I gave Z&W a very brief try, and what little I've played I quite like so far.  It's very much a point and click interactive title, and brimming with lovely Capcom animation and humor.  Characters have that "instantly memorable" charm to them..... but the Zelda-esque two-three word voices has the potential to get seriously annoying.  Wiki looks to be the new Issun.... except Wiki's so much cuter.  ^_^

The first two levels I played already show the ingeniousness of the puzzles and level designs.  There's a bit of trial and error involved; I died twice trying to get through, and while the game forced me to start back at the beginning of the level, it didn't become frustrating.  Not yet, anyway; I can actually see it happening once the later levels get harder.  Nevertheless, the progression of the story keeps you going, and though you too will likely fumble a bit to get through the initial motion-control instructions they throw at you, the Wiimote appears to be a great marriage to a game like this.

Zackuuuu~!!

It is on my Gamefly list, so I haven't gotten it yet.  But with Ace Combat 6 (I just bought today and it is awesome, as usual) and Guitar Hero III on Sunday, I don't think I'll have much time to give it a shot when it does get here.  I saw that IGN gave it a 9 and all sorts of sites and blogs have raved about it, so I'll give it a shot soon enough to decide if it is the kind of game that works for me.  If so, I'll buy it and shelve it until I can work it in.

I'm waiting for Target to ship this one to me, but I must say I'm very excited!!  An original Capcom game on the Wii?  Hell yes!

I hope to play my copy sooner or later, but it came out the same day as four other games on my October purchase list, and the only one of the five I've had time to play so far is Dracula X.

So, I'm only up to the fourth level..... and the puzzle's got me completely stumped.  The logical reasoning, it's there, but it's simply not coming to me.  Damn it! 

I really don't want to use the in-game hints, but I just might cave.  Verily, this game rocks in its mind-bending deviousness. ;)

I just completed the first world and arrived at the ice world.  Are you on the fourth world or the fourth level in the first world?

EDIT: This game is truly sexy, btw!

First world, sad to say.  I know, I suck bad. >_<

Dunno whether to look forward to the boss battles or not.  Please don't tell me there's a time limit imposed on them....

Nope, no time limit.  In fact, it was pretty interesting as you don't "fight" in the literal sense.  Not sure if the others are gonna be that way. 

Also, wha's the name of the level you're stuck on?  I've decided that I'm not gonna use any help dolls or restarts.  If I'm stuck, I'd rather get help from someone in the form of hints.  We can piggyback one another if you like!

So, this is basically a puzzle game with the only main action being boss fights, which in and of itself is a puzzle.  Is that a correct interpretation?

I'm trying to find out if I want to get this game.

I'm not really a pure puzzle guy.  I liked Puzzle Quest, because the puzzles had a direct result on your character and vice versa. 
Is there an item inventory for your character?
Is there a limited continue system?  I heard you have to "buy" hints, so how does currency work?

It's a point-and-click adventure game with a heavy emphasis on puzzle solving.  Dude, trust me, you want this game.

This game is nothing like Puzzle Quest in any way.  You do get an inventory, however not in the traditional sense.    There are enemies in each level and when you defeat them, they turn into useful items (i.e. centipedes turn into saws, bats turn into umbrellas, worms turn into straws, etc).  How you manipulate these items, as many of them have various uses, is where the genius comes in.  I can't really explain it in detail without spoiling anything.  There are limited continues, but you can buy hints and platinum tickets (which let you restart from where you died as opposed to starting a level from the beginning).  You can amass money by exploring the environment and defeating enemies.  You can also earn platinum tickets and oracle hints by completing levels with a high-score, I think.  I have three oracle hints and three platinum tickets that I haven't purchased, so I think it may have to do with performance.

The game is just win.  Pick it up.  You'll enjoy it, I promise you.

I understand that this game is nothing like Puzzle Quest.  I'm referring to if the puzzles grant powers or items to your character (like finding treasure in Zelda).  Other than stocking items to be used for puzzle, does your character "power-up" in any way?  Otherwise, it sounds like a guy walking around solving puzzles and collecting expendable items to advance.

How do you defeat enemies, since this is not really an action/adventure game?  Your guy doesn't attack the enemies directly, right?

My bad if I misunderstood you. 

Yup, tha's exactly what it is.

No, you don't power up in any way as far as I can tell so far (and I wouldn't imagine you would at all).  And you do directly engage enemies by waggling when you're near them - Wiki turns to a bell and defeats enemies.

Thanks for the additional information!

Yeah, I totally refuse to look at the online guides that's bound to surface any day now; it'd just completely defeat the purpose of the game. 

Certainly, you can shoot me an email, Kenny -- though I'm not sure how much help I'd be, since I'm lagging so behind.  The level I'm stuck on is "Flute of the Growlin' Goblins" -- they stew-cooked me god knows how many times at this point. *_*

^ That was the toughest level on the first stage.

I just spent about an hour on a level and my brain is complete mush.  It's been a while since I've had a gaming experience this rewarding.  I wish some more of you guys were playing this.

I don't think it's gonna be impossible to get through this without using any hints.  It's just gonna be time consuming, take a lot of willpower, a bit of trial and error, and some serious wit.

I got the game.  The game is not quite that hard so far, though I did use the Oracle for two particular puzzles (not on the Goblin stew one though; that was "obvious" after surveying the area and dying only once).  I'm on the second island.  What I find weird is that I completed the first island, but it says "clear rate 70%"  Are there other islands not unlocked?

Yeah, mine says only 70% clear rate too.  I can only guess that we'd unlock more levels in that stage as the game progresses.

I'm really diggin' the second stage's levels.  "Icicle of Prosperity" took me a whole hour to figure out - there's an 'easy way out' of that one for idiots which I thought was pretty hilarious.

