Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure

"Please let this game sell well."

If you began gaming in the late 90's or later, the point-and-click adventure genre may be a strange and obscure genre to you. It was huge in the 90's, but today, console games have taken to different approaches. Well, the Wii is out, and it's widely regarded as a new opportunity to reinvent new genres. Wii Sports reinvented sports. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption reinvented the FPS. Now it's time for the classic adventure game formula to get a brand new game. Zack and Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros' Treasure is that game.

The story picks up with pirate-in-training Zack and his golden monkey friend Wiki taking a trip through the skies in search of their next pirate adventure. The trip is interrupted by Captain Rose, leader of a rival band of pirates called the Rose Rock pirates, whose crew of cronies shoots down the team's aircraft. Zack and Wiki escape unscathed but crash land on an island. Upon exploring the island, Zack and Wiki discover an ancient talking golden skull who claims to be the great Barbaros, one of the greatest pirates who ever existed. To thank Zack from freeing him, Barbaros grants Zack and Wiki a wish. The catch? Barbaros is sadly dismembered, and it's up to Zack and Wiki to find the golden treasures required to rebuild Barbaros and earn their great treasure. Pretty weird, huh? Well, it's pretty approachable and doesn't take itself too seriously, and once the game really gets going, it can be pretty hilarious, awesome for such an all ages romp.

Controls are only used with the Wii Remote, so no Nunchuk is required to enjoy Zack and Wiki. Controlling Zack is a healthy emulation of the classic point-and-click PC-style adventure games. Using the Wii Remote as a cursor, the player can point and highlight specific environmental objects and can guide Zack to them with the A button. Holding the B trigger will let you scan areas with the camera without moving Zack. Usually the game will call for you to use a specific item to solve a puzzle. For example, sometimes Zack will need to place a relic in a specific place or turn a crank to solve a puzzle. The Wii Remote cleverly emulates these actions in-game; depending on how the Wii Remote is positioned, different abilities are available. Turn it like a crank, place it like a relic. What's really interesting is the ability to turn objects using the Wii Remote to examine them and use their abilities. Some don't necessarily show their abilities without some examination. The Wii controls are clever and inventive at every chance and show a good example as to how the Wii can be made to make creative and fun games without being tacked-on.

But there are some unique twists in gameplay beyond the Wii controls. A recurring idea is the ability to turn animals and living beings into items. By shaking the Wii Remote, Zack's pal Wiki transforms into a bell to transform animals into unique and strange items. Frogs become bombs, worms become straws. Even enemies can be transformed into quirky and surprisingly useful devices. This nifty ability makes the puzzles that much more involving and clever, and soon the game prides itself on throwing multiple items and abilities at you at once. The game is pretty challenging in this respect, but the puzzles are involving and plenty fun to complete. You can earn points called HirameQ depending on how quickly and efficiently you solve a puzzle and then you get graded once you complete the whole thing. Also, you can earn coins to spend on bonuses to make the game easier (more on that later.) Zack and Wiki is a thorough challenge with plenty of great ideas and uses of the Wii Remote, and really manages to bring the long-treasured point-and-click genre back to the public eye.

The goals in Zack and Wiki are relatively straightforward: the player must solve puzzles to find the different treasure chests scattered about the island to rebuild the pirate Barbaros. The game sets Zack and Wiki down in different areas, with the treasure lying somewhere amidst an intricate and elaborate setup of challenges. In the beginning, these can be pretty by-the-book and the game holds your hand pretty frequently. By the time you go out on your own, you'll realize how serious Zack and Wiki is about the challenge. These make Rube Goldberg look like a cakewalk. Some will catch you by surprise easily; some will take multiple tries to complete, and while this is good for some minor replay value, Zack and Wiki suffers from some flaws which really tear the game's clever ideas up.

Zack and Wiki puts you under pressure rather frequently, but a major piece of challenge is the art of failing. Sometimes the game leaves Zack frozen, pummeled, chased, or generally mutilated, completely ending the round. The only alternatives are to start over from the beginning or to spend a precious Platinum Ticket to continue from where you left off. These Platinum Tickets can be bought with coins found in-game, but are hard to come by, and get more expensive over time, so there's no reason to be a little hesitant in using them. They also deduct a chunk of HirameQ from your grand total. The only other option is to completely start over from the beginning, which is a serious pain. If Zack and Wiki skipped a lot of the guesswork, it would no doubt be more engaging, but it tends to draw the line of frustration pretty close. It's fun and challenging, but there are moments that feel incomplete and frustrating in-game, so its full potential is near forgotten.

As far as the presentation goes, Zack and Wiki is refreshingly charming and cute. The journey is illustrated by cutscenes featuring the heroes and their ominous guidepost, Barbaros. The graphics are illustrated colorfully and are genuinely inventive when the game gets going. Zack and Wiki themselves are full of the memorable Japanese style expected from Capcom. Even the voice acting that is only told through short sound clips captures the approachable sound design that the series masters. The sound effects and music are lighthearted and enjoyable. Although some people may be turned off by the game's obvious charm, it's safe to say that it will hold some people pretty well. It's also relatively manga-style, so fans of that genre of entertainment will find the duo's antics funny and charming. The presentation isn't technically advanced, but the colorful graphics and entertaining characters will hook interest well.

Pros
+ Great presentation
+ Thoroughly challenging
+ Puzzles can be pretty intricate
+ Wii controls are pretty inventive

Cons
- Doesn't offer enough freedom to experiment
- Not a ton of replay value
- Cute graphics aren't for everyone

Zack and Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros' Treasure is not only a reminder not to forget old genres, but also provides a clever template to third-party developers on what should be done when designing games for the Wii. But although Zack and Wiki is a pleasant surprise and does do a good job of reviving the old point-and-click adventure genre, there still are a few problems that make the journey harder than it should be. The frustration of having to start an intricate and challenging puzzle all over again from the start is one of the only things that keeps the game from reaching its true potential. The controls are accessible and encourage diverse ideas and clever thinking, and they are a fun way to reinvent the tried-and-true genre of point-and-click adventure games for a new generation. The graphics and sound can be hilarious and charming all at once, and is a great way to make such a tried-and-true genre less serious and more accessible. Zack and Wiki is a lighthearted romp through a lush and colorful pirate world with plenty of inventive ideas and fun challenges, and although it borders on frustrating, it's plenty fun and worth a look to even the most jaded of gamers. Don't let the cute charm fool you; this is a serious challenge and is a gaming gem.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/07

Game Release: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (US, 10/23/07)