I was impressed by Ring Fit Adventure‘s adjustable difficulty, wide variety of exercises, and fun minigames. I imagined it would suit different people, both the exercise haters and fitness freaks. But would it keep them hooked for long? And is the workout really sufficient for fitness lovers?
Ring Fit Poll
This poll is for players who either own Ring Fit or have regular access to it.
What Do You Think of Ring Fit?
As a casual survey, I reached out to 10 acquaintances who own the game. I asked questions similar to the poll above.
1) Before trying Ring Fit, how much did you exercise?
2) Was Ring Fit as fun as you expected?
3) Is it an effective exercise tool for you?
4) What are the hardest exercises?
5) Have you stopped playing? How many sessions (or how long) have you played Ring Fit?
6) Are you motivated to keep playing? Why or why not?
If you’ve played Ring Fit, I’d love to hear about your experience through the poll or comments below!
Is Ring Fit Fun?
Most of my 10 acquaintances in the casual survey were in their 20s and 30s, while two people were in their 40s and 50s.
One-third did no exercise prior to owning Ring Fit, while another third worked out almost daily. The most devoted exerciser said he did weightlifting 3 days per week and high-intensity cardio 3 days per week.
Was it as fun as expected? All 10 people gave a positive response, the least enthusiastic being, “I didn’t expect anything; it was actually okay.”
Here’s what two others said.
Elizabeth: “I bought Ring Fit because it looked ridiculous, so I was surprised to find out it was fun too—and exactly as funny as advertised.”
Ash: “I like the story, I think the characters are fun and silly. I love all the names, like Dashley (she runs all the time), and Abdonis (he’s the ab guy, of course!). I also think all of the little enemies are cute, and clever. I like that I’m fighting a silly kettlebell that’s kind of like a dog, or those little guys that look like crabs and have a protein shaker for a shell. I have caught myself facing a big spawn of baddies and going: ‘Oh, I’m going to kick your BUTTS with my upgraded Standing Twist move!'”
Is Ring Fit Good For Exercise?
Is it an effective tool for exercise? Most of the 10 people said yes, except one who said “no” (without elaborating) and another who said they couldn’t “feel the difference.” Here’s what others said:
Rae: “It motivated me to get my lazy butt in gear. I guess going on ‘adventures’, especially during the lockdown period at home really motivated me to stay fit in a safe environment.”
Nate: “For the most part, it was effective. It can be challenging when they ask you to do a lot of repeated exercises. But it’s more strength than cardio.”
Elizabeth: “Ring Fit was a very effective exercise tool for a while: I liked the emphasis on static vs. dynamic stretching and the ability to target different muscle groups. The biggest change was in diet: watching cartoon-me chug smoothie healing potions made me try smoothies in real life again, too.”
Ash: “I think so. I don’t think it’s as effective for losing weight specifically. But it IS very effective for me in keeping my mental health in tip top shape during these times. I got Ring Fit just to get that dose of endorphins to help take my mental state out of the doom and gloom. It has definitely worked; I can tell on the days I don’t use my Ring Con that I feel more lethargic. As well, my body does feel like it is becoming more lithe and toned, which is a better result than just losing weight in my opinion.”
The Hardest Ring Fit Exercises
Nate: “Overhead Squat, Mountain Climber.”
Rae: “Anything to do with overhead arm work. My arms are usually so sore!”
Elizabeth: “Back exercises. They didn’t feel challenging at first, but that was because I wasn’t bending nearly as much as the game wanted me to bend, so it kept chirping at me to bend ‘just a little further.’ To its credit, the game DID give me credit for completing my attacks when a few seconds went by and I was still unable to do more, but because attacks do damage based on how well you perform the move, I still wasn’t doing as much damage to enemies as I needed to.”
Kerry: “Overhead arms.”
Mr. T: “Plank.”
Miki: “Mountain Climber.”
Caroline: “The ones that you have to sit on the ground for. The space in which I do the exercises isn’t very big.”
Stephen: “Tree Pose and Warrior III Pose.”
Ash: “ARM STUFF! I guess I just have weak spaghetti-arms, but I find many of the arm workouts to be the hardest. The Overhead Press is especially tough for me; I suppose that means I need those exercises the most though eh? As well, Overhead Wide Squat is deadly for me as well. I find, after about 8 or so, my arms and legs are just burning and want to quit. I take frequent breaks. Some of the yoga exercises can be challenging: I get really wobbly on Warrior III Pose. But I absolutely LOVE yoga, so I was very excited to find that yoga exercises were in the game.”
Hiromi: “Whack-a-Mole.” (The minigame called “Robo Wrecker.”)
I concur. Arm exercises, especially overhead arms, were the toughest. Also, Mountain Climber and Plank, which both involve being horizontally low to the floor, were near-impossible for me to do correctly. Thankfully, you’re not forced to do anything particular exercise.
Still Playing Ring Fit?
Clearly, most of my acquaintances enjoyed Ring Fit and found it a worthy challenge. But was it good enough to keep them playing?
Half said they had stopped playing, after anywhere between one month to several months. Here were some reasons for stopping:
Rae: “When work became a little busier, I find myself not playing as much anymore. And I reckon, once you miss one day, it’s easier to miss consecutive days, and not get back on the exercising bandwagon. I think I have only clocked approx 20+ hours to be honest. I should really get back on it!”
