Mario Strikers Charged

Mario Strikers Charged is soccer only in name; in reality it's an arcade sport without a referee, without out-of-bounds, and with almost no rules. It's played five-on-five on an enclosed field with an electric fence, into which opponents happily throw each other, and the difference from classic soccer comes from equipment out of the Mushroom Kingdom: shells, bananas, bombs, and stars fly around the field at the same time as the ball. Each captain has their own super shot, during which the game briefly pauses and the player must hit several flying balls into the goal, and every supporting character controls a distinctive skill that changes the pace of the attack.

Tactics revolve around regularly charging up the ball. The longer it's passed around and dribbled without being lost, the higher its charge, which increases the chance that the goalkeeper won't save the shot. Opponents of course know this and try to interrupt the buildup with a hard tackle, so matches have a fast rhythm of alternating possession and chaos. The goalkeeper is controlled with a controller motion during super shots; otherwise the game works best with the Wiimote and Nunchuk or with a classic gamepad. The matches are loud, over-the-top, and extremely fast, yet a legible hierarchy of skill between a beginner and an experienced player still functions within them.

In Europe it was one of Nintendo's first games with a full-fledged online match, which earned it a lot of attention at the time, even though the service has long since stopped working. The visuals go for a darker, comic-book-aggressive take on the characters, which stands out noticeably from the usual colorful cheerfulness, and both the music and commentary support the impression of a sports show with wrestling elements. Contemporary reviews praised the pace and the fun in a room with multiple players, but criticized the randomness and the steep start. Today Charged is one of the most entertaining competitive titles on the console, provided at least two people who aren't after victory but after revenge are sitting on the couch. A match lasts only a few minutes, so it can be played in series and returned to even after years.