Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

"Nothing's cooler!"

- Tagline

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (マリオ&ソニック AT バンクーバーオリンピック) is a sports game by Sega, published by Nintendo in Japan and by Sega in North America and Europe. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee "International Sports Multimedia". The game is the third official crossover title to feature characters from both Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog's respective universes. It's been released on the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS on October 13, 2009, and is the first announced video game based around the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games enables players to assume the role of a Mario or Sonic character while competing against the others in Winter Olympic events. The EU release was on October 16th, 2009.

Gameplay
Some of the events in the Wii game use the Balance Board accessory. The multiplayer mode offers "co-op and competitive gameplay" whereas the DS version uses its wireless capabilities.

Adventure mode
The DS version also has an adventure mode: Eggman and Bowser kidnap the winter spirits. Without them, all the snow in various areas melts and the Olympic Games are spoiled. It's up to Sonic and Mario to save them by retrieving the spirits and save the games. Along the way they will find old friends and enemies ready to help them or slow them down. Neither Sonic or Mario can talk in the game, their dialogues are spoken by Toad. Later in the game, it was revealed that the last stage in the game was the only stage that was still snowing when the other five stages had nothing but grass. In the game, Mario and Sonic find news briefs hidden in barrels, crates and pots which give brief snippets of information about both universes' characters (although the facts given are things long-time fans of both series have known for years). In addition, the heroes can pick up leaves from maple trees which give facts and trivia about the real world Olympic Games and famous athletes.

Development
In January 2009, an article in the Spanish Nintendo magazine Nintendo Acción mentioned a sequel to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, to be created for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Both IGN and Eurogamer received confirmation on the games' existence, with IGN stating that game would be officially announced within the following month. Dennis Kim, licensing and merchandising director for the event, stated in February that a Mario & Sonic title "[is] being discussed and planned for Vancouver". Kim also stated that Vancouver 2010 and the IOC will share royalties from this game.

The official announcement did arrive within the month as predicted, the game's title being given as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games at a joint press release by Sega and Nintendo on February 12, 2009.

Events
All the events of the game include:

Olympic Events

 * Alpine Skiing - Downhill
 * Alpine Skiing - Giant Slalom
 * Ski Jumping - Individual Large Hill
 * Ski Jumping - Team Large Hill
 * Freestyle Skiing - Moguls
 * Freestyle Skiing - Ski Cross
 * Snowboard - Halfpipe
 * Snowboard - Snowboard Cross
 * Skating - Speed Skating 500m
 * Skating - Short Track 1000m
 * Skating - Short Track Relay
 * Figure Skating
 * Bobsleigh - Skeleton
 * Bobsleigh
 * Ice Hockey
 * Curling

Dream Events

 * Dream Alpine - Individual (Seaside Hill)
 * Dream Alpine - Team (Seaside Hill)
 * Dream Ski Jumping - Individual (Good Egg Galaxy)
 * Dream Ski Jumping - Team (Good Egg Galaxy)
 * Dream Ski Cross - Individual (Mario Circuit)
 * Dream Ski Cross - Team (Mario Circuit)
 * Dream Snowboard Cross - Individual (Radical Highway)
 * Dream Snowboard Cross - Team (Radical Highway)
 * Dream Short Track (Egg Factory)
 * Dream Figure Skating (Mario World/Sonic World)
 * Dream Bobsleigh (Nocturnus Gate/Special Stage)
 * Dream Ice Hockey (Bowser's Castle)
 * Dream Curling (Sherbet Land)
 * Dream Snowball Fight (Cool, Cool Mountain)
 * Dream Gliding - Individual (Sky Sanctuary Zone)
 * Dream Gliding - Team (Sky Sanctuary Zone)

DS Version
Olympic Events
 * Skiing - Alpine Skiing GS
 * Skiing - Moguls
 * Skiing - Nordic Combined
 * Skiing - Ski Jumping LH
 * Skiing - Cross-Country
 * Skating - Speed Skating 500m
 * Skating - Short Track 500m
 * Skating - Figure Skating
 * Snowboard - Snowboard Cross
 * Bobsleigh
 * Bobsleigh - Skeleton
 * Ice Hockey
 * Curling
 * Biathlon
 * Luge

