Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020[lower-alpha 2] is a 2019 sports video game based on the 2020 Summer Olympics. It is the sixth game in the Mario & Sonic series, a crossover between Nintendo's Super Mario and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchises, and the first since the Rio 2016 Olympic Games edition. It was developed and published by Sega for the Nintendo Switch in November 2019 and for arcade cabinets in 2020.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Cover art, depicting Mario and Sonic at the New National Stadium
Developer(s)Sega[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Naohiro Hirao
Producer(s)Nobuya Ohashi
Designer(s)
  • Shingo Kawakami
  • Takao Hirabayashi
  • Mariko Kawase
Programmer(s)Mitsuru Takahashi
Artist(s)Hiroshi Kanazawa
Composer(s)
SeriesMario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch, arcade
ReleaseNintendo Switch
Arcade
  • WW: 2020
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Like previous Mario & Sonic titles, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a sports game featuring a crossover cast of characters from Nintendo's Super Mario and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series.[3] The player, using one of the characters, competes in a multitude of events based on sports from the Olympic Games. The game features a variety of events; returning ones from previous Mario & Sonic titles include boxing, soccer, swimming, and gymnastics, while new ones include karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing.[4]

The Nintendo Switch version supports a variety of controllers, including the Joy-Con motion controllers.[4][5] The game also features single system split-screen multiplayer, LAN multiplayer, and online play.[4] An additional 2D Mode is also included, based on the 1964 Summer Olympics, and featuring 8-bit and 16-bit styles for Mario and Sonic, respectively.

Development and release

In October 2016, Sega announced it had secured the licensing rights from the International Olympic Committee to publish video games based on the 2020 Summer Olympics, with plans for games to be released on various devices.[6] Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was announced alongside Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - The Official Video Game on March 29, 2019, at the Sega Fes stage show in Japan.[5][7] It was the first Mario & Sonic game since the Rio 2016 Olympic Games edition for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS,[5][8] and was released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch in November 2019;[4] a version for arcade cabinets will release sometime in 2020.[5] A companion game for Android and iOS, Sonic at the Olympic Games - Tokyo 2020, was also released in 2020.[3][7] The game was featured at E3 2019, and Gamescom 2019.[9][10]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was the final game AlphaDream worked on before it filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Racjin, Yuke's, and Success Corp also worked on the game; Racjin helped develop previous Mario & Sonic games, while Yuke's helped Sega develop Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - The Official Video Game.[11]

A tie-in free-to-start mobile phone game Sonic at the Olympic Games - Tokyo 2020 was released in May 7, 2020 on iOS and Android. Like its predecessor Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, it features similar gameplay to the main game, albeit lack of Mario characters and the 2D mode, and new events.[12][13]

Despite the delay of the Tokyo Olympic Games from 2020 to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the game will retain the "Olympic Games Tokyo 2020" name for branding purposes.[14]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic69/100[15]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid8/10[16]
IGN6.4/10[17]
Nintendo Life7/10[18]
Nintendo World Report8/10[19]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 has received "mixed or average reviews" from critics according to the review aggregator Metacritic.[15]

The game has received praise for its mini games, which have been described as fun to play. The game has also received praise for the story mode for having its own mini-games, references to various Mario and Sonic games, respectively, humor, and Olympic history. Also, the game has received praise for the 2D events for adding value for fans of the retro Mario and Sonic style.[17][18] However, the game has also received criticism for its story mode having "tedious progression" and slow dialogue.[17][18] The game has also received negative attention towards its lack of content for single players once they have finished the story mode.[18] The online mode has been criticized due to lag, especially when playing with 8 players, although 2 to 4 players online has been reported to be smoother, with less lag.[17]

Notes

  1. Additional work by Racjin, Yuke's, AlphaDream and Success
  2. Japanese: マリオ& (アンド)ソニック AT (アット) 東京2020オリンピック Hepburn: Mario ando Sonikku atto Tōkyō 2020 (Nisen-nijū) Orinpikku

References

  1. https://ec.nintendo.com/JP/ja/titles/70010000013898
  2. https://gematsu.com/2019/09/mario-sonic-at-the-olympic-games-tokyo-2020-dream-events-trailer-screenshots
  3. Romano, Sal (March 29, 2019). "Sega announces four Tokyo 2020 Olympics games". Gematsu.
  4. Sarkar, Samit (June 11, 2019). "See Yoshi and Knuckles skateboarding in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020". Polygon.
  5. Doolan, Liam (March 29, 2019). "Sega Announces Mario & Sonic At The Tokyo 2020 Olympics For Nintendo Switch". Nintendo Life.
  6. Makuch, Eddie (October 27, 2016). "Sega Making Video Games for 2020 Summer Olympics". GameSpot.
  7. Wong, Alistar (March 30, 2019). "Sega Celebrates Tokyo Olympics With Four Different Games, Including Sonic Smartphone Game". Siliconera.
  8. Theriault, Donald (March 29, 2019). "Sega Announces Pair Of 2020 Olympic Games". Nintendo World Report.
  9. Craddock, Ryan (June 7, 2019). "Sega will feature Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games 2020, Mega Drive Mini and more at E3". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  10. ""Nintendo Presents: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (gamescom 2019)"". YouTube. August 20, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  11. Liam, Doolan (November 2, 2019). "It Looks Like AlphaDream's Last Project Was Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games". Nintendo Life. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  12. Deschamps, Marc (February 16, 2020). "Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Release Date Revealed". Comicbook.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  13. Wong, Alistair (May 5, 2020). "Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Director and Producer on Gameplay and Development Hurdles". Siliconera. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  14. EDT, Scott McDonald On 3/25/20 at 8:16 PM (2020-03-25). "The reason why Olympics in 2021 will still be called the 2020 Olympic Games". Newsweek. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  15. "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 reviews for Nintendo Switch". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  16. Carter, Chris (5 November 2019). "Review: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020". Destructoid. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  17. Jagneaux, David (5 November 2019). "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Review". IGN. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  18. Scullion, Chris (5 November 2019). "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  19. Koopman, Daan (5 November 2019). "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.