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LostWinds is one of those games that might go overlooked.  FRONTIER managed to pull off a game experience that could've easily gone for retail price.

The plot is simple.  You are Toku, a boy who is unseemingly sent on an adventure.  Enril, a wind spirit, finds you sleeping in a forest.  Enril's powers are entrusted to you and Toku is off to save the land of an evil curse.

The gameplay is where everything really shines.  LostWinds is a 2.5D platformer.  That is, the game plays in a 2D style, but in a 3D environment.  You can use quick flicks of the WiiMote to gust Toku in all different directions.  Later on, you'll acquire the ability to move fire and water at will, and even move Toku freely.  With all these elements, there are plenty of interesting puzzles and challenges to overcome.

Aesthetically speaking, LostWinds is pretty good looking for a WiiWare title.  The graphics are on par with most retail games, or possibly even better.  The whole world is simply beautiful and very pleasing to look at.  The background music is great as well, a mixture of relaxing flutes and environmental noises.

LostWinds isn't without its flaws of course.  The game is very short.  Roughly 3 hours of gameplay should let you complete the game in its entireity.  It's also a fairly easy game.  Most of the puzzles can be solved quite easily, and the enemies pose little threat to Toku.  Not to mention that you can acquire more lives extremely easily should you actually run out of them.

Still, looking past the few flaws is a great game and a definite buy for platforming fans, or even casual players.  It's a great game to add to your library and one you'll probably enjoy a lot.  If you've got 1000 points sitting around, give LostWinds a try.

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