Ring Fit Adventure – Nintendo Switch

The game is exactly what I remember it to be (I watched Dashie play it back when it launch) and it has helped me to at least improve my joints so far. It has a wide array of exercises that focus on each part of your body and in the custom mode you can select which you would like to play.Its fun and can help you at the very least burn calories and is rather nice on the day tracker (it continues whenever you do). It will from time-to-time have a pop-up that lets you change the difficulty if you think its too much and works with you to be healthy. I would say its more or less for those who want to be active more than anything.

I’m a 60+ mostly-sedentary female. I bought Ring Fit Adventure to augment my daily walks with the goal of obtaining/maintaining enough strength and flexibility to be comfortable and capable througout my daily life.I’m up to Day 55, World 13 and I’m having a blast! I use it every day for between 12 – 15 minutes of workout (which actually takes me about 45 minutes or so because it also includes dynamic stretching and static stretching before and after the timed workout, and of course there’s a little reading and other game play things to do). I stop mostly when the game suggests. I always monitor my heart rate (I really appreciate that feature) and the game is giving my heart a ‘moderate’ workout which I like: Enough to build stamina but not so much that I fall over in a faint. I continue to have muscles that ache in my arms, legs, back and stomach. I have noticed that my posture, flexibility and balance have improved, as has my energy level. And I have not gotten injured.So, why has this been effective? Well, here are some of the things I like:* My brain has something to focus on besides ‘reps’. The game laces in fun challenges, like completing a jog without encountering any monsters, or determining the best set of exercises to take into a monster fight (legs, arms, abs, yoga…), some exercises are effective against just one monster at a time, while others do multi-monster damage… there’s stuff to think about!* I like how accurate the ring-con and leg-con seem to be. If I’m duffing it, the game gives suggestions (“It won’t be as effective with bent elbows…”), but it took a little trial-and-error to figure out why sometimes I’d just get a “Good!” instead of a “Great!” hit with some of the exercises.* I like that the adventure blends aerobics (jogging in place) with yoga and calisthenics, focusing on different areas of the body (which is my choice because I have selected some exercises from each category).* I like that it started me out at a low level (so I didn’t get hurt) that was still fun, so I was motivated to keep on playing.* I like that I get to pick the exercises that I’ll be using: If I want to focus on upper body today (‘cuz yesterday’s squats got me!), I can and that’s better than skipping the whole thing.* I enjoy the mini-games! Things like blasting crates by squeezing on the ring con is so much fun that I completely forget that I’m exercising.There are several exercises that I have unlocked that I still cannot do correctly, so that means I have room to grow – not just in the number of reps, but in techniques.Yes, I found the voice of the Ring character to be annoying sometimes – so I turned the volume down on it. I didn’t mute, though, because he does give decent feedback during the actual exercises (really helpful for those exercises where I can’t see the TV).NOTE: I think I was too tentative when I first set it up – afraid I’d snap the ring or something – and after a couple of weeks I began to notice that I was beating all the monsters and never needing to power-up (no smoothies). I bumped my ‘level’ several times (the game started me at level one and I’m now at level 8 (I think it goes all the way to level 30!)), but still, it seemed off. I decided to re-calibrate both ring-con and leg-con. Sure enough, the workouts got more intense because it knows that my arms and legs are actually stronger than they appeared back on day one.UPDATE: I am up to day 77 and am six pounds lighter, and two inches smaller around my waist. So cool! And there’s new things to explore and learn, plenty for me to improve upon… It’s still So Good!

The media could not be loaded. Easy and fun to use. Used to exercise and lose weight while having fun. I would recommend it to all the kids and adults.

