
2003/05/12 v.1.4
2006/03/08 v.1.5.2





お疲れ様でした☆

これにて開発室Ｐｉｘｅｌからの
プレゼントを終了いたします。

<<< Staff >>>


Game Design:

  Pixel Development Room


Scenario Design:

  Daisuke Amaya
  Tomohisa Saikai
  Super Randomness


Layout Design:

  Chaos 
  Just a little bit


Character Design:

  Pixel Dot Illustrations


Character Dot

  Pixel Dot Illustrations
  Ryoji Uramatsu
  Go Nakagami


Background Dot:

  Daisuke Amaya
  Go Nakagami


Programming:

  Daisuke Amaya
  Tatsuya Fukushima


Music:

  "Under the Water"
  "Ika-chan"
  "Quake"
  "Under the Rain"
  "March of the Tinplate"
  "Salty Chunk"

  By

  Piyopiyo
  Pixel Music Club


Sound Effects:

  Daisuke Amaya
  Takashi Tawa
  Random at everything all time


Scenario Monitor

  Masaharu Nakahara
  Go Nakagami
  Shuhei Miyazawa

Senario Debugger

  Masaharu Nakahara
  Shuhei Miyazawa


Equipments provided by:  

  Masaharu Nakahara
  Toneyama Hospital


File Tricker

  Masaharu Nakamura


Theme Song: 

  "Go Go Ika-chan"
    by Takashi Tawa


      ^Discarded


Special Thanks: 

  NAO 


Bite-size Action Adventure

  "Ika-Chan"

1999/04/10 beta
2000/06/23 v.1.3
2003/05/12 v.1.4
2006/03/08 v.1.5.2





Thank you for playing Ikachan. 

This is the end of the present
by Pixel Development Room. 

Although the animated credits in the final version are hardcoded, a translated version of the plaintext credits from the original game can be found in the files. Aside from it not mentioning any Nicalis staff, it was likely not used due to being too jokey; it credits supposed divisions of Studio Pixel, a theme song composed by one of Pixel's friends as a joke, and staff members such as "Chaos" and "Super Randomness".²

Unused Graphics#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Any unused tiles?

The spritesheet for the Launcher enemy contains arrows labelled with numbers pointing to the first three sprites. These numbers all line up with concept art for the Launcher, so the arrows were most likely used to indicate which sprites were for which state.

Organya Soundtrack#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Report differences between the different versions of each song.

The Japanese release uses rearrangements of the game's soundtrack in Cave Story's Organya format in lieu of the original PiyoPiyo tracks.

The Organya version lacks the swing rhythm that the PiyoPiyo version has. Notably, it also appears in Cave Story+, where it replaces the title screen theme on Pixel's birthday (April 29th).

The Organya version is notably slower than the PiyoPiyo version.

References#