If there's one aspect where Mario Strikers Battle League Football is unstoppable, it's the gameplay. Of unsuspected depth, it is aimed at both purists who love to see PSG being humiliated in the Champions League, and neophytes who do not understand that we can support OM while we live in Arras. The mechanics are numerous enough for us to have a tutorial animated by FĂştbot. We spare you the basic controls found in any football game (movement, acceleration, strike, tackle, pass, character change, one-touch play, lob pass among others) to focus on what singles out Mario Strikers Battle League Football. In the defensive phase, we retain the charged tackle which momentarily knocks out the opponent. An effective way to bring the surplus in the opposite camp. There are also dodges with which you can avoid enemy charges in sequences without the ball. Since all moves are allowed in the game, this command quickly becomes crucial. But what really makes the difference is the mastery of timing, and therefore of so-called perfect gestures. Basically, whether it's strikes, tackles, passes or dribbles, each time the manipulation is executed in the right tempo, we benefit from a significant bonus in tense matches.
If there's one aspect where Mario Strikers Battle League Football is unstoppable, it's the gameplay. Of unsuspected depth, it is aimed at both purists who love to see PSG being humiliated in the Champions League, and neophytes who do not understand that we can support OM while we live in Arras.
For example, when we make a perfect tackle, the ball stays at our feet, which is practical for starting immediately behind. Perfect passes cannot be intercepted. As a result, it is possible to chain them and end with a strike in the top corner. As for the perfect dribble, succeeding allows you to scratch a boost and initiate a devastating counter. These subtleties show that Mario Strikers Battle League Football rewards risk-taking, knowing that a stamina gauge prevents overusing sprints and dribbles – so no need to bludgeon ZR and R. Arcade to the core, the game nevertheless has free passes (loaded or not) with which you can slam great openings manually. Among the other advanced techniques, we note the assisted tackle which consists of tackling your own teammate to either propel him forward and gain ground, or recover the leather in the opponent's feet. Let's also not forget the possibility of canceling a charged strike, which is invaluable when the opponent is about to intervene. By pressing R, you can even cancel while dribbling. As in previous installments, spectators of Mario Strikers Battle League Football do not hesitate to swing blocks "? » in our team's color when you get knocked into it when you don't have the ball. Hence the importance of not spamming at all costs: we necessarily expose ourselves to a reply from the opposite side.
THE EAGLE SHOT
Note that you can only store two objects at a time, and that it is mandatory to use them before picking up others. We are not going to go over the effects of each of them (the mushroom, the banana peel, the star, the green shell, the red shell, the bob-omb) as they are universally known, and simply underline the fact that we cannot choose the order of use of the items. It's annoying in the sense that it somewhat undermines the tactical dimension of the game. For example, when a boulevard opens up in front of you but you must first throw a green shell before consuming the mushroom, it is infuriating; and even more so when said green shell comes back to us in the face. And it's worse with the bob-omb which doesn't make a difference between our team and the opponents: it smashes everyone. To take cover and avoid bad last-minute surprises, it is therefore better to use Hyper Strikes, these special shots a la Olive and Tom which count double when they are perfectly executed, and which were already present in Smash Football and Charged Football. Except that here, we will first have to get our hands on one of the S orbs that burst into the field from time to time. The whole team will then start to shine, a sign that each player – and no longer just the captain – can unleash a powerful shot as soon as he has the ball between his feet, knowing that the effect only lasts about twenty seconds.
Regarding the rest, the formula has not changed: by holding A – as if to perform a charged shot – we make the hyper gauge appear under the character, and we must suddenly stop the cursor in the two blue sections in order to be sure to make twine. Afterwards, it is not strictly necessary to aim straight since a blue + orange combination can very well end in a goal. At worst, the goalkeeper will manage to repel the shot and not block it; the perfect opportunity for surface foxes to take advantage of the bounce and plant behind. On the other hand, in case of black + black, the chances of scoring are nil. Note that when we suffer a Hyper Strike, it's up to us to bludgeon A so that the doorman doesn't get stabbed - unless it's blue + blue, of course. It feels like the gameplay has been covered, and yet Mario Strikers Battle League Football has other niceties that make it possible to spend time building the best team possible. If the characters are still differentiated by stats (strength, speed, shooting, passing, technique), we can now modify their attributes with the equipment that we buy thanks to the gold coins given – most of the time – at the end of each game. As much to warn you right away: it is impossible to inflate skills to the max. Concretely, the increase in one attribute necessarily leads to the decrease in another. It must be said that it would make no sense to have players all over the place.
