WiiWare launched a day before my writing this review, and I'm so very
glad the platform is finally here. Though Galaxy was great, and we're
still getting some mileage out of Brawl, my family's Wii hasn't seen a
whole lot of use as of late. The thing is, we still have three consoles
(GCN, PS2 and Xbox, not including GBAs and DSes) from last generation,
which have great libraries of games to play, and the Wii hasn't
actually wowed us yet with Wii-specific gameplay. Along comes WiiWare,
and LostWinds with it, and the winds of change are finally here.
You play controlling two characters: Toku, a boy samurai, and Enril, an
ancient wind spirit. Another ancient spirit, Balasar – an evil menace –
has escaped his imprisonment, and it's up to Toku and Enril to save the
day. The story seems to be set in ancient, mystical Japan, and the
presentation is, simply put, stunning. The character models are similar
to those of Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, sans the cel-shading, and
LostWinds is just a marvelous production to behold and experience.
Unlike many other Wii games, LostWinds actually makes extensive and
creative, not to mention extremely fun use of the Wii remote. The focus
of gameplay is: controlling Enril and the various wind powers she gains
throughout the short adventure. You also move Toku, using the nunchuk's
control stick, but it's Enril who will assist and guide Toku to various
places otherwise unreachable. Along with aiding Toku, Enril can
manipulate the environment around her, and it will prove invaluable for
solving a myriad of clever platforming puzzles. All control of Enril is
done via the Wii remote, in conjunction with various buttons, and it
works pretty much flawlessly. That's not to say it's entirely easy,
since getting a grasp on the various wind powers takes time to master.
But the gameplay is all quite obvious and fun as heck to learn.
For the most part, the gameplay is a combination of puzzle solving and
platforming, wrapped in an adventure package. All those elements are
tossed together to make a really entertaining, side-scrolling
experience. Yes, it's a 3D game, but played from a side-scrolling
perspective. You'll be required to use the wind to have objects break
gates, or to cause fire to burn down vines that impede Toku's path.
Other times, you'll have Enril guide water to a patch of dirt, in order
to make a seed sprout, allowing Toku to then use the plant to propel
himself upward. There's a nice variety of creative gameplay mechanics,
though some can be a tad frustrating until you've mastered control over
the wind. Additionally, since you're often required to control an
object while simultaneously controlling Toku, it can be quite a
challenge to make your way through a given passage. Some puzzles are
clear as day, while others rival those of Zack and Wiki. Toss in the
need to negotiate various puzzles by way of platforming, and you get
some interesting brain teasers that need to be worked out.
There are, however, a couple of minor quibbles with the game. Once or
twice I experienced some glitching, such as having Toku end up stuck on
a wall, unable to get free. In such cases, the only solution I found
was to restart from my last save. That said, save points are sprinkled
generously throughout the realm of the game, so it wasn't a huge deal,
but of course, it's worth mentioning, all the same. However, in
addition to getting stuck by glitches, there are a couple of areas in
the game where you can just get plain stuck. I'm not talking about
stumped, I'm talking about stuck. Sometimes you'll be able to access an
area you perhaps weren't meant to get to just yet, and then not be able
to make your way because you find yourself unequipped. The only
solution – as mentioned before – is to restart from your last save.
These issues are oversights that are unfortunate, but by no means ruin
the experience. There's enough goodness here to keep you smiling almost
the whole way through. The main point I can't really stress enough,
though, is that LostWinds is just such a wonderful example of what Wii
gameplay was meant to be.
On the presentation front, LostWinds is a lovely experience from start
to finish. The visuals are breathtaking, looking better than most other
Wii games currently available. The game's look is similar to that of an
early Pixar film. There are a few hiccups here and there in the frame
rate, but for the most part, everything runs at a smooth pace. The
music and sound effects, too, are as beautiful as the graphics. Subtle
taps and water-droplet sounds, Zen-like Asian themes – the game is a
soothing experience, unlike your typical frantic video-game romp.
It's short, yes; my playthrough clocked in at about five hours. But the
game's length is, to me, just right. I've put in over 100 hours into
games like Pokemon Diamond, yet I've spent endless quarters on games
that offer only a five-minute burst of fun in arcades. In my 30-some
years of gaming, I've seen just about everything, and for $10,
LostWinds is an incredible value. It's a game you'll easily want to
come back to again and again. If you bought a Wii because you wanted
the new and innovative gameplay experience the system promised, you
really owe it to yourself to buy this game. Minor blemishes aside, you
couldn't ask for a better launch title.
