Nintendo
Nintendo has long had a reputation for prioritizing fitness with their consumer products. From Wii Sports to Wii Fitness, they spent an entire console generation encouraging players to move. With their newest fitness game, Ring Fit Adventure, they’re turning to a more traditional video game approach with an interesting fitness mechanic.
In the game’s paper-thin story, the main character is an athlete who is tricked into releasing a massive, body-building dragon on the world. As a result, legions of anthropomorphic exercise equipment begins wreaking havoc on the local populace. The only way to stop them, of course, is to whip them into shape.
What unfolds is a goofy, ridiculous, awkward, and silly story that is a mere pretense to get you to work out. If you’re in this for a sheer workout, then you can ignore the story altogether and just enjoy the fitness.
One of the complaints some people have about workouts is that they can be monotonous and boring. Likewise, RPGs can feel tedious, with lots of battling and slow growth rewards, if you don’t feel like you’re building towards something. But what better to build towards than a fitter body?
This is a winning formula for Nintendo, and it makes the entire experience feel more rewarding and engaging than you’d expect. The Ring Con device offers a great range of upper body exercises, while the leg strap tracks jogging in place, yoga poses, and the like. Between the two devices, the game offers a surprisingly accurate read of your physical activity.
With a strange Pilates ring and a leg strap that you hook your Joy Con controllers into, Ring Fit Adventure encourages players to get up and move. The gameplay is an interesting blend of typical RPG, turn-based battles, and fitness activities.
For instance, a battle might consist of your doing reps of a Pilates ring squeeze, or doing crunches or squats. The activity is repetitive, the battles are numerous and difficult, and the grind is real. But, since this game is aimed at getting you into shape, these are actually great features, not frustrations.
Ultimately, Ring Fit Adventure could be a great way to get gamers to be more interested in exercise–and give people who feel bored with their current gym routine a fun new workout.
