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That odd mushroom fellow always at the boss stage of a world in Super Mario Bros. They've been that weird hit and miss character ever since NES decided it wanted to change our family rooms into our isolated, no one speak, I'm fucking almost done with world 4..............rooms.\n\n If you're not sure what the whole Mario Bros series is, just look up Nintendo. Like that'll be hard to figure. Needless to say I've never really found a stick with the character, or really most of the Toads. They just... if you created a species of midgets whose first interaction was eternal cock blocking with the personalities of solidified comedy relief back-up..you'd get Toads. \n\nA lot of people find them cute, funny, even charming. I just wanted to push them back into the ground and call it a day. Didn't really help when they gave them actual voices. Lord help me those voices, it's like they were born with throat cancer.... okay I'm off to a poor start. So what is this all about then, other than me condemning a species of shroom people? Well it's about the Wii-U title, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.\n\n Maybe some of you have played, others haven't given it a shot or don't have the means. Well who cares, I did and that is what matters most in all of this. \n\nI would like to think that as a gamer and more overall as a person, I've been in the process of change, perhaps even growth throughout the years. I've also been tempered by the presentation of cultural titles and new established classics, cult phenomena in the stretching generations passed my time.\n\n Needless to say, things got a whole bunch more pretty, worlds grew larger yet they somehow felt smaller, and I also think I lost some things along the way with the scope of those advancements. I'm also going to say I seriously lost my faith and enjoyment in a lot of franchises, even Nintendo's IP's. That's like...self suiciding my childhood idolizations of my a hero, a faceless corporation hell bent on making me their next medial junky.\n\n I just wanted grander experiences but I didn't even know what any of that meant being put down on paper, you can't put that down on paper so easily. I assumed my brain was just changing, and it really is, but there is more to it than just physical/chemical development. I didn't even realize it until I rolled my eyes and bought Captain Toad on discount. So where do we begin...well..\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n- It brought back something I thought was lost. -\n\nSo when I started up Captain Toad, I remember how much self regret I had from the moment I heard \" Time for Adventure! \" oh god, please don't tell me he has more dialogue, no one should ever give Toad more Audible dialogue. It was then I found myself in control of Toad along with Toadette, exploring an easily three dimensional set of floating ruins to grab a star at the top. \n\nBig bird comes, grabs star and of course Toadette isn't having any of that. No really, What an ingenious move just grabbing a star being held by a creature that is thirteen times your own size while being lifted into the sky. So it's up to you and Toad to go rescue them!....or the star. Didn't really ever specify, now that I think about it. The first few levels were introductory enough to the gameplay elements and controls. Sort of an extended tutorial if you will. \n\nI was not even fully aware how much fun I had been having or how each and every environment I explored felt new and inviting in its own way. It simply astounds me to think on the fact a game with tight boundaries and self contained areas could accomplish making myself want to see every part of that world. It has been so freaking long since I have felt that to the point where I didn't even know what I was feeling going through it all. That feeling of childish wonder and curiosity mingled with the emotion of accomplishment just to see it. How the hell was I feeling all of this when there were games way larger like Skyrim or more diverse like Mario Galaxy? \n\nI think the truth for myself had been that when I'd been younger, I had enough time to see an older world of story telling and progression. The SNES was on it's way out the door. Of course we didn't really afford on that console and stuck with an NES. Wasn't long until Nintendo unleashed the Polygons on us with the N64 and made our collective brains melt. I was fully cognitive at that point and self aware.\n\n Shit was great and happening. I'm a 90's kid, but I also know among the slop our poor brains were bombarded with, we were handed many precious gems of titles along with them. I'm talking titles like Ocarina of Time or final Fantasy 9,Odd World and all these insane things. They weren't just interactive worlds, they were lessons in their own rights, and you know me and video game lessons. Arcades were declining, not dead but inferior to the larger volume of personal titles. \n\nThe N64,PS1, even dreamcast taught us the patience of a story coming together, or how to appreciate the development of atmosphere, gradual change or mystifying concepts of adulthood even some adults don't get still. I'm not saying the 90's and early 2000 were the height of gaming, but I am saying they did something far different that most aren't even attempting any more these days. \n\nThey treated us like actual gamers and not demographics. When things were made, they weren't caught halfway on the cutting room floor and already deciding the sequel. People weren't withholding vital and ground breaking experiences because they needed to IV drip us the next fettered title just to make the first look like a chump and us as idiots for even buying it. We just got more expectant in return for the quality of games as time went on, and I'm a part of that, with shorter time periods of how much effort could be put into it.