Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii)
- This article is about Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games for the Wii. For the Nintendo DS version of the game, see Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo DS).
Template:Infobox Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is a sports game for the Wii with a Nintendo DS version of the game released as well. Both games are a follow-up to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. The game is produced under license from the International Olympic Committee in relation to the Olympic Winter Games taking place at Vancouver in 2010.
Like the previous installment, this game is a collaboration between Sega and Nintendo featuring characters from both the Mario franchise and the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Although Sega was handling most of the development for both versions of this game, as it did for the original Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, they were also handling publishing/marketing duties for all territories outside of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan while Nintendo has done publishing/marketing duties for Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan themselves.
About
The Wii version employs the Wii Remote controls, as well as the Wii Balance Board. The game features a Festival mode where the player starts from the opening to the closing ceremony. In the Festival mode, the player can choose to play an individual festival, where the player faces off against 7 other CPU characters, or a team festival, where the player can choose three other teammates to play.
New to the game is a marketplace that allows the player to purchase various items such as clothes and accessories for the player's Mii, tunes from both series, and customizable snowboards. Players can purchase these items using Star Tokens, which earn based on their performance. Also, the gallery for Olympic trivia has now been replaced with the Library.
Also, all authentic (real-life based events) are unlocked from the start. Dream Events are in this game and all of them (excluding 2) need to be unlocked.
The aforementioned Festival Mode, is a special adventure mode where the participants must compete with some boss characters from the Mario and Sonic series in various events.[1] Both the DS and the Wii versions take place in a place known as Christmas Village.
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
- Speed Skating - Speed Skating 500m
- Speed Skating - Short Track 1,000m
- Speed Skating - Short Track Relay
- Figure Skating
- Skeleton
- Bobsleigh
- Ice Hockey
- Curling
Dream events
- Dream Alpine - Dream Alpine
- Dream Alpine - Dream Alpine
- Dream Ski Jumping - Dream Ski Jumping
- Dream Ski Jumping - Dream Ski Jumping
- Dream Ski Cross - Dream Ski Cross
- Dream Ski Cross - Dream Ski Cross
- Dream Snowboard Cross - Dream Snowboard Cross
- Dream Snowboard Cross - Dream Snowboard Cross
- Dream Short Track
- Dream Figure Skating
- Dream Bobsleigh
- Dream Ice Hockey
- Dream Curling
- Dream Snowball Fight
- Dream Gliding - Individual
- Dream Gliding - Team
Characters
All of the characters from the previous game, including Miis for the Wii version, return. There are also four new characters[2] who were not present in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Retaining the first game's style, all playable characters are unlocked from the start (including new participants).
Playable characters
* A character who marks their first time playable in the series.
Team Mario
| Icon | Name | Type | Statistics | Emblem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Mario | All-Around | 
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Luigi | All-Around | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Princess Peach | Skill | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Princess Daisy | Speed | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Yoshi | Speed | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Wario | Power | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Waluigi | Skill | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Bowser | Power | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Bowser Jr.* | All-Around | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Donkey Kong* | Power | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Team Sonic
| Icon | Name | Type | Statistics | Emblem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Sonic the Hedgehog | Speed | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Miles "Tails" Prower | Skill | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Knuckles the Echidna | Power | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Amy Rose | All-Around | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Blaze the Cat | All-Around | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Shadow the Hedgehog | Speed | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Silver the Hedgehog* | Skill | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Vector the Crocodile | Power | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Dr. Eggman | Skill | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Metal Sonic* | Speed | Template:WinterGames-WiiStat | 
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Other
It is possible to customize the outfit of the Miis in the game. Aside from differently colored suits, the Miis can also wear outfits that resemble the ones of the regular playable characters and a few bosses. Playable character costumes are unlockable by getting 1st in five events as the character. The player can buy equipment through the store in the game and unlike Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, the Miis' stats gets altered depending on the equipment they wear.
Mii costumes
Mario series
There is a total of 16 different costumes for Miis based on characters from the Mario universe.
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Sonic the Hedgehog series
Like the Mario universe, 16 characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe also appear as costumes for the Miis.
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VIP members
These characters only appear as cameos and tells the player that they've been watching the player in certain events. Pausing the game and hitting the 
when they're spotted gives the player 100 Star Points. The VIP members are:
| Mario VIP Characters | Sonic the Hedgehog VIP Characters | Other VIP Characters |
|---|---|---|
When the player spots Birdo and Big the Cat, they will also be given costumes.
When the game is played during the month of December, Santa Claus also appears as a VIP. Unlike other VIP characters, Santa gives 300 Star Points instead of 100.