Mainly writing a review because I’m seeing some very… odd criticisms leveled at this game.First the obvious Amazon issue where people use the product review page to rate the shipping, the seller, or other various issues with receiving the product rather than the product itself. There are areas to review that and leave feedback/ratings. The product page is not it.Now, on to criticism of the product I’ve seen that is very strange. First of all, complaints about graphics. The graphics are fine. More than fine, it’s a very nice looking game. No, it’s not bouncing 8k ray-tracing at 144 frames per second with physics computed in the cloud simulating every molecule of dust in the wind, but it’s a game about jogging and fighting sentient yoga mats with thighmaster powers, on the Nintendo Switch. The textures are sharp, the colors are vibrant, the animation is on point and the resolution/framerate are high and solid. Unless you simply have something against the art style, I fail to see how one could complain about the graphics here.Now the second common complaint I’ve seen regard the progression. Namely, things are unlocked at a very slow pace. This depends on your perspective, in my opinion. The game’s adventure mode is not meant to be beaten over a weekend, but instead used to help get the player into a more fit routine over the course of several months. The total percentage of things you unlock is done at a very slow pace, yes.. I’ve been playing for 10 days, and have yet to unlock the skill tree I’ve seen in places like IGN reviews and the like. However, that’s not to say I’ve found the unlocks to come at a snail’s pace.I’ve been playing the game for little more than the recommended 10 minutes of physical activity per day. (Ring Fit Adventure tallies up active time separately from time spent with the game simply on) In these 10 days, I’ve made it to the 5th world, have 4 different sets of outfits with 2 more purchasable if I earn enough gold, unlocked 9 or 10 different smoothie recipes, and have something like 20 exercises I can equip for battle. There’s also a catalog to track your unlocked things, and according to that I’ve only unlocked about 6 percent of the smoothie recipes.. Yeah, it’ll take a long time to get 100% unlocked, but there are a LOT of things to unlock and my short sessions involve several unlocks per day.Now, the actual important thing… how is Ring Fit Adventure as an exercise game?I loved the idea of an exercise RPG as soon as I saw it announced. I did use Wii Fit U for a few weeks, but the lack of variety made it feel about as exciting as your average treadmill. It did the job, but it was hard to feel enthusiastic about playing.Ring Fit Adventure on the other hand has the RPG aspect, and while I’m not super invested in the story (so.. dragon? Magic fitness ring that talks? Strange lands and exercise equipment trying to kill me? Not chomping at the bit for the next page of the story…) the RPG style progression has me ready to continue my adventure every day. In 10 days, I’ve reached character level 30 and still love seeing the “GAINS!” flash on the screen, increasing my attack/defense stats.As exercise itself, it also can be more intense than you think. Currently, I’m playing on difficulty level 16. There are 30 total difficulty levels, and the main difference is in how many reps you need to do per set during a fitness battle. It also appears to change how fast you have to move during sprinting sections when running through the levels.Now, I’m not massively out of shape, but I’m a 36 year old man who was slowly melting into “dad bod” and didn’t want that. In the 10 days I’ve been doing Ring Fit Adventure, I started on difficulty level 9 (answering a few questions about my age, weight and desired difficulty) and have slowly added in more difficulty levels when I feel comfortable. Comfortable is a relative term though, as I’ve been worked so hard by this game I’ve ended up sore.. and yes, that’s with only 10 or 14 minute sessions each day.After each level, you are given the option to check your heart rate with the right joy-con’s infrared camera. I’ve read many reviews that say it gives wildly varied readings that don’t line up with reality and is thus a broken feature, but I’ve had much better luck with it. Yes, sometimes the reading is off but that’s because I put my thumb in the wrong spot (kinda hard to get it perfect when you’re exhausted) but still, it won’t just spit out a number. It’ll tell me the reading is having trouble, and try again. The trick? Do what the picture on the TV says. Line the pad of your thumb up with the IR camera, don’t press too hard, and hold. It’s easiest for me with my hand in the same position as shown on the TV, with my left hand supporting the ring-con, so I don’t shake all over the place.Also, YES DRINK WATER. I don’t remember sweating nearly this much from Wii Fit, but I can’t go one session in Ring Fit Adventure without dripping sweat… which makes Ring saying “Your sweat is so shiny and beautiful!” all the creepier, but I digress.Overall, Ring Fit Adventure does what it sets out to do. The RPG hook is enough to keep me coming back not for the story, but for the grind. If you’ve tried things like Wii Fit, or other attempts to gameify fitness but simply getting fit wasn’t enough of a draw to keep you coming back, Ring Fit Adventure might work for you. Defeat dumbell crabs with squats and planks!Just watch out for Ring… that thing is so into fitness, it is honestly worrisome….—-UPDATE—-I’ve continued playing, now on day 25 of the adventure. Still playing just about the 10-14 minutes a day the game gives before asking if I want to stop. In this time, I have upped the difficulty up to level 20, and I’ve kept it there for the last few days as certain exercises still are very difficult in but one rep set.I’ve also been keeping track of my weight over this time, and while I haven’t seen much of a shift there, I have been noticing I’m toning up pretty well. If I actually bothered to count calories, I could really shed some fat in a hurry with this game helping me out.The game keeps track of all the exercise you’ve done, and I have burnt over 1000 calories with my morning Ring Fit Adventure. Of course the more difficulty you add, the more reps you have to do, the more calories you burn. However, the game also seems to still keep the 10 minute rule before it asks if you want to stop. I usually do, but sometimes I feel like I just started exercising and keep playing until I’m spent. If I do that too many days in a row, I up the difficulty.I can say for certain my abs are really toning up. I still have a bit of a belly, but you can actually see my abs under the little layer of flab. Whey protein has been a big help in making me not feel so sore, and allowing my muscles to heal and strengthen after a session in Ring Fit Adventure.Finally, as I’ve continued playing I’ve found SO MUCH MORE STUFF in the game. Doing sidequests has overleveled me on normal content, so I’m about 5 levels above the enemies I’m facing right now. That mainly means I don’t have to use smoothies as often in battle, and can instead sell them for gold if I need it.There are tons of outfits to unlock, and they have different set bonuses. At level 40, the skill tree was finally unlocked and I started earning skill points per level. At level 65, the skill tree expanded, and I learned the fit skills have RANKS, and I just barely saw that 2 star ranks exist.Every time I unlock something new in this game, I get the feeling that I’m still barely scratching the surface.Oh, and also I found the tiny text on the box about how to clean the ring-con’s hand grips, if they get stinky from so much sweat, they are removable (held on by velcro) and you’re supposed to hand wash them in warm water with mild detergent, and let them air dry away from direct sunlight. Only says that on the box in a very tiny spot that’s easy to miss, so I figured I’d add it here.

