Pirates of the Undead Sea: Rise of the Ribcage
While zombies are perhaps too common in games nowadays, and pirates are certainly getting there, we haven't seen nearly enough zombie-pirates. At least that's the argument given by Pirates of the Undead Sea: Rise of the Ribcage, the new point-and-click adventure game from Pahu Pahu. Given its quality, its a strong argument indeed. Captain Black Sam has spent years sailing the seven seas plundering and pillaging. After a night of too much rum, Sam wakes up to find he and his ship are at the bottom of the ocean, both not looking too much better for the experience. Fifteen years of decay later, a chance mermaid-sighting convinces him the time is nigh to set out on another grand adventure. And so, you're off to seek glory, gold and grog! Mostly grog!
Pirates of the Undead Sea is controlled entirely with the mouse. Click anywhere on the ground to walk. Click characters to converse with them by selecting dialogue options. Click items to look at, use, or collect by selecting the appropriate icon. Open the inventory by clicking the treasure chest in the lower-left corner. Click items to use them with others on the screen. Click the exits to move around the undersea landscape. Oh... and try to find some clothes for Blackbeard's sake.
Analysis: Pirates of the Dead Sea probably wouldn't exist if the Monkey Island games didn't, and its protagonist is an undead ringer for Jack Sparrow. Not judging, just stating. A game about piracy that happens to borrow from other sources? Who would have thought? Well, if you're going to pillage, pillage from the best and pillage well. Pirates of the Undead Sea does both. It acts as a fitting tribute to its inspirations while effectively showcasing the developers' own creativity and appreciable talents. Oh... and try to find some clothes while you're at it.
Pirates of the Undead Sea does nearly everything right. It has a wonderful cartoonish aquatic aesthetic, that utilizes some neat parallax effects. It's plot is of the loose "walk around doing piratey things" variety, but that allows the characters to take center stage. And what characters they are! The cast's designs and dialogue sparkle with personality and there's not a single one who doesn't get a laugh-out-loud bit of conversation. Fluffy the Salt-Water Pirahna! Finny, the sarcastic mermaid with the prerequisite convenient hair placement! McGonnagal, the ship's poet who didn't really think through the whole "hanging oneself while one is already dead" thing! So few browser games take the time to develop an ensemble cast, but this is definitely one that does.
Not that the puzzles are too shabby either. They have a logical progression, and incorrect attempts will at least cause you to crack a smile. Of particular note is an early sequence when you must find a replacement hat: there are about a half-dozen red-herrings that you can try on, and each of them garners a snarky comment from the protagonist. When developers enjoy making a game, it shows in the details, and one might suspect this team enjoyed it a lot.
The negatives of Pirates of the Undead Sea are standard for the genre: a few obtuse solutions (especially the last puzzle of the game), navigation that's a little confusing, and a protagonist that deserves a faster walking speed, even if he is a zombie. The background music is high quality, but a mixed bag tone-wise: some of it would be suited better in an elevator than for a terror of the seas. However, these minor drawbacks mean little when compared with the positives. Any fan of classic Lucas Arts adventures will love Pirates of the Undead Sea, and it's sure to be a strong performer in our annual Best of 2011 awards. In conclusion... ARRRRRR.
Walkthrough Guide
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Pirates of the Undead Sea Walkthrough
Dressing the Part
Well, you need your boots to start.
Talk to Fluffy The Undead Salt-Water Pirahna.
Select the conversation option "So Your Boot is My Chewing Gum?" You now have your left boot.
Pick up the conch on the ground.
Open your inventory and use the conch on the hermit crab. You now have your right boot.
Go right to "The Great Deep" and watch the cutscene. At the end you'll show up at the "A New Pespective" locale.
The Right Hat
Go up to the "Ship Ahoy" locale.
Talk to Fry Boater. It seems you'll need a hat if you want to lead your crew...or something that looks like one.
While you're here, pick up the cannonball, the treasure map, and the old bell.
Go left to "A New Pespective."
There's a number of possibilities for your hat, and they're quite funny to try out. To solve the puzzle, though, head right to the "Shell Sweet Shell" locale.
Once there, pick up the Beefribs of the carcass Fluffy has eaten.
Return to "Ship Ahoy," and Fry Boyter will be reasonably convinced and give you your real hat.
