What would Nintendo be without Plumber Mario? Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, and now Mario Strikers. The Japanese Italian with a distinctive mustache and stylish red dungarees has been the successful mascot of the Japanese console manufacturer for around 40 years.
In "Mario Strikers" he laces his soccer shoes. The idea is not new: Nintendo fans already know their kicking heroes from "Mario Smash Football" and "Mario Strikers Charged Football". More than 15 years ago, they provided hectic gaming fun on the Nintendo Game Cube and later on the Nintendo Wii.
It mainly came down to nimble fingers, good nerves and a good sense of humor. This secret of success has not changed to this day. That does not just have advantages.
Ambition, tactics or sophisticated moves? Please move on! In "Mario Strikers", five well-known characters from the Mario universe fight for the ball in opposing teams.
Mario, Princess Peach or Bowser have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to shooting technique and speed, flipping somersaults, using themselves as trampolines and jumping into opponents' feints with tackles. A game lasts three to ten minutes. Only the player closest to the ball is controlled.
The ball moves around in the teams at breakneck speed – if you want to keep track of things here, you don’t just have to keep a cool head and react quickly. You also need a fair amount of luck to straddle at the right moment or play the decisive pass.
For almost every technique in the game there is some kind of expert mode, with which the perfect pass or shot succeeds. However, it takes some practice to press the buttons on the gamepad at the right moment.
For those with fine motor skills, Next Level Games has copied a few small refinements from the championship leader "FIFA". Team members can sprint or play a deadly pass. With a well-timed push of a button, Mario
With the rabid football action on the lawn, this only works for very experienced players. The pace of the game is too high and the playing field is far too small for occasional footballers who first have to look for the ball in the motley chaos.
Similar to Mario Kart, bonus items regularly fall from the sky. The opponent's attack is stopped with banana peels or tortoise shells knock down entire lines of defence.
A kind of power pill even gives superhuman powers: if players press a button and fire the shot long enough and release it at the right moment, an almost unstoppable shot on goal succeeds.
Since all the characters have different shooting animations, it looks particularly spectacular when a whirlwind sweeps away the goalkeeper or when the ball digs into the goal under the ground.
In addition to individual games, players prove their skills in five tournaments. In addition, they can freely assemble their team to snatch the trophy in knockout duels. When all tournaments have been won, the "Galactic Mode" is activated, in which the opposing teams are significantly stronger.
Coins are awarded for victory, which can be used to improve the kickers. A helmet offers more power when tackling, new shoes make it easier to aim for shots on goal. This brings a touch of role play to the wild action on the lawn.
"Mario Strikers" unfolds its full strength in multiplayer mode. Up to eight players can play against each other on two consoles.
If you want to aim high, you meet in the so-called "Strikers Club". Here, fans set up their own clubs or join existing teams that compete against each other in regular seasons. However, there is no permanent world ranking at the moment.
The exciting spectacle on the lawn cannot hide the lack of variety. The game stadiums differ only visually, and the cup tournaments offer only a few varied teams.
In addition, the game depth of a "FIFA" is missing. Tricks and relay passes are possible, but are quickly lost in the hectic pounding.
Nintendo and Next Level Games have to take a good look at that: If it's not a realistic football simulation, at least varied game modes would have spiced up the rabid action a little. Therefore, in the end, a mixed impression of "Mario Strikers: Battle League Football" remains.
The uncomplicated fun for the whole family is offset by little variety and a low depth of play. In the long run, only the multiplayer games that fans can play at home or around the world are fun. So far, Mario's foray into the football world is a short-lived pleasure that doesn't make it into overtime against the competition.
Mario Strikers: Battle League Football by Next Level Games, published by Nintendo. Playable on Nintendo Switch. It costs about 60 euros. USK from 6.
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