How ironic is it that so far the average Wiiware title has prettier graphics than the average Wii store release?

Hmm that definitely looks cool.

Give it a few more months. Some small indie developer will create a fugly game and will bring things into balance once more ;) .

As for this game, its certainly great to see Wii Ware developers being bold with their projects.

Im impressed! It sounds/looks promising. How many Wii points will it cost?

I think WiiWare (once Nintendo official supports USB hard drives, or has REAL SD support) is going to be absolutely huge. It's on it's way to being an XBLA killer.

I don't agree.  I think WiiWare will be more Niche than the VC.

I actually think WiiWare can become more popular than VC if they promote the games and they said they would do that eventually through channels.  I just hope they offer more then videos. I actually see WiiWare being more successful than xbox arcade because Nintendo seems like they will be investing more of their own development time and energy into the service than MS is with their service.

This is the first title so far to really grab me. I'm looking forward to this. Whenever it arrives..

It's depressing that such a creative game like this is on Wii Ware, where the majority of Wii owners won't ever know it exists, while Wii continues to get swamped with retail releases consisting of bags of urine on the store shelves.

I think it is due to the fact that Nintendo is effectively directly publishing this themselves means they are having some say as to the quality of the games. Like Microsoft and their requirements to make an Arcade release, It seems that Nintendo only requirement is "Not suck ass".

They need to get Kenta Cho a Wiiware SDK or they'll lose him to XBLA. He's already making games with XNA!

Monkey: Nothing a broadcast message from Nintendo can't fix :P

I made this the 'official' thread... :)

http://nintendoworldreport.com/gameArt.cfm?artid=15377

A beacon of sunshine you got there Infy!

lol <3

It's cool. Hopefully, they'll market the game through Wii connect at the VERY least. I mean, that is the place where people will buy the game anyway.

I can see WiiWare adhering to a niche group of gamers, but I've got a feeling that niche group is the majority of the people who own a Wii and use the Shopping Channel.

Oooooooh!  THAT'S how we do it!  Thank ya much.


I'm going to reserve judgement on this title till somebody plays it; it could be kind of repetitive.  However, it looks promising.  I hope it works out well.

I'm pretty sure most people check the messages on their Wii, so they'll know it exists.

This looks very tasty!

Now that I've seen it in motion, I can guarantee a purchase of this gem in the making.  I like the music in the trailer too... it's very relaxing.  I hope that's not just a place holder track and actually represents what to expect from the game's actual sound design.

Good stuff.

The title shows how promising WiiWare can be, the game looks innovative along with being visually pleasing to the eye (Almost embarrassingly so compared to some full priced 3rd party games). It appears to utilize the IR sensor, something that has been virtually ignored for the most part when it comes to expanding gameplay (Though Konami gets a nod for doing it for PES). From viewing the gameplay footage it looks like an interesting mix between a 2D platformer and Kirby's Canvas Curse. So this game is a must buy for me if it is halfway decent.

I think WiiWare is the reason why we are seeing less games in the VC every week. A few developers went public in saying they are excited with WiiWare as they thing XBox Arcade is not a good venue to their games as the royalties suck and there is strong competition with poorly remade classics that sells only for nostalgic values. Nintendo is keeping the classics at VC and giving WiiWare games their own place. I say the plan to take VC completely out of the spotlights and let WiiWare shine for the rest of the Wii lifetime.

So who picked this up?  It's absolutely brilliant so far, and everyone should buy it...10 bucks is a bargain for such a gem...

Definitely getting this once I get home from work...

I'm waiting for some more feedback and some official reviews before buying and downloading it. More then likely I will get it in the next day or two though.

Well I'll be getting this game and Final Fantasy this week, and MAYBE the trivia game.

I got this at 5:30 am when Wii ware launched I played for about a hour and a half. Then I fell asleep.I really like how every thing is so interactive. I spent 5 minutes just messing around at the beginning of the game.

I'll definitely buy this, but sadly not this week.  I haven't even broken the seal on Okami yet and I just received Earthbound in the mail from EasyCure. 

How's NWR going to handle WiiWare reviews?  Will they get full blown reviews, or is NWR going to try to cram everything into two short paragraphs, like VC?