\n\n We put a bind on these companies and eventually they left more and more power to the investors because like the film industry, a circle of hell was formed: Need money, need to play it safe or investors/ fans won't buy. Ends badly because of budget and playing it safe, need money, can't get money. See where I'm going with this? It's not just about the money though, and it's not about me preaching both we and investors are the reasons I'm writing about this to begin with. \n\nWhen I sat down with and played Captain Toad, I just... I actually had fun playing it for just fuck's sake. I'm the guy who doesn't like to mess around all that often. Games stress me actually because I keep thinking I could be more productive doing art or devoting that one extra brain cell to cultural pursuit. I reached a point with games where unless I felt justified for the effort, I wasn't going to have any part in it. \n\nThat meant games like Elder Scrolls by Bethesda, or Warframe by Digital Extreme, had me hooked. Not because I was actually having a great time, I was having an okay time at the max, but because I felt validated by digital reward for my investment of time. I've had years of this relationship with games where I consider replayability and what that means as a factor to my overall enjoyment, let alone purchase of said game.\n\n I felt like I lost my joy in games. I played Super Mario Galaxy and I beat it, but I look back on it and shrug just like I did with Super Mario 64. Skyrim was huge!...but it all felt so flat and repetitious. Warframe isn't even about patience, it's about waiting three days to build something you waited 36 hours previously to build up to. that is abuse. \n\nI explored every inch of every level in Captain Toad, and even though we're not talking about large places, I wanted to see what I could. I felt invigorated like an actual explorer. I took my time and actually enjoyed wasting it, and for what? You're not given digi-reach arounds for effort in this game. The reward is feeling like you just did it. ( oh, also you need to unlock more levels with gems eventually!) The ironic thing is that in theory and concept, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is the closest I have been to Casual Gaming, and I'm talking Mobile style. Yet not for a second did I feel that to be true. So why didn't I feel it? It took a more subtle approach but when I realized it...\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n- It didn't encourage me. I encouraged myself. -\n\nAs I progressed through Captain Toad, I had the usual questions involved with what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, as well as the handful of other things that might go through the mind of an unbalanced and highly unstable man who should not be left alone with the Elderly. I didn't have the answers for the most part to those questions because I was just enjoying myself. It brings me back to the earlier games of my youth but why?\n\n Games for the past five or more years have grown more fast paced. It's actually a large part of human kind as a whole changing. We've only been growing faster and faster, making faster technology and machines, faster ways of communication, etc. With every generation, that encouragement of speed had bled out onto kids who don't even realize what kind of slow world we even used to be a part of. \n\nSo they want to be faster because to them it is the every day thing from that perspective. Now I'm not the only guy noticing this and I'm not making bank on the agenda of profiteering from it, but there is a reason why movies no matter how well done or performed, get worse reviews based on their length alone.\n\nThese past five years have been like being held at gunpoint by a stranger on speed, while doing more speed. A lot of games have ended more abruptly, lost their own change in the wake of more prevalent and to the point showmanship. Things happen quick, they resolve quick, they move on quicker. Interaction is simple and to the point, and no one wants to take a breath because game, game, game, fun, fun, FUN!!!!! \n\nEven arguing that there are in fact longer running games, there is still that matter of speed cascading us through them like some cyclone of dialogue. If there is too much, force it down the player's throat in one sitting to get it out of the way because screw it, let's get to the next thing as quickly as possible. I knew there was a problem when my game was more ADHD than me, and that is saying something.\n\n It's not saying games need to dull themselves out, but I am saying I seriously forgot the meaning of the word patience. Again, I was hooked up on fluid drip for the next thing and I wasn't even given time. I just had the power and access whenever I wanted to the point I skipped character dialogue and development. You can also argue that maybe some of that writing seriously sucked, but that is beside the point on this one.\n\nEven Nintendo, bless their need for FUCKING CLOCKS, contributed to that need to just Tokyo drift through their worlds. I remember playing Super Mario 3-D world also on the Wii-U. Does three minutes sound like enough time to appreciate what you're doing, romping through a large level, killing the bad guys, finding the hidden items, and taking in the sights? I'm going to say it flat: One. Of those things. Is getting cut.\n\n Guess which one? Sure I could go back but even then the timer remains like some angry father ( I had a lot of angry fathers, don't judge.) tapping their foot impatiently for me to get my ass in gear. If you went to a theme park, have you ever wanted to just look around and take in everything for yourself? If you have, imagine being tugged by the arm from one thing to the next, not even with your choice on the flow of things. Sure you'll have fun but it will be a blurr, this mess of motions and excitement. I can't even recall half the levels of Super Mario 3-D world because I just moved too FAST! \n\nThey always move so fast! The most weirdest thing I can imagine is that it almost feels like we're returning to arcade gaming, only its in our living rooms and on our phones. Also it is way more expensive. Hey if you enjoy arcade style gaming, more power to you, but it does worry thinking those traits are flowing into larger AAA titles. \n\nThen Captain Toad waddled along and made the infamous clock go in reverse without any repercussion. I was moved. I actually got to enjoy myself this time! It's how I got to familiarize myself with the levels, take my time and just appreciate all the amazing details and work you know Nintendo's cult of dark wizards had to sacrifice someone for. I realized I was having fun because I let myself.