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Reviews Mario Strikers: Battle League | Review Thread

BassForever said:
I doubt it

Most of the content they'll add isn't going to substantially change how fun the core gameplay loop is. More characters and more equipment really isn't going to turn this game around. The few gimmicky modes they might add will likely get played for a day and then never be touched again. Golf is the only Mario Sport that I think can substantial improve with updates as new courses add a lot more to golf then a new stadium or gimmick mode does to Tennis or Soccer.
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But the core gameplay loop being great is already the common thread in most reviews. So not sure what you are getting at?
 
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And here I was expecting a story driven career mode with open world for solo content.

Anyway, this fits the bill of being a great party game. Like Mario Kart, I could care less about the single player.
 
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Earthbounder said:
Yeah, I can only see three possible answers to that question:

1. They have the data to back that decision up, in which case I am curious to know what it is.

2. It allows them to get games out there earlier.

3. They are looking at both sales and "legs" and thinking "Yeah, this approach pays off". In which case I don't think they are using the correct reasoning and are harming these franchises in the process (at least in the eyes of a more dedicated fanbase).
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If they have the data that supports #3 then yes the approach is very much paying off regardless of how the dedicated fanbase feels. We have seen this in multiple of their franchises already.

This is modern game dev & the only way to really change this is if the entirety of the Mario Sports brand becomes gaas. Where you release 1 game & then iterate for years on end. The only other way is hope that if there is a sequel they’ll be able to use assets here to devote resources to more content out the gate.
 
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Brock Reiher said:
it had battle mode! MK8 was more feature complete than Smash Wii U and arguably Ultimate
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Mario Kart 8's battle mode was a joke and a step down from even 7. The random selection of retrofitted main tracks were a square peg being fit into a round hole, having only balloon battle, and none of the tailor-made arenas that made it work. It was the biggest criticism of the game when it released, and it wasn't addressed until Deluxe which hard corrected the problem tenfold. The original Kart 8 was probably the least feature complete game Nintendo released on the Wii U.

BassForever said:
I doubt it

Most of the content they'll add isn't going to substantially change how fun the core gameplay loop is. More characters and more equipment really isn't going to turn this game around. The few gimmicky modes they might add will likely get played for a day and then never be touched again. Golf is the only Mario Sport that I think can substantial improve with updates as new courses add a lot more to golf then a new stadium or gimmick mode does to Tennis or Soccer.
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I think Strikers is an exception in this regard. Unlike other Sports games, the appeal in this one is constructing your own entire team. The game's paltry 10 character starting roster wouldn't have been a big issue in any other Sports games since there'd be more permutations when you're just controlling one character, but in a 4v4, you'll encounter the limitations of that aspect fast. I have zero doubts that a doubled up character roster is going to make the scale of the game feel substantially different.
 
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Re: The roster, I'd argue that they should have released with themed teams of three or four apiece, maybe about eight of them. Give each one its own strengths and weaknesses. That would allow for enough variety. Then, you'd have gear unlocks specific to each member of the team.

So literally steal that from Sega Soccer Slam.

You could get some interesting team combos with creativity and Nintendo's backing.

The Dream Team: Wart, Birdo, Mouser, and Shy Guy
Treasure Hunters: Captain Toad, Toadette, Wario, Waluigi
Real Mushroom Kingdom: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad

Etc., etc. You could also add a mode where you can mix-and-match beyond that. Also, literally stolen from SSS.

I've probably said it many times on this board, so I'll try to stop after this, but literally just look at SSS and then graft Mario and Company onto that from an options/modes standpoint, at least.
 
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From a Gameplay perspective, I don't think additional characters will substantially offer more variety considering beyond their initial stats (we can be highly customizable based on gear) and the few details in SuperStrike + Model Size, they are not that unique.

Compare it to Charged for example whereby they had a completely unique dribble + SuperStrikr/Skillshot + all of the above.

The main ways to shake up gameplay would have to be through different arenas, balls or items.
 
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Decoyman said:
Mario Kart 8's battle mode was a joke and a step down from even 7. The random selection of retrofitted main tracks were a square peg being fit into a round hole, having only balloon battle, and none of the tailor-made arenas that made it work. It was the biggest criticism of the game when it released, and it wasn't addressed until Deluxe which hard corrected the problem tenfold. The original Kart 8 was probably the least feature complete game Nintendo released on the Wii U.
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This is ridiculous. Even if Mario Kart 8 was lacking content compared to other releases (it wasn't), the Wii U had games like Game and Wario, Smash Wii U, and Mario Tennis Open.
 
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Decoyman said:
Mario Kart 8's battle mode was a joke and a step down from even 7. The random selection of retrofitted main tracks were a square peg being fit into a round hole, having only balloon battle, and none of the tailor-made arenas that made it work. It was the biggest criticism of the game when it released, and it wasn't addressed until Deluxe which hard corrected the problem tenfold. The original Kart 8 was probably the least feature complete game Nintendo released on the Wii U.
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I agree with your general point but, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash is a thing. No Nintendo game can compete with how barebones that one was, and it showed based on how it scored in the 50s.
 
