Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Hands-on Preview

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker: Introduction

Nintendo has a new character. Well, they actually have a new variation of an old character. If you’ve been a lifetime Nintendo fan, you might remember Toad as that annoying guy who was always scared in Super Mario RPG on the SNES, or the fellow who just stood around in the castle offering up stars and advice in Super Mario 64 on the N64. Toad has come a long way over the years, and despite maintaining his reputation for being frightened, he’s even been given his own title to gloat about.

Not a New Idea

 Although it may be a bold statement, I believe Captain Toad was an idea Nintendo had for a long while. They cleverly used Super Mario 3D World as a backdoor pilot to gauge the fans reaction. It must have been positive since Captain Toad was a surprise for many at this years E3 conference in California. To be truthful, I enjoyed the levels available in Super Mario 3D World, but when the game was announced, my excitement level was pretty low. After all, Toad has never been one of my favorite Mario characters, and I wasn’t sure if Nintendo could sell anyone on a full game. The levels were fun in 3D World, but was there a desire for more of it?

From Dismissal to Anticipation

As I stated before, I was initially willing to dismiss Captain Toad; however, the gameplay footage that Treehouse showed during one of their broadcasts intrigued me. My scepticism was still there, and from what they showed, the game looked a bit childish and easy. Just this week I was finally able to get my hands on the game, and it was fantastic, family friendly rather than childish, and at times adequately difficult.

Impressions

Nintendo of Canada’s post E3 media event was packed, so I wasn’t able to get as much time with the game as I would have liked. I was, however, able to view every level, and play one. The goal of each stage is to reach the star at the end, while attempting to collect three gems along the way. Often, getting to the star is not that difficult, but getting all three gems takes a bit of figuring out. Much like in 3D World, players are required to turn and spin the world in an attempt to find all the hidden passageways and collectible items. The game does throw a few basic enemies at you despite Captain Toad lacking  basic defensive mechanisms; it is best to avoid enemies or to run around them in circles until they get dizzy, and inevitably disappear. The best level in my opinion was the one that I wasn’t able to play. Essentially, it was a 2014 version of a Boo House.

The Boo House level was great because of how the gamepad is used. Much like Pushmo World, gamers are able to use the stylus to push, pull, and slide a number of blocks. Each block had a door on the outside of it; although it didn’t seem too complicated to figure out the puzzles, it was still felt incredibly rewarding and challenging enough to make you stop and think on a number of occasions.

The other levels also added a ton of features. One level has you travelling on a mine cart on a mountain, using the gamepad to aim and shoot at a number of enemies. It definitely has that Pokemon Snap feeling and it seems to be implemented extremely well. The boss fight – which was the final playable demo level – was also very well executed. In this level, the player is tasked with taking Captain Toad up a number of levels connected by ladders, all the while avoiding the fire balls being launched at him by a giant dragon. Nintendo seems to be trying to keep Captain Toad as family and kid friendly as possible; defeating the dragon simply requires Toad to reach the top, at which point the dragon seems to knock himself out and disappears. 

Conclusion

Words do not fully do Captain Toad justice. Like I stated earlier, when I heard about the game, I was incredibly skeptical. However, seeing and finally playing makes it my most anticipated game this holiday season (although a recent announcement from Nintendo pushes the European release date to January of 2015). If you want a taste for what Captain Toad will offer, grab a copy of Super Mario 3D World and hunt down those levels; however, understand that these levels are limited compared to what the full version of Captain Toad actually offers.

If Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is not on your list of must own games this holiday season, consider adding it. Despite its non-violent approach, Captain Toad offers fun for the whole family to enjoy.