When Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was revealed as a retail title, it was simultaneously heralded as an exciting new spin-off IP by fans of the Super Mario 3D World Captain Toad stages, and an unabashed Nintendo cash grab by the cynics.
Far be it from me to call anyone a fool, but those bashing Captain Toad as a mini-game cash grab have to be feeling a little red in the cheeks now. Captain Toad‘s latest trailer gives a glimpse of 70 stages. They are by no means limited in size, shape, or mechanics. It’s plain to see, the level design, puzzles, and just the overall charm of the game tells you that a lot of effort has been packed into Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Several glimpsed stages look absolutely enormous compared to the Super Mario 3D World levels.
Size and theme are not the only differences though. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker boasts a slew of new features in his first solo outing. Stage complexity has taken a giant leap forward, and many stages can be manipulated in ways not seen before. Captain Toad‘s original adventures look unimaginative and empty by comparison. New mechanics such as mine carts, pickaxes, first person turnip shooting, and more. Don’t forget the new, but distinctly Nintendo, enemies either. Stages also have bonus objectives on top of collection gems and stars. It’s kind of crazy how much people underestimated this game.
The extremely short development time and the fact the IP existed as a mini-game of sorts prior to this release probably colored many people’s opinions. However the fast development time was easily explained by Nintendo‘s most recent investor’s meeting Q&A. Now that they’re familiar with HD development delays will be reduced, and since games are needed in short order Nintendo is teaming with third parties for swift assistance in asset creation. They plan to bolster their line ups with spin-off IPs that make use of these and existing assets. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is just the start. For example, with the reveal of a Mute City track in Mario Kart 8, it’s not hard to see how this creative recycling could be used to quickly churn out a new F-Zero game.
If creative recycling is to become the norm for the Wii U, then Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is a great first step and proof that the concept can create original games capable of standing on their own merit.
