Hyper Sports R Preview - E3 2018

Sometimes, you just want the simple things in life. You don’t want to crack open the next grand chapter of an RPG, or fire up a complex shooter that requires teamwork. You just want to sit back and do some easy, mindless button mashing, potentially with a few friends. Games like 1983's Track & Field appealed directly to such desires of simplistic mechanics. Sure, there was also the limitation of technology behind the games, but as the industry evolved there was still the occasional desire for a simple experience. To that end, Konami has announced Hyper Sports R for Nintendo Switch, a reimagining of their own game, Hyper Sports from 1984. If something like the Mario Olympic Games are too complex for you, this revamp is as straightforward as it gets, and we had a chance to play through this dose of nostalgia at E3 2018.

Before going hands-on with the title, we were introduced to the concept and the plans for the full release. Hyper Sports R plans to offer at least 7 Track and Field sporting events in the final game, such as hammer throw and the three events we got to try in our demo, as well as swimming and beach volleyball. There will be a Quickplay mode for instant competition of up to 4 players, but also a Campaign mode. In the Campaign mode, the developers say you’ll travel between different competitions, meet other athletes that can be added to your team (over 20 will be in the game), hire coaches for temporary ability boosts, and complete quests to unlock rewards like new characters or music tracks. You can also sign on to compete for sponsors, to earn in-game currency for purchasing more unlocks; the developers say there will only be in-game currency and no microtransactions.

Our demo included a few different Track and Field sports to try out. First up was the 100 meter sprint, and the controls here were the most simple. We used the motion controls on this one, though for this and all other sports in the game you can use the Joy-cons instead. It was quite straightforward – after choosing a character (who all have seemingly the same ability level, just a different look), we were at the starting line of the dash. A small circle indicated when the race would start, and we had to be sure not to run too early, otherwise that would be a false start. Getting the timing down was pretty easy. Once the race began, you simply moved your arms up and down as if you’re sprinting, and getting into the right groove that was both quick and had lots of vertical movement was key to defeating the AI opponents.

We then tried the sprint in 2-player mode (all events allow up to four players), and using one Joy-con each we mashed the left and right buttons interchangeably to sprint to the finish line. It was a one-time event, with the character finishing first claiming the podium. We then moved on to Long Jump event. Here, the same mechanics applied, albeit with a variation. You took a run-up to the jumping line using the same button mashing technique, but as you approached the line, the game slowed down and you had to push the top face button on the controller to start your jump. A meter with an arrow appeared, indicating the angle at which you’d be leaping forth. The arrow moved sporadically, so it was a matter of patience and timing for getting the best jump; you also had to make sure to jump before your character overstepped the boundary line. The longest jump after 3 heats won the event.

The next and final event we got to try was the Javelin Throw, and again the mechanics here were a remix of the previous ones. Again, you run up to the throwing point, with the camera behind the character this time, and as you get close a reticule appears and moves around the center of the screen. You must press the throw button when the reticule is as close to the center as possible, and also be sure not to overrun the throwing line. The character with the longest throw wins the event, after 3 throws.

The gameplay of Hyper Sports R was definitely very simple, and perhaps repetitive, but there should be a little bit of fun to be had in trying to beat friends in local play. There will be online play as well, though how well this sort of gameplay will translate to remote multiplayer remains to be seen. Similarly to the straightforward mechanics, the presentation was pretty barebones. A variety of crude animations, especially for non-playable characters, made it seem like a budget title, and while the price is not yet confirmed, it should surely be on the lower end if the game has any chance of succeeding.

Hyper Sports R is trying to hark back to the extremely simple sports games of the 80s and 90s, and is obviously not trying to compete with the much more expansive and full featured titles. It’s going to be a bit of a tough sell, but certain fans will undoubtedly appreciate a few fun nights of local multiplayer with a healthy dose of nostalgia, if (and that’s the big IF) the price is right. Hyper Sports R is set to release exclusively on Nintendo Switch.