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[VEDJ-F]

Another story update!

Wild Ones Episode 1; The Banana Incident

-Donkey is just innocently working out, about to have a post-exercise banana. Suddenly, Tails reports that Omega's gone out of control and WHA HUH SINCE WHEN THE FUCK.
-Espio tells the giant ape to escape, but DK does get what Omega has to do with him.
-Omega collides into DK, which is enough to stop him. DK is fine, of course. Because nobody fucks with DK.
-Espio is peeved because he doesn't know what to do with Omega now. Omega gets up and challenges DK. DK atarts to walk away, Tails tells Omega that he has to stop this, ans Espio says that they'll accept his challenge. DK only bothers to fight because Omega wasted his banana.
-Tails asks Espio what they should do. Espio says that they'll just have to let him handle it. YOU WERE THE ONE WHO ACCEPTED IT, YOU'D BETTER NOT PUSSY OUT.
-DK says he'll honour the banana, Tails cheers supportingly, Espio does nothing.
-The challenge is the wrestling event. Oh my God, is it hard. :/
-Eventually, DK mourns over his empty loss as it won't bring back his banana.
-A part falls out of Omega. it seems to be a brainwahing chip, as Tails deduces (and Espio doesn't).
-When Omega hears that Eggman might have put it in, he's horrified. DK is also mad. Espio explain what Eggman's doing and DK gets madder.
-Espio points out that since the fog is thinning, they must be getting desperate, which is why Omega was used. Omega sounds so upset when he say his line...
-Espio just turns to him surprised and just says "...". He's not impressed.
-DK tell Omega that he has to help beat Eggman before he'll forgive him, and Omega vows to prove himself to the hairy ape. Aw!
-Espio tells Tails that they should hurry to the main stadium, Omega goes with them.


Wild Ones Episode 2; Corner the Koopa King!

-Sonic runs onto a volleyball pitch, when Knuckles calls to him to watch out, before Bowser stamps straight in front of Sonic. Fast start, much?
-Bowser says that he's impressed, before Knuckles comes and insults Sonic a bit. Also Vector, but he hasn't spoken yet.
-When he does, he says that Amy went crying to them, insisting that they scout the area. They found Mr.Turtle, but he managed to escape in the fog.
-Knuckles has an ego trip before Vector affirms that he sent out Espio to give Sonic tip and that they've been waiting for him. So there WAS some degree of communication between them.
-Knuckles tells him to cover one of Bowser's sides, Vector does a weird stance while telling Bowser that he can't run, and Bowser says that he wasn't running away, he was coming for Sonic. Knuckles is agitated when Bowser calls them deluded, but Vector stays calm and comes out with a pretty solid one-liner;
"Yeah, if I can't handle this, I'm not fit to run my Chaotix Detective Agency!"
Another great couple of lines;
Knux: "Think of us as warm-ups and you're liable to get burned!"
Vector: "Because we're about to turn up the heat!"
-Screw Knuckles, I'll just do Vector's two event chains.
-The first one is Weightlifting, it's cool. The second is football, it's not. The third one is rings, it's hilarious when Vector goes splat. The Vector Special is also funny.
-After that, there's another one. The first of the medley is boxing, it's okay. The second is weightlifting, it's been covered. The third is Double Trap, it's ace!
-After all that work, Bowser is apparently confused as to what they're going to do, despite the fog machine that's been sitting behind them all this time. Vector keeps staring at him as Knuckles points it out.
-Bowser gets really huffy here, but Vector stops him doing anything by playing it cool again.
-Bowser's now pretty upset,and doesn't know how he'll explain this to Eggman.
-"No need to thank me. The Chaotix Detective Agency is always on the side of justice!"
-Vector tells Sonic that he and Knuckles will interrogate Bowser, and the episode ends.


Hopefully they mess it up, because Vector hasn't had any bumbling so far, and neither has Espio. Just Charmy...

[VEDJ-F]

Tricksters now, and we're nearing the end of the story!


