We’re still going strong! Daily Ring Fit Adventure sessions. Whilst it’s not been long enough to talk about the fitness/health differences and benefits yet. I do think we can focus on the Role Playing Game (RPG) element. Fitness is a thing over here at Fullsync.co.uk!
The core adventure element of Ring Fit Adventure is a legitimate RPG, and the story isn’t going to appear in any “top 10 greatest videogame stories of all time” list. The game itself is doing a lot of great things, particularly when you consider the entire aim is to get you to move whilst playing.
Ring Fit Adventure is a solid game and it’s helping me come back to it every day.
Let us break it down by the standard RPG elements and see how well it stacks up, considering that this is a fitness game.
Ring Fit Combat
A fitness RPG? Yep! Ring Fit is a proper RPG and you move around the world, attack and defend by actual body movement.
You select different types of attacks before you go into a mission. Split by arms, legs, core and yoga. Each with a colour assigned, so you can determine weaknesses against the enemies you encounter in Ring Fit Adventure. Being able to go in with more attacks that will be strong against the enemies you’re about to face, is ideal.
Defence requires the use of your core and pressing in on the ring. It’s a novel idea.
Every fight requires being active, choosing the best types of attacks and hammering your defence pose. It’s so cleverly created, I’m really impressed.
If this was overlayed on a Final Fantasy, it could work. That’s how robust and functional it is. Sure, the depth of combat perhaps isn’t there (not yet anyway), but if they just added different stories, you could use Ring Fit Adventure in perpetuity.
Items
I really like the item system in Ring Fit Adventure, too. Smoothies (of course!) are essentially your potions. Used for buffs, healing and other bits.
But, of course, you collect the ingredients as items en route on missions. Just like a normal RPG! Ring Fit Adventure themes it perfectly, and to top it all off, you have to physically squeeze the ingredients to make the drinks. A game rarely makes me regularly go “Oh that’s really clever”.
Of course, no RPG would be worth its salt if there wasn’t any armour, right? Well, workout gear is what you need. Purchasing it from the couple that runs all of the village shops. Different sets, made up of tops, trousers and trainers are available.
Complete sets offer buffs, and individual items increase attack and defence stats.
Ring Fit Adventure is more of an actual RPG than I think I’d ever imagined. And honestly, it helps when your legs are burning from too many squats, to see you’re about to land that last attack with great form and clear the encounter.
Experience
Every exercise, every fight accrues XP. You’re levelling up all the time. Encounters all have level requirements, and you definitely know when you’re under-levelled in Ring Fit Adventures.
I’ve found myself a couple of levels ahead now for a while, and it’s still a challenge. XP equates to increases in attack and defence, but after a while, you start to earn skill points to help you unlock abilities and perks, too. Now we’re talking!
Sure it’s not super-deep, but this is proper RPG stuff. I love it, and as a guy who needs to be constantly hit with dopamine for doing things, it helps see my levelling-up as a sign of progress for pushing through the exercises.
Levelling-up and completing mini-games to certain standards, leads to unlocking new exercises, too. Some have better attack values but a longer time to be available again in a battle. Some are designed to attack individuals, while we see others there to attack full mobs or small groups.
Shaking my hips to the beat and smashing down on 5 enemies at once is a weird joy I never thought I’d get from a game!
Ring Fit Adventure
The story is fine, it suits the art style. Lighthearted, focused on progression and a big bad in Dragaux. I’m only on World 6 and have no clue how much further this goes, but I always feel like we’re working towards the next story beats.
It isn’t going to win story-telling awards. But as I’ve described above, you could change the tone, and apply an RPG story and aesthetic from a massive franchise from the likes of Final Fantasy, and it would work. Ring Fit Adventure manages to give you a proper RPG game, whilst making it an exercise game.
Sure, long battles can be tough, but get your smoothies and gear in order. Work on your XP and levelling. It’s the same as any other RPG!
Ring Fit Adventure is so much more than an exercise game.
Onwards
There’s plenty to go at, with side-quests, mini-games and the story to continue. New exercises to unlock and attacks to plan. It’s a fun time, and all the while I’m stretching and opening muscles and areas on my body that I’ve not felt in years.
I’m exercising and focusing on form in a way I haven’t done for a while. The gym is great, I love it, but I get set in my ways and don’t work everything properly. Ring Fit Adventure is giving me a much broader range of movement, helping my flexibility and giving me an RPG to play through at the same time.
I’m having fun, feeling the burn and always working towards game progress.
Who knew Ring FIt Adventure would be quite as good as it is? Take the gimmick of the ring and motion-tracking away, and you’re left with a solid game in itself. Awesome work by Nintendo, I’d love to see more of this, either a new story or whatever the next iteration may be on the follow-up console from Nintendo.
Looking for more opinions on the games we’ve played? Check out our game reviews.
