‘Ring Fit Adventure’ Delivers Excercised-Powered Gaming to Nintendo Switch
September 12, 2019Nintendo on Thursday revealed an exercise-powered adventure game for its popular Nintendo Switch hybrid gaming system.
“Ring Fit Adventure” makes use of a motion-sensing rubber hoop called a “Ring Con” and a Leg Strap that holds a controller on the user’s leg to translate movement into gameplay. The game and two accessories will sell for $80 when it goes on sale on Oct. 18, according to Nintendo.
In “Ring Fit Adventure,” players explore an expansive world, battling enemies along the way using real-life exercises to perform in-game attacks. The new Ring-Con and Leg Strap accessories that are included with the game respond to the player’s real-world movements, allowing the game to turn them into in-game actions, like jogging in place to move your character through the world using the attached Leg Strap, or squeezing the Ring-Con and turning to perform attacks. Nintendo says that by playing the game daily, players can regularly work out various parts of their bodies. The game also includes a series of mini-games and workout routines.
“Nintendo is always looking for ways to surprise people with one-of-a-kind, fresh experiences,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “‘Ring Fit Adventure’ combines gaming and physical activity in a way that incentivizes people to keep coming back for more, to further both the story and their own fitness goals.”
The game’s adventure mode takes place across 20 different colorful worlds in a quest to take down Dragaux, a giant, chiseled dragon with an ego to match his oversized muscles. Jog, sprint and do knee-highs in real life to travel through the world, and use the Ring-Con accessory to perform different in-game actions, like jumping, hovering in mid-air or steering a raft on a river.
To play the game, players attach the Joy-Con controllers from their Nintendo Switch system to the included accessories – one to the Ring-Con and one to the Leg Strap. The Leg Strap is attached to the player’s upper left leg, while the Ring-Con is held in both hands. The Ring-Con is a flexible electronic device that provides resistance and uses the Joy-Con to respond to the player’s movements. “Ring Fit Adventure” can be adjusted to the player’s level of skill, so even if players don’t have experience with fitness, they can change the exercise intensity to suit their ability. This will let them continue every day at an activity level that’s comfortable for them.
Players attack and defend using more than 40 “fit skills,” which are exercise moves. The game provides direction to players about how to perform movements correctly in order to deal more damage to enemies. Actions that the player performs in-game will earn experience for their character, with level-ups boosting stats and unlocking new Fit Skills that can be used in battle. Adventure mode is designed as a natural way to keep players motivated to play and get exercise regularly as they progress through the game world and defeat enemies.
Quick play mode allows players to jump in and out of play. This lets everyone enjoy a quick workout in different ways, like taking turns with friends and family attempting the same mini-games to compete for high scores. Mini-games cover a wide range of activities, from breaking boxes with gusts of air triggered by the Ring-Con to shaping pottery by performing squats.
Other modes like Simple and Set offer additional ways to work out. “Simple” lets players choose exercises they want to work on, and perform them individually. High scores are recorded so everyone can challenge their personal bests. “Set” provides linked sequences of different exercises designed around a theme or a particular body part. This mode is a great way to target a muscle group the player wants to focus on, like legs, shoulders, lower body or core.
The game also includes a “Silent” mode for people who live in an upstairs apartment or don’t want to make a lot of noise. By activating this mode, jogging-style exercises are swapped out for ones that are a little quieter, allowing players to keep their legs active without a heavy impact on the floor.
