Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (stylized as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games: Sochi 2014) is a Wii U game, and is the fourth installment in the Mario & Sonic series. It includes a variety of events from the winter games such as skiing, figure skating, and curling. As the title implies, the game is centered around the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, taking place in Sochi, Russia. Different events uses the Wii Remote Plus controller, Wii U GamePad, or both. As the other games in the series, it features realistic events with ones in Mario's and Sonic's worlds. As the game is a Wii U exclusive, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games is the first in the series to not have a handheld version. It is also the first game in the series published by Nintendo outside of Japan and South Korea rather than SEGA, who published the first three games, and the first to feature online multiplayer and a non-pre-rendered opening cutscene. This is the last game in the series to take place during the Winter Olympics.

Modes
The game features five overall modes total.

Single Match
The basic mode of play where players select one event to play in. The player can change the CPU difficulty level, the music to use in events, and extra options for certain events. The number of players and the team settings are decided upon, each player selects characters to use for an event, then the match begins.

Gameplay
Before each event, there is an event intro screen. Events where all 4 players play at once show the VS screen, displaying which players or teams they are up against. For turn-based events, the current results screen will be shown, similar to the final results screen that shows the current running order prior to the next player or team beginning their turn. For head-2-head events, the tournament grid, showing the 4 players or teams in a tournament bracket, will be shown.

For the latter two types of intro screens, these screens are shown again during the course of an event after a player or team finishes their turn in case of turn-based events, or after a round is complete in case of head-2-head events, until the final results have been determined.

There are some events that put the players in teams. There are also other events that have 8 players vying for 1st place. In certain events, the results of CPU players/teams are simulated, and are shown in the current results screen before the next player/team begins their turn. The length of an event depends on how the event is played and the game settings for the selected event.

Mario & Sonic Live
There are some events that are played without the GamePad. For these events, the Mario & Sonic Live will be displayed on the GamePad, with Toad hosting the events. Toad will comment at the start and end of events. Miis would give tips on how to play an event based off posts from the Miiverse network; due to the shutdown of Miiverse, the Penguins instead now give a preset list of tips for the event. There are some events with a track map that shows where the players are running at the moment; the map can be enlarged to fit the screen by pressing.

Results
At the end of an event, players are ranked based on how well they did in an event, such as how many points they earned, how fast they finished the course, etc. There are some events that grade players on various criteria from C- being the worst and A+ being the best; the letter grades are converted to points to give an overall result.

If the player can place in the first 3 spots in an event, they win a medal. In Figure Skating Spectacular's 2-vs-2 mode and events where there are 4 players in one team, characters never do their individual victory animations, and characters will clap for their result if they finish 2nd or 3rd. A difference between the previous games is that this game skips celebrations for CPU players that place in the top 3, and that the ceremony is done first before the final result screen, rather than after it.

After the ceremony is complete or if the player/team finishes outside the top 3, the final result screen is displayed, showing each player or team's score, which varies depending on the type of event. The player can watch the replay of a completed event by pressing. Once the player presses, the Retry menu appears that allows the player to play again, change the character or event, or go back to the main menu. There are some events without a final result screen or replay, so the Retry menu will pop up at the point where the final result screen should appear after such events.

Records
The player can see which medals they won and the best record they have set in the Select Event screen. Records can be set in events that feature them, but they can only be set in Single Player or Co-op; multiplayer versus or team battles do not allow records to be set, like the 2009 Wii game. Also from the 2009 Wii game, Best Runs can only be set in single player mode. However, certain challenges can be cleared in multiplayer versus or team battles.

More details on the player's record for a specific event can be displayed in the Road to Victory channel on the GamePad. This channel allows the player to view a history of their results in the events they have participated in, the accomplishments they have made, as well as a graph showing up to 20 of the player's most recent attempts, the change in score from the first attempt to the most recent attempt, in addition to two other statistics.

