When I play a game with the intention of reviewing it, I have to be very careful not to read reviews or impressions on the same game from other sites so that I can dive in without expectations for the game one way or another. It goes without saying that this was difficult to do with Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure, what with every site out there jumping on IGN’s bandwagon and praising the game for everything it does right. Some have even gone to say that Zack & Wiki, aside from Super Mario Galaxy, might go on to be the best title on the Wii this year.

Does Zack & Wiki live up to all the hype the media has created? Read on to find out our opinion. WARNING: The review itself does not contain spoilers, however the videos do show off a little bit of puzzle-solving if you choose to view them.

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure starts players out in an aerial run-in with the rival pirate group, the Rose Rock. A young pirate named Zack, his golden monkey Wiki, and Johnny Style (all from the Sea Rabbit pirate group) are eventually forced out of their plane and land on an island below. There, Zack stumbles upon a treasure chest holding the floating, talking skull head of Captain Barbaros, the legendary pirate. Of course, Barbaros’ would prefer to have a complete body… so he enlists Zack and Wiki to find the missing body parts spread across the island, in exchange for his legendary pirate ship and treasure.

Zack & Wiki is essentially a point-and-click puzzle/adventure game, brought to the modern console market via Nintendo’s Wii console. The gameplay is simple enough to explain; you essentially solve each puzzle to collect another part of Barbaros’ body and advance to variously themed levels of increasing difficulty. Within each level is an overgrown puzzle for Zack and Wiki to solve, and you’ll use only the Wii Remote to do so. It’s as simple as pointing your remote where in the level you want Zack to go or what item on screen you want Zack to interact with.

Once you step up to where you want to go on the map, enemies and puzzle items are dealt with using motion control. You’ll find yourself manipulating the Wii Remote in different ways: twisting it as you would a key, cranking it like a lever, or sawing it back and forth, among other methods of control. It might feel gimmicky to some, but Capcom’s choice selection of (many) items keeps the controls simple and, for the most part, intuitive while still breathing of freshness for a Wii game. Early on, you’ll be spoon-fed instructions on how to use each item or manipulate parts of the stage, but as the game goes by you’ll be forced to think a little bit and be creative with how you use the Wii Remote. It’s when you figure out these puzzles that you really start to get a sense of satisfaction.

The controls aren’t perfect, however. The problem lies in the discrepancies between how the developers programmed the motion controls into the game and how the hundreds of thousands of Zack & Wiki owners are actually using the Wii Remote. You may find your Centi-Saw starting and stopping even though you think you’re moving consistently. Those are minor control issues. After that, you might find some problems with motions vital to a part of the game. For example, when you shake the remote in front of an enemy or a treasure chest, Wiki turns into a bell that magically turns enemies into useable items or gets rid of the ghosts guarding chests. The problem is that Wiki has at least two different rings depending on how you shake the bell. You might be ringing for a few seconds before you wonder why those spirits aren’t going anywhere.

Another control issue that Matt and I both noticed involved moving a trolley across a stage by turning a crank. You could be turning the crank in one direction and heading to where you need to go, but all of a sudden a minor inconsistency in your cranking causes that trolley to change direction. Problems like these don’t usually make or break the puzzle for you, but it can get annoying.

What doesn’t get annoying is the amount of attention to the game’s presentation. Zack & Wiki employs a cel-shaded graphic style reminiscent of Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It’s meant to look cartoony, and given the silly, comedic nature of the game, it’s a good fit. The various special effects shown when solving a puzzle or even simply ringing a bell make the game glow with magic. You’ll have to pay attention to all the tiny little details as well, if you’re expecting to catch all the secrets in the game.

The game’s story is very basic - everything you get in the beginning is the bulk of what you’ll get for a while as you go out and search for Barbaros’ body. No shortcomings here, as the game doesn’t really require a deep story. On the other hand, the writing for the game in terms of what characters do on their own or how they’ll react to things on their own can be quite entertaining at times. On top of that, Wiki’s comments to Zack at key points in the story can be quite amusing, and they do a good job of lightening up the mood after you spent over an hour figuring the last puzzle.

In general, the game appears to be very polished. Unfortunately, several blemishes begin to pop up the further you get into the game. The most common problems I ran into while playing through the game involved glitches where my character would fall through a bridge or walk into a wall and end up on a platform below. Once there, Zack would be stuck and I would have no option but to restart the level. This happened on several occasions, all involving holding or using items of some sort. Normally, I let a few glitches in a game slide, but it was getting ridiculous at points.

Other, less than ideal issues with the game are a result of the game itself. Several of the game’s levels have objects whose positions are randomly generated. In most cases, that’s all fine and dandy. There were occasions, though, when the stage generated would be impossible to solve right from the start. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot the issue right away rather than spend half and hour or more trying to figure out why you can’t do anything in the level.

My last major gripe with the game has to do with the simplicity of some puzzles and the stages they’re used in. The puzzles on the island can be physically large, and Zack’s got some stubby legs. Normally, the slow pacing that results is fine, because you’ll actually need the time to figure things out. At other times, you’ll have figured out what you need to do for the rest or most of the rest of the puzzle, but because Zack moves so slowly and these stages can get pretty big, you might find that the majority of the time spent on a single puzzle was due to the fact that Zack can’t run. I’ll be completely honest here and say that I fell asleep on my couch at least three times during instances when I was just clicking around a stage waiting for Zack to go where I wanted him to go and do what I wanted him to do.

Beyond the core game itself, you can search out levels for hidden items or simply play through a puzzle over again to try and beat your time and increase your score. There’s no multi-player mode (aside from a minor “assistant” role) or online modes of any sort, but this isn’t really a game that requires it. Still, maybe Capcom could improve upon this first game by implementing co-op puzzles in future series installments. It would be a fun mode to try out, and might be an entertaining alternative to playing a Four Swords game.

Ultimately, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure is a charming, amusing, and challenging puzzle game. There are several flaws in the final product that can potentially keep you from considering it as one of the best Wii games in your library, but it’s definitely a solid game and one worth trying out, especially if you want a good puzzle game. If you can get past some of the pacing issues and don’t run into any control issues or glitches, the game flows very well and you’ll be more than satisfied with the challenges and cleverness that come with some of the puzzles in the game.

Depending on what types of games you’re looking for, this may or may not be an instant purchase for you, even at $39.99. However, if you’re intrigued by the game at all, it could be a nice addition to your library - especially if you find it with a generous price tag this Black Friday.

The Tanooki Rating - 7.8

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