Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Review

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fast Facts

Title: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: SEGA
Website: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch/Mario-Sonic-at-the-Olympic-Games-Tokyo-2020-1575303.html
Genre: Sports
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Age Rating: PEGI 7
Release Date: 08/11/19
Price: £49.99 – Rapid Reviews was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

Step up to the podium

With the next Olympics taking place in Tokyo in the Summer of 2020, there will be plenty of games coming out, hoping to make a quick buck on the back of it. This is what usually happens when a big sporting event takes place. These games are sometimes rushed, and not completed to a good standard. However, with the might of SEGA and Nintendo behind it, would Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 fall into this category? Read my Rapid Review to find out.

The starting block

This game has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a game involving these two giants of the gaming world. The graphics are stunning, both in 2D and 3D modes, and the map of Tokyo is beautifully crafted.

https://youtu.be/SW-WcMq3pzg

The story plays out over 20 Chapters. Without giving too much away, it involves an old games console. Mario and Sonic are somehow stuck inside it, and it’s the job of Luigi and friends to get them out.

Through a series of Olympic events, you compete against the usual band of bad guys, in order to win passes, to unlock new events, and of course, the all-important gold medals.

After a couple of hours, you can see where it’s going and it does become a little laborious. Thankfully, it never gets painful. The game keeps you engaged as the further you progress, the more characters, locations and events you unlock. I literally spent hours on end ploughing through to reach the end of the story.

Excellent Events

Where this game truly shines is the number of games available. You can take part in all Olympic events, including four of the five new events that will be taking place in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The five new sports that have been added to the Tokyo Games coming up in 2020 are baseball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. For some reason, baseball is missing.

Something that I enjoyed in the game was the trivia. Throughout the story, you can find out pieces of trivia about the history of the Olympics, as well as questions about SEGA and Nintendo characters. Others have found this to be a monotonous addition. However, I found it to be a worthwhile addition.

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The events can be played in a number of ways, with two Joy-Cons, one Joy-Con or the standard buttons. It was just my personal preference, but I played using the Joy-Cons attached and the buttons. Most of the events were very easy to pick up and play. As you can see below, using two Joy-Cons, events are controlled using a combination of swings and thrusts. As I’ve said, I preferred using the standard buttons, for some reason it just felt more natural to me.

There were a couple of the events, the diving and the surfing stand out, that were very frustrating to play and led me to the verge of ragequitting. This might put some players off, especially younger children. Thankfully, if you fail an event three times, you can skip it and progress further into the story. I’m pleased that this option was included because it would have been very annoying to fail the same event over and over again and have to beat it to make progress in the Story Mode.

You can always go back and try to master the events that you’ve failed at in the Quick Match or Local Play modes. All of the minigames that you play in the Story Mode can be replayed also.

Records, records, records

The game keeps a record of all of your results and you can even compare your times with the Official Olympic records. Furthermore, you can read back over the trivia found in the game, and see how many you’ve missed in the Story Mode.

Missing multiplayer?

I had the review code for this game very early. Therefore, when I tried to play online, I wasn’t able to find anyone to play with. We will be adding an extra part to this review when we’ve had the chance to experience multiplayer, now that the game has been released. I did get the opportunity to play some local multiplayer, and that was a lot of fun! You can play with up to four players, local split-screen. It never gets old seeing people’s competitiveness come out, shaking the Joy-Cons uncontrollably, to try and win the gold medal. This is the type of game that will be enjoyed during gatherings with friends and family for sure.

The Final Lap…

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a fantastic game that will get your competitive juices stirring. There’s enough in this title to make you come back for more and to try and win that gold medal. This is a game that shouldn’t be lost amongst the inevitable wave of games that will be released in the buildup to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Rapid Reviews Rating

You can purchase Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 from the Nintendo eShop on the following link, https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch/Mario-Sonic-at-the-Olympic-Games-Tokyo-2020-1575303.html