Captain Toad Treasure Tracker Review : A Treasure In Itself

Springboarding off a simple mini game from the Super Mario World 3D, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an action puzzle adventure game that aims to bring the Wii U back into attention with another Nintendo exclusive character release.

While the Toad mini game in Super Mario 3D World was fun, will this standalone game featuring Toad, be a stunner? Let’s find out.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Wii U
Rating: Everyone

One aspect of the game that will be obvious to everyone right from the beginning is that the game is made to appeal to children. The maps in the puzzles are all quite small, the buildings and structures are simple without too much attention to detail (and that’s not necessarily bad, considering that the game tries to keep an image of playfulness and doesn’t focus on realism), and the characters - both friends and foes - have a cute charm to them and Toad’s childlike demeanour makes him totally likable.

The maps in each level are tiny in comparison to those in other puzzle games and hence, allow the puzzle to be finished in a matter of minutes, although some may take longer than the others. The maps are all themed differently with different settings and there are even a few Nintendo references thrown in.

The story in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker follows Toad and Toadette fighting off the “Lover of shiny things” bird Wingo in a chase that includes the kidnapping of Toadette by Wingo, who is then saved by Toad. Toad then himself gets captured thus, letting the users control Toadette in his quest to recover Toad. Each level is completed by collecting the Power Star and in the process, the players are expected to collect the three diamonds and also complete the side quest, though these are completely optional.

In gameplay, the game adopts a bunch of new techniques to execute platform-based adventure puzzling.

Firstly, the game ditches the standard “walk about the map” to explore ways to solve the puzzle, for a newer, albeit not previously unseen “swivel the map around and explore it from all angles” approach.

This feature makes excellent use of the GamePad as you are required to use the touchscreen to turn the map around and inspect it from all angles, before moving Toad towards the desired point and completing the puzzle. You are also required to use the GamePad for a number of different actions like hitting foes and turning rotatable platforms to get from one point to another in the map. It’s certainly one of the better uses I have seen of the Wii U gamepad in recent times and goes to show how much potential the Wii U has if its features are exploited well.

The game doesn’t offer any power-ups (in fact, it doesn’t even allow you to jump!) and depends solely on your ability to crack hard puzzles and get about the map by either hitting foes or just completely avoiding them altogether. In short, the game is all about stopping and thinking before rushing from one end to another on the map to complete the puzzle. While completing the puzzles and collecting the Power Star may certainly not be all that taxing, successfully collecting all three diamonds at each level is nothing short of an accomplishment as they are hidden in the most inconspicuous corners of the map and are hence, terribly hard to find.

Interestingly, it also adds a tonne of replay value to the game as you know that there’s always more to come back to and complete in a map after you have collected the Power Star of that level.

Note: The game will also support your Amiibo figurines, with the Toad figurine coming out on March 20.

Verdict

While the Wii U certainly lacks major releases, mainly due to its lack of graphical horsepower, it can still be considered as a good console if its few quirks are overlooked. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is the best example. With great level and character design, decent puzzles and an appealing cute charm overall, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker gets it right on so many levels, be it providing fan service to Nintendo enthusiasts, justice to puzzle game aficionados or successfully appealing to children and adults alike.

Final score: 8.8

Pranav is a 17 year old whose passion is writing reviews and articles on technology and gaming. His gaming tag is Fleet Admiral. You can check out his tech vlog at: www.youtube.com/user/pranavnairtech or contact him at pranav.nair@apexmedia.co.om