Much like the real life counterpart, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has a gargantuan of hurdles to overcome. Don't get us wrong, the problems in the 3DS version are much smaller and have less implications than dealing with politics, diseases and pollution. But being the fifth entry in such a popular series poses many questions about the longevity and relevance of the game.
If you've played any of the previous titles in the series you already know what to expect. Mario & Sonic at Rio 2016 is a game set in a fictional version of Rio de Janeiro, where the 2016 Olympics will take place. There are a series of new and old events in which the player has to compete - 44 to be exact - some of which are more complex and compelling than others.
In the latest iteration of the series we have two rival gyms fighting each other for the gold - led by Mario and Sonic - and it's up to your Mii to pick which team to join. Irrelevant to which team is chosen, the story will always develop the same way; you have seven days to claim as many gold medals as you can and become the reigning champion of Rio 2016.
The only difference between the campaigns is the events available and, of course, the protagonists of the story. For each in-game day that passes your Mii has to compete in one of the new disciplines added in Mario & Sonic at Rio 2016 while training and leveling up by playing in some of the old mini-games that have been brought back from the London Olympics title. By leveling up, the player can buy items and costumes that will alter the Mii's attributes, making them better suited for the discipline in which they're competing; the game has a generous amount of costumes to pick from, from Tuxedos to Carnival suits and - of course - costumes of the characters of the series that inspired this title.
As the player progresses through the story mode, certain bizarre mysteries occur - from ghost sightings to the disappearance of the trophies and medals at the Hall of Medals in Copacabana - and it's up to the player to solve these conundrums with the help of both teams, so not only will you be competing for gold, you'll also been investigating the streets of Rio in search for clues to find the culprits behind these evil acts (hint: one is a King and the other is often known as "Baldy Nosehair").
If only solving mysteries and winning gold medals was as entertaining as it sounds. Exploring Rio feels like walking around an empty and soulless version of the bustling city. If it weren't for the "secrets" hidden across the four sections of the city there wouldn't be a real incentive to explore. Furthermore, it seems that the script got lost in translation, not due to a bad localization but more because no one seems to have given a hoot about writing lines that would fit all these character's personalities. Some of the utterances in this game feel vapid and totally unsuited to the individuals involved.
Regarding the events themselves, all of them make use of the 3DS features (and gimmicks), but here's where the game's failings start to show up. The title struggles to communicate to the player how the control scheme works, and around 60 percent of the mini-games are incredibly shallow. There are questionable design choices and some of the events just feel tacked on, with little thought being given to how they should work in a gaming context. Don't get us started on the one event that decided to emulate the early days of Mario Party; the Kayaking event will bring you memories of your blistered hands as you try to rotate and kill your Circle Pad as fast as you can.
Not everything is lost, though. There is one element that tries to amend for the failings of the mini-games, and that's the Plus Events. They're basically altered versions of the same 14 main events available in the game, but with added gimmicks borrowed from the Super Mario Bros. and the Sonic series to help spice up the gameplay. These revised events are therefore a lot more entertaining and should have been the main focus of the game.
As we've already stated, some of the events in Rio 2016 are more complex than others. The Football and Golf events spring to mind - the level of complexity of these disciplines shines in comparison to the lesser events, and had they not heavily borrowed the mechanics from two other Mario spin-offs - Mario Strikers and Mario Golf respectively - they could have easily become games in their own right. Another event which could have easily squeezed between Football and Golf is the Gymnastic Floor Exercises event. It's just a shame that Sega hasn't given the player more options with the selection of songs to perform the floor exercises to; the selection is limited to only three songs, of which one is an abridged version of the Sonic Lost World theme (there are far better songs in Lost World or any other Sonic title for performing a gymnastics routine).
It's also worth noting the other extras on offer here. Some amiibo support allows you to supercharge characters in events, while a number of the sports can be enjoyed with others in Download Play. 'Pocket Marathon' also sets tasks that encourage you to get outdoors and take your 3DS with you.
