Mario Strikers Charged

Mario Strikers Charged
PAL box art
Developer(s)	Next Level Games
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Series	Mario Strikers series
Platform(s)	Wii
Release	EU: May 25 2007 AUS: June 7 2007 NA: July 30 2007 JP: September 20 2007 [1]
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer, Online

Mario Strikers Charged (マリオストライカーズ チャージド, Mario Sutoraikāzu Chājido), known as Mario Strikers Charged Football in Australia and Europe, is a sports video game developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Wii. This game was announced at the 2006 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany as the sequel to Super Mario Strikers for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released on May 25 2007 in Europe, June 7 2007 in Australia and July 30 2007 in North America.

The game supports the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, through which players can participate in online matches and tournaments. Upon its European release, it became the first Wii online game to be available outside of Japan.

Gameplay

Two teams battle for the possession of a metallic ball. Players with the ball pass using A and shoot using B. Holding down B will allow the player to charge their shots. The color of the metallic ball can change depending on how often it is passed. A charged white ball has a much greater chance of going into the goal than a purple colored ball. Using the control pad will allow the player to use a deke to fake out an opponent. The deke varies among the captains and sidekicks. Players without the ball can shake the Wii Remote to tackle another player or press on the d-pad to slide tackle. If opposing players are tackled without the ball, the player's opponent will get an item. Pressing A will allow the player to switch between characters. Using the control pad without the ball will allow the player to perform a slide tackle which can gain immediate possession of the ball.

Items

When a player is hit without the ball, or when a player takes a powerful shot, that player's team gets an item. These perform various functions, such as knocking out other players or giving a temporary boost of speed. All items from the previous game, such as the various Koopa Shells and the Chain Chomp reappear, except for Bowser, who is now a playable character.

Each captain can use a special item to create a unique effect, such as removing other players from the field or knocking out all players in a large radius. The opposite team members can also prevent the player from performing a MegaStrike and gain possession of the ball easily.

Mega Strikes and Skillshots

When the B (shoot) button is held, the shot is charged up. If it is charged long enough, the player with the ball will execute a special shot. If the player is a sidekick, he will perform a skillshot. Each sidekick has its own unique skillshot, but all have the ability to either disable or bypass the goalie, making a score much more likely.

If the player is a captain, the shot will be a Mega Strike. The Mega Strike is similar to the Super Strike in Super Mario Strikers, but instead of one big shot worth 2 points, a Mega Strike splits up into 3-6 individual shots which all fly toward the goal at a certain speed. The number of balls and the speed of the balls depend on the timing of when the buttons are pressed. To defend against the shots, the opposing player must target and block the balls with the goalie using the Wii Remote by aiming it at the screen. For every shot the player successfully makes, a goal is awarded to their side.

Online features

This is the second Wii game to use online Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features (with Pokémon Battle Revolution being the first). In Europe, it is the first Wii game to use online Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features. The online modes feature ranked random matches and unranked friendly matches.

Ranked matches puts players up against a random opponent and are restricted to players in the same region in order to maintain connection stability. A billboard showing the player's Mii will be shown along with the "Striker of the Day". The Striker of the Day is the player who earns the most points in one day. Players earn 10 points for winning a match or 1 point for losing a match, and also 1 point per goal scored, with a limit of 10 points extra earned for goals making a total limit of 20 points. Disconnecting from a match will cause players to lose points. The ranked matches do not use friend codes, are region specific, and support 1 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 2 player matches.

Friendly matches are casual matches in which players can go up against their friends. Unlike the ranked matches, the unranked matches use the friend code system and there is no point system involved for winning or losing matches. While originally planned to support world-wide play, support for friend-code matches was later restricted to local regions due to concerns about lag and playability. Players are able to import their Mii; each Mii has its own friend code so that each user can have a separate friend list. The unranked matches support 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, and 3 vs. 1 player matches.

