Super Mario Strikers no more

By Corey Brotherson Published 28 July, 2005

Nintendo nets a new name.

Super Mario Strikers has gone through a bit of a name change via Nintendo of Europe, now re-titled as Mario Smash Football.

Complete with an official Nintendo Europe site entry, the GameCube-bound game boasts five-a-side football action of a more arcade persuasion. Which means supershots, overt pyrotechnics, electrified boundaries and battering people off the ball, with Mario universe characters like Toad, Kooper Trooper and Wario taking to the pitch.

While the name has changed, Mario Smash Football has still yet to get an official release date for (presumably) this year. We thought it was quite entertaining when we had a go on it recently, so keep your eyes open.

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About Corey Brotherson

Read more articles from Corey by visiting the Corey Brotherson archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 7 years ago

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

  • Sid-Nice #1 7 years ago

    I was hoping that they'd canned the game. :(

  • smelly #2 7 years ago

    "I was hoping that they'd canned the game."

    ?? Why?? Because yer a playstation/xbox fanboy and were worried that it might be better than any game on your machine? That's the only reason i can think of?

  • RabidMonkey #3 7 years ago

    They should call it Super Smash Strikers and include various Nintendo characters like Samus Aran, Link, Pikachu etc. Surely that would be more logical, no?

  • kangarootoo #4 7 years ago

    Why would you hope that any game gets canned?

    What is it with so many gamers that takes "I'm not interested in playing that game" and translates it into "I hope this game fails so no-one else can play it either". There's a name for that kind of mentality.

  • smelly #5 7 years ago

    "because certain quality devs time may be wasted which could be better used to get better games to us on time. "


    But from what i've read about this game.. it IS a good game! So what's the problem? And even if it wasnt, why would you WANT it to not even come out? Are non-great games not even allowed to be released now?

  • kangarootoo #6 7 years ago

    OK, maybe some clarification from Sid Nice on why he hoped the game would get canned might help here.

    If the dev team is of quality, then why would this title be of lower quality than something else they might work on in its absence (unless I've missed a review/preview somewhere that has already said that this game sucks)? Because it is a Mario game? Surely that is just an issue of preference and to quote an adage, you can't please all the of the people all of the time.

  • kangarootoo #7 7 years ago

    "Or....ssshhhh....even a new IP!".

    I personally couldn't give a rats ass about the IP when compared to how much fun it is. I'm not really a Mario person, but if a Mario game comes along that is fun, then that is good enough for me. If they took Mario Smash Football (or whatever its called now) and replaced Mario with some other character, would it really matter? Chances are they would sell less copies, so why would they take that hit just to please a few Mario haters?

  • Teeth #8 7 years ago

    smelly, labelling people as fanboys like that only serves to concrete the notion in the minds of normal people that YOU are the one who is the fanboy. Give it up already, as they might say in the US.

    I'm with RabidMonkey, if they widened the character base a bit it would be much more palatable for a wider audience. Super Smash Bros Melee is pretty popular, after all.

  • Singularity #9 7 years ago

    How anyone could accuse Sid of all people as being a PS/Xbox fanboy has really tickled me. (: ))

  • Destria #10 7 years ago

    Mario SMASH!!!! Raaaargh!

  • smelly #11 7 years ago

    "smelly, labelling people as fanboys"

    Erm.. I didnt. I really wish you guys would learn to read!

    I said that the only reason i could think that someone would want a good game canned just because it had mario in it (or whatever) would be because they were a fanboy.

    And subsequently the reason i asked "why"?

    Gees. Some people.

  • RumpyStumpy #12 7 years ago

    I'm starting to hate Mario as much as I hate that crazy frog. Give it a rest already.
    The same goes for Sonic.

  • sephy #13 7 years ago

    note to nintendo

    CREATE SOME ORIGINAL IP instead of force feeding us 20yr old games characters in a dozen spin offs. It wasn't showing you in good light in the mid 90s, its doing even less now

  • smelly #14 7 years ago

    Why? Why does it matter if this was mario in the game or another character?

  • Teeth #15 7 years ago

    Some people are sick of seeing Mario in stuff, and also see it as lazy brand-whipping, and find it intellectually unstimulating to be deluged with the same images and characters in game after game after game.

    Not saying I subscribe to that view but that's "why".

  • Carrybagma #16 7 years ago

    So the Simpsons is brand or IP exploitation too? As is Dr. Who? Soap operas should only run to one series and then be replaced? (Ok - maybe not replaced at all on that one...) The format of the BBC news should change every year? Change is always good, is it?

    If the Mario games were crap, I'd agree; If Mario games didn't sell, I'd agree(ish) - but they're usually great and they sell. I think what you're really saying is that Mario is 'uncool'.