Oh, they were just going to not do reviews of WiiWare at all.

It's exquisite.

The puzzles so far are quite basic but trying do solve them is another matter. Like trying to get some fire to some wood blockade because the fire is up above the blockade but also to the left and there is a wall right next to the fire getting the fire to travel to the wood around this environment is the difficult problem.  I guess I will have to different variations of wind movements.

I would hope that the NWR staff would take time to review each title, maybe not in as much detail as a normal review but enough to give many of the games justice.

I just got a ability that allows you to guide a slipstream from one thing to another so my previous comment is not valid. Another thing I like is the music it is calm and relaxing when you are just travelling around and it is especially relaxing when trying to find you path in between platforms. And when you enter battle the music changes to bongos. The combat system is fun and imaginative using the environment to beat your enemies having them collide with the ground or themselves. I just love EVERYTHING.:)

Man, the only negative to this game is the fact that you can't explore the GORGEOUS backgrounds...I mean, think of just how fun it would be to explore the village in 3D!

Hmm LOST WINDS or BOOM BLOX?

WHICH TO SPEND MONEY ON?

both? HA, get real, ntard

Both, tee hee...

Wait, what's this spoiler box you have th...HEY! >=O

So Lost Winds is gonna be a Not Recommended (except for Kairon)?

I'm considering the trivia game as well, my friends play those kind of games a lot. Scene it and all those.

Sequel already announced (at the bottom)!

I was just about to post this. Now that this is confermed to have a sequel is there any thing you want changed? More wind abilities, longer length. ???.You know this quickest confirmation of a sequel I have ever seen.

A map would probably be nice...Being told to go somewhere and having no idea what the NPC is talking about is fairly amusing... ='D

The world is pretty small its not like your going to be lost. Also pay attention to your surroundings. Make a map in your mind. If they do make it bigger well I guess it would depend on how much bigger it is from this one if it really needs a map. If we get a wiimake of this and it is in 3-d then yes I agree with you.

I was just looking at the title of this thread Bill and I have an inquiry What is Knytt?

This game is awesome I love it. Can't wait to play more. I'm a little past where Maxi said he was above.

Knytt is an awesome, atmospheric (free) indy game that revolves exploring a maze-like world searching for power-ups that help you progress further...LostWinds was clearly inspired by it...

I'm thinking more of the time the old man is like "Go ______ and ______" and I was thinking "Well thanks, just where are those places?"

I just got to where you have to start looking for those treasure chest. I stopped at getting one of those.

After looking at your link Bill I have to agree they sound very similar. And with that I am going back to the game.

I got it and I like it a lot, control of the wind adds to the imagination as far as what can be used. I wish I had a map because I'm totally stuck now.

How awesome? SO awesome.

Have you played Metroid when you get a new wind ability try going everywhere to see where your new ability might gain access. Also if you press the minus button you will get a hint of where to go next.:)

Beat the game, but I still have one more statue to find...Damn you last statuuuuue! *shakes fist*

How long is the game to beat?  And to get 100%? 

Depends on how much you goof-off, explore, and how good you are at finding the statues...

If you just run through the game you could beat it in about 3 hours...It took me about 4 because I loved stopping and taking in the beautiful atmosphere the game creates, and I still need to explore the world for that last damn statue...

(If you want to talk about how much bang per buck, you could say 3 hours for 10 bucks, which is easily comparable to paying a full 50 for a 15 hour game...It's well-worth the price...)

The way I see it, a movie costs me more than 10 bucks and that gives me 1.5 hours of enjoyment (sometimes). If I get at least that much in a single play through, it's worth it. Not to mention I'll replay it god knows how many times because the game is gorgeous and amazing. Of course my fiancee will also play through it god knows how many times too, so $10 seems like a worthy investment.

I'm not sure if it was worth it.  I beat it in just over two and a half hours (I'm not sure if the time I spent staring at the boss not understanding what to do before finally just killing myself to get out of it was saved).  I think I missed four statues, so I may go looking for them.  I might not have minded at all if I had known how short it was in advance, but now I feel like it really skirts the line as far as whether it's worth the money.