Characters

There are a total of 12 captains and 8 sidekicks to choose from to form a five-player team, which consists of a captain, three sidekicks, and a goalie. All characters, except for the goalies, are separated into 5 categories: Balanced (balanced in all areas), Playmaker or technical in Japanese version (speedy with good passing ability), Power (good shooting and defensive ability), Offensive (good shooting and passing ability), and Defensive (speedy with good defensive ability). Unlike in the original Super Mario Strikers, a team may consist of any combination of different sidekicks (e.g. 2 Koopa Troopas and a Shy Guy). Captains and Sidekicks also have special moves, performed with the D-pad while in possession of the ball, to stun, score goals or avoid players.

The Kritters return from Super Mario Strikers as the goalkeepers.

Captains

• Mario - His special ability is to grow into Super Mario, allowing him to stomp around the field flattening enemies and allies alike. The only way the opposing team can hurt him is when they slide tackle him. When Super Mario tries to do a mega strike, he shrinks back to normal size, leaving him vulnerable. His deke is to side-step.
• Luigi - Similar to Mario, Luigi can grow into Super Luigi and stomp around the field, and the same rules apply to Super Luigi as Super Mario. Likewise his deke is to side-step.
• Princess Peach - Princess Peach's super ability allows her to take 'snapshots' of surrounding players, freezing them in place. Her deke is to jump.
• Princess Daisy - When Princess Daisy's superpower is activated, a ring of crystalline spikes explode from the ground around her, disabling any opponents in range and knocking the ball into her control. This attack can also be used when the goalkeeper has the ball, to make him drop it, and can allow Daisy to get an easy goal. Her deke is to teleport according to the ball charge (more charge equals more distance).
• Yoshi - Yoshi can encase himself in a giant egg and roll around the field to flatten opponents. His deke a simple side-step. Yoshi's Big Hit (shaking the Wii remote) is unique: instead of a lunge, he pokes his tongue at the opponent, giving greater range.
• Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong jumps into the air before slamming his fists on the ground, flooring all opponents in a large vicinity. His deke is to beat his chest, rebounding attacking players.
• Diddy Kong - Diddy Kong summons a tractor beam that transports any nearby players off the field and out of the match for a short period of time or until the next goal is scored. Diddy Kong can also stand in his own tractor beam, and this can cause him to get a free mega strike, since if any character tries to hit him, they will be caught in the beam, the only way to stop him is by using an item. His deke is to jump (which can be used with precision to jump over the goalie).
• Wario - Any characters caught in a cloud of Wario's flatulence will have their controls reversed until the effect wears off, and typically lose control of the ball if they have it. This item can be used all at once, or sparingly, however, if Wario uses some of it, and a goal is scored, he will not be able to use the rest of it. His deke is a self-proclaimed 'butt smash', knocking attackers aside.
• Waluigi - Waluigi gains a boost of speed, leaving behind him a vine-like wall that he can use to trap enemies or cordon himself off before performing a Mega Strike. His deke is to teleport according to the ball charge.
• Bowser - Bowser can breathe fire, igniting enemies (even the goalie) and causing them to run around in a panicked attempt to put out the flames. His deke is to hide in his shell, knocking away attacking opponents.
• Bowser Jr. - Bowser Jr. uses a sonic scream to shrink any enemies caught in the line of fire. His deke is to jump up and slam his shell down, knocking away attackers.
• Petey Piranha - Petey Piranha spits bullets of ooze-like mud to trip up enemy players and slow them down. This item can be used all at once, or sparingly, however, if Petey uses spits some of the mud, and a goal is scored, he will not be able to use the rest of it. His deke is shaking is head knocking away enemies.

