The next thing you can build in the Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit is a submarine controller.  I’m not gonna lie, I’m not sure I can describe this one very well.  I’m not sure if it works like a real submarine because I don’t pilot those very often (or at all, really).  And I don’t play very many submarine games either.  The only one I can think of is when Yoshi transforms into a sub in Yoshi’s Island, and you know THAT’S realistic!  Anyway, so let’s take a look at the submarine controller you can build and what it does.

As my brother Jeff and I were building this, I was also knee deep in playing Mega Man 11 at the time.  So when I saw this work-in-progress of our cardboard controller, I thought to myself, “Oh my gosh, Labo uses the Double Gear System!  Did Dr. Wily invent Labo?”  I know only people who have played Mega Man 11 will get that.  Anyway, here’s a picture of what I saw so you know what I mean.

The sub controller does use gears, but I think they only do that to give the controller a clicking tactile sensation as you rotate the knobs on either end.  There are also holes, but they’re only there so you can see the inner workings of the mechanism.  Here’s a bigger shot of the completely built controller.

So in Adventure Mode, when you’re driving around the island in the car, you may come across some areas with water.  Like the beach, lake, and small island areas.  When you drive the car over the water, you’ll just float and move very slowly.  But if you take the cardboard key out of the steering wheel with the JoyCon inside and move it to the sub controller while in the water, your car will transform into a submarine!  You use the knobs on either end of the box to rotate propellers on each side, and the gas pedal to make them spin so you can move.  So it’s like tank controls except in 3-D space.  Turn both propellers behind you to move forward, in front to move backward, and down to go up and up to go down.  And like a tank, turn one propeller in front and one to the back to turn sharply.  The controls are a little difficult to get the hang of, as they aren’t as intuitive as steering or flying controls.  But you won’t be using the submarine very often in Adventure Mode as there is only about 3 areas out of 10 that have water you can go in.  There is also a button on the box that shoots out a grappling hook you use to latch onto things and reel them back to you.

And that’s all for the submarine controls!  Tomorrow we’ll look at the last thing you build: a flight stick for the airplane!  –Cary

Tags: Game Reviews