With such an imperial game system, we regret that Mario Strikers Battle League Football is messy at times. It's quite amazing since in Super Smash Bros., the mess has always been organized. There, when it starts to fuse in all directions, the action becomes difficult to read.
It all depends on the game you want to deploy. It is better to set up a balanced team; a team capable both of coping with any situation and of posing problems to the one opposite. Without detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each protagonist – it would of course be too long – there are still two names that stand out: Bowser and Harmonie. From what we have seen, Bowser is by far the best shooter in Mario Strikers Battle League Football. You should never leave him the slightest space: as soon as he is in a striking position, you often get punished, wherever he is on the pitch. At worst, his shot will be pushed back, allowing for a rebound and scoring. And we don't even talk about his strength, which makes him a difficult character to push around. For her part, Harmonie is both powerful, gifted in shooting, and technical. His shots are insanely accurate, and the fact that his hyper gauge is easy to manage guarantees a string of double counting goals. Since it is not possible to change the position of a player during the match, it must be borne in mind that after having designated the captain, we must choose the two midfielders, then the defender. The combinations are many. For example, online, we have already come across Toads in defense. As he is a fast and efficient player in terms of passes, we can organize counter flashes. Conversely, we have seen Bowser on offense precisely because his strikes hurt. No doubt the best builds have already started circulating on the Web.
METEOR STRIKE
With such an imperial game system, we regret that Mario Strikers Battle League Football is messy at times. It's quite amazing since in Super Smash Bros., the mess has always been organized. There, when it starts to fuse in all directions, the action becomes difficult to read. It is difficult to distinguish the ball, to know who is doing what. To tell you the truth, there are times when we throw items at random hoping that the path clears, a bit like when an attacker scores a goal with his head while his eyes are closed. Same for the lob passes and other aerial actions: the duels are terribly confused. It's even more frustrating when you try to read the game, to anticipate the opposing actions. And we have lost count of the number of times we have been hit against the electric walls of the pitch without understanding how. The visual aid? Honestly, it's not much use. Despite everything, Mario Strikers Battle League Football is incredibly intense and offers crazy turnarounds that Nintendo has the secret to; and the Boom Boom are not for nothing, they who multiply the prowess in the goals even if they are also guilty of a few dumplings. It's just a shame all this frenzy isn't channeled.
In terms of visual rendering, the game is in line with other sports games stamped Mario: it's colorful, some light effects accompany keystrokes and heavy contacts, and the developers have not forgotten to include celebrations, replays and scenes of despair. We can't ignore the work on the animations either. Mario Strikers Battle League Football is not a simulation, but we can observe Boom Boom asking his partners to come get the ball for example. At the time of the engagement, there is also Luigi who has fun doing some juggling, while Mario prefers to stretch. Naturally, the Hyper Strikes have been the subject of particular care, with in particular these anime-style sequences which illuminate the screen. And just behind, we see Boom Boom trying to prevent the ball from crossing the line like in Shaolin Soccer. Clean. The main weakness of the game lies in its content: six cups to do in Normal and Galactic, only ten playable characters, a “Quick Match” mode, a “Training” mode – which we are not supposed to come back to later . That's basically what Mario Strikers Battle League Football offers in single player. Clearly, a "Story" mode would not have been too much, unless Nintendo intends to include it in future free expansions which - and it has been confirmed - will contain other players.
The main weakness of the game lies in its content: six cups to do in Normal and Galactic, only ten playable characters, a “Quick Match” mode, a “Training” mode – which we are not supposed to come back to later . That's basically what Mario Strikers Battle League Football offers in single player.
The Nintendo Switch Online acts as an emergency exit via the “Club Strikers” mode which allows you to join a club of up to 20 players. Unsurprisingly, the goal is to do well during the season (which lasts a week) in order to score as many points as possible, and therefore to be promoted to the next division. At the end of the championship, tokens are given to the club so that it can develop. History that it is not the fair of the underpants, it is up to the creator of the club to take care of all the administrative formalities (name of the club, choice of the stadium, color of the outfit, various customizations), knowing that the other players have voice in the chapter. As for the network code, so far the connection has been pretty stable. Apart from a few slowdowns, the matches were smooth from start to finish. A good point. Finally, impossible to complete this test without mentioning the quack concerning the 4 vs. 4 online. In fact, it doesn't seem possible to invite three friends to compete against another team. While waiting for a possible patch, the only way to bring together four players on the same team is to have two consoles with two players on each of them. A heresy, we can say. Fortunately, it's less of a hassle locally.
