We store cookies, you can get more info from our privacy policy.
WiiU

North America

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker E3 Hands-on Preview

by Michael Cole - June 10, 2014, 4:24 pm EDT
Total comments: 6

Time for adventure!

When I played the Captain Toad levels in Super Mario 3D World, I thought, "I could play a whole game of these!" Well, apparently I wasn't alone, and that's exactly what this is. And that isn’t a bad thing.

Captain Toad is a simple adventurer looking for treasure. Players must rotate the camera as Captain Toad ventures through maze-like levels to reach the top, where a star awaits. Captain Toad has no real special powers: he braves dangers, avoiding baddies to collect treasures (coins, diamonds, and the star at the goal), even though he cannot even jump. He’s not totally helpless: he can run and sustain a hit (and also collect a Super Mushroom to regain his health). And, depending on the level, he has other tricks to help him succeed.

One level featured a mine cart filled with a supply of turnips. This level was essentially an on-rails shooter, in which the player must look around via a first-person view on the touch screen using the right stick and/or gyroscope and throw turnips to collect coins and diamonds and kill baddies. Turnips (a la SMB2) can be pulled from the ground to grab additional coins and, in some cases, a diamond. POW blocks were also scattered about that, if hit, would destroy multiple enemies and/or collect the surrounding treasure.

The boss level on display had Toad grabbing treasure and moving upward in a cylindrical-shaped stage with a lava dinosaur in the middle, spitting fireballs at you from the background. Captain Toad must use metal plates and other objects as he climbs ladders and nabs treasure on his way to the top. This level reminded me some of the Scarecrow segments in Arkham Asylum, and was in my opinion the best part of the demo. There were also turnips in the ground on this level, which when pulled yielded a coin; some turnips required held multiple coins that could be collcted by tapping the A button multiple times (similar to some coin blocks in a Mario game).

The final level I played took place in a ghost house themed area. In this level, the player is asked to go through a series of connected doors to traverse around and up the central structure. Interestingly, Captain Toad could kill a Goomba in this level by entering a door on the ground connected to one in the air--when exiting the upper door, Captain Toad falls straight down onto the Goomba, squishing him. It will be interesting to see the extent to which the environment can be used for combat purposes in the final game. This level also required the player to tap outlined segments of the central structure in order to move them; many of the doors were attached to such moving blocks, which must be placed correctly to proceed or to collect treasure. Honestly, to me this level felt like a poor Crashmo knock-off; it wasn't terrible, but it felt counter-intuitive. For example, the demo expected me to tap the movable blocks--dragging my finger did not seem to register, and at times I incorrectly concluded that a particular wall was not movable. Hopefully this interface quirk will be resolved before the final game.

The E3 demo had its quirks, but I have no doubt this will be a very enjoyable puzzle-platformer for the Wii U. It's hard to imagine it will be meaty enough to warrant a full-price retail release--if that's what Nintendo decides to price it at--but the E3 2014 demo sure was a fun little romp!

Talkback

The game already has a full release, but it may be a New Super Luigi U situation which would be fine by me.

marvel_moviefan_2012June 10, 2014

I want this game. Looks like a ton of fun plus I always enjoyed Toad in SMB2 for some reason.

SundoulosJune 17, 2014

I wonder if Captain Toad's abilities and moveset will remain pretty standard throughout the entire game or if they will introduce new abilities, enemies and environments.  DKC Tropical Freeze did a great job of keeping it's environments and level gameplay varied and fresh.  If they can achieve that to some degree here, I can see it being worth a retail release; an entire game consisting of the same thing over and over again would get stale very quickly.  I hope we see more of this soon in an upcoming Nintendo Direct.

Luigi DudeJune 17, 2014

Quote from: Sundoulos

I wonder if Captain Toad's abilities and moveset will remain pretty standard throughout the entire game or if they will introduce new abilities, enemies and environments.  DKC Tropical Freeze did a great job of keeping it's environments and level gameplay varied and fresh.  If they can achieve that to some degree here, I can see it being worth a retail release; an entire game consisting of the same thing over and over again would get stale very quickly.  I hope we see more of this soon in an upcoming Nintendo Direct.

This is a Tokyo EAD game.  That pretty much guarantees we'll be seeing an insane amount of gameplay variety and different settings throughout the final game.

MagicCow64June 17, 2014

Yeah, I'd be surprised if this wasn't a $40-50 retail release.

motangJune 18, 2014

Definitely a buy for me! Sounds like it is a fun game to play, can't wait.

Share + Bookmark





WiiU

Game Profile

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Box Art

Genre Adventure
Developer Nintendo
Players1
Controllers & Accessories Amiibo

Worldwide Releases

na: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Release Dec 05, 2014
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Susume! Kinopio Taichou
Release Nov 13, 2014
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Release Jan 02, 2015
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+
aus: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Release Jan 03, 2015
PublisherNintendo
RatingGeneral
Got a news tip? Send it in!
Advertisement
Advertisement