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Ring Fit Adventure is an exercise video game and a Nintendo product released for the Nintendo Switch system in 2019. It is a fusion of fitness training and turn-based role-playing, and the game introduces two brand new peripherals for the Switch console - the Ring-Con and leg strap both of which are included with the package.
The Ring-Con is a plastic, circular framed ring that the player holds, with a Joy-Con attached to it. The other Joy-Con meanwhile is slotted into the strap, attached to the player's leg. Both components are required to play this game, as they precisely track the player's body movement.
The main premise of the game is centred around a quest to take down an evil dragon, with the player having to physically carry out a number of physical activities to transverse through levels and defeat enemies. In addition to the main gameplay, the game also includes fitness routines and multiplayer party minigames.
This game sees the return of Nintendo's vision of producing exercise games, which were released in multitudes for the seventh-gen Wii system in the form of Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit, etc. during the late 2000s. Just as with those games, the main intention of this game is to enable players to work out and improve their fitness whilst playing at the same time.
Plot[]
The game begins with a Ring Fit Trainee who discovers a mysterious ring on the ground, which instructs them to open it with a ring pull. But after doing so, the being inside reveals himself to be Dragaux, the evil bodybuilding dragon. The ring, Ring, comes to life and tells the trainee to find and defeat Dragaux.
Gameplay[]
The Ring-Con and leg strap accessories.
The main mode of this game is a role-playing fantasy quest, where an athlete co-operates with a magical ring to take down Dragaux, a malicious bodybuilding dragon and his armies. The game boasts an extensive array of levels, with over 100 spread across 20 different worlds.
The main gimmicks of the game are of course the motion controls, with the Ring-Con and leg strap accessories picking up the player's body movements which is transferred to the movements of the in-game character. The character moves on a set path throughout each level in a rail-like fashion; the player will have to physically walk around, jog or sprint on the spot, high-knees or even the occasional yoga etc. accordingly.
Dragon enemies are fought in turn-based battles, where the player has to pull off certain exercise movements to attack enemies; one example is firing projectiles by pulling the Ring-Con in a target direction. There are 30 different attacking exercises, with the damage dealt being dependent on how successfully the player has pulled off the movement.
Other elements typical of RPGs such as experience points, customisable stat-boosting gears and items are all featured here. The player can also collect fruity ingredients throughout the levels to produce healthy smoothies that restore the character's health.
Alongside the main quest gameplay are other modes too, such as the party mode that comes with a pack of 12 minigames based on exercising, which can be played solo or in multiplayer, with the players each taking a turn. Another mode featured is a fitness routine, where the player can do a fully-fledged fitness workout. The player can also track their pulse rates and burnt calories which are calculated by the Joy-Con's IR motion camera, and can also build up more experience points off the game with their Ring-Con and synchronise the stored movements to the Switch when playing it again.
Reception[]
Ring Fit Adventure garnered a metascore of 82/100 based on 38 "generally favorable" reviews.[1]
Sales[]
Nintendo mentioned that the game reached 3.9 million units sold by the end of June 2020. The game reached 5.84 million units sold by the end of September 2020. Ring Fit Adventure reached 10.11 million units sold by the end of March 2021. It is the 11th Nintendo Switch game to become a 10 million seller. As of the end of June 2021, it reached 11.26 million units sold. Thus ejecting New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe out of the top ten best selling Nintendo Switch games. it reached 12.21 million units by the end of September 2021. As of the end of 2021 it reached 13.53 million units sold worldwide. Thus surpassing Splatoon 2, the former 9th best selling game on the Nintendo Switch. Both were then outsold by Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which had the effect of knocking Ring Fit Adventure back to the 10th spot while ejecting Splatoon 2 out of the top 10 at the same time. As of the end of March 2022, it reached 14.09 million units sold in total. It reached 14.54 million units sold by the end of June 2022.
Trivia[]
- The game's director Hiroshi Matsunaga has worked on the Wii Fit games, a series of fitness-focused video games for the Wii and Wii U.
- Co-developer 1-Up Studio has worked on regular RPG titles, as Ring Fit is like one, in the past during its Brownie Brown years until 2013.
- One of the few recent Nintendo-developed games to utilize full voice-acting which wasn't common in the company's library.
References[]
- ↑ Metascore on Ring Fit AdventureMetacritic, Retrieved February 12, 2020
External links[]
- Ring Fit Adventure at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Ring Fit Adventure at GameFAQs
- ringfitadventure.nintendo.com