Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Wii U) Nintendo Software Technology (3DS & Switch)
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release Date(s)
Wii U	NA: December 5, 2014 JP: November 13, 2014 EU: January 2, 2015 AU: January 3, 2015
Wii U	NA: December 5, 2014 JP: November 13, 2014 EU: January 2, 2015 AU: January 3, 2015
3DS	NA: July 13, 2018 JP: July 13, 2018 EU: July 13, 2018 AU: July 13, 2018
3DS	NA: July 13, 2018 JP: July 13, 2018 EU: July 13, 2018 AU: July 13, 2018
Nintendo Switch	NA: July 13, 2018 JP: July 13, 2018 EU: July 13, 2018 AU: July 13, 2018
Nintendo Switch	NA: July 13, 2018 JP: July 13, 2018 EU: July 13, 2018 AU: July 13, 2018
Platform(s)
Classification(s)	This game is a Nintendo Selects game
Accessory(ies)	This game is compatible with certain amiibo figures
Sales	2.58 million 1.36 million (Wii U) 1.18 million (Switch) 0.04 million (3DS)
Genre(s)	Platformer, action puzzle
Download Size	2.02 GB [Wii U] [1] 1.99 GB [Switch] [2]
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	01
CERO	01
USK	02
ACB	01

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker <sup>(JPJapanese: 進め！キノピオ隊長

Romaji: Susume! Kinopio Taichō

Meaning: Advance! Captain Toad)</sup> is a puzzle game for the Wii U released in 2014. The game expands on the concepts from the Captain Toad levels from Super Mario 3D World (the sequel to Super Mario 3D Land) and adds more Wii U GamePad functionality. The game's plot revolves around Captain Toad and Toadette collecting Power Stars while attempting to stop a large, scavenging bird named Wingo from stealing them. This is the third game to have a Toad as the main protagonist, with the first games being Wario's Woods, released twenty years prior, and Kinopio Live, released presumably nineteen years prior.

A port for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS have been released on July 13, 2018, which includes new levels based on Super Mario Odyssey.

Plot

Captain Toad and Toadette are out treasure hunting, climbing a structure to get a Power Star. They soon after notice feathers falling from the sky when Wingo, a large bird who's described as "a lover of all things shiny", grabs the star. Toadette attempts to retrieve it while Captain Toad is temporarily knocked over. Wingo makes off with both the star and Toadette, leaving the Captain on his own. Captain Toad must then go through stages collecting Power Stars to reach Wingo and save Toadette.

Once Captain Toad reaches Wingo's fortress, they fight, and after Wingo is defeated, Toadette is rescued and they continue treasure hunting. However, Wingo returns to steal their treasure again and ends up capturing Captain Toad, allowing Toadette to journey on a solo adventure. After another long journey, Toadette saves him, although immediately afterward Wingo reappears, captures Toadette again and blows Captain Toad away.

The Captain awakes in a dark cave, where he finds another Power Star snatched away by Wingo. Toad pursues to a large mine. Meanwhile, Toadette escapes Wingo and goes off to reunite with Captain Toad, though is captured again soon after. Wingo then takes her to the same tower, while Captain Toad arrives. After a final fight, Wingo is truly defeated, and the two Toads ride off in a minecart as the credits play.

After the credits, Captain Toad notices a Green Star falling through the sky, and chases after it, leaving Toadette in the minecart. The opening scene of Super Mario 3D World plays, though after Mario and the others enter the Clear Pipe to chase Bowser, the Green Star falls in as well, with Captain Toad climbing into the Clear Pipe to chase after it. In the Switch/3DS version, after the credits, Captain Toad and Toadette stopped at what appeared to be Sand Kingdom when the former spotted a landing Odyssey ship flying down and goes chases after it.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to the Captain Toad levels in Super Mario 3D World. However, there are a few additions. The main goal now is to get a Power Star at the end of a level but there are 3 gems in a more roundabout path.

There is also an additional challenge for each level. The player can also play as Toadette for certain levels. The touch blocks mechanic has been expanded into more puzzles as well as a rotating switch.

