400m (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Nintendo DS)

400m is a track Athletics Event that appears in the Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. It is set in the National Stadium. The objective of the event is to run the 400 meter track in the fastest time. The starting world record for this event is 43.18, while the starting Olympic record is 43.49.

Gameplay
This event starts with the characters and their randomly chosen lane positions being announced, before showing the player in their starting position. When "Ready?" appears on the screen, the player is then able to touch and hold the stylus to the Touch Screen to charge up power, allowing them to perform a faster start. Once "Go!" appears, the player can slide to the right to start running in the event. If the player slides too early, the player will commit a foul and the event will be restarted, though if they perform a foul twice they will be slowed down by a Boo. Once the player has started the race, they must constantly slide left and right on the touch screen to build up speed. Sliding faster will cause the character to accelerate, while releasing or sliding slower will cause their speed to decrease. The player only has a limited amount of stamina, and if it is all used up the character will stagger, causing them to lose most of their speed but fully refilling the stamina level. The speed at which the character is going is indicated by a meter in the top left corner of the upper screen, with a yellow line and purple section near the end indicating the speed at which the character will begin to lose stamina, touch running at a lower speed than this will not decrease the character's stamina at all. During the final sprint, the stamina meter is removed and the player is able to run as fast as possible without losing stamina. Just before the finish line, the player is also able to tap the touch screen to lead with their chest and give them a slight boost as they cross the finish line.

Controls

 * Use the stylus to play this event.
 * When "READY?" appears, touch and keep contact with the Touch Screen to build up power.
 * When "GO!" appears, slide right to take off!
 * Run by sliding left and right on the Touch Screen.
 * The heart icon shows your character's stamina level. Adjust your speed to avoid running out of stamina.
 * As you near the goal, the limit meter disappears, and you can give yourself one last burst of speed.

Missions

 * Knuckles: Knuckles's second mission is to place second in the event.
 * Sonic: Sonic's sixth mission is to beat Mario.
 * Dr. Eggman: Dr. Eggman's second mission is to win the event without losing any stamina.
 * Bowser: Bowser's third mission is to win the event with a one second handicap.