'' ('''''Mario Smash Football''''' in Europe and Australia) is a Soccer Video Game released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube . It was developed by Next Level Games , and published by Nintendo . The game was created in the vein of other Mario sports games such as '' Mario Golf '', '' Mario Tennis '', and '' Mario Superstar Baseball ''.
Teams are made up of five members. The leads the team. Three '''sidekicks''' that are color coded to match the captain and a Kritter (a Kremling enemy from the Donkey Kong Country series) form the rest of the team. Players cannot mix and match their sidekicks, so if they choose Toad, then they lead a team of Toads.
Balanced Captains:
- Kritter s
- Robo-Kritter (Super Team goalie)
There are seven stadiums total. Three of these stadiums (The Palace, Pipeline Central, and The Underground) are available at start. Four more stadiums must be unlocked by:
- Finishing in the top 3 for the Bowser Cup (unlocks Bowser Stadium).
- Finishing in the top 3 for the Flower Cup (unlocks Crater Field).
- Finishing in the top 3 for the Mushroom Cup (unlocks Konga Coliseum).
- Finishing in the top 3 for the Star Cup (unlocks The Battle Dome).
''Super Mario Strikers'' features five modes of play. The first is Grudge Match, an exhibition game that can be played by up to four players. Second is the Cup Battle, which has the player taking their team against computer controlled teams to try to win the cup trophy. Third is the Super Cup Battle, which is a beefed up Cup Battle that must be unlocked by winning all the regular Cup Battles. Fourth is the Custom Battle in which players customize their very own game and tournament to play in. Last is the Strikers 101 tutorial, where beginners learn the basic and advanced powers/skills of the game. The controls are simple set up, and primarily only the control stick (moving), the A button (passing), and the B button (shooting) are used.
- Electric Fence: An electric fence extends around the playing field, shocking anyone that is slammed into it.
- Power Ups: There are many power ups (a la '' Mario Kart '') to pick up and use against opponents, such as Bob-omb s and Chain Chomp s. The power ups can be turned off in the gameplay options.
- Super Strikes: Super strikes are charged shots that can be only used by the team captain and result in a goal worth two points. To activate them, press and hold the B button. Once activated, the player must press the B button when the moving white line goes over each of the two dark green lines in a golf-like meter. Hitting the left mark greatly increases the size of the right mark, and hitting the right mark will score the goal. Hitting both marks result in a perfect strike with extra animations. Missing the right mark will cause the ball to be caught, bounced off, or reflected by the goalie. The super strikes can be turned off in the gameplay options. Each captain has a name for his/her super strike:
- --- Mario's is the ''Fire Strike''.
- --- Luigi's is the ''Vicious Vortex''.
- --- Princess Peach's is the ''Royal Strike''.
- --- Yoshi's is the ''Foot of Fury''.
- --- Wario's is the ''Belly Blast''.
- --- Donkey Kong's is the ''Power Fist Strike''.
- --- Princess Daisy's is the ''Torpedo Strike''.
- --- Waluigi's is the ''Drop Rocket''.
- --- The Super Team's super strike is not named, but the movements look similar to Waluigi's.
- Bowser, King of Interference: Bowser appears in the game, but is not playable. Instead, he drops in randomly to wreck havoc on the field by breathing fire, stomping on players, tilting the field, and shooting items. The Bowser setting can be turned off in the gameplay options.
- The Stands: The stands are filled with Toads, Koopa Troopas, Yoshis, and Birdos. In the intro, the stands are also filled with Pianta s, Nokis, Ukkiki s, Paragoombas , and Bumpty s.
- In Gamespot 's E³ 2005 coverage, this game was given the award "Best Sports Game", and was nominated a finalist for "Best Game of Show".
- Received Gamespy 's "Game of the Year 2005" awards for "Best GameCube Sports" and "Best GameCube Multiplayer" and was ranked #2 for all gamecube games in 2005.
- Received IGN 's "Best of 2005" award for "Best GameCube Multiplayer Game".
- Was nominated a finalist for "Sports Game of the Year" by the AIAS for the 2006 Interactive Achievement Awards .
- As of April 2006, this is the only title developed in North America. All other Mario sports games were developed by Japanese companies ( Nintendo , Camelot , Square Enix , or Namco ).
- This is the first Mario sports game where all the characters wear alternate costumes. Previously only Peach and Daisy wore different clothes as their dresses were unsuitable for sports, and everyone else appeared as they did in other Mario games.
- G4 's X-Play video review mentioned it as "the most violent Mario title to date."
- As of April 2006, this game has an average critical review score of 76 out of 100. {Link without Title}
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