Catalyst said:
I agree with your general point but, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash is a thing. No Nintendo game can compete with how barebones that one was, and it showed based on how it scored in the 50s.
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Sorry, I try to forget that Ultra Smash wasn't just a cosmic practical joke.
 
Heard on some other forums that online with 8 players is only available when two players are playing locally on each Switch (so 4 Switch in total). Hopefully it's not true, it would be very disappointing.
 
Alak96 said:
Heard on some other forums that online with 8 players is only available when two players are playing locally on each Switch (so 4 Switch in total). Hopefully it's not true, it would be very disappointing.
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According to @Skipper93653 , the Strikers Discord clarified with someone that had access to a review copy that you can allegedly do a fully online 4 player team, but only in Clubs.
 
Brock Reiher said:
If you want to talk cutting modes and putting in half assed replacements... whew
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Oh you're being serious, wow. Well all I'll say is that Ultimate is the most content rich game in the series, and MK8DX is the feature rich version of MK8, NOT the Wii U original version. Deluxe has an actual good battle mode at least and the character roster is at least decent with the extra additions.

The only Smash that is not feature rich is Melee. Only one I played less than 50 hours and got bored of the minimal content. At least 64 I put way more hours with friends, but Melee no one ever wants to play that garbage. Ultimate is always the way to go for a multiplayer and single player experience though.
 
highgar said:
Oh you're being serious, wow. Well all I'll say is that Ultimate is the most content rich game in the series, and MK8DX is the feature rich version of MK8, NOT the Wii U original version. Deluxe has an actual good battle mode at least and the character roster is at least decent with the extra additions.
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Deluxe has more content sure, but that's on top of what was already a full featured game. Ultimate is the most content rich but not the most fully featured, that title goes to Brawl.
 
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I'm really bummed because I have a $25 Gamestop coupon that expires end of June, and I want to use it on a Switch game, but these reviews make me no longer want Strikers at launch. Should I buy it and try multiplayer until they add more content, or should I get Triangle Strategy? Idk, I have a notorious bail rate on lengthy JRPGs but I don't want the coupon to go to waste. Wish I could use it on Xeno or Live A Live
 
Brock Reiher said:
it had battle mode! MK8 was more feature complete than Smash Wii U and arguably Ultimate
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That battle mode was weird, but also really unique in some way. I don't think we'll ever be able to have battles on entire race tracks again.

I have some good memories playing it. 2 players still alive and on opposite sites of the map, half a minute on the clock, both trying to escape the revenge of the ghosts hunting them down.

I do kind of like the way people became ghosts when knocked out. I don't know if it's better than mk8dx's system, but it was interesting how it put more focus on surviving. When you're out, you're out
 
Dragoncaine said:
I'm really bummed because I have a $25 Gamestop coupon that expires end of June, and I want to use it on a Switch game, but these reviews make me no longer want Strikers at launch. Should I buy it and try multiplayer until they add more content, or should I get Triangle Strategy? Idk, I have a notorious bail rate on lengthy JRPGs but I don't want the coupon to go to waste. Wish I could use it on Xeno or Live A Live
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I can't say anything about Strikers' gameplay since I didn't even touch the demo, but Triangle Strategy is incredible, and that is coming from someone who does not care much for JRPGs with a few exceptions, like Xenoblade.

You do, however, have to be very tolerant with lengthy storytelling. It did not bother me because I was absolutely enthralled by everything, but some people have complained about there being too much dialog, especially early in the game when the balance between dialog and battles is very skewed towards the former. Later on, it gets more even, but there are still a lot of scenes between gameplay segments. I felt they contributed nicely to setting the stage for the battles, though.
 
I'm with some folks here--I find it weird the quite harsh complaints about this game not having robust single player. To me, personally, that feels like being grumpy Mario Party doesn't have a good single player mode. It is so, so clearly not built for that. That being said, maybe they could make these sports games $50 to compensate (but let's be real here...).

I mean, not a lot of people whine about single player games not having multiplayer, despite all of my most-played games being multiplayer, meaning the content is clearly there to get a lot out of. They're just two different ways to play games you can't really compare. I don't know anyone who finished Super Rush's single player. I played 20 min and was so unbelievably bored I sold the game to move on to SMTV.
 
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As someone who is part of the group that wishes this game had more solo content, I understand arguments that say nobody complains about there not being a multiplayer mode in single-player-focused games. That's obviously true. But I don't think the situations can be compared.

The gameplay of most single-player games is not suitable to be translated into a multiplayer format. I mean, how do you make a multiplayer mode for Super Mario Odyssey without it feeling tacked on? How do you do it for Breath of the Wild? You would have to change their core gameplay so much you would be basically creating two games within one.

Now for the opposite situation. How do you make meaningful single-player content for Mario Strikers, Mario Golf, Splatoon, Mario Tennis, Mario Kart, and others? That is significantly simpler. So simple, in fact, that save for Strikers itself all of those franchises have had meaningful single-player content in the past. And given they have all done it previously, there is (to me) no justifiable reason for them to suddenly trim the content they once presented. That is a regression, and as a big fan of those franchises it's frustrating to see them regress.

Anyway, I can't wait for tomorrow! Here's hoping for some Famiboards leagues so I can proudly come in at last place. :D
 
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