Mario Smash Football dated

By Tom Bramwell Published 17 August, 2005

With accompanying bundle.

Nintendo has confirmed a release date for its surprisingly-entertaining Mario-flavoured football game, Mario Smash Football - known to those who saw it at E3 as Super Mario Strikers. It'll be released on 18th November.

Joining it on the shelves will be one of Nintendo's Cube bundle specials, featuring a "beautiful pearl white Nintendo GameCube and a copy of the game".

As we noted in our first impressions, it's a football game with half the rules chucked out of the window. Goals matter most, and to get them you can pick up Mario Kart-style power-ups for extra speed, as well as shells and other Mario mainstays.

It's five-a-side football at the core and each team is captained by a well-known Mario character, with Mario himself, Luigi and Donkey Kong named in today's release - and each team filled out by characters like Toads and Koopas.

We also know more about the game modes now. Grudge Match is just about scoring the most goals, Battle Mode "is the main championship mode", chucked into a league competing for the Bowser Cup, and there's also a Champion's League of the Mushroom Kingdom and a Super Battle Mode. A Custom Battle meanwhile will allow you to set up your own championships - all pretty standard fare.

Naturally four-player multiplayer options are also on the cards, and we'll be sure to put it through its paces as a group just as soon as we can.

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 (18) Latest comment 7 years ago

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

  • sephy #1 7 years ago

    I really dont understand how Nintendo can justify a "fancy" new case design. Surely they can't be shifting enough units to make it doable?

    oh wait never mind, it's a mario game so naturally it will sell no matter how crap it may be

  • smelly #2 7 years ago

    "Surely they can't be shifting enough units to make it doable? "

    Depends if your talking wordwide or uk. Or on whether a new case design might actually encourage more sales (collectors, that kind of thing)?

    Edited by 1 at 17/08/05 @ 12:36

  • sephy #3 7 years ago

    Well, uk.

    It might have worked with RE4, but I can't see a mario football game (urgh the idea alone is vomit inducing) shifting limited edition bundles

  • tengu #4 7 years ago

    Mario and Football! Together at last!

  • smelly #5 7 years ago

    if it's fun.. i'll get it.. if it not i wont.. roll on the review...

  • dadrester #6 7 years ago

    we're going to have a ball...

    [edit] ... a smashing time... [end edit]

    ... if nintendo don't balls this up...
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/05 @ 13:02

  • Teeth #7 7 years ago

    "Mario and Football! Together at last!"

    lol!

  • Hicksy #8 7 years ago

    mario's on the ball
    he's on the ball
    he's on the ball
    ...

    /cue german metal rock guitar riffs

  • lucky_jim #9 7 years ago

    It's funny how people immediately criticise this as Nintendo bleeding dry the Mario IP. The same criticism was made in some quarters when Nintendo originally announced Mario Kart for the SNES, and that turned out alright!

  • Bezzy #10 7 years ago

    The critisism is still fair, regardless of how well the game turns out.

    Tetris Attack is my favourite game of all time, but it's still Panel de Pon. The fear is that these startlingly original/awesome games lose their claim to fame as an original idea when they get reskinned like this.

    (I am assuming, of course, that Mario Smash Football is that Sega Soccer Stars game [or whatever it was called], but part 2. And I bet I'm bloody wrong.).

  • AOFanboi #11 7 years ago

    Sega Soccer Slam with Nintendo franchise smacked on it? I'll pass.

  • Roamer #12 7 years ago

    Innovation in gameplay is more important than innovation in licence (game universe or whatever it's called), at least according to Warren Spector. And me, I guess.

    Althought this may not qualify as innovative, but at least it's not a saturated genre...
    Edited by 1 at 17/08/05 @ 23:10

  • Markusdragon #13 7 years ago

    Well, when it comes to Nintendo IPs, it's a game of two halves. Nintendo are usually right on the ball when it comes to making new games from old IPs, but then again, isn't it time they started thinking outside of the box? After all, I'm as sick as a parrot of all these Mario spinoffs.

  • smelliot #14 7 years ago

    I don't even like Mario games, I think he's a terrible character.

  • Bezzy #15 7 years ago

    "Innovation in gameplay is more important than innovation in licence (game universe or whatever it's called), at least according to Warren Spector. And me, I guess. "

    Couldn't agree more. And the IP is going help the game sell. But then you've got to wonder, are people mainly applauding the innovation, or the ip?

  • smelly #16 7 years ago

    Well if it was a fun silly football game without mario, it'd be lost completely and no-one would even give it a second look.

    The fact that it has mario has got enough of you talking about it... Even if you're slagging off mario.. Which in turn gives it market awareness, and in turn is a good marketting ploy.

    Those of you who dont understand this could do with doing a "marketting for dummies" course.

    For example, I hate those kfc singing adverts, i argue with everyone i know saying they're rubbish. But the fact is im TALKING about the kfc advert and giving kfc more brand awareness. See?

  • Genji #17 7 years ago

    "oh wait never mind, it's a mario game so naturally it will sell no matter how crap it may be"

    /tries to think of the last crap mario game

    Well, maybe the last couple of Mario Party games, but they're the exception, not the norm. My friends and I enjoy Mario Tennis and Mario Party 5 on a regular basis.

    Maybe you're just heartless, you... you HEARTLESS PERSON

  • davyuk #18 7 years ago

    Not Mario 'Soccer' then?