Ring Fit Adventure Actually Looks Interesting

When Nintendo first teased Ring Fit Adventure, it was easy to think it would be another exercise-focused minigame collection reminiscent of Wii Fit, even though the name wasn’t known at the time (the video has since been renamed). Nintendo has mostly focused on the “hardcore” audience with the Nintendo Switch’s lineup, but they haven’t entirely forgotten about the sizable “casual” audience they once had during the Wii and DS era. The Switch launched with 1-2 Switch, and there have been several Nintendo Labo kits in the last year-in-a-half. Sure, they haven’t been that successful, but they’re still trying it.

(I hate the terms “hardcore” and “casual” with a burning passion, because they’re mostly used by the internet’s biggest asshats for dick-measuring points. But they’re good for simplicity’s sake here.)

In actuality, Ring Fit Adventure is a much deeper game than expected. The focus is still on exercising in tandem with the actions of an on-screen avatar, implied through the original teaser. But there’s a main quest attached this time, something no one predicted. It’s been a short while since the main product has been revealed, but the new overview trailer, which further elaborates on what the main game will entail, reminded me of how unexpected the concept is.

The main “Adventure” mode is a turn-based RPG that will entail exploring an expansive on-rails universe, with stages littered with treasures and enemy encounters. The catch is that anyone playing will have to exercise their way through the game’s stages. The Joy-Con-equipped Leg Strap can be attached to the player’s left leg to jog through them, the difficulty of which can be adjusted depending on the person’s body type and what kind of exercise they want on a given day.

The story will involve a quest to take down a giant, muscular, and egotistical dragon known as Dragaux. Nothing in the scenario implies that he’s evil, so he might be looking for a worthy exercising opponent. Considering he’s shown in exercising gear while using dumbbells on the official website, it’s a plausible theory. It could be a lengthy adventure, given how it will have 20 worlds. Jogging isn’t the only activity players will rely on while going through the world, it will also have gliding and raft steering, which will require different actions with the Ring-Con. Just in case you’re still not convinced this will be a full-on fitness Japanese RPG, there will even be towns with NPCs that provide quests.

The battles will be turn-based encounters, where the player can use the around 40 exercises to attack enemies with. The actions primarily use the Ring-Con, to mimic the exercises required to perform attacks that correspond with the player avatar. There are different colors attached to each kind of exercise attack, with enemies being strong and weak to certain shades. Basically, it’s like any other RPG, though with the player required to exercise the attacks they want. But I’m not complaining; we aren’t exactly swimming in turn-based RPGs nowadays.

If the adventure is as robust as it sounds (though not on par with your average modern RPG), hopefully it doesn’t get too boring and repetitive. This will be prevented if the battles are challenging enough, and if players only venture through it in short bursts between days — around 30 minutes to one hour. There’s perhaps a good reason why the promotional videos recommend only playing it for that length on a daily basis, though playing for a longer time could be a big stamina drain.

The “Adventure” isn’t the only aspect of Ring Fit Adventure: The game will have the types of minigames several expected from the product when it was teased. One involves climbing the side of a mountain, with the player mimicking the character using the Ring-Con. Another is a whack-a-mole-style game, where the user rotates the ring to find moles and squeezes them. There’s also one that involves creating pottery while performing squats, which involves the player squeezing the ring to form a predetermined shape on a lump of clay. It’s reportedly much harder than it sounds, so there’s good fun (or pain?) to be had in the minigames too.

Ring Fit Adventure is more intriguing than I expected, which you likely deduced though the tone of this post. Whether it will capture even a fraction of the audience Wii Fit reached is another big question, which will depend on the demographics of those who own or plan to purchase Nintendo Switch systems. Nintendo’s advertising efforts will also be a factor, though they’re off to a good start with the lengthy YouTube promotions. It will release on October 18th for $79.99 or an equivalent depending on the territory, so it won’t be long until we see how it performs.

If it’s popular enough, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ring Fit Adventurer (or whatever they’ll call her) joins Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or a (possible?) future Smash Bros. game, to be alongside Wii Fit Trainer. She’d have a unique move set to boot.