Tournament Events
The following 5 events have only two players or teams compete: These events are played in a tournament fashion. The number of players and the team setup determine what happens next:
 * Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom
 * Ice Hockey
 * Curling
 * Snow Day Street Hockey
 * Snowball Scrimmage
 * 1-2 Players, Team Versus or Co-op Play: The human players/teams automatically go to the Finals and players simply do 1 round to fight off for 1st or 2nd; this makes getting 3rd or 4th impossible.
 * 3 Player Free-for-All: The seeding is determined randomly. The seeding determines who gets a bye in the first round and is guaranteed at least 2nd place. The loser of the first round gets 3rd place; the winner of that round faces off against the player that got a bye in the first round to battle for 1st or 2nd. Total length for the whole event is twice as long.
 * It should be noted that although there are 3 players/teams in the tournament bracket when playing with this number of players and with this team setup, there are actually 4 players/teams competing; the CPU player/team will always be listed as 4th place (only noticeable in Medley Mania) despite not even appearing on the tournament bracket.
 * 4 Player Free-for-All: The seeding is determined randomly. Two semifinal matches are played to determine who will play for 1st or 2nd and who will play for 3rd or 4th. After this, the match for 3rd place is played, followed by the match for 1st place. Total length for the whole event is 4 times longer than normal.
 * In each round, the lower player number of the two participating players in the round will use the GamePad.

Medley Mania
4 players, either in a free-for-all or in a 2-vs-2 battle, compete in a medley to see who is the best player or team across a series of events. When playing with 3 or 4 players, a 2-vs-2 match can also be played. The game settings, CPU difficulty and the music track set for the individual events in the Single Match mode will also apply to the same events in the medley. The player can also win medals, records, and challenges in Medley Mania mode, though this can only be done during a single player session.

Gameplay
Gameplay for events in Medley Mania are the same as in Single Match. Events usually will be played in a free-for-all; the exception is if the medley is played in 2-vs-2 mode and the event allows players to split into pairs. For events that are played in 2-vs-2 mode, the team setup for the event will be the same as the team setup for the medley.

The player's objective here is to perform the best they can out of all events played in the medley against the other players. The results of all rounds that are played are tallied up to determine the final ranking for each player in the medley; the better the player does in the events, the better their final ranking will be.

Before each round is a splash screen showing the medley being played, the current round number of the medley, and the event that will take place. The current medley standings are only displayed on the GamePad until the final event is complete.

Star System
In Medley Mania, a star system is used to determine the winner of a medley. The way stars are awarded to players at the end of each event is very simple. In this system, all players earn one star, plus one additional star for each opponent they beat within a round in the medley. In other words, stars are awarded as follows: Before selecting a character, human players can choose whether they can have a "Handicap Bonus"; if enabled, 2 extra stars are given for each top 2 finish, meaning 6 and 5 stars will be awarded to 1st and 2nd, respectively. Note that even with this option On, there is no bonus for finishing outside the top 2. This option is not available for CPU players; it is locked to Off.
 * 1st: 4 stars
 * 2nd: 3 stars
 * 3rd: 2 stars
 * 4th: 1 star

In 2-vs-2 medleys, star accumulation for each event varies depending on the multiplayer formation of the event. In a free-for-all, the total amount of stars both players earn from their finish positions are added to the team's score; for 2-vs-2 events, the winning team earns 7 stars and the losing team earns 3 stars.

Extra characters (as a teammate or an opponent) are chosen at random for events that feature them. However, they do not influence the amount of stars a player or team earns at the end of a round, even if a player wins or loses against them. Stars will be awarded based on only the player's results against the 3 other players participating in the medley.

The amount of stars a player has earned does not determine the seeding in tournament-based events; the seeding for these events will be determined the same way as in Single Match. In addition, when 3 players are playing an event in a medley that is played in a tournament style, the CPU player will earn 1 star for the 4th position, despite not even appearing in the tournament bracket screen.

