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When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule.
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Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences. I’ve completed the game twice on Wii U, and even on my third playthrough of the game on Switch, occasionally found myself stumped by Nintendo’s level designers. While Treasure Tracker isn’t a particularly difficult game, many of the game’s hidden objects are diabolically buried in dense, brilliantly designed mazes. It’s the optional objectives, like collecting every special gem or a cleverly tucked away golden mushroom, where Treasure Tracker’s true fun and challenge lies. The goal in most levels is to walk (or quickly waddle) Captain Toad or Toadette toward a glittering gold star. levels, that must be twisted, turned and explored to pluck out every secret. Levels are made mostly of tiny dioramas, like tiny chunks carved out of larger, more traditional 3D Super Mario Bros. The game is still a smart, charming series of puzzles starring Toad and Toadette as they hunt for treasure with a disarming cheerfulness.
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Not much has changed for the Switch version of Captain Toad. One of the Wii U’s best efforts, the charming puzzle-action game Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker comes to Nintendo Switch (and Nintendo 3DS systems) this week, giving Nintendo fans an opportunity to atone for the sin of missing it the first time around. With the Switch, Nintendo has a platform that offers a second chance to games that were criminally overlooked when originally released on the company’s previous system, the poorly performing Wii U.
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