Oh my god, we finally have a new Mario Strikers game, 15 years after the last entry, being
Mario Strikers CHarged on the Wii.
Yep, Mario Strikers: Battle League is on the way--and it looks absolutely incredible.
So you know what that means, it’s time to break out the analysis machine and see what
secrets and hidden details the reveal trailer has in store.
And first thing’s first--the wonderfully edge presentation the series is famous is
back in full force--okay, maybe almost full force.
Characters still drop in from the sky before a match and they have some serious ‘tude.
Just look at Luigi here--the man’s ready to throw down.
Even Toad isn’t taking any crap--which somehow makes him even cuter.
But This time, the characters are decked out in some crazy gear-0like DK or Bowser’s
full-body armor--but more on that soon.
And it’s a presentation that might be made even edgier by the fact you now have full
control over who exactly is on your team.
Point is that teams can now be made up of the biggest Mario personalities we’ve come
to know and love--including Rosalina for the first time in series history.
And this also means that Toad’s been upgraded to full character status.
In fact, the trailer even shows off the character selection screen for multiplayer, and it reveals
10 characters total, all assignable to different positions.
Unfortunately, without the sidekick characters, like Hammer BBros.
Birdos, or Koopas, this is actually a smaller roster than any previous game--so we can only
hope there are more unlockables beyond just this.
I mean, there’s easily room for 6 more slots...plus Daisy is conspicuously absent, when she’s
long-been a stand-out character for the series Hmm.
Now there is one more character we haven’t mentioned yet: Boom Boom, who’s automatically
assigned to the Goalie on each team.
Unfortunately, it seems he’s put Kritter out of a job, who was the goalie in the previous
two games.
Man, those poor Kremlings just can’t catch a break!
At any rate, they seem to work much as they always have, being controlled by the computer
until they get possession of the ball, at which point a human takes over.
Anyways, the core gameplay appears to be extremely faithful to the previous two games--and especially
the first one.
This is still a 5 on 5 game of soccer, in which you can slam opponents into electrified
fences, use power-ups to gain an edge, and deploy special shots to try to score a goal
worth double the points.
But this time, those special shots have received a bit of an overall, as they’re now called
Hyper Strikes...and now require a power-up.
So instead of being able to pull one at any time by simply charging a shot as the team
captain, you now need to grab an Orb first that appears on the field.
This will electrify your entire team, seemingly allowing any of them to execute the shot.
From here, the process seems identical to before, where you need to fully charge a shot
without being interrupted in order to bring up a special meter that dictates the power
of your hyper Strike with two button taps--timing it to land in the orange spots both times
good, but blue’s even better.
Pull it off and you’ll unleash an incredibly powerful shot that’ll net you 2 points if
it lands in the goal.
Now unlike the GameCube game, the these shots appear to be unique to each character.
Luigi unleashes a tornado--perhaps a reference to his vacuuming days--that can suck up any
defenders in its path--including the goalie, leaving a completely unobstructed goal.
Whereas Yoshi’s encases the ball in a massive egg that bounces around--knocking down anyone
it touches--before being fired at the goal.
How eggs-citing.
It seems these custom Hyper Strikes might act as the replacement not just for the first
game’s Special Shots, but also the unique Super Abilities found in the Wii sequel, as
we don’t see any other special moves being used.
Although it is possible they just haven’t been shown yet, I wouldn’t mind their absence
as they were horribly unbalanced.
Unfortunately, we don’t see much of the other characters being used, getting just
barely a glimpse of Peach’s, which appears to curve.
We can piece together Bowser’s though, starting with the opening cutscene which reveals that
Bowser actually grabs the ball and ignites it with his fire breath, before throwing it
toward the goal as shown during gameplay--is that even legal?
Perhaps my favorite part of Hyper Strikes is how the art style changes completely--and
it looks freaking awesome--evoking the art style used in the promotion materials for
the entire series.
Brilliant stuff.
Beyond hyper strikes, you’ll be able to use items too, just like in past games.
During the trailer, we can see Banana Peels that’ll slip up opponents, Green Shells
that’ll knock ‘em down, Red Shells that are good for multiple hits, and Bob-Ombs you
can toss that’ll send ‘em flying.
This time they even run a short ways before detonating.
Brutal stuff.
And although we may not see them used during gameplay, based on the HUD we know that Mushrooms
will appear too, liking awarding a speed boost--just like in the past games.
In fact, so far all of these items are nothing new and don’t even represent not half of
the items seen in previous games, so at the least, there should be plenty more we may
expect to see
In any case, it seems that two items might still be the limit based on the holding area
in the HUD, in which we never see more than two at a time for either team.
Now in case you’re wondering how you obtain items...well, it appears to work differently
now.
Before, a team used to be awarded an item any time a teammate was tackled that didn’t
have possession of the ball...and that could still be the case.
But...look at that.
Yep, that’s an item box, just the ones in Mario Kart!
And we’re guessing that’s the main way you’ll collect items now--especially since
it only appeared after the left team used one of their items, freeing up a slot for
another.
But back to the HUD for a moment, because it seems that each team is assigned a team
color and icon.
