LostWinds was a Wii Ware launch Title. Upon release, it costs 1,000 Wii Points. Is it worth the price? And more importantly, is it any good? LostWinds is a fresh, enchanting adventure that lets you wield the awesome powers of Enril the Wind Spirit.  Summoning raging tornadoes to the gentlest breeze to guide and protect Toku, our main hero of the story.

Story

Enril is currently only Wind Spirit left alive in the vast world of Mistralis. One day, Toku wakes up from his sleepy spot in the forest and finds Enril. Enril tells Toku about The Evil Balasar, who Enril and his ancestors sealed away years and years ago. But whilst sealing Balasar away, Enril also got sealed in with him. Now Balasar has broken free and Enril needs help to seal him away again; and Balasar has cursed the land once again. Story wise, the game is nothing special so far. But it does pick up near the end. And it drops hints that the story is about be fully exposed, however I’ll get to that soon.

Controls

Lostwinds use of the Wii remote is spot on. You use Enril to control the winds. You can create small gusts of winds to brush past bushes to get treasure, or make strong gusts of winds to make Toku jump and even hold up boulders. With a simple wave of the Wii remote while holding the jump button, you can fling Toku to make him jump further. You can also use it to fling your enemies from wall to wall till they are nothing but a big mess. Just by waving the Wii remote, you can also mess with the elements of the World, including water, boulders, and fire. While playing Lostwinds, I never had a problem controlling Toku or using the wind powers, it works like a beauty. I’d go as far as say it’s the best Wiiware game to make use of the Wii remote so far.

Gameplay

The gameplay reminds me of Zelda, in a way. You go thought short dungeons, and once you get to the end of each dungeon, Enril gets a new wind power, which helps you backtrack and find unreachable areas. Its main focus is set on platforming and puzzle solving. You use the wind spirit powers to complete puzzles. At first it may seem a bit difficult, but after awhile, they are very easy to figure out. This is a shame, as I’d like to have seen a bit more difficult puzzles coming from such a unique and fresh game. The game is 3D, but you play it from a 2D aspect like “New Super Mario Bros.” I’m glad to report that it works perfect in 2D. I doubt it would work as good if it was a fully 3D adventure. The main bad point about the gameplay is that, LostWinds only lasts about 3 hours. Just as the story really starts to kick off, you get a “to be continued” screen, It leaves you wanting for more, and you feel a little ripped off by the 1,000 points price tag, I think 500 points would be a lot better.

Graphics:

The graphics in Lostwinds are quite charming and simple. That’s really about all there is to say for the graphics. Nothing really stands out graphic-wise. But that’s not to say the graphics are bad, because they aren’t. Lostwinds easily has some of the most charming graphics on the Wii, and the graphic style fits well with the gameplay too, which is always a good thing.

Music:

Throughout the whole game, I think I heard about 3 whole musical scores. They fit well with the games theme, but don’t expect to be humming the music throughout the day, as you most likely won’t be. The sound in the game fits very well. If you brush a small gust of wind past the grumpy man in town, he moans. Do it to the school kids and they giggle. Everything seems to fit so well, even the little things. And it holds the game together very well.

Overall:

Bursting with new gameplay ideas that embrace the Wii controller, LostWinds really puts the power of the wind in the palm of your hand. LostWinds is a fresh and original adventure that should be played by everyone, The 1,000 points price tag may seem like a lot for a 3 hour game, but you will play it over again. And with a sequel already out, you wouldn’t really want to miss out on this great game series.

I give it an 8/10 on the Zippy Scale.