Back when Nintendo was struggling to release an acceptable amount of games for their now buried Wii U system, they had the idea of transforming one of the bonus modes from Super Mario 3D World into a full-fledged game. That idea resulted in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, a little puzzle-platformer in which your objective was to traverse diorama-like levels and collect stars and some extra treasures, all while not being able to jump. It was an okay game, but far from being mind-blowing. Just like the vast majority of Nintendo-made Wii U games, Captain Toad just got ported to the Switch and it’s pretty much the same game as before.

It’s hard to come up with a lot of things to say about the Switch version of Captain Toad because, with the exception of a few new stages and the removal of some gameplay gimmicks, this is the exact same game as before. The graphics are the same: colorful and charming, but far from being impressive even for Wii U standards. The good thing about the visuals is that the game runs at an excellent framerate when on handheld mode, making it the ideal way for you to play it. It also features a few instances of touch-based controls, something that’s still not very utilized on most Switch games.

The differences here lie on the inclusion of a few new levels based on Super Mario Odyssey, replacing the previous Super Mario 3D World-based levels (weird, considering Captain Toad was originally a bonus mode from that specific game), as well as the removal of every single gameplay gimmick that used to take advantage of some of the Wii U’s gamepad’s features. For instance, remember when you had to blow on the microphone in order to generate wind to move some platforms around? That’s absent this time around: said platforms move on their own.

To sum it up, this version of Captain Toad is basically the same game you’ve already played on the Wii U. There’s no reason to replay it if you have done that the first time around and there’s nothing too exciting to justify a full-priced purchase if you haven’t. It’s a good game that oozes an irritating amount of charm, but this is far from being one of Nintendo’s best titles out there.

 

Graphics: 7.5 The visuals are cute and colorful, but the game looks exactly like the Wii U version of Captain Toad.	Gameplay: 7.0 The same simplistic gameplay as before with less gimmicks this time around, due to the Switch’s lack of a microphone.
Sound: 6.5 A few cute songs here and there, a few cute Toad voice clipes here and there. Everything’s decent, nothing’s impressive.	Fun Factor: 6.0 It’s the same Captain Toad game you’ve played before, with half a dozen new levels and less gimmicks. There’s no reason to replay this game if you have already played the Wii U version.
Final Verdict: 6.5

Reviewed on Switch.
Also available on: Wii U, 3DS