Review for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Game for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch and Wii U, the video game was released on 13/11/2014 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 13/07/2018 The version for 3DS came out on 13/07/2018
Many have certainly played that Super Mario 3D World masterpiece. For those who had never touched it, in this title there were some "minigame" levels, where instead of the plump plumber we were in control of Captain Toad, captain of a squadron of inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom born with Super Mario Galaxy. In this minigame our Captain, unable to jump or attack, had to wander through levels to be explored in the round, turning them as if they were cubes with our camera, to get the hidden stars. Apparently the basic concept was liked, to the point of deserving a game of its own: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was released on Wii U, but, as we know by now, the last generation was not exactly happy for Nintendo, which has decided to bring several very popular games, including this one, on the Switch.
Birds to be roasted
As in all games of the Mariesque universe, apart from role-playing games, too Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker avoids boring us with an opening story and immediately throws us into the action. Captain Toad and his assistant Toadette are traveling the world to find new Stars to add to their collection, and their explorations are indeed successful. Once a new Super Star is found in a remote place, however, something unexpected happens: a giant bird called Wingo comes to ruin the party of the two mushrooms to steal the newly found Star, and while there is also kidnap Toadette, who has remained attached to it. And so our fearless hero Toad sets off, very worried, in pursuit of Wingo to save Toadette, overcoming many pitfalls. Of course, among all these pitfalls, however, we might as well waste time finding the treasures, so what's the rush? Toadette can't die in a Super Mario game, after all.
Time for Adventure!
At this exclamation all the levels of the game that we will have to face start, I play that as the main concept it perfectly reproduces that of the 3D World minigames. Joycon or pad in hand, we will control Captain Toad, slow and heavy due to his large backpack and unable to jump, in levels usually with a cubic shape. With the right stick we will be able to turn the setting at will so as to be able to examine it in all its parts, since doors, tunnels, ravines and hidden places are the basis of this colorful and well thought out puzzle game. The raids of our mushroom will be hampered by monsters like Goomba, Shy Guy and other creatures (even new ones) from the Mario universe, but fortunately at least the controls are as easy as it gets: Toad just walks with the left stick, to attempt a clumsy run by holding button A and to uproot the grass by pressing the same button. Uprooting the grass will be used to obtain coins (so as to try to reach the always beloved 100, to raise the stock of lives by one), mushrooms to become large again in case we were hit by an enemy by shrinking, or even turnips to throw at the opponents, our only Super Mario Bros. 2 style weapon.
Our main objective is to reach the Star present in each level, taking advantage of the clues given from every corner of the scenario but also the functionality of the Switch's touch screen in portable mode, compatible with the game as it happened in Super Mario 3D World in which we could touch the enemies to block them for a few moments, find invisible coins , but also touch moving platforms and turn cranks to rotate elements of the scenario. The features of Switch in portable mode aren't all hereHowever: the best comes in the levels where the Turnip Cannon and the Mining Cart are featured. As you can guess, when Toad starts shooting with the Cannon, he goes to the first person, so he can aim for the best. This also happens when we get on the Carts, which will move independently (in a path on tracks, in all senses) and will make us focus exclusively on shooting enemies, money and collectibles.
But what happens when we are in Dock mode? Given the numerous features dictated by the touch screen (since they were originally all designed for the Wii U paddone), Nintendo had to resort to solutions that were neither too comfortable nor elegant. During our game an annoying viewfinder will be omnipresent, which we can move by moving the pad or aiming directly at the TV in the case of two-player mode (exclusive to the Switch version) with a Joycon dedicated to the management of the pointer and the other to the movements of Toad. It goes without saying that this type of solution severely undermines the magic and immediacy of the game, however there was probably no other choice.
Indeed, although it is enough to reach the Star to complete a level, 100% purists will have a lot of trouble due to collectibles that are increasingly difficult to find and reach. In each stage three Diamonds are hidden (often necessary to unlock advanced levels as happened in 3D World with the stars), and in addition to this there will also be an extra goal that is not always easy to achieve. It could be collecting a certain number of coins in that particular level, or never being discovered by the Shy Guy patrols moving in a well-determined pattern (Metal Gear Toad in action), or finding a special and exclusive collectible like a mushroom well hidden in the labyrinth in question.
It goes without saying that completing each stage with not only the Star but also its collectibles and extra achievement is what it really means to play Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The skein can always be unraveled, just find the thread through reasoning and logic, also thanks to very Mariesque Power Up such as the cherry capable of multiplying the body of our character, or the Ice Ax that for a certain number of seconds will allow us to destroy everything we meet in the same way (and with the same music) of the Super Hammer from Wrecking Crew and Super Smash. Bros.
The icing on the cake are the boss battles, which in any case remain in the style of the puzzle game and must be defeated with the brain rather than with jumps, fireballs, and mustachioed moves.
Princess Toadette is in another Castle
Fortunately also in terms of longevity Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker does not leave us dry-mouthed. There are various "stories" each of about eighteen levels to be overcome, for a total of sixty-four stages. If that's not enough, by finishing the main episodes it will be possible to unlock further levels based on the environments of 3D World, naturally adapted for our Toad unable to jump, thus bringing the number of challenges beyond eighty. Still not enough? The Switch version offers additional new levels, exclusive to the next generation console, based on Super Mario Odyssey.
Graphically, the title presents a care identical to that of the Mario chapter for Wii U, very colorful, appreciable and "pucciosissima", and on Nintendo Switch, although the polygonal models have been improved in a barely mentioned way, the resolution has been increased to 1080p resulting in a high definition reworking of all menus. The audio sector, as much as it brings us much loved and remastered audio tracks, does nothing but reuse music that we already know perfectly without giving us anything new, or almost. Nothing that will remain in the annals of the best soundtrack, in any case.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an example of how a simple idea for a minigame can actually be the spring for a title in its own right, fun and well developed. With a use of Toad's Amiibo that confers a mushroom of life, more than eighty levels to complete and an appreciable technical compartment, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a successful experiment by Nintendo, which earned a place in the hearts of owners. by Wii U; now it is re-proposed on the Switch, extending his hand to all the new players and winking at all those who had lost this pearl in the past.
► Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an Adventure-Platform-Puzzle-Strategy game published by Nintendo for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch and Wii U, the video game was released on 13/11/2014 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 13/07/2018 The version for 3DS came out on 13/07/2018
