Mario & Sonic are getting ready to compete in the Olympic Games once more. This time, it will bring them to Tokyo, together with some of their friends. New Olympic Games mean new sports, and in this game, a lot more fun. After spending a couple of hours with it, I can already say this might become the most complete and most fun Mario & Sonic game to date; let me explain why.
Fun for the entire family
When you boot up the game for the first time, you’ll have access to a lot of modes, including the quick play mode where you can compete in several Olympic disciplines. This is the best mode if you’re looking for a quick session or if you want to compete with your friends and family. The menus are extremely clean and easy to navigate, enabling you to have fun in mere seconds. The game is clearly aimed at those who like party games such as Wii Sports, Mario Tennis, or other sport-orientated games. When it comes to the disciplines themselves, you’ll have access to a rather robust number of mini-games, including some fan-favorites and even some new ones!
Boxing, soccer, swimming, and gymnastics all make a return along with other sports (we’ll discuss those more in our final review), while new ones include karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. My personal favorite quickly became sport climbing since that’s the only one I practice in real life too. Seeing my favorite sport come to life on Nintendo Switch is great, especially in combination with that typical Mario & Sonic feel. The game lets you pick one of your favorite character from both franchises and after you select the controls of your liking, you’re ready to go. Before the actual event, you’ll see a short tutorial explaining the controls and flow of the sport, which is crucial. You’ll pick up on most sports rather fast but mastering them all will take you some time. What I like most this far is the freedom you get in the way you like to control your characters. I always went for the button controls since the motion isn’t always as accurate as I would have hoped but perhaps that’s something I need to practice a bit more. That being said, competing with your friends is extremely fun and even addictive, you’ll always want to go for one more round.
Special events
Entering all those competitions is great, especially when you play together but that’s just one part of the game. Besides the regular sports, you also have access to Dream Events and 2D competitions. Let’s talk about Dream Events first. These are bigger mini-games where you have to compete in a special competition. For example shooting. In shooting, you’ll have to run around on a 3D map while shooting down as many targets as possible and gain more points than your competitors. Or you can race for the crown in a Mario-esque racing game. The Dream Events are big and offer a different kind of fun, resembling classic Mario sports games even more. Having those is a welcomed change to the regular sports as they give you a more lengthy competition.
Still looking for something different? Well, why not travel back in time to compete in the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games. These special events will throw you back in time where you can enter in a couple of different sports. The art style of these classic games is just perfect, mimicking visuals from the early days, including some bright 2D sprites. It’s a fun mode and although the controls are way less complex, it’s not always easy to gain the first position in these classic events. It’s a great little extra that adds another layer to the game, making it by far the most complete Mario & Sonic game to date. I didn’t spend a lot of time with these classic sports just yet but I can’t wait to discover and play them all.
A story to tell
As if all these modes weren’t enough already, you can also enter a story mode. Unlike you might expect in a sports-based game, the story mode clearly isn’t an afterthought. Without spoiling the story too much, Mario and some of his friends and rivals got sucked into a special console, teleporting them back to the Tokyo Olympic Games of 1964 while Luigi has to gather friends over in Tokyo 2020 to find a solution. This results in a fun game mode where you’ll constantly travel between the eras, competing in sports spread over different years. It’s a fun story mode including open segments where you can wander around both in 2D and 3D world, all while meeting new characters and solving small problems. Of course, I won’t spoil the story for you since the game is still a couple of weeks away from its release but from what I’ve seen and played up to this point, the story is extremely intriguing for a sports game.
Early conclusion:
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is shaping up to become a very complete entry in the franchise. The biggest roster of playable disciplines in combination with the 2D events, Dream events and story mode all add up to a great gaming experience. It’s a bit too soon to really say at this point but from what I’ve played so far, this might even become the best of the franchise yet.
