The game starts with you waking up the main character, Toku, and thrusting him into a nearby cave. Once inside, Toku discovers a Spirit Stone holding a secret. Once you pick up the stone, it starts talking to you and reveals that there is a threat looming over the world (when isn't there?). From here on out, you'll be doing some light exploration and platforming on a quest to save your home.
But, what about the meat and potatoes of the game? What about controlling Toku and using the Gust ability? Well, it's pretty fun, to be honest, but has its flaws. See, by pressing the A button, you'll slow everything down, and should you draw a line on the screen while holding that A button down, you'll direct a gust of wind there. This is how you make Toku leap across chasms and reach otherwise unreachable areas in the game.There's a problem, though, that comes up fairly often. Sometimes, Toku just won't react to a gust of wind being directed at him. It's noticeable more when you try to take him straight up into the air then flinging a gust of wind at him horizontally, but it's an issue that comes up enough as to warrant frustration. This is really the only flaw in the game that I could find.
It isn't all platforming, however. You'll encounter several NPCs in the game and explore large environments. Here, the game almost exactly feels like The Legend of Zelda, showing the title's inspiration comes somewhat from Nintendo's long line of games. That isn't a bad thing, though, as the game never feels like it's a carbon copy of the exploits found in those titles.
And, as you explore these large environments, you'll be taken back by the sheer beauty of LostWinds' game world. Whether it's the rustling foliage that responds to your cursor or the bright light shining over a mountain during the morning, this game is a visual feast through and through. I honestly had to stop and stare at several locations in the game, just to take it all in.
Final Score: 9/10
With the recent launch of the WiiWare service on the Nintendo Wii, we've been busy getting our time in with some of the titles available for download. Be sure to check out our reviews of Defend Your Castle and Pop, as well as our early impressions of My Life as a King. Also, be sure to keep an eye on our Reviews category for more as it goes live on the site and stay tuned to the WiiWare category for more on Nintendo's new download service.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-13-2008 @ 2:15PM
sunday_times said...
Nice review. Looking forward to its sequel!
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5-13-2008 @ 2:42PM
Marcelo said...
Thanks for the review. I'm curious about this game, and I'm definitely not opposed to getting it. My concern is the short play time - 3 hours. If there's a bunch of episodes, is this basically going to be a serialized 50 dollar game?
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5-13-2008 @ 2:45PM
David Hinkle said...
Well, a sequel has been confirmed:
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2008/05/13/lostwinds-sequel-plans-already-aloft/
No idea on whether we'll be getting episodes via WiiWare or what kind of timeframe they'll arrive in right now. But, LostWinds was a great play, so I'm just glad to know more is coming, even if I don't know when.
5-13-2008 @ 5:55PM
Moose said...
I personally wouldn't be concerned if they eventually ration this into a $50 game. I'm a lot more willing to shell out $10 now than I would for a $50 game disc. Plus, for someone like me, a three-hour game usually means at least 10. And if I do grow bored with it, I haven't shelled out the cash for the entire thing, nor will I feel obligated to complete it.
5-13-2008 @ 2:46PM
phantomexe said...
lost winds is better then 75% of half the wii games.i love this game.i hope we see more like this 2D old school.
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5-13-2008 @ 4:46PM
Matt said...
I don't really know what "75% of half the Wii games" means, haha. But it looks like a pretty good game, and I really want to get it but I, like many others here, am concerned about how long it is. Seems a decent length for the price though; I just hope it isn't too repetitive later on...
5-13-2008 @ 9:04PM
jason said...
I think it means you take half of the Wii games, then take 75% of that half, so then you get about 37.5%. So I think Phantomexe meant this is better than 37.5% of all Wii games. I think.
5-13-2008 @ 3:04PM
thenewkasanova said...
Just an idea, but I don't think the game isn't recognizing your input. The only time we saw it not work was when you were standing on something with a visible bottom, and all your gusts began at the bottom of the ledge you were standing on. Is it possible that the game is registering that as wind coming up below the ledge, but stopping? Perhaps if you tried on the same place, but starting your gust closer to your character, it would work.
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5-13-2008 @ 3:21PM
David Hinkle said...
That's a very interesting point, one I'm also considering is the reason why I had the problem I did in the video. But, I also noticed the same issue when playing yesterday, which is when the majority of my playtime with the game took place.
Guess we'll never know! :D
5-13-2008 @ 3:31PM
TheCoats said...
Looks like i know what my first wiiware game will be!!
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5-13-2008 @ 4:00PM
WhatIsThatThing said...
