Review: Lost Winds

The gameplay, art style and story in Lost Winds allow it to fit snugly in with the indie darlings of this generation. Braid, Flower, Bastion and the like would be proud to call this WiiWare game/iOS App their little, underappareciated brother.

It's short, but it's delightfully solid - much like the excellent dump I took this morning. I know there's some sort of fart joke I can make here tying in the "Lost Winds" name, but I'll be mature about it, I guess... 

..story..

In Lost Winds you play a young boy named Toku who helps his crazy ol' village elder regain his memories to ultimately save the people of their town. With the help of the wind spirit you are sent across a map of twisting caves and glorious mountaintops to find four chests containing the old man's memories. 

Yes the setup here plays it safe, but the script and dialogue is very well written. Characters have definable emotions and are very likable, which, combined with the beautiful artwork, creates a strong sense of place for this game.

Lost Wind's story is on the light side - there are no backstabbing characters, no unexpected twists, no political intrigue, it's just a simple framework to give some context to the elegant gameplay.

..gameplay..

 

At its heart, Lost Winds is a puzzle game. As a small boy, you have very few abilities on your own, but very early in the game you gain control over the wind. This allows you to not only jump long distances, but also manipulate objects within the world. 

You will encounter a few of the standard "push the block onto the switch" puzzles, but there are many  more creative uses of your new found power. From redirecting flowing water onto a fire, to using that same fire to burn down a blockade, to busting down doors with heavy rocks. Much like the feeling of "oh my God I can destroy anything in my way!" you get when you fully upgrade Samus in the Metroid series, once you unlock all four abilities in Lost Winds, you will feel incredibly powerful.

..presentation..

The original thing that caught my attention about this game is the art style. I mean look at it - it's absolutely beautiful. Yes it's running in SD, but like I always say - the art is only as good as it's ability to keep me in the fantasy, and Lost Winds kept me glued to it's wistful, dreamlike experience. The music is also appropriately "tribal" sounding with African and Middle Eastern inspired sounds and music throughout. Once again further convincing the player of the sense of place and solidifying the fantasy. 

Whether you play it on the iPad or the Wii, Lost Winds is a fantastic, short burst game. Highly recommended and proud to have it in my collection. 

But in the end, who needs this stupid kid to find the Lost Winds? I found the real lost winds right here: