Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

[Your Vest Friend]

I've found out what Omega does fully since then; he picks up on the electrical signal interference and then helps by pinpointing the source of the interference. That doesn't sound like much, but that alone makes him more useful than 50% of the Sonic cast that appears in Sonic's story :P

[AngelSlayerN64]

How exactly would you be able to give all 40 playable characters equal contributions?

So, if you were in charge of this game, would you make any alterations to the character roster? Who would you want to remove and add in? Would you be okay with characters being restricted to at least 5 or 10 events, instead of 1 or 2 events? Also, how would you make the story mode better (removing the Miis of course)? What kind of interactions and rivalries would you want to see in the story mode?

I would definitely make Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega the main antagonists for sure. It only makes sense because the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 story modes had the original Bowser and Eggman as the final bosses. The "Legends Showdown" mode of Sochi 2014 had Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega as the final bosses (Bowser and Eggman actually help for once). I think it would pretty interesting to see an alliance between a cold, gruesome skeleton king and a sophisticated, yet psychotic madman. Both of them are minor villains who deserve more fame and recognition.

[Your Vest Friend]

I'd have to think about the intricacies of more major alterations in the morning, but my main beef with what we've got is that six of the cast already in the plot in Sonic's story don't really help us and we don't have any sort of wrap-up fight with Eggman like Mario's story does for Bowser. Fix those two things and you've got a better executed version of what we got right there.

[Dr. Detective]

I saw the London 3DS story line and I thought that game did a near perfect job of utilizing the characters. Omega had a big role in that thing too which did make me proud. But on top of that, they found uses for the NPCs and Rival characters who weren't playable. A lot more effort went into making sure everyone got a chance to do something there. I always appreciate that more then fixating on tone and what not. That's one of the reasons why the 20th anniversary disappointed me a bit.

[AngelSlayerN64]

9 hours ago, Dr. Chaotix said:

I saw the London 3DS story line and I thought that game did a near perfect job of utilizing the characters. Omega had a big role in that thing too which did make me proud. But on top of that, they found uses for the NPCs and Rival characters who weren't playable. A lot more effort went into making sure everyone got a chance to do something there. I always appreciate that more then fixating on tone and what not. That's one of the reasons why the 20th anniversary disappointed me a bit.

Yes, indeed. The Vancouver 2010 story line for the DS was even better! It was also the very first game to even feature a proper story. That game involved an "Adventure Mode" to where Mario and Sonic had to rescue the six snow spirits from Bowser and Eggman. This was literally the closest thing that we could get to an RPG that's somewhat better than Sonic Chronicles. All 20 characters in that game (original ten from Team Mario and original ten from Team Sonic) made equal contributions in terms of relevance, and showing off their unique skills in certain minigames whenever there was a dire situation at hand.

I really do wish that there could've been a 3DS version of Sochi 2014 because it would be a direct sequel to the Vancouver 2010 story line. Mario and Sonic would encounter the six Snow Spirits again. Also, Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega would be the main antagonists as well as the final bosses, just like the Wii-U version instead of the original Bowser and Eggman.

 

By the way, if anyone else is curious to know even more about the Vancouver 2010 storyline, feel free to check out this playlist here if you wish to do so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs3IHuVW8j8&list=PL45C17894A4CB941C

[Dr. Detective]

1 hour ago, SilverStarN64 said:

Yes, indeed. The Vancouver 2010 story line for the DS was even better! It was also the very first game to even feature a proper story. That game involved an "Adventure Mode" to where Mario and Sonic had to rescue the six snow spirits from Bowser and Eggman. This was literally the closest thing that we could get to an RPG that's somewhat better than Sonic Chronicles. All 20 characters in that game (original ten from Team Mario and original ten from Team Sonic) made equal contributions in terms of relevance, and showing off their unique skills in certain minigames whenever there was a dire situation at hand.

I really do wish that there could've been a 3DS version of Sochi 2014 because it would be a direct sequel to the Vancouver 2010 story line. Mario and Sonic would encounter the six Snow Spirits again. Also, Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega would be the main antagonists as well as the final bosses, just like the Wii-U version instead of the original Bowser and Eggman.

I saw that one as well. It was good but I don't know if I had as much enjoyment from seeing the events unfold within it as I did the other one. There were a lot of interesting stand out moments within it such as how they handled Rouge's character, what with her towing the anti-hero line really well. I like it when they actually experiment with the shady morality behind the character. It makes for a lot of interesting situations. 