Tricksters Episode 1; Waluigi's Ambition

-Waluigi is observing the tennis court with his self-invented Waluigiscopes, with which he intend to watch Luigi with to learn his weaknesses. Right. the Shy Guys call them binoculars and want to borrow them.
-After all, Metal Sonic just walks into the scene and bumps into him. Now that is funny.
-He managed to break Waluigi's binoculars, and after an aggressive encounter, Metal challenges Waluigi.
-Metal suddenly spots Charmy and Luigi. Charmy is making funny comments again. Waluigi continues with his challenge.
-First in my chosen challenge was Badminton (singles). It's not that easy, but it's still monotonous. Next is Handball, I guess it's alright. And then there's Taekwondo, it's awesome.
-Waluigi gloats as Metal SOnic laments his loss. He then runs off, leaving Waluigi confused and still upset over his binoculars. Charmy and Luigi decide to chase after them.


Tricksters Episode 2; Wario's Scheme

-Wario walks into a foggy town and decides it'd be a great place to make money.He plan to sell fast food with a huge mark-up. Of course, the fog is getting in the way of that.
-Right in front of him is a fog machine. He wants to turn it off at first, but then here comes the E.G.G.M.A.N.!
-"Well, if it isn't Dr Egghead."
-Wario and Eggman dispute over the territory, which devolves into bickering. Eggman decides to challenge Wario.
-There's just one challenge, but it has FIVE EVENTS. Ugh. Long Jump; Okay. 1000m Kayak; Mario Party all over again! Handball; Been there. 25m Parid Fire Pistol; Cool. Taekwondo; Done that.
-When Wario wins, Mario and Toad show up. They do fuck all as Wario tries to bust the fog machine...but it's a hologram!
-Wario chases down Eggman for that pratfall.

Tricksters Episode 3; Stop Dr. Eggman!

-Wario and Waluigi meet each other chasing down Metal and Eggman. Their exchange is short at first, but then Waluigi propositions him with a monetary reward, so he agrees.
-Eggman is by the real fog machine, lamenting his detours. he goes over to confront the two with Metal Sonic not far behind. They all start arguing, and Toad, Mario, Luigi and Charmy have managed to catch up.
-Charny wants to stop them, but Mario tells them that they should watch.
-The tricksters keep arguing.
-For this challenge, I went for Synchronised Platform Diving. It's decent and easy, so what can I say after that 5-event marathon?
-Eggman and Metal Sonic clap their foes. Eggman is conficent that he can get away, but Wario has another plan! He's going to destory the now unguarded machine! Oops!
-Eggman is devastated.

Event; Clear Skies Again

-Everyone on the WO teama that had been recruited return to the stadium.
-"Indeed. Nothing better than the satisfaction of a good day's work!"~The reason Espio doesn't want to quit.
-The trickster teams also return.
-Omochao introduces Toad to Omega.
-Omega owes his gratitude to DK for the repairs. Aww!
-Charmy has to admit to Espio that he did nothing at all. Oh well, they all laugh.
-Everyone goes to get the other competitors.
-As Knuckles tries to punch Bowser, he discovers that it's a hologram! Oh noes!
-And Wario and Waluigi find the same thing with Eggman! Egads!
-The real villains are still in Big Ben with the main fog machine. Eggman has another trick up his sleeve; he can turbo the main machine to make 10x as much fog!
-When Eggman presses the button however, it backfires onto them! "Whoa, whoa! You sure this thing's safe, Eggy?!"
-The fog powers them up for some reason, and the game is on again as fog pours out of Big Ben!

[VEDJ-F]

And yet more stuff!


Heroes Episode 3; A Rainbow in Fog

-Everyone stumbles around with no dialogue as they manage to eventually meet up again.
-They try to figure out the new source, and Tails notices that the fog is a different colour.
-A voice cries out, and it turns out to be...Cream and Cheese! Except she's being confronted by phantasmal clones! She's attacked while two Shy Guys panic!
-The heroes come in the nick of time to stop them.
-Again with four challenges, I went for 100m freestyle, Sprint, 20km Race Walk (hilarious, I wish I could do it with Vector) and Horizontal Bar (meh).
-The clones disappear straight away, and Cream thanks them.
-they wonder about the last fog machine until Omega remembers that he met the minions, and that recalled a site with large stones. So, time to go to Stonehenge!
-Omochao gives Toad a walkie-talkie before they set off.

