One Piece: Unlimited Adventure for Wii takes a different approach for the series, one with a sharper emphasis on storyline and exploration. Unfortunately, it stumbles along the way.

You can choose from various characters over the course of your quest. You start with the loosely limbed Luffy but join up with several others over the duration of your journey. Switching between characters is as easy as pressing a direction on the D-pad. Each character has his or her individual techniques and attacks, all of which come in handy for fighting off groups of enemies and the occasional boss. In addition, you earn new moves, acquired by meeting certain criteria during combat.

In the game, you'll do two things – backtrack for items and beat up rocks and trees so you can find energy to fill up your mysterious power gem. You can't access certain areas of the island without this energy, and mindlessly gathering it by beating up innocent decor gets old. Things perk up once you face actual enemies, although the inoperable camera system sometimes forces you to take hits unfairly from a bad guy you can't see. You'll also find that your arsenal is limited at first, but at least you can power it up to a more adequate level.

Single player mode isn't a complete washout. The "Item Creation" system is a nice touch, even though it'll probably appeal more to hardcore fans of the series than the average player. You also get to fish every now and then using the Wii remote. It's not the most comprehensive fishing game, but it is nice every once in a while to sit down and catch a few in the middle of treasure hunting.

There are multiplayer options, including survival and versus modes. Up to forty fighters are available, each with individual techniques and powers. You can also set up team battles, in case you feel powerful enough to take on an army. Although the multiplayer modes in the previous One Piece GameCube games are better, Unlimited Adventure isn't half bad. With that said, don't expect Wi-Fi Connection support.

The game's presentation isn't bad, although it definitely has its drawbacks. The visuals look sharper than previous games, complete with detailed shadowing, animation and facial expressions. However, the dialogue doesn't always come with proper lip-synching, and the game occasionally runs into severe bouts of slowdown. At least the island, divided into a multi-sectional hub, looks good enough to make it worth exploring. The audio consists of high-pitched voice samples (done by the cast of the anime show), a mostly forgettable musical score and average sound effects.

One Piece: Unlimited Adventure feels like a step backwards for the anime series. The game's not busted by any means, as it delivers enough adequate multiplayer thrills and decent presentation to satisfy fans. However, the stumbling gameplay and intermittent slowdown leave it feeling more like a Limited Adventure.