Graphically speaking there's not much to talk about. The map assets are static and somewhat generic, although the character models look great and have a lot of attention to detail, with the exception of the Mii avatars. If only Sega had taken advice on how to animate a Mii from Nintendo - this could be one of the worst versions of the avatar-like characters; everything about them, from the weird way they stand to the lack of facial gestures, looks off.
If there is one thing the game can be praised for, it has to be the delicious carnival of music that follows the player wherever they go. The best aspect of Mario & Sonic at Rio 2016 shouldn't be a surprise, not with a sound team this diverse and talented - it includes the likes of Tomoya Ohtani, Tadashi Kinukawa and Jun Senoue just to name a few. The soundtrack includes the sweetest Bossa melodies, the rumbling drumming of Samba, swaying trumpets, whistles, accordions, flutes, xylophones and that glorious array of percussion instruments from many more "obscure" genres of the Brazilian music.
Whether you're exploring the streets of Copacabana or participating in one of the Olympic events, the music always complements the moment. Furthermore, the amazing sound team at Sega assembled a team of local and international musicians to record live performances for the soundtrack of the game, incorporating genres that have been lost or absorbed by more modern styles and create eclectic melodies. The result is a soundtrack unlike any other, taking elements from popular and not so popular styles, re-imagining how classic songs from the both the Super Mario Bros. and the Sonic series would sound if they were born and bred in the Amazonian country.
But there's a caveat; packing so much music into a 3DS cart comes with its hindrances, and sadly the quality of the audio itself is compromised. It's a serious shame having some of the instruments sound muted and without their characteristic shine because the audio files had to be compressed to make room for other assets.
Conclusion
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics for the 3DS is not exactly a bad game - especially if you liked previous entries in the franchise - but it could be so much more. This is the fifth iteration of the series and by this stage the team should have nailed down what makes a game click and what doesn't. Sadly this effort just doesn't come together in the way it should do, and feels just like another sloppy effort to cash-in on a lucrative license. Bring out the pewter medals for this one.
Comments 67
...will wait for the superior Wii U version then.
I was expecting mediocrity from the get-go, seeing as this is one of Nintendo's franchises that seems resistant to any sort of improvement whatsoever. I downloaded the last Mario and Sonic game on Wii U as my bonus game with Mario Kart 8 and I still felt ripped off.
SEGA making crap games off the back of their most popular franchise is hardly surprising, but you'd think that Nintendo would at least want these games to rise above "meh"-dom.
What I like about this game is that it's extremely accurate to the source material.
It's very boring, like the real Olympics.
there's a seattle mariners app because noa owns the mariners. it woulda made more sense to have an app for the olympics with expanded features, including a tour like they have with the louvre app. also, jose acosta has one of the more honest 'about' bits haha.
I would have defended this game, but alas, it has character limits in events. Which peeves me off! Why can't I play as Daisy in boxing again? It just reeks of laziness from SEGA and their 3DS efforts in general.
@sillygostly Mario Tennis Ultra Smash comes to mind...
I think these games have had their day now, time to let someone else loose with the licence or develop something like athlete kings again.
Welp, sure hope the WiiU version is better. Will be the first M&S game I've bought since the first Winter Olympics.
Sonic and watersports should never mix.
I've never played a Mario and Sonic Olympics game before. I don't really do sports or mini games based games in the first place. I've always viewed this series as shovelware.
Please make a Sonic Vs Mario platformer, nobody cares about this series... :/
Why do they keep making these?
I hope the Wii U version is better.
My question is why aren't all the events some sort of wacky interpretation of their irl equivalent? I don't like sports titles, I like the Mario sports titles where it's hardly realistic at all and everyone has unique super moves and skills and there are green shells flying everywhere until friendships are destroyed and countries go to war over a simple game of golf on a 2-screened handheld filled with colorful cartoon characters that aren't even true to their own source material.
huff huff huff
I've never played a game in this series but have always been enticed by the idea. Why has there not been a good party game for Nintendo in such a long time when they thrive off of local multiplayer? Yes, I get it that SEGA is the co. that developed this, but it's a darn shame. Mario v. Sonic. Great idea. Olympic games that you can compete in with people around the world. Great idea. Execution. Poor.