There are turnips used from Super Mario Bros. 2 to defeat enemies like Shy Guys. The mine-cart levels have the player aim with GamePad to fire turnips at enemies and gems. There are also boss levels.

Power-ups

• Turnip
• Super Pickaxe
• Double Cherry
• Invincibility Mushroom

Enemies

• Goomba
• Shy Guy
• Biddybud
• Stumper
• Flaptor
• Piranha Sprout
• Piranha Creepers
• Piranha Plant
• Mud Trooper
• Bullet Bill
• Boo
• Peepa
• Walleye
• Spike
• Chargin' Chuck
• Hammer Bro.
• Fire Bro
• Magikoopa
• Mummy-Me

Bosses

The game only has a couple bosses with them getting reused in later levels.

• Draggadon
• Wingo
• Gold Draggadon

Pixel Toad

This game supports the Toad amiibo from the Super Mario series. Putting him on the NFC scanner will allow the player to play Hide and Seek with Pixel Toad in any level.

Other amiibo scanned in will give extra lives. The Super Mario Odyssey amiibo will unlock the Bonus Episode early.

Challenge Times

After beating an episode with all additional objectives completed and all Super Gems collected, the player unlocks Challenge Times for every level. Completing them per Episode unlocks the coin level for unlimited use.

Courses

There are over 70 courses in the game. Courses include:

Episode 1

1. Plucky Pass Beginnings
2. Walleye Tumble Temple
3. Touchstone Trouble
4. Mushroom Mesa
5. Double Cherry Palace
6. Shy Guy Heights
7. Spinwheel Library
8. Mine Cart Tunnel Throwdown
9. Spinwheel Bullet Bill Base
10. King of Pyropuff Peak
11. Piranha Creeper Cove
12. Briny Bowl Swimming Hole
13. Turnip Canyon Jungle
14. Pop-Up Prairie Town
15. Drop-Road Dash
16. Bizarre Doors of Boo Mansion
17. Blizzard on the Star Express

Episode 2

1. Chute Scoot Slopes
2. Stumper Sneakaround
3. Mine Cart Sunset Rundown
4. Sinister Street Signs
5. Floaty Fun Water Park
6. Drift-Along Canyon
7. Sliding Slab Shuffle
8. Spooky Spectors at Shadow Manor
9. Draggadon's Revenge
10. Spinwheel Cog Ruins
11. Windup Stairs
12. Up 'n' Down Terrace
13. Clear Pipe Puzzleplex
14. Midnight in Wandering Woods
15. Double Cherry Spires
16. Bullet Bill's Touchy Trials
17. Spinwheel Sky Fort
18. Battle Tower Blitz

Episode 3

1. Rolling Inferno
2. Seesaw Sizzle
3. Beep Block Sky Plaza
4. Pickax Cave Plummet
5. Stumpy Springs Sanctuary
6. Biddybud Snow Stroll
7. Cagey Conkdor Caper
8. Up 'n' Down Desert
9. Mine Cart Ruins Rumble
10. Multi-Vator Mayhem
11. Flip Panel Footpath
12. Rock Block Badlands
13. Secret of the Golden Realm
14. Shy Guy Shadow Den
15. Razzle-Dazzle Sliders
16. Poison Canal Cannon Run
17. Fright Train Flight
18. No Sleep at Magikoopa Keep
19. Retro Ramp-Up
20. Twisty-Turny Planet
21. Ghost Gallery Gambit
22. Touchstone Turmoil
23. Color Crate Carousel
24. Trick-Track Hall
25. Deep-Space Gyromajig
26. Magma Road Marathon
27. Scalding Scaffold Sinkhole
28. Wingo's Whackdown

Bonus Episode

The Bonus Episode unlocks upon completing the 3 main episodes though it can be unlocked early either with a Super Mario 3D World save in the Wii U version or using a Super Mario Odyssey amiibo in the Switch and 3DS versions. The first 4 levels vary based on which version played

The Wii U versions levels are modified from 3D World and contain only one Green Star.

