After 15 long years, the Mario Strikers franchise returned with Battle League on the Nintendo Switch. It’s a fantastic game with addictive gameplay and a high skill ceiling. However, the overall experience is brought down a bit but the lack of the game’s content – 10 characters and five stadiums is hardly enough to keep players into the game. Here are 4 things we’d like to see as Mario Strikers: Battle League DLC.
More Stadiums
4 Things We’d Like To See As Mario Strikers: Battle League DLC
Honestly, the lack of stadiums isn’t the biggest issue in this game since they’re purely cosmetic. It’s not like past Mario sports titles where different themed arenas would have some kinds of gimmicks that make them unique. Still, five stadiums is a ridiculously small number to choose from for a game in a series where past titles had more than double that at launch.
They have home fields for Mario, Bowser, Peach, DK, and Luigi, but that still leaves five characters who don’t really have a home field. Plus, the rest of the roster could have some of the best-looking stadiums in the game. A stadium based on Rosalina’s Observatory, Yoshi’s Island, or some kind of wacky Wario and Waluigi-themed field would be incredible.
On top of that, there’s always the possibility of new characters coming along and getting their own stadiums added to Mario Strikers: Battle League. This makes the possible list of new arenas hard to predict, but that is a great problem to have with a game that’s lacking options in this area.
Additional Characters
4 Things We’d Like To See As Mario Strikers: Battle League DLC
Just like the problem with stadiums, there are not enough characters at launch in Mario Strikers: Battle League. Only having 10 players on the field at one time is a major disadvantage in a regular soccer match. Yes, this game has you choose four players for each side, but that still isn’t much better. That means each game has players build their rosters with almost half of the available characters.
Having more options is going to be critical to the longevity of this game. Ignoring the Daisy stans, 10 playable characters still isn’t enough to keep people playing the game competitively. And it’s clear that’s the intention here. With the ranked seasonal play in Strikers Club, it’s obvious that Next Level Games and Nintendo want this game to stick around for a while.
As for characters that could be added to the game, yes, Daisy is certainly one of them. But other classics like Dry Bones, Bowser Jr., Pauline, or Petey Piranha would be great additions to the game. Then there are even newer characters like Nabbit or Glydon. But any new characters will be good as long as they are more than just palate swaps with different stats like Metal Mario or Pink Gold Peach.
Extra Gear
4 Things We’d Like To See As Mario Strikers: Battle League DLC
Gear in Mario Strikers: Battle League is the big equalizing force that you pretty much need to equip in order to compete. It’s possible to win at higher levels with default stats, but you’ll always be at a disadvantage playing against other people who are using gear. Since it’s such a large part of the game, it would be nice to see some DLC flesh it out a bit more.
As of right now, each character has six different pieces of assignable gear. Each item raises one stat while decreasing another. The Bushido gear takes this a step further, even with much bigger stat boosts and decreases. But some extra pieces to give players more customization options would be nice. Something like a set that increases a specific stat minimally while not decreasing others would be useful.
Or even if you ignore the stats, only six different outfits are not enough. Having the ability to dress up Bowser or Mario in a suit of armor that looks like their wedding suits from Mario Odyssey would be incredible. Not everyone who picks up Mario Strikers: Battle League will care about stats, so having some gear sets that focus on the cosmetic side of things would be nice to have.
Multiple Game Modes
4 Things We’d Like To See As Mario Strikers: Battle League DLC
There are a few different game modes to choose from in this game, but none of them are different enough to actually matter. No matter what game mode you choose, the match will always be a few minutes long with four playable characters on each side, and the game ends when time runs out. If you want to practice shooting, passing, or dribbling, there’s truly no place to do that.
Sure, the tutorial exists, but that isn’t exactly a good way to train. However, a proper training mode just scratches the surface of game modes that Mario Strikers: Battle League needs. Any mini-games to change up the regular pace of the main four-on-four (excluding keepers) game mode would be appreciated. Even little things like shootouts or passing challenges would be appreciated.
As of right now, there’s no indication that game modes will be added as a part of the free DLC that is coming down the road. Sure, it’s possible, but it seems like more of the focus right now is on the online multiplayer through Strikers Club. And if that’s the reality, then it may be a while before a new gameplay mode is added, if it ever happens at all.
