Cross-Country

Cross-Country is a Skiing Event that appears in the Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. The objective of the event is to complete two laps of the course in the fastest time, with the event taking place in the Whistler Olympic Park. The starting course record for this event is 14:35.356.

Gameplay
In this event, the player starts by pressing the A Button when "Go!" appears onscreen, however can hold the A Button beforehand to charge up energy to allow them to perform a faster start. If the player presses the button when "2" appears onscreen and releases it with perfect timing, they will be able to perform a starting dash, which will give them a large speed boost for a short amount of time immediately after starting. Once the event has started, the player can move their character up and down using the Control Pad. The player should aim to keep their character within the lanes, as less stamina is lost when accelerating in these areas, but is able to move freely anywhere on the course. To accelerate, the player must repeatedly press the A Button, however this will deplete the player's stamina. the player only has a limited amount of stamina, which is depleted more quickly when accelerating uphill and outside of lanes. The player can regain stamina as well as filling their sprint gauge and accelerating by either crouching a downhill section using the B Button, skiing through a turquoise recovery area, or closely following another character to enter their slipstream. When the player fills their sprint gauge, they are able to earn sprint icons, which a maximum of three of can be stored at a time. To use them, the player must press the X Button, and when used the character will gain a large boost of speed for a short amount of time, however the boost will be cancelled if the player hits a rival while using it. The character that completes two laps of the course in the fastest time wins the event.

Rule Info
Four competitors ski over a track with uphill and downhill sections, vying for the best time.

Basic Controls

 * Press the A Button to start!
 * Press up / down on the +Control Pad to move.
 * Mash the A Button to use stamina to accelerate!
 * Stop mashing to recover stamina!
 * Stay in a lane to retain stamina and accelerate.
 * It's slower and more tiring between lanes.
 * Hold the B Button to crouch!
 * Crouching on down slopes makes you accelerate!
 * The sprint gauge rises in recovery areas.
 * You can get up to three sprint icons!

Advanced Tips

 * On "2" in the starting count, press and hold
 * the A Button for a starting dash!
 * Get behind a rival to enter their slipstream!
 * You'll fill you sprint gauge and gain stamina!
 * Press the X Button when you have
 * Sprint Icons to unleash a burst of speed!