Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a rather chill puzzle game with a wide variety of challenges and locations in which to goof around.  Last time, I talked about my favorite levels in the game, and for today’s post, I wanted to discuss the ones that I liked the least.  While this game is generally pretty easy, there were some stages that I really struggled to complete, either due to the level’s inherent difficulty or the assigned bonus challenges that made an otherwise decent level a real test of my patience.

7: Shy Guy Heights – This one isn’t exactly terrible.  You just need to avoid the Shy Guys in a hedge maze, more or less.  The reason I wasn’t a big fan of this one was due to the extra challenge requiring you to complete the level without being spotted once, which was especially tough at the end.  Getting past the two Shy Guys at the bottom of the final set of ladders is tricky enough, but then getting up those ladders unseen is especially challenging.  Not to mention the timing of the Shy Guys’ patrol near the star never seems to leave much room for you to progress without being caught.  Plus, the need to be stealthy means that every attempt is going to be slow going, making the whole ordeal even more aggravating!

6: Ghost Gallery Gambit – I tend to really dislike levels where you must outrun some sort of rising substance.  (This is why everyone hates Toxic Tower from Donkey Kong Country 2.)  Strangely enough, I didn’t really mind Scalding Scaffold Sinkhole, in which you must outrun rising lava, because you have plenty of room to maneuver and staying ahead isn’t too difficult.  I didn’t, however, enjoy Ghost Gallery Gambit, in which you must outrun this rising goo, but you only have a narrow path on which to run and are often slowed down by Boos, including two big ones at the end!  This was a surprisingly stressful level for an otherwise chill game.

5: Color Crate Carousel – It’s safe to say that no other level is as disorienting as this one.  The whole time, the stage is rotating, and you must find the right time to swap between the different “crates” or risk falling to your doom.  This level is just so confusing, and you’re never given a chance to just sit there and analyze the situation, making tackling this puzzle with any clear plan practically impossible.  I get dizzy just thinking about it!

4: Wingo’s Whackdown – This level has the same gimmick as Wingo’s Watchtower, a level that I actually really liked.  In each stage, Wingo will blow strong winds your way, which can really interfere in your ability to stand your ground and which also manipulates the level by pushing platforms around.  Last time, Wingo swapped between all four sides of the level, but this time, he only alternates between two sides.  This gives you way less time to act before he moves again and blows a perfectly placed platform back into the wrong position.  This made the level more hectic and just a bit less fun than its easier predecessor.

3: Fright Train Flight – It’s a shame that I didn’t enjoy this one because I really liked the other train level in this game, Blizzard on the Star Express.  Fright Train Flight is certainly the tougher of the two, which, on its own, is not a bad thing.  I also think it’s cool that you can unlink the different segments of the train.  The worst part is the Chargin’ Chuck, the Koopa football player that, well, charges at you every chance he gets.  Avoiding this guy zooming at you with murderous intent is very stressful, though I suppose he is, at least, quite helpful when it comes to defeating the Mud Troopers.  Because their utter demise is the bonus challenge in this level, and I know I’m not the only one who struggled with defeating them all.  I guess using your light to get rid of them doesn’t count as defeating them, so you must instead rely on the Chargin’ Chuck and Flaptors (the birds that ground pound anything beneath them), which is extremely frustrating.  I don’t know how many times I had to redo this level, either because I died or because I completed it and the extra challenge didn’t register.

2: Draggadon’s Revenge – I was torn between discussing this one and Secret of the Golden Realm.  But in the end, I chose Draggadon’s Revenge because its gimmick was just a bit more aggravating.  In the Golden Realm, you have these platforms you must tap in order to move them about.  It requires a bit of thought to figure out these puzzles while simultaneously avoiding flames, leaving you very little room to think clearly.  Nevertheless, Draggadon’s Revenge is even more aggravating simply because I hate dealing with those wheels that you must rotate in order to change the angle of the barriers.  Rotating the control stick just right has always been a challenge for me and having to do so quickly in the face of a bunch of flames coming my way is very stressful indeed.  Sure, the Golden Realm is tricky, too, but at least tapping an object to move it is way easier than rotating it!  Not to mention the fact that, when you’re panicking (as one would when dealing with a huge and angry fire-breathing dragon), it’s also very easy to rotate the barriers the wrong way and really doom yourself to the oncoming wall of fire!

1: Beep Block Sky Plaza – This level probably aggravated me the most.  These red and blue platforms appear and disappear in rhythm, which is already a rather stressful affair.  There are also two spots where, in order to progress to the next block, you have to stand on the very edge of one, then time the precise moment to start walking forward so that you land on the block below right after it appears.  Getting the timing right was rather difficult for me, forcing me to redo the level multiple times.  Which is even more irritating because the rhythm means there will be a lot of pauses as you wait for the next set of blocks to show up.  And lastly…there’s a Fire Bro.  And as you wait in one spot in particular, this guy gets to keep throwing fireballs at you while you have very little room to dodge.  And the extra challenge requires you to complete this level without taking damage.  And that, folks, is why I hated this particular level above all others!