Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - Review

Ready for an adventure!

Console: Nintendo Switch 2.

Have you ever just felt the desire to play a classic Nintendo game? Not just a game on a Nintendo platform but a game made by the Big N itself with that Nintendo brand of fun and creativity? Well, I have had that desire. I’ve had it pretty recently even, and that is what led me to Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. My backlog is far from small but it sadly didn’t have that colourful, pick-up-and-play mentality I was looking for.

Luckily for me, only a couple of days later, I passed a 2nd hand electronics store while out shopping. It had some neat used games on the shelves including a title that was exactly the kind of experience I was looking for: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. It’s a game I was already somewhat familiar with. The titular Captain was the star of a bunch of puzzle levels in Super Mario 3DWorld, which I remembered enjoying.

Thus, I was pretty sure this game wouldn't disappoint me, but I did wonder how an entire game of this concept would fare. As a distraction they were neat little puzzles, but could they stand on their own? Doing a little research, I learned that these stages actually started life with the intention to be its own game. The only problem was that the developers couldn’t find the right Nintendo character to connect to their “little diorama stage” concept. Mario himself after all was famous for jumping – which meant that the levels would be much larger than they wanted as a result of that. As I understand it, the concept ended up in Super Mario 3D World as more or less a way to not let this idea go to waste. It was only when Shigeru Miyamoto responded well to these Rubik's Cube-like puzzles that they went back to their original plan.

So, without further ado, let's talk about Toad's very own little puzzle adventure and see if this is a concept that stand on its own.

While out on an expedition, Captain Toad and Toadette run afoul of the giant crow Wingo. Even more obsessed with treasure and shiny trinkets than our small but brave explores, Wingo steals the Power Star the two found… and with Toadette still holding it! For friend and fortune, Captain Toad sets out to save Toadette from Wingo’s clutches. And to find some neat treasure along the way, of course.  

And Toadette couldn't let go why exactly? I mean, it;s not like Wingo's claw is stuck on her backpak or anything. 

Spin-off or not, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a true Mario game in that the story is very minimalistic and more about the presentation than narrative. This title packs a lot of charm in its short, but endearing cutscenes and expressive interaction the Toads have with their surroundings. With the menus and such presented as a storybook, just like Storyteller, the game immediately jumps out at you when you boot it up.

Safe to say, I like this presentation but with that said, this game does fall in a trap that so many of these Mario games fall into when it comes to the story side of things: it's repetitive. The 70+ stages of the game are divided up into 4 parts, 4 books, each of which has basically the exact same premise. The one I wrote above but with minor differences, such as Captain Toad being the one to get kidnapped for example. Stuff like that Draggadon having a bump on its head from where you smacked it in book 1 are neat, but the fight itself wasn’t as exciting that 2^nd go around. At least have him pop up at NOT the exact same point as book 1, you get me? I understand that story is never a focus in these games, but as someone who naturally gravitates towards narrative, I can't help but notice the flaws here.

It’s time to move on to the thing Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is all about: the gameplay. The core concept of twisting and turning these more or less cubed-shaped stages has not changed one bit from the mini-games that were in Super Mario 3D World. The Toads can't jump, something the developers justified through their big and heavy backpacks. To get them to the Power Star, the end of each level, you have to solve a variety of puzzles and platforming challenges.

In this standalone game, Captain Toad can now pick up items. This gives him both a way to defend himself from enemies by throwing things while also adding to the puzzles in that you can now use items. It’s a simple action, one that the developers specifically added to make sure that with this many levels the game wouldn't become stale. And with success, I find. In the original mini-games Toad felt more or less like a passenger that you guided. Here, he feels like he's the playable character proper. 

They also did the logical thing and expanded the level design beyond the limits of a basic cube. I played through levels that have you climbing a giant tower while lava is hot on your heels, I walked on top of a moving train, and found myself trapped in a haunted house. Some levels are very small and over before you know it, while others are much longer and will take you a minute just to see where the Power Star is located. There are levels that do things really differently, like putting Toad in a minecart for example. 

Because of all this variety, I didn’t get tired of the core design regardless of how many levels I had already played. There was always something different on the horizon. Yes, they could've gone for one or two more ideas to base a level around, but I personally feel that the ideas they do have don’t appear enough to become worn out. Three Double Cherry level is about as many as you can have without getting tired of it, if I do say so myself.