I'm not sure if I missed it in the video, but what's the save situation with this game? Are there save points around the world, or is it a "save anytime" thing, or something? I'm definitely going to pick this up after this week (APs keeping me busy now...) but I was just wondering.
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5-13-2008 @ 4:10PM
David Hinkle said...
You actually have to save via in-game statues you'll find sprinkled throughout the levels periodically.
5-13-2008 @ 4:31PM
Zoltargg said...
This game is amazing, I had one funny glitch though. I was trying to put a rock on one of those switches, but it landed on the edge and slowly rolled down, so the switch started to go down, then the rock rolled off, and went under the switch. The rock then proceeded to keep going under the switch...and under...and under..and then my rock was gone. Basically, that switch ate my rock.
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5-13-2008 @ 5:52PM
Solar said...
Is the gameplay very cool or can it become very tedious? The previous videos I've seen of it makes the wind element look like it could get tedious if you have to use it too frequently.
Also, about how long does it take to play through the full game?
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5-13-2008 @ 7:05PM
ArmorForVictor said...
i just got it and played about 20 mins of it and i love it. the wind element is not tedious to me and i think they could have just kept it wiimote only instead of the wiimote+nunchuck. i even deleted the everybody votes channel, check mii out channel, and the internet channel just to make room for it. it reminds me of okami, zelda, and loco roco melded together.
5-14-2008 @ 1:02AM
iofthestorm said...
Since it's supposedly not very long, I don't think it would be possible for it to get too tedious. I haven't finished it yet, but that's because I'm taking my time to savor it. It's really just enjoyable to play.
5-13-2008 @ 7:03PM
igorponweed said...
Funny, Dave. I downloaded the two games you reviewed yesterday.
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5-13-2008 @ 10:46PM
David Hinkle said...
Okay, you downloaded them, but do you *like* them?
5-14-2008 @ 9:20AM
igorponweed said...
Definetly! I was saying it eemed coincidental since I only read your reviews yesterday. :)
5-13-2008 @ 7:44PM
Comstock said...
I'd love to download this, but I don't have the blocks. I'm considering ditching a couple of VC games, but I'm not happy with that option. I may just wait a while. C'mon, Nintendo, hear our plea: we need that hard drive!
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5-13-2008 @ 8:22PM
Eleniel said...
This game looks adorable, I'm definitely going to have to check it out.
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5-13-2008 @ 9:21PM
NetOperator Wibby said...
i've been hearing nothing but great news about this game. a Wii is going to be my next purchase just so i can play this [and SSBB, SM Galaxy, and the like].
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5-13-2008 @ 9:44PM
Dan Blanchard said...
While I do think this is a decent bargain for $10, considering you get about the same amount of entertainment time as a long movie, I couldn't help but think that for almost the same price you could get Ocarina of Time and play for much much longer. Regardless of value, the game is beautiful, but kind of shallow. There are only three kinds of enemies, and really there's nothing that is a substantial threat to you throughout the whole game. Even the end boss is painfully easy once you figure out what to do. I'm not going to say I didn't have fun playing LostWinds, but I kept feeling like there was so much potential with the setup and they could have done so much more with it. I guess that's why they're doing episodic releases, but the game would definitely feel more satisfying as one long $50 game.
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5-13-2008 @ 10:15PM
TWOO DEE said...
which is kind of exciting, considering a sequel is on the way
5-13-2008 @ 10:17PM
TWOO DEE said...
uh, i totally missed the last sentence of your post!
delete both of my comments pls mod
5-13-2008 @ 10:40PM
Dopple Boppler said...
I'm glad there's not that many enemies, actually. To be honest I wish there were none in the whole game; aside from a puzzle or two that I've done so far (I just got out of the mines and got the second memory), they've just been distracting me from the artsiness of the rest of the game.
5-14-2008 @ 1:05AM
iofthestorm said...
And the thing is, you don't even die, right? I haven't finished it but so far it seems like if you die you just wave over Toku and he revives with full health.
5-14-2008 @ 10:12AM
SushiPillow said...
The enemies just seem like a minor distraction, they're completely pointless.
5-14-2008 @ 3:56AM
Purple Haze said...
How big is the download? I live in Europe so I can't get it yet.
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5-14-2008 @ 3:58AM
Purple Haze said...
How big is the download? I live in Europe so I can't get it yet.
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5-14-2008 @ 10:38AM
Crake said...
That was the worst video review I have ever seen, short only of the guy with the speech impediment who does the videos titled "Video Games That Shouldn't Exist", but at least there's some comedic value there. What the hell are you doing? The written review is great, but the video is just painful.
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