Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Games

Mario & Sonic have visited a number of historic cities over the past decade in order to participate in the Olympic Games, and for the most part, the games are exactly what you would expect them to be: a collection of sports themed mini games that are more fun with friends than they are alone. And for the most part, Tokyo 2020 is the same as in years past, but with new events and a short story mode!

Bringing New Events to the Forefront

The base games you’d expect in the Summer Olympic Games are back and just as good as ever, but it’s the introduction of new events that sets Mario and Sonic apart this time around.

Story Mode – Goofy, Fun, But Could Use Work

The storyline for Tokyo 2020 is ridiculous. Dr. Eggman and Bowser create a retro video game system that will suck up those nearby and trap them at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. Unfortunately, the two villains accidently get sucked up as well, along with Sonic and Mario, and the 4 characters are destined to compete in retro 2D style games.

In the 2020 present, Luigi works with Tails to conquer the 3D events, all in the hopes of bringing back their pals from inside the retro game console. It’s kind of weird, and uninteresting, but does lay the foundation for why 2D events are in Tokyo 2020, and acts as the catalyst for unlocking characters and 2D mini games.

Enjoyment in the Mini Games

Ultimately, Mario and Sonic Olympic titles are all about the mini games you can play, and while there is a bit of control over the length of these games, they are mostly quick pick-up and play experiences, easily understood by the masses, but difficult to truly master. It’s the perfect party game setup.

And that is how Mario and Sonic is best enjoyed, with a few friends or family sitting around the living room, and letting their competitive juices run freely. Whether competing in fencing, football, or even the 100 M dash, it was fun to throw competitive but friendly verbal jabs at each other, while attempting to  be the best in any given event. It made for a fun, relaxing, yet competitive evening of entertainment.

And that became fairly frequent. In fact, I’ve had about 3 or 4 said nights in the past two weeks, having an assortment of friends and family over to try out this game. And despite a few let downs in the story, and some awkward controls in some of the games – I’m looking at you surfing! – it’s still a really fun, really enjoyable experience.

Accessibility in games is huge for me. Accessibility in this context is about making a game that anyone, regardless of their skill level, can enjoy. And that is what Mario and Sonic is at its root. Simple mini games with simple button presses. Easy to play, hard to master, but always really, really fun.

A few of the games just don’t hit their mark, and I likely won’t ever go back to them again. But with so many different games to play, it’s easy to settle on your favourites, and even after a week, I’m not getting tired of Football, Rubgy 7s, Badminton, or Javelin. And even when I don’t fully enjoy the game, when you have people over to play Mario & Sonic with you, even the worst mini games can still be lots of fun.

Conclusion

Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games is pretty much par for the course when compared to previous titles in the franchise. There is the added story mode, for sure, but ultimately the reason you buy it is still much the same – to play a plethora of fun, summer Olympic events, preferably with friends. And on that, it definitely delivers.