\n\n I didn't feel forced, I didn't feel restricted and kept in the corner until I could learn to move my feet and never stop moving them again. Every little bit of moment spent in each new place just oozed atmosphere, clever music and delightful experiences. I felt like a kid again. I felt free. Now before you say anything, yes, there have been other games out that haven't exactly tugged your arm until it came clean off.\n\n I just don't even know what it is, everything with Captain Toad made me want to sit back and relax, even in the places with lava or pipes filled with...leeches? I'm pretty sure those are the mario world equivalent of leeches. The game wasn't meant just to be casual or hardcore, it just had that right amount of both in it. The best part? I took it a step at a time at my own pace which by how enthralled I had been, would be a while. \n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n- Quality is truly defined by only you. - \n\n I can recall a single moment in Captain Toadstool, a single moment that stands out most apparent. My poor husband is the sound board for what I am about to relay. The player controlling captain toad as they wandered down a single path of a quiet forest. You couldn't walk to the left, you couldn't go in circles around anything.\n\n All you did was walk forward and then it faded out. That's it. A lot of games and their developers have been trying so hard for a long time now. They have been racking their brains, sacrificing concepts and visions to bring out the things people talk about the most. They keep trying harder and harder to maintain that consistency of connection and familiarity that sometimes is just painful and forced.\n\n They've been hurting for a while and many of the teams we grew up with thinking would eventually somehow rule the world or at least America, closed their doors and vanished. Even some of them became slaves to larger corporations who ripped away their identities just to make ends meet. Numbers are good, and I would like to believe we all share many values and ideal in common. However we've also bound ourselves by those values and tied down our expressions for the sake of acceptance.\n\nThe stunning thing to think about is just how great a game Captain Toad was to myself without even doing the things we consider so common now these days. You could hardly run fast, you couldn't jump, the levels were mainly small and restrictive and there wasn't really a story happening. It was another fever dream smoked up by Nintendo and by all means it is not a perfect title.\n\n We can also say games like MineCraft are poorly rendered at the heart, a voxel wasteland of pointless creating and building with outdated software. What we do say however is that Minecraft is a gateway to our imaginations, and the testament to that imagination. The graphics can be as shitty as they want, the coding can be terrible or the game can be unoptimized. Granted those are not good things, the point I am making is that so many struggle with the overall dictation of quality assessment because of how easily accessible, forward and quickly pased things have gotten around for a bit. \n\nWe have graphic lords who keep pushing both the software and hardware, and we have others that scream the difficulty is just not difficult enough. We even have people who just can't ever be happy with what they're given. Feel sorry for them. Take a moment, I mean that. \n\nWhat I'm trying to say is that in that one moment as I wandered down the single open road of a forest, unable to run, unable to jump, unable to interact with anything than the forward button, I realized how truly beautiful a game's world could be. All the years of repressed potential flew right into my face and I just gobbled it up because sometimes life feels meaningless and if something is in front of my face, beats nothing. \n\nCaptain Toad did things different and I'm not talking about Lollipop Chainsaw different, I mean that it almost seemed to have been reaching back into the past at the base and yet branching onto its own road by doing things not so obvious and explosive but subtle and personally rewarding.\n To many other people it could be just as good or far, far worse. Yet for me, I was the wandering gamer who just about gave up on experience over reward, until this game came along and made me think differently. That on it's own is a unique quality, and every game has the potential for that quality. \n\nThe ability to not just do things by the book, or do things crazy for the sake of being crazy because, hey, the cool kids like the niche things and their wallets are packing. What I'm saying is that games like Captain Toad and Minecraft both gave us in different ways the distance and self proximity to decide for ourselves what we really wanted to do with them. \n\nI'm glad it can be my guilty pleasure because I don't really feel guilty for calling it a pleasure feeling like a kid again if only for a brief while. They even made me tolerate Toads, Toads! Now I can't wait for the next one where there are two timers, reverse cut outs of the same level, microtransactions, and a bitching set of graphics so intense, reality will no longer have any meaning ever again.\n---------------------------------------------------\n\nIf you walk away from this thinking \" Yeah. Captain Toad was a fun game. I liked that one level. \" Hey, sweet stuff, but you also might have missed the point. Think a bit on it. Trust me, it'll make a gamer out of you. ", "description_bbcode_parsed": "For those of you familiar with the whole Mario series, you probably already know who Toad is. That odd mushroom fellow always at the boss stage of a world in Super Mario Bros. They've been that weird hit and miss character ever since NES decided it wanted to change our family rooms into our isolated, no one speak, I'm fucking almost done with world 4..............rooms.

