What's the Greatest Video Game: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker

This is an ongoing list where I attempt to do the following: Play, Complete, and Rank every video game in the known universe in order to finally answer the age old question "What is the greatest game of all time?" For previous entries find the links on the attached spreadsheet.

How did I do?

Oh boy, it has been awhile since I was ranking a game. However, I'm back and its time to tackle that BIG franchise that everyone just can't stop talking about "Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker." It was a fun little game that I would play with my wife in small installments and only just beat recently despite starting it months ago. That isn't a referendum on how long this game actually takes to beat, just how we like to take our time through games.

Lets start at the basics, Captain Toad is at its forefront a puzzle game. You are given a small diorama of what could be a mario level, and you are trying to navigate how you can take Toad from the start of the puzzle to the Star at the end of the puzzle. If this was a regular Mario game, that would be fairly easy, but our hero Toad can't jump or really fight enemies and instead has to out-maneuver and out-think his way to the star. The game can be played completed in 2-Player co-op (which I did) in which case Toad and Toadette are attempting to get the Star. She plays the same way, and the difficulty in 2 player is that you are sharing the same camera that overlooks the level, so whenever you change the camera view it applies to the whole screen meaning a player might have to play a little blind, or you have to stick together.

In these levels, you will usually have to spin and rotate the camera to see things that are initially hidden from the view you start with. This is a fully 3D room, so switches, keys, or coins might be behind pillars or in rooms that you can't initially see. As you rotate the level you will start to see paths or items that you may need in order to reach the end. It's a really interesting concept and one that the game uses really well, sometimes that schtick grows a little stale, because you realize that the whole game is looking for those hidden objects. If you are going for a complete collection of items, you will get very accustomed to spotting things that look suspicious enough as you start each level by taking a good long spin of the camera to plan out your attack.

Now as discussed earlier, Toad can't do much, so your process has to take that into consideration. If there is a switch up on a ledge, you can't simply jump up there to trigger it, but need to see if there is a way you can fall to that ledge, or find an elevator that will raise you up to hit it. Toad is faster than most enemies but lacks a way to deal with them, so you either need to out move them, or find plants that allow you to throw a radish at them (like Mario 2). If you do get hit, you can sometimes find a mushroom in the level to help you regain your health, but Toad can only take 2 hits before he dies and you need to start the level over. If you are playing co-op, and one toad dies, you still lose a life, but that player will re-appear shortly in a bubble and can then re-join the living character to continue the level. More on that later.

The puzzle levels themselves break down into only three categories. There are traversal levels, where the main obstacle is just trying to figure out how you get Toad from point A to Z. These usually have lots of pipes, moving platforms, varying height ledges, etc. You probably aren't at the risk of dying a lot in these levels, but you might just have to do a lot of walking to reach the finish. The 2nd type are what I call Camera levels. These are levels where your main obstacle is simply working the camera. This might be tight spaces, or a level with lots of nooks and crannies, or a level that constantly has you rotating the screen to follow your character. These also aren't genuinely difficult, but are certainly the most annoying, especially in two player. The final type of level are enemy levels. These are usually levels that throw a lot more enemies at you then normal, and since Toad can't really fight back you have to figure out how to make it out without dying. Obviously there are combo platters throughout the game as on the Switch version, you are playing through 60 + levels and that is not counting bonus levels you get after beating the game.

Each level, all told, is relatively short and depending on your skills on the sticks could take you anywhere from 2-10 minutes to complete a level, which means you can fly through this game once you get into the groove, but there are extra items you can go for while playing. Each level has 3 gems which you can use to pay for later levels (the asking price is usually less than 2 gems a level), and you will stumble on a lot of gems just naturally playing through the game. In addition to Gems there is a bonus objective that reveals itself after you beat the level for the first time, and these might ask you to beat a level without killing a single enemy, or collecting X amount of coins. On top of that there are speedruns of each level upon completion, and a weird "mini-game" where you replay the level playing hide-and seek with a Pixel version of Toad. In that mode, a Pixel toad hides in the level, and you have to find him and click on the screen to activate him, however he might be hiding under blocks, or in areas that require to work through the level to even have him appear. Outside of the gems all of the "bonus" collectables are fairly generic filler for the game, and while that may be true to all games, Toad seems a little like they knew they had to pad it out.

For instance the Gems you can get on your first attempt through a level, if you are searching high and low for them, but the bonus objectives, speedrun, and pixel toad require to replay the level separately for each attempt. Pixel toad is the strangest as in I don't understand why it is there, except for padding. You enter the level missing some of its components, (no star or gems to find) and just locate pixel toad who doesn't reward you for finding him. This isn't a way to earn extra lives, or even help you learn the level layout (since it unlocks after you beat it), its just a weird collectable. Now, I'm all for collectables, but they should have them all in the level from playthrough 1, knowing that I have to go back multiple times to fully complete a level is unnecessary. Granted they are exactly that "unnecessary," but figured I should bring them up.