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh, and since the costumes of the playable characters give Miis the same stats as the playable character, we now know what Charmy would be if he was playable.

He's classed as...speed. I'm serious. It has a better speed stat than Espio's costume. 

[LukA8]

Well, the Omega costume was Speed in Sochi, after all. : P (Charmy was Skill)

I remember he talked about being the speediest robot in London Party, and has always been faced in speed-based events as a rival. They like to play around with NPCs stats, but would never get away with it when they become playable.

Though Charmy being one high-speed loving insect does not come from nowhere...was it Generations? Now, if he is one of the Wii U exclusive characters...

[Dr. Detective]

On 3/22/2016 at 5:41 PM, Detective Reptiles said:

Oh, and since the costumes of the playable characters give Miis the same stats as the playable character, we now know what Charmy would be if he was playable.

He's classed as...speed. I'm serious. It has a better speed stat than Espio's costume. 

Not as surprising as you might think. Sugar is one hell of a drug.

[Your Vest Friend]

It's another episode of the Mario and Sonic suit series!

 

[Your Vest Friend]

Another double post, realised I hadn't answered this. 

On 22/03/2016 at 11:10 PM, LukA8 said:

Though Charmy being one high-speed loving insect does not come from nowhere...was it Generations? Now, if he is one of the Wii U exclusive characters...

Charmy being specified as a fast flyer was only in the Chaotix manual (his job was being a sprinter). Post-retcon, he's never been explicitly stated as such, although Generations had him fast enough to make wind vortexes. 

[LukA8]

Well, I've remembered where I got that idea from and let's just say ...

 

...never mind. xP

[Graystripe2000]

Okay, nice to know there seems to be something going on behind-the-scenes with this game. As we know, review copies were sent out in limited supply, despite the game not being a technical mess. Sometime passes since the game's release and, guess what? There's still hardly any reviews of the 3DS game out there. Metacritic doesn't even have a score with only 3 reviews on there. http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/mario-sonic-at-the-rio-2016-olympic-games

Since review copies weren't sent in larg quantities, it wouldn't have been that hard for journalists to go out and buy the game. This doesn't look like a game that would take a whole lot of playtime to review, so I think there's something going on behind the scenes. What do you guys think?

[WhoWhatMan]

Or it most likely the game isn't really worth the journalist time to buy and review? Like this isn't a major release and I believe they actually pay the journalist to review the game as well, so I feel like if the journalist themselves have to go out and buy the game, I think it would be a waste of time and money.

[AngelSlayerN64]

Okay, so to anyone who said Silver's voice was "weird" in this game, I found a better video so you can hear him more clearly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXikZjw2XlI

Listen closely at the 12:10-12:12 mark, he says "That was perfect." His voice is more calm and relaxed here opposed to his loud and nasally voice that others (like myself) hated in 2006 and Rivals.

Also...

-Eggman Nega says, "No one is a match for me." at the 10:21-10:24 mark.

-Rouge says, "This is how it's always gonna be." at the 8:54-8:57 mark.

-Omega says, "This proves my power!" at the 9:15-9:17 mark.

-Zazz says, "You can all go home now! I won!" at the 13:37-13:40 mark.

[Your Vest Friend]

The pint I made was that it sounds weird compared to every other of his portrayals, which I still think it does. Sound quality doesn't affect that. 

[AngelSlayerN64]

1 hour ago, Detective Reptiles said:

The pint I made was that it sounds weird compared to every other of his portrayals, which I still think it does. Sound quality doesn't affect that. 

It's only one line of dialogue. How exactly do you find it "weird"? I honestly don't understand. Can you try to be a little more descriptive?

Although, I will say this: the only Silver portrayals that actually sound better are Free Riders, Colors DS, and Generations...who were all voiced by Quinton Flynn. Anything before those games are a no-go for me. I still think his voice is okay in Rio 2016.

[Your Vest Friend]

I finally have the game for myself, yay!

I'll go into fuller thoughts later, but I will point out this little goof for now; You know how the London Olympic games were re-used for training in this game? Well, some of those events had judges. Specifically, Charmy doubles up from Javelin to Shot Put, and Tae Kwon Do is adjudicated by Espio...while he's supposed to be a competitor here. Whoopsy.

