I just want to get this out there, I really did enjoy LostWinds quite a bit.
While I don't pay that much attention to my Wii, one thing I do like to keep track of is the virtual console releases. I am young enough to have missed quite a bit of gaming's history and virtual console is one of the easier ways to play games that I have missed out on. I hadn't really been tracking the progress of WiiWare, but the fact that it had replaced my retro releases got my attention.
Booting up my Wii none of the titles got my attention. The crystal chronicles thing was from square, but I had no idea how it played. So I looked to the internet for guidance, as I do with most mysteries in my life. I found two articles that did anything beyond describing the basic gameplay. One was from destructiod and described the game in glowing terms. The other was on Wii Fanboy and described the game as "diamond-encrusted Hummer". And apparently as a compliment.
So I downloaded the thing and got two playing. Then I was done. The game lasted me a little over two hours. I was a little bummed out. As for the actual gameplay it was solid, the same goes for the audio/visual department. The whole wind as jump gameplay was good, but it never really brought anything significant to the table. Towards the end the level design started to hit it's stride and I thought I was getting to the good stuff I had read about. And then it ended. I guess what I am trying to say is that it's a little short.
For ten dollars I expected a little more bang for my buck. I got all but one of the little totems, explored all of the environments more than I liked to. The worst part was that it felt a little shallow in comparison to a few 2D sidescrollers that you can download for free. The stuff that Nifflas has put out, and continues to put out, is better. For Free. I am excited for what they do in the sequel. I am just saying, not diamond encrusted greatness.