Mario Strikers: Battle League

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Mario Strikers: Battle League
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Next Level Games
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch
Release date	Template:Release[?]
Language(s)	English (United Kingdom) English (United States) French (France) French (Canada) German Spanish (Spain) Spanish (Latin America) Italian Dutch Portuguese (Portugal) Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Japanese Simplified Chinese Traditional Chinese Korean
Genre	Soccer
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone 10+ PEGI: - Seven years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: - Parental Guidance USK: - Six years and older RARS: - Six years and older GSRR: - All ages Gmedia: - Seven years and older
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Input	Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con

Mario Strikers: Battle League (known in European languages as Mario Strikers: Battle League Football) is a game for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third game in the Mario Strikers series and the first one since Mario Strikers Charged over 15 years prior, featuring new gear, items, and moves. Up to eight players can play the game in multiplayer. The game also features an online Strikers Club mode where players can host clubs with up to 20 players and compete against other clubs to earn points and increase their rankings. The game released worldwide on June 10, 2022, and is set to receive free post-launch updates which include new playable characters.

Opening cutscene

The game's opening begins with the Mushroom Hill and Lava Castle stages combining to one field in space. The camera moves across the soccer field to then show two portals appearing, one for Bowser's team (consisting of Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Rosalina) and one for Mario's (consisting of Luigi, Toad, and Peach), both transitioning to a cel-shaded style. Once both teams landed, Mario and Bowser stare at each other, the latter manages to get the soccer ball first, and the game begins.

Mario passes the ball to Luigi, where the latter soon dodges a tackle from Yoshi. Rosalina walks in sight, stares at Luigi, and then tackles him with a dash, which throws the ball away from Luigi. The ball bounces as Bowser and Peach try to get it, with the Peach throwing a Bob-omb right to Bowser before he could get ball and has him flying off the stadium. Peach dribbles the ball out of the explosion and gets to the Lava Castle part of the field, passing the ball to Toad, which he then shoots it. Bowser's Boom Boom goalie blocks the ball, and the camera moves to Bowser getting upset and breathing fire from his mouth upwards.

The fire makes a transition to Luigi passing the ball to Toad, but Bowser does a Team Tackle with Donkey Kong, launching and punching Mario and Toad out and throwing the ball to Yoshi, who does a few twirl moves before passing it to Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong performs his Hyper Strike, knocking out Mario and Peach, but the team's Boom Boom goalie manages to block the soccer ball from scoring. The ball then reaches Bowser, who breathes fire toward the ball and then tries to throw it, but Luigi slides and tackles him, losing the ball in the process. The ball goes back to the ground as the fire burns out and Luigi passes it to Mario. He then executes his Hyper Strike, and while preparing to kick it, gets flames in his eyes. Mario then kicks the ball as Bowser's goalie prepares to block it, and the ball circles across the air towards the goal, leading to the title screen.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to that of previous Mario Strikers games, where two teams of five (four players and a goalie) compete for points by getting the ball into the opposing team's net. Following the rules of street soccer, there are no penalties like fouls, meaning that players are able to tackle their opponents around the field. Like previous games, items and special moves are used to the turn the tide of gameplay. Unlike in previous games, rather than having one main captain and three generic sidekicks as teammates, teams in this game (apart from the goalie) are comprised entirely of main playable characters.

A new technique introduced in this game is called the Team Tackle. If a player tackles their own teammate, they send the teammate quickly across the stage. This can be used both defensively, by using Team Tackle at an opponent and stealing the ball from them, or offensively, by getting the teammate close to the goal. Similar to the Super Strike from Super Mario Strikers and Mega Strike from Mario Strikers Charged, the new Hyper Strike acts as the game's special move, and is activated in a similar manner as the latter. Unlike those moves, however, Hyper Strikes must first be obtained by collecting a Strike Orb that occasionally appears on the field. Additionally, rather than just having aesthetic differences, each character's Hyper Strike has different gameplay-related properties, making them similar to that of the Special Shots from Mario Sports Mix. Hyper Strikes are also able to bypass goalies.

Another new concept introduced in this game is customization. In addition to aesthetic customization options, like team color, gear can be purchased from the in-game shop with Coins, which allow the player to adjust various attributes such as their movement speed, curve shots, resistance to getting the ball stolen from them, and more. When selecting characters, the player can choose whether to equip their character with gear or not.