 If you're not sure what the whole Mario Bros series is, just look up Nintendo. Like that'll be hard to figure. Needless to say I've never really found a stick with the character, or really most of the Toads. They just... if you created a species of midgets whose first interaction was eternal cock blocking with the personalities of solidified comedy relief back-up..you'd get Toads.

A lot of people find them cute, funny, even charming. I just wanted to push them back into the ground and call it a day. Didn't really help when they gave them actual voices. Lord help me those voices, it's like they were born with throat cancer.... okay I'm off to a poor start. So what is this all about then, other than me condemning a species of shroom people? Well it's about the Wii-U title, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.

 Maybe some of you have played, others haven't given it a shot or don't have the means. Well who cares, I did and that is what matters most in all of this.

I would like to think that as a gamer and more overall as a person, I've been in the process of change, perhaps even growth throughout the years. I've also been tempered by the presentation of cultural titles and new established classics, cult phenomena in the stretching generations passed my time.

 Needless to say, things got a whole bunch more pretty, worlds grew larger yet they somehow felt smaller, and I also think I lost some things along the way with the scope of those advancements. I'm also going to say I seriously lost my faith and enjoyment in a lot of franchises, even Nintendo's IP's. That's like...self suiciding my childhood idolizations of my a hero, a faceless corporation hell bent on making me their next medial junky.

 I just wanted grander experiences but I didn't even know what any of that meant being put down on paper, you can't put that down on paper so easily. I assumed my brain was just changing, and it really is, but there is more to it than just physical/chemical development. I didn't even realize it until I rolled my eyes and bought Captain Toad on discount. So where do we begin...well..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- It brought back something I thought was lost. -

So when I started up Captain Toad, I remember how much self regret I had from the moment I heard " Time for Adventure! " oh god, please don't tell me he has more dialogue, no one should ever give Toad more Audible dialogue. It was then I found myself in control of Toad along with Toadette, exploring an easily three dimensional set of floating ruins to grab a star at the top.

