Captain Toad Treasure Tracker

Forse not everyone knows, however, that over time, all the supporting characters who have made the history of the epic in the Mushroom Kingdom have enjoyed well more than the classic fifteen minutes of fame, managing to attract a good share of fans, enough to convince Big N to develop titles devoted almost exclusively to them.

Amatissimo since the very beginnings of the saga, even when with an adorable and irresistible smile he let us know that the princess was in another castle, and we had avoided fireballs and deadly traps for nothing or almost nothing, Toad rose to prominence especially in 2014 by becoming the protagonist of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, a title initially released for WiiU and later re-released more recently also for the latest Switch.

If you think you’re facing yet another platformer variant of some random Super Mario Bros., you’re very much mistaken: for one thing, Toad cannot jump, and that is the first major innovation introduced by Nintendo, which in itself also constitutes an intriguing challenge for both the developers and the end users—us—in enjoying a game like this, knowing that our beloved characters will not be able to use the quintessential move, the franchise’s trademark.

Our favorite mushroom will therefore have to make its way through various levels structured like puzzles within a series of dioramas, taking advantage of the isometric view freely maneuverable thanks to the WiiU's unique controller.

Toad will not be the only Nintendo character in the game, but known “faces” will parade before us as friends (for example Toadette, another character belonging to the Adorable and Cuddly lineup of the saga) and rather famous enemies in the MarioVerse, such as the notorious Shy Guys!

Il gioco is obviously presented as very colorful and polished in every detail, the cuteness always runs strong at Nintendo HQ and Captain Toad is no exception either; the levels are made up of rock formations and stretches of fields, ancient ruins of buildings or temples that hark back to the past and reveal the archaeological nature of Toad’s outfit, backpack on his shoulders containing the tools of the trade of a novice Indiana Jones and, above all, us, human players who will guide him by solving the puzzles scattered along the winding but fun road paved by the programmers’ good intentions.

Good intentions that boast an excellent final result, all things considered: the game flows by delightfully, and each level will beckon the next, like the San Carlo chips of our childhood, and collecting the Stars needed to advance in the game has never been so fun and satisfying!

The learning curve of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is quite rapid; in fact, we will be guided by the hand step by step through the game mechanics, which are distinctly puzzle-like as I mentioned just now, so that we can quickly learn how to move within the title’s inspired dioramas.

I find that the basic idea, namely distancing himself from the jumps of the Mario brothers and conceiving a completely original identity for Captain Toad, was a winning one: layering his universe by giving fans such solid and well-made variations, while still maintaining near-total respect for and adherence to Nintendo’s plumber lore, allowed this title to emerge and become a small but great classic.

Indiana Jones, you have a rival XD