Referees
| Mario Referees | Sonic the Hedgehog Referees |
|---|---|
Audience members
| Mario Audience Members | Sonic the Hedgehog Audience Members |
|---|---|
Rivals
Super Mario rivals
| Icon | Name | Type | Event(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
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Big Bullet Bill | Speed |
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King Boo | Skill |
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Dry Bowser | Power |
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Dry Bones | All-Around |
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Sonic the Hedgehog rivals
| Icon | Name | Type | Event(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
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E-123 Omega |
Power |
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Jet the Hawk | Speed |
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Rouge the Bat | All-Around |
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Eggman Nega | Skill |
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Locations
Locations from both Mario and Sonic series appear in the Dream Events. The following stages are:
Mario series
- Mario Circuit (featured in Dream Ski Cross) from Mario Kart Wii
- Bowser Castle (featured in Dream Ice Hockey)
- Good Egg Galaxy (featured in Dream Ski Jumping) from Super Mario Galaxy
- Sherbet Land (featured in Dream Curling)
Sonic the Hedgehog series
- Radical Highway (featured in Dream Snowboard Cross) from Sonic Adventure 2
- Seaside Hill (featured in Dream Alpine) from Sonic Heroes
- Nocturnus Gate (featured in Dream Bobsleigh) from Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
- Egg Factory (featured in Dream Speed Skating) from Sonic Riders
Emblems
Reception
| Reviews | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release | Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment |
| Wii | James Newton, Nintendo Life | 9/10 | "Sega has truly listened to the feedback about the first game and slimmed down the waggle controls, beefed up the lastability with a ton of extra content and managed to turn even the seemingly dull events of Curling and Figure Skating into engaging and varied games. With over twenty characters, twenty-five events and hundreds of unlockable items, you'll be playing this game well into the New Year, and the added subtlety of the controls makes playing it a far less tiring experience. It may not have the control genius of Wii Sports Resort but it's every bit as good in terms of content, presentation and pure, distilled fun." |
| Wii | Jorge Ba-oh, Cubed3 | 7/10 | "Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics is, at the end of the day, a huge party playing host to two most loved franchises and that's what it was designed for. It may be incredibly simple to work through the single player mode, but entertaining friends or family is where the package really shines through. Whilst it may be as accessible as Nintendo's Wii Sports, it may not be for everyone. The simplistic controls and gameplay might be a tad off-putting for those having a resume of gaming skills, but for the masses Winter Olympics are a solid package that can heat up a living room with fierce competition." |
| Wii | Ellie Gibson, Eurogamer | 8/10 | "It's true to say that Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is no Mario Kart. But it's a fun, polished party game with broad appeal, and a marked improvement over the previous one. Let's just hope the next installment has a bit more depth. And is called Mario & Sonic of War, obviously." |
| Aggregators | |||
| Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
| Metacritic | 72 | ||
| GameRankings | 71.51% | ||
Staff
Although he is uncredited in the game's credits, Scott Burns voices Bowser in this game, which marks the second and last instance in the Mario & Sonic he voices him, as Kenneth W. James would voice him in later installments.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.
Media
 Disc Channel | File info |
References to other games
- Super Mario Bros. - A remix of the overworld theme and castle theme of this game is available as one of selectable songs in this game. Arrangements of the Ground Theme and Castle Theme are used as the music for the first and second segments of Dream Figure Skating.
- Super Mario Bros. 2 - Peach's floating ability returns as her special skill in this game.
- Super Mario Bros. 3 - A remix of the athletic theme of this game appears as one of the selectable songs in this game.
- Super Mario World - A remix of the athletic and the ending themes appear as one of the selectable songs in this game. An arrangement of the ending theme is also used for the third segment of Dream Figure Skating.
- Super Mario 64 - The Cool, Cool Mountain and Snowman's Land music tracks are remixed for Dream Snowball Fight. A remix of the main theme and the Bowser's stage theme is used.
- Super Smash Bros. Melee - Luigi's special skill, Luigi Rocket, is similar to the Green Missile. Bowser's special skill, Spinning Shell, is similar to Whirling Fortress.
- Super Mario Sunshine - A remix of Delfino Plaza's music appears as one of the selectable songs in this game.
- Mario Party 5 - The Speed Skating events and Ice Hockey event resemble the minigames Later Skater and Ice Hockey respectively.
- New Super Mario Bros. - The athletic theme appears as one of the selectable music tracks. Three backgrounds from this game appear in Dream Figure Skating, namely World 1, Bowser's Castle and Peach's Castle.
- Super Mario Galaxy - The Dream Ski Jumping events takes place in the Good Egg Galaxy. The Purple Comet theme along with the Gusty Garden Galaxy's theme under the title "Wind Garden" appear as selectable songs in this game.
- Mario Kart Wii - The Dream Ski Cross events take place in Mario Circuit from this game. The Coconut Mall theme appears as one of the selectable music tracks.
References in later games
- Mario Sports Mix - The gameplay in Hockey in this game is similar to Ice Hockey from this game.
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Most of the Mario and Sonic series music return as well as the Mii costumes.
Quotes
- Main article: List of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games quotes
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マリオ＆ソニックＡＴバンクーバーオリンピック[?] Mario ando Sonikku atto Bankūbā Orinpikku |
Mario & Sonic at the Vancouver Olympics | |
| Dutch | Mario & Sonic op de Olympische Winterspelen[?] | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | |
| German | Mario & Sonic bei den Olympischen Winterspielen[?] | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | |
| Italian | Mario & Sonic ai Giochi Olimpici Invernali[?] | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | |
| Korean | 마리오와 소닉 밴쿠버 동계올림픽[?] Mario-wa Sonik Baenkubeo Dong-gye-olimpik |
Mario & Sonic at the Vancouver Winter Olympics | |
| Portuguese | Mario e Sonic nos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno[?] | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | |
| Spanish | Mario & Sonic En Los Juegos Olímpicos De Invierno[?] | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games |
Trivia
- An app based on this game was released for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, but only features Sonic characters and thus is named simply Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. This game has since been removed from the App Store.
- This is currently the only game in the series to be released on both consoles on the same day (except Japan and South Korea).
References
External links
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games on Sonic Retro
- Official International Website
- North American Website for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
- European Website for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
- Japanese Website for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