Heroes Episode 4; To The Ruins!

-The Heroes (and Omega and Toad) arrive there, but then Froggy flies across fast as lightning!

...bear with me here.

-The heroes find a magikoopa in the fog. Omega goes to question the magikoopa, but it thinks Omega's still a minion. He's surprised to see the heroes there!
-Magikoopa challenges Omega to an Olympic event...but then Sonic steps in, avoiding the awesome fight of Omega vs Magikoopa.
-This challenge is BMXing! I actually got the landing down right this time, so it was easy.
-After the challenge, Magikoopa blasts Omega away. Dick.
-The heroes see if he's okay, and then Big spots them. Woot.
-Big apparently made his own way to see England.
-It turns out that Big saved Omega with his big belly. Huh.
-Magikoopa escapes...slightly, since he only floats up to talk to Lakitu, apparently they're looking for a lid...
-Omega recalls this as he remembers that he was sent to deliver the urn to Eggman. Bowser apparently messed it up a little.
-Omega finally reveals the main hiding spot of the villains, and then he recall that the lid is nearby. Omega tells the heroes to seal the urn.
-Big wishes the guys good luck as they go to Big Ben, and Toad thanks him.
-Froggy turns up finally. Looks a bit like his Adventure model. Big shoves him into the hammerspace in his...ass.


Heroes Episode 5; The Promise to Toad

-When the Heroes get to London, Omega warns them that the fog is dangerously dense. More fucking phantasmal clones of the heroes show up.
-Only three need to be done this time, but most of them are in three event medleys! I won't even bother listing all the pain right now.
-After all THAT, the clones disappear again. Toad appears to have been suffering health problems, but now the fog is thinner he can make it to Big Ben...only he falls a second later. Loser.
-Toad gives Tails that walkie talkie, and Omega say he'll take him to the Main Stadium, leaving just the main 4.


Next part will be the FINAL episode and ending!

[Smash]

here's some story mode gameplay

[VEDJ-F]

Final Episode; The Grand Showdown

-The Heroes come across the fog-amplifying system, and Tails is amazed.
-Tails says that the spoil-sports must be stopped, but Mr.Turtle calls out "Look who's calling the kettle black!" I was calling it silver but whatever.
-Eggman and Bowser show themselves in their glowing thundery new forms and laugh about their impending victory.
-Just before the villains can show their practical power, Toad walkie-talkies the heroes. Toad tells what's going on everywhere;
-Omega, Espio and Charmy cleared up the Main Stadium fog.
-"You must dig deep. Unlock your true potential"~Almost as cheesy as his Generations dialogue.
-The fog lifted in Hyde Park, where the girls are. Some funny exchanges there.
-Wario and Waluigi are done.
-So are Yoshi, Silver, Shadow and Jet at Tower Bridge.
-So are Knuckles, vector and Donkey Kong.
-Vector asks him if he's even considered going into the detective business. DK declines.
-Vector starts stamping his foot impatiently after this.
-How did all of tha communicate to that one walkie talkie, anyway?
-Usual pre-showdowny stuff commences.
-There's four more challenegs to beat, and you don't have a choice this time!
-After ALL THAAAAAT, the place finally begins to blow, and Tails tells them that they're still not done. The villains try to recover, but Luigi and Tails block them. Mario and Sonic finally put a stopper in the plan and depower Bowser and Eggman.
-Big ben rings once the deed is done and the jar is shown sealed.
-Bowser and Eggman moan about how they'll never be able to join the games now, and Tails goes through the process to recall that they DID get invites, something just happened to them. They're allowed to compete as long as they bring their ID, but they don't have them...so the heroes decide to vouch for them and bring them over to the main stadium...as culprits.
-So basically, it has the same ending as Mario Party DS.
-The opening ceremony goes off without a hitch, and Sonic and Mario brofist again, as the game pans up to fireworks.
-Cue credits.
-And then there are challenge bonuses, but I won't bother with them because that's not the main story.

I'll give my personal thoughts on it a bit later.

