Super Mario Strikers

Written by Vadim Leonov  on June 21, 2005

First Impressions: We've got Mario Baseball, Mario DDR and Mario Party 7 on deck. Should be followed by Mario Hockey, Mario Basketball, Mario Football, Mario Volleyball, Mario...

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After starring in a few platformers, hosting a few Parties and playing some golf and tennis, Mario has shifted his focus to the wonderful world of soccer. Super Mario Strikers is yet another sports game in the Mario franchise (Mario Baseball arriving shortly as well), but this time Mario and his pals are off to play the most popular sport in the world.

Like any other Mario title, Super Mario Strikers is full of vivid colors, Mushroom Kingdom related stadiums and a multitude of special moves. At the moment, Super Mario Strikers has no concrete release date but five different modes of play are planned to be part of the game; Grudge Match, Battle Mode, Super Battle Mode, Custom Battle and Spoils. Since the game is still in development, specific information on the various modes has yet to be released. However, Nintendo has promised a wide variety of tournaments, challenges and cups to be included.

When selecting your team, you will be given the option to choose one of the famous citizens of Mushroom Kingdom as your captain, be it Mario, Donkey Kong, Wario or one of many others. A squad of koopas or toads will be assigned as your teammates, although your captain is the most important player on your team.

The controls in Super Mario Strikers are extremely user-friendly and allow others to pick up a controller and start playing in no time. The analog stick controls your movement, the B button is for shooting and the A button is for passing and switching players on defense. Usually the game will switch to the player nearest the ball, but it doesn't always work out. A bevy of lobs, dukes (even with the C-stick), chips, volleys and other moves will make this as authentic of a soccer experience as possible.

But this is far from a perfect soccer simulation, as there are plenty of Nintendo add-ons that make this game so different from other soccer games. The captains of the teams will be able to unleash super shots which have their own animations similar to the power shots in Mario Tennis. While these add a lot of juice to your shots, they are not guaranteed goals. But you can guarantee that they will have an effect on the opposing goaltender.

The stadiums also have Nintendo related themes, which differentiates Super Mario Strikers from any other soccer game. There's an electric fence surrounding the field. There are power-ups for your captains. Power-ups will be utilized in a similar manner to the Mario Kart series, where you can unleash chain chomps, red shells, lightning bolts and other goodies on your opponents to hinder their progress. But beware, as the same can be done to you.