Elizabeth: “I had to stop playing Ring Fit because of the difficulty level. There’s no variable difficulty: you can’t set it to say, ‘I have strong legs but a bad back.’ I ended up hurting my back by overextending in response to the prompts, but scaling back the difficulty made other exercises too easy. Shortly after I stopped playing, I moved to a smaller apartment and was no longer motivated to start all over again.”
Mr. T: “I stopped playing Ring Fit due to my family’s activities in evening time.”
For those who are still playing Ring Fit today, lockdown due to Covid-19 was a motivating factor:
Nate: “Due to lockdown I did 3 times a week. Now that lockdown is lifted, I reduced it to only once a week. I’ve played 90 sessions so far.”
Kerry: “I did stop for awhile because of work and also because i forgot about me having the game. But I picked it up again recently due to lockdown. I had played for around half a year.”
Ash: “I think I will keep playing until I can safely go back to the gym, and even then I will probably still keep playing just to beat and unlock everything at the very least. I have played for, I think, 65 days now (that’s what Tipp tells me when I start the game up). I try to play for one hour every day except Saturdays when I take a rest. Sometimes I’ll have really sore muscles and I’ll have to take another day off as well. Usually happens if I do the Overhead Bend exercise… I don’t know if I’m mis-positioning, or if I just have short hamstrings, but the backs of my legs are really sore after that one.”
Motivation to Play Ring Fit
Lastly, I asked if they were motivated to continue with Ring Fit (or to resume it).
Nate: “No, I’m getting bored of it.”
Miki: “I’d rather watch Korean dramas with my mother.”
Rae: “Yes and no. Yes, ’cause with the MCO and Chinese New Year festivities, I think I’m slowly growing sideways. No, cause after a long day at work, I can only think of just relaxing on Animal Crossing instead.”
Elizabeth: “I would like to play Ring Fit again sometime! I stopped playing in a fake version of Sparta, filled with bad puns and silly sidequests, and I still want to see if the game’s giant purple dragon gets a redemption arc (and if the Ring is secretly evil! I have Theories). But now I’ve unlocked the game’s rowboat, which relies entirely on lower back movements. While there’s a chance I could do fine on easy mode, I’m nervous about injuring myself again, so I’ve been putting it off.”
Kerry: “Yes and no. ‘No’ because I still prefer multiplayer/competitive exercise. It’s a shame that Ring Fit is a single-player game; it would be much more fun if it’s multiplayer. ‘Yes’ because that’s the only exercise that I can easily do at home during lockdown.”
Mr. T: “I sometimes do exercise based on Ring Fit Skills though I stopped playing the main story.”
Ash: “Yes. I want to keep playing just to keep myself healthy mentally. As well, I just feel better when I know I’m doing something to keep my body in good shape. I do, actually, want to see the story – as silly and kooky as it is – and see just what is the deal with that Dragaux guy!? The game is fun, and has saved my mental state during a tough time. It was a purchase that was unabashedly worth it!”
Caroline: “At the moment not. I have taken to doing exercises based on examples on YouTube.”
Hiromi: “I like it, but don’t have the time to play.”
Stephen: “Yes; The exercises are effective, I’m not done with the story, and there is still room to increase the fitness difficulty.”
Thanks for your responses, guys! I’ll share my own thoughts about Ring Fit in a future review. Now, what did you think of the game, dear readers?
I bought the game and had to sell it soon after.
I loved it, but I just couldn’t ‘sink’ through my knees as far as the game wanted.
This ‘move’ was repeated after the completion of each level, there was no way around it.
I tried to search for a menu somewhere where you could indicate you couldn’t do a certain exercises, so the game wouldn’t give it to you, but alas it wasn’t there.
Because of this I don’t think the game is very accessible or user-friendly.
I breaks my heart. I always loved Wii Fit and I loved how this game was set up and payed.
Such a shame and disappointment. 🙁
Hi Ronja, I’m so sorry you had to give it up. Especially after eagerly anticipating the game.
I know what you mean about squatting low. While I can do the victory pose, I find the normal squat exercises challenging because the game does ask you to sink quite low.
Perhaps angle of the Joy-Con is a factor, and based on my experience it really wants you to make a large range of movement. I suppose one possible solution is to take the Joy Con out of strap and just tilt it with your hand… In other words, cheat. I’ve done this occasionally for some exercises where it was physically impossible for me. But if you keep having to do that, then it’s not fun, is it?
While I do think Ring Fit is good for a wide range of fitness levels, this doesn’t mean it is good for everyone, as you have pointed out.
For example, my mum was interested to try it, but due to mobility/stiffness/pain issues, this game is largely unsuitable for her. She could try doing a “Custom Exercise” (found on the title menu) composed of individual Fit Skills, but that’s not the main game. She’s 75, but age isn’t the only factor; my husband is in his 30s but can’t do a few of the exercises which require certain flexibility.
Ronja, thanks for sharing your valuable comment. I hope others can chime in here if they have found some aspects of Ring Fit too difficult.
I too have very bad knees, so some exercises where very difficult to do. In my memory though, I could choose which one I wanted to do, so I could forgo the ones that didn’t fit me at all. Getting down on the floor for abdominal exercises was painstaking for me, but luckily the enemies waited patiently for me to get ready, lol.
The reason I haven’t played anymore is all to do with me. I hate doing any kind of sports, and though I always hope that I will find one that does stick with me, not even Ring Fit fit the bill. But I did play it longer then most of these kind of games.