Motion-controlled minigame collections aren’t quite retro, vintage, or nostalgic enough just yet, but they can be considered to be passé. The number of bad ones outweighed the number of good ones, and theMario & Sonic at the Olympic Gamestitles were always somewhere in the middle. The subseries has taken a break, and for maybe the first time, I found myself having some interest inthe Tokyo 2020 iterationafter playing a demo at E3 2019.
Sure, it still doesn’t make sense that Mario can keep up with Sonic in a foot race, but at least it controls better. Gone is the tiresome “waggle” from huddles minigames of yore, and in its place are more accurate Joy-Con controls. And even for those who still don’t believe in that kind of stuff,Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020has the amazing feature ofusing the controller buttons. Amazing, yes?
It’s easy to pass on such a “casual” game, especially when we live in an era where big blockbuster games drop every month. But if you somehow end up in a scenario where you end up playing this game with friends, it certainly won’t be a bad time.
[pullquote]“Sure, it still doesn’t make sense that Mario can keep up with Sonic in a foot race, but at least it controls better."[/pullquote]
At my disposal for the demo were five events: 110m Hurdles, Archery, Surfing, Skateboarding, and Karate. Each event had some combination of three different playstyles available: double Joy-Con motion, single Joy-Con motion, or buttons. Feeling confident that button play would be fine and dandy, I opted to choose motion controls for each of these events. Results were mixed, but promising, with the best of the games flashing back fun memories ofWii Sports Resort.
Archery was the first event that I chose, mainly due to my positive experiences playing the archery game in the aforementionedResort. It turns out that theMario & Sonictake on the event plays just about as well—pull back the Joy-Con controller while holding a shoulder button, aim with motion, and release. You’ll have to take wind and distance into account as well. Overall, I felt much more confident and accurate with subtle motions over using an analog stick, or Heaven forbid buttons.
Despite my overall praise of the motion implementation, the hurdles event was the lone example of where I felt the motion control didn’t work as I wanted it to. You’re sort of back to the drumming motion from the originalMario & Sonicgame, and jumping over hurdles was mapped to a motion that I didn’t think was very intuitive. Rather than say, a flick or thrust upwards, the motion was more of a punch or fist bump with a button press, and perhaps it was the timing, but I never got this quite right, causing Sonic to repeatedly trip and stumble on the hurdles like the idiot he truly is.
[pullquote]“Overall, I felt much more confident and accurate with subtle motions [in archery] over using an analog stick, or Heaven forbid buttons."[/pullquote]
Another event that likened back toWii Sports Resortwas the surfing event, which worked rather well with motion controls. You’ll shake the Joy-Con controller to paddle, and upon a wave coming, you’ll use tilt to move left and right, making a nice and satisfying flick motion with your hand to get some air from the top of the wave. There was plenty of information on-screen that I didn’t quite know what to use for, but I mark any confusion I had more so towards my unfamiliarity with surfing in the Olympics.
It reminded me a bit of wave boarding inResort, in that it involved precision in both positioning and timing. It’s also a bit exciting once you begin surfing through a curve, or a barrel wave, using motion to maintain balance and navigate through the wave. The surfing minigame exemplified the simplicity that a lot of these minigames inhabit, which makes me curious how people will take to skateboarding. ATony Hawkgame, this is not.
I found using motion controls for skateboarding to be oddly relaxing, again using flick motions to perform jumps and tricks. Skateboarders will be in a park, with ramps abound. Dash pad-looking markers indicate where players can gain some air and perform tricks, with tilting used to keep balance while grinding and for moving left and right. In the background, you’ll hear an announcer constantly yelling out all the names of the tricks (activated with a combination motion and button press), so as someone with zero skateboarding knowledge, I assume these are all legit moves.
[pullquote]“I found using motion controls for skateboarding to be oddly relaxing, again using flick motions to perform jumps and tricks."[/pullquote]
And while we’re on the topic of simplicity, no one should expect the karate event minigame to have the depth of a full fighting game. Even so, it’s fair to say that it still involves strategy, positioning, and timing, like how the real event should. I don’t expect mindlessly button mashing to take players very far. Players also won’t be doing any punching with their Joy-Con controllers in hand—this event is meant for button play.
Punches and kicks are mapped to face buttons, with power kicks and power punches activated with both the analog stick and buttons. The left shoulder button is your block button, while a Super meter fills up and can be accessed with the right shoulder button. Rounds are short, with players getting points from each successful hit they get. It isn’t a minigame that I totally picked up the timing of, but matches were quick enough and the gameplay decent enough that I was willing to learn.
It was a solid sample of party minigames, and it was only just a fraction of what will be available in the final game. As far as I know, the rest of the collection could be total rubbish, but not only has the motion control technology evolved since the firstMario & Sonicgames, but there are plenty of lessons that Sega learned from those older ones. And if that still isn’t your drift, the option to only use buttons are great not just for those who prefer them but just as a general accessibility option too.
[pullquote]"[Karate] isn’t a minigame that I totally picked up the timing of, but matches were quick enough and the gameplay decent enough that I was willing to learn."[/pullquote]
It’s natural for this game to be exclusive to the Switch, it being Nintendo’s latest console and all, butMario & Sonicisn’t exactly fit for portable play. Unless you regularly hold Switch rooftop parties and don’t care about the tiny screen, this game will probably only be experienced on television, being a multiplayer game at its core. Honestly, playing a party minigame collection in portable or onthe upcoming Switch Liteby yourself would be a bit sad.
And it should be on television becauseMario & Sonicis a pretty good-looking game. It’s no technical powerhouse, butMariosports games have always had bright and appealing color palettes, and ever since Nintendo hardware moved to high-definition with the Wii U, they’ve only been looking even better. While participating in athletic competitions might not be the ideal way fans would want these two iconic mascots to interact, I’ve always appreciated these crossover titles for combining and remixing visual and audio elements from both franchises in a package of nostalgia. It’s strange that Mario and Sonic co-starring in games has been totally normalized, but I appreciate Nintendo and Sega for keeping it palatable to this day.
In previous games, the nostalgia came on stronger through “Dream Events,” which eschewed the realism of the Olympics for the fantasy and cartoonish physics and antics from theMarioandSonicgames. I wasn’t told explicitly that Dream Events would be back for theSummer 2020edition, but the Sega representative I spoke to pointed out an 8-bit Mario and 16-bit Sonic on the menu, hinting that they were to come.
[pullquote]“It’s strange that Mario and Sonic co-starring in games has been totally normalized, but I appreciate Nintendo and Sega for keeping it palatable to this day."[/pullquote]
There’s no way thatMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020will be at the top of anyone’s upcoming games list, let alone their Switch list. Still, I didn’t particularly dislike anything I played of it at E3, and honestly, I’d play it again, preferably with friends. It could very well be a worthy inclusion to the rotation of Switch party games, and even if the minigames themselves aren’t a draw, you may at least see how badass Yoshi looks like shredding up the skateboard park.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020will release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on November 2019, though expect a mobile version with just Sonic and friends to come out as well. Look out for my separate preview and interview regarding that title later on.
