The Mario & Sonic games are something that I am always weirdly interested in. Every time an entry gets announced, I can't help but to pick it up and start playing. The last one, Sochi 2014, was a weaker entry in my humble opinion. There were hardly any cool modes, and the selection of options seemed a bit minimal. Next to this, there was a huge focus on motion controls, which London 2012 on Wii stepped away from. That one, in comparison, was the best one to play with friends and I still plop it in every so often. The handheld games are in an even stranger position. I only really enjoyed Vancouver 2010, as it had a cool story mode and focused on fun Dream Events. London 2012 3DS was terrible, and Sochi 2014 skipped the Nintendo 3DS altogether. Now Rio 2016 brings the handheld version back from the graveyard, and they hope to fix their wrong doings with this entry. Did they succeed? Well, yes and no.

You see, this game is more fun than London 2012. There is no doubt in my mind that they have put more effort behind it. The bigger problem is that only 14 Olympic events are available for you to play. A few are over before you know it, and this adds to the overall frustration about the package. I still enjoyed myself frantically pushing buttons in the 100 meter run or Javelin, but the brevity remains. Luckily, there are events that I found myself enjoying over and over. Golf is incredibly fun and addicting, and is way more in depth than you would expect. It actually matters what kind of curve you give the ball on the touchscreen, and keeping the wind in check makes very round different. Another big one, Football (or Soccer), has multiple buttons with actions designed to help you score huge goals. Other games that I enjoyed include BMX, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Esquestrian and Swimming.

All of these minigames, outside of Golf, feature a single location and don't do anything crazy with them. While this is on par with the Olympics, you would expect them to throw in more ways to keep you engaged. This is usually where the Dream Events kick in, but sadly, they aren't here to save the day. For some strange reason, they threw away games that ooze the most charm of the franchise. Instead, we get the Plus Events. These take place in the exact same locations as the Olympic ones, but with a few slight tweaks. There are themed enemies or obstacles sometimes, but there are a few that refuse to even use Mario and Sonic references. Honestly, I find the lack of Dream Events really disheartening. With no musical remixes or unique locations, I just find it a little lazy. That doesn't mean that I am not having fun with the minigames, but it is clear where the priorities are.

When it comes to the multiplayer suite, don't expect that to be playing this game online. Outside of the leaderboards, it is not possible to battle against your buddies far away. While this has become the norm somewhat, it would made the likelihood of people playing against one another more likely. You can play the game over Download Play (or Local Play), so with more patience and friends, there is still decent fun to be had here. This doesn't mean that it is free of problems. The download times are incredibly long, more so than any other local multiplayer game in recent times. Once you get to the game, not every minigame is optimized either. Golf only lets you play on a single course before sending you back to the menu, which meant the round ended just as my friends learned the controls. Other minigames fared better, but you would think that they would have nailed this by now.

Next to the events, the saving grace of the package is the single-player mode called Road to Rio. There is a cute narrative where you join a Mario or Sonic themed gym and duke it out against various Miis and characters from both franchises. You will compete in the qualifying rounds, work your way to main events and score yourself some nice medals as a result. Between the main events, you will find new characters or costumes to unlock, which makes you a bigger player for the gold. There are also training sessions to compete in. What makes them interesting is that these include events not included in the main game. You will jump on the trampoline and try to hit the center for some perfect jumps, row like crazy by moving your Circle Pad around or go a sprinting rampage in the Track and Field training. There are 30 missions in total, which adds variety in a major way. A nice touch is that you can freely play the minigames once you unlocked them!

Graphically, I really like how Mario & Sonic Rio 2016 looks. The whole experience is colorful and the characters are nicely rendered on that 3D screen. Add to that a satisfying 3D effect, and you have something that is a joy to behold. The music is fantastic as well, even if those mashups are no longer present. While that is maddening to think about, the songs at least put you in a good mood.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the Nintendo 3DS is nothing more than alright. The story mode and events are fun enough, but they certainly won't last. There are no Dream Events to speak of and the multiplayer options are out of whack. These two points usually give the handheld game a lot of its charm, but it is clear that some corners have been cut. This is a shame, because I do think that they tried to do some fun things here. With the right mindset, it is still enjoyable even. The big problem is that you just have to accept a lot before you get there.