• Super Bell Hill
• Conkdor Canyon
• Shadow-Play Alley
• Clear Pipe Cruise

The Switch and 3DS version are full levels based on Super Mario Odyssey kingdoms with 3 Super Gems each.

• Secret of the Inverted Pyramid (based on the Sand Kingdom)
• Mine Cart Cascade Crusade (based on the Cascade Kingdom)
• Uptown, Downtown (based on the Metro Kingdom)
• Cookatiel's Sizzling Sprint (based on the Luncheon Kingdom)

From then on, the games have the same levels though they have special requirements and are mostly variations on earlier levels.

• Toad Brigade to Mushroom Mesa! (160 Super Gems)
• Toad Brigade to Trick-Track Hall! (170 Super Gems)
• Toad Brigade to Bullet Bill Base!
• Toad Brigade to Magikoopa Keep!
• Mummy-Me on Flip Panel Footpath
• Mummy-Me on Drop-Road Dash
• Mummy-Me at Pyropuff Peak
• Episode 1 Prologue (100% Episode 1)
• Episode 2 Prologue (100% Episode 2)
• Episode 3 Prologue (100% Episode 3)
• Mummy-Me Maze Forever (Collect all the Super Gems and complete every additional objective)
• Coins Galore (Complete Challenge Times)
• More Coins Galore
• Even More Coins Galore

Version features and changes

The following is a list of features and changes made to the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS versions from the original.

General

• The Pixel Toad hide-and-seek challenge is now available in-game, unlocked once after completing a level, unlike the original where the player is required to scan a Toad amiibo.
  • Amiibo functionality is also different, which grants the player an instant Invincibility Mushroom if the Toad figure is used. As stated above, scanning the Super Mario Odyssey-themed figures unlocks the Bonus Episode early. Other amiibo gives the player a 1-Up like the original.
• The Super Mario Odyssey-themed courses replace those of the Super Mario 3D World courses from the original.
• When riding Mine Carts and using Turnip Cannons, the screen is now always a first-person view. The aiming is now determined by the control stick.
• There are new credits, which consist of staff members involved in the development of the port versions, and it's a bit shorter.
  • There are different fireworks shapes used compared to each version which the average eye won't notice.

Switch

• When docked, there's always an on-screen circular cursor which can be controlled by the motion of the right Joy-Con to replace the Wii U GamePad touchscreen controls. This is a reference to the Wii Remote pointer function.
  • When undocked, the cursor is not present and touchscreen controls is activated.
• Some levels now use motion controls to turn lever wheels. In that aspect, a lever wheel appears on the screen and interacts with the player.
• The maximum image quality has been improved to 1080p (docked). In addition, the overall color value have also seen improvement.
• The Switch version has local multiplayer up to 2 players. The second player can team up by shooting turnips to assist the player. In a later update, the player can now play as an additional Toad, called Purple Captain Toad.
• Due to the lack of the "microphone" feature of the Wii U GamePad, Lifts replace the Propeller Platforms, the latter of which required the player to blow into the GamePad for them to interact. However, this is still present in the 3DS version which has the microphone feature as well.
• HD Rumble is implemented.

3DS

• If played on the Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS family of systems, stereoscopic 3D is a new feature that can be activated.
• The game runs at 30 fps unlike other versions, most likely due to the system's portable limitations.
• The gameplay is shown on both screens.
  • The top screen shows only the gameplay with the 3D effects, while the bottom screen has the UI, instructions, and touchscreen controls.
    • The Super Gems UI is placed in the center as opposed to always accompanying the whole UI.
• When control instructions are given on the bottom screen, the background color is white and the text is gray, inverted from the Switch and original Wii U versions.
• Oddly, Captain Toad's eyes in this version appear larger than his usual appearances.
• Much like the original, the controls are usually focused on touchscreen.
• Some checkbox objectives (e.g. the Poison Canal Cannon Run course uses "Found the hidden Gold Mushroom!" instead of "Cleared course with 4 Toadettes!") have been changed due to hardware limitations.
• In the ending cutscene, there are less fireworks than the other versions.