Since some puzzles have more than one answer, are the HQ values the same?  Also, resourcefulness also factors into the HQ.  Inefficiency apparently lowers the HQ value.

The game looks a LOT like those classic PC adventure games that I miss playing so much. Perhaps it's a little less complicated because the action is confined to just a few screens a level but I'm sure I'd enjoy it just the same.

I want this game really badly since it's getting great reviews but my local game store still hasn't received it for whatever reason. Still unable to get the new Castlevania game also...

For those who've played Zack and Wiki, how many levels/ how long is the game? I'm thinking if it's short maybe I should rent it instead. Going to Wal-Mart later today, maybe they'll have it in stock, and maybe if I'm lucky they'll have lowered their canadian prices to match our strong dollar

I got the last one at my local Gamestop store.  I think this game could be a sleeper hit like Katamari Damacy/Phoenix Wright.  It seems like a game Capcom had no expectation of succeeding, so they made a small print run.

I don't know how long this game is yet, although the IGN review says that if you are even modestly good at puzzle games, you might finish the main game in about 15 hours.  The game box says 35 hours, but most publishers give too little credit to gamers' intelligence.

I doubt it.  In the "Icicle of Prosperity" level I was telling you about, you have to figure out how to shatter the ice that's around the treasure chest.  It's a very intricate puzzle, however, you could just sit there and wack the hell out of the ice (which has 9999 hit points) all day to break it - which is truly lame - and your HQ will nose dive accordingly.  I haven't tried to do this myself, but I'm pretty sure those are the consequences.

Capcom shipped very few copies of this (or retailers ordered very few copies), so it's been really hard to find I hear.  I have no idea how long the game is, but I plan to get at least 20 hours out of it.  I'm on the second stage and already there are a complex, hour-long level.  I'm sure this game is gonna get insanely difficult in the later levels.

And please don't remind me about the Canadian dollar!  Toronto is like my second home and I'm so used to going up there an spending so little money on a two week vacation - which can't happen now!

Just arrived from the Wal-Mart where I snatched the last Zack and Wiki game at $39.99 and Dracula X Chronicles for $29.99 CAN.  So it's confirmed, Wal-Mart is selling their new games at the suggested US retail price. I've checked up other new releases and they're the same price as well, but games that were released more than 1-2 months ago havn't received a price cut. I don't know if there are many canadians on this board but it'll be interesting for us to see if other stores follow.

And now, let the puzzle/adventure commence...

Best Buy and its Canadian shell launched Batallion Wars 2 at $50 CAD, though Zack & Wiki also launched at that price, which is, in addition to my massive backlog and constant homework, responsible for keeping me at bay.

If it's $39.99 at Wal-Mart, I may pick it up just so I don't miss it, not that I expect I'll ever have time to actually play it at this rate.

I keep looking at the box and thinking how much I would like to try it, but then I notice Dracula X and three hours later I'm wishing I had just gone to bed so I wouldn't be a zombie at work the next day.  Damn, is it nice to have Castlevania back (if only this year -- I'm sure next year's DS game will go back to Metroivania).

I finally figured it out.  Honestly, I had no idea that you could move the gondola to the other side past the treasure chest.  Duh. 

Made the rest of the level a breeze.

Yeah, it does that only in one direction.  Going the other way, it will go all the way back.  That is probably a flaw.

Ok, I finally played my copy.  I beat the first three stages or so, and it seems pretty cool so far.

Finally went back and finished this...  Total time was 22:40:03 and I enjoyed every minute of it... except for the second to last stage.  I made it through the whole game without using any Oracle Dolls and Platinum Tickets and until I reached 'Mad Science'.  The second to last stage handed me my ass big time.  I felt like I couldn't figure shit out.  I wound up using about four Oracle Dolls and two Platinum Tickets.  There's also one part during that stage where the motion control was really wonky (and I was uber frustrated!). 

Anyways, great game.  Hopefully those ZDub 2 rumors materialize.

I've only gotten up to the second world at this point; I haven't even touched the game since Galaxy and Contra 4 came about.  Shame of me to admit, but Z&W probably won't even make it into my year-end evaluation.

Just started it yesterday, and it has instantly charmed me.  Wiki is probably one of my favourite sidekicks this side of Roll and/or Luigi. 

Like Angela said, I might not even end up finishing it just because of the torrent of releases coming out (not to mention I just got my PS3 and Folklore is calling my name BIG time), but now that school's over, I'm hoping to tie up some loose ends gaming-wise.

Just (finally) started this game recently.  My first play session gave me serious misgivings because of just how horribly over the top the tutorial text was.  I felt really frustrated by it and didn't feel like I could get into the game.  I put it off and then went back to it and now I'm liking it much, MUCH more.  Sorry that I put it off for so long!  Anyway, I was wondering if any of you could (without spoiling anything) tell me if I'm missing something because it says I only have 70% of the first two worlds cleared, even though I've beaten the "boss"(?) stage.  Am I totally clueless or do I come back later?

^ Good to see someone else picking this up!

I noticed during my playthrough that all of the finished areas only equal up to 70% upon completion.  I think the other 30% may be treasure.  I'll confirm this for you very soon.

You can only get 70% per scenario (set of islands) on the first playthrough.  The remaining 30% are secret treasures that you have to find within the existing stages.  You usually have to do something unusual or out-of-sequence to trigger this.  Somebody said that if you go treasure digging with the rabbit guy, he may sometimes find a clue for you on how to get one of these secret treasures.

Good news! Apparently the game has sold 300 000 copies worldwide, which almost guarantees a sequel (right?)

BTW do you guys know of any games with the same style of gameplay... besides Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures.