In a lot of ways, Captain Toad seems to be very different than anything that EAD Tokyo has worked on before- the primary difference here is just how little mobility Captain Toad has compared to the Mario Bros. gang- he can’t jump, he walks slowly, and basically his movement is the basis for the game’s puzzles all on its own. There is combat, but it is entirely limited. But at the same time, it rings true to EAD Tokyo’s strengths- just like the Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D games, Captain Toad presents each new level as a fully self contained world, a diorama that is a delight to explore, like looking into a toy world through a window. The greatest puzzle in Captain Toad is the world you find yourself in in each level, and once you understand its compactness and its intricacies, and then work on unraveling them, it gives you the kind of satisfaction that few other games manage.

Each new Captain Toad stage appears to be almost laughably small when you first set eyes on it- a small box or a floating platform that fits entirely on your screen. But then you rotate the camera to take in the lay of the land, and the small world grows- there’s a hidden path! And what’s that in that corner, over there? It’s like when, as a child, you were playing with your Legos and your toys, and your imagination would let them grow in scale so that all of a sudden, they surrounded you and enveloped you, and you could get lost in their world.

Rotating the camera and getting a feel for the lay of the land is important, but it is also equally important to take stock of your immediate surroundings, and Captain Toad lets you do just that. As much as it is important to know what lies ahead, you need to be sure that you are not in immediate danger, and Captain Toad lets you do just that. It is a game that puts you entirely at the mercy of the world- with Toad’s limited range of abilities, you need to take advantage of the environment to get through to the goal in each level.

"It's like when, as a child, you were playing with your Legos and your toys, and your imagination would let them grow in scale so that all of a sudden, they surrounded you and enveloped you, and you could get lost in their world. "

Admittedly, this is not exactly difficult, at least for the first half of the game or so. As charming and fun as Captain Toad is, for the first half of the game, it is hard to ignore the distinct feeling that it is not entirely living up to its potential, since the puzzles and their solutions are rather easy, once you understand just how things work. Happily enough, the second half of the game significantly amps the challenge up, with some genuine mind twisters thrown your way.

Treasure Tracker is also one of the few games where I appreciated the usage of the Wii U Gamepad. While this is far from being a game that would only have worked on the Gamepad, it at least embraces the controller and makes good use of its functionality. As mentioned before, you are almost entirely at the mercy of the world around you, but you are not entirely helpless, since you can, to a limited extent, manipulate the world for yourself. The Gamepad screen lets you move objects, press switches, spin gears, and more, to either create or clear a way for you. It works well enough- too well, actually, in that most of the times, I would end up just ignoring my TV screen, and play the game on the controller entirely.

In so many other ways, Captain Toad shares similarities with Mario- you have the same kinds of power ups, the same kind of structure with levels and worlds, and the same kinds of hidden items (gems, in this case) needed to unlock future levels. It works well, and it lends a sense of comfortable familiarity to the game as well. Working alongside just how charming and cute Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker really is- this might be the cutest game Nintendo has put out in a while, and that really is saying something- you can’t help but snuggle at the smile that the game puts on your face.

All of this said, there are also a fair few problems with the game. It really is nothing serious or game breaking, but they are jarring and annoying enough to hamper the experience. Most of these problems are related to the interface and UI of the game (which comes as a bit of a shock, since recent Nintendo games have all done so well on that front)- for instance, there is no quick retry option in the menu for you to attempt the same level again, should you decide halfway through that something went wrong. It’s singularly annoying, and very troublesome, not to mention just outright baffling- how did Nintendo forget to include something as basic as this?

"Whether you are a child playing your first video game, or an adult coming back home, looking to unwind after a long day of work, and just hoping to lose yourself in the game's warm, relaxing atmosphere, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a genuinely good game that deserves a place in your library."

There is also the lack of a persistent stats tracker, which makes this game far more cumbersome than it should be. You see, each level has a mandatory objective, needed to progress, some optional side objectives, such as the gemstones, and then, it has an additional objective, unique to it- all of these need to be cleared to achieve 100% completion of that level, and all levels need to be 100%ed before you achieve 100% in the game itself.

Amazingly enough, there is no consolidated area for you to track this progress- the level select screen shows you what all you have achieved in each level, but having to scroll through over 70 levels, one at a time, to figure out just what you have left in what level, is annoying enough to discourage you from the idea of going for 100% completion entirely. It’s a shame, because Captain Toad begs to be replayed and re-explored, too.

Al of these problems aside, however, it still stands as a really fun, really charming game. And at a budget price of $40, there really is no reason to not get it. It might have its issues, it might be too easy, but it’s really universal in its appeal- whether you are a child playing your first video game, or an adult coming back home, looking to unwind after a long day of work, and just hoping to lose yourself in the game’s warm, relaxing atmosphere, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a genuinely good game that deserves a place in your library.

This game was reviewed on Wii U.

