Lost Winds (Review)

• Story: (8/10)
  

Lost Winds follows the plucky hero Toku on an adventure to save the world of Mistralis from evil. Little Toku is not much more than a regular boy (despite his destiny to be the world’s only savior), but following along on his journey is Enril, the wind spirit. A mighty and mysterious deity of nature that can use the powers of the air around little Toku.

Lost Winds begins with the young Toku asleep under a tree. But by waving the Wii remote around Toku you create smalls gusts of wind, that blows in his face which wakes him from his slumber. Toku’s reaction to being suddenly pulled out of dreamland sets the tone for his adventure in the Lost Winds world. On the surface Lost Winds looks very cute, but don’t let that fool you, it has a fairly deep and involving story, for a WiiWare title.

• Gameplay: (9/10)
  

The controls real work very well, though they take a little getting used to. But five minutes into the game, that issue becomes a thing of the past as you master the controls pretty quickly. Toku’s movements is controlled by the Nunchuck’s analogue stick, while using the Z button interacts with objects in the world of Lost Wind. Enril’s movements is controlled by the Wiimote. By flicking the Wiimote in the desired direction causes a gust of wind to blow in that direction. And by using a combination of the Wiimote and Nunchuck’s you navigate little Toku trough the world of Lost Winds.

Later in the game you get new wind powers which give you the ability to manipulate Toku and the environment in different ways. How Toku progresses through the world of Lost Winds, is actually very similar in how you would progress through the world of Metroid Prime. Which really caught me by surprise, if you consider that this is only a Wiiware title. You are given a vast world to explore but you must unlock certain abilities to progress into certain areas of the Lost Winds realm. As opposed to having you simply progress from level to level.

Combat also plays a significant role in Lost Winds but not as much as in other console titles so don’t expect a action packed title. But having said that, it is still a well done aspect of the game. Toku is completely defenseless without Enril, so he must rely on Enril’s wind powers to take care of enemies. Also enemies start adapting to Enril’s wind powers during the course of the game. As they become more difficult to fight and start using “Wile E. Coyote” tactics, to avoid your attacks.

• Graphics (8/10)
  

The first thing you’ll notice about Lost Winds is how amazingly vibrant and lively the world around little Toku is, the screen shots should give you a basic idea of just how colorful the world really is. Even the leaves and trees in the background react to the cursor when you wave past it using the wiimote. The back drops to the levels are highly detailed, and beautifully animated.

The graphic style just borders Cel-shading, and reminds me of the animation used in Toy Story. The character designs uses a very high polygon count, which makes for great character and enemy animations and awesome animated sequences. Shadows cast sharply on characters and the environment which adds a nice touch to the very stylized lighting effects that are present throughout the game.

• Sound: (7/10)
  

This is also a big highlight of Lost Winds, the eastern inspired music that plays continuously in the background. Which adds to the the already stunning animation to create a more believable atmosphere. However there isn’t much variance in the music throughout the game, but it never really gets too distracting. Due to the fact that when you encounter enemies, the usual background music gets changed in favor of some dramatic overtures. Which takes a page straight out of a Hollywood chase scene.

There are some nice touches in Lost Winds when it comes to sound affects. Like the wind roaring when it blows in a cavern or cave. And the rustling of the leaves as you send a gust of wind into a tree it makes the whole experience of Lost Winds even more beautiful. Which compliments the atmosphere of Lost Wind nicely.

• Final thoughts:

Lost Winds sets a precedent for WiiWare as a platform. This game tells gamers that WiiWare is not going to be another place for lazy game developers, to port there hastily released shovelware games. And that we can expect quality WiiWare titles in the future.

Final Score: 8/10

Lost Winds Trailer: