Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Switch) Review

One of the crossovers that always feels so wrong is seeing Mario and Sonic in a game together.

I am of that right age where these two mascots seemed like mortal enemies that would fight until one was bitterly left in a mess on the side of the road praying for the sweet relief of… well that got dark quickly. Yet in 2007 the two competed side by side in the Wii game Mario & Sonic at Beijing Olympics, and since then they have been brought side by side at the Olympics many more times. As with many other Nintendo exclusives, the Switch release was my first dabbling with this series, and I certainly enjoyed it enough.

At its core Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a huge collection of mini games built around next year’s Olympic events. That means a wide spread of games, and naturally, not all of them land. Each one sticks to simple mechanics so you can jump straight in. Trying to master dozens of complicated games would be near impossible, and that just doesn’t suit a party game. Rugby 7s, for example, boils down to passing and running with the ball. As a rugby simulation it’s basic, but as a party game it works, since it only takes minutes to learn.

Skateboarding, because that’s apparently an Olympic game too now, is the same where you basically aim the skateboard around the park, time jumping and landing to boost your speed while slightly varying tricks. Like with the Rugby 7s it’s simple but in the context of playing a party game it needs to be. That You are likely going to switch between events regularly and the last thing you want is a 20-minute tutorial with a few hours to get the hand of it.

The games that work best are the simpler sports: long jump, running and javelin throw. Running just needs mashing a button faster, or swinging the joy-con if you’re using motion controls. Javelin and long jump work the same way, needing a quick, well-timed press to land the final move. These shine with a group of people because they’re easy to explain, easy to pick up, and genuinely funny when someone fails in front of family or friends. The variety on offer is huge too. Even after a few hours playing with the family, we hadn’t come close to trying every minigame available.

Because these are the second Olympics held in Tokyo, there is even a 1964 Olympic games option. This has a handful of games where the characters are using their original designs and the games themselves looking like they belong of that era, that’s the 80s / 90s era when these games kicked off, not 1964 before they all existed. It’s a fun throwback that couldn’t feel more appropriate for the two icons leading this game and a welcome addition to the collection.

There is a story mode which was far from my favourite bit. Basically Mario, Sonic, Bowser and Robotnik get sucked into a gaming machine where they go into classic mode to compete in the 1964 games activities while they try to get out. On the outside the other characters try to get them out and must compete in the 2020 activities as they get other characters to join them on their quest. There is an overworld which was tedious to travel around and a lot of the dialogue, especially in the 1964 stages which take far too long with little to offer. I got especially bored in a scene where Sonic was pacing and pausing in many moments looking for Robotnik behind a tree. The story mode would have been greatly enhanced by it having chapters in a list with the dialogue popping up before and after an event.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is an excellent collection of mini games that would absolutely suit a party session, or a fun rainy Sunday for the family. Some of the harder modes like Gymnastics which requires fast button prompting take a while to get any good at, while running is super easy to jump in and win at. The Joy-con options are the best way to play some modes but using the controls will still provide plenty of value for anyone looking to fill that silly mini game void in their hearts.

Don’t expect the story mode to blow you away, though.