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 steal the winter spirits, without them all the snow 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. In the game you'll also find fun notions about the characters.

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
 * Dream Alpine - Team
 * Dream Ski Jumping - Individual
 * Dream Ski Jumping - Team
 * Dream Ski Cross - Individual
 * Dream Ski Cross - Team
 * Dream Snowboard Cross - Individual
 * Dream Snowboard Cross - Team
 * Dream Short Track
 * Dream Figure Skating
 * Dream Bobsleigh
 * Dream Ice Hockey
 * Dream Curling
 * Dream Snowball Fight
 * Dream Gliding - Individual
 * Dream Gliding - Team

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
 * Egg Factory
 * Sky Sanctuary Zone
 * Seaside Hill
 * Nocturne/Special Stage
 * Dream Figure Skating features 3 Sonic backgrounds: Green Hill Zone, Death Egg, and destroyed Station Square.

Mario Stages

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

Official Artwork
Team Sonic

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.
 * Blaze's outfit for this game looks similar to her regular outfit, but sightly altered.
 * This is the second 2009 sequel of a 2007 game (Sonic and the Black Knight was the sequel of Sonic and the Secret Rings and this game was the sequel of Mario And 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 like 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 in which the handheld counterpart was released the same year of the console (First one-Wii-2007, DS-2008, and the London games-Wii-2011, 3DS-2012).
 * Ironically, Wario wears short sleeves.
 * In the DS version, when trying to open the gate in Adventure Tours, if you listen closely, it almost sounds like Amy's theme song.