Nintendo's surprise announcement of Mario Strikers: Battle League shocked long-time fans of the franchise when the newest Mario soccer game was confirmed during February's Nintendo Direct. With a resurgence of Mario sports titles on the Wii between Mario Tennis Aces in 2018 and last year's Mario Golf: Super Rush, the Mario Strikers franchise has been heavily requested from fans with the last game in the franchise releasing nearly fifteen years ago. Now, with the newest frantic football game less than a month away, Nintendo has given fans a rundown on what to expect from the highly-anticipated title.
Throughout the months since Mario Strikers: Battle League's reveal, Nintendo has already teased fans with plenty of details about the game. Battle League will introduce several new features to the Mario Strikers franchise, not only adding interchangeable gear for players to customize their builds for their favorite characters, but also new "Hyper Strikes" allowing players to pull off fancy finisher shots for more points. The latest reveal from Nintendo gives fans a deep dive into the new features and new ways to play in Mario Strikers: Battle League.
An overview trailer released Thursday morning to Nintendo's official YouTube channel shares a plethora of details about Mario Strikers: Battle League, diving into the new mechanics and modes featured within the game. Alongside features like gear and Hyper Strikes, Battle League will introduce "Team Tackles" allowing players to give their teammates a boost on the field and tackle through opposing players. The trailer also shows off some of the roster's unique Hyper Strike shots with these special moves scoring players two points on a successful goal.
The second half of the trailer details the many ways players will be able to play Mario Strikers: Battle League. Alongside standard single-player matches, the game will support up to eight players within its local matches. Online matches will be available for solo players as well as allowing for two players to team up in online lobbies. Battle League also introduces the online "Strikers Club" league with up to 20 players being able to form and join a club, competing in online ranked seasons either as a club or solo. Club owners will also be able to customize team uniforms and stadiums.
Alongside the upcoming release of Mario Strikers: Battle League, recent years have seen a resurgence of many of Nintendo's most iconic sports franchises. Last month saw the release of the highly-anticipated Wii Sports successor Nintendo Switch Sports, and Mario Golf: Super Rush was the first Mario Golf game to receive a home console release since the GameCube's Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. With Mario Strikers ending its 15-year-long hiatus and Nintendo Switch Sports revitalizing an iconic franchise, the future of Nintendo sports games looks bright.
Mario Strikers: Battle League will release on June 10 for Nintendo Switch.