Big bird comes, grabs star and of course Toadette isn't having any of that. No really, What an ingenious move just grabbing a star being held by a creature that is thirteen times your own size while being lifted into the sky. So it's up to you and Toad to go rescue them!....or the star. Didn't really ever specify, now that I think about it. The first few levels were introductory enough to the gameplay elements and controls. Sort of an extended tutorial if you will.

I was not even fully aware how much fun I had been having or how each and every environment I explored felt new and inviting in its own way. It simply astounds me to think on the fact a game with tight boundaries and self contained areas could accomplish making myself want to see every part of that world. It has been so freaking long since I have felt that to the point where I didn't even know what I was feeling going through it all. That feeling of childish wonder and curiosity mingled with the emotion of accomplishment just to see it. How the hell was I feeling all of this when there were games way larger like Skyrim or more diverse like Mario Galaxy?

I think the truth for myself had been that when I'd been younger, I had enough time to see an older world of story telling and progression. The SNES was on it's way out the door. Of course we didn't really afford on that console and stuck with an NES. Wasn't long until Nintendo unleashed the Polygons on us with the N64 and made our collective brains melt. I was fully cognitive at that point and self aware.

 Shit was great and happening. I'm a 90's kid, but I also know among the slop our poor brains were bombarded with, we were handed many precious gems of titles along with them. I'm talking titles like Ocarina of Time or final Fantasy 9,Odd World and all these insane things. They weren't just interactive worlds, they were lessons in their own rights, and you know me and video game lessons. Arcades were declining, not dead but inferior to the larger volume of personal titles.

The N64,PS1, even dreamcast taught us the patience of a story coming together, or how to appreciate the development of atmosphere, gradual change or mystifying concepts of adulthood even some adults don't get still. I'm not saying the 90's and early 2000 were the height of gaming, but I am saying they did something far different that most aren't even attempting any more these days.

They treated us like actual gamers and not demographics. When things were made, they weren't caught halfway on the cutting room floor and already deciding the sequel. People weren't withholding vital and ground breaking experiences because they needed to IV drip us the next fettered title just to make the first look like a chump and us as idiots for even buying it. We just got more expectant in return for the quality of games as time went on, and I'm a part of that, with shorter time periods of how much effort could be put into it.

 We put a bind on these companies and eventually they left more and more power to the investors because like the film industry, a circle of hell was formed: Need money, need to play it safe or investors/ fans won't buy. Ends badly because of budget and playing it safe, need money, can't get money. See where I'm going with this? It's not just about the money though, and it's not about me preaching both we and investors are the reasons I'm writing about this to begin with.

When I sat down with and played Captain Toad, I just... I actually had fun playing it for just fuck's sake. I'm the guy who doesn't like to mess around all that often. Games stress me actually because I keep thinking I could be more productive doing art or devoting that one extra brain cell to cultural pursuit. I reached a point with games where unless I felt justified for the effort, I wasn't going to have any part in it.

That meant games like Elder Scrolls by Bethesda, or Warframe by Digital Extreme, had me hooked. Not because I was actually having a great time, I was having an okay time at the max, but because I felt validated by digital reward for my investment of time. I've had years of this relationship with games where I consider replayability and what that means as a factor to my overall enjoyment, let alone purchase of said game.

 I felt like I lost my joy in games. I played Super Mario Galaxy and I beat it, but I look back on it and shrug just like I did with Super Mario 64. Skyrim was huge!...but it all felt so flat and repetitious. Warframe isn't even about patience, it's about waiting three days to build something you waited 36 hours previously to build up to. that is abuse.