This is just a shame.
@Decapre That's a good question.
@Moon Why does this series even exist? No, really. When people said that they would want a Mario and Sonic crossover game, "sports game centered around the olympics" isn't quite what we had in mind. I mean...why would you decide to make this over a platformer? It just makes no sense...
@memoryman3 Wait, seriously? Some events are limited in character selection? That's ridiculous! If that's the case, then my last bit of desire for this game is gone.
@Spin If you played the games you would know that they have that and they're called dream events.
@Zombo I am well aware of this, I own all of them. But there are only a handful of dream events.
@RealPoketendoNL All of them are. For example: Daisy can only compete in Football and Gymnastics.
@sillygostly While it has Nintendo characters, keep in mind that its a crossover game....and that its a spin off.
But yeah, didn't expect much from this.....so what else does SEGA have as of now?
Hmm, hopefully the wiiu game will be better. I've been hankering for a sports game recently and aside from ufc I refuse to give EA money.
This tie-in would be so much more if Nintendo developed it. Sega are just sloppy at best these days. They haven't got a clue how to make decent games. Sad times.
@WireWare lol each to their own, I love the Olympics. Depends if you're into watching competitive sports I guess.
@NintendoFan64 Exactly!
Has a Wii U version been announced?
Perhaps they'll put some effort into the 2020 version, given its in Tokyo of all places...
@LinktotheFuture Coming this June.
@Angelic_Lapras_King
Cool, thanks!
They need to add drug use, evictions and demolition of low income housing and corruption, etc to make it more real.
I bought Sochi winter Olympics for the Wii U and it was by far the worst game I played that year, slightly worse than "the letter". At least with the letter, you could laugh. How on Earth these games keep getting released and make money is beyond me.
Knew it.
The Wii U version will be the one to get. My main gripe with the 3DS versions nowadays is the character limitations, which is honestly absolutely ridiculous.
@GoldenGamer88 I hope so too. Heck even the music is a step down from the Sochi version. I still love this soundtrack but I would love to hear more songs and more remixes of classic themes!
@SetupDisk you went a step too far, we don't want to make this more depressing
@Socar a new Sonic game to celebrate the 25th anniversary... other than that keep porting their games to PC and their mobile division.
.
.
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And that amazing Twitter account, of course
@Spin that's what the plus events are all about... wacky versions of regular events. Still not wacky enough.
This series has never been essential. Given that it has what many gaming fans would consider a dream match-up, the series is far from worthy of its namesakes. Shallow fun, but ultimately the equivalent of mindless button-bashing with pretty cartoon graphics.
@JoseAcosta I highly doubt that the new sonic game will happen for this year if they want to make it as great as Colors or Generations.
Is it hard to ask for Skies of Arcadia port on 3DS? Since well....RPGs have a market for handhelds.
The series may be boring, but I can tolerate it so we get all this great music.
A game set in Brazil without Brazilian portuguese language. Way to go.
Mario & Sonic is Nintendo/Sega's answer to the yearly EA sports games by this point.
Didn't like the other games in this series so I doubt I'll like this one. Gonna have to pass.
@Socar but they have to release a game for Sonic's anniversary! Nintendo would never do this for one of their beloved franchises. Even Metroid is getting a game this year!
I actually wanted it to be good. I'll pick it up if theres a craaaazy sale( which will not happen ).
Don't really like this series. I keep trying to get into it and I just cant.
Besides, it's 2016. No one cares about the Olympics anymore. At least, not gamers anyways.
@MetaRyan This one's on the house! https://youtu.be/kYOCHtKHFvE
Mario and Sonic Super Sluggers? Please? Hell just another Mario Super Sluggers. That and Strikers are the only two sports spinoffs that are consistently good.
still the best sonic game in years
I didn't even know the series was still a thing.
Was hoping the score would've been a little higher at least. Not the best game for sure, but I've been having a lot of fun with it since it released in the US.