What's there is certainly nice, and I enjoyed it all the way through (except for the part where I couldn't figure out what to do to the boss), so I'll probably buy the next part.

I've played lots of Metroid and the like. I've been stuck in the same place since last night. I'm supposed to find the chest in the mine and I don't know where it is. I'll figure it out :P
Reading about the total game time is a little disappointing, I wasn't aware it was so short. This first wave of Wii Ware doesn't interest me much. I'll play LostWinds and will wait for the next release or whatever. I also agree that WiiWare and Virtual Console should have separate release days, but I bet they won't.
I'm still stuck.

I seem to recall getting pretty clear directions to the mine, but I can't remember exactly what they were off the top of my head.  If it's the second chest, then I think it (the mine) is to the left of where you started the game.

That's the one and I got the chest, but I can't get out. I can go back to the town, but it's clear that I have to go farther west. There's a gate I can't break with a guy standing on the other side, a fire that can't be utilized (clearly to me) and a big pain that won't let me carry items over to the next screen.
Bah.

So, you opened the second chest, and you can go back to town?  Did you talk to the bearded guy again?  I'm having trouble understanding being able to go back to town but not being able to get "out."

My message says that the chest is in the Old Mines. I'm in a mine, I'm assuming it's that one. I got the power to move the elements around. Beard guy wants to see me after I find the chest. I have gone as far West as possible. There's a gate far far west in the mine and I can't break it open to go further. I can go back East to town and even into the old village, but there's nothing there for me yet.

What does the gate look like?

It's the kind with the iron bars. There is a guy standing on the other side of the gate and I can't talk to him or anything else.

Does the gate have a circle on it?

Sorry, but I just can't figure out where you are.  Maybe there's an application of the abilities you have that you haven't figured out, or maybe you've just overlooked something.  I know that's not very helpful advice.

Edit: Actually, do you have the Vortex move yet?  Because if not I know exactly where you need to go and I'm uploading a clip...

I agree with Bill, a map is needed... yeah I can't find that last chest that is supposedly at the highest point of whatever falls.

It's alright, thanks for trying to help. I'm going to have another go tonight. I might restart just to make sure I didn't miss anything along the way. This wouldn't be an issue if there was a map :P

That's the last thing I got.

If you want to know where it is, break open the gate on the left end of the area one screen west of old man Deo's home...Keep heading left and when you enter one area you'll see a narrow chute between rock that you can zoom up (and the game will probably remind you how to cape-jump again)

TheFleece, you know you can use vortex on rocks to open up those barred-up areas, right?

I wonder if Windy likes this game.

Thanks for the tip, Bill. :)

I also have one last statue to find.
Have you tried looking for it in the location of the chest that you just helped me on?

I just finished it too. The boss fight was cool, and from a few posts I was thinking that it was going to be hard to figure out what I was supposed to do but I turned out to be lucky to figure it out on my own.

*wants more Lost Winds...NOW*

Sorry I don't have time to read all the posts before like I usually do, this game is awesome, I caved in and spent my last $10 on Wii points just to give this game a try and if my dad hadn't woken up from his nap and took over the Tv I would be playing right now instead of messing around on my computer. Wii Ware is shaping up to be as good, if not better than Virtual Console. Nintendo is finally number 1 in my mind again. I only go to the second save point so I am really dieing to get back to this game but gotta wait till parents get off the TV. you'd think with disconnecting the cable they wouldn't have anything to watch, but pulled out the trusty Raymond DVD's which they own all what is it 9, 10 seasons of? Anyways stay cool, don;t mind me get back to playing this game, BUY it if you haven't. Whew first time in like forever a game has actually been FUN for me. Ok well gotta go post is getting long and winded so yeah.

Put a tiny speck of blutack on the TV, tell them its faulty and they should replace it and give the "old" one to you.

Was i supposed to LOL at this??


cuz i did

they'll do that when my birthday comes anyways PLugabugz. I have a TV in my basement next to my computer, where I live. thing is my parents play the Wii a lot also and the basement sometimes floods a little cuz we live next to the canal, so I don't want the Wii getting ruined. But they are at work today so lots more Lost Winds playing is in the cards.

