After 15 years, Mario and friends are back on the pitch to settle their differences.
This time they have taken the battle into the stars as they fight for the right to lift the Galactic cup.
But will Battle League charge its way through the competition, or will it be sent back to the changing room?
About
Mario has spent lots of time partaking in leisurely activities over the years, which really makes you wonder if he ever does any plumbing at all?
But it’s been a while since he’s been out for a kickabout with the gang.
Mario Strikers charged was the last game in the franchise. That game released in 2007!
Whilst other Mario sports games have been successful, Mario Strikers is one of the most adored spin-offs.
Unlike Golf or Tennis, the characters seem fired up to play football as they always bring a hostile attitude onto the pitch.
Strikers powers up standard football regulations by adding futuristic twists in the typical Mario fashion.
There are no fouls, no handballs, and the field is surrounded by electric fences for a more brutal way to shoulder barge opponents off the ball.
Items are available too, of course.
Each team battles it out to become the top strikers and have the privilege of raising the Galactic cup.
Gameplay
From the kick-off, Strikers puts a huge emphasis on its gameplay.
Before getting into the nitty gritty of a full match, you are introduced to Fútbot.
This cybernetic coach puts you through your paces in a handful of tutorials that gradually increase in difficulty.
The mechanics of strikers are very good overall. Successful plays rely on precise timing and positioning, but there are plenty of ways to gain the upper hand…or foot.
Matches remain fast and at a high intensity, which creates the chaotic strikers environment the series has been known for.
But this recklessness can sometimes come at the cost of making it harder to utilise the advanced mechanics.
In tightly contested bouts, it is hard to build up any momentum and create the space needed to perform a perfectly timed pass or hyper strike.
There's definitely a learning curve to Battle League which offers players an interesting challenge to take on.
However, the standout element of Battle League is the animations.
The character reactions in this game are unrivalled and help to restore the iconic attitude of the previous strikers games.
Each character has a unique set of animations designed to match their traits and personality.
Throughout a game, characters will continue to interact with each other. Every kick, tackle, and dribble feels like different to the last.
And it truly comes to the forefront when a hyper strike begins. These moments put the character in the spotlight whilst they prepare to perform their special move.
Time stops as they unleash an unforgiving shot with a fire in their eyes and energy glowing around them.
It sure is an epic moment which feels even better if it goes in because it rewards players 2 goals.
The details in both the controls and animations make the strikers matchday experience a delight to play.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when it comes to the modes and features.
Along with a standard quick battle, the modes available are cup battle and strikers club…that’s it.
The focus appears to be on the new features that are making their debut in Battle League, strikers club and gear customisation.
Like any modern sports game, Battle League has a competitive online mode called strikers club.
Similarly to FIFA’s pro clubs, strikers club allow players to build their own club to compete against others clubs across the world.
On paper, this is a great idea that possesses a lot of potential.
It’s clear to see that Nintendo thought this mode could open up the possibility of Esports and fill the competitive online void in the switch’s game catalogue.
But realistically, the mode has too many limitations to deal with before these options can be considered.
Putting the notoriously bad switch online system aside, the mode restricts the amount of people on a team and the characters you can choose to play with.
Some customisation options allow clubs to upgrade and build their own half court stadium, which is a nice touch, but that doesn’t get rid of the problem of not being able to control team selections.
A lot of the strategy in Battle League revolves around selecting specific characters and gear, so limiting these options doesn’t make sense.
Out of all the modes, this is the one that feels half finished, which is strange for a mode that has been introduced specifically for this game.
Either put everything into making strikers club the best it could be or scrap it to focus on offline modes.
On the other hand, the custom gear is a much better addition to the franchise.
This feature lets you dress up your favourite Mario characters in order to adjust their attributes.
Each option has a wide range of items to choose from and these items will increase a certain skill such as speed or shooting.
This does come at the cost of decreasing the stats for a different skill, however.
One thing I really liked about this system too is that you can choose whether you want the gear equipped or not before every competition.
This gives players the opportunity to have 2 versions of each character, adding some much needed variety to character selection.
While seeing Ronaldo or Messi in shoulder pads would look strange, strikers makes playing football with armour look cool.
Introducing new features is always good to see, but these features alone are not enough to make a substantial game.
The game will reward you with 400 coins for winning tournaments against CPU teams offline.
Offline modes are also important, especially for the Switch.
Surprisingly, strikers only has one extra offline mode on top of the standard exhibition matches.
In addition, this mode is a rather plain cup battle that is just more standard matches grouped together with a few extra cutscenes.
After a couple of hours you’ve seen all the elements of the game.
So unless you plan to play online a lot, there’s not much replay ability to Battle League.
I don’t think a story mode was needed, but an extra challenge mode or league mode would have given fans more incentive to play offline.