Dream Events

 * Dream Skiing - Ski Cross Racing
 * Dream Skiing - Rocket Ski Jumping
 * Dream Skiing - Super Sonic Downhill
 * Dream Skating - Intense Short Track
 * Dream Skating - Ultimate Figure Skating
 * Dream Snowboard - Extreme Snow Boarding
 * Dream Snowboard - Deluxe Halfpipe
 * Dream Bobsleigh - Blazing Bobsleigh
 * Dream Ice Hockey - Fever Hockey
 * Dream Curling - Curling Bowling
 * Dream Biathlon - Ski Shooting
 * Dream Snow Machine - Snow Machine Fight

Characters
The cast consists of the full roster from the previous game, as well as some new characters.

Sonic the Hedgehog series
Playable Characters

Rival Characters

Additional Sonic Characters

Mario Series
Playable Characters

Rival Characters

Additional Mario Characters

Other

 * Mii (Wii version only)
 * Santa Claus (only during December as a VIP)

Sonic Stages

 * Radical Highway from Sonic Adventure 2
 * Egg Factory from Sonic Riders
 * Sky Sanctuary Zone from Sonic & Knuckles
 * Seaside Hill from Sonic Heroes
 * Nocturne from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
 * Dream Figure Skating features 3 Sonic backgrounds: Green Hill Zone, Death Egg, and destroyed Station Square.

Mario Stages

 * Mario Circuit from Mario Kart Wii
 * Good Egg Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy
 * Bowser's Castle from Mario Kart: Super Circuit
 * Sherbet Land from Mario Kart 64
 * Cool, Cool Mountain from Super Mario 64
 * Dream Figure Skating features 3 Mario backgrounds: World 1, Bowser's Castle, and Peach's Castle.

Artwork & Screenshots

 * For more see: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games/Gallery

Hosts
File:ToadMSAWOG.png|Toad 

Snow Spirits
File:Frosty.png|Frosty File:Sparky.png|Sparky File:Pola.png|Pola File:Cuby.png|Cuby File:Icy.png|Icy File:Blizza.png|Blizza 

Reception
The game was well accepted. Most of the reviews define it as "much better than the first title". All the events are unlocked from the start which is great news in terms of accessibility. The controls are also tighter and seem less random but this does mean that sometimes gameplay can be a bit too simplistic: these were the things most noticed. An average of the votes it received is 7/10.

Trivia

 * This game marks Omega's first non-cameo appearance on the Wii, as well as Eggman Nega's debut on a home console.
 * Though Super Sonic isn't an unlockable character, you can get a Super Sonic costume for your Mii, giving your Mii the same stats as Sonic the Hedgehog, although a pseudo-Super form for each character appears in the Dream Figure Skating event for Sonic's World.
 * Blaze's outfit for this game looks similar to her regular outfit, but slightly altered. The same applies for Amy as well, but her outfit has a few more minor changes.
 * This is the second 2009 sequel of a 2007 game (Sonic and the Black Knight is the sequel of Sonic and the Secret Rings and this game is the sequel of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games).
 * In the DS version, Metal Sonic's eyes are red, but when he's in first place, his eyes are green.
 * Characters such as Diddy Kong do not appear, but costumes of them are available for your Mii.
 * On the Wii boxart, Sonic has a snowboard and Mario has skis, but on the DS boxart, it's the other way around.
 * This is the only installment in the Mario and Sonic series where the handheld counterpart was released in the same year as the console (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Wii-2007, DS-2008; Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games: Wii-2011, 3DS-2012).
 * In the DS version, if you listen closely when trying to open the gate in Adventure Tours, it almost sounds like Amy's theme song.
 * The females have new winter outfits for the game, while the males have no new outfits.