Yes :)

It's a good thing then that I can't just site down and play through it all at once, cuz this way it will last longer and if it is a short as people say, well then oh well it is still fun.

Sadly I was not able to play FF or this game because I forgot my nunchuck at my mom's house! Grrrr.

You don't need a nunchuk for FF:CC:MLaaK...

you only have one nunchuck? SOMEBODY is a casual gamer...

I actually have 5 but they are all at my mom's for when I go over.

Also didn't know that about FF:CC.

I have four, but one of these days my willpower will fail and I'll buy a wireless one.

Five?  FIVE?  Why do you have FIVE in one place?  That doesn't even make sense... =(

Because that is the only place I can get a crowd big enough to play multiplayer (Also one of the nunchucks is solely for the Wii Zapper). And of course I forgot one there.

That's awesome, switching controls in and out of the zapper is a pain.

I have 2 remotes (hey just thought of something), 2 nunchucks and 2 classic controllers and that is all I can afford, so count your blessings people.

Damn now I am back to hating Nintendo again, stupid remote. You know how many arguments I had with my cousins over calling the controllers "remote" Then along comes the Wii and guess what the controller *IS* a remote. >:(

Gamespot says you are ALL wrong

Quickly delete it from your internal memories! I'm glad it hasn't come out in my region yet - I am untainted.

Here is a interview with David Braben about risk,wiiware and the recently announced sequel. Http://kotaku.com/391213/interview-frontier-hopes-lostwinds-breezes-in-more-wiiware-innovation

Well now we know why many of the WiiWare titles are better than a majority of the crap on the Wii market...**** you too, publishers...

Nintendo should take proposals from Wii developers that are actually trying and if they think it's a good idea work to find them a publisher. The publisher's probably going to be a lot more willing to listen if Nintendo themselves are vouching for the developer

Well I just got the slipstream and this game is AWESOME. I cannot believe Gamespot gave it a 5, it is gorgeous visually and it has some neat and innovative puzzles.

You can't believe Gamespot rated a Wii game low, seriously?

I lost all respect for GameSpot when I read their overly negative Toe Jam and Earl 2 Panic on Funkotron review.

Okay it's hard to QUIT playing this game.

I don't have a problem with them giving the game a low score, that is their prerogative, however, I do have a problem with some of the "negatives" they had listed for the game. Specifically, "Lack of energy, Too many ugly environments, Sometimes unresponsive controls, Lacks personality"

I just feel that every single thing they pointed out is just ... wrong. Particularly, the lacks personality part. This game has personality in spades and it shows because the impact of the game is huge despite being so short. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but something just seems inherently false about that accusation.

LOL ALL those things are completely ridiculous.  They must have sucked at the game or something :p

GAMESPOT FAVORS RENAMING IT THE "WHY"

I know, third reply.  But I just beat this.  In nearly one city. One night at least :P

It was a good game. I wouldn't say amazing or anyhting, I've probably seen to much hype though and thats the problem.  All of gamespot's claims are false.  The environment is great, the puzzles are great, and there is plenty of character too.  I didn't especially enjoy how weak I was as a character and fighting anything was frustrating and more in your way.  If I could have just had a 1 or 2 KO punch or kick with some cool enemy death animation it would have been nice.  I also didn't enjoy constant wind to move at a reasonable speed. 

But ya, good shit!

The music was also very good.

8.0/10

I loe this game and I'm gonna be heartbroken when i complete it. At least I'm forewarned about the length so it won't be as big a shock. I'm really enjoying the game though and I think it was worth the money considering how much I like it so far.

I bought this game last night, I haven't played it yet. Based on everyone's impression (and especially Gamespot's bad review) I know I'm going to enjoy this. I even have a way to not be too disappointed when it's over, because that means I can delete the game and have the blocks I need for Crystal Chronicles.

EDIT: I just played it for about 45 minutes, and I love it, it's a really fascinating game. I stopped because I can't figure out what to do, I'm going west like the guy said to and there's something behind a wall. I get up on top of it and there's a thing that gives me the option to pull, but pulling doesn't do anything.

