Mario Strikers charge at May

By Tom Bramwell Published 3 April, 2007

Wii footy game goes online, too.

The Wii version of Mario Strikers is due out on 25th May, Nintendo said today, and will offer online multiplayer via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

As with Mario Smash Football and SEGA Soccer Slam, from which it seems to draw "some" inspiration, Mario Strikers: Charged Football is a fast-paced game of five-a-side that sees players performing acrobatic special shots once they've built themselves up to it.

That'll be true here, but there are some twists. "Super Abilities" are a bit more elaborate, with Mario blowing himself up to huge proportions to trample the opposition, and Princess Peach taking photos that freeze the other team to the spot. "Mega Strikes", meanwhile, split the ball into five separate spheres that have to be defended to avoid a goal.

Your chosen team captain will be the main "named" character, like Mario or Luigi, as usual, but you'll also be able to pick three side-kicks from eight offered based on their specific characteristics, potentially adding a bit of tactical depth to a game that usually revolves around the main players.

Control is much as you'd expect for the most part, with movement on the Nunchuk's analogue stick, but this being the Wii there are a few nods to the motion sensor, with Wiimote flicks used to body-check opponents, while Mega Strikes from opposing players can be batted away from the goal by using the Wiimote to block them with a set of on-screen goalkeeping gloves.

You'll also be able to take advantage of various power-ups, with fouled players given special treats to help avenge themselves, including red spiky shells, or a chain chomp that chases the opposition around the pitch.

As for the multiplayer - which is in addition, we should say, to a multi-tiered three-cup single-player game and an exhibition-style "Domination" mode - you will be able to team up with a friend in a group of four to play two-on-two games on one console, as well as going online to take part in ranked and unranked matches against people across the world, with global leaderboards keeping track of your progress.

The fact that you can play two-on-two offline led us to wonder whether you could do the same on that old Internet. Sadly Nintendo hasn't got back to us about it yet, but we'll be sure to let you know when someone does.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (33) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mechamonkey #1 5 years ago

    SEGA Soccer Slam was so underrated, it's a classic

  • RM2KMaster #2 5 years ago

    No otherworldly characters in this Mario sporting game?
    No Sonic?
    No Final Fantasy?
    No Max Payne?
    Nintendo is losing it...

  • Cloudane #3 5 years ago

    ALL the Mario games apart from the Kart and Platformer efforts are pointless.

    They are only good fun for 30 minutes so maybe that suits the Wii demographic(!)

  • QJ #4 5 years ago

    Ok.. so when is Super Paper Mario out over here then.... hmm?

  • richardiox #5 5 years ago

    Is that May for PAL release then? I didnt think a US date had been announced and it seems odd to get ours before theirs.

  • Tomo #6 5 years ago

    This sounds terrific. The online capability is a plus too. Didn't think we'd be seeing it till Metroid... unless it's swapping football shirts or some other lame feature...

  • ryohazuki1983 #7 5 years ago

    pushed to may 2008 no doubt ;)

    forget strikers how about mario kart online for the Wii - that would be nice!

    Wii needs some decent games, as much as i like the Wii I end up playing VC games and surfing the net when some1 is using the PC more than actually playing Wii titles.

    I was thinking of selling it and getting a US Wii, as games are released way ahead of europe and we just get forgotten about, i wanna play games like paper mario, thats released this month over in the US but we have to wait till end of november.

    Nintendo should be making the most of all the hardware sales and put out decent games otherwise all the hype will just die down and the wii will be forgotten about.

    Cmon ninty!

  • mkreku #8 5 years ago

    Ok, someone needs to explain to me why Mario has to appear in EVERYTHING that comes out of Nintendo? Can I really be the only one who's dead tired of seeing that fat plumber everywhere? Why can't they just make a great football game without Mario and shells and cute tomatoes and pink fairies in it?

  • QJ #9 5 years ago

    @ryohazuki1983

    End of november for Paper Mario? Seriously? Where did you hear that info? I am wishing that I had gotten an American Wii now too!

    As for this game being released in Europe before the US - its probably down to the fact it is based on proper football and our cousins across the pond prefer to play their version fully armoured.

    Edited by 1 at 03/04/07 @ 12:39

  • ryohazuki1983 #10 5 years ago

    @QJ

    I looked at the release dates on various online shops - amazon have it listed as end of nov, although I know that most of the time these are a shit source....

  • MadMirko #11 5 years ago

    There is no date yet for Paper Mario in Europe. I don't know what the big deal is supposed to be there, as of yesterday there was no Mario Striker Euro date either.

  • QJ #12 5 years ago

    Ah right, there's still hope of a summer release then. :-)

  • The-Bodybuilder #13 5 years ago

    One of the main questions I was was whether the wii and the wiimote can do pro evo justice.

    My question seems ot have been answered.

  • Wayne #14 5 years ago

    RESULT!!!! I've been waiting for this news for ages. Me and my mates LOVED Mario Smash Football. I am incredibly pshyched about this. Eventually something else worth buying.

    SCORE!!!!! GOAL!!!! G'WAN THE NINTY!!!

  • mostly_harmless #15 5 years ago

    I love how this game is being dismissed without anyone having played it, just because it isn't Mario Galaxy!

