REVIEW: Mario Strikers Battle League mixes football, beating and lots of fun

One of the greatest sports athletes in the world is back, the friendly plumber Mario! He will now sweat his shirt in the most played sport in the world: football. Coming to his third game in the sport, Mario Strikers Battle League promises robust online leagues and lots of fun for fans of this Breton sport.

the changing rooms

Mario Strikers Battle League currently has only 10 playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Princess Peach, Princess Rosalina, Toad, Wario and Waluigi, and a computer-controlled goalkeeper: Boom Boom. At first glance, the amount of available characters is quite low and there is no way to make any others available by winning the cups in the game, unfortunately. 

Mario's universe is very rich, and many others could have entered, such as some of Bowser's many children, the turtle Koopa Troopa, or some Boo ghosts, and other characters from Donkey Kong. This invariably makes the teams look very similar, especially when we play against the computer. 

But speaking of the legal parts, each character has their role in the field. The brothers Mario and Luigi, for example, are more Technical, so using their special powers is a little bit easier. Other features present in the game are the offensive (Rosalina and Yoshi), defensive (Donkey Kong and Waluigi), from speed (Toad and Peach) and Physics (Bowser and Wario). In other words, the combination of these elements is what makes a true champion team. 

With every match won, we receive the famous coins from the world of Mario. The same happens when we win a cup. This money is used to buy equipment for each of the characters, that is, if we spend it on Luigi, we need to spend it on Mario.

There are, in total, 4 different types of equipment: for legs, hands, body and head, and a total of 5 armor categories. Each of them benefits one attribute over the other, for example, a Turbo glove increases speed by 2 points, however, there is a loss of 2 points of strength. Creating a balance of these items is critical.

Cups and more cups

Super Mario Battle Strikers has a total of 6 different cups. The last one is only unlocked by beating all the others available, and they emphasize each of the characters' attributes. For example, the passing cup will have teams with characters with more points and equipment that help in this attribute, and they will literally pass the ball to each other until they kick into the goal or are obstructed, and this goes for the other four, being that the last one is the mix of skills, bringing more balanced teams.

Each cup is made up of only 6 teams, and all have double elimination, that is, you have to lose twice to be completely eliminated. This makes us play, most of the time, with the same team twice, becoming a bit boring, since we know how to beat a certain opponent. 

By becoming the grand champion of all tournaments, we released the galactic mode, which is nothing more than the same tournament, with the same rules as before, only at a higher level. The prize in coins also increases, rising from 400 to 1000 coins. 

And it basically boils down to the way single player. Aside from earning coins and equipping characters, there's not much to do. 

In preparation for departure

One of the main features of Mario Strikers Battle League is having, at the same time, the possibility of joining two different stadiums. Each team can choose a side, between five options: Lava Castle, Haunted Mansion, Remote Jungle, Mushroom Hill and Royal Castle. This makes the matches have mixed environments, also reflected in the soundtrack of each of them. Particularly, I really liked the songs used in the game, however, they only please during the game, and are not necessarily epic or striking.

Another thing separated by the right and left sides are, literally, the teams available for each of them. On the right side we can choose between the following teams: SC rockets, athletic magic, Sport Comets, SC Warriors e SC clover, while on the left we have: Cyclone Dynamo, Junior ovoids, Atletico Espinhoso, SC lightning e AC Crowns. 

Each team has different colors and their symbols are recreations of elements from the Mario universe, such as Yoshi's egg, represented by the Ovoids Juniors, or generic elements, such as the rocket from Rockets SC. Having the teams literally separated by sides was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen, but what can you do. 

And the fight begins

Now let's get to the main part of Mario Strikers Battle League: the soccer match. As stated above, character characteristics directly influence what happens in the game. There are no fouls here, so the characters, no joke, shoot with both feet at their opponents. However, if Luigi, who is more technical, punches Donkey Kong, who is defensive, nothing will happen, and the overalls will continue with the ball. However, if Luigi carries the punch to the maximum, then he will take the ball. It's these things that make Mario Strikers Battle League extremely fun. That's why it's always good to assemble a balanced team. 

Scoring goals may not be such an easy task. Boom Boom, the goalkeeper of both teams, is very good, but he can be defeated in case of many repetitions of attacks, or if he receives very strong blows. 

The big stars of the game are the special kicks. From time to time, the crowd throws some orbs on the field, and whoever gets them and manages to charge the kick to the maximum can try to hit a target that goes to both sides, with the blue part being their target. This activates powerful kicks, which always come with a spectacular animation. When being targeted by this kick, we participate in a small minigame, which can give us a chance to defend the ball. If she enters at once, two goals are scored for the kicker. However, if the ball does not enter, the goalkeeper is damaged in some way, and if the rebound appears, we can score a little goal.

Also, there are other types of kicks, such as loaded, prime, placed and common. It's not very difficult to score, so seeing scores of 8-5 is not uncommon. 

Another cool thing is to damage opponents with items. Depending on the team's performance in the match, the fans can throw boxes with the team's colors. They are exclusive, and only the owners can claim them. They appear in droves especially when we are being beaten. Eventually, rainbow boxes may appear, and whoever picks them up receives an item.

Among the many options, we have Mushrooms, Stars, Green Hoofs, Red Hoofs and many others. All of them quite useful in many game situations. Knowing how to use them, you can destroy the entire opposing team and score goals, or else open up an opportunity for special kicks. 

Even playing against the machine, Mario Striker Battle League has extremely fun gameplay. And it shines effectively when we play with friends. There is the possibility of up to 8 players at the same time, both locally and online, and thanks to this there is a new game mode, the Strikers Club.

The future of Mario Strikers Battle League

The great thing about Mario Strikers Battle League will be the Club Strikers mode. Here players will be able to create teams with up to 20 players and participate in 4v4 matches online in seasons that will last one week. In addition, there will be an off-season week.

To participate, players will register their favorite character in a club, including the equipment used. By participating in the seasons, team owners will receive coins as a reward, which can be used to modify many elements of the stadium, such as their appearance, types of goalposts, and many other things.

Each team will be in a group with up to 5 opponents. When winning matches, teams can move up the division, however, when suffering defeats, they will be at the mercy of relegation. This mode is still in preparation, and should start in the next few weeks.

Particularly, I believe that this mode has a gigantic potential to become extremely competitive, as far as Splatoon, for example, as teams need to be in tune and have a good strategy to win matches. It's no use kicking like crazy from any corner of the field. Now we just have to wait and see how new characters will be introduced, more stadium options, among other things.

raise the glasses

Mario Strikers Battle League is excellent. The graphics part of the game is totally amazing, despite some occasional frame drops, but nothing that affects the overall performance of the game. I believe that within Mario's sports games, this is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

The possibility of creating a competitive community excites me a lot, but for that to happen it will be necessary to bring much more content to the game, since, at least in the its launch, there are few characters, stadiums, and equipment options. Other than that, I totally recommend its purchase. I guarantee that games with friends at parties or via the internet will be extremely fun.

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