Introduction
Title: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
Platform: Wii
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Let's be honest here: the Nintendo Wii comes across as a kiddie platform. There's no denying it. Simply look at its existing library of games, and you'll see a plethora of titles that seem geared towards the younger players. You won't find high-profile titles like Unreal Tournament 3, Call of Duty 4 and BioShock running on Nintendo's console, but rather Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, WarioWare: Smooth Moves and Rayman Raving Rabbids are in its current Top 20. Needless to say, it seems that developers and publishers shy away from Nintendo's latest console offering due to its hardware limitations and controller options.
Keeping that in mind, Capcom's point-n-click "adventure" game Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure fits snugly into that "kiddie platform" category at first glance for obvious reasons. It presents itself as something for everyone, and in one sense it is, bringing the entire family into the puzzle-solving schematic. Even its name sounds like some sort of anime carton running on Saturday morning TV. But on the other hand, Z&W is a wolf in sheep's clothing, posing as something cute and fuzzy with a wicked core that aims to kick you firmly in the crotch. Apparently, it aims to wake you up and actually use that gray matter rather than allowing the autopilot to shoot everything on site.
Is that a bad thing? It depends on whom you ask. Hardcore gamers already flock to this title (cough CliffyB, cough), their secret little treasure hidden behind the "big boy" titles like Metroid Prime 3 and Guitar Hero 3, silently acknowledging their love for the puzzler through the slight grin and the dim sparkle in their eye. Consult a parent who's watching their kids' hair catch on fire because the puzzles drove them nuclear, and they'll likely say that they had no idea that the game would be so difficult. It looks simple just by looking at the anime pirate on the cover, but even those parents might wonder how anyone - kids and adults alike - have the patience to endure some of those tricky, high-level puzzles.
You have to love the point-n-click genre to appreciate it though; the genre isn't something you just pick up and fall in love with. Z&W, on the other hand, was a definite surprise, a game to fall in love with from the very beginning. There's something familiar about the whole package, as if the developers borrowed ideas from everything they could find. Zack, our main pirate protagonist, looks like Ash from the Pokemon franchise, minus the customary red cap and donning a pirate's outfit. On that same note, Wiki resembles Pikachu wearing a monkey suit. Granted, Pikachu doesn't fly by using his tail, but there's a similarity between the two nonetheless. The Japanese manga "One Piece" comes to mind as well with its pirate-themed anime style. With that said, we have to ask this one question: which pirate name is worse, The Sea Rabbits or the Straw Hat Pirates?
Despite the obvious influences, Z&W features awesome visuals, centering its primary design on cell animation techniques. Many environments feel a little more realistic than the characters, providing enough highlights and shading to give the manga theme more three-dimensional depth. Superb animations and fluid-like movements bring the central characters to life. The Nintendo Wii handled the graphics engine rather well most of the time, only stuttering in the oddest places. Smoke rolls around in the air convincingly enough. Motors churned and huge wheels rotated without so much as a hitch. The game features virtually no voice acting whatsoever (outside gasps, sound effects and Wiki's Pikachu imitations), thus story progression relies on text screens. The entire graphical package was fun to watch, and brought many smiling faces -both young and old - closer together in a family setting.
View the Zack & Wiki slide show (17 images)
As someone pointed out to this gun-oriented reviewer, you won't find Zack and Wiki resorting to violence to solve issues. In fact, the only violence seen in the game stems from the environment itself, and the enemy pirates (Captain Rose and her band of goons).
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