Blade

The Blade (ブレード Burēdo) is a required weapon in Cave Story. It is acquired in the Sand Zone, right before going to the Labyrinth. The blade once belonged to King.
== Appearance ==
Level 1 and level 2 consist of Quote simply throwing the sword forward. The Blade spins counter-clockwise as it flies. Level 3 takes the form of a ghostly King, surrounded by spectral slashing attacks as he darts forward from Quote's position. Should King contact an enemy he will slash with his ghostly sword, and summon even more damaging spectral slashing attacks around himself.
In the inventory, the Blade's handle is brown, with its point being white.
== Location ==
The Blade is picked up in the Sand Zone storehouse, after the player defeats Rabid Toroko. Once the battle is over, Quote is required to talk to King, who lies on the ground close to the exit. King will ask Quote to avenge his death, and as he disappears from the screen, the Blade is left in his place. Attempting to leave before the player collects the Blade displays a message box that tells the player that they cannot leave.
== Behaviour ==
The Blade is a single shot weapon that inflicts one of the highest amounts of damage per hit in the game. Its range decreases between level 1 and level 2, but it deals more damage at a shorter range. At level 3 the range increases again, changing from a single-shot attack to a large area-of-effect attack should King score a clean hit against an enemy.
The level 1 and 2 Blades are fired slightly behind Quote's position. If he is facing away from an enemy and standing close enough to it, it is possible to shoot hit enemies with the Blade in point-blank range from behind.
The level 2 Blade's damage is spread across three smaller blades. This totals to 18 HP of damage, which is divided amongst the 3 smaller blades. This form can hit enemies directly behind the one targeted if the first enemy takes 12 HP or less to kill.
The level 3 Blade concentrates most of its dealt damage to the centre, with multiple one-hit slashes surrounding it. Each slash deals about 2 HP, and travels farther than the level 2 form. At this level, the effects of the blade will last longer if the user holds down the attack button. If King's ghost hits a target, an impact of sword slashes appears in a larger radius.
== Available trades and upgrades ==
The Blade can be traded in the Outer Wall for the Nemesis. This is made available to the player if Quote brings Mr. Little back to the Little House. The two weapons can be traded back and forth by talking to Mr. Little, but the Blade will revert to its level 1 form if it was previously traded to Mr. Little for the Nemesis.