Yes it does, use your gust in an upward fashion to "pull" you up faster.

Oh, okay. I tried gusting it but it must not have been in the right direction.

I tried to add Wii points with my credit card last night so I could buy this game, and it wouldn't let me. Error Code 208009, aka, the "We don't want your money" EC.

EPIC FAIL  :'(

happened to me too.  It was nintendo's problem.  It's fixed now.

The game is pretty fun and the control scheme is very creative.

This game is great! I finished up on sunday and it took me about 5 hours but it never felt frustrating like I was wandering aimlessly. I think it's great how all of the locations are connected without going to an overworld map. It was interesting going to the same locations with new abilities.

I hope the sequel is much longer(even if I had to pay full price for a disk game).

just got it, and loving every minute of it :D

I just got the second chest after what seemed like forever, it took me a long time to get the whole burn the plant to make the seed to plant somewhere else (I had to look at a walkthrough on GameFAQs to get it). I've already put in more than 3 hours and like I said I'm only halfway through the game. For once not being very good at a game has an advantage!

After hearing the game was so short i'm now disappointed it hasn't ended yet, it's too long and i'm getting bored. Just wandering around some top part i'm supposed to go but there's nothing there. Poor directions. I will give it another crack later.

I guess I need to devote more time into this game. It's a real slow starter.

Also, I never was too hot on Metroid style "go explore and good luck" type games anyways.

Does it need more third party orgasmatrons?

Well, Nintendo let me give them my money, so I bought this game over the weekend!

Really impressed with the style, and the gameplay is definitely interesting. I agree with the map thing that everyone else is going on about... especially when the layout of levels/caves makes absolutely no sense. For instance, I fell down a hole, and ended up in the cave above somehow. Wha-?

Lastly, I wish I could make little toku (?) run. Maybe that's a later skill, dunno. His tiny child-legs just carry him around too slowly for my short attention span.

Overall, though, having a great time! The puzzles are pretty clever, and I'm really impressed with this so far.

Yeah I gave up already, it told me to go find something "close to where I found the sprite thingy" well first off I forgot where that was, second off, my path seams to be blocked and I need an item or power I do not have yet but the little guy keeps telling me the same message. I will give it another try tonight, then it's off to gamefaq's for a solution.

I bought the game today (after finding that Gamestop DOES sell Wii points cards, the clerk was as surprised as I was) and finished it though I had to ask about the boss in the Gameplay Strategy forum to deal with it (didn't know you can pull those sludge spawners)

The save says 2:20 on it, I've got 20/24 statues. I would have thought the game would say something about the statues... At least something like "hey, you missed four, go back and get them!". Is there any point to the statues except pretending to have replay value?

Overall I'd say the game is overrated, it's good but holding it up as some kind of standard is silly, I've seen reviews that said Toki Tori does not reach Lost Winds. I disagree strongly with that, not only is Toki Tori longer, it actually includes puzzles that require you to think for a while instead of just waltzing through them. Pretty and distinctive backgrounds just don't make up for a solid set of levels with growing difficulty. Cutting LW short pretty much meant the difficulty didn't grow enough to be a challenge (I had to redo one room once by exiting and entering again and never really died though I probably would have if I hadn't turned the system off after minutes of boss fighting with no progress) and challenge is really what puzzle games live and die by. It's a puzzle game since it's supposed to make you think but the only difficulty in LW seems to be figuring those vague directions out (no big deal though), the actual puzzles require very little thinking (oh, hey, there's a breakable door, let's smash it! Wow, an unlit torch, let's light it!) and only fail because some interaction is not apparent (e.g. that you can hold something and use a gust to pull harder). I really think Toki Tori is the standard LW should be held to and while LW manages a better presentation and more innovation Toki Tori just works better as a game.

I got all 24 of the statues and I don't remember anything happening. The value of the statues is in game when you run across them to practice getting used to the controls.