Power-ups

Power-ups return from previous games, though this time, they are obtained from ? Blocks like other Mario spinoff games.

Items
File:Nocoverart.png ? Block
Provides an item when touched. Spectators can throw two kinds of ? Blocks onto the field: - Rainbow-colored ? Blocks can be used by either team. Exciting plays and dangerous tackles make these appear more often. - Team-colored ? Blocks can be used only by the team matching its color. When a player who does not have the ball is tackled, regardless of which team they're on, their team will receive a team-colored ? Block.
Mushroom	Bob-omb	Banana
Greatly increases your speed for a short time when used.	Explodes when thrown, knocking away players on your opponent's team.	Causes any players who come in contact with it to fall over.
Red Shell	Green Shell	Star
Chases after a nearby opponent when thrown, hitting them and causing them to fall over.	Travels in a straight line when thrown and will bounce off of fences. Players hit by one will fall over.	Makes you invincible for a short amount of time and boosts all of your character's attributes. If you touch an opponent while it's active, you will knock them down.

Game modes

Like with the previous games, Mario Strikers: Battle League has a large emphasis of multiplayer content, though there is some single-player content present.

Cup Battles

Returning from the first game, up to four players can be compete on a tournament bracket as a team in six cups, the last of which can only be unlocked once the other five are beaten. If a team loses their initial match, they are sent to the loser's bracket where they have to chance to survive and compete in the last match of the tournament, but losing again will cause them to be eliminated. Once all six cups are beaten, the Galactic Mode is unlocked, which is the same as the normal cups but harder and grant higher rewards. Each cup rewards the player more coins, with Galactic Cups holding a thousand of them each.

Quick Match

The player creates two teams with up to eight players along with picking an outfit and field of their choice to play in both offline and online matches. Configurations like the time, items, and Hyper Strikes are only available offline, whereas online players can either do matches with another person or compete by themselves.

Striker's Club

The newest mode included in the series, which has players creating or joining a club with up to 20 members to improve their division ranking across seasons. Clubs can be named and customized with many options including team outfits, gear, and field designs to take online against other clubs. Seasons happen every other week, where clubs can gain special currency for more field designs and go up in the rankings.

Characters

There are 10 playable characters available in the game. Of those characters, Rosalina is playable for the first time in the Mario Strikers series, and Toad is now selectable as a team captain. Although sidekicks do not return in this game, the player has the option to have multiple Toads or Yoshis on a team, in a similar vein to sidekicks. Themes for each character when they shoot a goal make a return from Mario Strikers Charged, but unlike that game, they are all rock-and-roll-themed. Boom Booms are seen as goalies, taking over the role from Kritters in previous games. Additional characters will be included through updates.

Every character has five different attributes:

Icon	Attribute	Description
	Strength	This attribute determines the power of a character's tackle and their resistance to being tackled.
	Speed	This attribute determines a character's running speed.
	Shooting	This attribute determines the power of a shot and its speed.
	Passing	This attribute determines the speed of a pass, as well as the range of a free pass.
	Technique	This attribute determines a character's shot accuracy and curve, and it affects how the character dribbles the ball. It also affects the meter for the Hyper Strike and the timing of perfect moves, making both easier to execute if the attribute is high.

There are 10 default team names and 12 uniform colors:

Left field teams	Rockets	Magicians	Comets	Warriors	Charms
Right field teams	Crowns	Bolts	Spikes	Scramblers	Cyclones

Color	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Light green	Green	Black	Gray	Blue	Purple	Light purple	Light blue
Default character	Mario Toad	Peach	-	Donkey Kong Wario	-	Luigi Yoshi	Bowser	-	-	Waluigi	-	Rosalina

The stats in the following table are the characters' default stats, without any gear applied.