The previous strikers games had modes that led to challenging new characters at the end of a tournament to earn them as a playable character.
Diddy Kong was one of the unlockable characters in previous instalment Mario Strikers Charged Football.
Battle League replaces this with unlockable gear that can be purchased with coins, which just feels like less of a reward.
In strikers, unlocking a character made we want to carry on playing through the game to try out that new character and potentially unlock more characters.
The foundations of Battle League’s gameplay is strong but when it comes to features, it misses the target.
Audio + Visuals
On a positive note, the graphics in Battle League are truly out of this world.
I expected no different from Next Level Games as they developed the previous strikers games, so they know how to play the field.
Also, their last game, Luigi’s Mansion 3, has some of the best visuals on the switch.
Cutscenes are stunning and has been crafted to have its own style.
For example, spanning through the stadium before the game shows off the landscapes in all their glory.
The sci-fi theming is apparent throughout with portals that characters jump through at the start of each game as well as the electrical fences surrounding the pitch.
Even the menus are inhabited with electrifying artwork of the characters.
As I mentioned earlier, the animations are what differentiates characters in the midst of the action.
There are plenty of moments for characters to express their emotions and react to what’s happening around them.
But the cutscenes after goals is where they really get to shine.
In addition, the camera angles and movement are tailored to the characters motion, complimenting their characteristics in the process.
Sounds are also used to enhance the visuals and animations.
Something I loved in strikers charged was the music, and the iconic soundtrack returns in Battle League.
The tunes really add to the edgy atmosphere found within each stadium.
One thing that has been improved is the sound effects.
Every tackle, shot, and boost can be heard from the pitch, making them feel more impactful.
A character screaming after being electrocuted by a fence as their opponent runs off laughing sums this up perfectly.
Putting these elements together creates a true spectacle that most sports games could only dream of achieving.
It will make you want to do a knee slide any time you manage to hit the top bins.
My Experience
Growing up, one of the consoles that I spent most of my time playing was the Wii.
Most of the games I played as well were sports titles like FIFA and Wii Sports.
Naturally, learning about the existence of Mario Strikers meant that I had to get it.
The reason for a lot of my favourite Mario characters to this day was strikers.
Former sidekicks like Shy Guy and Koopa Troopa are my go to picks in Mario Kart, and Diddy Kong is a favourite of mine due to the memories of unlocking him in Strikers Charged.
The announcement of Battle League in the direct had me dancing like Ronaldinho.
It’s the most excited I’ve been for a game announcement in a long time.
So going into this game, it’s safe to say I had some high hopes and expectations.
After grinding my way through the tutorials, I was impressed with the complex mechanics as the game felt like a true challenge.
The nostalgia had already began to creep in.
It took a few exhibition matches to get my bearings but then I was ready to tackle the other modes the game had to offer.
Whilst the experience was very enjoyable for me, I could see how others that were not as invested in the series would be losing interest.
Experimenting with different character and gear setups as I progressed through the cup battles showed me how well the core systems of this game worked.
Equipping gear did have an impact on a character’s abilities in-game which felt great when that modification improved the team’s performance.
It was when I tried playing online that the yellow cards started to appear for me.
Games became more inconsistent and the limitations with team selections hindered the experience drastically.
One game would be full of goals, the next would be impossible to get a shot on goal.
Also, the connection would frequently lag, delaying inputs in the process.
This makes it extremely difficult to pull off perfect passes or shots successfully.
Whilst I have enjoyed my time with the game so far, I can’t help but think of the stuff the game is missing.
My go-to team has been Luigi, Yoshi, Rosalina, and Donkey Kong.
These thoughts often lead to frustration as it seems the game has been rushed and as a result, Next Level had to prioritise gameplay over modes and features.
For example, the concept of having two separate stadiums for each half of the pitch is a genius spin that boosts the sci-fi aspects of the game.
On top of this, the ability to upgrade a custom strikers club stadium makes it even better.
But as soon as a game starts, these features fail to enhance the gameplay experience.
For the majority of the games, the structures are off-screen or blocked off by the electric fences.
Personally, having it so pitches could be upgraded to create obstacles or hazards would be a great way of making these enhancements feel more significant.
Hopefully, more content will be added to Battle League in the near future to give the main gameplay the attention it deserves.
Rating
My rating for Mario Strikers Battle League is a 3.5 stars.
Whilst Strikers Battle League was heading for the perfect hat-trick, it fails to keep a clean sheet.
Next Level Games have done a great job capturing what made the previous games so legendary, but the game succumbs to the same problems as other recent Mario Sports titles.
Where To Get It
You can buy Mario Strikers Battle League physically at a wide range of stores for £49.99.
It is also available on the Nintendo Eshop.
Like other Mario titles, it is a Nintendo exclusive and is only available on the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite.
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