One of the games Nintendo briefly featured in their Digital Event on Tuesday was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The Toad race has served the Mushroom Kingdom for about as long as the Super Mario series existed, so to see that the little guy got his own game is quite a pleasant surprise.
Treasure Tracker is actually a spinoff to our 2013 Game of the Year, Super Mario 3D World. 3D World actually featured a bunch of levels starring Captain Toad, so those who have played the game should be very familiar with how it plays.
Treasure Tracker can probably best be alluded to as a three-dimensional version of Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Like Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Captain Toad‘s levels are small in scope, with the object of each level being to reach the end, avoiding traps and enemies along the way.
Unlike most of his Nintendo brethren, Captain Toad can’t jump. That being said, the only way he can kill certain enemies is by landing on them after falling off a ledge. Being the treasure hunter that he is, though not required, the main way to complete a level would be to find each of the hidden gems before proceeding to the exit–similar to the hunt for green stars in Mario 3D World. Some are hidden better than others, as some will be hidden underground, and Captain Toad will have to pull them out like the way he’d pull out turnips in Super Mario Bros. 2. Others are more complicated as there will be some cases where you’ll have to play around with the camera by using the left and right shoulder buttons or gyroscope to see examine every level’s nooks and crannies.
The majority of the levels look like they’ll mainly be puzzle and stealth-based, but the game does have sort of interesting boss levels as well. The screenshot to the right actually features one of these boss levels. Toad doesn’t do any actual fighting in this level as he’s actually just taking cover and avoiding fireballs, trying to make his way up to the top of the volcano finding the hidden gems along the way.
As interesting and as fun as Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker looks, I have my reservations over this one. The levels are definitely more expanded than the ones featured in Super Mario 3D World, but unless Nintendo adds more notable gameplay nuances to it, I just don’t see this being worth the $60 price tag it’ll probably launch at.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker will be released at the end of the year, and we’ll definitely have a full review around the time of its release. For this and more E3 coverage, stay on SmashPad.
Title:
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Platform:
Wii U
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
Nintendo
Genre:
Action, Puzzle
Release Date:
Q4 2014
ESRB Rating:
RP
Developer's Twitter:
E3 2014 Preview: “Captain Toad Treasure Tracker”
One of the games Nintendo briefly featured in their Digital Event on Tuesday was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The Toad race has served the Mushroom Kingdom for about as long as the Super Mario series existed, so to see that the…
One of the games Nintendo briefly featured in their Digital Event on Tuesday was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The Toad race has served the Mushroom Kingdom for about as long as the Super Mario series existed, so to see that the little guy got his own game is quite a pleasant surprise.
Treasure Tracker is actually a spinoff to our 2013 Game of the Year, Super Mario 3D World. 3D World actually featured a bunch of levels starring Captain Toad, so those who have played the game should be very familiar with how it plays.
Treasure Tracker can probably best be alluded to as a three-dimensional version of Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Like Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Captain Toad‘s levels are small in scope, with the object of each level being to reach the end, avoiding traps and enemies along the way.
Unlike most of his Nintendo brethren, Captain Toad can’t jump. That being said, the only way he can kill certain enemies is by landing on them after falling off a ledge. Being the treasure hunter that he is, though not required, the main way to complete a level would be to find each of the hidden gems before proceeding to the exit–similar to the hunt for green stars in Mario 3D World. Some are hidden better than others, as some will be hidden underground, and Captain Toad will have to pull them out like the way he’d pull out turnips in Super Mario Bros. 2. Others are more complicated as there will be some cases where you’ll have to play around with the camera by using the left and right shoulder buttons or gyroscope to see examine every level’s nooks and crannies.
The majority of the levels look like they’ll mainly be puzzle and stealth-based, but the game does have sort of interesting boss levels as well. The screenshot to the right actually features one of these boss levels. Toad doesn’t do any actual fighting in this level as he’s actually just taking cover and avoiding fireballs, trying to make his way up to the top of the volcano finding the hidden gems along the way.
As interesting and as fun as Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker looks, I have my reservations over this one. The levels are definitely more expanded than the ones featured in Super Mario 3D World, but unless Nintendo adds more notable gameplay nuances to it, I just don’t see this being worth the $60 price tag it’ll probably launch at.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker will be released at the end of the year, and we’ll definitely have a full review around the time of its release. For this and more E3 coverage, stay on SmashPad.
Written by: Danreb Victorio
Date published: 06/12/2014
/ 5 stars
by Danreb Victorio
Unlike most of his Nintendo brethren, Captain Toad can’t jump. That being said, the only way he can kill certain enemies is by landing on them after falling off a ledge. Being the treasure hunter that he is, though not required, the main way to complete a level would be to find each of the hidden gems before proceeding to the exit–similar to the hunt for green stars in Mario 3D World. Some are hidden better than others, as some will be hidden underground, and Captain Toad will have to pull them out like the way he’d pull out turnips in Super Mario Bros. 2. Others are more complicated as there will be some cases where you’ll have to play around with the camera by using the left and right shoulder buttons or gyroscope to see examine every level’s nooks and crannies.