Final Results
At the end of a medley, the Award Ceremony scene is shown where characters are ranked based off the amount of stars they earned in each event.
 * In 2-vs-2 mode, special winning animations may also occur depending on which characters were on the winning team, just like in Single Match.
 * The Award Ceremony scene is still shown in 1 player mode even if the player places 4th; if that is the case, the music for 2nd/3rd place will play during the ceremony.
 * Characters never do their losing animation in the ceremony screen if they place last (they will always wave to the screen no matter what).
 * If there is a tie for a position, the lowest player number will always win.

The Medley Mania final results screen will show a standings list of all players and the amount of stars earned.
 * A replay of the last event that the players have competed in will be shown.
 * If the last event of a medley does not have a final results screen or a replay, the medley's final results screen will take place after the ceremony where all action in the ceremony is frozen.
 * In 2-vs-2 mode, it will show the teams in the medley and their total scores.

Scoreboard
The scoreboard shows the position and how many stars each player has accumulated over the course of the medley, and whether or not they are given a Handicap Bonus. The scoreboard is shown on the GamePad. In the case of 2-vs-2 medleys, the scoreboard will show both teams and the players in each team, the position that team is in, and the total amount of stars the team has earned.

The scoreboard is always shown at the start and end of events, during events that don't use the GamePad, and during the Award Ceremony scene; for events that use the GamePad, the scoreboard will be hidden for the duration of the event until the Final Results screen. For events that do not use the GamePad, the scoreboard will replace the live TV screen and the track maps for racing events that feature them.

Medley List
The player can play in 8 pre-made medleys, plus one user-made medley.

Sonic Stage Medley

 * 1) Roller Coaster Bobsleigh
 * 2) Hole-In-One Curling
 * 3) Bullet Bill Sledge Race
 * 4) Sonic's Figure Skating Spectacular

Mario Stage Medley

 * 1) Groove Pipe Snowboard
 * 2) Snow Day Street Hockey
 * 3) Snowball Scrimmage
 * 4) Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular

Jumping Medley

 * 1) Ski Jumping Large Hill
 * 2) Snowboard Slopestyle
 * 3) Freestyle Skiing Moguls

Teamwork Medley

 * 1) Bullet Bill Sledge Race
 * 2) Curling
 * 3) Ice Hockey

Ice Medley

 * 1) Figure Skating Singles
 * 2) Figure Skating Pairs
 * 3) Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular
 * 4) Sonic's Figure Skating Spectacular

Lock-On Medley

 * 1) Snowball Scrimmage
 * 2) Curling
 * 3) Biathlon

Speed Medley

 * 1) Alpine Skiing Downhill
 * 2) Speed Skating 500m
 * 3) Skeleton
 * 4) Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom

Racing Medley

 * 1) Snowboard Cross
 * 2) Short Track Speed Skating 1000m
 * 3) Freestyle Ski Cross
 * 4) Winter Sports Champion Race

Custom Medley
The player can create a custom medley by pressing the Edit button, and selecting from 2 to 5 events that the player wants in their medley. is used to remove events from the medley. Note that the order the events will be played in is based off the order the player has picked the events in the Select Event screen, so will need to be used if the player wants to change the order the events are played in. Once the player has chosen the events they want in their custom medley, the player presses the Save button to finish.

Worldwide VS
Players can compete against up to 3 other friends or players around the world online. There are always 4 players in a match, if less than 4 players gather up at the conclusion of the entry period, the rest of the field are filled with computer players. Note that when playing with friends, only players that are friends with the user of the first player's console can join. Competing in online matches raises a player's Strength Points, which helps contribute to their selected country's ranking. However, losing matches has a chance to lower a player's Strength Points. The Strength Points are shown after going past the event results screen, and it will show whether that value has increased or decreased. The rank for the player's country in each event is shown before the player selects an event to compete in.

There are 4 events to compete in on Worldwide VS:
 * Freestyle Ski Cross
 * Snowboard Cross
 * Short Track Speed Skating 1000m
 * Winter Sports Champion Race

Prologue Quotes

 * "Twenty contenders from the worlds of Mario & Sonic join forces to compete in Legends Showdown."
 * "To come out on top and win the Legend Trophy, they must triumph over tough opponents."
 * "The contenders split into teams of four and compete in events that take place in five areas."
 * ''"Emerge victorious to take home the illustrious Legend Trophy!