[Milo]

On 3/25/2016 at 11:46 PM, I'm Dan said:

Or it most likely the game isn't really worth the journalist time to buy and review? Like this isn't a major release and I believe they actually pay the journalist to review the game as well, so I feel like if the journalist themselves have to go out and buy the game, I think it would be a waste of time and money.

Late response but um, seriously? A Mario and Sonic crossover game / official licensed Olympics Game isn't a major release?

The previous Mario & Sonic games haven't been pushed as low-key products that hardly any large game review site would bother reviewing except out of bile fascination. And to be frank, this title hasn't been nor shouldn't be promoted as such either. Not for games that star two gaming mascots, are developed by/released from a major third-party publisher, and have sold millions on previous platforms. (And in the case of Rio 3DS, it's the first Olympics 3DS game since the 2012 title, as the M&S 2014 tie-in was Wii U exclusive.)

Mario and Sonic Rio 3DS is listed in Nintendo and Sega IR reports, it's gotten promotion in Nintendo Directs. It's not something being pushed out with no fanfare. It is a major release, it is a game people will be expecting the press to review, with or without advanced copies.

@Operationgamer17 does raise an important point about Rio 3DS limited amount advanced copies being sent out for reviewers. Games having review copies in general restricted, held back, or not sent at all is typically a red flag about a game's quality. Speaking of reviews...

There's a decent amount of reviews available for Rio 3DS on Metacritic. Rio 3DS seems to continue the downward trend of mediocre reception for the series as a whole, with a 59 mixed score (based on 19 reviews, 16 mixed and 3 negative). 5s and 6s make up the bulk of scores, with most reviewers saying the minigames/events are too stale and repetitive, and don't provide much gameplay depth. Rio 3DS's 59 aggregate score makes it the second lowest-ranked game on the site (only Sochi 2014 ranks lower with a mixed 55). GameRankings has a smaller pool of reviews (only nine so far), the aggregate score isn't too good there either. It currently sits at 49.43%, making it the lowest-scoring M&S Olympics game on that site.

Sega's 2015 FY report should be out in a few weeks, so when that releases, we should get a good picture there of how many copies the game has initially sold.

[WhoWhatMan]

33 minutes ago, Gabe said:

Late response but um, seriously? A Mario and Sonic crossover game / official licensed Olympics Game isn't a major release?

The previous Mario & Sonic games haven't been pushed as low-key products that hardly any large game review site would bother reviewing except out of bile fascination. And to be frank, this title hasn't been nor shouldn't be promoted as such either. Not for games that star two gaming mascots, are developed by/released from a major third-party publisher, and have sold millions on previous platforms. (And in the case of Rio 3DS, it's the first Olympics 3DS game since the 2012 title, as the M&S 2014 tie-in was Wii U exclusive.)

Mario and Sonic Rio 3DS is listed in Nintendo and Sega IR reports, it's gotten promotion in Nintendo Directs. It's not something being pushed out with no fanfare. It is a major release, it is a game people will be expecting the press to review, with or without advanced copies.

 

Idunno, the 3DS version doesn't seem really major compared to the Wii U version, that's all. I think my point still stands about the whole journalist aren't going out and buy this game to review thing though. Nintendo is pushing Pokken Tournament a lot so I'm assuming Rio 3DS got lost in the shuffle considering they released on the same day.

[Multikaris]

On 3/21/2016 at 4:19 PM, SilverStarN64 said:

How exactly would you be able to give all 40 playable characters equal contributions?

So, if you were in charge of this game, would you make any alterations to the character roster? Who would you want to remove and add in? Would you be okay with characters being restricted to at least 5 or 10 events, instead of 1 or 2 events? Also, how would you make the story mode better (removing the Miis of course)? What kind of interactions and rivalries would you want to see in the story mode?

I would definitely make Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega the main antagonists for sure. It only makes sense because the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 story modes had the original Bowser and Eggman as the final bosses. The "Legends Showdown" mode of Sochi 2014 had Dry Bowser and Eggman Nega as the final bosses (Bowser and Eggman actually help for once). I think it would pretty interesting to see an alliance between a cold, gruesome skeleton king and a sophisticated, yet psychotic madman. Both of them are minor villains who deserve more fame and recognition.