[Doctor MK]

Righto then... I got the game this morning and I just beat Story mode, so I shall give my verdict of the game so far.

In short - it's one step forward, two steps back.

First, the good. The story is actually pretty decent with some well presented cutscenes, a lot of interaction between all the different characters from the Mario and Sonic universes, and a number of references to British culture along the way. Although the premise is pretty damn stupid - it essentially boils down to Bowser and Eggman throwing a hissy fit because they weren't invited to the Olympics - it actually feels like Mario and Sonic are setting out on a proper adventure, and the setting is actually made a part of the story rather than just being a convenient backdrop. It's very much how a Mario & Sonic tale set at the London 2012 Olympics should be.

However, despite it having way better production values than Winter Olympics DS (did I mention that this game looks absolutely stunning, by the way?), it doesn't feel like it ever really surpasses Adventure Tours in the gameplay department. There's no way to traverse London yourself, it's always cutscene leading into events leading into more cutscenes. Which works, don't get me wrong, but it would've been nice to explore the city a bit, especially as they make use of so many famous landmarks.

Regarding the actual events... they're a mixed bag. They're all bite-size chunks of actual Olympic events so don't expect anything too fleshed out, making it feel more like WarioWare than a proper sports sim. Some of the events are really fun (currently I am addicted to the Football one) whereas others are just downright stupid (grabbing a water bottle is hardly how I would have thought to represent a marathon). Luckily in the Story mode you get a choice of events to play most of the time, but even so, it does feel like SEGA have missed the mark a bit in places.

All in all, Mario & Sonic on 3DS is a decent package. It's by no means amazing but it's probably a bit better than its Wii counterpart if only for the Story mode, and I imagine anyone craving for some Mario and Sonic interaction will love that part of the game (as I have). There's a lot of missed potential here, especially considering this is the third instalment in the franchise, but if you're in need of a pick-up-and-play game that doesn't require a lot of thought, this is worth a look at least.

Edited by Doctor MK, 10 February 2012 - 10:32 PM.

[VEDJ-F]

I...actually felt that the interaction skimped a bit this time. The interaction was very confined to the groups laid out unless you were a hero, and some characters got more chance to shine than others (compare Espio, who remained his stoic, mostly uninvolved self, to Omega, who far and away stole the second half of the story).

How far have you got in the challenge bonuses, if you've gone through some yet?

[Doctor MK]

I...actually felt that the interaction skimped a bit this time. The interaction was very confined to the groups laid out unless you were a hero, and some characters got more chance to shine than others (compare Espio, who remained his stoic, mostly uninvolved self, to Omega, who far and away stole the second half of the story).

How far have you got in the challenge bonuses, if you've gone through some yet?

True, they could have still done more with all of the characters (and that's something I forgot to mention, WHY U NO LET ME PLAY AS ANY CHARACTER I WANT SEGA?!), but in general there was still quite a lot of it. I mean, Mario and Sonic bro-fisting. In THREEE DEEEEEE.

Haven't started the challenge bonuses yet, will save those for tomorrow. I've had enough Olympic-based fun for one day, methinks.

[Someguy]

I get the feeling the large number of minigames is the reason character selection is so limited, so they didn't have to do as many animations on every single character. I have to wonder if it was a design choice by the 3DS team to focus on a large amount at the cost of other things, something from the SEGA higher ups or if there was something from the official Olympics people demanding that all these certain games get represented, tossing a lot of them into the 3DS version.

Not that it matters for me, I'll rent it or watch the story mode online and just wait for the next Winter Olympics for the 3DS, which would hopefully improve upon the story mode again and feature more entertaining games like snowboarding and figure skating.

[VEDJ-F]

I c wat u posted thar, Dabbido.

Theres a lot of comedy this time around.

I would actually be inclined to disagree there. While it did have it's share of funny moments, expecially near the start, it took itself far more seriously than the Winter Olympic story mode ever did. I'd say the girls' episodes and the scene where Toad's suffering due to lack of air are great examples of this, it can get intense at times. Winter Olympics, while more enjoyable to me personally, never had a scene like that throughout the game, it was all played for comedy.