So, the core gameplay translated well to being its own thing. Upscaling the experience does bring some new issues to the table, however. It's good that you can zoom each stage in and out as it only took 2 levels for me to encounter difficulties seeing Captain Toad and Toadette. With more elaborate stage designs, there are a lot more objects that get in between them and the camera. The game knows this and applies a kind of transparency layer so that you can still ‘see’ the two of them but it’s a far from perfect solution. I have lost a life or two because I couldn’t see an obstacle in my way and that was frustrating.

Those were really the only few times that I lost a life actually. Owing to its ‘made for everyone’ mentality, these stages are not all that difficult to complete. More brain- teasing than brain-breaking. It's a game more about the fun in simply playing than being challenged by it. Still, I'm pleasantly surprised by how the game does become more difficult farther in you get. Book 1 is neat, but clearly the ‘tutorial’ section of the title. Book 2 follows that up with bigger stages, more enemies and some gimmick stages. For instance, the red/blue disappearing panels I like so much from Super Mario Galaxy pop up here which was a delightful little surprise.

The first level of book 3 is also quite interesting: it's basically gives you the power star for free, putting all the challenge in getting all the collectables instead. The game probably does this to ensure that little kids won't get stuck on any level, which is a good design strategy. That said, they overdo this trick sometimes. Case and point: the ghost house stage. It took me around 20 lives to get all 3 gems because of how precise you have to be while a one-hit-kill hazard, toxic water, is hot on your heels.

This is propably one of my favourite levels just for the gimmick alone.

Speaking of gems, they are the big collectable here. Yes, you need the Power Star to beat a level but each stage has 3 gems hidden in them as well. At points you need to have collected a certain amount of them to, for example, unlock the boss fight but the quota is never all that high. I don’t really see a scenario in which you’d have to grind gems to get further into the game.

Each level also has a special objective to complete to keep you even busier.  From defeating all enemies to more specific ones, such as completing a level while only touching the shifting blocks that make up the level 3 times. As if that wasn’t enough, on top of all of that is the stamp hunt of the hidden pixel Toad. This little guy is hidden somewhere in the level and it’s your job to find him.

All this extra content that gives you quite a bit to do in this game. A first run through of the game might only be a couple of hours, but collecting everything? That easily doubles that time.

Speaking of pixel Toad hunt: that is one of the changes between the Wii U original and this Switch port. In the Wii U version, pixel Toad would only appear when you scanned the appropriate Amiibo. Here on the Switch (and the 3DS version too) you can make him appear in a level by simply pressing the right button after finishing that stage once. No piece of expensive plastic you might not even be interested in needed!

That always confused me a bit, actually: the whole “both a Switch and 3D version” thing. I understand that Nintendo gave this game a second lease on life on their, then, new console but why port it to 3DS? Down porting this game to a handheld that was clearly on its way out seemed like more work than it would be worth. Having now played Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, I understand this decision much better.

This is a game you can play for 5 minutes and come away satisfied having just beaten another level. A perfect pick-up-and-play title. The 3DS, with its smaller size and more practical form factor, is a lot better suited to this playstyle than the much larger Switch. From what I've looked up, the 3DS version looks and sounds crunchier than its big boy siblings but it more or less looks like SuperMario 3D Land does and that isn’t a shabby looking game at all, I think.

Plus: that version's control scheme probably works better than that of the Switch port. The 3DS has a touch screen that’s always accessible while on the Switch, you can only use it when you play in handheld mode. When you play docked, you have to use fickle pointer controls to do things such as turn a wheel. Either option it gives you to do so, shaking the joy cons or using the joystick in combination with the shoulder trigger, doesn't work well. It’s best to do these levels in handheld mode where you can use the touchscreen. 

Lastly, this Switch version comes with some unique content. There’s a DLC level pack that you can buy and the last book you unlock comes with four brand new stages based on Super Mario Odyssey. Apparently, these Odyssey levels replace the 3D World stages from the Wii U original. Kind of odd if you ask me. I guess they didn't want highlight a game that, at the time, wasn't on Switch? Or they wanted to give Odyssey some more attention? My guess is all of the above.

Conclusion

When I bought Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, I was looking for a colourful and creative Nintendo game, and I got just that. This is a neat little puzzle title that is more brain-teasing than brain-wrecking, but is nonetheless very enjoyable due to its charm and the greater challenge it offers when you try to collect everything. It’s not flawless, just look at the often-unwieldy motion controls and very repetitive and flimsy narrative, but this is a charming little game which never outstays its welcome. A puzzle game with a concept that, like the developers intended, can stand on it own.