Cave Story looks like an excellent game. Despite it being free on the PC, I am considering getting it through WiiWare since I don't really play games on my PC. Is it worth the 1200 Wii points or is La Mulana or some other Metroid-esque game a better choice?

If you like a brutal challenge, then get La Mulana. If you like a good platformer with a decent (not brutal until the Hell part) challenge, get Cave Story

Also, if you want an awesome story, get Cave Story.

Only if you like stories about caves

...
No words.

I see two

But seriously, it's still a good story that actually does not really involve caves that much

Is it worth the 1200 Wii points or is La Mulana or some other Metroid-esque game a better choice?

Cave Story is a Metroid-esque exploratory platformer that could very well take the title "King of Indie Games". It has three different endings. A bad-, a normal and a "best" one. The difficulty depends on what ending you are aiming for. Bad and normal ending (which is advisable) are not so difficult to reach. It's absolutely worth the 1200 points. The only alternative is Super Metroid.

La-Mulana is a (on Nintendo Life) totally overrated game and has nothing in common with Cave Story or Super Metroid. It's one of the worst games I've ever played. It's difficult beyond belief (and not in a good way like Mega Man or Ghouls'n Ghosts). I played the game because of the hype here but I was totally annoyed by the awkward design choices, drudging puzzles and unfair bosses.

If you have the choice between Cave Story and La-Mulana then definitely go for Cave Story. You will regret it the other way around.

Omega--thanks for the advice. I think I'll actually treat myself to Cave Story and Super Metroid (which I've been meaning to download for quite some time).

And Mega Man 9!!!

Very good choices. Super Metroid, Cave Story and Mega Man 9 are some of the best downloadable games the Wii has on offer.

These are very smart purchases.

i totaly agree with you

To be fair, I liked La-Mulana quite a bit when I reviewed it. If you still need more WiiWare, I'd recommend it--just don't expect an adventure of Cave Storian proportions.

Good platforming on WiiWare?

LostWinds/Sequel - If you buy both parts, you get a nice package of about 5-8 hours of content with some beautiful graphics and good level design.
Jett Rocket - Fun title, with amazing graphics for WiiWare. Not very lengthy with only 3 worlds though.
Cave Story - Not the definitive version, with the new music being ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS (while CS3D had some good remixes)
Mega Man 9 - Best Mega Man game IMO. But overpriced with terrible DLC

Cave Story and Super Metroid are great choices.
Once you are done with them, consider getting La-Mulana as well. It's only the best game released on the WiiWare service. And that isn't something I say lightly. It's like, metroidvania for grown-ups

That's how I would've said it. Everyone who says La-Mulana is so hard that it ruins the game, are either uninformed and saying what they've heard others say... or they just don't remember a time when games didn't hold your hand every step of the way. Really though, if you'd take the time to actually read the in-game emails and commit to memory the obscure inscriptions you discover, La-Mulana gets really addictive and fun. Truth be told, It IS really difficult, but a mature gamer that is down for a challenge will only feel like a boss when they do finally overcome what seemed impossible.
I love Cave Story. I love La-Mulana. They strike different chords with me, but one is not FAR SUPERIOR to the other. They both are 10/10 in my book.
(BTW, my book is an upcoming autobiography entitled, "THIS IS OUR HOUSE, COACH!" and it'll be released in hardback Decenber 31, 1999. Check it oww-oot!)

I was a bit underwhelmed by Cave Story as it was very short and not as RPG-esque as I hoped. I expected a longer game after it's been hyped for so long and having played through the demo several times before downloading it on WiiWare. While I had different expectations it was still a good fastpaced action platformer with lots of secrets, great music, good WiiWare features (optional original music and graphcis), and replay value.
To get to the best ending you have to get through a difficulty spike that is punishing, for me even more punishing than getting through the whole of La-Mulana.

La-Mulana is better in some other parts as well. Foremost it has a huge world compared to Cave Story, and those crazy adventure/puzzle elements that I really appreciate (even though I couldn't solve some of them on my own), there's more exploring, secrets and interesting stuff on offer. (Yeah, Cave Story is crammed as well) Yes LM is challenging, especially in the beginning, but it gets MUCH easier once you acquire better equipment and money to buy extra stuff.

In Cave Story I just didn't feel as rewarded as in La-Mulana, especially when the credits roll after just 8-12 hours of gameplay.
LM takes around 40-60 hours (hard to say) for the first playthrough, and it surprises with the depth and originality, and it's rewarding with just how much you can find and learn.

Cave Story is extremely overrated in my opinion. I enjoyed it but not any more than any other good platformer that I've played before. Just isn't as fresh to me as many seem to claim.

La Mulana on the other hand is superb every moment and there is literally never a dull moment even when you're stuck scratching your head as to think your way through the next puzzle. I've been playing games since the NES days all across platforms as well as every genre and I have to say La Mulana is absolutely one of the best games ever to be crafted PERIOD.

I never thought platform gaming could get that much better by leaps and bounds UNTIL the day I played La Mulana for the first 10 hours. La Mulana is a flawless game in my eyes and anybody who frowns upon this game has either lack of insight as to what makes a engaging video game or simply just doesn't like difficult/challenging/rewarding games which the latter is fine.

Haven't played a 2D platformer as amazing as La Mulana since Super Metroid.

Please, say why.

Cave Story felt like a really well done and refined hybrid platformer. But that's about it.....after a certain point it feels just to much like a shooter but with platforming(which isn't bad) just not that much more to it. It's just not that great in my opinion, just good.