Everything you need to know about Mario Strikers: Battle League

The February 2022 Nintendo Direct was packed with surprises, including some particularly exciting news for fans of classic Nintendo games. Along with a slew of old-school RPGs, one of the show’s biggest reveals was the revival of the beloved but long-dormant sports series, Mario Strikers. The upcoming Mario Strikers: Battle League brings the series’ Nintendofied version of soccer to the Switch with plenty of new features.

It’s been 15 years since the release of the last Mario Strikers game, Mario Strikers Charged for the Wii. That’s plenty of time even for fans of the series to be a little fuzzy on what the games are all about. Here’s everything Mario Strikers novices and returning fans need to know about Mario Strikers: Battle League, including when it hits the field.

When is the Mario Strikers: Battle League release date?

As Nintendo confirmed in the game’s Direct reveal, Mario Strikers: Battle League launches worldwide exclusively on Nintendo Switch on June 10, 2022. That’s just two weeks before Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, which was also revealed at the February Nintendo Direct.

Is there a Mario Strikers: Battle League trailer?

Yes! Mario Strikers: Battle League was revealed with a flashy trailer at the Nintendo Direct. After a stylized CG intro, the trailer shows a good deal of actual gameplay and introduces some of the game’s unique features.

What do we know about Mario Strikers: Battle League gameplay?

Mario Strikers: Battle League’s basic gameplay will be familiar to people who’ve played previous games in the series. It’s essentially a high-speed arcade version of soccer with the items and special abilities you might recognize from games like Mario Kart. The above trailer shows off a few of these special attacks coming in Mario Strikers: Battle League.

Fundamentally, Mario Strikers: Battle League plays out like a regular soccer match, with two teams facing off to score goals against each other. Unlike a real-life soccer game, players are encouraged to play aggressively, using tackles to steal the ball from their opponents. Teams are also much smaller, with five players on a side in Mario Strikers: Battle League, as opposed to 11 players per team in soccer. The field Mario Strikers: Battle League is played on looks much smaller than the field in a realistic soccer sim, which helps keep players close together for the game’s offensive playstyle. The field is also ringed with a sort of electric force field, which shocks players if they’re knocked into it by a tackle.

Each character has their own special shot, which they can use to stun opponents or make a hard-to-block shot on the goal. The gameplay trailer shows Yoshi’s special shot: the ball briefly turns into a giant egg that bounces a few times, knocking opponents out of the way before shooting toward the goal. Players can also use familiar Mario items like turtle shells and banana peels to knock the opposing team out of the way. A Bob-omb is seen in the trailer’s cinematic intro, but not in gameplay.

Mario Strikers: Battle League introduces a new mechanic called Hyper Strikes. Much like Ultimate Smashes in Super Smash Bros., Hyper Strikes can be charged by grabbing an orb that randomly appears on the field. To unleash one, you’ll need to pause for a few seconds and play a simple timing minigame, making it a tricky tool to use, but landing one nets you two points.

The game also adds gear that can be purchased with gold coins earned in matches. Gear changes the look of your character and adjusts their stats (strength, speed, shooting, passing, and technique).

Is there Mario Strikers: Battle League multiplayer?

There sure is. Up to eight players (four per team) can play local multiplayer together on a single Switch. Online play will allow for regular competitive matches, plus a new club mode. Players can form clubs with up to 20 members, then compete against other clubs worldwide to climb the rankings in a leaderboard.

Who are the Mario Strikers: Battle League characters?

Nintendo hasn’t released an official character roster for Mario Strikers: Battle League yet, but we know do know a few of the characters from the announcement trailer. The characters shown in the Mario Strikers: Battle League trailer are:

• Boom Boom (only as a non-playable goalie)
• Bowser
• Donkey Kong
• Luigi
• Mario
• Princess Peach
• Rosalina
• Toad
• Wario
• Waluigi
• Yoshi