Captain Toad Treasure Tracker ( Wii U: 2014)

This week I took a look at a relatively new Wii U title, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, a puzzle spin off of the Super Mario 3D World series which featured Captain Toad levels as a mini game segment.
This title was announced at E3 2014 and later released toward the end of that same year, developed by Nintendo EAD Software Development Group 2, it was clear this title would purely be an expansion on the mini game we were familiar with in 3D World.

Although these segments in 3D World were not popular with everyone I felt they broke up the game slightly with more or less optional levels which made use of the game pads control scheme, such as the ability to change your perspective via turning the pad left to right. I found them to be quite enjoyable and when I heard they would be making an expanded title for a cheaper price I knew I would pick it up eventually.

Perhaps this was due to my affinity for theWorld series, as I was never really in to Mario at all before I got a 3DS and played 3D Land. Before that I had only played the original Land on my Gameboy Pocket as a child and the odd kart game with friends. Playing the 3DS title really opened my eyes to how fun Mario games could be, so I began to go back and play the NES and SNES titles on the virtual console.

It's fair to say I still have a lot to catch up on but with the release of World on Wii U I had found one of my games of the year for that year. Perhaps the reason I purchased Captain Toad was to hope to continue that same enjoyment all over again. But how does this title hold up to the likes of its predecessors?

In terms of story like much of the Mario franchise it is nothing to write home about, we follow treasure hunter Captain Toad and Toadette as they search for gold stars across the world only to eventually have Toadette captured by an enemy who also covets the stars. What is funny however is that the only reason Toadette was captured was because she wouldn't let go of the damn star... So it's then up to you to rescue her and collect as much treasure as you can along the way, simple stuff!

In terms of gameplay what we have is an expansion upon what we have seen within the Toad mini game segments of World in that you control Toad in a very small stage as you make your way to the golden star. In order to reach the star you must traverse through multiple puzzles that usually incorporate the features of the game pad in some form. For example you may not be able to see much of the stage without first turning the game pad left or right (or using the right stick), you may also come across certain blocks you must control via the use of touch features or even platforms that can only be moved by blowing on the mic.

There are a number of enemies who can appear within stages, primarily Shyguys who you can either sneak past, attempt to fall on them from a great height as Toad cannot jump or grab a turnip from a root sticking out of the ground and use it as a weapon. These turnips can also prove quite useful in obtaining items you otherwise would not be able to reach such as collectables as whatever the turnip touches like coins, you will then obtain it.

A difference added to this title is the inclusion of the three diamonds hidden within every level. These items become necessary as they accumulate in order to unlock further levels within the game, however if you were to collect all of them you would not gain any kind of completion bonus. While these stages are small they can become rather challenging if you are attempting to collect every item within them as the game goes on. The game like most Mario titles does start off rather easy and some may argue it stays that way but personally I have found myself scratching my head at some stages as I tried to figure out how I would obtain each diamond.

While the majority of the gameplay is the same as its mini game predecessor there are stages in which we do see a change, such as the mine-cart centric levels which turn the game in to an on rails shooter where you shoot turnips via the game pad camera at enemies, coins and diamonds. While these levels are few and far between they are quite fun and I would like to see more in a future title, hopefully they would also improve the length of these levels too as they did tend to end rather quickly.

There are also "boss" levels to an extent where you will have a large enemy on screen at all times who follows a specific pattern that will hinder your ability to progress through the level, other than that they remain the same as the standard levels with the same goals and collectables. While these were quite fun they did tend to reuse the same enemy a few times, however the battle against the "antagonist" of the game was quite cool to me as she would constantly blow wind from different directions which would move platforms as well as yourself which added a new challenge to getting all the diamonds.

The game breaks itself in to three books or episodes each containing around 20 or more levels, which initially confused me as I came to the end of book one and thought  had finished the entire game as the credits began to role. Episode two has you play as Toadette, which does not add anything gameplay wise but is a nice change, although literally the same events have happened where the Bird has come yet again to take your star and this time Toad is the one who refused to let go....

The game is honestly a very simplistic one, but this is not to say it is a bad game in anyway, it is accessible for all ages as you would expect from a first party Nintendo title, it is also a great game for those who just want to do maybe 3 or 4 levels and then move on to something else as you will be done in no time at all. While overall the game is short in that respect and does not have much replayablity I think Nintendo made up for this by giving it a cheaper retail price, although my local 'GAME' store in the UK thought £40, which is the price of a full release game was perfectly fine.

The visuals in the game are beautiful just like World, with the bright colours and interesting level layouts which follow that of World with its move from grasslands to desserts and water based levels.
The designs of these levels are really where the game shines visually as they start of simple and then become more complex. Each level seems to use some assets from World yet uses them in a unique puzzle based way rather than a platformer to keep them fresh.

A particular favourite level of mine is the snow train level pictured above in which the entire level places you on a moving train as you proceed through each cart and back again with a comfortable backing track. While this level is incredibly easy and does not really feature much in the way of puzzles I can only describe it as comfy level because it's just relaxing to look at and be in. I could say that for a lot of the levels in this game and the same can be said for World, it's just pretty to look at and makes you yearn for a Wii U Mario title akin to 64 or Galaxy with visuals like this.

What I found to be a neat little bonus was the addition of a few 3D World levels if the game detected a save from that title on your console. These stages are available to you right from the get go and are pretty much just the exact same World levels with the omission of the collection of three diamonds and the only goal being to move through the level as Toad and get the green star.

There was a side objective to the levels in which you would need to locate a golden mushroom on each stage but there was no real need to do this unless you are a completionist as it does not add anything to the game itself. Although I personally enjoyed this little bonus it may not be for everyone, many dislike the fact that it is literally just a handful of World levels with no real differences, but for something added to the game for free I could not really complain.

It is a shame there is no multiplayer aspect to this game as I feel it would not hurt to have some co op based puzzles although that may be something they were saving for a future title, or perhaps they wanted to stick to the single player experience as the game is only short. Regardless I feel they could make some interesting levels out of a multiplayer format even if you could argue the use of the cherry item creating clones of yourself is pretty much a two person puzzle experience and more challenging than a multiplayer one.

Interestingly Nintendo have stated they would like to do more first party titles like this where they are shorter and simpler games and if this title is anything to go by then hopefully they can pull through and create some really interesting games at a cheaper price. Perhaps this would be the gateway to incorporate older franchises into the mainstream once again such as Mach Rider, whatever they do I am interested to see it.

Overall this game is fantastic and there is not much I can really complain about other than the length and difficulty of the game, but I feel that is to be expected with a cheaper spin off title like this, especially since it was based off a mini game from another title. I really would recommend picking this up if you did enjoy those segments from 3D World, even if you're not sure on paying so much for a shorter title such as this I think if you ever see it on sale it will be more than worth it for sure.

It really is the perfect game to play just to break up the longer titles you may be playing or even if you've just got a half hour to spare. I do feel as though Nintendo could have added some DLC levels for some form of replayabilty but they still have time to do this, or perhaps they are saving them for a sequel. Perhaps a 3DS title would work better for those who just want a shorter game to play on their commute to work, regardless I would love to see this series expanded upon and do not regret purchasing this game at all, you really should check it out.