Cave Story is coming to WiiWare.

[Endesu]

http://cavestorywii.com/

If you haven't played it, go do so, now.

If you have played it, the WiiWare version is expected to have a number of enhancements and bonuses... meaning that an already great game will only get better.

I'll have a Wii come December, and I know I'm getting this... hopefully, the rest of you Wii owners will do the same!

[PriamNevhausten]

Do we have release dates up ins?

[pd Rydia]

They've gotten better, but Nintendo's been pretty terrible about letting developers know when a game is going to show up on the service. Here's hoping Cave Story is high profile enough, like Mega Man 9, to get a solid release date, or at least a time frame.

[BrainWalker]

I will be all over this, like sequins on Elvis.

Like lox on bagels.

Like Yogi on a picnic.

Like casual gamers on the Wii.

Like a conservative on moral imperatives.

Like shit on a guy who just pissed off a lot of monkeys.

I think you get what I'm saying.

[Molokidan]

This sounds awesome! I'm just worried that it will be years before it is actually available for download, knowing Nintendo...

[KingOfDoma]

I was planning on getting a Wii this week. DAMN but I have good timing.

[PriamNevhausten]

I can't bother myself to get excited about something that will be coming someday at some point I guess we'll see. Thanks for building my callousness, Blizzard.

[Capntastic]

So is wiiware stuff free or what?

[pd Rydia]

WiiWare games cost "Wii Points", which you can purchase with your real money from a store (via a card, looks like this).

You can also order them directly through the Wii's "Shopping Channel" with a credit or debit card, in denominations of $10, $20, $30, or $50.

Game costs vary, but so far, nothing's been cheaper than $5 or more than $15. $10 seems to be a popular price point, in fact I don't think anything costs between $10 and 15 (as of this writing).

[edit] Oh, and folks who have exchanged friend codes (and bothered putting them into their wiis) can "gift" WiiWare games to anyone on their Wii buddy list. I think I sent some VC games to folks last year this way. It was cool.

[pd Rydia]

Edit by way of post:

The game is expected to be launched on WiiWare early next year, but there is no exact date available yet.

[PriamNevhausten]

Hooray!

[Molokidan]

Wow, early next year? That's pretty surprising! I'm excited to see what kind of re-tooling they'll do to the game. *crosses fingers for another bonus cave*

[pd Rydia]

Wow, early next year? That's pretty surprising! I'm excited to see what kind of re-tooling they'll do to the game. *crosses fingers for another bonus cave*

Updated graphics & audio, as well as the ability to switch between "classic" and "modern" graphics/sound.

[PriamNevhausten]

A year and a half later, it is out. You know what to do.

[BrainWalker]

Hell yeah! This is some good shit. The new graphics are delicious, but I'm not totally sold on the new music. It's not bad, but for me the old school music just seems a better fit. I dunno. I'm still trying it out, seeing if it grows on me. I mean, I already know the old music, right?

Haven't played a huge amount, but there's a couple new things on the title screen. You can play through the main game as Curly Brace, which is pretty cool, but it's a little strange to play Cave Story with a protagonist who isn't completely silent. Haven't seen what happens in situations where you would have run into her to see if she's replaced by the normal protagonist or not. Not sure if her story diverges from the normal one, but it seems she gets 3 health per heart tank instead of 5. Also, there's a special "boss rush" time trial thing, and you have access to the Sanctuary right from the get-go. This has shown me how very, very far my skills at this game have fallen.

Good times!

Edit: Yeah, Curly is replaced by the other guy, and she ends up speaking for him since he's still got silent protagonist syndrome, even without being the protagonist. Also, apparently the new music is janky.