I decided recently I need to start exercising, but have had a ton of trouble figuring out necessary how to exercise, what works well for me, and to actually build a habit of it. As of writing this, it’s in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, so going to the gym is out of the question and can’t get a personal trainer, so this seemed like a great idea for an adaptive and fun exercise regiment.And it is!What I’ve heard most about Ring Fit is it’s kinda tough, which is true starting out. However I’ve been doing this for four days and have been able to increase the difficulty a little and comforably double my workout time today, so I feel it’s built me up very quickly (not that I’m going for longer than 30 min ever, or that I’m suddenly swol). When you start out, it asks you about your age and weight, how much you exercise already, and how much of a workout you want, as well as gauges your push and pull strength, to give you an appropriate workout regiment. It also frequently reminds you to take breaks, hydrate, and to not over-do it. I did over-do it once, so I just hit the “cool down” button, which brings you to the finishing stretches, as well as shows you your progress and a brief lesson on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.The Pilates ring is very sturdy! I was worried it would be kinda flimsy as it’s a video game pack-in, but it’s clearly meant to handle the abuse for years to come. The leg strap could be bigger in my opinion; I’m not a big person at all, but have very large thighs, and have trouble getting it to fit nicely. Above all the motion controls are very responsive and accurate, to the point I nearly forgot to mention it as you’re never given any reason to think about it; it’s just smooth and accurate. Also really love how the IR sensor on the right joycon reads your pulse! It’s a little wonky, usually takes a couple tries to get it to read a steady pulse, but really cool none the less.I haven’t ventured much past the main campaign, but it has A LOT of bonus material. There are several minigames(my favorite is Thigh Rider which, as you can guess, targets your thighs), sets to workout various areas, virtual jogging paths, a “multitask” mode which you can workout on your own with the ring without using the screen and it records your progress, and targeted workouts for specifit muscle groups. Haven’t yet dipped into the Custom Workout, but intend to in the next few days.I absolutely can’t recommend this enough to anyone who wants to get into working out and is having trouble finding the motivation. I have ADHD so creating new habits can be really hard, so it’s often necessary to gameify things like this so I can be motivated to continue with it. Trouble is it can be a little too fun sometimes and can be hard to walk away from when you get worn-out, so absolutely make sure to supervise any children who might be using this (or housemate with ADHD lol).I feel this is a very good tool for working out, and comes at a very reasonable MSRP (got mine for $70). Hope this review helps, and I hope this tool helps as many people as possible!EDIT: I lost a pound after a week of use! Granted I’ve got a fast metabolism (when it works right, got Hashimoto’s disease so not always the case), and I’ve adopted a high-protein diet, so results will vary. This is exciting for me because, largely due to factors caused by the pandemic and chronic illness, I’m about 10 pounds overweight. Very glad to know what a “good workout” is and to see results!