Here's hoping the Wii U version will be better!
although I could see it coming, I worry that this trend of "new generation" to expand at alarming levels: incomplete games that must be completed with patches and DLC in important games; excessive bugs and errors that are repaired with excessive patches, DLC's to counter economic losses from poor sales; ah, and poorly developed games in big franchises and long etcetera.
and all this, well, I repeated it and I will repeat again; because developent big games in short time, big pressure for consumers/players and media for new games and need for get more profits face the crisis; but well...
I guess a lot of gamers don't bother reading reviews. Or a lot of reviewers get the score wrong.
You didn't really explain what's wrong with the mini games, just said they're "shallow". I still don't know what's actually wrong with them. Poor review.
^ I was just thinking the same, what are the shallow games? If they're a major part about it, it would be nice to know. Because that could make it or break it for some. You might think it's bad but what if others think it's decent? We'll never know. Nonetheless I doubt it would make much difference, I have no interest in this game with a Rio theme. Maybe one of the future cities that will appeal, if the series is even around then
Quite a shame really. This entry could've had a lot going for it, given the fact the Olympics is quite a big event, regardless of where it is hosted and you would think, given the Rio setting, they would've done more with the series. I have some hope for the Wii U version, but I doubt it'll do much better. Regardless, I intend to pick up the Wii U version no matter how mediocre it actually is.
@memoryman3 What--there are character limits? Being a Daisy-main for the Mario spinoff titles, that really erks me. I suppose I'll hope the Wii U version doesn't have that flaw.
@memoryman3 What--there are character limits? Being a Daisy-main for the Mario spinoff titles, that really erks me. I suppose I'll hope the Wii U version doesn't have that flaw.
@feelinsupersonic Mario Party 10 and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash are the best games on Wii U!
Could anybody give more information about the Golf and Football/Soccer modes? How do they compare to Mario Golf and Mario Super Strikers?
I really enjoyed both of thosw games and would love to have more content.
@vincentgoodwin Football is... there, it's entertaining for a few rounds but don't go expecting to have the level of depth and mayhem of the Mario Striker series. Golf is a bit more complex but there isn't enough holes to hold your interest for more than two hours.
'but here's where the game's failings start to show up.'
It wasn't exactly sounding great, already, tbh. 😄
i think people are starting to get a little tired of this series after all how many more games can they release before they have covered every event?
and i think the novelty of having Sonic and Mario in it is wearing off too
they need to do a PROPER Mario and Sonic crossover with game play like Mario Galaxy and Sonic Colours, switching characters every stage IE: Stage 1- Mario, Stage 2- Sonic ETC
@Dankykong There are 3 categories of events in the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games:
Longer main events: Soccer and Golf - these offer longer gameplay and, in the case of Golf, 18 holes; there are Plus versions as well
Main events: 12 other events offering a shorter gameplay which tend to be either more "controlled" or more "completely followed" (e.g. the 100m is followed with the same camera angle and is not divided in 2 parts) than those of the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games; those too have a Plus version
Training Events: those are the same events played in the 3DS version of the previous game, thus are more like "microgames" with limited interaction; they also don't have a Plus version
I hope this will clarify a bit.
I'm still getting this game and will enjoy it for what it is: an shallow yet moderately entertaining Olympic tie-in. Because for what it is, it's a fairly decent game and that's enough. The London 2012 certainly didn't disappoint!
So, I don't get it. I bought this game this weekend and I love it. I've not played one of these games before so I'm not jaded by lower-quality entries in the series, I guess.
I played it for a few hours with 3 friends on Saturday and then enjoyed enough that I came back and played a ton of the single player campaign the following day. It's light, easy to pick up, fun, and it's easy to get into so new players don't feel like they're outmatched.
Portable systems need good party games. This checks off every item on my list in that regard.
This is better than the London 2012 iteration, but is still plagued by being too easy in some parts and too hard in others. I can sense an real effort to take away from the frustration, but it's not quite pulled off. The story mode is much less irritating, especially since it can be passed with the A button. It might be good for younger people who would probably enjoy the marathon mode and tend to have more patience for short bursts of play. Overall, it's okay, but there are better things to buy if you're not into mini-games.
It is better than 2012, and can’t for 2020 besides it is good to play
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