Pilotwings Resort

A little known franchise, we had our first helping of Pilotwings on the Super Nintendo. It was one of the first games that I had for my system so I played it an unnatural amount. There is some weird charm that I enjoyed in that game and I must not have been alone. Pilotwings went on to graced the Nintendo 64 and has made its return to mainstream relevance on the 3DS. Pilotwings: Resort takes that same classic Pilotwings gameplay and throws it onto that iconic Nintendo character, Wuhu Island. Sarcasm aside, it is an enjoyable little franchise and it has never looked better.

This title was my first exposure to the system when I saw it at a Best Buy all those months ago. Even then I thought that Nintendo did a fine job making it looks great with their same colorful style that makes Windwaker and Mario Galaxy so memorable. I don’t really care too much for the 3D as you might know by now. If you are a fan of that sort of thing however, I checked it out and it works well. On top of looking great and feeling true to the original, the soundtrack is excellent. The smooth tracks will relax you as you play a few missions and unwind. That is when the game is at its best, in that unwind period. Nintendo sure knows how to make those types of games.

There was something distinctive about the original Pilotwings that gave it some character depth in the four different instructors that “coach” you through the various skill levels. The snide comments that they made when you failed or the exasperated expressions when you got a perfect 100 gave the game a little something extra. I only played a small amount of Pilotwings 64 so I can’t attest to that one, but the first thing I noticed about Pilotwings: Resort is that the instructors are missing. You start the game up, are given a brief tutorial on how to play the game and from then on out you just have menus and mission selection. This makes the game very impersonal and more like a mini-game compilation. That is a shame because I feel like the instructors were those integral side characters that build my appreciation of that original classic.

The important thing to remember when you look at Pilotwings: Resort is to understand what it is. This is not an action game. It is not a platformer. It is more of a simple little game that you can play to relax. It is not pressuring, or annoying, or stressful as most other games can be. It is just a fun little game to unwind with. You take the now iconic trio of plane, hand glider, or rocket belt, and you complete a series of objectives. There are even a few extra vehicles thrown in for some extra fun. But it is nothing fancy. It is just simple and charming and that is what draws me to it. I snapped this game up when it was a more reasonable price and if this sort of thing interests you, then I can recommend you to do the same.