The 2020 Summer Olympics are less than a year away which means it’s time for another Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. The franchise eluded me for years. I didn’t fancy it on Nintendo’s previous consoles but with it coming to the Switch and the Games being hosted in Tokyo, I figured there’s no better time to give this franchise a look.
I roped my fiancée into trying this game with me and were immediately impressed with how easy it was to pick and play. We appreciated the fact that most if not all the events were unlocked in the Quick Play menu.
We went through half of the events in a single sitting, trading wins, and generally having fun with many of the events. Some were trickier than others. The triple jump gave us a bit of trouble because we were both getting mixed up with button placements due to all the time spent on Xbox controllers. Make no mistake though — that wasn’t a slight against it. We both felt it was representative of the real sport. The triple jump isn’t easy.
We were both fans of the 4 x 100 relay race. It was great to see the option play it on the same team and we appreciated that there was a bit of strategy and execution in this event. I think this mode would be a barn burner in a party setting.
After we pulled off some great tricks on the wave and skate park, the fiancee took a break and I decided to check out the story mode. I had no idea what to expect but I didn’t quite anticipate an interactive brochure to Tokyo and the Olympic Games. Japanese and Olympic trivia enlightened and informed while Sonic and Mario characters populated the streets and locales of Tokyo.
I’ve only scratched the surface but I firmly believe that if you bought tickets to an Olympic event, this game should be included. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 has been a wonderful taster to both Tokyo and the upcoming games. I look forward to checking it out some more.
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