Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a 2016 crossover sports and party game in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series, released for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2016 in Japan, March 2016 in North America, and in April 2016 for Europe and Australia, and for the Wii U worldwide in June 2016. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee, as are the other games in the series. It was developed by Sega, with assistance from Arzest and Spike Chunsoft, and published by Nintendo.

It is the fifth title in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series. The game is a collection of Olympic sports themed mini-games featuring characters from the Mario series and the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game features forty-two playable characters from Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog franchises, as well as the option to use a previously made Mii character in-game. In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, Mario, Sonic, and Mii are the only characters that can be used in all events; other returning characters are exclusive to two events while new characters are only playable in one.

In the Wii U version of the game, all returning characters from previous games are usable in all events, while new playable characters (known as “guests” in-game) are only playable in one. The characters new to the series that can be used in both versions of the game include Diddy Kong, Nabbit, Wendy O. Koopa, Larry Koopa, Rosalina, Dry Bowser, Jet the Hawk, Rouge the Bat, Wave the Swallow, Espio the Chameleon, Zavok, Sticks the Badger, and Zazz.

In the 3DS version, Roy Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, Dry Bones, Birdo, Dr. Eggman Nega, E-123 Omega, and Cream the Rabbit all appear as exclusive characters. Each character has their own individual statistics for ‘power’, ‘speed’ and ‘technique’, which affect the player’s performance depending on the variables of the minigame. Rugby Sevens, Archery, and BMX debut in the game alongside refined versions of returning events, such as athletics, volleyball, archery, swimming and equestrian.