Mario Strikers (series)
Mario Strikers | |
---|---|
First installment | Super Mario Strikers (2005) |
Latest installment | Mario Strikers: Battle League (2022) |
Number of installments | 4 (3 main, 1 promotional) |
Franchise | Super Mario |
The Mario Strikers series, also known as the Mario Football series in Europe and Australia and the Mario Soccer series in South Korea, is a series of Super Mario games that began in 2005 in which Mario and his friends play "Strike",[1] a more extreme variant of association football (commonly known as "football" or "soccer"). The series consists of three games: Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged, and Mario Strikers: Battle League.
Games[edit]
Main games[edit]
Title | |
---|---|
Cover, original release, and system | Description |
Super Mario Strikers | |
November 18, 2005[?] Nintendo GameCube |
Super Mario Strikers (Mario Smash Football in the PAL version), the first game in the series, was released on the Nintendo GameCube. It features basic rules of football, although having its own playing style as implied in several sport Super Mario games. One specialized rule is Super Strikes. Only the team captain can execute a Special Strike, and if done so perfectly, the shot will always make the goal, and be worth two points. There are a total of nine different playable team captains (including one unlockable, Super Team), four different sidekick players, and two different goalies. It was the last Super Mario game to be released for the GameCube in Japan and North America. |
Mario Strikers Charged | |
May 25, 2007[?] Wii |
Mario Strikers Charged (Mario Strikers Charged Football in the PAL version and Mario Power Soccer for South Korea), the second installment in the series, was released on the Wii in 2007. Wi-Fi capability was a new addition to the game, allowing players to compete across the world over the internet. The game features four new team captains: Bowser, Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, and Petey Piranha, as well as four new types of sidekicks (Boos, Dry Bones, Monty Moles, and Shy Guys). The game includes ten new fields to compete, many of them containing certain gimmicks that would modify the situation of every match. For this second mainstream, the characters would have special kicks to score, like sidekicks' skillshots or the powerful Mega Strikes of the captains, which Kritter proves his potential to stop the soccer balls, under the control of the player. If successful, then they will receive up to six points for each ball in the goal. Also, new power-ups had been added for each team captain, known as Super Abilities. The game was rereleased for the Wii U eShop in 2016. |
Mario Strikers: Battle League | |
June 10, 2022 Nintendo Switch |
Mario Strikers: Battle League (Mario Strikers: Battle League Football in the European and Australian version) is the third installment in the series and the first in 15 years, released on the Nintendo Switch. It features new gear and items, and also introduced Rosalina and Pauline as playable characters. Toad, Shy Guy, and Birdo are now selectable as captains for the first time after having been sidekicks for the past two games, while Boom Boom replaces Kritter as a goalie that cannot be controlled by the player. While sidekicks are not present in this game, the player has the option to select multiple Toads, Yoshis, and Shy Guys in a team in Quick Battles and Cup Battles. |
Promotional games[edit]
Title | |
---|---|
Icon, original release, and system | Description |
Heads-Up | |
2006 Adobe Flash |
Super Mario Strikers -- Heads Up was an online Adobe Flash advergame published by Nintendo around the release of Super Mario Strikers for the Nintendo GameCube. It was listed in the Nintendo Arcade, a now defunct section with web games on Nintendo's website.[2] |
Playable characters[edit]
Not counting goalies, a total of 23 playable characters have appeared in the series.
1 - This character is a sidekick character.
2 - In Quick Play and Cup Battles, this character can be selected more than once for a team.
3 - To use this character, a software update is required.
Goalies[edit]
Character | Super Mario Strikers | Mario Strikers Charged | Mario Strikers: Battle League |
---|---|---|---|
Kritter | |||
Robo-Kritter | |||
Boom Boom |
Striker types[edit]
All-Rounder[edit]
Characters in this classification have a roughly equal balance of attributes. Prior to Mario Strikers: Battle League, this category was named "Balanced".
Game | Balanced/All-Rounder Characters |
---|---|
Super Mario Strikers | Mario · Yoshi |
Mario Strikers Charged | Mario · Luigi · Yoshi · Koopa Troopa · Shy Guy |
Mario Strikers: Battle League | Bowser Jr. · Shy Guy |
Speed[edit]
Characters in this classification have high speed and passing and average technique, but poor strength and shooting. Prior to Mario Strikers: Battle League, this category was named "Playmaker".
Game | Playmaker/Speed Characters |
---|---|
Super Mario Strikers | Luigi · Peach |
Mario Strikers Charged | Peach · Diddy Kong · Toad · Boo |
Mario Strikers: Battle League | Peach · Toad · Diddy Kong |
Physical[edit]
Characters in this classification generally have high power and shooting, but have poor speed, passing, and technique. The exception is Pauline in Mario Strikers: Battle League, who has high speed but poor shooting instead. In Super Mario Strikers, this category was named "Aggressive", and in Mario Strikers Charged, this category was named "Power".
Game | Aggressive/Power/Physical Characters |
---|---|
Super Mario Strikers | Wario · Donkey Kong |
Mario Strikers Charged | Donkey Kong · Bowser · Petey Piranha · Birdo · Monty Mole |
Mario Strikers: Battle League | Wario · Bowser · Pauline |
Offensive[edit]
Characters in this classification generally have high shooting and passing and poor to average technique but have poor strength and speed. Rosalina and Birdo in Mario Strikers: Battle League are exceptions, with both of them having poor passing, the former having average strength, and the latter having high technique.
Game | Offensive Characters |
---|---|
Super Mario Strikers | Daisy · Waluigi |
Mario Strikers Charged | Wario · Bowser Jr. · Hammer Bro |
Mario Strikers: Battle League | Yoshi · Rosalina · Birdo |
Defensive[edit]
A category introduced in Mario Strikers Charged. Characters in this classification generally have high speed and strength and average technique, but are weak in shooting and passing. Donkey Kong in Mario Strikers: Battle League is the exception, having high passing, average shooting, and poor technique and speed instead.
Game | Defensive Characters |
---|---|
Mario Strikers Charged | Daisy · Waluigi · Dry Bones |
Mario Strikers: Battle League | Waluigi · Donkey Kong |
Technique[edit]
A category introduced in Mario Strikers: Battle League. Characters in this classification have high technique and an average balance of strength, speed, shooting, and passing.
Game | Technique Characters |
---|---|
Mario Strikers: Battle League | Mario · Luigi · Daisy |
Fields[edit]
Gallery[edit]
Trivia[edit]
- To promote the first entry in the series, a browser game was released in 2005 called Super Mario Strikers -- Heads-Up.
References[edit]
- ^ "The GSF has asked me to instruct you on the basics of Strike." - Fútbot in Training mode, Mario Strikers: Battle League
- ^ Nintendo Arcade. nintendo.com. Archived September 11, 2007 via Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 19, 2017.