[dabbido]

Id love them to stop the Olympics but yeah its inevitable. Although to be honest I prefer the summer Olympics. Winter is nice but all has the same feel, not that I dislike snow, but so many events are similar and they are all in pretty much the same setting. While the Summer Olympic games have you running, swimming, playing field events, then playing table tennis and then dancing and and...you get the point theres much more variety. Oh well if it does bring more characters, longer events, dream events and the awesome story mode cutscenes plus the usual exploring then its a must buy. I think they should add more stuff like the shopping and include miis (dont know if this one includes them)

EDIT:

@VEDJ-F: Well...while the Winter Olympics had that overall non serious charm I never found it TOO funny it was more like "Hey Sonic! nice to meet you! oh look! theres Bowser jr!!! I think he wants to challenge you! You did it Sawnik! I knew you could! now we can melt the ice barrier" and so on. I mean it had its moments but...maybe Im amnesiac could you tell me some of the good moments? I think Ill have to play it again (yes thats a good excuse to play it again) but still none of those made me laugh too much. While Tails saying "Noo" when Sonic instinctively smashes the fog machine and he wanted to take a look at it or Dry Bowsers "Youre gonna get served!" or "Come on Bony Old Bone were outta here" or King Boos comment on Boo being noob And lets not forget: Toad: "Wait! if youre going to Hyde Park Im going too!" Mario : "*Shakes head*" So mean and so hilarious at the same time and in the end he goes with them even if he said no xD I was cracking up the whole time.

Edited by dabbido, 11 February 2012 - 03:29 AM.

[Doctor MK]

Ooh, one thing that needs to be said - this game has an awesome soundtrack, in particular the music during the cutscenes for Story mode. Really epic stuff at times, helps to drag you into the adventure and makes it seem all the more intense.

That's right, I just called a story based on Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games intense

Word, yo'.

[-Mark-]

Just got the game this morning, and I must confessed, I squeed when Jet turned up. :'D

One question though, in the free play event mode, can you ever pick who you want to play as? The few I checked only gave you a choice of four characters to use for each event. =/ Can/ how do you unlock more characters? And is Jet an unlockable/ playable character at all?

I will say that the cutscenes in this put Sonic Generations 3DS ones to absolute shame. Way to get your priorities straight, SEGA. D:

Edited by -Mark-, 11 February 2012 - 02:09 PM.

[Doctor MK]

Just got the game this morning, and I must confessed, I squeed when Jet turned up. :'D

One question though, in the free play event mode, can you ever pick who you want to play as? The few I checked only gave you a choice of four characters to use for each event. =/ Can/ how do you unlock more characters? And is Jet an unlockable/ playable character at all?

I will say that the cutscenes in this put Sonic Generations 3DS ones to absolute shame. Way to get your priorities straight, SEGA. D:

As far as I'm aware, you can only pick certain characters from certain groups for certain events. For example, for Football you can only choose from the Wild Ones group, namely Knuckles, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Vector. It's a real shame you're limited to only a handful of characters per event, but that's the way the cookie crumbles I guess.

Jet isn't an unlockable character, he merely pops up in the story, as do plenty of other non-playable characters. The main roster is the same old characters, just split up into groups, as we've established.

Anyways, been playing the extra missions after the end of the main story and... damn, there's quite a lot to do! Gives you some backstory from Eggman and Bowser's perspective, such as how Eggman came into possession of the Phantasmal Fog urn in the first place.

One thing I do want to say - Orbot and Cubot are in the game. And they are bloody awesome.

[Chocolate Cookie]

I am playing it now and I am enjoying it, Really liking the music and loving the dialogue, oh man gonna keep on playing and see how the other events plays like.

[VEDJ-F]

Personally, given what I said about Challengers Episode 3;

Challenger Episode 3; Enter Bowser?! [NB: Hey, Bowser Jr's a Challenger!]

