Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for Wii Reviews by Gamers

This game has a lot of charm; the puzzles, when well designed, can be a lot of fun; there's not much better than being told you're Smart or (a) Genius for solving the riddles. At times I was having a blast!

But at other times...

Many of the puzzles are poorly designed. If you don't notice the one thing you're supposed to click that may be hard to reach, forget it, kiss a half hour goodbye before you give up and look for help. If you don't remember that every now and then you can flip an item by shaking the Wiimote, forget it. Some of these puzzles just require monotonous trial and error. In some levels you could easily be killed and have to start again... and this is not a fast game! Sure, if you already solved part of the puzzle it's a lot quicker to get back to where you left off, but it's still annoying when you sometimes must do so again and again while trying to make forward progress. Other times, you can do things out of order and break a puzzle, but the game won't stop you from trying to continue on...

And then there's the motion controls. Sounds fun to make like you're turning gears, pulling levels, reaching for things... right? Only problem is, it doesn't work! I tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt, I was willing to kindly call the controls inconsistent... but no, they just mostly don't work. I found myself shouting "Up! Up!" in trying futilely to raise, not lower, a lever. Turning anything is a gamble. And it's all made worse because if you don't make just the right motions sometimes, the action won't work the way you expect and so you'll think you're trying to solve the puzzle the wrong way when you were really on the right track all along. Kiss another half hour goodbye for that!

All this said... if there were a sequel with better puzzle design and controls, I would go all-in again, because this has a lot of potential. If you have more patience than me you may get more out of this. But as it stands, I cannot recommend it.

Z&W takes the adventure genre to a new level. On par with games like Grim Fandango, this games proves to puzzle and captivate anyone of any age.
Z&W's story is a basic one, one of treasure seeking and pirates. Humorous bits appear now and again. Graphics are well made and enjoyable. They are a cell-shaded style and really fit the game well. Now for the gameplay, it is simple and intuitive. You'll use different tools using the wiimote and solve puzzles by interacting with different objects you find. Although it looks kiddy, don't worry. Puzzles can be incredibly intricate and complicated.
My only vices against this game are two things:
1. The game has a harsh penalty for failing: having to start over or use an expensive ticket you can buy more of. It sucks when you're out of tickets and you spent 20 minutes trying to figure something out.
2. Some puzzle's answears seem not obvious or creative but confusing. It's a thin line of wondering how far the maker's went and how far the world allows.
Even with these, the game is well built and can take a lot of trial and error later on. Get ready for an adventure.
Z&W is quite simply one of the best third party titles on the Wii to date!