Sidekicks

• Toad - Toad's special shot envelopes the ball in flames, leaving the goalie unable to grab the ball while his gloves are on fire (although he can still rebound it out to other players). His deke is to jump. This technique can be used with precision to jump over the goal keeper.
• Boo - Boo's special shot renders itself and the ball intangible for a split second while he shoots; if performed at close enough range, this sends the ball and Boo straight through the goalie and into the goal. Its deke is to go invisible, with slightly increased speed and the ability to avoid attacks for a short time.
• Dry Bones - Dry Bones shoots an electrified ball at the goalie which then rebounds directly back, allowing him an opportunity to score a header goal while the goalie is incapacitated. His deke is to curl up and teleport a distance, depending on how much the ball is charged. This move can be used to pass the keeper and score a goal.
• Monty Mole - Monty Mole burrows under the ground towards the goal before emerging dolphin-like to shoot the ball—if performed within a specific range from the goal, he will both knock the goalie and the ball into the goal. His deke is to tunnel straight into the ground and bounce up again, smacking players(and goalies) aside.
• Koopa Troopa - Koopa Troopa shoots a giant shell towards the goalie, temporarily stunning him; the ball then rebounds a random distance and direction. His deke is to dart into his shell and move diagonally to avoid players.
• Birdo - Birdo shoots a large egg containing the ball which sinks the goalie into the ground and scores a point; this shot is a guaranteed goal unless it hits another player instead, shattering on them and not affecting the goalie. Her deke is to pirouette, throwing attacking players aside.
• Hammer Bros. - Hammer Bros. leaps into the air before throwing down a series of hammers and shooting the ball—if performed close enough to the goal, this will smash the goalie into the ground and smash the ball into the goal. His deke is to jump upwards and slam a giant hammer into the ground, squishing anyone about to attack him.
• Shy Guy - Shy Guy mounts a Bullet Bill and rides it towards the goal where it explodes, stunning anyone, including Shy Guy, in the blast radius, and depositing the ball nearby. However, if Shy Guy hits the ground (and not an electric fence), he will always get up first, giving him time to shoot the ball in. His deke is a side-step.

Goalies

• Kritter - Kritter cannot be controlled by the player except when he has the ball or is defending against a Mega Strike. He is generally not affected by items (exceptions: Daisy's spikes affect kritter, Bowser's fire affects Kritter). Kritter does not run around uncontrollably when on fire, although the fire prevents him from catching the ball with his hands. Players cannot move Kritter outside the goalie box. However, the player is able to control Kritter when he has the ball in his possesion.

Stadiums

All 7 stadiums from Super Mario Strikers return along with 10 new stadiums.

Many of the newer stadiums have certain characteristics. Thunder Island has blowing wind, which can blow players off the field. Other stadiums have obstacles such as Thwomps and lightning strikes to make scoring more difficult, and some even have terrain obstacles.

Skill Shots

The game has a variety of trick or special techniques that may be used to score obscure goals. Methods include chipping the ball into the opponents net, teleporting through the goalie, jumping over the goalie, chipping the ball into the wall, passing, and shooting, and various others.

Reception

Currently, reviews of the game have been generally positive with an average critic score of 80% at Game Rankings and 79% at Metacritic. Official Nintendo Magazine praised the pick-up and play feel of the game, giving the game 91%. Eurogamer also favored the added strategy and feel to game, giving it an 8/10. UK magazine NGamer criticized the game for its low amount of game modes, but overall felt that it was a definite improvement over the GameCube original, giving it 78%. Edge magazine was concerned about the overwhelming power of the Mega Strike feature, giving it 6/10. IGN UK gave the game an 8.7 out of 10 and an editor's choice award. UK based website Mansized scored Mario Strikers Charged a full 5 out of 5 stars, particularly praising the game's enjoyable multiplayer options. GameSpot gave the game a score of 7.5 out 10.

The US edition has also received favorable reviews from IGN who stated that its online feature was "the first one on Nintendo's new console worth mentioning" IGN scored it 8.3 (out of ten)

Nintendo Power gave the US edition an 8.5 out of 10, criticizing the limited single player modes while praising its online and offline multiplayer capabilities.

GamePro gave Mario Strikers Charged a 5 out of 5, praising the great online support, lots of game modes, and its fun inquires and battles.

As of September 30 2007, 1.33 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide, with 240,000 of those copies being sold in Japan.

See also

List of Wii Wi-Fi Connection games

External links

• Mario Strikers Charged Football at Official European Site
• Mario Strikers Charged page at wii.nintendo.com
• Mario Strikers Charged at Metacritic
• Mario Strikers Charged at GameSpot