Polar Star

The Polar Star (ポーラスター Pōra Sutā) is a weapon acquired in the First Cave of Cave Story. It is the first necessary item the player must collect to proceed through the cave.
The Polar Star was created by the Hermit Gunsmith, whose abode can be found in the First Cave.
== Appearance ==
The Polar Star appears to be a blue handheld gun. In the inventory, it is seen with a brown handle and a couple of black nodes. In the game, the nodes on the Polar Star are coloured white.
== Location ==
The Polar Star can be obtained from the Hermit Gunsmith's abode. To get there, Quote must make his way out from the start point, following the given path to his left. This passageway loops downwards and leads to the entrance of the place in the shape of an animal's mouth.
When Quote enters the Hermit Gunsmith's place for the first time, he will see the Hermit Gunsmith asleep on his chair. To the right of him, from the player's perspective, is a chest. Going to the chest and opening it gives the player the gun. Quote is instantly equipped with this item until the player can acquire another weapon in the game.
If the Polar Star is traded for the Machine Gun, Curly uses the Polar Star in the Labyrinth instead of the Machine Gun. It is unknown if she still has it in Plantation or the Blood Stained Sanctuary.
== Behavior ==
The Polar Star is a handheld gun that fires white bullets in whatever direction Quote is facing. Like most of the other in-game weapons, it requires experience points to level up. A leveled up Polar Star inflicts more damage, and the range increases slightly with each tier. Only two shots can be on-screen at one time.
== Available trades and upgrades ==
Depending on the NPCs spoken to, the player can have Quote trade the Polar Star for another weapon. Trading it replaces the Polar Star's icon with the given weapon of choice. It cannot be traded back once the player has saved after the trading has occurred.
=== Machine Gun ===
After Curly is defeated in the Sand Zone Residence, she will comment on the Polar Star being out of shape and offer to trade it for her Machine Gun. If the player declines this trade, they will be able to accept it later as long as Curly is still present in the Sand Zone Residence, and also later during the labyrinth escape. This weapon fires similarly to the Polar Star, except the player can press and hold the fire key to let out a continuous stream of shots.
=== Snake ===
The player can hand their gun to Chaba, along with their Fireball, at the Labyrinth Shop. Chaba will ask Quote if he can take a look at both weapons. By allowing him permission, Chaba takes and combines them to form the Snake. This weapon combines similar behaviors of both the Polar Star and Fireball, and can go through walls.
=== Spur ===
If the player chooses not to trade their Polar Star for either the Machine Gun or Snake, they can go back to the First Cave after their return from the Labyrinth. When Quote goes back to the abode where he first picked up the Polar Star, he will see the Hermit Gunsmith, still in his shop, but awake now. Talking to him eventually causes the gunsmith to take the Polar Star back and upgrade it to the Spur, which in turn, is given back to Quote. This weapon looks similar to its predecessor; however, the player can press and hold the fire key to shoot leveled-up beams without the use of experience points.
== Trivia ==
* In Easy Mode, Polar Star is called Pea Shooter.
* The Polar Star can be obtained as a weapon in the game Enter The Gungeon, with the name "Polaris". It functions almost exactly as it does in Cave Story, save for an additional synergy that further references the Machine Gun.