Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

aka: Susume! Captain Kinopio
Moby ID: 70277
Wii U Specs
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Description official description

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a puzzle game featuring Captain Toad of Super Mario Galaxy's Toad Brigade. On his treasure-seeking quest, Captain Toad visits many different levels to collect diamond, coins and stars.

Each level appears as a page in a story book with specific goals to complete. Each stage has three hidden diamond to collect and one special objective, such as collecting a golden mushroom, avoiding or defeating all the enemies, or gathering a set number of coins, to complete. The main objective is to reach the golden star at the end of the levels. To do so, the player controls Captain Toad (or Toadette) through mazes, platforms and tunnels. Completed objectives are then checked on the storybook page, and a stamp appears once all objectives are met.

Captain Toad cannot jump, but he can pick-up and use turnips and other tools, like a pickax that defeats the enemies and destroys the blocks in Captain Toad's way for a limited time or a cherry that creates a duplicate Captain Toad. The WiiU GamePad is used in different ways to help Captain Toad move around: tilting the GamePad (or using the right analog) changes the view to help spot hidden objects, some parts of the level can be rotated, raised or lowered by touching them on the GamePad screen, and some wheels can be turned via the touch screen to rotate certain platforms. If Captain Toad gets hurt, he shrinks down, and regains his normal size if he uses a mushroom. If he gets hurt a second time, he loses a life; if all lives are lost, it's game over. Finding a 1-up mushroom or collecting 100 coins adds an additional life.

In some levels, Captain Toad rides a mine cart and the player must shoot at coins, blocks, enemies and treasures as the cart moves towards the golden star.

In the later 3DS and Switch version, the bonus levels based on Super Mario 3D World were replaced with new levels based upon worlds from Super Mario Odyssey, including levels which could be unlocked using the 3 Super Mario Odyssey Wedding Amiibo's. Additionally, after failing a level a set amount of times a invincibility mushroom will appear to aid in passing the level.

Spellings

  • Susume! Kinopio-taichō - Japanese spelling romanization
  • é€²ć‚ļ¼ć‚­ćƒŽćƒ”ć‚Ŗ隊長 - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Wii U version)

125 People (103 developers, 22 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 35 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 18 ratings with 1 reviews)

A Backpack Overburdened with Adventure

The Good
Captain Toad and the Toad Brigade first showed up in a supporting role in Super Mario Galaxy, where they traveled the levels in their mushroom shaped spaceship. In Super Mario 3D World, Captain Toadā€™s role was upgraded to playable character in his own set of intermission style levels where he navigated cube-like levels, collecting stars. The gameplay in these levels was a grand departure from the rest of the game to accommodate Captain Toadā€™s complete inability to jump. As a result, they were snack-sized levels with light puzzle elements. They were also absolutely fantastic diversions, and it left me wanting a full game based around the concept. Almost a year after he first got his playable role, Captain Toad is back to make my wish come true.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker will feel pretty familiar to anyone who played the intermission levels in Mario 3D World. Most of the mechanics that were present there have made the transition to the full experience. For those uninitiated, the goal is to guide Captain Toad to the star at the end of a series of obstacles. Toadā€™s overburdened backpack slows him down to the point where heā€™s sluggish and ineffective in combat, so much of the game revolves around navigating simple puzzles to reach the star. Spatial awareness is pretty important, requiring the zoomed back camera to be rotated around the small levels to reveal hidden paths and enemies. The gamepadā€™s touchscreen is used to manipulate certain pieces of the landscape, and blowing in the microphone can raise platforms, which works a lot better than it sounds and is actually pretty enjoyable.

Alongside the stars, three gems are hidden in each course, and collecting them presents a greater challenge than merely reaching the star. While collecting every gem is optional, it is necessary to collect enough to proceed through some of the milestone levels. Should the gems not provide enough of a challenge, each level also contains a special objective that requires you to perform certain feats, such as completing the level without taking damage or eliminating every enemy in the level. While none of the above is likely to completely bake your noodle, they do provide a fun assortment of tasks to keep things progressing.

