Date played: January 3rd
Platform: Wii U
Session fun rating: 10/10
I finished Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker!
I've completed every level, gathered every gem and fulfilled every bonus objective in all 4 books. The last few puzzles were getting pretty difficult and the bonus objectives were just plain hard at times.
The environments and puzzles were as varied as ever in the 3rd book. I sped through an Arabian themed flip panel footpath. I shot blocks with turnips to make a path in some sandy badlands. I fought a final, golden version of the dragon boss. I skulked through a shadowy den of Shy Guys. I sled down a wonderfully lit pinball sort of level. I had Toadette and 3 clones get shot out of cannons through a poison canal. I climbed through the Magikoopa Keep and fought it's wizard owners. I spun three large grass rings to make a path to the star in the clouds. I ran from rising poison in a ghost infested mansion. I avoided little ladybugs as I touched some platforms on the Gamepad. I wracked my brain against a color crate carousel. I moved platforms in a Japanese dojo while avoiding giant spiked balls of death. I sped through a deep-space gyromajig while avoiding Bullet Bills. I scaled a scaffold as it sank into lava. Captain Toad sure gets around for a little dude.
One of my favorite levels was Fright Train Flight. On it's own, it wasn't all that special, but the bonus objective was a fun challenge. I had to kill all the weird lantern wielding monsters. There weren't enough turnips in the level to do the job, so I had to use two other tactics. I was able to lure some of them towards little birds that stomp down on the ground when Toad gets too close. I essentially made the birds kill the monsters. The second method I used was much cooler. I used a Charging Chuck, the football player enemy, to plow through all the enemies in the level. I had to carefully navigate through the ghost monsters while avoiding the fast Charging Chuck. It was quite satisfying.
Another cool one was a retro, Donkey Kong styled level, complete with chip tune music and a 2D layout. I also enjoyed a marathon through a magma road. The bonus objective forced me to get some help from my girlfriend. The place had some of the running pads that force Toad to run for a while AND some platforms that are activated by blowing on the controller. In essence, my girlfriend blew my gamepad to make things easier for me. Yep.
Finally, I faced off against Wingo, the giant bird, one last time in his fortress, this time more challenging than ever. In the end, Toad and Toadette got the star and were really cute and happy about it. It was interesting to see that Captain Toad is a prequel to Super Mario 3D World. There were cut scenes in the ending that showed Mario and his friends at the beginning of 3D World, but then extended a bit to show Captain Toad following after them.
I then completed all the bonus levels that remained. There were 4 levels where Captain Toad's friends, the Toad Brigade, had to be found. These little guys then follow the Captain around for the entire level. They are vulnerable to enemies and other hazards which makes things really fucking difficult. I ended up clearing the levels of as many enemies as I could before gathering my little useless buddies.
Mummy-Me is a Toad mummy that chases the hero through the level and follows the exact same path as the player. There were 3 levels like this, all more challenging than the last. The trick here is to make yourself a path that doesn't bite you in the ass. The most difficult of these was against the dragon boss. While the boss is normally pretty easy, having some asshole chasing you the whole time makes things very hard. I lost a solid 15 lives here before I was able to complete the bonus objective.
At the very end, there is another level that unlocks. It's a Mummy-Me maze with multiple levels, I think at least 50. I tried it out and made it to level 14 before a Goomba killed me. Honestly, it's nice that they put a level like this in the game, but I have no interest in going back to it. It's not for me.
Treasure Tracker is an amazing little game that was worth every minute I spent with it. I'm glad Nintendo made it. It's original, beautiful and a lot more challenging than people made it out to be, at least if completing the bonus objectives.
Platform: Wii U
Session fun rating: 10/10
I finished Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker!
I've completed every level, gathered every gem and fulfilled every bonus objective in all 4 books. The last few puzzles were getting pretty difficult and the bonus objectives were just plain hard at times.
The environments and puzzles were as varied as ever in the 3rd book. I sped through an Arabian themed flip panel footpath. I shot blocks with turnips to make a path in some sandy badlands. I fought a final, golden version of the dragon boss. I skulked through a shadowy den of Shy Guys. I sled down a wonderfully lit pinball sort of level. I had Toadette and 3 clones get shot out of cannons through a poison canal. I climbed through the Magikoopa Keep and fought it's wizard owners. I spun three large grass rings to make a path to the star in the clouds. I ran from rising poison in a ghost infested mansion. I avoided little ladybugs as I touched some platforms on the Gamepad. I wracked my brain against a color crate carousel. I moved platforms in a Japanese dojo while avoiding giant spiked balls of death. I sped through a deep-space gyromajig while avoiding Bullet Bills. I scaled a scaffold as it sank into lava. Captain Toad sure gets around for a little dude.
One of my favorite levels was Fright Train Flight. On it's own, it wasn't all that special, but the bonus objective was a fun challenge. I had to kill all the weird lantern wielding monsters. There weren't enough turnips in the level to do the job, so I had to use two other tactics. I was able to lure some of them towards little birds that stomp down on the ground when Toad gets too close. I essentially made the birds kill the monsters. The second method I used was much cooler. I used a Charging Chuck, the football player enemy, to plow through all the enemies in the level. I had to carefully navigate through the ghost monsters while avoiding the fast Charging Chuck. It was quite satisfying.
Another cool one was a retro, Donkey Kong styled level, complete with chip tune music and a 2D layout. I also enjoyed a marathon through a magma road. The bonus objective forced me to get some help from my girlfriend. The place had some of the running pads that force Toad to run for a while AND some platforms that are activated by blowing on the controller. In essence, my girlfriend blew my gamepad to make things easier for me. Yep.
 |
| Cutest. Celebration. Ever. |
I then completed all the bonus levels that remained. There were 4 levels where Captain Toad's friends, the Toad Brigade, had to be found. These little guys then follow the Captain around for the entire level. They are vulnerable to enemies and other hazards which makes things really fucking difficult. I ended up clearing the levels of as many enemies as I could before gathering my little useless buddies.
Mummy-Me is a Toad mummy that chases the hero through the level and follows the exact same path as the player. There were 3 levels like this, all more challenging than the last. The trick here is to make yourself a path that doesn't bite you in the ass. The most difficult of these was against the dragon boss. While the boss is normally pretty easy, having some asshole chasing you the whole time makes things very hard. I lost a solid 15 lives here before I was able to complete the bonus objective.
At the very end, there is another level that unlocks. It's a Mummy-Me maze with multiple levels, I think at least 50. I tried it out and made it to level 14 before a Goomba killed me. Honestly, it's nice that they put a level like this in the game, but I have no interest in going back to it. It's not for me.
Treasure Tracker is an amazing little game that was worth every minute I spent with it. I'm glad Nintendo made it. It's original, beautiful and a lot more challenging than people made it out to be, at least if completing the bonus objectives.
