For those who think that the Olympic Games has a bit too much Mario in it, Sonic at the Olympic Games on mobile platforms should do them well. This week, Sega released a trailer for what they call the "official Tokyo 202o Olympic video game" during the Tokyo Game Show. Like its counterpart on the Nintendo Switch, which we played at E3 2019, this game will feature classic Sonic characters competing in a number of sporting events, but this particular event is getting special care, with the Games being in Sega's home country this time around.

Along with the Switch game, I also received a bit of hands-on time with the mobile title. Not only that, but I spoke to Sonic Team veterans Takashi Iizuka, Vice President of Product Development, and Eigo Kasahara, Creative Producer, with a bit of help from an interpreter. During my discussion with them, we talked about how important the locale of Tokyo was to this product. The story mode will feature a map of Tokyo that highlights a number of popular tourist spots, with bits of dialogue and some Tokyo-related trivia in between gameplay.

Speaking of which, I briefly played a 100m hurdles event as Sonic, with the blue hedgehog autorunning; as expected with any game that has Sonic running, keeping a sense of speed and momentum is vital, and I was told that some sort of difficulty level would allow veteran players to run faster. While I was told to use touch controls to jump over hurdles, I somewhat struggled, with Sonic tripping over practically every other hurdle. I'll chalk that up to it being my first time playing it. To its credit, the graphic fidelity was quite impressive for a mobile game.

Kasahara and Iizuka hope that this game will be an accessible way to share their love of Tokyo to the rest of the world, especially for regions who may not have the Switch game on the market. For Sonic fans, seeing those colorful characters inhabit real-life Tokyo locations could very well be a fun sight. This game, according to the trailer, will also feature online multiplayer and "gimmick" EX Events, probably this game's equivalent to the Switch game's retro events.

Sonic at the Olympic Games will release on Android and iOS in the spring of 2020. The technical requirements, trailer, and a couple of screenshots for the game are below.

■Minimum performance guarantee

【Google】・Android OS ver. 4.4 （KitKat）and over. *If it’s technically difficult, it might change to 5.0・OpenGL ES　version number is 2.0

【iPhone】・iPhone5 and over (Performance equal to OpenGLES 3 is necessary)・iOS7 and over （iPhone5s OSver）

【Memory】・1GB and over