Ah, the golden days. For anyone who grew up during the 16bit generation, there were really only two major names in the gaming industry: Sega and Nintendo. Sure you had your Capcoms, Konamis and other 3rd party developers, but the true rivalry existed amongst that of Sega's Mega Drive and Nintendo's Super Nintendo. Sides were chosen, arguments made and games enjoyed; harmony amongst the rivalry. It was only natural for this rivalry between consoles to manifest itself in the form of the two companies' icons: Sonic and Mario. While the question as to which franchise was better can never be truly answered, the rivalry amongst the two franchises seemingly spurred each other into making more and more great games.

While this rivalry gradually faded as time went on, there has always remained a hint of desire to see both characters in one game together. Sixteen years after the rivalry began, that momentousness day has arrived; Sonic and Mario in one game!

What better place for two epic rivals to meet than the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the epitome of sportsmanship and fellowship amongst competition? Shoulder to shoulder the two larger than life icons stand by side on equal platforms, as only the Olympics can offer. Who’s the greater sportsman? Sonic or Mario? While the concept is definitely a novel one, the real question is if the game lives up to this rivalry. Does the game take the gold, or just fall short of a bronze?

The game's presentation is quite nice; fans of both franchises will be met with some nice charm, including old faces in the crowd and recognizable themes & items. Likewise, the game's music is a mix of retro charm, which helps make the game feel more at home for fans of the franchises. Voice acting may get repetitive, but on all it is a decent effort made by both the voice cats of the Sonic franchise and the Mario franchise. Graphically, the game is standard fare for the Wii; it doesn't look bad, but it's nothing to drop your jaw over. While this may be a hindrance for some, the game does make up for it in others ways. For example, players have a nice range of characters from both franchises' cast of characters, from your all-stars such as Mario and Sonic to your lesser seen characters such as Daisy and Vector. The characters are placed into differing classes based on their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Knuckles is quite strong, but he isn't up to the speed of Sonic; thus he's more of a power character. While each character has their own attributes, the game is set up in away that the player won't be absolutely stumped if they're using a power character in a speed event. With the addition of Mii support, the game has a very nice list of characters, though some may be disappointed to learn that there aren't any unlockable characters.

The Olympic Games themselves have a wide assortment of events in which participants compete in, thus it's only natural for Sonic, Mario and friends to simulate just those games. Because of the Olympics wide variety, Sonic and Mario's stronger feature is just that: its variety. While some may pass it off as a mini-game fest, the game doesn't pretend to be something it's not: it's an Olympics game.

Here stands one of the game’s positives and weaknesses; while the game is definitely a party title, the normal events are still dictated by Olympic standards. For example, if a player and their friends want to play through a game of ping pong, they'll have to play all 4 rounds and score 12 points in each, which actually takes far more time that it sounds. I call this a positive and negative because it depends on the player; an Olympic fan would be glad to see the game follow through on Olympic standards, but for those who just wanted another party game it can get a bit tiring. This minor inconvenience isn't as noticeable in most events however, as most events are short or easy enough to breath through.

The range of events is quite nice, and each of them has their own unique play style. From frantically moving the wii-mote and analog up and down as fast as possible to hitting a combination of buttons to perform a trick routine, the game's variety is definitely nice. That being said, it's unfortunate that some of the games are a little finicky or weaker. Games like archery, skeet shooting and Dashes can be quite fun, while games like rowing and some of the jumping competitions can be a tad bit weaker. Also, if you don't enjoy becoming physically tired after playing a game, this may not be the game for you. The game also features "dream events" in which the characters are thrown into Sonic/Marioized Olympic events. These events aren't your Olympic standard ruled events, and power-ups from both franchises help them find some of the charm of both the Sonic & Mario games.

Just to add a quick note on the multiplayer: the game is very accommodating for those who only have limited number of wii-motes and nunchucks. While certain games require both nunchuck and wii-mote connectivity, there will never be a game that absolutely requires you to have both for more than one controller. The game allows for wii-mote only players to get in on the fun through wii-mote only gameplay sets and nunchuck sharing. While having both a nunhchuck and Wiimote for all players is the ideal scenario, the game can be enjoyed with only one nunchuck for all 4 players.

The question arises as to who this game is for; is it for the Sonic and Mario fans, the Olympic fan, or just the party game fan? It's really a mix of all those, and this may lead to some disappointment. Having being in the "Sonic and Mario fan" class, the game didn't follow though as strongly as I would of hoped for. While the game certainly has little charms that will make fans of both franchises smile, the game doesn't feel like it does a whole lot to be that "Mario and Sonic" game; if the characters were replaced by those of another franchise, the game really wouldn't lose much in the transition. For those Olympic enthusiast, the game is what one would expect from a Wii Olympic title and for that it succeeds in that aspect. However, if this had been a more traditional Olympic game, fans of the genre would probably want a bit more for their money.

Finally, for the party game fans this is a great title. Get a couple of friends over and this game will be a blast. However, this may not be the "Wii Sports 2" that some hyped it as. While the game is accessible to the beginner, it'll take a few games before a player is really capable of putting forth a feasible effort in some of the events. Trial and error is quite common in this game, and unfortunately this seems to be more of a game that you and your friends may just play through once. That's not to say that the game can't get competitive, because it can. If you're playing this game alone, you'll find some enjoyment; but don't expect too much.

On a note of single player, the game does have the option of Online leaderboards. While this option isn't the perfect online functionality of the game, it's a nice add on. For those of whom that want to go further than beating their friends and the computer time and time again, then can fight online for top scores in the leaderboards.

Overall, Sonic & Mario is a fun party game but it's not the ideal crossover game that fans have been waiting for. That being said, if you take the game for what it is you'll have a great time. Pack in your friends around the Wii and Mario & Sonic will be a hit. It may not be the perfect game, but it puts forth a nice effort to please fans. Perhaps Sonic and Mario's next crossing of paths will be more legendary.