Nintendo's first major Direct for 2022 gave fans plenty of new information and games to look forward to. The company showed off gameplay for major titles like Splatoon 3 and the return of its Salmon Run co-op mode, a new Mouthful Mode for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, an update to Metroid Dread, and even the big reveal of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. For fans of Nintendo's arcade-style sports game, more good news arrived with the reveal of Mario Strikers: Battle League.
After a 15-year hiatus, the extreme soccer game is back, this time on the Nintendo Switch. As expected, Mario Strikers: Battle League players will be trying to score goals while also dodging plenty of obstacles including familiar items like green shells and banana peels. They will also be dishing out slide tackles and other attacks to try and steal the ball. To add a bit of flair to matches, players can charge up their shot and unleash a powerful special attacks.
While the game features a lot of the arcade action fans have come to know and expect from past games, Mario Strikers: Battle League adds in plenty of new features and mechanics to bring the series into the modern day. Here are all the newly announced mechanics and modes.
Gear and Stats
While familiar characters like Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, and others from the Mushroom Kingdom are once again taking the pitch in five-on-five matches, players have a little more control over what characters they're putting out. The Nintendo Direct presentation showed off a new gear system that allows players to not only customize their character's look, but impact their stats as well.
Through coins earned by playing the game, players can purchase gear for a character's head, arms, body, and legs. The mechanic allows players to customize their favorite Nintendo characters, and each gear has RPG-like benefits that can raise and lower certain stats. Fans can tailor each character to a specific role, perhaps giving the already bulky Bowser more strength to help bully members of the other team, or equipping cleats that give Yoshi even more speed so he can run circles around the opposing team.
While there was a lot of gear not shown off, the trailer did showcase a few items which are going to push players to consider what they equip. For example, the Chain Helmet for Mario raised his passing ability by two points, though it also lowered his speed by two points. It's likely that most items have a trade-off element like this, adding a bit of depth to this character customization feature.
Hyper Strike
While special shots are back for all characters, Mario Strikers: Battle League ups the ante by introducing Hyper Strikes. During matches, an orb will appear on the field allowing players to charge up an extra special shot. The trailer shows Mario's oft-overlooked brother Luigi charging up the shot by stopping a moving meter into two green zones, which instantly jumps into a cel-shaded cinematic. Luigi's Hyper Strike creates a green tornado that flies ahead and sucks in any opponents caught in its wake.
It's worth noting that the charging mechanic is deliberately slow, so players will want to activate it when they have some room, otherwise the other team could intercept the ball. However, if the shot makes it into the goal, the players team earns two points instead of the typical one.
Local and Online Multiplayer Options
Mario Strikes: Battle League appears to be aiming to be one of the best Switch party games based on its multiplayer features. The trailer confirmed that up to eight people can play four-on-four matches locally through one Switch. The trailer showed four Switch Pro controllers and four Joy-Cons, though it's likely that there could be any combination used.
The other major component for the game's online modes was Club play. Players can join Online Clubs, essentially teams of other players, and compete against other Clubs in order to place in a ranked format. Naturally, players will need to be a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber in order to access this portion of the game.
Clubs can support up to 20 people, and players will have plenty of settings to tweak when they create their own. Options shown include Uniform design, what Stadium will be their home field, which region the player lives in, as well as a policy so others know what kind of Club they're joining - whether people just want to have fun or be highly competitive. Clubs can be made public or private as well.
Mario Strikers: Battle League releases June 10 on Nintendo Switch.