Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

For over a decade now fans have been wondering just what a team-up between Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog would be like. Everything from traditional platform games to complex role-playing titles have been suggested, but it’s fair to say nobody imagined that it would finally happen in the form of an athletics simulator. It’s officially licensed from the 2008 Beijing Olympics though (Sega already had the license for their own more traditional tie-in) and contains all the usual events you’d expect including the 100m sprint, swimming, judo, table tennis, hammer throwing and archery. Sega have even been talking about using the new Wii Zapper controller for a spot of clay pigeon shooting.

More than twenty-five characters from both universes will be playable in the game, including not just Mario and Sonic but also Luigi, Tails, Yoshi, Knuckles, Bowser, Doctor Eggman, Princess Peach and Amy. Other characters will have cameos as judges such as Cream the Cat and Toad. You’d expect some characters to be naturally better at some sports than others but each has their own strengths and weakness, with even Sonic’s incredible speed mitigated by his slow acceleration. The whole game is developed by Sega but overseen by legendary Nintendo creator Shigeru Miyamoto, with full tournament and missions modes as well as online leaderboards for all the different events. The name may sound like an April Fool’s joke at first but this crossover could well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

• Compete in stylised Olympic venues with authentic sports and events to choose from, including athletics, archery, skeet shooting, table tennis, gymnastics and more.
• Select your favourite playing style from the all-star cast of Mario and Sonic characters with four player types to choose from: all-around, technical, speed, and power. For example: Mario (all-around), Peach (technical), Yoshi (speed), Bowser (power), Sonic (speed), Knuckles (power), Tails (technical), Amy (all-around).
• Game Modes: Try out each event individually with Single Match mode, compete for the highest overall score in a series of events in Circuit Mode, or take on challenges created specifically for each character in the Mission Mode. Up to four players can play together on the Wii. DS allows up to four players to compete via wireless connection.
• Unlockable stages where familiar items from the worlds of Mario and Sonic enhance the challenge of each unique event.
• Events include:
• Fencing - Individual epe
• Archery
• Shooting - Skeet
• Gymnastics - Trampoline
• Gymnastics - Vault
• Field - High Jump
• Field - Pole Vault
• Field - Long Jump
• Field - Triple Jump
• Field - Javelin Throw
• Field - Hammer Throw
• Rowing - Single Sculls
• Table Tennis - Singles
• Aquatics - 100m Freestyle
• Aquatics - 4x100m Freestyle
• Track - 110m and 400m Hurdles
• Track - 4x100m Relay
• Track - 100m and 400m