Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker finally makes Toad a superstar
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When you wish upon a star...
When reviewing Super Mario 3D World last year, I wrote, “Of special note were Captain Toad’s 3D puzzles, an exploratory minigame about shifting perspective that’s strong enough to be its own separate release.” When I brought this up to Nintendo employees during E3, they joked that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a full fledged spin-off made just for me, and that’s what it feels like when playing. After exploring five imaginative levels, this puzzle platformer seems like the start of a whole new Mario subseries.
The game stars Captain Toad, a brave member of the Mushroom Kingdom that’s known to search for treasure in dangerous areas. You realize just how courageous he is when you notice that he lacks almost all of Mario’s offensive capabilities. Instead of running and jumping, Captain Toad uses timing and logic to avoid enemies and complete puzzling stage that take advantage of the Wii U GamePad’s motion controls and touch screen. The captain goes all around the Mario-verse, including the desert and a haunted mansion where Luigi would feel right at home.
There’s even room for a boss stage, though the battle with a massive dragon is all about avoiding attacks until he reaches the top (all while collecting extra coins as you go). In a way, Treasure Tracker reminds me of a mash-up of Portal and Donkey Kong for Game Boy, mainly through its clever use of level design and 3D space. The retail release will be out by the end of the year, so I better start writing my wish list for that review now. Maybe I’ll ask for a unicorn…
Check out the following screenshots for additional info!
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This dragon is one of the first bosses that Captain Toad will face
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Like several upcoming Wii U game, Captain Toad makes interesting use of the GamePad
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This looks like it could be a very pretty stage
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Toad polishes up his turnip-tossing skills from Super Mario Bros. 2
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Aw... Goombas look so cute when they're sleeping
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Captain Toad even smiles in the face of a deadly Magikoopa
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The game also borrows some of the touch-based puzzle elements from 3D World
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If he falls from a great enough height, Toad can do some damage
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Look forward to playing this spin-off by the end of the year
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Trollkitten - June 19, 2014 2:08 p.m.
Since when does Luigi ever feel "at home" in a haunted mansion? -
codystovall - June 17, 2014 8:57 p.m.
I cant believe toad gets a game while metroid and starfox are left in the cold. -
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Vonter - June 19, 2014 11:52 a.m.
People demand less Mario, might as well pushout another Super Princess Peach game in which she uses her woman emotions to save the day. Or we can have the most useless character in a Mario game do something for a change, disregarding most of his actions are done by clumsiness and or incidental solutions. -
SpadesSlick - June 17, 2014 7:35 p.m.
Can't believe Toad gets a game before Daisy SMH Nintendo. At least it looks pretty interesting. Might pick it up when I finally get a wii u. -
Frieza - June 17, 2014 8:18 p.m.
Toad is a more recognizable character. He appears in pretty much every Mario game, often taking on a major role along side Mario and Luigi. Daisy on the other hand has only been in one major Mario game (which is debatable) and has only appeared in spin-off games since she was introduced. She is far less recognizable, and is little more than a palette swap for Peach. But I do agree with you. It's a shame that Nintendo doesn't do anything with her, especially since she has so much potential to be an awesome princess. The character traits are already there, but just need to be more fleshed out and elaborated. She could be the hot-headed princess of the mysterious and dangerous Sarasaland who takes an aggressive stance on evil instead of let herself be a victim of it (if I remember correctly, it took a whole alien force to capture her in Super Mario Land). She's a rash, stubborn lass who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty if someone messes with her kingdom. She yells a lot and is easily angered, but has a big heart that cares for other people, even if she has trouble showing those feelings. But instead Nintendo insists on shoehorning Rosalina in every game while keeping Daisy in a dusty old closet. It wouldn't surprise me if Daisy disappears altogether within the next few years. -
shawksta - June 17, 2014 8:30 p.m.
Honestly, its Wario's fault we dont get anything with Daisy. Super Mario Land 2 reveals that Wario sent Tatanga's forces to Kidnap daisy for the sole purpose of getting Mario out of the Mushroom Kingdom so he can reign supreme to the plot of SML2. To be fair, Rosalina's inclusion in major games couldnt really be set with Daisy. Its arguably she couldve taken the role of Toad of 3D World, but Toad was there to begin with because of SMB2 roots. Rosalina was there because they wanted to shove Galaxy mechanics into somebody it only makes sense to choose someone whose been in Galaxy. Same factors apply to Smash, Rosalina;s moveset in entirely built on Mario Galaxy and its co-op mode. You could say they could build Daisy's character to be based off all the various spin offs but who knows. Daisy will always be a mainstay so i wouldnt worry. -
Frieza - June 17, 2014 9:16 p.m.
If Wario was responsible for making Daisy insignificant, then maybe he could make her significant again too? I haven't played much of SML2, but it seems that Wario is connected to Daisy through his scheme to get to the Mushroom Kingdom (even if the connection is a weak one). So maybe it wouldn't be completely illogical to include Daisy in a Wario game? The game could take place in Sarasaland, where an enemy faction, such as aliens or pirates, is causing trouble for the kingdom. Daisy hires Wario and Waluigi to take care of the problem, and they go on an epic adventure to defeat the enemies while Daisy barks orders at them from the castle. This would be a great opportunity to develop Daisy's character and significance, while introducing Daisy and Waluigi to a mainstream game. I wasn't complaining about Rosalina taking Daisy's place in Smash (because I don't think Daisy has a spot to begin with), but rather her inclusion in 3D World. I just didn't see why she needed to be there when her spot could have been filled by Wario or something. Like I said before, it felt like she was shoehorned in. -
SpadesSlick - June 18, 2014 12:02 p.m.
Could work. I just don't get why she doesn't show up in anything outside of party games. She's Luigi's love interest, yet she never shows up in any Luigi centric games. In a way that's good because she isn't a damsel in distress type of character, and honestly should probably be the one rescuing Luigi in those scenarios, but it's always weird that basically she just doesn't exist at all in places where she should. -
shawksta - June 18, 2014 3:34 p.m.
That could work, Daisy has developed in her personality with the various Mario games, like how in Mario Power Tennis she calls Luigi a "Sweetie" and such. I would definitely go with your idea, it could work well. As i said with 3D World, Rosalina's only reason to be there is to reference Mario Galaxy. -
Trollkitten - June 19, 2014 2:09 p.m.
Peach and Daisy need to team up in a video game where they fight Wario and Waluigi for kidnapping Mario and Luigi. -
obviouslyadouche - June 17, 2014 6:35 p.m.
I'm way more excited about this then I really should be, those captain toad segments were my favorite part of the last mario -
shawksta - June 17, 2014 6:02 p.m.
We havent had a Toad based game since Wario's Woods, which was also a Puzzle game funny enough. I get the comparison your making Henry, but Portal is a little stretching, Portal works because of movement and acrobatics, Captain Toad's entire gimmick in his puzzles is the fact that he cant jump.
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TheGooseinator - June 20, 2014 11:34 a.m.