Cave Story creator's Ikachan coming to 3DS and DSiWare

Cave Story creator Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya's underwater adventure Ikachan is coming to both 3DS and DSiWare, publisher Nicalis has announced.

As was the case with Cave Story, Nicalis is going the extra mile with this one by creating two different versions for both the 3DS eShop and DSiWare to best fit each piece of hardware's resolution and screen size.

"The DSi has a resolution of 256×192 (top screen) while the 3DS has a resolution of 400×240 (let's say 320×240 for this discussion). If you divide 320 by 256, you get 1.25 - basically, the length is about 25 per cent more on the 3DS," the publisher explained on its official blog. "What that means is that if we want DSi games to run full-screen on a 3DS, they need to be stretched by an additional 25 per cent over the maximum."

"It seems like a damn shame to play a 2D pixel-art game with a blurry screen," Nicalis added. "Sure, you can hold the Start button or whatever the method is to boot in native resolution, but then you end up with a tiny screen on the 3DS and particularly on the 3DS XL."

"This is literally the only reason I decided to port Cave Story to the 3DS... I think we're the only developers doing this and it's probably because it's a lot more work, but definitely worth it."

Ikachan - which roughly translates to "Cute Squid" - was created by Pixel in 2000, four years before he released Cave Story. It follows a squid navigating social and political turmoil following an earthquake. He also fights stuff.

Much like Cave Story, the original PC version of Ikachan is free and can be downloaded here. See it in action in some gameplay footage below.

I for one say it's about time squids get a little love in Japanese games, after their appalling treatment in Super Mario Sunshine where the moustachioed plumber rips their tentacles off.