LostWinds Winter of the Melodias Nintendo Wii

Rowan Brown's review of LostWinds Winter of the Melodias. Subscribe to this column via RSS or Newsletter.

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Column:
Teen Gamer

Format:
Nintendo Wii

Genre:
Platforming

Written on:
14/10/2009

LostWinds Winter of the Melodias on the Nintendo Wii is the platforming sequel to popular WiiWare launch title. The game has a lot to live up to. But it manages to pull it off in what is arguable a better and more rounded sequel. The puzzles are back and are bigger and better than ever, and the gorgeous graphics return and flourish once again, continuing the series deceiving looks.

Magical, that would be a word I would use over and over to describe this sparkling beauty of LostWinds Winter of the Melodias. I frantically bought this as soon as the Wii shop updated, and I wasn't to be disappointed. With a hot cup of tea in my hand, the title screen staring at me playing its delightfully sweet tune, and a few hours to spare, I was happy to say the least. This was one of those games, much like the first, that I instantly fell in love with. You could say it was love at first sight.

LostWinds Winter of the Melodias started with me controlling some sort of little green creature; with the question supposedly everyone would be asking, Toku, the main protagonist, was nowhere to be seen. After singing a few songs and going through some basic first puzzles, the game switched to Toku. Magmok the massively brilliant stone guardian of Mistralis, guided me up a cold mountain, by jumping on his hands for a boost up. It was at this point that I realised I had just missed my regular T.V programme, but I didn't really care, I was so happy to be playing this game.

I arrived at an ice covered village, so authentically cold that I put on the radiator in my room. The presentation was absolutely fantastic, and as I entered a small village house with a roaring fire and the local Blacksmith chipping away, I took another sip of my tea. All the while I was thinking how well Frontier had captured the essence of winter in this game, very impressive indeed. It just made me feel all wintery and cosy.

It really became clear just how much Frontier has achieved with this game, considering that WiiWare games have a 40mb limit on them, they really have crammed this game full of goodness. I had just unlocked my next new power which I won't spoil for those of you that haven't played the game yet, but I was very pleased. Some of the puzzles that were put before me with this new power had me racking my brains, and I had reached that stuck point that you sometimes get on really good puzzles in games. While preparing my next cup of tea the answer to the puzzle clicked, just as I was pouring the sugar in. I hastily ran back to the game, put my theory to the test, and what do you know, it worked. It really did give me a sense of achievement, something which every game should.

What helped to keep me gaming through the night were the games awesome secrets. You may remember last time in LostWinds that you could collect optional statues which help extend the games lifespan, this time around collecting these gets you 3D character profiles. I remember smiling when I first discovered the secrets in the menu, straight away I wanted to fully complete this game.

LostWinds Winter of the Melodias keeps on beckoning me to play again, and I'm finding it hard to resist. So to round up, LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias is a brilliant sequel to what looks like a brilliant future series. It not only blows most WiiWare games out of the water, but also fully fledged Wii disc games, which is no mean feat. If you have some spare Wii points stored on the Wii shop you need to buy this game, and even if you don't have any, buy this game. Don't ask me how, steal if you have to, well scratch that last one, but you see what I'm getting at here. It really does deserve your attention and for a great cost of GBP 7.00 it's worth every penny. Now I don't know about you, but I'm off to go and explore the secrets that still lie in the fantasy world that is Mistralis.

Game People family video game reviews support Association of Family Gamers. They also offer niche and anecdotal dad, mum, teen and senior video game reviews.

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