Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker finally makes Toad a superstar

When you wish upon a star...

When reviewing Super Mario 3D World last year, I wrote, Of special note were Captain Toads 3D puzzles, an exploratory minigame about shifting perspective thats 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 thats 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 thats known to search for treasure in dangerous areas. You realize just how courageous he is when you notice that he lacks almost all of Marios 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 GamePads 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.

Theres 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 Ill ask for a unicorn

Check out the following screenshots for additional info!

This dragon is one of the first bosses that Captain Toad will face

Like several upcoming Wii U game, Captain Toad makes interesting use of the GamePad

This looks like it could be a very pretty stage

Toad polishes up his turnip-tossing skills from Super Mario Bros. 2

Aw... Goombas look so cute when they're sleeping

Captain Toad even smiles in the face of a deadly Magikoopa

The game also borrows some of the touch-based puzzle elements from 3D World

If he falls from a great enough height, Toad can do some damage

Look forward to playing this spin-off by the end of the year