Sega has pulled out all the stops to create a genuinely enjoyable mini-game compilation in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Considering the series’ pedigree, that’s quite the feat. It might seem odd that a mini-game fest would have a gameplay length, though, so what gives?
A series first, Tokyo 2020 includes a story mode for players to dig through. More of an extended tutorial for 95% of the mini-games, there is an actual plotline with some small collectibles scattered about. Players will travel across recreations of 1964 and 2020 Tokyo, complete with bonus buildings and trivia questions to gather. The game pays respect to the city it is based in, not to mention both of the series its stars hail from.
As for how long you can expect to play through the campaign, it’s not a long one. Tokyo 2020 should only take about five hours if you focus exclusively on beating each stage. The 20 chapters might sound like a lot, but they are roughly 10-15 minutes in length and feature a couple of mini-games each. Campaign specific events give some incentive to see this mode through, even if they lack multiplayer functionality.
If you go for all of the trivia scattered about both versions of Tokyo, then you could add another hour or two to the runtime. You’ll generally run into these collectibles as you’re making progress, but some are in optional areas and others require you talk to every NPC in a specific area. It can be a bit monotonous and nothing really comes of it, save for a completed data section on the menu.
This mostly relates to the campaign, though. If you’re looking for a solid party game to play with friends, Tokyo 2020 could last you a while. All of the events feature multiplayer functionality of some sort (either two to four players) and everything has online support. A few of the mini-games are nearly fleshed out enough to be standalone releases, which may keep you glued for quite a bit.
Still, for a solo player, Tokyo 2020 might not be the wisest purchase. Its story is charming and goofy, but it’s not quite the adventure Sega made it out to be. It really is just a series of tutorial-like events that get you primed for playing with friends. There are nice nods to Mario and Sonic’s pasts (not to mention some glorious team-up moments), but you won’t be learning anything new about these iconic figures.
Considering the past entries, though, this is a huge step up. That one can even play it solo and spend more than half an hour is impressive. It doesn’t hurt that the game is fairly well polished, sporting some solid control options that don’t demand motion controls.
At any rate, you won’t need to set aside a massive amount of time to reach the conclusion to Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It’s a breezy little adventure more concerned with players having fun than anything else.
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