Mario Strikers Charged Football

Mario Strikers Charged Football

Written by Greg Lyle


For me, Mario Smash Football on the Gamecube was always very hit and miss. It had some aspects of fun, but there was a real lack of depth and challenge compared to the more realistic soccer games like FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. When I first saw the screens for Mario Strikers Charged Football on Wii, I can hardly say I was impressed. It looked very similar, if not exactly the same as its predecessor and I immediately shrugged it off as a lacklustre attempt of milking that unused cash-cow, the gamecube. However what Nintendo has delivered is not a shoddy port of the gamecube game or even a sloppy expansion of it, but instead one of the most fun and engrossing titles currently available for the Wii.





Like previous exciting Wii games, Warioware and Wii Sports most of Mario Smash's fun comes from its simplicity but please dont let that fool you. Mario Strikers is most definitely not as shallow as those two.


The game is based as a sort of Mushroom Kingdom world cup with all of the main characters of the Mario world playing soccer matches against one another with assorted b-characters making up the rest of the squad. The player is free to choose what Mario star they want as captain from

Donkey Kong to Daisy and Mario to Bowser they are all here and all have distinct strengths and weaknesses. You then get to chose the rest of your team picking a mixture of characters including Boos, Hammer Bros. and even Dry Bones.



With Smash Football, Nintendo seem to have found the perfect design for a really fun soccer game and with Wii they have found the perfect platform. The use of the Wii remote and Nunchuk is brilliant, with the Nunchuks analogue stick controlling player movement and the remotes b-trigger controlling shots. The A button passes and a tackle is a simple waggle of the remote. Although the 'waggle' feature has been overused by some developers its use in Strikers seems valid and doesnt seem tacked on. The controls are simple but there are many unique features to set the gameplay apart. The Smash shots require you to hold the b-trigger until your lead character gains an indicator above their head which you then control via quick taps of the b-trigger, this chooses how many shots you have and how accurate they are. With this attack you can score upto 6 goals in one attempt! However its not as easy as it sounds because as soon as you shoot control turns to the opposition who, if its a player-controller team will have a chance of saving these shots by pointing at the sensor bar and pressing a everytime a ball appears. These seemingly match changing moments can dissapear in an instant and play resumes straight away.









There are also various items and power-ups that players can grab and use to their advantage such as mushrooms, shells, hammers and all other Mario related objects. Its not just the opposition players who are against you many of the stadiums have enviromental factors that can electrocute you, crush you or simply blow your character right out of the park.
The game features a training mode, an exhibition match option, 20+ challenge matches (where you are faced with a deficit and have to battle your way through it), 4 different trophies to obtain by playing through leagues and an online multiplayer mode. This is one of the features that really sets Mario Strikers Charged Football, as it is the first Nintendo Wi-Fi connection game to be released in Europe. And there is simply only one way of describing the online matches; fun. But really, really fun. Like so fun its better than being in Disneyland. On your birthday.





4 people can compete in online 2 vs. 2 matches that are short, sharp and very entertaining. Although the friend code situation is very annoying if you are used to the faster than light, X-Box Live service. The randomly generated matches are a great way of having online fun with anyone. One of the major downfalls of the online service however is that the games are completely region locked meaning if you live in europe you can only play with people in europe and if you live in Japan then only Japan etc.


Another unfortunate downside is the very rapid change is difficulty. Although the game starts relatively easy, with scores rising into double figures very often, the game suddenly shoots off into an almost impossible direction and you will be pulling out your hair trying to complete the latter challenges.

Overall Mario Strikers Charged Football has been a great success. Firstly showing that Nintendo can provide quality online gaming and secondly showing that, if developers are to take notice, Wii controls can be implemented to many genres with just a bit of thought and care. Anyway im getting back online to find Ian Wright...


Gameplay; Simply Superb, a great showcase for Wii's ability to be fun as well as lengthy. It really does play well. 90

Graphics; Crisp in all the right places with the perfect amount of Mario style but the stadiums and crowds can seem a little bit jaggy. 74

Innovation; Absolutely brilliant, another genre the Wii has drastically changed with its innovative control scheme. The game itself shows a lot of innovation too, in being a soccer game that can have all the inspiration and fun of a platform game. 87

Sound; Perfectly added crowd chants mixed with comedy item sound effects. The only annoying thing is the Smash Shot theme tune, that gets very repetitive. 88