The icons include spiked balls, tornados, rocket ships, a flaming soccer ball, a top
hat, yoshi egg, lightning bolt, and what might be a sword--it’s hard to tell.
Are those random, or might you be able to choose for yourself?
In any case, the icons and colors are independent, as the tornado icon can be seen in a couple
of different colors.
Furthermore, not only do the players actually brandish those icons on their gear, but it’s
even recolored to match the team’s color, making it easier to track out on the field.
And in the case of Yoshi, his entire body changes color, as he can be seen in Pink,
Yellow, Blue, and Green team colors throughout the trailer.
Speaking of gear, one of the biggest changes to the game is that you can equip new gear
to change your looks--and your status in 5 different categories: Strength, Speed, Shooting,
Passing, and Technique.
And you can equip up to 4 difference pieces on your head, Arms, Body, and legs.
We can see that you’ll actually have to purchases the gear individually, using the
coins you earn throughout the game.
Check out that sweet Dragonball Scouter.
There’s not too much else to say about it for now, besides the fact that you can use
the Right Stick to rotate your player to see how the gear looks--or press the Plus button
for an in-game guide.
Oh, and when you choose your character, you’re able to easily choose whether to wear gear
or no gear, which could make for a more ba;anced experience.
Perhaps one of the coolest new additions in Mario Strikers Battle League is how every
stadium is actually two.
Wait, what do I mean by that?
Well, just look at it--the two halves look completely different, with the left looking
like a Mario world and Bowser’s Castle on the right.
The trailer’s very first scene shows how this comes to be, where two completely different
halves phase into existence, before being fused together to form a single whole.
Whoa.
And this whole thing isn’t just for show, as every single gameplay clip exhibits the
exact same 2-theme style.
The differences even extend to the pitch elements too, such as the ground logos, goal style,
and even the pattern on the electric barriers.
Which is not only a neat touch, but will make it far easier to remember which side is yours
But hold up...if the stadiums each consist of two halves teleported from elsewhere...where
exactly do these matches take place?
Well, the entire stadium seems to be located within some kind of giant metallic contraptions
that’s....floating in space.
Weird.
And sure enough, almost every scene takes place underneath a star-filled sky.
Although there is a single scene does take place during the day--which is either a different
location, or more likely, some kind of projection on the dome that surrounds the stadium.
At any rate, let’s go ahead and break down all 4 stadium halves that we’ve see.
And let’s start with the Mario-looking one, which seems to be called Mushroom Hill, based
on the mushrooms...on a hill.
Yeah, we’re real detectives here.
And it looks like it was ripped right out of Super Mario 3D World, what with the multiple
levels featuring coins, bricks, and warp pipes--and even the exposed ground layers.
And one unique feature that we can just barely see is an NES_style castle sitting at the
top of it all
In terms of pitch decor, the field features a ? Block and pipe designs, the goal is made
out of wap pipes, and the electric barrier features a typical brick-like pattern.
Neat!
Next, we have Bowser’s Castle, as we already mentioned--and it comes complete with visible
turrets and lava galore.
The ground features a fire hazard design, along with a goal that looks suspiciously
like a cage surrounded by torches, and a perimeter fence that features a chainlink design.
Gotta admit, it’s pretty cool...or hot looking.
Then we have this purple looking one which we’ve identified as being Luigi’s Mansion...or
more specifically, Gloomy Manor from Luigi’s Mansion 2, which is perfectly fitting given
that game was also produced by series’ creator, Next Level Games.
And it seems that mansion wraps around the sides of the stadium, which we can also see
from another angle, which also reveals viewing areas just below them.
On the ground, we can see the design of might be a creepy tree in front of a window, along
with a rather decorative goal, and an electric fence that seems to have a purple cobweb design-creepy.
Finally, we have Donkey Kong’s stage that surround the stadium with foliage, treehouses,
and spiked fences.
On the field, we can see a barrel and vine decoration, with a wooden goal and decorative
feathers, along with an electric fence that has a banana design.
Regardless of which stadium themes you play in, you’lll also find jumbotron televisions
fashioned to each one, in a thematically appropriate matter of course, and you’ll also always
find the same species in the crowd: Toads, Yoshis, Sky Guys, and Koopa Troopas...well,
at least they found something to do with their time after being demoted from playable character
status.
Alright, we’re nearly done here but there’s a few final things I wanted to point out.
Like how Yosh’s tackle is hilarious looking But so is Waluigi’s incredible head-spinning
tackle ...but neither is as funny what Wario does
when receiving a pass, where he literally grabs the ball with his mouth before throwing
it into the goal.
We can see that shots taken near the goal still have a neat slow-motion effect.
And Speaking of goals, the celebration and disappointed animations are back after every
point , which is a great tough.
Finally, did you see the pose Peach stuck here immediately after dropping in, but before
standing up?
It’s exactly the exact same pose she struck in Mario Strikers Charged, which is a nice
call back
And with that, our Mario Strikers: Battle League analysis is complete!
And I, for one, am hyped to play this game after waiting 15 years for a sequel.
Anyways, thank you so much for watching and of course, stay tuned to GameXplain for more
on Mario Strikers: Battle League as well as more coverage of the recent Nintendo Direct.
We’ll catch you later!
Bye everyone