I think it's really good that Lost Winds is viewed is a standard for Wii Ware games because it's innovative. There are plenty of great platformer/puzzle games on the Virtual Console that work really well as a game. I admit I haven't played Toki Tori and probably enjoy it but how can I justify buying it instead of a great game from the Virtual Console? From your description of its strengths "solid set of levels with growing difficulty that require you to think" it sounds like Load Runner or Solomon's Key. Those games are great but Lost Winds is a very different game that those games since there is less emphasize on intensity and more on exploration.

Personally I don't enjoy Lode Runner and am not sure it really qualifies as puzzle but if you want it, sure, get it.

I don't think the "innovation" in LW makes up for the short length and weak difficulty growth (which I doubt was meant to create a focus on exploration and more a measure to make sure even a retarded kid can make it to the end like many games tend to do these days). It did grow in difficulty but remained so easy it took no thinking to solve anyway. Aspects like the enemies didn't really work well since they took zero effort to dispatch and you didn't have to get close either. The game lacked emotional ups and downs (or at least ups), just a pretty uniform stroll through the environment.

Hey... I still haven't made it to the end. At least I don't THINK I have, i've been everywhere but there's no "ending" and apparently I still need to get someplace. The game is a maze with horrible directions. I think it was basically made though to say "this is Lost Winds", like it? Please look forward to our future installments.

The enemies in it are pointless, the biggest threat they pose is changing the awesome music to crap on appearance.

I won't be getting it because I need to use Wii points for only my highest priority games(like the Lost Winds sequel). Also Load Runner is at least as much of a puzzle game as Lost Winds. So is Super Monkey Ball(it is interesting that some of the most fun levels in the series don't require much thinking).

I don't claim the games short length made it better than it would have been if it was longer and had more difficulty growth. It was the games world that was meant to create a focus on exploration.

(yes I edited your quote because I am not resaying that slur)

Why is it that you(and so many other gamers it seems) feel the need to put down kids with mental disabilities?

Er, because mental disabilities are a handicap and saying that even with that handicap you can beat the game means the game requires little mental capabilities?

Still that's overgeneralizing(gamers often assume things about mentally impaired gamers that aren't true for each individual). Game designers are designing recent games so that people who can't handle failure well will be able to finish them. This is not dependent on whether someone is mentally impaired.

Remember in the NES era (when games were harder than any time since) games didn't have a lot to learn to complete. The games were just very unforgiving. If someone enjoyed a game enough then they could have that sort of mental disability and still be better at the game than a lot of people(there are of tons of people without any sort of handicap who would never be able to finish games that gamers consider to have some challenge).

Anyways, I was not trying to detrail this thread. Normally I skip past posts that talk like that but this one was in a reply to something I wrote.

Lost Winds is much different than a timer based puzzle game.

Toki Tori lost the timer on the Wii BTW.

A stray wind has BUMPED this thread!

Finally got around to picking it up, great art style, getting used to the controls, the game does need a map. The explorer told me the goal was west of the falls. West is left, right? The falls are to the right of where the explorer is located.

Yes west is left.

After beating Okami, these 2 games have almost nothing in common.

When is that sequel coming out?

I haven't heard anything about the sequel since it was announced the day this game came out.

Proves again that only one developer can handle episodic gaming, everyone else fails to keep the episodes flowing...

Who's that again? Tell tale?

Use your imagination...I was comparing both games' use of the Wiimote to control nature and their artistic focuses...

This isn't really the kind of game you can rush, though...Particularly when your team is rather small...

Okay seriously, Bill. With that signature, your avatar's GOT to be Stinkoman!

Played some more last night. I'm stuck on a cave puzzle going after the second chest. I think the game glitched and made my rock disappear.

Leave the room and reenter if in doubt.

I don't think this was really intended as episodic, just... serial.

Well, it's about the size of an episodic game's first episode. Or a shareware game's free trial version...

Lost Winds to be released in December in Japan

I am not sure if we have any members residing in Japan other than Superfamicomplecated.So this one is for you SFC.

de Blob was also released in Japan recently. Keeping in with tradition the box art has him more happy and less angry...

I just beat the game! Very satisfying game, one of the top 10 games of 2008 so far. The end boss was easy, which I appreciate. Now I can move on to another game. COD: World at War perhaps?

Unless you played it already, Toki Tori.