OMG!!

I just downloaded the demo for Monsteca Corral and it is seriously brilliant!!

the game looks pretty awful from screenshots but has been favorably reviewed by sites such as Nintendo Life, and only costs 500 points. It presents an original concept for wiiware - something akin to pikmin lite

(I know they didn't give it the highest score, but from what I played the camera is something you get used to pretty quickly, and if like me you're on the lookout for original experiences the game's flaws won't affect you much)

it may look simple, but it is just oozing with charm that reminds me somewhat of games like Sacrifice and Giants: Citizen Kabuto, or maybe even Doshin the Giant. I just played through the demo twice and had  blast!

Seriously I am now getting a points card just for this, and I'm sure there are other brilliant releases that are much deserving of a demo, and my hard-earned cash

With that said, are there any other hidden gems on wiiware that you bought on a whim or after playing the demo and were just really pleasantly surprised?

I just love when that happens - a fun game is infinitely funner when you have almost no expectations from it whatsoever!

So, please share some of your WiiWare surprises on this thread, I'm looking forward to hear them.

and BY ALL MEANS please give Monsteca Corral a try now that there is a demo! Seriously this is what WiiWare was made for - cheap original games where personality and gameplay are front and center!!

I know most people know about them, but the Bit.Trip series on WiiWare are some of my favorite Wii games period, especially Bit.Trip.Fate and Bit.Trip.Runner.

Besides that, Panic in Zombieland is pretty fun, weird little shooter featuring sumo and ninja zombies, which is never a bad thing.

Honestly I haven't had much luck with the wiiware offerings.  I've purchased plenty (8 or so, that's plenty for me) of titles and have yet to find something very sustainable besides World of Goo.  I tried most of the bit trip series but i disliked all of them except for one which I thought was kinda nice - It was the arkanoid-styled one where you have a pad on the left of the screen that you move up and down to reflect balls etc...  it was nice and only like 6 or 8 bucks.

Have you played Cave Story? the WiiWare version is very well done, and the music alone is worth it.

I played the demo of Rage of the Gladiator and liked it. I downloaded the game but haven't had the time to play it, but I liked what I saw. If you like punchout you may want to give it a try.

Hydroventure or Fluidity is awesome.

It certainly is! the demo also sold me on the game in that case.

I love the Magic School bus vibe going on in the visual design!!

I think I'll look into Toki Tori, been hearing a lot of good things about it...

Regarding the Mega Mans, I'm not sure I'm hard core enough

And I am also very much awaiting the release of FAST, ever since I first heard about it!! MotoHeroz also looks like one to look forward to (despite the "z" )

There are actually two paddle style bit trip games: the first one (Beat) and last one (Flux) if you're interested. From what I've seen, Flux really looks like an evolution of Beat.

Also, for sustainablilty, especially if you liked World of Goo, check out Fluidity (Hydroventure in europe). That game has mad amounts of content in it!

I remember playing the demo for Zombie Panic and thinking it was way more fun than it deserved to be

I may add that to my list for the future..