Olympic Fever will be starting up soon as the 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August. To build excitement for the games and to let you get a taste of the competition, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is now available for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. I received the 3DS version to try out and it was a good bit of fun.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games — Story Mode
In story mode, you (pictured by your Mii) are an athlete who wants to train for the games. You’ll experience a different storyline and events depending if you choose to train with Mario’s team or Sonic’s team. The game is basically comprised of dozens of mini-games, each making use of different controls on the 3DS (control pad, buttons, microphone, circle pad).
There are 14 main events and alternate “plus” versions of each of those. To get ready for those, there are also 30 training event to raise your skills, speed, stamina, and strength levels. Fruit and melons can be collected during the game and used to purchase different clothing and gear to increase your levels as well (I spent most of the game in a cat suit). For any events you didn’t get to play during the game, you can always go back and select them individually in the Rio 2016 Quick Play mode.
The “Mario” story is lacking but it’s pretty straight forward and you can go through the events pretty quickly. This is better for younger players who just want to play the sports without completing other tasks. Note that there is still a good bit of reading to be done to play though. I finished this in a few hours from start to finish, finishing first in all training events, and winning all the gold medals. A handful of events took several tries to master but, for the most part, the rest were easy and enjoyable.
Munchkin tried out the “Sonic” story, which seemed to be much more meaty plot-wise. She actually had to help solve some things happening in town to keep the games moving. That included finding items around the competition areas and completing certain tasks. Sometimes the gameplay was super simple for her but, at other times, she found the events to be very difficult. This story is better suited for players ages 12+.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games — Events
Main events include:
- Football (soccer)
- Golf
- 100m
- 100m Hurdles
- Long Jump
- Javelin
- 100m Freestyle Swimming
- Archery
- Boxing
- Table Tennis
- Beach Volleyball
- Equestrian
- BMX
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
Training events include:
- Field Hockey
- Badminton (Singles)
- Triple Jump
- Shot Put
- Synchronized Swimming (Team)
- Trampoline
- 4 x 100m Relay
- Water Polo
- 100m Breaststroke
- Canoe Slalom (Pair)
- Handball
- Rowing – Quadruple Sculls
- Rings
- Fencing – Epée
- Sailing – 470 (Pair)
- Taekwondo
- … and many more!
Other features include 4-player Local and Download Play (additional systems and games needed for multi-player), Pocket Marathon mode (track your physical steps for rewards in the game), and power boost with Mario or Sonic character amiibo figures (sold separately).
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for Nintendo 3DS Review
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is rated “Everyone 10+ with Mild Cartoon Violence.” I suspect that rating is from the taekwondo, boxing, and shooting events but it all Mario/Sonic style and not graphic at all. Conversation with most characters is friendly and the music is upbeat. If you enjoy sports-themed mini-games with Mario and Sonic characters, then this is a great little game to pick up for the family.
I received this item as part of my participation as a Nintendo Ambassador. All opinions are my own.
