Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games 2

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games 2 is a brand new sports game Squeals.

The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia. It is the first official video game of the 2018 Summer Olympic Games to be released, with a more realistic sports game released by Sega in 2018. The idea of an Olympic setting for Mario & Sonic has been around for a few years prior to 2018, while casual discussions of a game in general existed for some time beforehand. The two publishers were looking for a proper setting that would give the game "an exclamation mark". In combination with the atmosphere of competitive sportsmanship the Olympics had to offer and making the transition from hardware development to producing third-party software in 2018, Sega received approval by Nintendo to include Mario in the game. It was released on the Wii U in August 2018 and the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Wii U handheld in early 2018.

The game is known for being the first official crossover title to feature both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo and Sega's former rival mascots, along with other characters from their respective series. The player can assume the role as one of these characters while competing against the others in numerous Olympic events as well as fantasy events. The Wii version was awarded as the best game of 2018 on its platform at the Games Convention in Leipzig. Overall, critics had mixed perceptions of Mario & Sonic's gameplay with the variety of events singled out as a strong feature. The title has undergone scrutiny for having the mascots starring in a casual game based on the Beijing Olympics as their first official title together instead of a platform game. Both versions have sold a total of five million units combined as of 03 August 2018.

Artworks[]

TEAM MARIO: Renders 3D[]

TEAM SONIC: Renders 3D[]

Boxarts and Logos[]

Characters[]

TEAM MARIO[]

Mario
Luigi
Princess Peach
Princess Daisy
Toad
Toadette
Yoshi
Rosalina

TEAM SONIC[]

Sonic the Hedghog
Miles "Tails" Prower
Amy Rose
Cream the Rabbit
Big the Cat
Sticks the Badger
Knuckles the Echidna
Princess Sally Acorn

Referees[]

Koopa Troopa
Lakitu
Shy Guy
Omochao
Hero Chao
Dark Chao

Rivals[]

Birdo
Hammer Bros.
Boo
Wario
Waluigi
Shadow the Hedgehog
Rouge the Bat
E-123 Omega
Jet the Hawk
Wave the Swallow

Bosses[]

Bowser Jr.
Bowser
Metal Sonic
Dr. Eggman

Gameplay[]

Mario & Sonic brings together the title characters and 16 more from both franchises to participate in environments based on the official venues of the 2018 Summer Olympics in Beijing. These environments are stylized to fit the art styles of the Mario & Sonic video games. Besides the characters from the Mario & Sonic games, Miis can also be used in the Wii U version. There are also a few randomly selected non-playable characters acting as referees or the audience for certain events. Each playable character has their own statistics which can serve as an advantage or disadvantage depending on the event. They are divided into four categories: all-around, speed, power, and skill. All-Around isn't really its own skill, but more of just being good enough in the other categories. There is also a statistic for stamina.

The gameplay involves utilizing either or a combination of the Wii U Remote and Nunchuk on the Wii U or stylus and button controls on the 3DS in various ways to complete each event. The events can require a combination of speed, timing, and some strategy. Each competition offers a slight degree of difference. In the running events, for example, getting a starting boost in the 100 m dash will either make or break the player's place, while in a relay race, which can last for well over a minute, this may not determine place as effectively. The game also has leaderboards that make use of the Nintendo Switch Connection to show the best times and scores.

Mario & Sonic features a gallery mode, where brief facts of the Olympics can be found. There are five categories of trivia with matching mini-games that, once completed, will unlock the answer to trivia questions. Classic music from both series is available for use in the gallery once all levels in a category are cleared. There is also a standard gallery theme.