You start with the non-evil characters from the earlier four. There is also a villain story. You unlock all newbies by playing through the stories (good guys are the rivals of the villain story, which is a side story.) Clearing both will obtain the Last Story, which has all 20 plus four of the new challengers, and in here, there are some true, non-playable rival characters that have higher stats and sometimes even special moves to use against you. All of these rivals previously appear as support characters, like Rouge in 2010. Near the end, Dry Bowser and Nega join you or flee, and Mephiles and another villain reveal themselves as the real threats and bosses of the game. Everyone has relevance in this.

 

Sonic Side Unlockable Hero: Sticks, Sally Acorn, Tikal, Cream, Cosmo, Manic, Sonia (If Penders/Fleetway/etc is included, then add in Mina, Julie-Su, and Lara-Su)

 

Sonic Side Unlockable Dark: Rouge, Omega, Jet, Nack, Mecha Sonic, Shade (If Penders/Fleetway/etc is included, then add in Scourge, and Fiona)

 

Sonic Side Unplayable Bosses: Zavok, Wave, Storm, Eggman Nega, Chaos, Gemerl, Mephiles (if Penders/Fleetway/etc is included, add in Finitevus, Megatox, Enerjak, and Metamorphia)

Sonic Side Generics: Egg Pawn, SWATBot (non-selectable), Egg Fighter, Perci Clone (dream event)

Mario Side Unlockable Hero: Diddy, Rosalina, Little Mac, Pauline, Dixie, DK Jr.

 

Mario Side Unlockable Dark: Birdo, King K. Rool, Captain Syrup, Bald Bull, Ludwig Von Koopa (possible other Koopalings as skins)

 

Mario Side Unplayable Bosses: Melody Pianissima, King Boo, Tiki Tong, Mr. Sandman, Anatasma, Cackletta, King Hippo, Dry Bowser, Dimentio

Mario Side Generics: Kritter, Dry Bones, LM Ghost (non-selectable)

SECRET CHAR SET: Mega Man series

 

Hidden characters: Mega Man, X, Proto Man, Bass, Duo, Tron Bonne, Zero

 

Unplayable Bosses: Guts Man, Enker, Magma Dragoon, Sage Harpuia

The story would have the Rival characters serve as the bosses of each chapter, except in the fortress, where bosses tend to be two a chapter, and the last boss is like Perfect Chaos in Wii 2010 (it must be struck to defeat it), and in the last chapter of each story, which has two sub bosses before the end boss.

 

For example:

 

Hero Chapter 1 Boss: Rouge and Birdo, Volleyball (play as Amy and Peach)

Hero Chapter 2 Boss: Espio, Pentalathon (play as Donkey Kong)

Hero Last Chapter Bosses: Metal Sonic and Bowser Jr. Hurdles, Scourge and Fiona synchonized Swimming, Eggman and Bowser Pentathalon.

 

The Mega Man Bosses are found by using a Mega Man amiibo after unlocking the characters.

 

Character interactions include Jet being shocked at Wave and Storm betraying him (and Shadow relating to him), Luigi contrasting Tikal and Melody Pianissima and other ghosts he's ran afoul of Bowser trying to capture Sally, Little Mac developing a crush on Sally, Nack becoming a rival to Captain Syrup, K. Rool having an irrational fear of Cosmo... And the Mega Man characters in the post-game provide even more hijinks.

[Forte-Metallix]

4 minutes ago, The Very First Miru to Me said:

You start with the non-evil characters from the earlier four. There is also a villain story. You unlock all newbies by playing through the stories (good guys are the rivals of the villain story, which is a side story.) Clearing both will obtain the Last Story, which has all 20 plus four of the new challengers, and in here, there are some true, non-playable rival characters that have higher stats and sometimes even special moves to use against you. All of these rivals previously appear as support characters, like Rouge in 2010. Near the end, Dry Bowser and Nega join you or flee, and Mephiles and another villain reveal themselves as the real threats and bosses of the game. Everyone has relevance in this.

