Ring Fit Adventure: Everything you need to know

Wii Fit and Wii Fit U for their respective systems were brilliant, popular exercise games, but were hindered in the popularity with the gaming audience by being focused on exercise over anything more “video gamey,” having an unwieldy balance board requirement, and in the latter’s case, being on the Wii U. Enter Ring Fit Adventure, Nintendo’s most recent attempt at a fitness game that aims to unite those interested in easy, portable, indoor workouts with people looking for an interesting twist on gameplay.

Before you jump in and start doing reps, here’s everything you need to know about Ring Fit Adventure for the Nintendo Switch:

What is Ring Fit Adventure?

Ring Fit Adventure is a new game coming to the Nintendo Switch that takes cues from Nintendo’s Wii Fit and Wii Fit U. It’s a fitness-focused game intended to get players active while playing. However, unlike its predecessors, it integrates workouts into gameplay so the player can go on a story-based adventure, fight monsters, and explore a world while exercising.

How do you play?

Ring Fit Adventure can best be thought of as an RPG, though it’s a fitness game on top of that. In it, the main character meets a mysterious talking Ring that joins them to defeat a super muscular dragon named Dragaeux. To play, you’ll attach the included Leg Strap to your thigh and use the Ring controller to control the game. In the game’s main Adventure mode, you’ll move your character forward by walking or jogging in place and may need to traverse obstacles by doing exercises such as squats or by squeezing the ring.

In battles, you can choose different types of exercises to do to fight enemies, with some enemies weak against certain types of exercises. There are around 30 different attacks you can use, and the accuracy with which you complete each exercise will determine the amount of damage it does. You can also defend against enemy attacks by pressing the Ring-Con controller into your abdomen.

Can I do the workouts outside of the adventure mode?

Absolutely. Ring Fit Adventure includes a Quick Play mode where you can jump into the exercises of your choosing, play minigames, or choose sets of exercises based on the part of your body you want to work out.

What kinds of workouts are there?

There are lots of different types of exercises across multiple categories, mostly broken down by part of the body they exercise: chest, legs, arms, or yoga poses. Some examples we’ve seen in trailers so far include squats, bow pulls, overhead lunge twists, thigh presses, hinge poses, chair poses, and knee-to-chests. You can unlock more exercises by progressing in Adventure mode and leveling up.

Can I customize the workouts?

There is some customization available in Ring Fit Adventure that we’ve seen so far, mostly the kind that allows you to set the level of workout you prefer so you’re not overtaxing yourself, or underworking yourself. This mostly takes the form of a difficulty level selector that goes up in number from 1 to 30.

Can I play with friends?

Ring Fit Adventure is designed as a single-player game and only one player can play at a time. Nintendo has encouraged its audience in trailers to share the Ring-Con around and play with friends that way, but there is no true multiplayer. You are able to compare scores in various exercises with your friends and with others online to try and get the highest score over a period of time.

How does the controller work?

The Ring-Con controller is a tense, circular exercise ring that connects to the Switch when you slide a single Joy-Con into a dedicated slot. The second Joy-Con goes into the Leg Strap, which then detects your leg motions, balance, and positioning. The Ring-Con is intended to be squeezed in different ways to do exercises, with the Joy-Con sensing the motion and pressure on the Ring-Con to grade your exercises.

Do I need the Ring controller to play the game?

You do. Ring Fit Adventure cannot be played without the controller and leg strap, but it also isn’t sold without the controller or leg strap, so unless you’re buying the game used, you’ll always have the controllers to pair with it.

When can I get it?

Ring Fit Adventure is planned for launch on October 18, 2019, and will cost $80 (with both the Ring-Con controller and Leg Strap).

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