    EDIT: Forgot to add - If Nintendo routinely changed characters to keep up with the console fashion police, they would appear laughable. The regular (and often desperate) attempts by publishers to find new 'characters' shows how awful that game can be.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/05 @ 16:45

  • Kurgan #17 7 years ago

    A valid enough reasoning Teeth (and this is not having a go at you, but just a general line of thought), but surely people are more sick of having uninspired characters like 'Cole Justice' and whatnot thrown at them. I'm really sick of clichéd hardmen characters to control in clichéd games. At least with Mario you know what you're getting; something that should be light, playable and fun. That's the aim, anyway. Whether or not it carries forward into the finished product is something else (Mario Party, I'm looking at you.)

    Thinking about it... what was the last truly great character created? One that has lots of cross-over appeal? I can't think of many recent ones (maybe I just don't play enough games). I mean, Solid Snake is a great character, but I can hardly see him knocking a football about with Vulcan Raven, giant and Shaman. Plus, he's getting on a bit (when was the first Metal Gear released? Exactly) so he's old IP. Kangarootoo's point is something I agree with. Marketing-wise, Mario is perfect to push a game. You know it's Nintendo, and you know the aim of the game is fun, and hopefully some ol' granny will buy that rather than a game with a big fuckin' M on the front cover with guys firing guns.
    Saying that (on and on I go), RabidMonkey's point of pooling in other Nintendo characters (unless they have done just that; anyone from Eurogamer care to clarify?) would've been a nice touch.

    Ah well.

    P.S. When I say "hopefully some ol' granny will buy that rather than a game with a big fuckin' M on the front cover with guys firing guns" I don't mean that she storms into the store wanting to buy GTA: SA with a trio of guys waving Berettas. Just clearing up any misunderstanding; I don't want to be involved in a libel case.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/05 @ 16:57

  • Teeth #18 7 years ago

    I agree with all you people, the Mario games are good and there's nothing wrong with the franchise itself. Change isn't always good.

    Some see it as uncool, sure, but they're just doing themselves out of a good play most of the time.

    However...

    "So the Simpsons is brand or IP exploitation too?"

    Well no, but if Futurama had all Simpson's characters and everything else that the creators did had the same characters you'd be cynical about that too, I'm sure. Maybe not, but you'd understand a lot of other people feeling that way, surely?

    I say again: Some people are sick of seeing Mario and (after what, 20 years?) think a bit of a change might be refreshing, and some other people should learn to accept that. However, the aforementioned people should not wish canning on a game simply because of the characters contained therein :)

    Personally speaking as far as I'm concerned they can go on making Mario games until their dungarees turn red, no skin off my nose.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/05 @ 17:40

  • smelly #19 7 years ago

    And less we forget as far as platformers are concerned there's never been a dud mario. With platformers mario stands for quality.

    And as with the case for a lot (although admitidly not all, there's bound to be a few rotten appels in the barrel) of other mario games too.

    So ner.

  • smelly #20 7 years ago

    And anyone who thinks the other 2 wouldnt exploit their IP just as much if not more (if they had any) is dis-illusioned.

    If conkers was any good, we'd be seeing him in cartoons, movies, lunch boxes, yadda yadda yadda.

    but it's not, so it isnt.

  • Teeth #21 7 years ago

    Mario Party's a good example of where the brand is important. There isn't any way that game would work with other characters. However it is still very very bad and should not be played.

    Animal Crossing could have been done with Mario World characters and been equally good, though it would have annoyed a good few people who dislike the brand-thrashing. What happened was a whole bunch of new characters were created (granted the developer may have had nothing to do with Nintendo, I don't know about that) and the game is a success anyway, and is all the better for having a refreshing set of characters in my opinion. I would probably have still enjoyed it if it'd been a Mario game, but I like the fact that it's not.

    A new 3D Mario platformer would be welcome news as that's where the main Mario game is at right now: Mario 64 was a continuation of the Mario platformer as was Sunshine, and now we need a new one. People want that over a football game IMO, and when the mario platformers are so few and far between it causes people to wonder why so many other Mario games get made instead, which leads to bitterness and accusations of brand-thrashing.

  • caligari #22 7 years ago

    Nay nay nay, it's just too easy to take pot shots at Mario.

    Okay, he's not as trendy as the characters in your Def Jam and Need For Speed Underground games...

    but look at the rather SHPADOINKLE use of the little fat guy and his world in Paper Mario on the Gamecube

  • Teeth #23 7 years ago

    If by "shpadoinkle" you mean "ace" then I completely agree, the game is fabulous.

  • Carrybagma #24 7 years ago

    I'd forgotten about PM2 - I must remember to buy it.

    PS. Smelly - this isn't about the 'other' consoles! Really!

  • Bru-Man #25 7 years ago

    So... you guys are looking forward to it? Or not? I got confused somewhere in the middle there...

