NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: CAVE STORY MAKES A MOMENTOUS WIIWARE DEBUT

March  22, 2010

When it first appeared on PC screens in 2004, Cave Story captivated gamers with its mysterious plotline, imaginative characters  and otherworldly sense of adventure. Now, for the first time ever, fans  and newcomers can experience this extraordinary game on the Wii™ system.  Available for download via the WiiWare™ service, this version of Cave  Story delivers all the action and intrigue of the original, plus added  enhancements by creator Daisuke Amaya and a newly remastered soundtrack.

Meanwhile,  the Nintendo DSiWare™ service offers five new titles for on-the-go  enjoyment, including three games from the cIassic Game & Watch™ series, which Nintendo first began releasing in 1980. Experience a  piece of Nintendo history as you master each title's two modes of play,  presented in all their old-school glory. Racing enthusiasts can get  their high-speed fix with Drift Street International, while fans  of strategy-driven action will dig the pulse-pounding thrills of Libera  Wing.

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WiiWare

Cave Story
Publisher: Nicalis, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+  (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Language
Price: 1,200 Wii Points™
Description: Cave Story takes you  into a rare world where a curious race of innocent, rabbit-like  creatures called Mimiga run free. You wake up in a dark cave with no  memory of who you are, where you came from or why you're in such a  place. Uncovering Mimiga Village, you discover that the once-carefree  Mimiga are in danger at the hands of a maniacal scientist. Their only  hope rests squarely on the shoulders of a quiet, amnesiac boy who can't  remember his own name. Take control, learn the origins of this world's  power, stop the delusional villain and save the Mimiga.

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Nintendo  DSiWare

Drift Street International
Publisher: Tantalus
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Drift Street   International is the ultimate high-speed, white-knuckle street   racing experience, made exclusively for Nintendo DSiWare. Slide and   boost your performance car around challenging city streets in   high-intensity midnight races across the United States, United Kingdom   and Japan. Precise, responsive controls give you total control of your   car - push yourself to the edge and own your opponents. Drift sideways   through corners, building your nitrous meter to let you boost past   opponents on the next straightaway. Test your skills against   challenging, aggressive AI drivers, or take on your friends in   four-player head-to-head wireless races. Additionally, each track plays host to arcade-styIe checkpoint races and challenging speed trials in   which you must keep the speed close to the max to avoid elimination.   Unmatched speed, smoothness and draw distance are only possible by   taking full advantage of the Nintendo DSi hardware.

Libera  Wing
Publisher: Pixel Federation
Players: 1
ESRB  Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800  Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Earth Union controls a large  part of outer space. Suddenly, the connection with some of its stations  is aborted and there are rumors of enemy ships approaching. Only the  captain of the elite fleet Libera Wing can save the people from  destruction. Become the captain of Libera Wing and save Earth Union from  destruction in this tower- defense-styIe action-strategy game. Your  objective is to combine the right strategy, item usage and abilities of  your command ship. There are 36 story levels and 24 quick-play levels  waiting for you.

Game & Watch: Mario's Cement Factory
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Conveyor belts carry   tubs of cement to the mixers below. Use the elevators to move Mario to   different levels of the factory, dumping cement from the top mixers to   the mixers below and into the trucks. Earn points for every load of   cement you drop from the mixers to the cement truck. Receive mistake   icons by letting a mixer overflow with cement, trying to get on an   elevator when you are not level with it, or hitting the floor or ceiling   while riding an elevator. Receive three mistake icons and it's game   over!

Game & Watch: Chef
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi  Points
Description: Move the chef to catch and flip the  falling ingredients before they hit the floor. Contend with three  ingredients in GAME A or four in GAME B. Earn one point for every  ingredient the chef successfully flips into the air, or a mistake icon  for each time you drop an ingredient. Receive three mistake icons and  it's game over!

Game & Watch: Judge
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) -  Comic Mischief
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: You have a split second to decide: whack your opponent or duck out of  the way? Numbers appear on two large signs. If you think your number  will be as big or bigger than your opponent's, whack him with a mallet.  Dodge if you think your number will be smaller. Earn points based on  correctly whacking your opponent or dodging an attack. The first player  to reach 99 points wins.

robio said:

No VC this week?  I guess Nintendo is really trying to push Cave Story.  

And that's kind of a neat idea putting the Game & Watch games on the DSi.  200 points is a decent price point for those games too.

 also thought the game & watch games are a cool addition to DSiware.  

i read somewhere on gamespot that Cave Story costs 1200 points?  i hope not, as that's a bit steep for a game which is completely free for PC.  i expected something like 800-1000

phantom_leo said:

I just think of it as a donation to a talented indie game developer!

 yep, i hope enough people will see it that way to make the game a success.  it worked for world of goo which was a similar situation even though the PC version wasn't free, it was practically free

gamingeek said:

Looks okay I guess.

NES hater!

Ravenprose said:

I want to get Cave Story, but I'm not going to spend $20 for a $12 game. I really, really wish we could just buy each game at their set price rather than being forced to buy more points than we actually need.

Oh that is right...

Agnates said:

So, what, it's the last WiiWare game you'll ever get? You have all the other good games on it? If that's the situation then ask a friend to gift it to you and give them $12, I'm sure others aren't that anal about it

I just said "oh that is right"...

I'll do it I just don't like to be forced to pay amounts I don't feel like paying right now.

EDIT: Oh Castlevania, forgot about that.

From 1Up.Com's --A-- Review:

"More importantly, though, Cave Story is a truly great game. It was crafted as a labor of love, a fond romp through a bygone age of the medium. Its precise balance of playability, challenge, story, and depth have served as an inspiration to a generation of indie developers who can look to Pixel's work as proof that a small team really can create a game capable of standing up to cIassics like Super Metroid. I know gamers aren't especially known for their generosity and altruism (the success of the Child's Play charity venture aside), but the prospect of Amaya finally earning a little something for the hard work he invested in this masterpiece strikes me as satisfyingly poetic.

What makes Cave Story worthy of such adulation? It's all well and good to talk about its greatness or its heart or whatever, but beneath all the hyperbole it's simply a beautifully crafted action game. It's not quite as non-linear as your average Metroid, but there's an element of adventure to the way the story unfolds and you're forced to seek out items and conversations to advance to new areas. This free-roaming element hides a number of very different endings, a multitude of secrets, and what may be the single most challenging bonus stage ever seen in a videogame. You have to make tradeoffs -- for example, do you take this amazing weapon, or do you instead pursue that alternate outcome? -- and overcome a number of nail-bitingly tough battles in order to see the quest through to its conclusion. It's a game that tests your reflexes and engages your mind, all while laying out a simple but intriguing story.

In short, Cave Story feels like the most amazing console game from the year 1990; that it's only now coming to console 20 years later shouldn't be held against it. On the contrary, Pixel's indie cIassic feels right at home amidst a screen full of Virtual Console channels. It's a must-play masterpiece for anyone who like cIassic action games -- or any kind of action game, really. The only real question is which will amaze you more: That this is the work of a single man, or that they actually do make 'em like this anymore."