Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was a bit of a surprise when it was first announced at Nintendo’s digital E3 event earlier this year. Based off a minigame in the popular and wildly successful Super Mario 3D World, it’s been expanded into a disc of its own, albeit at a discounted price. While at first it may seem somewhat of a desperate bid to pad out the Wii U lineup, the end result is a puzzler well worth your time if you really enjoyed that part of last year’s edition of Mario.

For those not familiar with the original minigame, it’s pretty easy to pick up. After his companion Toadette is kidnapped by a giant bird named Wingo, Captain Toad is plunked down into various stages where the goal is to make it all the way to the gold star at a certain point that is at a distance or otherwise inaccessible to begin with. You must guide him past obstacles and baddies using your thumbsticks (left to move, right to rotate the stage, as a lot of the puzzle element comes with discovering paths hidden from view in certain angles). Unlike Mario and pals, Captain Toad is unable to jump because he carries a huge backpack that’s too heavy! Just like Mario though, he can take a hit and replenish his health with a mushroom before dying. He can also use his head lamp, which can reveal hidden coins and other secrets as well as stop ghosts in their tracks. If push comes to shove he can also pull up turnips from the ground and throw them at enemies, SMB2 style, or he can pick up a pickaxe for a few seconds and take them out that way as well as any obstacle blocks in his path. You can also make use of special wheels with the gamepad touchscreen in order to move platforms. There are also mine cart stages where you use the gamepad to throw turnips from a first period perspective while Captain Toad rolls through the mine on the TV.

The early parts of the game are fairly easy to conquer if your only goal is getting to the star and advancing the stage, but the real tricky part is picking up the 3 super gems per stage as well as the special challenge which often involves feats like defeating all the enemies or avoiding being spotted by them. To accomplish that you’ll be replaying it a lot. The level variety is superb, as you’ll be dealing with water stages, desert stages, Boo mansions, etc. Boss battles do a good job of incorporating all the elements while bringing the tension of more action to the proceedings. Halfway through there is a twist which flips the script so to speak and brings a higher level of difficulty, but it never spikes to a frustrating level as Nintendo continues to be a master at bringing you along at a proper pace. One great plus is if you already have played Super Mario 3D World, you can unlock even more levels with super gems based on that game. These levels are less puzzle-oriented but also give you an idea of what it would be like to be glued to the ground as Captain Toad in the more dangerous Mario world at large. My only complaint is that it is in these less forgiving levels that sometimes the controls might fail you at inopportune times, particularly when climbing ladders.

Being based on Super Mario 3D World’s engine, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker uses it and the Wii U hardware to full advantage, bringing bright colorful graphics at a silky smooth 60fps. I’ve got to say the music is quite catchy, even if there’s a comparatively smaller selection of tunes compared to a Mario game. Captain Toad and Toadette’s vocalizations are adorable as usual when they celebrate the start and end of each level.

In the end, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a cute little title that will keep just about anyone entertained for a decent amount of time, especially puzzle enthusiasts and fans of Super Mario 3D World and the original minigame in particular. It’s kind of odd that Nintendo would put this out amid the flood of other first party titles out this fall for the Wii U instead of saving it for a dry patch, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go grab it later. While I wouldn’t rate it a must grab title it’s certainly a great value.

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