Gameplay
The player competes on all events in the game, which are split into 6 areas. The player earns points based on how much they win an event by; the higher the margin, the more points earned. The maximum amount of points possible in an event is 1,000; the minimum points the player can win is 200 for most events. Friend AI can also appear, and also are worth 500 bonus points for that area if one should appear.

During an area, the points the player earned from events can be seen on the GamePad; once an area is complete, the TV screen will display the amount of points earned in each event. A rank will also be given with A+ being the best and C- being the worst, which depends on the number of points scored in that area.

In each area, the player selects a character from the 4 available from each area. In each event except the last event of each area and in events where a Friend AI takes over, the player competes against a dark form of the player's selected character, in which their name in-game is listed as three question marks. The last event of an area involves fighting a rival. In all events, the player must simply redo the event if they lose. Records can also be set in events played in Legends Showdown.

Area List
The characters and events for each area, as well as the rivals for each of the final events, are shown.

Area 1
Characters are Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Sonic, and Tails.

Events:
 * 1) Alpine Skiing Downhill
 * 2) Speed Skating 500m
 * 3) Snowboard Cross
 * 4) BOSS: Ice Hockey vs Birdo

Area 2
Characters are Waluigi, Wario, Knuckles, and Amy.

Events: Note: Magikoopa is called Kamek in the British English version of the game.
 * 1) Figure Skating Singles
 * 2) Biathlon
 * 3) Skeleton
 * 4) BOSS: Bullet Bill Sledge Race vs Magikoopa

Area 3
Characters are Daisy, Luigi, Shadow, and Vector.

Events:
 * 1) 4-man Bobsleigh
 * 2) Snowball Scrimmage
 * 3) Curling
 * 4) Snow Day Street Hockey
 * 5) BOSS: Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom vs Jet

Area 4
Characters are Mario, Peach, Silver, and Blaze.

Events:
 * 1) Freestyle Skiing Moguls
 * 2) Groove Pipe Snowboard
 * 3) Figure Skating Pairs
 * 4) Hole-In-One Curling
 * 5) BOSS: Short Track Speed Skating 1000m vs King Boo

Area 5
Characters are Bowser, Bowser Jr., Dr. Eggman, and Metal Sonic.

Events: Note: Records cannot be set on Figure Skating Spectacular in Legends Showdown as this is programmed as a 4 vs 4 event; they can only be set in 1-player mode on Single Match or Medley Mania.
 * 1) Freestyle Ski Cross
 * 2) Snowboard Slopestyle
 * 3) Figure Skating Spectacular
 * 4) Ski Jumping Large Hill
 * 5) BOSS: Roller Coaster Bobsleigh vs Omega

Area 6
The player selects any of the 20 characters and competes in Winter Sports Champion Race against Eggman Nega, Dry Bowser, and Rouge. When the player finishes the event in 1st place, they clear the mode and the credits will play.

Action & Answer Tour
This mode is about playing in Olympic Events with questions thrown in within the events and answering them.

Gameplay
The players compete for points by travelling to a number of different venues and answering questions that occur in the middle of events.
 * The player can choose to play 4, 6 or 8 rounds.
 * Each round is an event, which is mostly determined randomly.
 * There are some random events that can happen during gameplay, which can occur either before or after a minigame.
 * A random minigame is selected based on where the event takes place in.
 * The title for each minigame is usually named "(description) & Answer".
 * A minigame with the same title may not necessarily be played the same way, depending on the question that is asked for the minigame.
 * The multiplayer formation for the minigame may not necessarily be the same as the multiplayer formation of the event that is being played.
 * Players play the event according to the minigame's rules and score points based on their results.
 * The player can view the tutorial for an event, or practice an event before trying it out for real.
 * The way a player inputs an answer to a question varies depending on the event and minigame.
 * After the end of all the rounds, the player with the highest score wins.
 * If there is a tie for 1st, a tiebreaker question is held among the players that tie. If three or more players tie for 1st, a tiebreaker question will only determine the winner; all other players receive 2nd place.
 * If there is a tie for 2nd or 3rd place, it will not be broken and the players that tie share that position.

