The adventure games of the past have delivered some very fond memories to a generation of hardcore gamers. Some call it the heyday of LucasArts, but it’s difficult to ever forget the experiences found in games like Full Throttle and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and with a interface setup that is reminiscent, yet more immersive, than that of a keyboard and mouse, it just makes all too much sense to see a rebirth of the genre on Nintendo’s Wii. With Capcom continually proving that it’s the third-party developer to watch this generation, across both home and portable gaming fronts, they’ve stepped up to the plate and delivered the Wii’s most impressive original third-party effort to date with Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure. You see, while Zack and Wiki isn’t exactly like those classic adventure games, it shares many similarities with them. Imagine one of these point-and-click adventure greats without the adventure and what you get is a challenging and, most importantly of all, fun package.

Its original "Treasure Island Z" development name may have been more fitting, but don’t let the title fool. With cel-shaded visuals akin, but not in the same league, as that found in the GameCube’s Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Zack and Wiki may sound and look all cute and cuddly but it’s a cruel joke. Much like Rare’s Nintendo 64 efforts, Zack and Wiki is way too demanding for the typical youngster. Not too spoil anything, because the joy of the game stems from spending time analyzing each of the game’s stages and figuring out the solutions to a large variety of unique puzzles, but trust me when I say this game can stump even the most seasoned puzzle solvers.

Now, the most refreshing aspect of Zack and Wiki is that the game only uses the Wii-mote for gameplay. No kind of kind of controller expansion like the nunchuck is needed and at first, like many aspects of the game, it may throw off players into thinking that the game will only offer shallow waggle gameplay. Thankfully that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Zack and Wiki controls exactly like a point-and-click adventure game, Zack goes wherever you tell him to. For some, it may feel a bit awkward to not have direct control over your character but it’s nothing new to us older players. Where the real meat of the Wii-mote implementation comes from is how players interact with objects. For instance, to use the saw tool, players with have to thrust the controller towards and away from the screen as if using an actual saw. Nothing complicated of course but natural motions are used for all of the game’s tools, whether it’s a hammer, fishing rod or intensifying a beam of light through a magnifying glass-like tool by moving it closer or further away from the light source. It’s very intuitive and simplistic and that’s the beauty of it.

The tools themselves aren’t acquired throughout the adventure and stored in a items box of some sort, instead players transform on-screen enemies by shaking the Wii-mote, causing Zack’s bird-monkey pal Wiki to transform into a bell, which for some reason transforms these enemies into a specific tool. For instance, a caterpillar will turn into a saw and a bat into an umbrella, and that’s just a handful of the many different items you’ll discover in the game. However, like already mentioned, these items don’t stay with you. You can only carry one at a time and they’re only found on each of the game’s stages.

The only unfortunate thing one can say about Zack and Wiki is that it actually has to end. A more experienced player can easily clear all of the games stages with a top ranking in under eight hours. Some puzzles are fairly obvious from the start but others can take up to an hour to fully understand Sadly, games like these don’t really give you much of an incentive to play it over without some sort of online ranking to keep you in that competitive spirit. While there are hidden Easter eggs, never did there seem to be a compelling reason to go back and replay any one of the game’s stages. Then again, this might just come down to personal gaming habit. It would’ve benefitted the game tremendously to offer some downloadable content such as new stages and items but, alas, it’s non-existent.

Ironically, Zack and Wiki is the kind of game that is a must play for any Wii owner. It’s cute and cuddly art style may turn away the majority of older gamers but the game’s puzzles are challenging for a player of any age. Its implementation of the Wii-mote feels like anything but gimmicky and is a sign of greater things to come, in both Wii-mote implementation and in regards to the rebirth of a dying genre. Although, the game’s length and replayability may be a concern for some as it is for me. Nevertheless, Wii owners owe it to themselves to give Zack and Wiki a spin regardless.