Much of Mario Strikers plays like one would expect soccer to play. That being said, this long awaited sequel to the Wii’s Super Mario Strikers Charged does have some issues of its own, some of which drag down the otherwise very fun game of cartoon violence in ways that just feel like a bummer.
These are the clear advantages to playing Super Mario Strikers Battle League over watching an actual game of soccer, making the choice between the two obvious. Mario soccer: red shells all over the place, it’s actually weirder when the ball isn’t on fire, and Bowser can legally body check Rosalina into an electrified fence and the game continues on, cold and uncaring towards Rosalina’s astronomically expensive medical bills.
Let’s make a quick comparison, shall we? Real soccer: nobody gets hit with red shells, balls don’t catch fire, and players pretend to be hurt if the other team so much as breathes in their general direction, at which point they temporarily stop the game.
