Pilotwings Resort review

by Paul on Apr 4th, 2012

If any game is guilty of trading on nostalgia, Pilotwings 64 must be near the top of the list. Having not played it for at least eight years, memory tells me of sweeping vistas, of hang gliders swooping majestically over harbours, fields and woodland. I had such great fun with that game and played it for hours during one particularly hot summer holiday when, instead of playing outside soaking up the rays, the only sunshine I was getting was the virtual kind being emitted from my television screen as my gyrocopter made its way through the mountains. Going back to it now is a harsh reminder of just how far gaming has progressed. I’ll be blunt; the game looks a mess. Character models are little more than fuzzy blocks and the game looks like you’re viewing it underwater. Of course, it plays just as well as I remember, with tight and responsive controls (if your worn-out N64 analogue stick still allows it), but the graphics make it tough going.

What all this rose-tinted love has done is highlight the concerns I had over the latest iteration in the Pilotwings series, especially as it was one of the 3DS’ launch titles. Nintendo’s surge to capture the casual end of the market had me worried that this latest Pilotwings game would be a bit light compared to what I could recall from the previous games. The holiday isle of Wuhu Island, made famous in the Wii Fit and Wii Sports games, is our setting for this outing and this only added to my doubt. Some would put its use here down to a bit of crafty recycling on Nintendo’s part, but it doesn’t actually grate as much as I thought it would. There was something pleasantly re-assuring about flying and swooping above the island and part of me took great pleasure in recognising certain landmarks as I flew around. Ultimately, you can’t help but feel that using Wuhu Island is actually a bit inspired. It’s a great setting that lends itself perfectly to the Pilotwings brand and it’s also given Nintendo the opportunity to flesh out their holiday hideaway a bit more to make it more interesting when viewed from above.

There’s no denying it; Pilotwings Resort looks the business. It’s a million miles away from the blocky, blurry textures of the N64 title and looks absolutely gorgeous. The sky is a brilliant shade of blue that you only normally see in SEGA’s Sonic games, the sun shines into the screen providing some excellent lense flare and the character models and vehicles all have a substantial toy-like feel to them. Play through the game and you’ll unlock different times of day; there’s something about cruising high above the island at sunset that is very hard to describe in words. It does look really beautiful.

Those of you who regularly read my reviews will know that the use of 3D is not very high on my list when it comes to rating 3DS games. Sure, it looks amazing and there’s a real sense of immersion, blah, blah, blah, but after five minutes gawping at the screen in wonderment at the magic of it all, the 3D gets turned off and I play on with nary a second thought about putting it back on again. Not so in Pilotwings Resort; I would regularly find myself having the 3D on and it adds to the gameplay in some very interesting ways. All of a sudden, distances are judged that little bit quicker, speeds and turns gauged just that little bit better. It’s a real bonus to have it and it all looks wonderful. Of course, the game remains perfectly playable in 2D but it’s great that one of the first titles out of the gate for 3DS utilises the 3D effect so expertly.

The set-up of the game wisely takes its’ cue from the previous games in the series, so if you’ve played either of those then you’ll know exactly what to expect, so much so that it wouldn’t surprise me if this found itself labelled as a re-imagining of the N64 classic by some. Remember me saying that I was worried that this would be Pilotwings Lite? Well, I should have known better than to fret unnecessarily. You’re given three vehicles to fly; the plane, the rocket belt and (my favourite) the hang glider. Each feels nice and responsive and the circle pad works very well to give an accurate feeling of control over your chosen craft. There are some bonus vehicles later on, like the pedal glider and the turbo jet, and while these are welcome distractions, the main three are where the bulk of your play time will be focused. It may seem a bit on the limited side, but the large variety of missions helps to make this small choice feel less of a problem.

At its most basic, the missions ask little more of you than to fly through rings and then land safely but the challenges grow increasingly complex as you advance through the skill tiers, mixing things up in some inventive ways; take some photos of Wuhu Island landmarks, climb to a certain height then land within a set time frame, shoot all the targets as you make your way round the island … there’s a lot to do, but Nintendo’s skill shines through; everything is balanced out so that, depending on your mood, the game caters for you in different ways. Those wanting a gentle five minutes to just float about in thermals (columns of hot air that allow your hang glider to ascend to the clouds) can do just that in the easier tiers, but those wanting to tax themselves on the harder challenges will have a real tough time of it on the Gold and Platinum missions as some of the parameters that measure your success can be very stringent. Clearing the missions with the minimum requirements will be a cinch for the majority of gamers but earning a three star score is definitely only for the more seasoned amongst us.

As an aside from the mission mode we also have the free flight mode. Here you’re free to do whatever you like in the vehicle of your choosing. Realising that the appeal of free flight is perhaps a little limited for some, the designers have sneaked in hidden collectibles all over the island, whether it be balloons, gold Mii trophies or gold rings and if you can find them all you’ll unlock a bit more flight time as well as dioramas of various locations dotted around Wuhu Island. You start off with a minute of flight time, which can be extended up to five minutes if you find everything, but even then I was disappointed to not have unlimited flight time. Thinking back to the N64 game’s free flight mode, I could burn hours in there quite easily and to restrict you here feels at odds against the ‘free flight’ ethos.

The feeling of the familiar is everywhere in Pilotwings Resort. Other games would be marked down for this, but in this case the familiarity works in the game’s favour. It’s a pleasant mash-up of old-school gameplay and the very latest graphical enhancements. I get the sneaking suspicion that some people will play through once and, having cleared all the challenges at the lowest required level, will never go near it again, but they will be missing out on all that the game has to offer. As you progress, you cannot help but be encouraged to have one more go in an attempt to improve on your score and ploughing through just to clear each mission isn’t the way the game is meant to be played. Enjoy it for what it is; relaxing and soothing gameplay, put together with a cracking time-attack / high-score mentality. A curious mix to be sure, but one that you’ll enjoy immensely.

4/5

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