Mario Strikers Charged Review

Mario Strikers Charged revisits the franchise and finds a more than satisfactory home on the Wii. This 4 v. 4 soccer title has taken all the great elements of its predecessor and strengthened its side during the off season. Players choose a captain (Mario, Bowser, Donkey Kong, etc.) and also three sidekicks (Boo, Koopa, Hammer Bros., etc.) to fill out the lineup. The ability to individually pick your sidekicks, instead of them being assigned like in the previous Strikers, bumps up the strategy as each sidekick now has attributes and a special maneuver which allow for more of a team feel instead of sidekicks being just another body on the field.

But still it’s only the captains that can perform megastrikes. These moves can send up to six balls hurdling towards goal in an attempt to take a substantial lead. On defense the opposing goalie has to block the barrage using the Wii Remote, which acts as the goalie’s hands. It is a great battle and skilled goalies can shut the attacker out. But beware because if the attacker can nail the megastrike, the shots will be hurdling much faster towards the screen.


Each captain also has their own special moves to change the game dynamics. For example, Mario becomes super sized as he turns into Super Mario and can squash the competition under his feet. Donkey Kong has an area clearing Thunder Wham strike and Waluigi can create impenetrable vine walls that can be used to trap players or block shots.

The Wii Remote is used very sparingly in this game and that is because it isn’t needed that often. I like this approach as it makes the motion controlled instances more exciting and the game plays more smoothly that it would with a ton of forced motion gimmicks. The graphics in Strikers Charged are very clean and it looks great for the Wii. Levels are nicely varied and they offer tons of interactivity. The presentation feels more like an arena battle than a soccer match.


Charged is a fun game but playing against the computer will get repetitive sooner than later. This should not be a problem as Charged is the most fun when matched up against human opponents. Strikers offers up to four players either online or off. Players will notice that when playing against others, megastrikes and play buildups will not be as easy. This is because your friends are less compassionate than the computer and the game quickly turns into a brawl. While this changes the gameplay a bit, it results in a frustrating yet undeniably competitive time with friends.

Once again Nintendo delivers a great multiplayer game with a mass of unlockables to blast though. Some smaller issues aside, Strikers Charged is a fun title and one of the best releases for the Wii in the past few months. If you have a Wii and are bored with your current game selection, grab some friends and get on the pitch with Mario Strikers Charged.