With hopes of engaging players with interactive physical activity, Nintendo re-imagines its approach to active gaming with it’s new Ring-Con peripheral and Ring Fit Adventure game.
https://youtu.be/F1orju1NsN8
Ambiguously teased last week and officially announced on Thursday, Nintendo is releasing a new physical gaming peripheral and game tie-in called Ring-Con and Ring Fit Adventure, respectively. The teased peripherals in the shape of a flexible ring (Ring-Con) and leg-strap (aptly named, “Leg Strap”) are the unorthodox control methods for this new game, where players perform various physical activities in Ring Fit Adventure.
Unlike Wii Fit games before it, Ring Fit Adventure is a vaguely grand RPG quest to defeat an “evil, body-building dragon” who plunges the world into darkness. Players must explore the world and defeat enemies (using various exercises) to save the world, basically. It’s truthfully hard to tell if this is all tongue-in-cheek on purpose, or if it’s just that strange, but Nintendo is certainly embracing this new experience whole-heartedly.
Similar to a typical RPG experience, there are random enemy encounters and turn-based combat. Each player’s turn gives them a list of abilities, which are performed using the peripherals to mimic real-world exercises (squats, lunges, presses, yoga poses, etc.) Each ability is categorized by what type of exercise you’re performing: Red for arm workouts, Yellow for core muscles, Blue for leg muscles, and Green for yoga-inspired poses. As you encounter and combat more enemies, your character levels up and makes certain abilities more powerful as well as unlocks new exercises to use in battle. You can also track and record your exercises performed during each session to mark progress.
Playing this adventure game every day will become a natural way to enjoy regular exercise. It’s an adventure and fitness, for everyone.”
An announcement like this is definitely filed under “weird” for Nintendo, especially given the presentation as a whole. Aside from the gameplay, the commercial itself is all sorts of uncanny valley. The two presenters explain the new game and devices in a very Black Mirror-esque style as if it’s a caricature instead of a real product they’re selling. That being said, the game does look like a fun twist on the whole exercise-gaming craze that the Wii pioneered so long ago.
Ring Fit Adventure and the Ring-Con peripherals will be releasing October 18 for $79.99.
