The Brooklyn Knights finished spring training 20-10, which was tied with the Cornfield Axemen for NALB's best record. In League 2, the surprising Quebeck Sky Chiefs (19-11) and St. James Crusaders (16-14) had division leading spring training records.

The Knights enter the regular season quite healthy. Only 3B Dave Crayton is on the Injured List. He suffered a bruised wrist in the next to last spring training game and is expected to be out for two weeks.

Other key injuries in spring training:

• Cornfield Axemen: RP Pedro Corazao tore the flexor tendon in his elbow. He will miss most of the regular season.
• Dunedin Otters: SP Heinie Mata needs surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. He will not play in 2024.
• Las Vegas Luck: RP Dave Bruton has bone chips in his elbow and will be out for the first half of the season.
• Phoenix Rattlers: 2B Rico Gómez strained an oblique muscle on March 13. That injury will keep him out of action for about 6 weeks.
• Richmond Slam: RP Ramón Uribes tore his rotator cuff in spring training. It will require a long road back, probably 13-14 months before he can play again.
• Richmond Slam: RP Lyndon Coulombe tore the labrum in his pitching shoulder on February 28. There is a chance he may return by the end of June.
• Stade Maples: SP Sosuke Nakamura is dealing with shoulder inflammation. The team's current projection for him is a July return.
• Vancouver Wild: Iván Martínez

Here were some notable roster moves prior to the 2024 NALB season.

The Brooklyn Knights had the following offseason/preseason activity:

• Retired uniform #28 in honor of Hsiao-lou Yeh.
• Signed RF Dick Gosden to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,440,000.
• Extended the contracts of 10 players through salary arbitration: Dave Crayton, Norman Forbes, Don Hartz, Clement Barrows, Frank Brunson, Estevan Portillo, Armando Alfaro, Chase Combs, Ramone Alconer, and Milburn Hutchison.
• RF Maurilio Godim, 2B Kent von Kantzow and CF Beagan Cajar filed for free agency.
• Discovered 16-year old pitching phenom Toshio Ikoma in Japan and signed him to a minor league contract.

Notable contract extensions:

• Cornfield Axemen: Signed RF Andrew Dickens to a 8-year contract extension worth a total of $54,960,000.
• Dayton Grizzlies: Signed RF Li-ben Chai to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $7,200,000.
• Key West Corals: Signed CL Lowie Zuydam to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $18,000,000.
• St. Rock Mudcats: Signed free agent 1B Toru Kobayashi to a 6-year contract worth a total of $67,800,000.
• Vancouver Wild: Signed LF Pedro Castro to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $7,000,000.

Notable offseason free agent signings:

• Dayton Grizzlies: Signed free agent SP Francisco Camaño to a 5-year contract worth a total of $49,000,000.
• Key West Corals: Signed free agent SP Vincent Cadieux to a 6-year contract worth a total of $61,800,000.
• Las Vegas Luck: Signed free agent LF Ángel Santago to a 3-year contract worth a total of $15,400,000.
• Luisville Beasts: Signed free agent 3B Aleck Gomorán to a 4-year contract worth a total of $15,360,000.
• Richmond Slam: Signed free agent 1B Codie Laton to a 4-year contract worth a total of $13,440,000.
• Richmond Slam: Signed free agent RP Alfredo Maldonardo to a 3-year contract worth a total of $28,600,000.
• St. James Crusaders: Signed free agent 1B Jonathan Grandberry to a 4-year contract worth a total of $52,200,000.
• St. Rock Mudcats: Signed free agent 1B Marc-André Lavoie to a 4-year contract worth a total of $37,600,000.
• St. Rock Mudcats: Signed free agent RF John Patterson to a 5-year contract worth a total of $33,000,000.
• Vancouver Wild: Signed free agent RP Thornton Peters to a 2-year contract worth a total of $7,120,000.

Notable offseason trades:

• The Quebeck Sky Chiefs traded 29-year old 3B Mead Ward (retaining 80%) and $240,000 in cash to the Stade Maples, getting 20-year old minor league LHP Dan McCleery in return.
• The Washington Allies traded 22-year old RHP John O'Halligan to the St. James Crusaders, getting 36-year old RHP Johan Gaier and 23-year old minor league 3B Tom Medina in return.
• The Luisville Beasts traded 24-year old minor league 3B Álex Escorcega, 24-year old minor league 1B Andrew Martínez, and a 3rd round draft pick to the Stade Maples, getting 31-year old RHP Miguel Catarino in return.

I really enjoyed this game… until I didn't. It was a lot of fun until the ending, but more on that in a bit. Cave Story+ was a 2011 updated version of the original Cave Story, which was released in 2004. They are considered Metroidvania style games, reminiscent of Metroid and Castlevania. They feature classic platform gameplay with lots of jumping and shooting. There are also Japanese RPG elements, however, with inventory and upgrades. I appreciated the variety of weapons in Cave Story+. Along the way, I obtained the Polar Star pistol, the Machine Gun, Missile Launcher, Fireball, and Blade. I also had the Booster 2.0, which was a powerful jet pack.

For the most part, the game was challenging but not overly so. Save points were sprinkled about the numerous levels so I didn't get too frustrated. Unfortunately, the difficulty of the last hidden cave and enemy bosses was a bit much. Death meant losing a fair amount of progress. Eventually, I tired of replaying the same area over and over. Although I was very close to the end, I never finished Cave Story+.