Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a puzzle platform game for the Wii U. It was released on November 13, 2014 in Japan and on December 5, 2014 in North America is planned to be released on January 2, 2015 in Europe and January 3, 2015 in Australia. The game is based on The Adventures of Captain Toad stages from Super Mario 3D World but features extensive depth and variety. This is the second game to have a Toad as the main protagonist, with the first game being Wario's Woods, released twenty years prior.

Story
Captain Toad and Toadette are out treasure hunting, climbing a structure to get a Power Star. They soon after notice feathers falling from the sky when Wingo, a large bird who's described as "a lover of all things shiny", grabs the star. Toadette attempts to retrieve it while Captain Toad is temporarily knocked over. Wingo makes off with both the star and Toadette—leaving the Captain on his own. Captain Toad must then go through levels collecting Power Stars to fight Wingo and save Toadette.

After a while, the Captain and Wingo duel in a dark tower over stormy skies. After Wingo is defeated, Toadette is rescued and they continue treasure hunting. However, Wingo, who remains unfinished, returns to kidnap Captain Toad this time, allowing Toadette to journey on a solo adventure. After another long journey, Toadette saves him, although this fight is "failed" as the Captain is promptly knocked far away, and Toadette recaptured.

The Captain awakes in a dark cave, where he finds another Power Star snatched away by Wingo. Toad pursues to a large mine. Meanwhile, Toadette escapes Wingo, adventures a bit, but is once again taken captive. Wingo then takes her to the same tower, while Captain Toad arrives. After a final fight, Wingo is defeated permanently, and the two Toads ride off in a minecart as the credits play.

After the credits, Captain Toad chases after a Green Star, leaving Toadette in the minecart. A scene very similar to Super Mario 3D World's (though with updated, slightly better graphics) opening plays, only the scene changes after Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach enter the pipe. The runaway Green Star falls into the pipe, and Captain Toad follows suit, setting the stage for Super Mario 3D World.

Gameplay
Captain Toad controls the same as in The Adventures of Captain Toad and cannot jump. He can pick plants from the ground which usually have coins or turnips but can sometimes have Super Gems. These plants can sometimes act similarly to Coin Blocks in Mario platformers, housing either a single coin or 10 coins that the player must pull in a time limit. The turnips can be thrown at enemies in a Super Mario Bros. 2 fashion. The camera can be rotated in any direction to view the stage at different angles. Each stage will also have 3 Super Gem, similar to Green Stars and a stamp to collect. Unlike The Adventures of Captain Toad, the levels have no time limit. Instead, the game keeps track the highest number of coins earned (in each level) and the time taken to complete each level. The main goal of the game is to reach the Power Star at one point of the stage.

The game intends to include amiibo functionality.

Supporting

 * Blue Toad
 * Yellow Toad
 * Green Toad
 * Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad
 * A mole-like species, which awards prizes when caught.

New

 * Flaptor
 * Piranha Sprout
 * Mud Trooper
 * Stumper
 * Mummy Me

Bosses

 * Draggadon
 * Wingo
 * Gold Draggadon

Power-ups

 * Double Cherries
 * Super Mushrooms
 * Glowing Mushrooms

Stages
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker features more than 70 stages (referred to as "mini-universes" ). The game is divided into various "episodes", with their own plots, as well as containing a number of different stages played as each character Each stage also features a challenge that can be completed for an extra bonus.

Episode 1
The Secret Is in the Stars
 * 1. Plucky Path Beginnings
 * 2. Walleye Tumble Temple
 * 3. Touchstone Trouble
 * 4. Mushroom Mesa

The Chase to Pyropuff Peak
 * 5. Double Cherry Palace
 * 6. Shy Guy Heights
 * 7. Spinwheel Library
 * 8. Mine Cart Tunnel Throwdown
 * 9. Spinwheel Bullet Bill Base
 * 10. The King of Pyropuff Peak

The Hunt for the Great Bird's Lair
 * 11. Piranha Creeper Cove
 * 12. Briny Bowl Swimming Hole
 * 13. Turnip Cannon Jungle

Onward, Captain Toad!
 * 14. Pop-Up Prairie Town
 * 15. Drop Road Dash
 * 16. Bizzare Doors of Boo Mansion
 * 17. Blizzard on the Star Express

Operation Rescue Toadette
 * 18. Wingo's Watchtower

Episode 2
The Captain Gets Toadnapped
 * 1. Chute Scoot Slopes
 * 2. Stumper Sneakaround
 * 3. Sundown Mine Cart Rundown
 * 4. Sinister Street Signs

Onward, Toadette!
 * 5. Floaty Fun Water Park
 * 6. Drift-Along Canyon
 * 7. Sliding Slab Shuffle
 * 8. Spooky Specters at Shadow Manor
 * 9. Draggadon's Revenge

