Lost winds is more than just a cheap whore. This is definitely the sleeper hit of DC. Even though I am completely broke, and had only 1000 wii points left on my console, despite that, I probably would have purchased the game over Square-Enix’s Crystal Chronicles – My Life as King. It looked like a game that had so much promise. Intrigued, I spent the last of my money dedicated to games for the next few months on a game that I really hadn’t heard much of. In the end, what finally made me decide, was the Nintendo Channel’s little video preview of it.
The basic premise of the game is that you are a wind spirit who has been trapped inside of a stone with an evil being. The evil has escaped, and left your powerless. However, you also play as Toku, a boy who just happens to be taking a nap near the wind spirit’s remnants, as he’s searching for help. The two team up, and you control Toku with the nunchuk, moving him left and right across the screen, and using the Z button to use various actions for puzzles or refilling health. With the Wiimote, however, you control Enril, the wind spirit, and hold down B or A for various actions. You can also quickly swipe the Enril cursor across the screen for various effects on the background scenery.
Graphically, the game is beautiful, especially for a Wii game. To be honest, the graphics in this game are far pushing what even I believed was possible for the little console that could. The effect are beautiful too, nothing was sparred in graphics for this game, and makes it that much more enjoyable. It seems that it is true that there is potential yet to be seen in the big N’s little machine.
The controls are easy to fall into, and while you may be waving your hand back and forth for a few hours, you never seem to get tired. At least I didn’t, so it wasn’t like I needed a break to regain composure for my arm. Simple, and intuitive, I only got hung up while using Toku’s gliding function, and was guiding him into the bottom of a ledge, instead of on top of it.
Musically, everything is pretty somber, it gives you a nice relaxed feeling, and picks up to just the right amount of urgency in sound when enemies are close by. Characters and enemies sound like they should, though there is no audio track for dialogue. Also, being able to control the wind, and being able to hear it flow though the scenery through plants, and sometimes startling people, makes you really feel like you’re in control of the wind.
As for game play, it all goes very smoothly. You rarely get tripped up when controlling either character, but it seemed at first when enemies appeared that there was no way to destroy them. There isn’t an obvious shot them sort of thing. Once I realized (and still in my first encounter), that you can throw enemies with Enril, then throwing them into the ground was the way to go. Later enemies appear that you may need to use an enhancement of your powers for, but they all turn into varying amounts of the same basic enemy. Which gave it that tone that evil is infecting the world.
The games only boss was a small trick to me, because there was an specific type of enemy that I never really defeated. When I thought I did, I guess I only made it dormant, allowing for me to destroy it completely. I was hung up for a few, until I realized that I was stupid. And in the end, well… no spoilers. But despite having only a single boss, and only 3 hours of game play (thats even with me messing around, experimenting with stuff…), it seems like a really whole game. Especially for $10. There’s also a side quest in collecting little artifacts. I’m missing one, so I have no clue what the award is, but I’m hoping it’s worth completing.
If you have 1000 Wii points, or $10 sitting in your bank account, go and get this game. You probably won’t be disappointed. It wasn’t advertised much, but I can already see alot of buzz circulating about this game. Its a great action game to anyone’s library. Don’t miss out.
Popularity: unranked [?]
