TEST Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, it lacks madness…

Yes, the license Mario Strikers is definitely back. If you have a Nintendo Switch, it is therefore possible to get your hands on a new opus known as Battle League Soccer. It has been several weeks since Big N. shows off the title through some enticing promotional videos, inevitably, fans are asking questions about this new experience. A gameplay nervous ? Fashion galore? Attractive content? We have dissected this production in every way, it is time to give you our impressions.

Fine, neat and very colorful.

Let’s start with the part that amused us the peepers: the graphics. Whether in fashion Portable Where TVthe rendering of Mario Strikers: Battle League Football is really superb. The game is fine, neat and very colorful. The lights are dazzling, the fluidity is there and the sets represent a precise universe of the franchise. mario bros., environments that merge together to give rise to wacky terrains; half Mushroom Kingdomhalf haunted Mansion for example.

In the stands, the spectators are constantly moving and encouraging their team, it’s alive, our friends are panicking according to the action on the lawn. Finally, we love this visual transition when a character fires a special shot. The textures change appearance, the cel shading invites itself to the party to give the image a very pronounced cartoon rendering, it’s to die for ! In other words, it’s a feast for the eyes.

Regarding the soundtrack, we have notes “Super Mario Bros. that we know, but that have been changed to fit the universe. We find ourselves with electric music, often leaning towards rock or electro, which pulses our parts. The melodies are pleasant and blend with the psychedelic atmosphere emanating from this Battle League Football. Note that there are no comments, we wouldn’t have been against some extravagant voice-overs shouting “goal”. On this point, it really lacks a few bellows to stick perfectly to the football climate.

So, is the handling convincing? Sincerely, yes. It’s very easy to manipulate, and there are several subtleties to drive your opponent crazy. Thus, it is possible to sprint, dribble, pass, lob and, of course, shoot. Only here, by playing on the holding of the keys and the inclination of the joystick, the power and the trajectory of a shoot may vary. In addition, the closer we are to the goal, the more likely we are to score.

It’s fun and totally quirky.

“Mario” obliges, the classic rules of football do not fully apply. Indeed, it is possible to put, literally, a kick in the face of a player, to jostle him, or even to mistreat him to recover the ball. Better than that, if the opponent is on the part of our field, the walls become dangerous during a tackle; he receives an electric shock which immobilizes him for a moment. It’s fun and totally quirky.

To spice it up, supporters throw objects that we can use at any time to give the opposing team a hard time. Only downside, they are not very numerous… In addition to shells, bananas and mushrooms, it would have been nice to use plants, and why not lightning to knock the competitors out for a few seconds. Be that as it may, in the event of a hard blow, if we get rushed a little too often, a star appears to give us a little boost. We then become invincible and can combine the power of this star with our shot to have a better chance of scoring.

Additionally, we can take control of… 10 characters only, it’s a bit thin ; but no doubt that DLCs will come later. Each protagonist has unique abilities and techniques. To boost their abilities a little and make our virtual celebrities more resistant, we can give them funny equipment, to be purchased in an appropriate shop with coins earned during the Cups. Really funny point, the template is taken into account. To give you an example, Toadwho is tiny and slender, has trouble tackling Bowser or donkey kong which have a more robust and colossal build. Enough to make matches funny and strategic.

Occasionally, a orb s. spawns and increases a team’s resolve if a player touches it. It also gives the possibility of triggering a Hyper Strike by performing different manipulations. A standard shoot is then primed, if the ball enters the goal, the team earns not 1, but 2 points. This “offensive” also makes it possible to put down the adversaries who are in the path of our shot. Generally, during these phases, the voltage becomes a little more electric. Impossible to be bored for a single second.

We come to the point which saddens us a little: the content of Mario Strikers: Battle League Football. And for good reason, we expected a very small mode Story or a mode Career with sauce Mario Tennis Ace, it is not so. So why not a “Mario Kart” type game, with frantic challenges and challenges? Here too, we must be satisfied with the minimum…

We have to settle for the minimum…

But to go into a little more detail, we have a corner Quick Match which, as its name suggests, allows you to play a match without worrying, alone or with others (locally up to 8, or online). We have the main mode, Cupswhich we must complete to obtain coins (to buy outfits as said before). Only here, the six Cups are not difficult and are completed in… 1h12. So yes, an additional mode unlocks, slightly inflating the lifespan by a few minutes, but nothing extraordinary. No challenges, no wacky modes, no… And when the game is over? Well, solo, you’ve done the trick.

So what ? Mario Strikers: Battle League Football pushes us to play online and discover “Club Strikers” ; at the same time, all that remains is to do. So if you subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, you can create your own club (up to 20 members), or even join that of a friend/unknown, to… face other clubs on the Web. The goal is to collect points and move up in division. Basically: become the best. The clashes work by season which changes every week. Yes, it’s fun and quite entertaining, but you have to invert… nintendo therefore turns its license to a format that will not appeal to all players. Indeed, not everyone necessarily wants to start a game online and putting his energy into such a mode.

Mario Strikers: Battle League Football is slightly cringe-worthy, as the gameplay is nervous, engaging and above all entertaining. Ask yourself with friends in front of your TV, and you will have a great time, between tension and slices of fun. In addition, it is possible to detach the Joy-Con to play on the go (alone or with a friend), and the grip is not bad despite the smallness of the pad.

Certainly, Club Strikers has something to satisfy online competitors, but this production is sorely lacking in content, whether in terms of characters, challenges and modes. Again, it is certain that nintendo will offer DLCs to heat, again, the blue card of the players. We must then wait for something new (paying?). Really unfortunate for the moment…

You can buy Mario Strikers: Battle League Football for €46.99 on Amazon.