Playable

white		white		white		white
Mario's high technique and shooting attributes make him a great choice for those seeking a balanced, capable character.		Luigi is a well-rounded team player who excels at setting up shots with his high passing attribute.		Bowser's powerful offense dominates the field with incredible shots and brutal tackles.		Quick and capable, Peach's high movement and technique attributes help her confuse and evade opponents.
Type	Technique	Type	Technique	Type	Physical	Type	Speed
Default color	Red	Default color	Green	Default color	Black	Default color	Pink
Team number	1	Team number	2	Team number	66	Team number	10
Hyper Strike	Fire Cyclone	Hyper Strike	Spin Tornado	Hyper Strike	Flame Cannon	Hyper Strike	Dance of Hearts
Strength	11/25	Strength	11/25	Strength	17/25	Strength	9/25
Speed	12/25	Speed	11/25	Speed	9/25	Speed	17/25
Shooting	14/25	Shooting	10/25	Shooting	17/25	Shooting	9/25
Passing	10/25	Passing	14/25	Passing	11/25	Passing	13/25
Technique	16/25	Technique	17/25	Technique	9/25	Technique	15/25
white		white		white		white
A powerhouse on offense, Rosalina's mighty shooting ability will put any goalie to the test.		Toad’s high speed and passing attributes are perfect for any team looking to quickly set up a potent offense. In Quick Battle and Cup Battles, you can have more than one Toad on a team.		Yoshi is always ready to help out his team with excellent passing and strong shooting. In Quick Battle and Cup Battles, you can have more than one Yoshi on a team.		With his crushing tackle and skillful passing, Donkey Kong is a defensive barrier few can surmount.
Type	Offense	Type	Speed	Type	Offense	Type	Defense
Default color	Light blue	Default color	Red	Default color	Green	Default color	Yellow
Team number	11	Team number	12	Team number	8	Team number	55
Hyper Strike	Orbital Burst	Hyper Strike	Drill Smash	Hyper Strike	Egg Stomp	Hyper Strike	Banana Blast
Strength	14/25	Strength	9/25	Strength	10/25	Strength	16/25
Speed	9/25	Speed	17/25	Speed	10/25	Speed	9/25
Shooting	17/25	Shooting	11/25	Shooting	17/25	Shooting	13/25
Passing	10/25	Passing	15/25	Passing	17/25	Passing	16/25
Technique	13/25	Technique	11/25	Technique	9/25	Technique	9/25
black		white
Boasting high strength and fierce shooting power, Wario eagerly tackles his way to the front lines to take his shot.		A nimble defender, Waluigi uses his high speed and technique to rush over and knock opponents down with a punishing tackle.
Type	Physical	Type	Defense
Default color	Yellow	Default color	Purple
Team number	00	Team number	0
Hyper Strike	Electric Ricochet	Hyper Strike	Thorn Barrier
Strength	17/25	Strength	15/25
Speed	9/25	Speed	16/25
Shooting	15/25	Shooting	9/25
Passing	13/25	Passing	9/25
Technique	9/25	Technique	14/25

Goalie

white
Boom Boom is the goal keeper. He moves automatically and cannot be controlled by the player. Don't worry; he knows what he's doing.
Type	Keeper

Non-playable

• Fútbot
• Toads
• Yoshis
• Shy Guys
• Koopa Troopas

Fields

Unlike previous Mario Strikers games, the soccer fields now consist of two individual halves, each with a different theme, and they can be combined into one stadium from either different or the same halves. This also changes what music is playing during the matches, with the same field halves playing rearrangements of previous Mario songs, or entirely original music in the different field halves. Like in Super Mario Strikers, the different fields are only aesthetic, rather than housing any varying gimmicks like in Mario Strikers Charged, aside from the electric fences that can shock players present around the perimeter of the field. However, a new feature in this game is the ability to visually upgrade the stage's appearance, adding more scenery around it, using a new bolt-like currency. There are four levels of upgrades the player can give the stage, with the first three costing 100,000 bolts and the fourth costing 2,500,000 bolts. In addition to the stage itself, the player can also customize the stage's turf, goal line, electric fence, and goal designs.

• Lava Castle
• Spooky Mansion
• Jungle Retreat
• Mushroom Hill
• Royal Castle

Gear

A new feature to the Mario Strikers series is gear, allowing players to buy different outfits to change the characters' stats. Each piece of gear, when applied, will increase a particular stat by a certain amount while also decreasing another stat by a certain amount. There are six sets of gear, each involving increasing a particular stat. Each gear set contains four pieces, including a head, arms, body, and legs piece, which cost 100 coins per piece per character and 300 per Bushido piece.

