Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a slightly different game than I was expecting. I thought it was just going to be a simple party game with an interesting, nostalgia-driven Story Mode. What I didn’t realize was that it was also a game that would teach me a lot about the Olympics, Japanese interest and pride in the Olympics, and facts about both the 1964 and upcoming 2020 Games in Tokyo. Oh, and it was fun, too!
Platforms: Switch
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: Olympic-Style Sports + Mini History Lesson
Release Date: November 5, 2019
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
I decided to start out by playing the entire Story Mode, which was more fun than I thought it would be. The dastardly Dr. Eggman has built a device that will trap Mario and Sonic, but at the last minute, he and Bowser get sucked in as well! Good and evil fight by trying to get as many gold medals as possible. But in the meantime, Luigi and Tails are in the real world, trying to figure out a way to save them, and fighting the baddies on the outside as well! Every step of the way requires playing some Olympic sport to further the story, and in many cases, you get new characters added to your party – and new characters that you can unlock for the sports.
There are also tons of minigames, plenty of facts you can unlock around the different venues, and, of course, fun in both 2D and 3D. That’s right – the scenes you play with Mario, Sonic, Bowser, and Dr. Eggman are all in old school pixelated style, while the “real world” is depicted in full 3D. There are more than 30 events total – over 20 in 3D, and 10 in 2D. The Story Mode is more robust than I expected – and while the story itself isn’t anything to write home about, Sega did a great job incorporating all of the characters and getting each one involved in the race to save their friends.
The Story Mode also features a way to skip over events that are too frustrating. Did you try the same event three times and you’re just not getting it? Once you lose for a third time, you’re able to skip the event – and the story goes on as if you’ve won. Using that option definitely feels a little cheat-y, but it also stopped me from wanting to chuck my Switch into a river. It also feels like a great feature for kids, which, if I’m being 100% honest, is the audience I feel this game is most aimed at. This is for sure a great game for kids and/or the perfect game for anyone obsessed with the Olympics. While I’m not sure if it will nail a perfect landing here in America, I am absolutely certain that it will be a huge hit in Japan, especially with its focus on the Japanese pride of having the Olympics in Tokyo once again.
From there, I moved on to try the local multiplayer options available. Because I had completed the Story Mode, I had unlocked a ton of characters to play in the multiplayer games, much like in other Nintendo party games. There were even more options for levels, including three “Dream Events,” which are special levels that are Mario and Sonic themed. Having played the entire Story Mode with my Switch undocked, I decided to try the local multiplayer events with my Pro Controller and then with my Joy-Cons held separately. This meant that, in certain events, I had the option for using motion controls, which was a much different experience than I had while playing with the undocked Switch!
After gathering up a partner, we both played locally with one Switch, which supports up to four players. We tried out several different events, including Equestrian, Swimming, and Fencing, and the main difference between playing multiplayer and playing single player was that I had a plethora of characters to choose from, and they all had different abilities in each event. I wanted to try turning faster on my horse, so I chose Waluigi for that one; I wanted to see how high I could get my jumps, so I chose Vector for Dream Racing. It was fun with the two of us, but would have been much more hilarious with four people all competing at once.
There are two additional ways to play – online, and local (but not on the same Switch). Online play includes ranked and casual play, meaning if you want to get on the rankings, you have to play in the ranked events. This also requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership, but it also allows you to play with eight people at once. There was also local play available to compete against other Switch owners in the same room who also own the game.
While I don’t think I was the target audience for this game, I had a lot of fun with it. I enjoyed the varying types of events that were included and I felt that I learned a lot about Japan and its pride in the Olympics. What I especially loved was the attention to detail the designers had with the characters and the locations. They put characters in traditional Japanese garb in some scenes, and in many events, the playable characters were dressed accordingly – for example, I was able to swim as Dr. Eggman in swim trunks, and Waluigi had on an adorable riding outfit in the equestrian event. It was obvious this was a game the developers poured a lot of love and care into.
The only complaint I have is about the music and sound design in general. While it’s a delight to have the music change from 3D and 2D events (as you can imagine, the 2D portions of the game have more nostalgic sounds), the music itself is repetitive and loops too quickly. There’s nothing offensive about it – it’s perfectly fine – it’s just not good enough to be anything other than annoying after a very short period of repetition.
If you’re a parent looking for games to play with your kids, or you’re a huge fan of the Olympics or Japanese history related to the Olympics, or you just love any kind of Nintendo-themed party games – you will, without a doubt, love Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. If listening to Waluigi “wahhhh!” his way through multiple screens of Olympic and Olympic-themed games fills you with joy, you just may want to buy it immediately.
Review Disclosure: A review copy of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was provided by Sega for the purposes of this review.