Farewell, Pyropuff Peak
 * 10. Spinwheel Cog Ruins
 * 11. Windup Stairs
 * 12. Up 'n' Down Terrace
 * 13. Clear Pipe Puzzleplex

On the Trail of the Great Bird
 * 14. Midnight in the Wandering Woods
 * 15. Double Cherry Spires
 * 16. Bullet Bill's Touchy Trials
 * 17. Spinwheel Sky Fort

Operation Rescue Captain Toad
 * 18. Battle Tower Blitz

Episode 3
The Search for Toadette
 * 1. Rolling Inferno
 * 2. Seesaw Sizzle
 * 3. Beep Block Sky Plaza
 * 4. Pickax Cave Plummet

The Search for Captain Toad
 * 5. Stumpy Springs Sanctuary
 * 6. Biddybud Snow Stroll
 * 7. Cagey Condor Caper
 * 8. Up 'n' Down Desert
 * 9. Mine Cart Ruins Rumble

Captain Toad's Trials
 * 10. Multi-Vator Mayhem
 * 11. Flip Panel Footpath
 * 12. Rock Block Badlands
 * 13. Secret of the Golden Realm

Toadette's Tribulations
 * 14. Shy Guy Shadow Den
 * 15. Razzle Dazzle Slider
 * 16. Poison Canal Cannon Run
 * 17. Freight Train Flight
 * 18. No Sleep at Magikoopa Keep

Reunited at Last?
 * 19. Retro Ramp-Up
 * 20. Twisty-Turny Planet
 * 21. Ghost Gallery Gambit
 * 22. Touchstone Turmoil
 * 23. Color Crate Carousel
 * 24. Trick-Track Hall
 * 25. Deep-Space Gyromajig
 * 26. Magma Road Marathon
 * 27. Scalding Scaffold Sinkhole

The Ultimate Treasure
 * 28. Wingo's Whackdown

Bonus Levels
NOTE: If the player has Super Mario 3D World save data on their Wii U, the BONUS book will be automatically unlocked, which includes some levels from Super Mario 3D World, without having to clear the main episodes first.

Expedition to the Sprixie Kingdom (from Super Mario 3D World)
 * 1. Super Bell Hill
 * 2. Conkdor Canyon
 * 3. Shadow-Play Alley
 * 4. Clear Pipe Cruise

Toad Brigade, Move Out!
 * 5. Toad Brigade to Mushroom Mesa!
 * 6. Toad Brigade to Trick-Track Hall!
 * 7. Toad Brigade to Bullet Bill Base!
 * 8. Toad Brigade to Magikoopa Keep!

Curse of the Mummy-Me
 * 9. Mummy-Me on Flip Panel Footpath
 * 10. Mummy-Me on Drop-Road Dash
 * 11. Mummy-Me at Pyropuff Peak

Memories of Our Adventures
 * 12. Episode 1 Prologue
 * 13. Episode 2 Prologue
 * 14. Episode 3 Prologue

Unknown
 * 15. All Mummy-Me Toad levels merged into a single, mystery box-like stage. The end features the iconic Thank You message.
 * 16. A pair of minigames involving the Super Pickax and Double Cherry
 * 17. A pair of minigames involving the Super Pickax and Double Cherry
 * 18. A pair of minigames involving the Super Pickax and Double Cherry

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong: The music that plays when using a Super Pickaxe is a remix of the theme that plays when Mario collects a Hammer in Donkey Kong; the way in which the pickaxe is swung is also a reference to the Hammer. There is also a stage based upon this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: Turnips and sprouts on the ground return.
 * Super Mario World: Wingo has a feather on her hat that resembles the Cape Feather.
 * New Super Mario Bros.: This game's lava level music is partially covered.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: Captain Toad returns from his debut in this game.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: A cover version of this game's beach level music appears.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: The Gold Mushroom returns as a item.
 * Super Mario 3D World: This game is based on The Adventures of Captain Toad, first featured in this game. Many mechanics from this game return, as well as a cover versions of several tracks from this game. Super Bell Hill, Conkdor Canyon, Shadow-Play Alley, and Clear Pipe Cruise have also been confirmed to be stages in this game. Also, the intro from this game can be seen after the credits, revealing that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is, in fact, a prequel to Super Mario 3D World.

amiibo
This game has been confirmed to include functionality with amiibo, Nintendo's series of NFC enabled figurines. However, the exact nature of this functionality has not yet been announced.

Development
The idea of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker came to director Shinya Hiratake as a dream. It originally featured Link as the hero instead of Mario, as Mario not being able to jump would not make sense. Link would explore in a diorama-style in a tech demo presented to Shigeru Miyamoto. The idea was shot down, though Miyamoto realized a potential with the idea. It was included in Super Mario 3D World, where Hiratake chose Captain Toad because the heavy backpack would have prevented him from jumping. After Super Mario 3D World came out, Miyamoto encouraged production of a full game around the concept.