Review: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Wii)

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros is structured around a simple story but boasts an inventiveness and unique use of the Wii Remote that I have seen in few Wii games. It is a puzzle game by its very nature but rolls action and adventure into the package to deliver a fun and sometimes challenging game.
Like Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports and Trauma Centre, Zack & Wiki pushes the boundaries of the Wii and makes use of the Wii Remote as it was no doubt meant to be used.
Let me introduce you to Zack and Wiki, the stars of the show. Zack is a young member of the Sea Rabbits, infatuated with treasure and chocolate. He has one purpose in life, to become the most famous pirate in history! Wiki is Zack’s helper and friend, an enchanted golden monkey who will transform into a magical hand bell when you shake the Wii Remote, which will in turn transform ordinary living objects around you into useful items.
Shake it baby!
For instance, if you need to cross a ravine you may happen to stumble upon a Centipede which if you shake the Wii Remote to change Wiki into a bell, will transform into a Seesaw which you can then use to saw the tree down and cross the ravine on. Things you can expect to encounter which may just be useful include frogs, snakes, bats, moles, boars, and even pirate goons! Sometimes you may even need to turn the item back into a living object for it to be useful.
The quest revolves around Zack discovering the famous pirate Barbaros’ skull in a treasure chest which sets in motion an expedition to track down his body parts which were scattered across the world following a curse in exchange for a wish. The game will see you progressing through seven different worlds ranging from jungles to ice temples, castles and floating airships. The variety and beautiful design of each of the worlds and the fact that no puzzle is ever the same ensure that game play is entertaining and never repetitive. The graphics of this game are both clean and bright and will make you think twice about second guessing the graphic capabilities of the Wii ever again. I take my hat off to Capcom for this and hope other games will follow in Zack & Wiki’s footsteps.
Phone a friend
The puzzles start on a simple scale and, although they will require you to think ahead to avoid falling in a trap or dying another death of an equally inventive nature, they are not overly challenging at first. However, as you progress in the game they will become more difficult and require more out of the box thinking and I must warn you they become downright hard! You may just find yourself calling on that oracle doll to give you a hint that will hopefully enable you to progress in the game. Make sure you stock up on oracle dolls and platinum tickets before you head into a mission, just in case you need to revive yourself or get a hint. More on this later. The puzzles are non-repetitive, with each puzzle requiring you to think of new ways to use the Wii Remote and overcome the puzzle to progress in the game.
The controls in the game are simple, aim with the Wii Remote and press ‘A’ to guide Zack. Besides navigating, you will use the Wii Remote to transform objects and unlock new paths. This is where the game excels, if you need to unlock a door simply twist the Wii Remote as you would a key in real life or saw back and forth to saw a tree down. Along the way you will be met with various puzzles that will require you to use the Wii Remote in interesting ways including pulling levers, turning knobs and you will even have to rock a baby, albeit a dragon baby!
There are many secrets to discover in the game. I found it helpful to talk to characters in the Hideout like Barbaros or Dimmy to learn more about how to play the game. For example an area that shines calls for further investigation – if not to help you progress in the game to reap valuable money which you can use to purchase oracle dolls or platinum tickets. Although you don’t need to uncover all the secrets to progress in the game I soon found myself wanting to leave no stone unturned!
Don't settle for less than Genius
The stages in the game are quite small and everything that you will need to progress in the game will be around you, you just have to figure out what to use and in what order! The puzzles can be solved in multiple ways and combined with hidden treasures and items, the replayability of Zack & Wiki is fairly high. In addition for every part of the puzzle that you figure out, you will be allocated a score – if you play optimally and manage to figure out what to do in the puzzle in the right order and get it right first time, you will be allocated a higher score. You may just find that this causes you to want to repeat certain stages to better your score or to not worry too much about that last death since now you can improve your score. As my friend retorted to me in response to my sigh when he died, ‘do not settle for mediocrity’ because he relished the chance to have another go…so it could be said that Zack & Wiki inspires some gamers to get every single Mario coin so to speak.
You can purchase oracle dolls or platinum tickets in the Hideout, the former of which allows you to receive a cryptic clue to help you progress in the game and the latter revives you so if you die you can restart the game just before you met your untimely demise. This ensures that you won’t have to replay sections of the game over and over again. However, be warned you will have to discover money while adventuring to purchase these lucky charms so cheating is not an option and you cannot simply revive indefinitely.
The activities that you engage in really do highlight the boundaries that the Wii has pushed and broken in many cases. Let me explain this further by elaborating on the actions which you can expect to stumble upon in the game. A figure in the top right hand corner will appear when you are required to do an activity, demonstrating how you should hold the Wii Remote, and basically you just imitate the action that you would do in real life with the Wii Remote. For example, if you are sawing you would hold the Wii Remote as you would a saw and mimic the saw action, likewise with fishing, lighting a stick etc.
Black cloud of frustration
The game has limited voice overs but the music and sound effects are superb. The dialogue and animation is humorous and entertaining. Zack is especially amusing when he gets a black cloud to demonstrate his annoyance when you don’t figure a puzzle out right and he is also often seen snacking on chocolate bars. When you discover a secret or figure out a puzzle, Zack will react with what can only be described as a dance of joy, somewhat reminiscent of Perfect Stranger’s Balki Bartokomous.
When the characters get mad, notably Rose Rock, their display reminds me of Phoenix Wright. For the benefit of those who are not yet Ace Attorney’s let me explain. When a character becomes flustered in Phoenix Wright he or she might show it by steam coming out of his or her ears, becoming more annoyed or frustrated will lead to more steam and eventually another even more unusual reaction depending on the character’s personality. Zack’s stormy cloud reminded me of this anime-like style adopted in the Phoenix Wright series.
Lastly let me point out that the game does allow up to four players to participate. Basically three players can use the Wii Remote to highlight areas on the screen and help the main player to solve the puzzle but it is a nice touch nonetheless.
Overall this is a gem of a game and it does well to earn a prize place on your gaming shelf. It is guaranteed to provide you with hours of puzzling pirate fun and I would definitely purchase another installment in the series should they choose to make it.
Pros: Great price ($40); clever, challenging but achievable puzzles; good replayability; great use of Wii Remote; fantastic anime-like art style.
Cons: Annoying and impossible music mini-game.

Rating: 4 stars
Contributor: Lisa

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