Review by: Justin Amirkhani

Much like the LEGO series of video games, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have always done a good job of providing truly family entertainment. In this sense, they’re a perfect pair, which partly explains why LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean works so well.

Like every other game in the series, LEGO Pirates takes the breadth of the film franchise and condenses it in to a singular game experience. Each film gets a four-chapter treatment with each chapter hitting a highlight moment from the film. You’ll switch between characters with situation-specific abilities and you’ll destroy every piece of scenery in the process as you hunt for more LEGO studs.

The formula has worked well in the past and continues to work with LEGO Pirates. The only mechanical innovation the Pirates brand brings is a fresh dueling system that challenges players to complete a pre-animated swordfight via quicktime event. It’s not particularly groundbreaking, and it does border on tedium very quickly, but it’s a small break from the usual – and boring – button mashing combat.

As a Pirates of the Caribbean experience, LEGO Pirates on Nintendo 3DS does an apt job of distilling the source material. Even as minifigs, characters are recognizable; Jack Sparrow’s drunken meandering in particular. Meanwhile the original Hans Zimmer soundtrack provides the undercurrent of adventure and excitement that made the films so much fun.

The mid-chapter cinematics are entertaining and parody the movies in a way only LEGO can. However, despite the easy laughs they don’t carry a narrative all too well. Playing the game without seeing the films is a recipe for confusion, albeit an unlikely scenario. It’s the final chapter however—based on the latest film – for which this becomes a serious issue. Whether in an effort to minimize spoilers or a translation of nonsensical source material, it’s hard to make heads or tails of what’s happening through the On Stranger Tides portion.