LostWinds [WiiWare]

On May 20th 2008, Nintendo released WiiWare in Europe. With the release, 6 games were availible from the WiiWare, and LostWinds was possibly the most anticipated title of the six. It wasn't the most hyped of the WiiWare games, but it's easily one of the best, will probably be so for a while and is a constant reminder of how WiiWare games should be. LostWinds is the first game of the series (a sequel has been planned) by Frontier, a British company.

The story of LostWinds is that an evil spirit called Balthasar made a plan to become the god of a place called Mistralis. The other spirits discovered his plan and decided to seal him in a stone called the Spirit Stone. They fought against Balthasar, and all looked grim until a spirit called Enril used all her power to weakn Balthasar enough so that he'd be sealed in the Spirit Stone. But Enril was also sealed in the Spirit Stone. After a long time, Balthasar broke out of the Spirit Stone, sending shards of the stone flying. He then began to send monsters around Mistralis, while the other spirits were helpless. The problem is, the spirits have hid themselves as mortals for so long, they do not know that they are spirits. One day, a young boy called Toku is walking home when a bridge he is standing on is broken by an earthquake. In the cavern underneath, he meets a Spirit Stone shard, with some of Enril's power sealed inside...



LostWinds only offers a Single Player mode. The single player mode follows the story of Toku as he helps Enril in her quest to regain her power and find the other spirits. The gameplay is very unique and enjoyable, as you use Enril's wind powers such as slipstream and gusts of wind to complete your objectives. While playing, you can interact with the background in many ways, such as rustling grass and blowing the skirts of people in the background (no, you do not see anything underneath, they just get really embarassed, and it doesn't go up very high, so don't ask). This reveals little blue flying 'bugs' which are used to fill up a meter, which is basically used as a backup if you lose all your health. You will meet a few enemies on your journey, and you must use your powers in unique ways to defeat them. Now onto the problems. First off, it's really short. This game can be completed in three hours. Yes, it's a WiiWare game, but it's still ridiculously short. Secondly, it's really easy. It's unlikely that you'll need to use your backup health. Thirdly, the ending is rushed. In a short time, a lot happens, which is really annoying. Fourthly, because of how short the game is, there are a lot of unanswered questions. It appears that these questions will be answered in the sequel, or even in a future game, but if you want a game where everything is answered, you'd be wasting your points here. Finally, there are many bugs, which makes the game seem rushed.

The controls are what you'd expect. Use the Wiimote to control the wind power, use the Nunchuck to control Toku. At times, they can seem to work well. At other times, they can be very, very frustrating. As you progress through the game, you will be told of the controls, so there's no need for reading the in-game manual. Luckily, you will not be pestered every 10 seconds about the controls, and you will not be given hints on what type of control you need to use to solve each puzzle. Overall, I'd say the controls are so-so.



One of LostWinds's major points is its graphics, which are stunning. Everything you see is beautiful, especially when you're outside (in the game, of course). The scenery is beautiful, the people look brilliant and even the little things such as the grass are great. The graphics on LostWinds will be a constant reminder of how great WiiWare games can be and shows that there is no excuse for terrible graphics unless it's part of the game's style. This game is even more beautiful than many of the Wii's regular games, which is great.

Another good point of LostWinds is the sound. The music fits in with each part of the game so well, and even the sound effects work well. Everything sounds really beautiful and fits in so well. It's hard to find a problem with it, but the only problems I could find was that there could have been more music, but that does not count as a problem, and you won't remember most of the music, so don't expect it to be stuck in your head for a while.

Overall, LostWinds is an excellent game that is a constant reminder of how WiiWare games should be. It's unique, beautiful, great for your ears and fun. But the game is plagued by the fact that it's a WiiWare game. This would have been much better off as a full game. That way, all the questions would have been answered in one game, it most likely wouldn't feel rushed and there might even be time to get rid of bugs.

Gameplay: 7/10 - It's very unique and fun to play, but sadly there's too many problems that cannot be ignored, which is a huge blow for this game.

Graphics: 10/10 - Stunning. It's one of the best looking WiiWare game currently out and is even better than many regular Wii titles.

Sound: 10/10 - Perfect in nearly all aspects, but the problems aren't that big. It's hard to find problems, though.

Value for Money: 10/10 - For the price you're paying (1000 Points), it's great. The value for money may decrease depending on how many chapters there are.

Overall (Not an average): 8/10