While Pilotwings was a fairly popular game on the SNES and it had a popular showing at the N64 launch (what with it being the only game at launch other than Super Mario 64), it seems like it was pretty much forgotten by Nintendo afterwards, with nothing on the Gamecube or Wii (unless you want to count the VC release for the SNES Pilotwings…). So it’s pretty cool to see a new entry in the franchise.

That being said, this is strangely enough the first time I ever play a Pilotwings game (not counting the few minutes of gameplay I had with Pilotwings 64 a few months before the N64 came out since they had demo units at an amusement park), so it’s a completely fresh experience for me.

Read on and see if the 3DS’ showcase title is any good!

Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Date of Release: March 27th 2011
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS

Genre: Flying simulator-ish mini-game collection thingy?
Rated E for everyone

What’s good about the game

Gameplay variety
There’s a good amount of gameplay variety. You have 3 basic vehicles at your disposal: a plane, a jetpack and a glider. Each of them control completely differently and, even if some of the vehicles can have similar goals, like going through rings, the way you move them really gives a lot of variety to the gameplay. In addition to all of those, you have alternate versions, like the pedal glider, where you can pedal to go faster, the turbo jet which goes faster and the super jetpack which also goes faster…. And the flying squirrel suit which is sorely under-used (like, only once or twice) but really fun.

The plane moves at its own basic pace, but you have a boost meter that fills up to go faster from time to time and you can brake. Also, you can get the plane sideways and DO A BARREL ROLL, which may have a few uses. From what I recall, the plane is also the only vehicle with a gun to shoot at targets. This is definitely the funnest of the basic vehicles.

The jetpack (they call it a speed belt, but screw that, I call it a jetpack) can move vertically and horizontally. Turning requires you to turn the Mii’s body around, and then using the jetpack to slowly gain momentum in the direction you’re facing. In addition to controlling the jetpack normally, you have access to a weaker burst of the jetpack for more precise movement, and an air brake/hover function. Controlling the jetpack properly is all about momentum, and it’s pretty satisfying. The upgrade, the Super Speed Belt, is a lot more fun, and actually easier to control.

As for the glider, which is my least favorite vehicle in the game… you have to dive to gain speed, go up to slow down. You have a brake button(which you have to use if you want to land) which slows you down and makes you gain less speed when diving. Landing the glider is a hassle though, as you have to take a really slow approach and the target is surprisingly easy to miss, since it’s the same target as with the jetpack, rather than a landing strip like with the plane. It’s generally a really slow vehicle, and isn’t as fun to play as the others.

In addition to the different vehicles, there’s a good variety of missions. Going through rings, time trials, stunt courses, target practice, going a certain height with the glider, finding collectibles, taking pictures… there’s quite a bit to do. Each mission ranks you by scoring you for various things: time, landing impact and accuracy(which is what will prevent you from getting perfect scores most of the time), points for each ring your fly through, points for tokens you find, you get penalties for hitting the ground and more. Getting a perfect score can get pretty tough.

It’s definitely fun to play, and packs enough variety to not get boring too fast.

Replay value
There’s actually a good amount of replay value here. While the it’s pretty easy to get 3 stars on every mission (only one has been giving me trouble…), if you really get into the game getting perfect on every mission will take you a very long time, I’d say especially due to how hard it is to land perfectly (the easiest to land is the jetpack).

If that’s not enough, you have the Free Flight mode, which isn’t exactly as “free” as you’d expect, since there’s actually a time limit, but it makes for a fun time if you enjoy searching for collectibles, which there are a lot of.

What’s average about the game

Presentation
It’s not terrible but… well… I don’t like Miis. They’re just not really appealing design-wise. The environments look, from what I remember, pretty much identical to Wii Sports Resort, which is very good. It’s bright and colorful. The only bad thing I can really think of graphically is the lack of anti-aliasing, it’s quite glaring seeing all those super-pixelised edges on the characters and vehicles. Otherwise this looks really good.

What’s bad about the game

Locations
There’s one. And it’s recycled. This is Wuhu Island from Wii Sports Resort. There’s really nothing new about it. It’s not a HUGE problem, as there’s enough variety in the gameplay for it to not become completely stale, but an extra area or 2 would have been nice, since constantly passing through the same parts does get mildly boring.

The 3D effect

It works really good here, most of the time. While the other games I played on the 3DS didn’t have that problem much, in Pilotwings I frequently see faint double-images of things while playing. I figured that putting the 3D slider at 50% would fix the problem, and it actually makes it better at least, but unless you’re right in the sweetspot, I find that you still get a lot of doubles.

Otherwise, the 3D effect here is great. None of the other games I’ve played on the 3DS have so much depth in the visuals, and it actually really helps in judging distances (though not enough to be a complete game-changer), and the few times where something gets in your face, like when you’re flying through trees, they really pop out. Really good stuff here if you want to see the 3D effect on the 3DS.

Overall

My suggestion, if you play this game, is to play it in short bursts. Playing it non-stop for hours will obviously make it a very short game (unless you plan on perfecting every mission), but only playing it from time to time gives it a lot more longevity. This is why it took me a week to get a review out for it.

I think it’s a really fun game overall, though I’m not a fan of the glider, and it really is a good showcase of the 3DS’ abilities, other than graphic-wise, which I know it can do much better than that.

The controls are smooth, the different vehicles are fun and they all play differently and there’s a good amount of replay value. Now if only you got access to that Squirrel suit more often…

While this will never end up being considered a must-have on the system, it’s still a solid title, and one of the best of the launch titles.

Pros and Cons

Pros
- Fun to play
- Great display of 3D
- Lots of replay value

Cons
- Graphics are a bit sub-par, but only due to the complete lack of anti-aliasing
- Fairly short and very easy unless you go for perfect runs on every level
- Only one area

jobocan 3DS, Games, Handheld, Review