It's only in The Demo for sure

I dislike the fact that mere months after I sold my DSi, a large flow of quality titles began flocking to DSiWare. I suppose it pays to have patience...

So, while I can't give a first-hand account, I can rate the games by how much I want them. In that case, my GOTY would be Shantae, with the runner-up Cave Story. Honorable mentions include Zenonia, Dark Zero, and Pop Island: Paperfield (Because I enjoyed the first one very much).

Thank

Is it the same game on the DSi, or is there more on the Wii or PC

@Jumpmad They took out saves for the demo!!

Well I would say Cave Story just based on the WiiWare version, though I don't have the DSiWare version. After that I'd say Shantae. Also, I believe Aura Aura Climber probably has the best value of any DSiWare game.

I agree with those saying Cave Story shouldn't exactly be eligible, though I did buy it and it's very charming.

I think X-Scape is probably the 'neatest' (I'm one of those dorks that even bought a copy of GB's [edit: GB's X] last summer from Yahoo Japan auctions). Frankly, Spotto (yeah... I also imported Guru Logic Champ for GBA) has given me dozens of wide grins as I finally pieced together a solution. Shantae was hotly anticipated and indeed very "well done", but more often than not I glide by it on my DSi menu, maybe to Flametail or Glow Artisan or something else more bite-sized.

In the end my vote would go to the title that could have been a cheap marketing gimmick. And it's the only DSiWare I've bought twice after switching from bronze to blue. Dark Void Zero: a frighteningly faithful NES action platformer (+ a big map on the other screen). Call me simple-minded, but I've launched this title at least twice a week since it was released.

If you want to say cave story shouldn't count then any game that was a port from another system shouldn't count as well x-scape being one of them. With that said this was my first experience with cave story so it was hands down my favorite downloaded game ever!

My Top 5 DSiWare this year:

#5. Starship Defense
#4. X-Scape
#3. Dark Void Zero
#2. Shantae: Risky's Revenge
#1. Cave Story

Good Year, but I should wait until the year is actually over.

No problem if you disagree with me and the others about Cave Story. But, point of fact, X-Scape is not a port. It is a squeal to a very old, obscure Game Boy game, yes (a cartridge I happen to own). A vastly improved sequel at that.

Ok, the standing are currently:

Cave Story: 9
Shantae: 5
Dark Void Zero: 4
X-Scape: 1

C'mon Shantae fans!!! Speak up!!

I would be giving Cave story the vote, but might as well give the others a chance since I already played it free on the PC... It would have to be a choice between Shantae, X-Scape, Dark Void Zero or Flashlight.
Shantae was one of the most polished and stunning platformers I've played in a long while and everything in this game is so lively and vivid that I have to give props to the sprite artists for such a beautiful game, too bad the game was on the short side though ( _{release the sequel!}). X-Scape for me is one of the few games on dsiware worthy enough for a cartridge release( _{thankfully it isn't though} ...), the length is good, there is variety in the gameplay, there are an adequate amount of extras to do, and most of all, the graphics sports a minimalistic 3-D style reminiscent of the PS1/N64 era. DVZ is the game that defines what I love about retro gaming, Great soundtrack, the best of 8-bit sprite art, tight controls, a high replay value, and a balanced difficulty level( _{for me} ), . And for Flashlight, its self explanatory.
Of all the games listed, I choose X-scape because well, I'm a space adventure fan and this game satisfies my craving for that adventure, though it was a tough choice to choose.

Yeah, that's only in the demo version-- the full version has save points.

For me, I could nominate about six games.

• Pop Island
• Pop Island - Paperfield
• Dark Void Zero
• Cave Story
• X-Scape
• Shantae: Risky's Revenge

Shantae gets my vote.

Aura-Aura Climber -- you can't beat it for the price.

Cave Story: 9
Shantae: 6
Dark Void Zero: 4
X-Scape: 2
Aura-Aura Climber: 1

X-Scape. It was just awesome. And Q-games would definitely get the "Best Overall DSiWare Developer" award for 2010.

Looking back, I bought quite a bit of great games on DSiWare this year, including:

• Aura-Aura Climber
• Go Series Defense Wars
• Starship Defense
• A Kappa's Trail
• Shantae
• X-Scape

Wow, this is such a hard decision, as they're all so different... Aura-Aura and Defense Wars are perfect for pick-up-n-play, Kappa has TONS of replayability, Starship Defense is just so addicting, Shantae is an excellent adventure game, and X-Scape kept me going for hours on end...

But in the end, I think X-Scape takes my vote. As excellent as all the other nominations were, X-Scape managed to captivate my attention the entire time, and was just beautifully crafted. Good job, Q-Games!

True. I bought it in August and I'm still trying to get all the medals and A ranks.

X-Scape definitely.

_{Too bad Flashlight, Discolight, or Fireplace wasn't on that list... those are easily the best...}

Cave Story: 9
Shantae: 6
X-Scape: 5
Dark Void Zero: 4
Aura-Aura Climber: 1