Mario Strikers: Battle League Keeps All the Indiscriminate Violence of the Original

gamerant.com:

While many Super Mario titles got special treatment in 2020 during Mario's 35th anniversary, other games went without too much acknowledgment. A title that's gone without recognition for years would be Super Mario Strikers, the (literally) electrifying five-a-side sports game that was released for the GameCube in 2005. After the title's sat on many fans' revival wish lists, the game is finding new life on the Switch in June as Mario Strikers: Battle League.

While the game was fun to play and served its purpose well as a soccer-based title, one thing that separated Mario Strikers from the crowd was how crude and violent it could be. The game set itself apart by giving itself an attitude; whereas Mario was usually all smiles, even with Mario Kart. Instead of the usual bright Super Mario aesthetics, Strikers saw the Mario characters taking the sport rather seriously, as they used Super Strikes and items to attack the competition.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Bodes Well for Mario Party Superstars

While giving such a family-friendly character such as Mario an attitude might have ended up being a rather questionable choice, the more gritty nature of Mario Strikers helped it stand out. With fans' characters of choice leading a five-by-five team, be it regular matches, Grudge Matches, or any of the game's other modes, Strikers made itself into a unique experience that stuck with many of its players for how it did a lot of things different.

It also helps that being able to watch as a Green Koopa shell distracts a goalie and knocks your opponents into electric barricades makes scoring goals and beating the opponent feel incredibly satisfying, and also hilarious. While many Mario sports games, and even Mario Party to a degree, present