Super Mario Strikers

SCORE: 83

Nintendo went through a phase there with including Mario in just about every single video game they released. Mario also was the main character in a brand new line of sports titles as well. The only sports game we are awaiting is Mario Football. Given enough time, and sales Nintendo will bring that to market pretty soon. If your expecting a hardcore game of soccer, then Super Mario Strikers is not for you. This is a light hearted soccer game with a Mushroom Kingdom twist. If your unclear as to what that means, let me explain briefly. Power ups, and things like freezing shells are available to shake up the normal action. Bowser entering the action and breathing fire all around can really mess up an attempt to score. The power up shot can stun the goalie, leaving the net wide open for a second attempt.

The visuals in Super Mario Strikers are a hit and a miss. The movies after scoring, and before games is among the best on the Gamecube from that era. The action itself has the characters pretty small. There is also a problem with most of the players looking the same, and if two captains use the same team it can get confusing (editor: especially when passing the ball). There is some cartoon violence, and taunting. Certain characters will taunt, and be offensive towards other characters. There really is no call for such bad sportsmanship.

Mushroom Kingdom sounds are heard throughout Super Mario Strikers. The main sounds in this soccer game are of the power ups being used, or a player powering up for a shot at the goal. The fields are so small, that the action feels more like a game of Air Hockey than soccer. Some of the music felt gritty to this reviewer.

Nintendo made sure Next Level Games included a ton of different features, from grudge matches, to tournaments. There are plenty of cups to compete in, and different captains to play. A ton of unlockable content is also available. This game can be found pretty cheap so in this reviewer’s opinion it is worth a look see. More than one person can play each other at the same time too.

The control scheme, and general controls took me a little bit of experimentation to figure out. Not everything there is intuitive, or crisp. The fields are a little too small, and the games last too long. Sudden Death (a form of overtime) is handled in an interesting fashion though. I did have fun playing this game even with the before mentioned problems.

I have some disappointment with Nintendo in regards to this game. The taunting, and things said being mean to other characters goes against the image Nintendo has with Family Friendly Gaming. It just goes to show be careful even with known companies that are generally friendly to the family. I would like Nintendo to clean up the issues with this game in a sequel, and do know about the Wii version in development.
- Sam

Graphics: 79%
Sound: 82%
Replay/Extras: 95%
Gameplay: 80%
Family Friendly Factor: 79%
System: Gamecube
Publisher: Nintendo
Rating: 'E' for Everyone
{Mild Cartoon Violence}

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