Hammer Throw

Hammer Throw is an athletic field event that is playable in some games of the Mario &amp; Sonic franchise.

Simulating the real Olympics, this event consists of spinning a 'hammer' (actually a heavy metal sphere attached to a flexible handle) around and around in a throwing cage, then launching it off into the field as far as possible; there are three attempts to do so, with the best score taken as the final result.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games


The hammer throw makes its first appearance in the game that kickstarted the Mario & Sonic franchise, as one of the several athletic event offerings. The aim of this event is to spin the hammer as fast and powerfully as possible, and launch it into the far distance.

The event can only be played with the Wii Remote held vertically. To start spinning the hammer, press A then quickly spin the remote around in a circular motion. The faster and stronger you spin the remote around, the greater the momentum that's being built up in the hammer which is indicated by the glowing arcs around the hammer.

Keep spinning during the countdown, but after '1' immediately release the hammer by pressing the B button. If you get the timing right combined with good momentum, the hammer will fly with greater velocity over the field. Beware that getting the timing right though is crucial, as mistiming your hammer could cause it to hit into the cage walls or fly inaccurately off the field markings, both of which will result in a foul.



The hammer throw's core gameplay is very similar in the handheld port of the game bar the different controls. This time, the camera view is set over the character's head rather than from behind.

For the gameplay, the player needs to keep sliding in a circular fashion on the lower screen with a stylus. The arrows shown are anticlockwise, though the direction doesn't actually matter. Keep sliding in a continuously until the countdown goes beyond '1', then release the stylus when the character is facing towards the cage's opening.

If the hammer's launch has been pulled off especially well, an exclamation mark may appear on the lower screen which prompts you to yell into the DS's microphone, propelling the flying hammer to travel even further. The factors that all affect the hammer's throw are how quickly it was circled around, the timing of its release and the yelling.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games


The hammer throw event naturally makes a return in the ''London 2012 Olympic Games. ''The gameplay and controls remain largely the same with a few differences.

Tp start spinning, swing the remote upwards then start spinning it around quickly as before. This time, there isn't a countdown; the camera automatically goes into slow-motion after you've performed enough rotations, where a fading blue circle appears over the hammer.

Just before the circle shrinks completely, press B to release the hammer and throw it into the field. If you time it perfectly, the character will perform a roar of triumph that propells the hammer to travel further; if this happens, swing the remote up and down as it flies.



The event also features in the 3DS port of the London Olympics, where it utilises a different gameplay mechanic than the mainstream version. Instead of conventional screen-sliding, the main controls for the event are tilting the system itself around in a circle.

To grab the hammer at the start, hold the L and R buttons and do not let go of them. Ensure that the 3DS system is held in a flat, horizontal position and start tilting it around clockwise, as if you're rolling a marble on it. The faster the rotations, the greater the momentum that is being built up which is marked by the colour of arc on the screen, which would turn from blue to orange/red.

After enough rotations, the camera automatically proceeds to zoom into the opening where coloured bars will appear on the screen; a red bar in the centre, with yellow bars either side of it and blue outer bars. As the hammer moves across the screen, release the L and R buttons once the hammer enters the red bar for the most power.

The power and distance travelled by the hammer is affected by the intensity of the rotations and which bar it was released in. Unlike the other appearances of this event in the other games, in the 3DS version this event is only played once. This event is also restricted to the Wild category of characters, which are Bowser, Donkey Kong, Knuckles and Vector.