VIDEO: Frontier backs WiiWare with LostWinds 2

UK-based independent studio Frontier is returning to Nintendo’s WiiWare service with its upcoming sequel to LostWinds, the company has announced.

Winter of the Melodias is a direct sequel to last year’s LostWinds, one of the first titles to launch along with Nintendo’s digital distribution service.

Frontier founder David Braben revealed that the development project will focus on refinement over reinvention.

He said that every aspect of the original has been “extended and polished”, and stated that the title will introduce “major new gameplay elements”.

Like the original, Winter of the Melodias will allow users to manipulate wind within the gameworld by strokes of the Wii Remote. This environment manipulation is set against various physical puzzles, and remains an essential helping-hand for the underpowered key character Toku.

A release date for the winter-themed game has not been announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACEXa2Ka70A

Upon its release last year, the original LostWinds won immediate critical acclaim, including a 2008 Develop Award for Best New IP. Many still regard it as the single highlight on Nintendo’s digital distribution service.

Western-facing Japanese mega-publisher Square-Enix saw enough promise in the original game that it moved to publish it across various Asian territories last year.