Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Final Impressions

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Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Final Impressions

Added: 12.11.2014 1:00 | 7 views | 0 comments

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Radish for the win!

After playing a short demo for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker at PAX this year, the title still fell below my radar due to the hype for Super Smash Bros. and Hyrule Warriors. That the game is essentially a glorified mini-game from Super Mario 3D World expanded into a full retail title didn't help bolster my interest. So I wasn't particularly energized to preview Captain Toad in my appointment with Nintendo, but after a more guided tour with Erik Peterson through the game, I'm far more convinced of its design.

Where a traditional Mario title is about timing jumps and running across the level with speed, Toad is far more fragile and needs to rely on his wits. Each level works less like an open world for acrobatics and more like a puzzle, where Toad must figure out how to collect the star at the end of the stage while grabbing three large coins along the way. These coins may be optional, but you can only say you've completed the level if you've grabbed them all.

Just to prove a point on the difficulty, Erik started me off with Level 15 called Drop-Road Dash, a level suspended in air with conveyor belts and small platforms that will descend in only a few seconds after being touched. It was difficult getting a grasp of Toad's slower speed and getting the timing just right to avoid the various obstacles while zipping on one of the conveyor belts. Nabbing the three coins took a few more tries on top of that, and if that wasn't enough, completing a level opens a new challenge specific to that level like beating it again without defeating any enemies.

The other stages I was shown showcased the variety of imaginative ideas in Captain Toad. Drift-Along Canyon challenges you to maneuver around poisonous pools while throwing radishes, a la Super Mario Bros. 2, at piranha plants. Up 'N Down Terrace features gates in a garden controlled by switches where collecting all of the coins is trickier than you might think at first. I found Beep Block Deep Plaza to be the most inspiring, where in a touch of Rhythm Heaven, blocks would flicker on and off at a fixed beat. One large coin was spinning far out in the distance, but I was able to collect it by throwing a well-placed radish at it!

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker releases next month on December 5, 2014 exclusively for Wii U.