Where this game shines however is in its Co-op play. I have discussed it a little bit above, but each player is equal and given full access to do everything in the level, with a safety net in case they die. Player 1 isn't solely in control of the camera, and they are not the only ones that can collect stars, it is open for everyone and makes it an ideal game to play with kids or a SO that might not be into games. The game is cutesy and low stakes enough that they can pay without having to memorize button combinations or master difficult controls. You could even have them not opt to operate the camera, and you control it for them on their behalf. If you play it that way, then they only need to know the one action button and the joystick to be able to move around. The levels don't scale for difficulty, so whether you are playing 1 or 2 player, there are the same number of enemies, coins, blocks, etc in each level.

Captain Toad is not going to win any awards for the greatest game, its a fun game in small doses, great entry point for young players, and a solid co-op experience. I think a lot of people who play this game solo will get bored with it well before they finish. For instance you fight the same dragon like 3 times, and while the levels are different, its the same setup everytime. However, I think this is one of those relaxing games that you put on for an hour at a time and knock out some levels and then play something else. I enjoyed my playtime with it, but that was because I was playing it like an hour every other week Co-op until we ran credits. In that setting, I think the game is perfect, but those that might want something to sustain them outside of the 8-10 hours it takes to complete will probably leave pretty disappointed.

Is this the greatest game of all time?: Sorry Toad, but no

Where does it rank: I think this is a solid game, its not quite in the heavy hitter range, and I would not necessarily recommend this game to everyone like maybe my top 10 or 20 games on this list, but if you approach it with the right attitude you will enjoy it, despite its misgivings. I have it placed 34th out of 83 games. It is between "Loco Roco" (35th) and "Empire of Sin" (33rd)

Up Next: Manuel Samuel (Switch)

Anyone looking for it: here is the link to the list and more if you are interested in following along with me (this is not a self promotion). Here. I added links on the spreadsheet for quick navigation. Now if you missed a blog of a game you want to read about, you can get to it quickly, rather than having to scroll through my previous blogs wondering when it came up.

Thanks for Listening.

First of all, how dare you review this game without any kind of "hidden gem" pun?

Secondly, HOW DARE YOU REVIEW THIS GAME WITHOUT ANY KIND OF "HIDDEN GEM" PUN?

Thirdly, I think it's worth noting that this was a spinoff from Mario 3D World, where there were a few Captain Toad levels inserted for...some reason or other. It may have been the gaming equivalent of a backdoor pilot. In theory this means that on the Wii U most people who bought this game had already played the equivalent of a demo for it, since who was buying Treasure Tracker but not 3D World, but when it came to Switch they ported Treasure Tracker first.

As a game it's decent and inoffensive but the convoluted story behind it and what it shows about Nintendo's practices and priorities is interesting to me. I don't suppose that influences its place on the list.

On the other hand I think it does have a lot in common with Loco Roco. It's a minor first party game for a handheld with a peppy upbeat attitude and easy breezy gameplay that's platformer-like but kind of nontraditional.

@bigsocrates: Thanks for the read. I actually did not know this background to the game. I obviously knew this wasn't originally a switch game, but I didn't know it was basically tested in another game.

In terms of its ranking, yeah Nintendo practices don't really weigh in. But yeah it's an inoffensive game that works great on a handheld, but it won't be anyone's favorite Nintendo game.

I did everything in the Wii U version, so obviously I enjoyed the game quite a bit. But also, I played Wii U games a lot more thoroughly back then because there weren't many to choose from! I forgot that they added co-op to future versions, in my mind I think it would be annoying but it sounds like it works well. My favorite Nintendo co-op experience is Luigi's Mansion 3, I wouldn't want to play it any other way!

I wish I liked this game more than I did, but for me it ended up kind of the poster child for "this idea worked great in small doses in the game it started out in but doesn't work so well as its own thing." Like a not so great (not bad, just not so great) SNL movie.

@jeremyf: thanks for the read.. I never owned a WiiU, but I get it, I did the same thing for me with the N64, because I would only get 1-2 games a year, so I did everything I could for those games. For toad, it's a very different feeling playing it solo after playing so many levels co-op, despite co-op having the ability to bubble up and 2 people playing to collect everything, it feels too easy solo.

You have the whole camera to yourself, can zoom in to your hearts content, and you aren't waiting or watching your partner handle their pieces. It's less fun to me solo, and at this point I can't imagine playing this game fully through without having someone play with me.

@sethmode: thanks for the read.. yeah it is a game that is best in small doses. If this was my primary game and something I was playing daily, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did as an occasional palette cleanser from other games.