Fans were left pretty excited following the reveal of Mario Strikers: Battle League earlier this year, bringing the chaotic soccer game back after the last release in the series back in 2007. As expected, Battle League brought back the classic, fast-paced gameplay fans have come to know favoring aggressive tackling, use of power-ups, and over the top shots. This latest entry also adds in new features like Hyper Strike shots as well as a bigger focus around online play.
For as much pre-release excitement as there was, reception for Mario Strikers: Battle League was seemingly more mixed after launch. While critics and fans found a lot to love with the fast-paced action, consensus was that the game ultimately lacked content and things to do outside of playing a local match, tournament, or going online. With a small roster of characters and stadiums to pick from, many were hoping that Nintendo would continue to beef up the experience through post launch content. While news has been slim on this front, Nintendo has finally managed to answer that question.
A new trailer for Mario Strikers: Battle League has finally arrived and confirms that Nintendo has bigger plans ahead for the game. The first free update arrives on July 21 and adds a slew of new content including the characters Princess Daisy and Shy Guy. Daisy is a high technique player who won't get knocked down easily, while Shy Guy is positioned as a strong all-around character where gear choices are a key element.
In addition, the first update includes a new Knight Gear Set which adds +2 Strength, +1 to Shooting and Passing, but removes 2 points from Speed and Technique. Finally, players can play on a new Desert Ruin Stadium for quick matches or have it set as a Club Stadium. Better yet, it has three variations which can be unlocked using in-game currency.
Alongside the trailer, Nintendo also released a roadmap for the game, giving fans a heads-up at two additional updates coming before the end of the year. While no information was provided, it's reasonable to assume that updates 2 and 3 will also feature two new characters each, along with a new gear set and stadium.
While the influx of new content should please fans who were asking for new characters to play as, the question remains if anything else is planned beyond 2022. New characters and gear should go a long way to mixing up the current meta for online matches, though there is still a list of things players would like to see added to Mario Strikers: Battle League over time. This ranges from smaller additions like saving a particular set of characters to bigger features like more game modes, match types, or game rules to help keep things feeling fresh match after match.
Mario Strikers: Battle League is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
