Nintendo’s clever RingFit Adventure technology could be the fun home workout you're looking for - here's how it works

The genius bit of kit that is RingFit Adventure - designed by Nintendo’s best brains - has taken on a new lease of life since lockdown.

Nintendo has had to produce more stock of its Switch game and accessory designed for fun fitness workouts in the comfort of your own home.

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Before Christmas I reviewed RingFit Adventure and gave it a resounding 10/10.

"No gimmicks, just genius" was my conclusion.

Little did I or Nintendo foresee just what an important game this would be.

A wise investment

Keeping active and healthy during this lockdown is both vital and challenging.

There is no wrong or right way to do it. It is different strokes for different folks, whether you prefer to follow YouTube workouts, like those from popular Joe Wicks, or use apps on your phone.

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Money might be tight for many over this period, but if you already own a Switch and you don’t have RingFit Adventure it would be a wise investment to keep you and your family moving indoors.

Not a gimmicky get-fit-quick tool

When it comes to weird, wonderful and often wacky creations Nintendo are the industry pioneers and leaders.

And their latest effort - Ring Fit Adventure - certainly does not disappoint.

I consider myself a pretty fit fella. I’m late 30s and exercise around three times a week. So, when I cracked open the bizarre contraption that looks like some gimmicky get-fit-quick tool from a home-shopping channel that comes free with an ab-roller, I was sceptical, to say the least.

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I imagined it would be great to get the increasingly sedentary younger generation more mobile through gaming like the Wii Fit did so successfully worldwide. What I certainly didn’t foresee was a genuine, proper workout for a non-smoker who considers himself in reasonably good shape. Oh, how wrong I was.

Not only is the premise of integrating an RPG with temple-running style fitness game a risk. It is so left-field it simply should not work. But it does. And it does unfathomably brilliantly, executed with the usual charm and polish associated with the Nintendo stable.

How does it work?

For those that are not familiar with Ring Fit Adventure, the game comes with two physical components - the Ring-Con (a flexible, hard-plastic ring that the user holds and one Joy-Con slots into), and a Leg Strap, which is a piece of fabric affixed to the user’s leg that holds the other Joy-Con.

The main mode has the player complete a turn-based role-playing game, where movements and battle actions are based on performing certain physical activities using the Ring-Con and Leg Strap, with the motion controls within the Joy-Con sensing the player’s movement.

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Other modes include general guided fitness routines and party-style games, all centered around common fitness exercises.

Innovation and originality worth shouting about

Exercise can be laborious and intimidating for some, especially going to a gym or out for a run. Ring Fit Adventure’s genius is that it gets you sweating but always excited about coming back for more, and all in the comfort of your own home.

This kind of innovation and originality should be celebrated and I would even go as far as to say the Ring Fit alone makes the Switch worth getting if you don’t already own one. It’s that good.

And this is only just the beginning.

Rating: 10/10