First, Rock8man: Cave Story is not an art game or a non-game or anything like that. It’s an indie platforming shooter of surprising depth. Sounds to me like maybe you just didn’t figure out the button to go through the doors? (Which is up or down, can’t remember which.)
I’ve played a lot of Cave Story, though not all the way through (well, I got one of the easier endings). To be honest, I don’t know exactly what WarpRattler’s trying to protect us from with his warnings. I guess one thing about Cave Story is just that it is full of little gameplay surprises (keep in mind that it’s made by one guy–even the amazing music is his!). I suppose there are plot spoilers out there? Is that what you’re thinking of, WarpRattler? I don’t think of it as a game that relies on a twist or any secret special moments particularly, so don’t go into it expecting that.
To be perfectly honest, I kinda think that once you’ve given the game some time to see what it’s all about, looking at a walkthrough can save you a few headaches, as there are a number of secrets that can really change the game for you. But let’s talk about that later.
I was really hoping someone would pick this, WarpRattler! I have Cave Story+ on Steam and DS, but I think I’ll go back and play the original. Probably on easy (does the original have difficulty settings?) so I can speed through and actually see some of the later levels I missed.