Development

The idea of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came to director Shinya Hiratake as a dream. It originally featured Link as the hero instead of Mario, as Mario not being able to jump would not make sense. Link would explore in a diorama-style in a tech demo presented to Shigeru Miyamoto. The idea was shot down, though Miyamoto realized a potential with the idea. It was included in Super Mario 3D World, where Hiratake chose Captain Toad from Super Mario Galaxy because the heavy backpack would have prevented him from jumping. After Super Mario 3D World was released, Miyamoto encouraged production of a full game around the concept.

Reception

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker received generally positive reviews. Much of the praise was directed towards the limited focus on just Captain Toad and Toadette, as well as the game's concept, but minor criticism amounted to some technical issues and the designs of some levels. The game currently holds a score of 81 on Metacritic based on 78 reviews, as well as a score of 81.01% on GameRankings based on 54 reviews.

Marty Silva of IGN gave the game an 8.2/10, criticizing what he believed to be an over-reliance of the GamePad at times, stating "The problem here is that it’s controlled both through the right stick and the GamePad’s gyrosensor, and the sensor can’t be turned off, so I found the camera spinning out of control whenever I moved my wrists. Also, if you're playing only off the GamePad, messages and touch-screen prompts have a tendency to pop up and really obscure your view at important moments." Otherwise, he was praising of the game, mostly to the charm, visuals, and sense of discovery. Arthur Gies of Polygon gave the game of 8.5/10, and was similarly critical of camera issues, claiming they "transcended my crankiness and felt like actual problems", but praised the characters' "outrageous cuteness", reamrking "Nintendo games explore their root mechanics thoroughly, finding fun through solid execution and exploration of the idea. Using that as a verb, Captain Toad Nintendos. It Nintendos hard." Chris Carter of Destructoid gave the game an 8/10, and was also similarly praising of the limited focus on Captain Toad and Toadette, stating "No other Mario characters are jumping out and stealing the spotlight here -- it's just the two aforementioned characters and their thirst for treasure that fuels the game." He was, however, critical of a few levels, and for what he opined as little to offer for players who did not like puzzle platformers.

Trivia

• First Mario spin-off game to star any Toad character, notably Captain Toad who first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy.
  • It is also the first spin-off game from a 3D game.
• After defeating Wingo in Book Three, the game has an altered ending in the Switch and 3DS versions. In the Wii U version, Captain Toad and Toadette land in the Mushroom Kingdom's plains with Captain Toad chasing a Green Star down the pipe from the opening of Super Mario 3D World. In the Switch and 3DS version, Captain Toad and Toadette arrive in the Sand Kingdom and Toad chases after a landing Odyssey. This means Captain Toad can be considered a prequel to both games.
• Interestingly, while the 3D World-based courses are nearly the same as the original, the Odyssey-based courses have different structures and closely resemble to the diorama-style levels.
  • The 2-player feature which one player controls Captain Toad while the other uses the cursor to assist the player by shooting turnips is similar to the Super Mario Galaxy games where the first player controls Mario as the second player uses the Wii pointer to shoot Star Bits.
• In the Switch and 3DS versions, the "Cookatiel's Sizzling Sprint" level (inspired by the Luncheon Kingdom) is the only Odyssey-based level to be a boss level, and to use a boss theme.
• The port version was actually intended to be re-released just on the Nintendo 3DS due to its potential on the stereoscopic 3D features. The Switch version was later greenlit for the sake of co-op multiplayer.
• The Switch version has the most-successful sales with 1.18 million copies sold. It is the only version to sell 1 million copies, and the second Switch version of a game to do so after Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
• To promote the launch of the Switch and 3DS release, Super Mario Odyssey replaced the 8-Bit Luigi sprites with 8-Bit Captain Toad sprites in the "Hint Art" challenge. Both sprites also appeared in the "Jump Up, Super Star" during the game's "1-Year Anniversary" event.

External links

• E3 trailer
• Official Japanese Website
• Official North American Website
• Official United Kingdom Website