I explored every inch of every level in Captain Toad, and even though we're not talking about large places, I wanted to see what I could. I felt invigorated like an actual explorer. I took my time and actually enjoyed wasting it, and for what? You're not given digi-reach arounds for effort in this game. The reward is feeling like you just did it. ( oh, also you need to unlock more levels with gems eventually!) The ironic thing is that in theory and concept, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is the closest I have been to Casual Gaming, and I'm talking Mobile style. Yet not for a second did I feel that to be true. So why didn't I feel it? It took a more subtle approach but when I realized it...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- It didn't encourage me. I encouraged myself. -

As I progressed through Captain Toad, I had the usual questions involved with what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, as well as the handful of other things that might go through the mind of an unbalanced and highly unstable man who should not be left alone with the Elderly. I didn't have the answers for the most part to those questions because I was just enjoying myself. It brings me back to the earlier games of my youth but why?

 Games for the past five or more years have grown more fast paced. It's actually a large part of human kind as a whole changing. We've only been growing faster and faster, making faster technology and machines, faster ways of communication, etc. With every generation, that encouragement of speed had bled out onto kids who don't even realize what kind of slow world we even used to be a part of.

So they want to be faster because to them it is the every day thing from that perspective. Now I'm not the only guy noticing this and I'm not making bank on the agenda of profiteering from it, but there is a reason why movies no matter how well done or performed, get worse reviews based on their length alone.

These past five years have been like being held at gunpoint by a stranger on speed, while doing more speed. A lot of games have ended more abruptly, lost their own change in the wake of more prevalent and to the point showmanship. Things happen quick, they resolve quick, they move on quicker. Interaction is simple and to the point, and no one wants to take a breath because game, game, game, fun, fun, FUN!!!!!

Even arguing that there are in fact longer running games, there is still that matter of speed cascading us through them like some cyclone of dialogue. If there is too much, force it down the player's throat in one sitting to get it out of the way because screw it, let's get to the next thing as quickly as possible. I knew there was a problem when my game was more ADHD than me, and that is saying something.

 It's not saying games need to dull themselves out, but I am saying I seriously forgot the meaning of the word patience. Again, I was hooked up on fluid drip for the next thing and I wasn't even given time. I just had the power and access whenever I wanted to the point I skipped character dialogue and development. You can also argue that maybe some of that writing seriously sucked, but that is beside the point on this one.

Even Nintendo, bless their need for FUCKING CLOCKS, contributed to that need to just Tokyo drift through their worlds. I remember playing Super Mario 3-D world also on the Wii-U. Does three minutes sound like enough time to appreciate what you're doing, romping through a large level, killing the bad guys, finding the hidden items, and taking in the sights? I'm going to say it flat: One. Of those things. Is getting cut.

 Guess which one? Sure I could go back but even then the timer remains like some angry father ( I had a lot of angry fathers, don't judge.) tapping their foot impatiently for me to get my ass in gear. If you went to a theme park, have you ever wanted to just look around and take in everything for yourself? If you have, imagine being tugged by the arm from one thing to the next, not even with your choice on the flow of things. Sure you'll have fun but it will be a blurr, this mess of motions and excitement. I can't even recall half the levels of Super Mario 3-D world because I just moved too FAST!

They always move so fast! The most weirdest thing I can imagine is that it almost feels like we're returning to arcade gaming, only its in our living rooms and on our phones. Also it is way more expensive. Hey if you enjoy arcade style gaming, more power to you, but it does worry thinking those traits are flowing into larger AAA titles.  

Then Captain Toad waddled along and made the infamous clock go in reverse without any repercussion. I was moved. I actually got to enjoy myself this time! It's how I got to familiarize myself with the levels, take my time and just appreciate all the amazing details and work you know Nintendo's cult of dark wizards had to sacrifice someone for. I realized I was having fun because I let myself.

 I didn't feel forced, I didn't feel restricted and kept in the corner until I could learn to move my feet and never stop moving them again. Every little bit of moment spent in each new place just oozed atmosphere, clever music and delightful experiences. I felt like a kid again. I felt free. Now before you say anything, yes, there have been other games out that haven't exactly tugged your arm until it came clean off.