Even as someone who was hoping for an expanded version of the initial Captain Toad concept, I was surprised by how much mileage Nintendo got out of the familiar gameplay. Many of the levels twist the mechanics in extremely interesting ways, presenting challenges that have you navigating darkened houses, digging to the bottom of a series of tunnels, shooting turnips from atop a minecart, or my personal favourite, riding a train through a blizzard. There are a lot of standout courses that show off the creativity of the design team, and while some themes repeat, itā€™s generally a fresh experience for most of the levels.

Above all, I simply love the gameā€™s adorable presentation. Iā€™ve been generally lukewarm to Toad as a character, especially since he developed a voice that sounds like he smokes twelve packs a day, but his captain persona is one that Iā€™ve grown attached to. He shows off his personality quite well with the ways he celebrates or struggles with the weight of his backpack, and while it doesnā€™t reach the level of characterization found in something like Luigiā€™s Mansion: Dark Moon, it does go a long way to keeping things entertaining. Captain Toad is just a character Iā€™d like to see more of, and I hope heā€™s included in more of Marioā€™s future adventures.

As a side note, owners of Super Mario 3D World are given a little bonus for having a save file on their system. A number of bonus worlds are unlocked that are torn straight from Mario 3D World and rejiggered to allow Captain Toad to navigate them with his limited skills. The levels arenā€™t quite as fun to navigate as Toad, nor are they as fun as the core levels of Treasure Tracker, but itā€™s still a neat little bonus.

The Bad
I find it disappointing that, while the storyline sets everything up as though Captain Toad is setting out on some quest across dangerous territory, the gameplay doesnā€™t really give any sense of an expedition. Each level seems to be its own little pocket dimension and thereā€™s no feel of progression from one place to the next. Aside from the slowly ramping difficulty, thereā€™s no real suggestion of it being a journey.

The only time I got any sense of travel was during the Star Express level, which has Toad riding along on a train, but even it doesnā€™t show him actually getting anywhere. Thereā€™s never any transition between stages; one moment youā€™re in a haunted house, the next youā€™re in a volcano. The minecart levels would be well put to use if they linked up the various level types, but again, they exist only in their own place and time. Obviously this is a superficial complaint and doesnā€™t really have any impact on gameplay, but a more cohesive experience is something I feel the game would benefit from.

Thereā€™s a lot of recycling that goes on in Captain Toad. Visually, a lot of assets seem to be lifted directly from Super Mario 3D World and gussied up a bit, but the most noticeable example of re-use is with the boss battles. In total, thereā€™s about two, but theyā€™re repeated a few times throughout the game. Theyā€™re also largely the same battle each time, only toughened up a bit. I feel this is a massive missed opportunity, since there are a lot of interesting opportunities for boss encounters without the use of direct combat. While the rest of the game feels pretty tight, this particular piece of repetition feels lazy in hindsight.

The Bottom Line
I played Treasure Tracker to completion in about 18 hours. I completed every bonus stage, nabbed every gem, and beat every target time. Iā€™m satisfied with what was provided, but Iā€™d still like to see more down the line. In an industry thatā€™s become swamped in dour and serious games that show little relation to their light-hearted roots, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a nice diversion. Perhaps if Captain Toad ever returns, heā€™ll do so in a more cohesive adventure that utilizes the mechanics presented here to create a more long-form adventure. As it is though, Treasure Tracker is an OUTSTANDING game that successfully expands on the initial Captain Toad concept into a tight and creative game.

Wii U · by Adzuken (836) · 2015

Trivia

Awards

  • EGM
    • 2014 - ranked 24 (Top 25 of 2014)

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  • MobyGames ID: 70277
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Fred VT.

Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS added by Rik Hideto.

Additional contributors: Alaka.

Game added December 25, 2014. Last modified March 14, 2024.