Talking to Finny
Head left to "A New Perspective," then left again to "Tentacle Gorge."
Well, now we know where that squid ended up. There's nothing we can do about that, though, so head left again to "Imprisioned Beauty."
Note the jail window. Talking to it won't do you much good, so move on to the left to "Dead Whale."
Talk to the whale about Finny the Mermaid.
Now that you know her name, maybe she'll talk to you. Go back to "Imprisoned Beauty" and talk to the jail window.
Finny will mention a diary page, but she doesn't trust pirates. First of all, you sound too drunk.
Of course, since your a pirate, you only sound drunk when you're sober. Open the inventory and use the bottle of rum.
Talk to Finny again.
Now Finny won't want to talk to you because you smell of rum. Clearly she doesn't mind the scent of fish, though.
Go back to "Shell Sweet Shell" and talk to Fluffy. Choose "Oh, No! It's not like that!" and you guys will hug it out.
Now smelling fishy, return to "Imprisoned Beauty" and talk to Finny again.
How I Sank the Ribcage
Huh...now she wants you to honestly tell her about what happened to you and your crew. Well, you don't rightly know, so walk back to "Ship Ahoy" then to the right to "Fellowship of the Rum."
Talk to McGonagall, the hanging ship's poet. Ask him for a poem, one about you and your ship.
Listen to it, and you'll have a pretty good idea as to what happened.
Also, while you're here, pick up that wanted poster on the wall.
Return to "Imprisoned Beauty" and talk to Finny.
Tell her "It was an accident", "We were celebrating on board", and "I drank a bit too much and tried to parallel park my ship. I failed."
Satisfied with the explanation, she'll hand over the diary page.
Open your inventory and look at it. Hmm...maybe the wizard isn't so evil after all.
Talking to Gunner
Go to "Dead Whale."
Talk to the whale and ask "Do you speak the language of Whales?" He'll teach you a little whelish.
Return to your crew at "Fellowship of the Rum."
Talk to Gunner, the cigar smoking dude on the left. If you talk to him in whelish (BOOOIIIIIAAAAUUUU), he'll give you his cigar.
Now go to "Tentacle Gorge." Use the cigar on the tentacles.
Try to ring the doorbell. Oops! Well, at least you've got a nice rope out of it.
Enter "The Kraken's Cave."
The Other Diary Pages
Use the diary page on the Evil Kraken.
Hmm...it seems he needs a little more convincing.
Exit the cave and go to "Dead Whale."
Use the rope on the harpoon.
Success! Pick up your coat to look a little swankier, and go to "Imprisoned Beauty."
Once there, pick up the paper. Another diary page!
Head over to "Fellowship of the Rum" and talk to the Quartermaster. It seems that he won't let you get at your treasure until he's convinced there's another horde somewhere else.
Go to "A New Perspective." Use the cannon ball on the clam to get that large pearl.
Return to "Fellowship of the Rum" and use the pearl on the Quartermaster.
Search the treasure chest to find a piece of paper.
Search it again to pick up a piece of jewelry.
Go to the "Kraken's Cave."
Freeing Finny
Use one of the diary pages on the Kraken, then use the other one. See? It seems the Kraken ain't so bad after all.
If you talk to him, you'll find he'd be more than happy to release Finny, but he's lost the key.
Pick up the electric eel.
Open your inventory and use the electric eel on the pufferfish to get the key.
Use the key on the dark jail and Finny is free!
Recruiting Finny
You find yourself at "Dead Whale."
Talking to Finny reveals she wasn't too thrilled about being captured and rescued. She needs to be reminded why she hunted the Kracken in the first place.
Use the treasure map on her, and she'll join your crew.
Head to "Ship Ahoy."
Rise of the Ribcage
You're all set to sail, but your ship's a wreck.
Talk to Finny. Looks like you'll need to help her whale out in order to set out.
Time for the weirdest puzzle in the game. Head to the "Kraken's Cave."
Use the electric eel on the flesh-eating bacteria.
Now you have flesh-spewing bacteria?! Just roll with it.
Pick it up and head over to "Dead Whale."
Use the strange bacteria on the whale and he's all better!
Go to "Ship Ahoy", Talk to Finny and enjoy the ending!
Posted by: Tricky
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October 11, 2011 9:39 PM