Point System
In most cases, 10 points are awarded to the winner of a minigame. However, this can change at certain points of a game, such as when it is the final round. It is possible for multiple players to be correct depending on how the minigame was played. There are some minigames that award a different number of points to players in the order they answered or where they finished in: There are some minigames where all players are always correct, even if they finish with a score of 0 on that minigame. There are other minigames where points are solely based off how many points they earned in the minigame, and there are also extra chances to earn more points depending on what happens in the game.
 * 1st: 10 points
 * 2nd: 6 points
 * 3rd: 4 points
 * 4th: 2 points

In the final round, there is a thing called "Last Chance Points", where players roll a roulette to determine the amount of points the winner will receive. The sum of the displayed numbers in the roulettes will be used to determine the point total the winner will get, which ranges between 8 and 28. The roulette that will be used is determined by the point differential between first and last; if the point differential is 20 or more, the roulette will have numbers between 3 and 7, otherwise, the roulette will instead have numbers between 2 and 6. If the last minigame can award partial points to players, the amount of points that would be earned normally, multiplied by one-tenth the maximum amount of points possible for that round, would be the amount of points the player would earn for that round; if the result is not a whole number, it is rounded down.

Scoreboard
The scoreboard in Action & Answer Tour shows the position and how many points each player has accumulated over the course of the game, which is shown on the GamePad.

The scoreboard is always shown at the start of a match, during intermissions, for events that don't use the GamePad, and at the end of a match; for events that use the GamePad, the scoreboard will be hidden for the duration of the event until the event ends.

Playable characters
The game features a total of 21 playable characters. All playable characters in this game are identical to those featured in the Wii versions of the previous two installments.

All-Around Type

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Bowser Jr.

Speed Type

 * Daisy
 * Yoshi

Power Type

 * Bowser
 * Wario
 * Donkey Kong

Skill Type

 * Peach
 * Waluigi

All-Around Type

 * Amy Rose
 * Blaze the Cat

Speed Type

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Metal Sonic

Power Type

 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Vector the Crocodile

Skill Type

 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Silver the Hedgehog

Other

 * Mii

Non-playable characters

 * Toads
 * Lakitu
 * Espio
 * Shy Guy
 * Pianta
 * Chao
 * Omochao
 * Koopa Troopas
 * Wisps
 * Animal Friends
 * Orbot and Cubot

Legends Showdown Rivals

 * Team Birdo (Ice Hockey)
 * Birdo
 * Blue Birdo
 * Yellow Birdo
 * Green Birdo
 * Kamek (Bullet Bill Sledge Race)
 * Jet (Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom)
 * King Boo (Short Track Speed Skating 1000m)
 * Omega (Roller Coaster Bobsleigh)
 * Team Eggman Nega (Winter Sports Champion Race)
 * Eggman Nega
 * Dry Bowser
 * Rouge

Figure Skating Spectacular Bosses

 * Tail Bowser
 * Rotatatron

Events
The game features 16 Olympic events and 8 dream events.

Costumes
As with the previous games, there are a variety of collectable costumes for the player to use for their Mii character. All the costumes from Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games return (with the exception of the Wenlock Costume, being replaced by the mascots of the new Olympic games). The method for unlocking them is different also; instead of buying them from a shop using in-game points, they are obtained by completing specific challenges (the same applies for all unlockable music, which exclusively includes music from past Super Mario games and past Sonic games). Here is a list of costumes and their unlocking requirements.

Music
Most of the songs used are from past installments.

