Test Zoo Family Coach – Nintendo Switch – Endeavor

Thirteen years after the release of Wii, the Family Trainer mini-game collection from Pandoy Namco Entertainment was re-launched on September 3, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch. By adding a mat to control the mini-games with the feet, the game uses the hype of Wii Fit with the Wii balance board at the time, but the Nintendo Switch version replaces the mat with the known footstool from the Ring Fit Adventure. Movements such as legs running, jumping or leaning can be transferred directly to the game. The Family Trainer for the Nintendo Switch is available in digital and retail – you can choose the regular version with the retail version and the version that includes two leg straps, in multiplayer mode with two people if you do not already have a ring fit adventure or you want to play the game.

The content of the Family Trainer can be told relatively quickly: there are a total of 15 different fitness mini-games that can be played with the toe strap and each available at different levels of difficulty. The tutorial explains the first three mini-games you need to complete: First, a simple running exercise in which you need to run home quickly to reach the goal. In the second mini-game, your jumping skills and abilities are required: your character must spin as often as possible, like a clock, with his hands rotating on a round platform. The third mini-game is again an obstacle, in which both flow and hopping were tested together.

In Nager-Wansin (also known as Whac-A-Mole) you have to hit the mole by stabbing your leg and you can control the cursor for the hammer with Joy-Khan’s motion controls in both hands. This mini-game is especially fun in multiplayer mode, which can unfortunately only be said about some mini-games. On a kayak tour, you can make your kayak more or less worse by crossing the wild river by sloping Joy-Khan, and jumping over obstacles by jumping on the spot. In cart chaos you can drive a cart through a cave and accelerate by tilting the joy-con and lifting the respective leg by turning the joy-con or direction in one direction. Other mini-games like the jumping rope are again very common and will not keep you hooked to the screen for more than a few minutes.

Each mini-game can be played in different variations: mini-games like super skaters, if the level of difficulty is high, you can slide on a street, extreme porters, where you can do tricks by moving the joy-con, or tube slides, you can sit on the water slide with obstacles, with high demands May extend longer. Some mini-games differ in single player and multiplayer mode, so wagon riding and waterfall climbing offer co-op versions where you have to play together to win.

Overall, the Family Trainer’s scope is unfortunately too trivial because the title is no more than 15 mini-games. There are all kinds of game modes, but these do not add value in terms of the game, but allow you to design your own game characters, view achievements and records, or set up exercise programs with a sequence of mini-games. In training mode, there are specific training units for areas such as endurance, balance, reaction or tabs, but these simply contain sets of mini-games that can be assigned to the respective category. After completing the mini-games, there are active points, which will also be displayed on maps to compare performance data. However, I am very skeptical that the family coach can encourage regular training, as the long-term motivation to play the same mini-games over and over again is very low.