Super Mario Strikers

"An average game alone, a spectacular game with three friends!"

First there was Mario Golf, then along came Mario Tennis, and after that we got to experience Mario Baseball. Now lo and behold, Mario soccer has arrived for the Nintendo Gamecube. While not a bad game in the least it could have been a bit better. Read on for the whole review.

Strikers in a summary: Super Mario Strikers is 5-on-5 soccer with Mario Characters (duh). The object is to kick a ball through your opponent's net to score more points than them. Sounds strikingly similar to soccer right? Wrong! The catch is that this is a Mario title and to stand out it has to be different, WAY different! Before every match or tournament you will pick one of eight captains (like Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, or Yoshi) and choose four sidekicks. You would start a game and play it just like any other soccer game, but as I said before, this is a Mario game and there a several changes.

Arguably the most notable change is that you can use items to trip up your enemies or help your team out. Most of them items players will recognize from a Mario Kart game like banana peels and turtle shells for example. With the addition of all these items the game can get very hectic and fast paced. This most certainly is not a bad thing, it just gives the game a twist. And believe me nothing is better than tossing a red homing shell halfway across the field to watch you opponent trip up and then slamming him/her into the electric force field.

Another nontraditional soccer element is the Super Strike. While under the control of your team captain rather than kick the ball in the goal you can try for a Super Strike. As you hold down B to kick the ball, keep holding it to charge up the strike. Within a second or two a power bar will appear above your character. Line up the yellow bar with the two green bars and watch the short cutscene of you character slamming the ball in the goal while the crowd goes wild! This technique is very hard to pull off but very rewarding as it will be worth not one, but two points!

Those are the two major changes from traditional soccer to Mario soccer so you should get a general idea of how the game is played. If you enjoy more traditional soccer, don't be shyed away from this game. Anyone can enjoy it, even non-sports fan (believe me because I certainly am not one!). Now let's break it down to general aspects of the game.

Graphics: SMStrikers' graphics are most comparable to those of Mario Superstar Baseball or Mario Kart: Double Dash!! While the graphics aren't terrible, they just aren't very flashy. The characters look bubbly which is fine, it just gives of a rather cartoony look. This is just my opinion though. Graphics style is a very controversial topic. What one person finds amazing another person will be unimpressed. I myself did not find them to be very stunning. (7/10)

Control: Striker's controls are similar to Sega Soccer Slam (A GCN exclusive soccer game that was released close to the Gamecube's launch). Every character is fully controllable and it's easy to switch players on the fly. Kicking is a breeze as well! Lobbing, tackling, and dodging are all easy to pull off. FIFA can learn a thing or two from this game! However there is one flaw: passing. Oftentimes when you try to pass to a far off teammate while being pursued, you will most likely repeatedly press A over and over until the ball is off. Unfortunately, this will carry on the the next person as well (given the fact that you get the ball to him/her). So when it arrives to your intended person you will automatically kick the ball to another and another, unintentionally of course. This may make some frustrated. How do you avoid this? Just don't press A a bazillion times when you want to pass. Unless there are three opponents blocking you, the pass should sail strait to your intended recipient. This may not be as much of a problem in multiplayer mode however. (9/10)

Sound & Voice: There is little music in this game so it's hard to say something about it. About the only time I remember hearing a constant tune is at the main menu, loading screens, and scoring/endgame. It all sounds fine though and sets a great soccer atmosphere. The voices of the players on the other hand, tend to get annoying, especially Peach and Daisy. It's enough to drive me insane! >_< Still this isn't that much of a problem seeing as how they just shout grunts and the occasional " Go (insert name here)!!!". (9/10)

Replay value & multiplayer: After you beat all of the cups (which isn't too terribly difficult) you will find yourself with not much else to do other than play against the computer. There are a few fields and one hidden team that you can unlock which all can be done within an hour. If you're playing solo you may find this game to be a snooze. If you have friends however, that is a completely different story. You may have heard by now that SMStrikers is a great multiplayer title. Well that is an understatement. SMStrikers is an OUTSTANDING multiplayer title that could rival that of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Nothing hits the spot quite like an afternoon of Strikers with four friends. You can play a simple grudge match or even set up a tournament with up to eight teams! I pray everyday for a WiFi sequel for the Revolution. Nintendo, are you listening? Still without any buddies, I'd recommend playing a loooong RPG. (9/10)

Here's a short recap:
Graphics-7
Control-9
Sounds & Voices-9
Replay Value & Multiplayer-9
Overall-8.5 (which rounds up to an even 9)

Super Mario Strikers is an excellent game in it's own right and shouldn't be overlooked by any hardcore gamer. So should you rent this game or buy it? If you have friends over a lot or live in a college dorm this game is definitely worth owning. I bought it about a month after it's release and I still enjoy it! If you are more of a single player gamer, you may want to rent this one, just don't avoid it altogether. I hoped my opinion has influenced your decision. I would like to thank Nintendo and Next Level Games for making such an enjoyable soccer simulation experience. I would also like to thank you as well for taking the time to read this long review! Until next time fellow gamers, this is Mr Pants signing off! :)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/06/06