Super Mario Strikers / Mario Strikers Charged
Mario last donned his soccer boots with a bunch of the rest of the cast from the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged back on the GameCube and Wii in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and sadly, Nintendo has never deemed it worthwhile returning to.
The unique mechanic here was that you’d need to charge up the ball before having an attempt at goal, otherwise you’d likely end up fluffing a shot that rolled along the ground toward the keeper, rather than bursting out the back of the net.
Toss in the usual Mushroom Kingdom item culprits of red shells, chain chomps, mushrooms, banana skins and more, and you’ve got a recipe for chaos.
Having been 12 years since we last got a taste of the Mushroom Kindgom’s take on soccer, there are once again a ton of ways Nintendo could spruce it up for 2019 on the Switch.
Amiibo functionality, online multiplayer modes, less-easily-abused sidekick powers (if you know you know), an even bigger cast of captains and sidekicks to choose from, there’s plenty to pick from.
While the upcoming Mario and Sonic Olympics title will include soccer as one of its sports, it’ll never be quite the same as a dedicated Mario arcade soccer experience. Here’s hoping Nintendo looks to the series for its next round of exclusives for the Switch soon.
