As many 3DS owners are already well aware, the Nintendo 3DS didn't have a stellar lineup of games right out of the gate. That's slowly been changing though, and with the recent releases of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, the 3DS seems to finally be heading in the right direction. Regrettably, it seems that Cave Story 3D, one of the more anticipated titles for the handheld, won't be making its original August 9th release date.

NIS America announced today that the 3D-enabled remake of the hit indie platformer, Cave Story 3D, has been pushed back to November. Producer at NIS America, Jack Niida, made the announcement via a recent press release, and stated that the game was "undergoing improvements to enhance gameplay." Niida didn't leave the announcement on a sour note however, and announced that the new release date is now November 8th.

"We are currently undergoing improvements to enhance gameplay. Changes are in the small details, but in order to satisfy both the fans and the new players we need to make sure the game is done right. Please look forward to it this holiday season. Cave Story 3D will be a blast."

In an attempt to not completely devastate all of its fans, NIS America also released new screenshots for Cave Story 3D. All of the images focus on the silent protagonist, Quote, as he travels through the world, killing baddies, and all appear to be rendered quite beautifully on the Nintendo 3DS.

All 10 of the newly released screenshots for Cave Story 3D can be seen below.

[gallery columns="2" orderby="ID"]

Now that Cave Story 3D has been pushed back to November it seems that the 3DS is going to go through quite a severe game drought until September rolls around. On the bright side, many gamers can now receive the game as a gift during the holidays later this year. NIS America is putting a lot of effort into Cave Story 3D, and gamers can be sure that the extra time being taken to finish off the game will be well worth it when it finally makes its long-awaited debut on the handheld. In the meantime, anyone looking to get their Cave Story fix on a handheld could always download the DSiWare title, and that can even be done on the 3DS so gamers can pretend the game came out on time!

Cave Story 3D will be available on the Nintendo 3DS on November 8, 2011.

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