  • tratch #26 7 years ago

    First off. "Shpadoinkle". I heart you.

    Secondly, if the game happens to be fun who cares if it's Mario? I can understand you not wanting to play as a portly plumber, that's fine--but I'd rather play a fun Mario game than another GTA or boring first person shooter. The perfect recent example is Kirby's Canvas Curse...yes, you do happen to draw rainbows and control a pink fluffy ball. So what? It would be no more fun if it were a giant bloody testicle being controlled over razor wire or something.

  • Talha #27 7 years ago

    It might be a good game, but again.. Mario,mario,mario!!!! Come off it, Ninty. I am glad to see that so many of my brethren here are agreeing to what I posted a few weeks ago in the threads for Mario Party. Here is another classic case where Nintendo have made a complacent, childish game with fictional 20 year old characters. Arcade football? Well, there is FIFA (although some would say it is NOT arcade) and FIFA Street for one. I fully agree to the notion of Mario getting paler as his soul gets sold over and over. IS THERE ANY DOUBT NOW WHY GAMECUBE IS LAGGING BEHIND PS2 AND XBOX?

    Nintendo, stop leaving the hard work to others and try to create some decent, Mario-free titles. If I recall, you might even be capable of it (e.g. Metroid)! Even MS and Sony have enough decency to really try and create good first party titles, and I notice that they haven't got a two decade old mascot which they slap onto everything they make.

    Mario. Grrrrrrrr.......

    Encouraged by the length of posts in this thread, I would clarify that I have nothing personal against Mario,but I certainly do against Nintendo. They still fail to see why they are bleeding in home console market. Come to think of it: When my guests come into my TV lounge, I have no problem them seeing a PS2 or Xbox. But I wouldn't been seen dead owining a GameCube, instead preferring to hide it in a closet!
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/05 @ 05:40

  • gerg #28 7 years ago

    I've posted this before...

    Basically, not only does Mario sell well and is recognised (which others have already said), but he IS fun. OKay, you may be able to have a 'Street' version of fottball or basketball, but you still need that essence of reality. You need to be able to see that ball bouncing off the goal post with real world physics.
    With Mario, you can have the baseline of that and get away with it. In Mario sports games, I don't think the goal is to present a snapshot of real life, it is too create a fun game, one that doens't need you to memorise twnety different types of passes.

  • Talha #29 7 years ago

    I agree with you Gerg; we all love simple, fun games and that is why there are so many Tetris and Pac Man downloads floating around. You will hardly find a computer in existence whose hard disk is devoid of a 4.5 MB mouse-click intensive game. No, my point is that such games are more suited to handhelds and office PCs. By bringing out an intentionally full fledged game (with a full price tag) boasting simplistic controls, less options, possibly less things to explore on a HOME Console, Ninty is falling squarely between two stools, and this is what I call leaving the hard work to others. Onerous as simulations might be, they are serious, deep programming driven by a passion for the respective sport by the programmers (think PES, TOCA Race Driver, WRC, etc).

    In other words, I cannot imagine a Nintendo developer laboring to get an exact 34.5 degrees bank on a Nurburgring curve. Whether they are capable of it or not, they are certainly not doing it, resting in the false security of (Ugh) Mario name peddling a glorified, simplistic puzzle game and bringing in their next salary cheque. When I have a footy game which is arcady, does not have 36 real-world stadiums, does not have accurate ball physics, boasts a fictional 20 year old character instead of the Beckhams and Owens, and focuses on the fun of just pushing some buttons in time instead of the fun of an actual footy game, I do not want to pay full price for it, especially when a FIFA or a PES is also retailing for the same price.

    Ninty fans, please give a thought.

  • Tonka #30 7 years ago

    First of all, I personally have no problem what so ever with Mario staring in yet another whacky sports title. I thoroughly enjoy his golf and tennis games. But that doesn't mean that I enjoy them and play them just because it's Mario. No, I like them because I play videogames to be entertained. I don NOT enjoy EA's take on sports. I don't care for 12 stats and a gazillion realworld licensed shoes.

    I wouldn't mind it if Nintendo invented a new brand and called their sports titles "Super Sports" (for example) and came up with new character designs for each and every one of them(well actually I would which I'm about to explain) BUT. There is more to the power of recognizable characters than just the "Oh look it's Mario. Let's buy the game" factor that has been addressed so far. By using the same characters in the games players instantly know the way the characters will behave in the game. Mario is an all-rounder, Luigi is weaker but slightly more technical, Bowser will be strong but slow and so on and so forth.

    Now if Nintendo wuold come up with an new set of characters (which I wouldn't mind) I would hope that they reused them in all their sports titles for just that reason. But I can't see why they would do that now that they have got a well established and familiar set of players on their team.

    that's all for me
    Edited by 1 at 01/08/05 @ 10:47