 

Sonic Side Unlockable Hero: Sticks, Sally Acorn, Tikal, Cream, Cosmo, Manic, Sonia (If Penders/Fleetway/etc is included, then add in Mina, Julie-Su, and Lara-Su)

 

Sonic Side Unlockable Dark: Rouge, Omega, Jet, Nack, Mecha Sonic, Shade (If Penders/Fleetway/etc is included, then add in Scourge, and Fiona)

 

Sonic Side Unplayable Bosses: Zavok, Wave, Storm, Eggman Nega, Chaos, Gemerl, Mephiles (if Penders/Fleetway/etc is included, add in Finitevus, Megatox, Enerjak, and Metamorphia)

Sonic Side Generics: Egg Pawn, SWATBot (non-selectable), Egg Fighter, Perci Clone (dream event)

Mario Side Unlockable Hero: Diddy, Rosalina, Little Mac, Pauline, Dixie, DK Jr.

 

Mario Side Unlockable Dark: Birdo, King K. Rool, Captain Syrup, Bald Bull, Ludwig Von Koopa (possible other Koopalings as skins)

 

Mario Side Unplayable Bosses: Melody Pianissima, King Boo, Tiki Tong, Mr. Sandman, Anatasma, Cackletta, King Hippo, Dry Bowser, Dimentio

Mario Side Generics: Kritter, Dry Bones, LM Ghost (non-selectable)

SECRET CHAR SET: Mega Man series

 

Hidden characters: Mega Man, X, Proto Man, Bass, Duo, Tron Bonne, Zero

 

Unplayable Bosses: Guts Man, Enker, Magma Dragoon, Sage Harpuia

The story would have the Rival characters serve as the bosses of each chapter, except in the fortress, where bosses tend to be two a chapter, and the last boss is like Perfect Chaos in Wii 2010 (it must be struck to defeat it), and in the last chapter of each story, which has two sub bosses before the end boss.

 

For example:

 

Hero Chapter 1 Boss: Rouge and Birdo, Volleyball (play as Amy and Peach)

Hero Chapter 2 Boss: Espio, Pentalathon (play as Donkey Kong)

Hero Last Chapter Bosses: Metal Sonic and Bowser Jr. Hurdles, Scourge and Fiona synchonized Swimming, Eggman and Bowser Pentathalon.

 

The Mega Man Bosses are found by using a Mega Man amiibo after unlocking the characters.

 

Character interactions include Jet being shocked at Wave and Storm betraying him (and Shadow relating to him), Luigi contrasting Tikal and Melody Pianissima and other ghosts he's ran afoul of Bowser trying to capture Sally, Little Mac developing a crush on Sally, Nack becoming a rival to Captain Syrup, K. Rool having an irrational fear of Cosmo... And the Mega Man characters in the post-game provide even more hijinks.

...That's a bit much for a cheap cash-in mini game collection, don't you think?

[Dejimon11]

Miru I seriously can't tell if your being serious or joking. But I digress

The problem that I have this series besides the fact that it isn't a platformer  is that they're pretty much mini games. I wish they went the Mario Sports mix route where every game felt like it's full fledge game instead of just this. Or better yet make it like the original Mario Party games(since we know we're never getting a game that plays like that again) I can actually see that working.

[Multikaris]

2 hours ago, Dejimon11 said:

Miru I seriously can't tell if your being serious or joking. But I digress

The problem that I have this series besides the fact that it isn't a platformer  is that they're pretty much mini games. I wish they went the Mario Sports mix route where every game felt like it's full fledged game instead of just this. Or better yet make it like the original Mario Party games(since we know we're never getting a game that plays like that again) I can actually see that working.

I was serious about that. I really don't want characters like the Six to be important. And I didn't even list referees or cameos in my big idea:

 

Referees are mostly just Chao, Toads, Wisps, and various Mario Enemies, but also Professor Pickle, Omochao,  NICOLE, Cranky, Doc Louis, and E. Gadd. Some bosses also have characters they summon for special moves, like Lien-Da for Finitevus or Zazz for Zavok.  There are also scattered cameos in dream events.

 

One idea for this series I had for a long time was the Nightmare Event. These are harder and scarier versions of Dream Events where contestants can actually be eliminated under certain circumstances. These would appear near the end of the game and feature rivals for each of them.

[Forte-Metallix]

Do you realize how many hoops Nintendo and Sega would have to jump through to incorporate Sonic characters from other continuities? And that's not even bringing up other issues like Sega of Japan caring very little for Archie, the pointlessness of bringing in characters from other Nintendo properties- much less Mega Man- for a game that's supposed to be focused on Mario and Sonic, and Sega not wanting anything to do with Penders's characters.