LostWinds seemed like a really cool game. To be completely honest, I don't know exactly why I got it in my head that it was worth skipping. I think I got bent out of shape at the shortness of the main game. In retrospect, I was stupid. Now, I love games that are tight, condensed experiences. While I enjoy when a fantastic game never ends, I deplore it when a good or decent game goes on for far too long. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows for Wii is a great example of this. That game just went on for a little bit too long. X-Men Origins: Wolverine for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 also did the same thing. Come to think of it, so did every X-Men Legends and Marvel Ultimate Alliance game. I guess Activision and Marvel just make overblown games.

Spider-Man sez: This game will last approximately five more hours than you want it to!

Getting back to the point, I skipped out on one of WiiWare's earliest hits because I got pissy about the length. LostWinds came back on my radar when NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits came out in the summer of 2009. The two games were compared, and I adored NyxQuest, so I had renewed interest in LostWinds. Then I just forgot about it. Other games came out, and I had too much trouble keeping up with the barrage of quality games coming out in the fall of 2009, so much trouble in fact that I missed the sequel, which got just as much, if not more, praise.

So, on the second anniversary of the game's launch, I'm digging into one of the debut titles on Nintendo's downloadable service.

This game has pretty, pretty art.