Category	Head gear	Arms gear	Body gear	Legs gear
Muscle Gear Set When equipped, this gear increases the strength attribute at the cost of another attribute.	Muscle Helmet	Muscle Gauntlets	Muscle Chest	Muscle Boots
	Strength +2
	Technique -2	Passing -2	Shooting -2	Speed -2
Turbo Gear Set When equipped, this gear increases the speed attribute at the cost of another attribute.	Turbo Helmet	Turbo Gloves	Turbo Pad	Turbo Boots
	Speed +2
	Technique -2	Strength -2	Passing -2	Shooting -2
Cannon Gear Set When equipped, this gear increases the shooting attribute at the cost of another attribute.	Cannon Visor	Cannon Gloves	Cannon Plate	Cannon Boots
	Shooting +2
	Technique -2	Speed -2	Strength -2	Passing -2
Chain Gear Set When equipped, this gear increases the passing attribute at the cost of another attribute.	Chain Helmet	Chain Gauntlets	Chain Plate	Chain Boots
	Passing +2
	Speed -2	Shooting -2	Technique -2	Strength -2
Trick Gear Set When equipped, this gear increases the technique attribute at the cost of another attribute.	Trick Helmet	Trick Gloves	Trick Pad	Trick Boots
	Technique +2
	Passing -2	Speed -2	Strength -2	Shooting -2
Bushido Gear Set When equipped, parts of this gear increases one attribute at the cost of the other four, with one of them mainly being the shooting attribute as this set only decreases said attribute. Can only be unlocked once beating the Normal Cup Battles.	Bushido Helmet	Bushido Gloves	Bushido Pad	Bushido Boots
	Passing +4	Technique +4	Strength +4	Speed +4
	All attributes except Passing -1	All attributes except Technique -1	All attributes except Strength -1	All attributes except Speed -1

Promotion

For video advertisements, see Mario Strikers: Battle League § External links.

On April 13, 2022, the Nintendo UK Twitter account announced that any pre-orders of the game made through the My Nintendo Store will receive a bonus Fan Scarf. If a pre-order is made through Walmart, an exclusive decal sheet featuring the game's artwork is included.

On May 16, 2022, Nintendo's German YouTube channel uploaded a gameplay video of a Mario Strikers: Battle League match commented by German sports announcer Frank Buschmann.

On May 25, 2022, Nintendo of Japan revealed that Switch icons for the game that can be purchased with My Nintendo Platinum Points will be released on the Nintendo Switch Online app on June 10, the same day as the game's release.

Pre-release demo

Title screen

A free, limited time demo titled Mario Strikers: Battle League First Kick (or simply Mario Strikers First Kick) was released prior to the game's full launch. The demo allowed online play via the Versus Everyone and Join Friends modes at set periods from June 3 through June 5, 2022 (Pacific Time), with single-player gameplay available at any time only through the Training mode. A Nintendo Switch Online membership was required to play online matches.

The following was the schedule for the demo's active online sessions:

• Friday, June 3 - 8:00–9:00 p.m. PT
• Saturday, June 4 - 4:00–5:00 a.m. PT
• Saturday, June 4 - 12:00–1:00 p.m. PT
• Saturday, June 4 - 8:00–9:00 p.m. PT
• Sunday, June 5 - 4:00–5:00 a.m. PT
• Sunday, June 5 - 12:00–1:00 p.m. PT

Staff

Main article: List of Mario Strikers: Battle League staff

As with the previous two games in the Mario Strikers series, Mario Strikers: Battle League was developed by Next Level Games, though this is the company's first game since its full acquisition by Nintendo. The game was directed by Devon Blanchet, who previously served as a design director for Luigi's Mansion 3, while the music was composed by Chad York and Darren Radtke, who composed for every Mario game by Next Level Games since Mario Strikers Charged.

