Easiest way to do Chako skip (beginner tutorial)

This setup is a few seconds slower than the fastest strat, but is basically foolproof as it doesn't require any kind of difficult timing or momentum control (unlike the fast strat), so I highly recommend learning this first for those just starting out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZPW8mjeNHM

Additional tips not mentioned in the video:

- **Do NOT run all way to the right** when luring the two bats, otherwise there's a chance that the middle bat drops down too early and it'll be at a bad height to do the boost. As long as you don't touch the right wall, you'll avoid this.
- When going back to the left, **run all the way to the edge** of the platform before doing a full jump. If you jump too early, again the bats may drop down to a bad height and you won't be able to do the boost.

Egg Corridor bugride setup for Switch

NOTE: If you're playing anything other than the Switch version of Cave Story+, then none of this applies to you—all you need to do is time the jump onto the Beetle correctly and proceed on your merry way :) .

Riding a Beetle through the first cutscene in Egg Corridor is a fairly well-known trick among Cave Story enthusiasts. The developers of the Switch port of Cave Story+ tried to patch it out by adding a wall of invisible solid null entities after the cutscene trigger point:

![](/static/blob/7n64vloz.png)

However, these null entities' hitboxes don't quite span the entire height of a block, so there is a gap between each adjacent pair. If the Beetles are at the right height, it is possible to ride them through one of these gaps and thus not get stopped by the invisible wall.

Here is a setup that manipulates the top Beetle into flying at a good height for bugride:
After spawning the two Beetles, quickly run over to this spot and wait for the top Beetle to pass you:

![](/static/blob/rnq1vj4e.jpg)

(This is not pixel-precise; there is a bit of leeway here on either side of this location.)

After the top Beetle passes over you and turns around, continue onwards through the level as usual. Make sure to stay ahead of the Beetles; don't let them catch up to you, or else you'll mess up the setup. (Ideally, you should also still be trying to level up your Polar Star, though the Beetles chasing behind you means that you'll have to act fast.)
Time the jump well to get onto the top Beetle at the end, and if you did everything correctly, you *should* hopefully be able to ride it through the cutscene. (The timing for this jump can be tricky—if you do a full jump to the right when the Beetle is ~2 blocks away from you, that *should* be pretty close.)

Alternatively, you could also wait for the Beetle at this spot, which is slower but you get slightly more of a head start (which means more time to grab weapon energy, etc.):

![](/static/blob/7e9j34yn.jpg)

That's all there is to it!

![](/static/blob/ynl29wle.jpg)

How to Load Practice Saves (PC Only)

Go to 'Computer' in your File Manager. 
Go into the 'Program Files' Folder. 'Program Files (x86)' if you are using a 64-bit system.
Find the 'Steam' folder. 
Open up 'Steam Apps'.
Open up 'Common'.
Make a shortcut of the 'Cave Story+' folder on your desktop.

Download the practice saves zip file from 'Resources'. Save it to desktop.
Individually extract a '.dat file' to the desktop that you want to use.
Rename the file to Profile.dat (it won't work if it's named anything else).

Open up the shortcut you made earlier.
Move and replace the Profile.dat in your CS+ files. (game must not be running)
Load up the game. 
You are done.

I am not aware of any means of loading practice saves in Wii VC or Switch.

how to save time with only minimal effort (all versions)

# **Walking vs. jumping:**

Moving through the air is very slightly faster (~2-3% on average) than walking along the ground: https://youtu.be/MTnSyOaQU-c

# **Machine Gun usage:**

This may be obvious to some people, but you'd be surprised how many people don't realize this!

Hold jump whenever you're climbing with the Machine Gun. You climb much faster this way because holding the jump button lowers your gravity whenever you're moving up: https://youtu.be/WiGds-ibmuU

(This also applies to Chako skip—you want to be holding jump for the damage-boosts whenever you're not in the inventory.)

By the way, if you just watched the above video and are about to call me out for running out of ammo before reaching the top of Outer Wall, you should know that by holding jump and tapping the fire button, you can climb infinitely high and actually *gain* ammo while doing so, even without the Turbocharge upgrade: https://youtu.be/F4Bj--qAGAg
(It'll still be faster than spamming the button and not holding jump)

# **Egg Corridor? beginning:**

Here's a boost jump that anybody should be able to do relatively easily, even if you haven't yet learned any form of machine boosting (which you should also take the time to learn, by the way): https://youtu.be/I8Zbz7ihuLE

To do it, walk off the first platform, boost onto the next platform, release the jump button *after* touching the ground and immediately jump again to conserve as much speed as possible. With the Machine Gun, you can then maintain that speed all the way to the end of that section.

(There is a faster machine boost setup for this, as well as many other places in the run that this mechanic can be abused to save lots of time, but that'll have to be for another guide. :) )

how to save time without any effort (steam version)

turn on japanese text. Epic Grats, u did it

how to save time without any effort (Switch version)

1. Don't buy the Japanese cart if your only rationale for doing so is that it'll be faster because there's less text to scroll through. It's not actually faster.  
(Even though there's less text, that text scrolls way slower so it ends up actually losing time compared to English text, even with cutscene skip. That said, if you already have a Japanese cart, you can switch the language to English to save some time.)

2. Change the graphics to "Classic". This has two effects: First, room transitions seem to be a frame shorter with Classic graphics as opposed to new graphics (?). Second, with Classic graphics, this block that blocks the passageway in the jail will have no collision, allowing you to leave immediately without having to talk to Mahin:  
![](/static/blob/qnyp07wn.jpg)

How to Shoot Faster

Step 1: Go to your local Wal-Mart and look for a bottle of "Elbow Grease".
Step 2: Now that you have found the Elbow Grease, leave it be, and go home.
Step 12: Pick up the controller.
Step 3: Start pressing the fire button really fast.
Step 4: You will eventually feel an ache in your wrist and/or fingers.
Step 5: This means you are in pain.
Step 6: Cease pressing the fire button.
Step 7: Rest your hand before you give yourself arthritis.
Step 8: Repeat Steps 3 through 19 until you see a change in your average firing speed.
Step 20: Once you reach 9-10 shots per second, you will no longer need practice.
Step 47: Buy a warranty for your controller.
Step 56: Have fun!
Step 19: Obfuscate the text.

periwinkle

Ekorn

Cave Story+

Switch

Bulborb7

ugyuu

Lando_Blando

Joosh

USA / NTSC

JPN / NTSC

Easy

Normal/Original

Hard

PC / WiiWare / DSiWare / 3DS

Machine Gun

Snake

Spur

Best Ending

Normal Ending

Bad Ending

Difficulty

Release

Polar Star Upgrade

Ending

Shared Health Bar

Nintendo 3DS

Cave Story

Leaderboard updates 2021-06-09

Nintendo DSI

Demo%?

Auto Splitter Trouble

There should be Wind Fortress/Boss attack speedrun

(Switch) Credits warp (!!) to normal ending has been discovered (PATCHED as of v1.3)

Nome	Autore
Easiest way to do Chako skip (beginner tutorial)	periwinkle 1 year ago
Egg Corridor bugride setup for Switch	periwinkle 2 years ago
How to Load Practice Saves (PC Only)	Ekorn 5 years ago
how to save time with only minimal effort (all versions)	periwinkle 5 years ago
how to save time without any effort (steam version)	Eliminato 7 years ago
how to save time without any effort (Switch version)	periwinkle 2 years ago
How to Shoot Faster	Ekorn 5 years ago