-It turns out, after the heroes turn around, that Bowser Jr does a killer impression of his daddy. It also turns out that he can do that thanks to the power of the evil fog. Gid, what CAN'T this fog do?!
-He asks if they found the laugh chilling, but they just shake their heads and explain that it isn't scary coming from a kid [Yoshi], that he's still a long way to go if he's still hiding in his pop's shadow [Silver] and just generally act assholish towards Jr. MEANIES. :<
-Shadow asks if the Fog Machine was one of his tricks, and Bowser Jr claims not to be behind it. He blames his papa.
-Shadow is not surprised at this.
-Silver ups the assholish by asking how a little kid could make a machine like that (TAILS IS STANDING LESS THAN A METRE AWAY YOU FUCKING IDIOT).
-Tails asks everyone to be nice and leave him alone since he's just a little kid, ignoring the fact that Tails is probably the same age.
-Bowser Jr takes it as well as you might expect, and says that he'll tell his papa that they were teasing him. Silver and Yoshi resume their bullying AGAIN. Jr, just skip the frivolties and KICK THEIR ASSES ALREADY.
-They even laugh when he challenges them! I'm sorry, Tails is there, I cannot take this seriously. Nonetheless, Jr promises to tell them where Bowser is if they win.
-Tails is gleeful about the fact Sonic will be able to sit back and wat--NO I'M LOSING ON PURPOSE DICKHEADS.
-So in this technically 3vs1 bout, you only have to do one character's set, but each character has a series of events to compete in. Shadow focuses on running, Yoshi on jumping/floating and Silver on special events. They sounded interesting, so I went with that.
-Trampoline involves moving your character to as close to the centre as possible and pressing A at the right time. Silver's last jump special is pretty neat.
-Basketball is really hard. That's all.
-Floor is easy, just tap, slide and swish to the beat.
-Once that's done, Silver and Yoshi berate Jr more. Shadow asks where Bowser is, but Tails says that the machine should be stopped before anything else. Shadow bashes it to pieces.
-Bowser Jr accidentally lets slip that he knows that he's working with Eggman, but not as to why (because the reason is just too embarassing to tell your kid).
-The heroes decide that it's worth making Jr talk more and get angry. Jr then summons a Bullet Bill and ha ha fuck you all.
-Yoshi goes off to deal with him, while the S/T (Jet decided to depart, and Silver and Shadow decide to check elsewhere) head to the British Museum.

It was a shock and a delight to see that the first Challenge bonus story was all about Bowser Jr having his glorious revenge. Fuck yes.

Currently stuck on the Wild Ones Bonus. That story is pretty funny so far since a magikoopa turned a Dry Bones and Lakitu into visual (not audio) copies of Espio and Charmy to lure Vector and Knuckles to wrestling, and then it all goes awry when Dry Bones goes clackety clack (no, that's not a new ninja thing). I dunno if I like that bit more, or Bowser being adorable in his pre-Olympic funk.





Edit: DAT STORY ENDING. DAAWWWWWWW.

I mean in the one vs Mario, the ending of the vs Knuckles/Vector one was a little plain.

Edited by VEDJ-F, 11 February 2012 - 08:35 PM.

[dabbido]

Haha awesome! I also felt they were just too mean with Bowser Jr. I love that they let you get revenge for him. By the way VEDJ-F cam you upload a youtube video of that little bit? where Bowser Jr gets his revenge? or the main version? I dont care if its crappy quality as long as I can see the text and catch a glimpse of whats happening xD

[VEDJ-F]

I dunno if any equipment of mine is up to it, to be honest. My laptop may be the only one powerful enough to handle it, but it'd be tricky.

[-Mark-]

Played a bit more of the events earlier. I've gotta say, I'm not loving the amount of motion control some events use. As someone who quite often plays his 3DS lying down, it's a bit annoying to have to move into various positions just for certain games. And even disregarding blatant laziness, half the time I feel like I'm going to damage the hinge/ top screen on my 3DS by moving it around so much. It's all good and well having motion controls, but Nintendo really haven't made the hinge sturdy enough for them to feel like you can use them properly without fear or damaging the system.

Oh, and does anyone else find the breathing/ blowing minigame in swimming outright uncomfortable?

[Chocolate Cookie]

Where I am up to I learned a few more things.
Bowser was acting down/angry because of his toothache.
Eggman got the Urn from Wario who lost to Metal Sonic.
And I am going to guess that one of the girls lost Eggman's & Bowser's invitation.