Cave Story was originally released in 2004 as freeware for the PC. Its original name was Doukutsu Monogatari, and the game was made by Daisuke Amaya, better known as Pixel. By himself, over the course of five years. It quickly became a smash hit online, and even gained an unofficial English translation, in which it then became even more of a smash hit.

The game is known for, in the eyes of many of its fans, being nearly flawless. It's a 2D action-adventure game, readily compared to Metroid. The controls are as simple as an NES game, and the graphics are retro but very polished. It's the story of... well... it's kind of a typical RPG plot, really, but a good one. You play a character with amnesia who awakens in a cave, who eventually finds a weapon and a village of rabbit-like creatures called Mimigas, being persecuted by the evil Doctor. The doctor sends his lackeys, Misery and Balrog (a definite fan favorite) to retrieve a special Mimiga named Sue. Your job is to find Sue, rescue the Mimigas, defeat the evil Doctor, and escape the setting you find yourself in, all while finding out who you are, where you are, and what all of this plot means.

The big thing that makes Cave Story what it is (besides an amazing soundtrack, memorable characters, an interesting plot, and fun secrets) is the branches the game can take. There are three endings, depending on how well you do in the game. There are opportunities to trade weapons in for new, better weapons. There are times when you can eschew getting a new item to get a better one later. There are places where if you don't do something a certain way, you miss out on plot hooks or even certain endings. To really fully enjoy the game, you're going to have to play it a few times, and that's wonderful.

Then, quite recently, a WiiWare version was released, costing 1000 Wii Points, or $10. Now, one might wonder if it's worth it to pay ten bucks for a game that is already free to download online. And the answer is a resounding yes. First of all, the game is worth more than that as is. Pardon me while I gush about this game and not be objective in the least.

Cave Story is an absolutely amazing game. It takes everything that made action-adventure platforming from the NES and SNES era fun and puts it into one game with no downsides. The game is challenging. In fact, it becomes really challenging. Sometimes it borders on cruel. But there is a learning curve, for sure. The game is full of secrets, choices, and fun things to discover. The game is full of humor. This free game is more impressive than a lot of the shovelware being released across all consoles nowadays.

So, Nicalis, the company that made Cave Story ready for the Wii, takes this amazing game and makes it better. The graphics and soundtrack are updated. A boss rush mode was added, and one that is done really well. A time trial for the game's impossibly hard secret area is included. You can even play the game as a second character. They added enough to this game to justify the cost. On top of how good it already is.

Now, I must say, this WiiWare version isn't without its flaws. The graphical update, for the most part, looks great. But in some cases, the added detail may or may not mess with what fans are used to. Still, most changes are too subtle to notice. Though the fan community has been upset. The soundtrack update is, in my opinion, unneeded and unwanted. A lot of the iconic music sounded better in the old format, especially the small tune that plays when getting an important item or upgrade. Now, on the flip side, there are options within the game to use the old graphics or music instead of the updated version. Even though the music select feature does suffer from a glitch at times and not do what it's supposed to.

Another mark against the WiiWare version is the script. But at the same time, this is a bit of an outrageously unimportant complaint. The existing translation for the game was a fan translation, whereas they did an official one for this release. And frankly, it's lost a bit of charm, and a few location names have changed. On the other hand, the plot and names remain untouched, so the complaint isn't that major at all.

In terms of accessibility, as I mentioned, the game handles like an early Nintendo-era game. You move with the control pad, you jump, you shoot, you have weapon switching buttons. This will sound very familiar to those of you who read my Mega Man 10 review. So, can this game be played with one hand? No. Nor can it really be played if you can't do things precisely, the game requiring great reflexes, decent speed, and a lot of timing and precision jumping. All dialogue is displayed on screen, and all enemies have visible tells to their attacks. So, if you are deaf, playing this won't be an issue. As far as I can tell, there isn't anything in the game that would give a colorblind gamer problems either.

In conclusion, this game is absolutely amazing. In every way. I would say that it is one of the best WiiWare releases to happen, and insist that you get this game and play it. If you don't have a Wii, or don't want to spend the $10, at least download it and play it on the computer. It is an experience.