So when they revealed Super Mario 3D World last E3, a game that looked like a glorified port of the 3DS’s admittedly excellent Super Mario 3D Land, people were furious. A flagship 3D Mario game is supposed to be a showcase for the system it is on! 3D World seemed like it was a quick, NSMB-style cash grab to prop up failing Wii U sales.

As time went by, and we saw more and more of the game, we understood that maybe we’d judged the game too soon. Mario 3D World looked wonderful, brimming with new ideas, bursting with creativity and new mechanics. It looked like platforming goodness. Yes, it did lack the ambition of a Galaxy game, but it looked pretty fun regardless. And now, the game has released, and everyone has had a chance to have a go at it. And if there is one thing that it teaches us, above anything else, it is to never doubt EAD Tokyo. Ever.

"The music in Mario games has always been great, and 3D World continues that tradition, with remixes of great old classics, and new tunes that will add to the pantheon, and stick with you for ages after you are done with the game."

The first thing you will notice when you start playing Super Mario 3D World is how gorgeous it looks. The Wii U’s relative lack of power compared to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 has been well documented, but you wouldn’t know it upon playing 3D World. Nintendo has always had an innately incredible sense of artstyle, and now, with their move to HD, said artstyle gets to shine. Mario 3D World looks stunning in motion. In technical terms, it’s a bit simple (although the draw distances and lighting are top class), but the sheer colors and character models all pop out, making the game stand out. It’s like years of suppressed HD goodness from Nintendo all comes tumbling out, as Super Mario 3D World might be the best looking game Nintendo has ever created. It is also the first example from the company to hit retail that the Wii U might not be as vastly outpowered (at least functionally) by the other two consoles as raw numbers would have you believe.

The great graphics are accompanied by a nice, upbeat, jazzy soundtrack. The music in Mario games has always been great, and 3D World continues that tradition, with remixes of great old classics, and new tunes that will add to the pantheon, and stick with you for ages after you are done with the game.

The best music and graphics in the world could not save a Mario game if it did not play well, and 3D World does not disappoint- it has everything from the previous Mario games that was great, and then it throws in ideas of its own. The game is swelling at the seams with new ideas and boundless creativity. Every new level introduces a new mechanic, a mechanic compelling enough to craft an entire game around, and then proceeds to discard it, and never use it again. You don’t even miss the mechanic either, because there’s always something new, something more exciting, than what you just got.

"The chaos and mayhem of New Super Mario Bros is here, present, but compounded and multiplied, because now, within a full 3D space, so much more is possible."

The amazing thing is how well the game itself is designed around all these plethora of mechanics- the controls are incredibly tight and responsive, as finely tuned as in a 2D platformer, the sense of control and momentum with each character just feels perfect and tangible. The controls themselves are backed up by some great level design, possibly the finest the series has ever seen outside of Super Mario Galaxy 2. The first few worlds are admittedly simple and straightforward, but just as you begin to get complacent, the game tips the boat, and starts throwing increasingly wilder and more inventive level designs at you. By the end, the level design will be mind blowingly incredible, and will constantly keep you on edge (literally), with only your mastery of the game’s equally great controls getting you through.

But reaching the end in itself will take a while- Mario 3D World is a game that will probably last you a fair bit. In terms of game length, it’s anywhere from 16-20 hours long, but the catch comes with the game’s multiplayer mode, which harkens to the co-op mayhem introduced in the New Super Mario Bros. series, while also functioning as a throwback to Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES. This makes it the first 3D Mario game to have this feature, and the results are glorious. While there are a fair few levels that feel like they were designed and balanced primarily for single player, most of the times, the game just becomes an outrageous, out and out free for all. The chaos and mayhem of New Super Mario Bros is here, present, but compounded and multiplied, because now, within a full 3D space, so much more is possible.

It’s the kind of mode that’ll have you returning to the game over and over again, even after you are done with it, having conquered everything you possibly could in its already meaty single player. When people are over, you’ll bust Mario 3D World out, and watch as the chaos ensues. A lot of the game’s finesse and finely tuned balance are often lost in the brute force anarchy of the multiplayer, but it doesn’t seem to matter, simply because of how fun it is.

"Where Nintendo's mascot goes from here is anybody's guess. All we know is, it'll be completely unexpected, and the very essence of fun."

And if you don’t care for it, then you’re all set anyway- Mario 3D World is designed first and foremost as a single player game, and as that, it is every bit as compelling and as epic as the Galaxy games. It may lack their immediate ambition, and perhaps their scope, but its creativity transcends anything that the Mario series has done yet. When Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy 2, people wondered where they would go next- what could Mario conquer after having conquered the cosmos?

For years, people speculated about the existence of a Super Mario Universe, one that would realize the promise of Galaxy on an even broader scale. Mario 3D World is just the opposite of that. After his inter galactic adventures, Mario lands back to this world. The landing and grounding was perhaps necessary, as, freed from any external conceit, it let the developers focus on what is, more than anything else, important in a Mario game. Where Nintendo’s mascot goes from here is anybody’s guess. All we know is, it’ll be completely unexpected, and the very essence of fun.

This game was reviewed on Wii U.