The Mario sports series has had a fairly long history in the gaming industry, with the first title, NES Open Tournament Golf, releasing all the way back in 1987. Since then, Mario and his friends have found themselves in a plethora of sports-related titles over the years, covering popular games like tennis, baseball, and even the Olympics. While most Mario sports titles can trace their roots back to the 1990s, the Mario Strikers series is a little different, as it is one of the most recent Mario franchises.
There have been just two Mario Strikers games so far, with a third, Mario Strikers: Battle League, right around the corner. The first game in the series, Super Mario Strikers, released in 2005 for the GameCube and was a solid soccer game with the unique twist of allowing players to brutally tackle one another and use a range of iconic Mario items to sabotage the opposing team. The follow-up, Mario Strikers Charged, added some new mechanics and gave the game its definitive, chaotic style. While Mario Strikers: Battle League is definitely using the groundwork laid by its predecessors, it does differ from them in a few key ways.
How Mario Strikers: Battle League Handles Its Roster Differently
One of the biggest difference between Mario Strikers: Battle League and Mario Strikers Charged revolves around the game's roster, and how those characters actually play. Right off the bat, Battle League has a smaller roster than Charged, opting to provide 10 playable characters on launch. However, while the roster is technically smaller, each of the characters on the roster are much more fleshed out.
In Mario Strikers Charged, a good portion of the roster were labeled as "Sidekicks," while only a handful of iconic Mario favorites were labeled "Team Captains." When entering a match, the player would choose a Team Captain to play as, and fill the rest of their team with Sidekicks. Captains were the only ones on the roster capable of pulling off special abilities.
In Mario Strikers: Battle League, every character is essentially a Team Captain, each with their own special move called a "Hyper Strike." In a given match, an orange orb will appear at random intervals, if a player manages to pass this ball consecutively, or hold onto it for long enough, they'll charge their Hyper Strike meter. Once fully charged, the Hyper Strike move can be unleashed, sending the ball hurling towards the opponent's goal. If the golden ball manages to hit the back of the net, then it counts as two goals.
Each of Mario Strikers: Battle League's 10 playable characters has their own unique Hyper Strike, ranging from Mario's fiery overhead kick to Yoshi's, which briefly turns the ball into an egg that bounces around the pitch erratically. These moves go to show that Mario Strikers: Battle League is really doubling down on the arcade-y nature that made the series so beloved in the first place, and having 10 different Hyper Strikes should keep the animations from getting too repetitive.
A New Gear System
Perhaps the biggest change in Mario Strikers: Battle League when compared to its predecessors is its brand-new gear system. As players continue to compete in matches, they'll earn a handful of coins each match. These coins can then be used in the store to buy new pieces of gear, all of which can then be equipped by the respective characters. While these clothing items will affect how the character looks on the pitch, it'll also impact their traits.
Each character in Mario Strikers: Battle League has a unique set of stats. These stats encompass the typical skills one would expect in a soccer game, such as speed, passing, shooting, and technique. Each of Battle League's characters will fit a particular playstyle based on their stats. For example, Mario has pretty balanced stats across the board, making him a good starter character, whereas Bowser is all strength and shooting, but trades off speed in the process, making him a solid choice for offensive playstyles.
Based on the Mario Strikers: Battle League trailers released so far, it seems as though the new gear system will greatly affect these stats. In some recent gameplay, a few of Mario's clothing options were shown off, and with each new outfit he was equipped with, his stats changed quite significantly. When dressed in an all-encompassing metallic suit, Mario's strength doubles, and when he equips clunky, shiny studded boots, his shooting stat increases dramatically.
While distinct costume presets will be available, designed to massively increase one or two specific stats, players will also be able to mix and match each individual piece of gear. Players will be able to unlock and equip a range of chest pieces, helmets, boots, shorts, and gauntlets. When Mario Strikers: Battle League finally releases on June 10, players are likely going to be spending quite some time unlocking new gear and determining which ones best compliment their own unique playstyle.
An Emphasis on Online Play
One of the most anticipated features of Mario Strikers Charged back in the day was its inclusion of online multiplayer. Nintendo isn't best known for its online support, but Mario Strikers Charged did an okay job of it, while also catering for the splitscreen and single-player crowd by including a bunch of game modes.
On top of online matchmaking, Mario Strikers Charged had three main game modes: Road to the Strikers Cup, Domination, and Striker Challenges. The first of these modes is the typical Mario sports tournament mode, setting 1-4 players against a variety of increasingly difficult AI teams. The second mode saw two teams clash, using any available characters. And the last mode gave each playable character a specific challenge they needed to beat during a match.
Mario Strikers: Battle League will only have two modes on launch day: Quick Battle and Cup Battle. The first of these pits 1-8 players against each other in teams of four, allowing for up to eight players at once from just one Switch console. The other mode sets 1-4 players against an AI team. Both of these modes can be played either locally or online.
Mario Strikers: Battle League is also introducing a new online club feature, in which players can set up a 20-player club and compete against fellow clubs in a league-style scenario. Players are encouraged to name their club and give its members a specific uniform, as well as customize the club's home stadium. The lack of modes on launch may be seen as a significant downside for some players, but for those who are looking to spend their time in online matches, there'll be plenty to dive into on June 10.
Mario Strikers: Battle League will launch on June 10, 2022, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.