This Friday, March 18th, Mario and Sonic are headed to Rio de Janeiro to renew their Olympic rivalry when Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games arrives on Nintendo 3DS. Starting in 2007 with the Nintendo Wii’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which brought these iconic heroes to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Games, this series has been consistently producing titles to coincide with each Olympic event.
In the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, we will find Mario, Sonic, & a bunch of their friends competing in events such as Soccer, BMX, Beach Volleyball, and Archery. Also included in this game are “Plus Events”, these special events give a themed spin on standard competitions and add, for example, “dodging stacks of Goombas in BMX Plus or vaulting over Moto Bugs in Equestrian.”
There will be a single-player component, titled “Road to Rio”, that will allow your Mii to choose to train at either Mario or Sonic’s gyms and following “two mysterious storylines.” By leveling up, you can, “earn fun outfits like a pirate or a knight…or even character suits like Toad or Knuckles.”
While this game will be headed to the Wii U on June 24th, The Nintendo 3DS will be receiving three exclusive events, two of which are a first for the series. The two new events are Golf and Rhythmic Gymnastics (Hoop), while the 110m Hurdles will simply be exclusive to the portable version. The Nintendo 3DS version also supports hosting up to four players via local multiplayer or Download Play. Additionally, using the pedometer functionality of the Nintendo 3DS, you can, “run (or walk!) a virtual marathon to unlock rewards and milestones just by carrying your hand-held system with you while it’s in sleep mode.”
For those Amiibo fans out there, you can tap the Mario or Sonic Amiibo to “boost your Mii character’s Mario or Sonic outfits with that character’s power for the day.” Not the most exciting, but hey, it’s something!
Look to make a name for yourself in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when it launches on the Nintendo 3DS on March 18th, and the Wii U on June 24th.
Does this game interest you? Have you played others in the series? Who would you bet on taking home the gold? Sound off below!
