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Nintendo Announces Fitness Game Ring Fit Adventure

by Donald Theriault - September 12, 2019, 5:22 am EDT
Total comments: 6 Source: Nintendo

It's Thirsty Mage eligible.

Nintendo's "new experience" is a fitness RPG.

Ring Fit Adventure, launching October 18, is an action role-playing game that controls its attacks through various exercises. The game comes with a "Ring-Con" and a leg strap that each holds a Joy-Con. The launch MSRP will be US$79.99.

The main adventure features the players trying to turn back Monsters including a large, bodybuilding dragon. Quick play modes for brief sessions are also available, as well as a silent mode.

Talkback

AdrockSeptember 12, 2019

This game is harmless. It can sit on store shelves while I buy Link’s Awakening for the fourth time. As long as Nintendo is still killing it with software I care about, it can release as many of these experimental dealies as it wants.

Awarding Nintendo an A for effort as it tries to make fitness fun. Personally, I just don’t enjoy exercising literally at all, and I only go to the gym a few times a week for death avoidance purposes. I may go outside and pretend I know how to throw a sphere into a cylinder suspended 10 feet in the air, but that activity is as close to enjoying exercise as I’m going to get. When I’m playing video games at home, I want to be as comfortable and useless to the world as possible.

EDIT: In the trailer, there’s a part in which it’s shown that players may reduce damage by pressing the Ring Con against their abs. One of the presenters states, “Work hard to make sure your defense is ab-solute.” That pun changed my mind. Cancel Ring Fit Adventure immediately.

TOPHATANT123September 12, 2019

Seems interesting enough. Probably EPD developed but I wonder what else the staff worked on, Labo team?

Ian SaneSeptember 12, 2019

The guy in the video speaks so clearly that it comes across like he's talking down to me, like I'm five years old.

The RPG makes it seem like they're to make this more of a typical videogame.  "See, it's not another Wii Fit.  It's a real game that happens to involve exercise!"  But I think that the target audience that wants an RPG just want a damn RPG without exercise gimmicks and the Wii Fit audience was perfectly content with Wii Fit's approach.  I suspect this will clog store shelves much like Labo current is as Nintendo tries to recapture the Wii magic despite the fact that the Switch is a resounding success so this is completely unnecessary.

My general disinterest with stuff like this is that control schemes like this are inaccurate.  There's a reason buttons have been the primary videogame control method since day one - they work consistently.  You push the button and, unless the game is programmed terribly, the action occurs.  That's also why practical items like computers or cars use buttons - because having wishy-washy controls that may or may not do the thing you want isn't acceptable.  I'm also not in kindergarten so I don't find waving things around or acting things out fun.  I get my enjoyment from the gameplay and if your videogame needs dumb gimmicks to hide it's shallow gameplay then your game is shit and I'm not going to play it.

But as Adrock mentions, as long as Nintendo is still making games I do like they can have the odd title like this.  And it seems mostly like there is only one team working on stuff like this as we get about one a year.  My beef with the Wii was that it was like Nintendo had changed to where games like this were the priority and that sucked.  There's nothing wrong with a company making the occasional title that isn't for you.  It's only a problem if a whole system is designed to not be for you.

nickmitchSeptember 12, 2019

Quote from: Ian

The RPG makes it seem like they're to make this more of a typical videogame.  "See, it's not another Wii Fit.  It's a real game that happens to involve exercise!"  But I think that the target audience that wants an RPG just want a damn RPG without exercise gimmicks and the Wii Fit audience was perfectly content with Wii Fit's approach.  I suspect this will clog store shelves much like Labo current is as Nintendo tries to recapture the Wii magic despite the fact that the Switch is a resounding success so this is completely unnecessary.

I think the game is meant to be another Wii Fit.  They put the RPG stuff in it for people who want something to get them a little more active, but want it more gameified.  Stuff like Fitness Boxing or Just Dance and give you a good, pre-set workout, but you still move to be graded on your movements.  An RPG layer lets you move and get a small reward (damage dealt to an enemy) based on your movements instead of a "good" or "perfect".

Quote:

I get my enjoyment from the gameplay and if your videogame needs dumb gimmicks to hide it's shallow gameplay then your game is shit and I'm not going to play it.

The sparkling innovation isn't meant to hide gameplay, the gameplay is an excuse for the motion controls.  I don't think Nintendo would make this game without the motion controls.  They'd just try to make a good game.

BlackNMild2k1September 12, 2019

It's not for everyone.... But then again, I don't think it was meant to be.
Gotta feed the niche market as well. If it turns into a fun away success like WiiFit did then great. If not, I'm sure they budgeted this as a write off and a palette cleanser for the development team anyway.

Mop it upSeptember 16, 2019

This looks better than I thought it would, but I feel it's too expensive for what it is.

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