Zaaakuuu~
Now at the time I was a bit disappointed in what the Wii library had to offer, currently, it really doesn't have much to boast about. So in seeing this game several times and mulling over other reviews that I saw done about the game I finally decided, hey its 40 bucks, may as well. I was quickly surprised how quickly the game play became addictive and fun.
Opening up on the scene we see our heroes on an airplane, suddenly they're attacked by a rival pirate gang headed by the eccentric Rose, she has her moments of absurdity but by far she's probably the more interesting character in the lot, but that's not saying much. Role wise none of the characters really have memorable feel to them, Zack, the chocolate loving midget doesn't say much besides encouraging cheers here and there, Wiki, the golden monkey does more talking than anything; it's cute energetic and reminds me of the typical animal sidekick that they'd have on most T.V. shows. Eventually Wiki does wear on your nerves its voice can be grating sometimes. On the first stage you must get to the end by using your Wii remote to examine points on the screen by pointing and clicking, Zack faithfully follows your every instruction, either inspecting the point you indicated or simply standing where you instructed him to move. You come across a chest which coincidently enough has a lock shaped like Wiki's head, use Wiki here to break the lock and release a golden skull that goes by the name of Barbaros, he in turn sets up the rest of the game for you and sends you on a long fetch quest for all his missing body parts.
Utilizing Wiki's ability to morph into a bell when you furiously shake the Wiimote near a creature cleverly enough transforms them into key items, like a centipede into a hand saw. This helps further your progress toward completing the level, which objectively in each one you must open a treasure chest at the end which contains a part of Barbaros' body, helping piece him back together. There are a variety of ways to solve some stages, setting for a bit of variety through them.
It's easy to get Zack into a load of trouble, there's many pitfalls and tricks along the way that just slap you in the face once you think you solved the puzzle, instead you get smashed, crushed or die in some fashion, even though this is frustrating it's amusing the variety of ways that Zack dies, reminding me of the arcade game Dragon's Layer. One wrong move and its comedic death. However you get a choice in the matter, you're able to purchase tickets that allow you to start off before the point of the puzzle where you messed up, sometimes though it's better to start from the beginning, especially if you've done something irreversible. Also if you're stuck you can use an Oracle Doll to receive a hint in completing the puzzle.
This game with its lack of character style and development relies heavily on it's puzzle mechanics, visuals and use of the Wiimote. Every puzzle is orchestrated in a clever manner that at times is obvious and easy to figure out and other times may be not so obvious and mildly frustrating, so it's better to play with a friend utilizing the second remote option or not, it doesn't really matter, two heads trying to solve a puzzle is better than one and it makes it more fun once you solve that really difficult one.
The boss battles are interesting to say the least and especially fun, personally I favor the dragon boss where the baby dragon follows you around during the level, this is the only game that I can ever think of where you get to rock a dragon until it's happy, pull it's tail and smash it's head (Abusive D: