Captain Toad’s latest voyage has brought him to the Nintendo Switch, in the form of
a marginally improved version of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, only now with a few control
tweaks and some new content inspired by Super Mario Odyssey.
But is it enough to warrant double dipping?
Well, we’ll get to that.
In case you missed it the first time around, Treasure Tracker is a puzzle action game that’s
small in scope, but big on charm, as Captain Toad has to work his work through a multitude
of bite-sized worlds in an effort to rescue his partner in crime, Toadette--all the while
collecting treasure, of course.
But it’s that penchant for treasure hunting that’s also his achilles heel, because the
weight of dragging all that treasure around prevents him from jumping, meaning he’ll
have to use his brain instead of his brawn to navigate the puzzling 3D environments.
And it’s that exact setup that sets Captain Toad apart, because each level is essentially
an elaborate puzzle box, featuring intricate, multi-level designs, full of criss-crossing
paths, interactive objects, and easily obscured secrets.
In Captain Toad, finding the goal is the easy part--it’s figuring out how to reach it
where things get real.
And like a puzzle box, it’ll take careful examination from every angle to figure out
the solution--Captain Toad is really as much about controlling the camera as it is the
titular hero!
And even though few of the puzzles will leave you scratching your head for too long--they’re
just challenging enough to keep you mentally engaged almost the entire time.
Especially when it comes to tracking down the 3 gems hidden in each level--which you’ll
need to unlock later levels--and let me tell you, some of them can be pretty devious to
get to--even when you can see exactly where it is!
It’s genuinely impressive how much variety there is given the similar size and shapes
of many of the levels!
Whether it’s using teeter-totters as catapults, rerouting invisible paths, or rotating entire
sections of the level to form entirely new routes, almost every level offers something
new.
And that’s not even to mention the occasional mine cart level or boss fight.
So when Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker first came out back in 2014 on the Wii U, I found
it to be a fun, clever charming adventure--I mean, just look at these two.
Adorable.
And all of that still holds true today on Nintendo Switch--in fact, I even enjoyed it
slightly more during my second runthrough thanks to some smart tweaks that addresses
most of my complaints with the original game.
Such as the improved camera that now offers a third zoom option between the original’s
“sometimes too far” and “way too close” settings--and it’s just right, fixing one
of my biggest issues with the original game.
Another annoyance in the Wii U version was how camera movement was tied to the GamePad’s
motion sensors, meaning any movement of the controller--no matter how subtle--would afefct
the camera angle.
On Switch, that’s thankfully gone entirely, with camera controls now being handled exclusively
via the right stick, regardless of whether you’re playing on the TV or in handheld
mode.
And since the GamePad is out of the picture, so is the need to awkwardly shift your eyes
between two different displays in order to use the touchscreen elements when playing
on the TV.
Instead, the Right Joy-Con picks up the slack, now functioning as a Wii Remote-style pointer.
It’s not quite as intuitive at first, but it makes up for it with much greater flexibility,
allowing you to easily control Captain Toad, the camera, and interactive touchscreen objects
all simultaneously--something that was pretty much impossible to do on the Wii U unless
you had three hands--so I greatly prefer the single-screen pointer setup on Nintendo Switch,
even if you will have to occasionally recalibrate it due to drift.
There is a slight drawback in that the cursor is always on-screen--even when you don’t
need it--but I adjusted pretty quickly after just a few levels.
Another slight annoyance involves the interactive spinwheels, where a giant icon covers the
screen anytime you get close--even when you don’t intend to use it.
This didn’t happen in the original version since it only appeared on the Gamepad, leaving
the TV clutter free.
Oh, and for whatever reason, the Switch version now automatically locks Toad onto the Spinwheel
if you’re running while passing it when playing on the TV--which is super annoying
if you’re just trying to avoid, say, some Bullet Bills.
This didn’t happen on the Wii U, nor does it in handheld mode.
Weird.
That aside, I did quite the new motion controls where I could spin the wheel by moving the
right joy-con around in the air--complete with satisfying clicks thanks to the HD Rumble--although
you can also use the control stick too if you prefer.
Now if handheld mode is more your style, then the game otherwise handles identically to
how it did when playing on the Wii U’s Gamepad in Off TV mode, new camera controls aside.
But regardless of how you play, rest assured that Captain Toad works great in both forms--even
if I personally it in docked mode for the pointer controls, as well as the resolution
bump up to 1080p from the original’s 720p.
It makes the simple, but pleasant visuals pop even more.
And that’s about it for changes--so what about new content.
Well, there really isn’t much to speak of.
The Pixel Toad hunt mode that used to be unlocked via the Captain Toad amiibo on Wii U is now
available right out of the box without needing any amiibo at all which is nice, and offers
some additional replayability.
There’s also a new so-called 2 Player mode, where one person controls Captain Toad and
the other takes on pointer detail--including the ability to throw turnips at enemies.
It’s probably a great assist tool for a parent helping out their kid, otherwise it’ll
probably make the game a little too easy for most players.
And finally, there are the new stages based on Super Mario Odyssey--and I have some bad
news and good news.
The bad news is, there are only 4 of them, and they replace the Super Mario 3D World
stages from the Wii U version, assuming you had a 3D World save file.
The good news is, unlike the 3D World stages, these were custom created for Captain Toad
and might just be some of the best stages in the game--or at least the two that are
puzzle focused are, which kept surprising me with how clever they incorporated the Mario
Odyssey theme, while giving them the ol’ Captain Toad Twist.
But for as fun as they are, they only took me 15 minutes to finish, and just over 30
to 100% them.
Which brings us back to the question I asked at the very start: Is it worth picking up
Captain Toad again on Nintendo Switch if you already own the Wii U version?
And I have to say, probably not.
Even though ironed out some of the kinks from the original version, it’s still by and
large the exact same experience--besides the new Mario Odyssey stages, but there’s just
not enough of them to warrant double dipping at full price, unless you really want to play
Captain Toad on the go.
But, if you haven’t played Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker before, then this is the
version to get!
It’s a charming little adventure that packs a surprising amount of content with a level
of polish a step or two above the Wii U version and I liked-it-a-lot.
And with that, thanks for watching and make sure to stay subscribe to GameXplain for more
Nintendo Switch reviews and everything else Nintendo too.