Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is inching closer to release, with the game slated to be released for the Nintendo 3DS in North America this Friday! The home console version follows closer to the Olympic event itself, bowing on Nintendo’s Wii U on June 24th.
To celebrate the release of the game Nintendo released the opening movie for the game, which you can see below.
“Mario and Sonic are two of the most recognizable characters in video game history,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “Once again they join forces to let players compete in fun sporting events on a world stage.”
When the game launches for Nintendo 3DS on Friday, both Mario and Sonic amiibo figures will be compatible. In the main story on the Road to Rio, complete Mario’s story and you’ll earn a snazzy Mario Suit, or finish Sonic’s story for a flashy blue Sonic Suit. By tapping the Mario or Sonic amiibo figures to the New Nintendo 3DS system (or on a Nintendo 2DS/3DS with the NFC Reader/Writer accessory), players can boost Mario and Sonic’s outfits with that character’s power for the day.
It doesn’t appear at this point that any other amiibo are compatible. The Nintendo amiibo website still states that information regarding amiibo compatibility is coming soon.
In the game you can play as Mario, Sonic and many other characters to take on new challenging events like Soccer and Beach Volleyball. Take on friends and family members in 14 events like BMX and Archery, or try your hand at Plus Events, which add a Mario & Sonic twist to the athletic proceedings, like dodging stacks of Goombas in BMX Plus or vaulting over Moto Bugs in Equestrian.
Golf returns to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years and will be a playable event exclusively in the Nintendo 3DS version. Rhythmic Gymnastics (Hoop) also makes its franchise debut in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. These two exciting new events, as well as the 110m Hurdles, are exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version of the game.
Rugby will be exclusive to the Wii U version of the game.
Using the pedometer functionality of the Nintendo 3DS system, 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.
This title also features multiplayer with multiple copies of the game as well as download play, though during download play the selection of available characters is reduced. I’m just hoping that reduced doesn’t mean that everyone has to be a Yoshi colour variant.
The games look like they’re going to be lots of fun. Check out the trailer for Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games below.