Reception

Reviews
Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Alex Olney, Nintendo Life	9/10	"Mario Strikers: Battle League is a masterclass in competitive game design. What it lacks in options is more than made up by just how much fun the game is, and it’s absolutely gorgeous to boot. As it stands it already feels like a complete product, but the promise of future updates down the line gives us even more to get excited about. If arcade sport action isn’t your bag, it’ll likely do nothing to sway your opinion, but if you have even a passing interest in this kind of caper, Mario Strikers: Battle League is the best sports game on Switch right now."
Travis Northup, IGN	8/10	"Mario Strikers: Battle League is part skillful soccer game, part ruthless brawler, and almost always a complete blast to play. If you’ve played any games in the series before, there won’t be many surprises in store for you and the small roster of characters and game modes is definitely disappointing, but what’s there is incredibly fun and replayable. I’m impressed by the online mode in the time I’ve had with it so far too, as it sets the stage for a ranked playlist that I look forward to grinding my way to the top of."
Steve Watts, GameSpot	7/10	"Mario Strikers: Battle League is a thin package, without very much variety in terms of game modes and options. But it is a more technically complex game than many of the Mario sports titles, which may give it legs for dedicated players. Sports are all about proving your skill in head-to-head match-ups, and that will have to be enough, because there isn't much else to it."
Alex Stadnik, Game Informer	7.5/10	"Mario Strikers: Battle League may not be the ultimate version of the world's most popular sport, but its strategic matches, fun online modes, and energetic animations make for an enjoyable experience. While the single-player crowd may find the game a bit lacking, Nintendo's return to the pitch is bound to create the same triumphant highs, and friendship-ending lows the company's suite of other party titles is known for."
Aggregators
Compiler		Template:Nowrap
Metacritic		74

Sales

In the UK, Battle League took the #1 spot in weekly physical software sales in its first week on the market.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Strikers: Battle League.

• 

  North American English logo

• 

  Mario performing a slide kick

• 

  Mario and Bowser

• 

  Wario being boosted by Waluigi and knocking out Toad

• 

  Mario's team posing

References to other games

• Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3: Wario's dribble animation with him carrying the ball references his ability to do the same towards enemies in the game, along with his Shoulder Bash being used for his animation when tackling.
• Donkey Kong Country: An arrangement of "DK Island Swing" plays on the Jungle Retreat stage.
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's dash animation references his run cycle in this game.
• Luigi's Mansion: An arrangement of the main theme of this game plays on the Spooky Mansion stage.
• New Super Mario Bros.: The Mushroom Hill stage is centered around the grass world, and the Main Theme has been rearranged for the stage.
• Mario Strikers Charged: The Cup Battles mode features arrangements of both Strikers Cup themes that play in that respective mode, along with the winning cup theme. Yoshi's character theme has also been rearranged, a part of Bowser's theme shows up in the track for Lava Castle, and the Golden Goal plays an arrangement of the Sudden Death theme, this time including the parts from the opening version of the theme. The main leitmotif also plays in the beginning of the opening movie. Waluigi's Hyper Strike involving vines going through opponents is taken from his Mega Strike, where he uses a vine whip to shoot the ball.
• Donkey Kong Country Returns: The decorations of the Jungle Retreat court resemble DK's Tree House as seen in this game.
• Mario Sports Mix: Some voice clips are taken from this game.
• Super Mario 3D Land: Boom Boom's voice clips are taken from this game.
• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon: The decorations of the Spooky Mansion court reference the Dark Moon, and the game features an arrangement of Gloomy Manor's music.
• Mario Kart 8: The majority of the characters' voice clips are taken from this game.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	マリオストライカーズ: バトルリーグ Mario Sutoraikāzu: Batoru Rīgu	Mario Strikers: Battle League
Chinese (simplified)	马力欧激战前锋 战斗联赛 Mǎlì'ōu Jīzhàn Qiánfēng Zhàndòu Liánsài	Mario Fierce Battle Strikers: Battle League Match
Chinese (traditional)	瑪利歐激戰前鋒 戰鬥聯賽 Mǎlì'ōu Jīzhàn Qiánfēng Zhàndòu Liánsài	Mario Fierce Battle Strikers: Battle League Match
Korean	마리오 스트라이커즈 배틀 리그[?] Mario Seuteulaikeojeu Baeteul Ligeu	Mario Strikers Battle League

Trivia

• This is the first game in the Mario Strikers series where almost all voice lines are reused from other Mario games, rather than being newly recorded.

External links

Official websites

• North American game page (English)
• European game page (English)
• Japanese website

Advertisements

• "Hyper Strikes" advertisement
• "So Much Fun It Hurts" advertisement
• "So Much Fun It Hurts" advertisement (unlisted version)
• "Customize With Gear" advertisement
• "Online Play" advertisement
• "Here We Go" launch trailer