A great game for fans of Mario… and soccer.
If we were to make a list of the Top 10 Best Nintendo Switch Games, that list would be wrong if it didn’t include Luigi’s Mansion 3. Next Level Games they exceeded the expectations of the fans with that game, which is a favorite among those who were lucky enough to play it. This same studio already has a long history of collaborating with Nintendo and that started with Super Mario Strikers (2005) for GameCube. They had the audacity to make Mario and his friends become stars of the most popular sport on the planet and also to do it with a style never before seen in Nintendo.
The facial gestures, celebrations, special shots and hits that would instantly score a red card made Super Mario Strikers a milestone in the GameCube generation, and they returned for a rematch with Mario Strikers Charged (2007) on Wii, with greater doses of content , dementia and aggression. And then 15 years passed without Mario and company breaking balls and goals (unless we count Mario Sports Superstars for Nintendo 3DS).
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
Next Level Games is now owned by Nintendo and they have been given the duty of reviving the franchise on Switch. This is how we receive a new generation of players receives Mario Strikers: Battle League, but is it a worthy successor to the saga? We start with a warning: it’s not easy to learn Mario Strikers, or at least not as easy as other Mario sports games.
This is not FIFA
Battle League has a more complex system than its predecessors. Shooting, passing, hitting and defending take a lot of practice to master. If you play without dedicating at least half an hour to training, you are going to suffer in games. The game is not unfair, cheating or impossible, you just have to get used to the controls.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
Even for someone like me, who doesn’t like a certain saga of soccer video games with a new installment every year, Mario Strikers was fun because the “Mario factor” that characterizes these titles made it more fun than frustrating.
arm yourself for football
Mario Strikers Charged for Nintendo Wii added dangers and obstacles typical of the Super Mario universe in the stadiums, such as quicksand, Thwomps and Cheep Cheeps. Battle League cleanses the field of all these elements so that players can beat each other to their heart’s content, with nothing to get in their way.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
This time you arms the entire team. You choose your four characters, each with different abilities and weaknesses, which you can adjust with the armor you put on them. For example, Peach is very light, fast and tactical, but if you want your princess to be as strong as Donkey Kong, buy her armor that makes her stronger. Bowser is very powerful and slow, but if you want the king of the Koopas to glide across the court like a Yoshi, the uniform you put on him will give him that ability.
The pieces of the uniforms/armors can be purchased with the coins you earn at the end of each match. Obviously you get more coins if you win the matches and championships. Each character requires their own piece, which can be gloves, shoes, hats, and torso protection. The important thing is that you have the favorite version of your character, that your equipment is as special as you are, and that it reflects your own style.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
My biggest conflict with the game has been since it was announced: the courts divided into two parts. Maybe I got carried away with my imagination, but I thought they were going to take advantage of this dynamic to personalize the experience even more. The sad truth is that the type of court you choose does not influence the gameplay. It is merely aesthetic. There was so much potential in each team having a half court with its own hazards.
Just visualize: your half of the court is desert and your opponents’ half is ice, or one is grass and the other is volcanic, each with its unique characteristics, how far the ball bounces, how fast it travels, or particular traps such as eddies or mud.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
Maybe they didn’t because it would have been too chaotic, but isn’t that the charm of these Mario games? It really feels like a wasted opportunity.
Like Nintendo’s other current-gen sports games (such as Nintendo Switch Sports), Mario Strikers Battle League lacks content that fans might consider basic, at least at launch. A few weeks ago Daisy and Shy Guy arrived, along with new armor pieces (knight) and a new desert arena.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
Nintendo has made it clear that there will be more free content coming soon, but still, although two other characters, armor and stadium arrived, I fear that it will not be enough. More game modes, challenges and tournaments or even (perhaps too much to ask) a more robust campaign like Mario Tennis Aces.
It’s not a serious problem, but it’s also not something you can ignore. I find it hard to stay interested in the game if my only options are to play online, with friends at home, and tournaments so short that I can finish them in 20 minutes, and the only difference between them is a slight increase in difficulty. Yes, the matches are very fun and exciting, but they all feel the same.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
verdict
It is the best Mario sports title for Nintendo Switch so far. That’s a fact. The game mechanics are solid and complex enough to say that, even if it didn’t have the madness that it does, it’s a very well done football game.
If you are a fan of soccer or Mario, you will like it. If you have friends who share that taste, you’re going to love it and it’s a great investment for your game catalogue. We will wait for more characters and game modes. Hopefully at the end of the year, when the whole world is focused on Qatar 2022, I can get even with Mario Strikers: Battle League.
ADVERTISING – CONTINUE READING BELOW
might interest you