    Mario, a pick-up and play dynamic, and the usual sprinkling of Nintendo daftness. Sounds perfect for several areas of the Wii demographic. But of course, Nintendo should shelve such potentially profitable and relatively quick to produce games until an entirely different development team has finished work on a monstrously large and complex game on which much of the company's ongoing reputation hangs. Obviously.

    You know, this does remind me of my other big hobby (photography). I'm a long time customer of one of the few 'real' camera manufacturers left (who are also Japanese, also have a reputation for greatness tinged with marketing and supply inadequacies, and also begin with the letter 'N'), and they're constantly being hounded for just releasing 'consumer' lenses (consumer being the photoworld's equivalent of 'casual'), whilst delaying the 'pro' (read 'hardcore') glass.

    Not that that means anything, I'm just rambling in my old age.

    PS - Yes, where IS Super Paper Mario?

  • GrandpaUlrira #16 5 years ago

    Mario Strikers was great with friends. The only people moaning are those who haven't played it.

  • Steroyd #17 5 years ago

    Well at least people can't complain about a Nintendo first party drought.

    Quite surprised Ninty is making quick-to-make-game-drought-filler already. :/

  • Darkedge #18 5 years ago

    I wish I could kill the lamest game character ever. Just go away the fat git with a porn 'tache!

  • Lemming81 #19 5 years ago

    I don't really understand the Mario hate. The reason he works as a franchise is because 99% of the time, those games are good games.

    I'd play a Mario-based sports game vs. an EA 'real' sports game any fucking day of the week.

    I find any sport transalated to game form fucking boring. If you like 'real' football etc, go outside.

    It just proves how ignorant some of you are thinking this is just 'a football game with cute characters'.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/07 @ 14:03

  • gingerlink #20 5 years ago

    so this is going to be our first online game?

    you gotta think about it like that as well, wait, pokemon battle revolution comes in america in june, which is their first online game....

    WE GET ONLINE WII BEFORE AMERICA!!!! 1UP!!!!

    *ahem*

  • Sid-Nice #21 5 years ago

    Nintendo are spoiling us. Nooooooooooottttttttt. Can we skip all other games and just get Mario Galaxy please - after which I can then sell my Wii and buy a proper console.

    Why don't you just sell your Wii now? CEX will give you £180 cash just for the console. Super Mario Galaxy won't be worth the price of a console and game; so sell your Wii and you could have £180 to go towards a PS3.

  • Nova5lag #22 5 years ago

    seriously did you guys even play Mario smash football? It was really under rated. Exciting and fun and a real blast in multiplayer. I cant wait for this.

  • Sid-Nice #23 5 years ago

    One of the main questions I was was whether the wii and the wiimote can do pro evo justice.

    My question seems ot have been answered.

    You want to keep off the steroids mate; what kind of question is that?

    It's a pity that the 360 can't do PES justice; or it's a pity that Konami make poor PS2 ports.

  • Wayne #24 5 years ago

    Nova5lag, you are indeed correct. We played lots of Mario Smash Football every Thursday night for months. It really was a very addictive and furious game, especially when you got the mode with lots of weapons. And t still sells for £30 or more on ebay these days.

  • CallousB #25 5 years ago

    "Why can't they just create a normal football game for Wii without fuckin Mario to make up for the lack of PES on the Wii??? "

    Konami are working on a normal Wii football game. It was on the Wii software list at E3 last year.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/07 @ 15:41

  • The-Bodybuilder #26 5 years ago

    >"It just proves how ignorant some of you are thinking this is just 'a football game with cute characters'. "

    You mean to tell me an arcade football game with cute gmaing characters, isn't infact a football game with cute characters?

    And you call us ignorant? Yet you somehow equate your dislike for sim-based sports game as boring?

    NEWSFLASH FOR YOU. Millions of people clearly disagree, and this is the same reason why people are still uncertain of the wii. It seems, even with the wiimote, ninty only cater to ninty fans. And if you're not a ninty fan then tough luck.

  • The-Bodybuilder #27 5 years ago

    >"It's a pity that the 360 can't do PES justice; or it's a pity that Konami make poor PS2 ports. "

    Very true.
    Can't see what that's got to do with my comment, but still true none the less.

  • smelly #28 5 years ago

    I didnt like the last one. Cant see this being much of an improvement tbh.

  • smelly #29 5 years ago

    "I didnt think a US date had been announced and it seems odd to get ours before theirs. "


    Erm.. it's a SOCCER game.. Hardly the most popular US game is it?

  • smelly #30 5 years ago

    "Ok, someone needs to explain to me why Mario has to appear in EVERYTHING that comes out of Nintendo? "

    Yes, I was shocked to see mario in metroid, and in pikmin, and in excite truck, and in wii sports, and in zelda, and in.. etc etc.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/07 @ 19:11

  • alexg #31 5 years ago

    It's got online. I think that's a pretty big deal for the Wii and a good thing to see. Makes this game a much more interesting prospect.

  • smelly #32 5 years ago

    Im not convinced even WITH online play... I'll prolly just rent it.

  • Sid-Nice #33 5 years ago

    Rent Boy.

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