Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo DS)

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is a Nintendo DS game within the Mario & Sonic series and the handheld counterpart of the Wii game of the same name. It features Mario, Sonic, and various characters from their respective home franchises against each other in Olympic events. The game has the official Beijing 2008 Olympics license, and features environments based on actual Olympic venues. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection prior to its closure on May 20, 2014.

Although both Nintendo and Sega worked on this collaboration, most of the development was handled by Sega. However, as the game was completed, Sega did publishing and marketing duties for all versions outside of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Nintendo did publishing and marketing duties for the Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese versions.

Originally, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was considered an April Fools' joke, as the game was revealed on March 28, 2007. However, soon after, Sega stated on their official website that the game is official, and that both Sega and Nintendo are working on this game project. Shigeru Miyamoto then soon confirmed that he would be supervising the project, confirming Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games to be real.

In June 2008, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games received a port for mobile phones titled Sonic at the Olympic Games, and is titled as such because no Mario characters make an appearance.

Circuit
In Circuit mode, the player can play through several circuits made up of various events in the game, with the aim of scoring the most points for winning events. The player earns 10 points for every event in the circuit that they win, 8 points for placing second, 6 points for placing third and 4 points for coming in fourth. The player can also use a Circuit Chance, which is a boost that can only be used once per circuit to double the points that the player receives for the event. The character with the most points at the end of all the events wins the circuit, and the player can win unique trophies for each circuit by placing in first. Completing circuits allows the player to unlock new events, circuits and circuit classes.

The circuits are split into three classes: Beginner's Class, Advanced Class and Master's Class. In the Beginner's Class, all five of the circuits have three events. Four of the circuits are unlocked at the start of the game, with the fifth being unlocked by completing the other five. In the Advanced Class, the five circuits have four events each, ad are all unlocked by completing the previous circuit or by playing a specific number of Free Match events. Master's Class' six circuits are unlocked in the same way, with each circuit containing five events.

Free
In Free, the player can make and play their own circuits of between three and five events using any events that they have unlocked. The player can also use the random button to generate a circuit with five random events. Once the events have been selected, the circuit is played as usual with the same point scoring system and circuit chances. Player-made circuits are not saved in the game and must be remade to be played again.

Mission
In Mission mode, players can play a number of different challenges based around events with certain limitations or restrictions, such as time penalties or score requirements. Each character has five missions unlocked by default, represented by a circle of stars next to the character on the character select screen in Mission mode. Each time a mission is completed, a star will be filled in. Completing all five of a character's missions will earn the player the character's respective emblem.

Collection
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games features four different types of collectibles that can be viewed in the records section. The player can view the medals that they have earned for each event with all of the characters, as well as collectibles that require the player to meet certain conditions to earn. The player can earn trophies by completing each of the game's circuits, emblems by fulfilling various conditions, such as completing missions and achieving perfect scores in events, and crowns by winning gold medals with all of the characters in an event. Similar emblems are featured in the Wii version of the game.

Gallery
In the Gallery mode, players can play minigames to unlock trivia about the Olympic Games. There are five sections of trivia to unlock, each tied to a certain type of minigame. Within each section, there are five pieces of trivia to be unlocked, each behind a door corresponding to the colors of the Olympic rings. Initially the player is only presented with a question, but unlocks the answer once the target score in the minigame is reached. For the first four doors in a section, the player also unlocks the next door once the target score is hit, though for the fifth door, the player unlocks two songs, one from the Mario franchise and one from the Sonic franchise, that can be played on the jukebox in the gallery. The songs are unlocked in a specific order based on the number of green door minigames completed, rather than specific songs being tied to specific sections. The songs unlocked in order are: Once the minigames are unlocked, the player can replay them at any level through the doors. Each minigame level also holds a record which can be set when it is replayed after earning the initial score.
 * Tetris DS Mario Puzzle Mix / SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Green Hill Zone
 * Super Mario 64 DS Mini-Games Coincentration / SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Star Light Zone
 * Tetris DS Bowser Battle / SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Emerald Hill Zone
 * Super Mario 64 DS Mini-Games Bounce and Pounce / SONIC RUSH Right There, Ride On
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Mario Bros. Circuits / SONIC RUSH ADVENTURE New Venture

Playable characters
The game features sixteen playable characters; eight from the Mario franchise and eight from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. These sixteen characters are broken up into four groups of four characters. All-Around, which consists of characters who neither excel or descend in any type of abilities. Speed, which consists of characters who are best at agility and stamina based events. Skill, which consists of characters who are above average skill and stamina, but have low power and top speeds. Power, which consists of characters who are best at strength and endurance based events.

In Dream Fencing and Dream Table Tennis, players can use special attacks, which are powerful moves that inflict more damage or knock the opponent out of the ring (Dream Fencing), or hit the ball with more power (Dream Table Tennis).

Referees

 * Espio
 * Charmy Bee
 * Cream
 * Toad
 * Lakitu
 * Shy Guy

Species

 * Egg Pawn
 * Goomba
 * Kiki
 * Boo
 * Egg Flapper
 * Bullet Bill
 * Bob-omb
 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa

Pre-release and unused content
Peach and Daisy were originally going to have swimsuits for the aquatic events rather than using their athletic wear as they do in the final game. However, the idea was rejected by Nintendo. Eventually, Peach, Daisy, Amy, and Blaze were given swimsuits in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, with more of the game's cast receiving swimwear in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

References to other games

 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: The Mario Bros. Circuits music that appears in the Gallery is used in Mario Circuit, Luigi Circuit and Yoshi Circuit in this game.
 * Super Mario 64 DS: The Mini-Games Coincentration and Mini-Games Bounce and Pounce songs that appear in the Gallery originate from this game.
 * Tetris DS: The Mario Puzzle Mix and Bowser Battle songs that can be selected in the Gallery originate from this game.

Mario

 * "Oh, Mario get you next time!"
 * "Wahoo! I'm the winner!"
 * "Ah, mamma mia!"
 * "I did it, so nice!"

Luigi

 * "Ohhh! Luigi lost!"
 * "Oh yeah! Who's number one now? Luigi!"
 * "Oh, it's not that bad!"
 * "Awww. Oh well, next time."

Sonic

 * "Phew. Just made it!"
 * "It's all about speed!"
 * "Yeah! That was sweet!"
 * "Aw, messed up!"

Trivia

 * The DVD set of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 was re-released in a double pack with The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 1 to tie in with the release of this game.