Mario And Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games Review: Going For Gold

Written by 2.o | November 23, 2009

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

Sometime in the late 1980s, my parents went on a trip to Jamaica without me. I assume they had a good time, and completely understand them not wanting to drag me, a seven year old, and my brother, we’ll say thirteen at the time, around a tropical island with them. I get that. So, when they returned, seven year old me was only really concerned about what they brought me back. Much to my surprise, my parents seemed to have gotten something right, and they brought me back a Nintendo game, instead of some lame painted rock… or at least that’s what I thought until I started to play it. The game was the NES port of the Epyx “classic” “Winter Games,” and God, was it bad. Okay, maybe it wasn’t bad, but it was boring, and I could never really figure out the controls, especially for figure skating. Fast forward to the present day, and if my parents were to head to the Caribbean this holiday season, and bring me back a winter games themed video game, namely “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games,” I think I would be singing a slightly different tune.

Comparing “Mario and Sonic” to “Winter Games” is like comparing apples to oranges, in that the only two things they have in common is that they are both comprised of a collection of winter themed games, and that they are both, in fact, video games. It stops there. “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games” just has so much more to offer.

At the very basic level, this “Mario and Sonic” game can be enjoyed for that very rivalry highlighted in its second (third if you count “Smash Bros.”) game. While this one may lack the novelty value that the first one had, it still offers a rather large assortment of characters from both franchises, as well as the option to play as your Mii. While the quality of the game rests more on how you play, than whom you play as, it’s still nice to go into a game with a robust assortment of options.

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

Moving on to the Olympic Winter Games themselves, this title actually offers a fairly decent assortment of games, representing most of the “fun” events, and curling (seriously, why is this an Olympic sport?). Much like the real Olympics, “Mario and Sonic” hits the slopes a lot, showcasing all the different ways you can head down a hill; all different types of skiing and snowboarding events are represented, and should keep all the snow bunnies happy, no matter what your preference is. Sega has also including their take on bobsledding and the skeleton competitions, alongside both figure and speed skating. However, the standout of the bunch has to be ice hockey, which given Mario’s tendency to star in his own sports games, I was shocked to see included as part of this package. It’s a solid inclusion that harkens back to Nintendo’s original “Ice Hockey,” just with characters of Mario and Sonic games on the ice instead of fat and skinny guys from the U.S.S.R.

In addition to all of the real Olympic events, Dream Events make a return to this game as well. These events aren’t anything that you’ll find in the official Olympic lineup, or anywhere in the real world for that matter, but they are rooted in winter gaming, and their inclusion creates more of a video game experience, than just a winter game experience. Basically, if you’re familiar with what it’s like to play “Mario Kart” that’s what the Dream Events are, just with skiing, snowboarding, hang gliding, and snowball fighting. Complete with over the top tracks and question mark box power ups, again, I’m surprised that these games weren’t released as their own product. Luckily for us, they were not.

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

Variety is a common theme in “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games,” but how does the gameplay hold up? The game offers an assortment of ways to play the game, in terms of controllers, and that even includes the balance board. The majority of the events consist of having to tilt the controller side to side to steer you character, or use waggle motions to do tricks. Again, ice hockey stands out as one of the exceptions here, only using a controller shake to shoot. “Mario and Sonic” offers an assortment of events that use the balance board, and, as you may imagine, it’s all very intuitive, and the controls are fairly well tuned so it doesn’t make it too difficult to actually use as a controller – it even goes so far as to tell you to sit on the board for the bobsled and skeleton competitions.

With all that said about the solid controls, there is one thing that is missing – Wii MotionPlus support. Virtually all of the games would have benefited from a more precise controller, and Nintendo in fact offers one, which very few games actually support. “Mario and Sonic” would have been a great addition to the MotionPlus lineup of games, and is a huge missed opportunity.

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

Fortunately, the game does take advantage of some of Nintendo’s unique features, like the aforementioned inclusion of Miis, as well as allowing the player the option to use the actual, current, weather in Vancouver in the game, courtesy of the WiiConnect service. Additionally, you can go online and post your high scores, and best times, however, you can’t play against anyone, which would have been a really great feature to include with such a competitive title like this.

Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

Overall, “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games” is a solid follow up to its corresponding summer games compilation. While it doesn’t take advantage of all of the Wii’s capabilities, in most categories, it does go above and beyond when compared to other third party titles. Although the game does offer a Party option, it’s not just another compilation of mini games; it’s actually a more robust offering, with games that people might be able to relate to, or care about a little more than just another whack-a-mole variation. Over all it’s a lot of fun, and should be enjoyed by fans of Mario, Sonic, or the Olympic Winter Games.

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“Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games” was developed and published by Sega for the Nintendo Wii and DS, and released on October 13, 2009. This review is based on the version for the Nintendo Wii.