 I just don't even know what it is, everything with Captain Toad made me want to sit back and relax, even in the places with lava or pipes filled with...leeches? I'm pretty sure those are the mario world equivalent of leeches. The game wasn't meant just to be casual or hardcore, it just had that right amount of both in it. The best part? I took it a step at a time at my own pace which by how enthralled I had been, would be a while.  
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- Quality is truly defined by only you. -

 I can recall a single moment in Captain Toadstool, a single moment that stands out most apparent. My poor husband is the sound board for what I am about to relay. The player controlling captain toad as they wandered down a single path of a quiet forest. You couldn't walk to the left, you couldn't go in circles around anything.

 All you did was walk forward and then it faded out. That's it. A lot of games and their developers have been trying so hard for a long time now. They have been racking their brains, sacrificing concepts and visions to bring out the things people talk about the most. They keep trying harder and harder to maintain that consistency of connection and familiarity that sometimes is just painful and forced.

 They've been hurting for a while and many of the teams we grew up with thinking would eventually somehow rule the world or at least America, closed their doors and vanished. Even some of them became slaves to larger corporations who ripped away their identities just to make ends meet. Numbers are good, and I would like to believe we all share many values and ideal in common. However we've also bound ourselves by those values and tied down our expressions for the sake of acceptance.

The stunning thing to think about is just how great a game Captain Toad was to myself without even doing the things we consider so common now these days. You could hardly run fast, you couldn't jump, the levels were mainly small and restrictive and there wasn't really a story happening. It was another fever dream smoked up by Nintendo and by all means it is not a perfect title.

 We can also say games like MineCraft are poorly rendered at the heart, a voxel wasteland of pointless creating and building with outdated software. What we do say however is that Minecraft is a gateway to our imaginations, and the testament to that imagination. The graphics can be as shitty as they want, the coding can be terrible or the game can be unoptimized. Granted those are not good things, the point I am making is that so many struggle with the overall dictation of quality assessment because of how easily accessible, forward and quickly pased things have gotten around for a bit.

We have graphic lords who keep pushing both the software and hardware, and we have others that scream the difficulty is just not difficult enough. We even have people who just can't ever be happy with what they're given. Feel sorry for them. Take a moment, I mean that.

What I'm trying to say is that in that one moment as I wandered down the single open road of a forest, unable to run, unable to jump, unable to interact with anything than the forward button, I realized how truly beautiful a game's world could be. All the years of repressed potential flew right into my face and I just gobbled it up because sometimes life feels meaningless and if something is in front of my face, beats nothing.

Captain Toad did things different and I'm not talking about Lollipop Chainsaw different, I mean that it almost seemed to have been reaching back into the past at the base and yet branching onto its own road by doing things not so obvious and explosive but subtle and personally rewarding.
 To many other people it could be just as good or far, far worse. Yet for me, I was the wandering gamer who just about gave up on experience over reward, until this game came along and made me think differently. That on it's own is a unique quality, and every game has the potential for that quality.

The ability to not just do things by the book, or do things crazy for the sake of being crazy because, hey, the cool kids like the niche things and their wallets are packing. What I'm saying is that games like Captain Toad and Minecraft both gave us in different ways the distance and self proximity to decide for ourselves what we really wanted to do with them.

I'm glad it can be my guilty pleasure because I don't really feel guilty for calling it a pleasure feeling like a kid again if only for a brief while. They even made me tolerate Toads, Toads! Now I can't wait for the next one where there are two timers, reverse cut outs of the same level, microtransactions, and a bitching set of graphics so intense, reality will no longer have any meaning ever again.
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If you walk away from this thinking " Yeah. Captain Toad was a fun game. I liked that one level. " Hey, sweet stuff, but you also might have missed the point. Think a bit on it. Trust me, it'll make a gamer out of you.      ", "writing": "", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "", "pools_count": 0, "title": "Why Captain Toad Treasure tracker is my guilty pleasure.", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "image/png", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "0", "rating_name": "General", "ratings": [], "submission_type_id": "1", "type_name": "Picture/Pinup", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "1", "views": "58" }