Returning music

 * "Ground Theme" from Super Mario Bros.
 * "Athletic Theme" from Super Mario Bros. 3
 * "Main Theme" from Super Mario World
 * "Main Theme" from Super Mario 64
 * "Bowser's Domain" from Super Mario 64
 * "Athletic Theme" from New Super Mario Bros.
 * "Gusty Garden Galaxy" from Super Mario Galaxy
 * "Purple Comet" from Super Mario Galaxy
 * "Coconut Mall" from Mario Kart Wii
 * "Underwater Theme" from Super Mario Bros.
 * "Main Theme" from Super Mario Bros. 3
 * "Mario Circuit" from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
 * "Coincentration" from Super Mario 64 DS
 * "Underwater Theme" from New Super Mario Bros.
 * "Wario's Gold Mine" from Mario Kart Wii
 * "Main Theme" from New Super Mario Bros. Wii
 * "Puzzle Plank" from Super Mario Galaxy 2

New music

 * "Ending Theme" from Super Mario World*
 * "Credits Theme" from Super Mario 64
 * "Slider" from Super Mario 64
 * "Mushroom Bridge" from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
 * "Daisy Circuit" from Mario Kart Wii
 * "Rainbow Road" from Mario Kart Wii
 * "Good Egg Galaxy" from Super Mario Galaxy*
 * "Buoy Base Galaxy" from Super Mario Galaxy
 * "Bowser's Galaxy Generator" from Super Mario Galaxy 2

Returning music

 * "Angel Island" from Sonic the Hedgehog 3
 * "Palm Tree Panic" from Sonic the Hedgehog CD
 * "Emerald Coast" from Sonic Adventure
 * "Metal Harbor" from Sonic Adventure 2
 * "City Escape" from Sonic Adventure 2
 * "Sonic Heroes" from Sonic Heroes
 * "Seaside Hill" from Sonic Heroes
 * "Right There, Right On" from Sonic Rush
 * "Rooftop Run" from ''Sonic Unleashed
 * "Flying Battery Zone" from Sonic & Knuckles
 * "Windy and Ripply", for Emerald Coast from Sonic Adventure
 * "His World" from Sonic the Hedgehog
 * "New Venture" from Sonic Rush Adventure
 * "Let the Speed Mend It" from Sonic and the Secret Rings
 * "Misty Lake" from Sonic and the Black Knight
 * "Reach for the Stars" from Sonic Colors
 * "Tropical Resort" from Sonic Colors

New music
A * denotes that the song appeared in a previous title, but was not a customizable song.
 * "Diamond Dust Zone" from Sonic 3D Blast
 * "Super Sonic Racing" from Sonic R
 * "Radical Highway" from Sonic Adventure 2*
 * "Neo Green Hill" from Sonic Advance
 * "Leaf Forest" from Sonic Advance 2
 * "Route 99" from Sonic Advance 3
 * "Blizzard Peaks Act 1" from Sonic Rush Adventure
 * "Cool Edge" from Sonic Unleashed
 * "White Park Zone Act 2" from Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
 * "Sweet Mountain Act 1" from Sonic Colors

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: Part of the main theme from this game is arranged as part of the music in Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: An arrangement of the boss theme from this game appears as part of the music in Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular.
 * Super Mario Land: An arrangement of the main theme from this games appears as a selectable song in Figure Skating Pairs.
 * Super Mario World: A remix of the main theme from this game appears as a selectable song in Figure Skating Singles.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: Snow Day Street Hockey takes place in Delfino Plaza from this game.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Groove Pipe Snowboard takes place in Mushroom Bridge from this game.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular is themed after this game, and mainly features music from it.
 * Mario Tennis Open: Luigi's pose on the character selection screen is the same as his artwork from this game (albeit mirrored).

References in other games

 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: The character select screen animations are reused in this game.

Critical reception
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games received mixed reviews from critics. IGN gave the game a 4.5 (a "Bad" rating). They praised its large quantities of unlockables, but criticized its lack of games to be played online. GameXplain gave the single player mode a 3/5 stars and its multiplayer a 3.5/5. Destructoid gave the game a 6.0. The game received a score of 49% from Official Nintendo Magazine - while they praised the game's "TV-show-style to menus and games", they criticized the controls (describing them as "almost universally abject") and the event gameplay.

Trivia

 * The game features some special animations for certain pairs of characters, such as Mario and Peach, for whenever the player gets first place in an event.