I'm sorry, but Mario Strikers is simply the biggest load of...

[alexknibb]

How are people liking the game itself though? Is it good?

In a word, no. In a letter, n. In French, non. In German, nein. In emoticons, :(.

I bought this game along with Excite Truck today, and was expecting to love Mario Strikers and be a little meh about Excite Truck, but Strikers has annoyed me so much that it's going straight back to the store tomorrow under the pretense that i bought it as a gift and they've already got it.

This is a 'soccer' game designed by Americans, or worse, Japanese. Or worse, Japanese people thinking like Americans. Or worse, English people thinking like japanese people thinking like Americans. No English fan of the beautiful game could've spent their time on this abomination. (And yes, I'm aware it's not meant to be a simulation, but if you're using a sport as the basis, it's worth at least getting that bit right)

Not only is the 'soccer' (this ISN'T football) needlessly complicated at every juncture by button presses, special moves related only to the characters who you can't tell the difference between anyway because they're too small, and ridiculous colour combinations which means you can't play as either Yoshi or Luigi because the minute you meet the other in competition you haven't a clue who is who... Not only this, but the 'soccer' engine underpinning the whole game is awful!

I remember playing Sensible Soccer on the Amiga in 1992. It was great. One button, auto player selection. Gaming perfection. Why, oh why, oh why do we have to press "A" to select a player? Who decided that a step back was what we needed? Who also decided that not automatically selecting the player who is right by the ball would be a good idea?

This is one of the largest piles of over-complicated, fundamentally flawed pieces of simian excrement I have ever had the misfortune to play. The fact that it bears the Mario name which - in my eyes, at least - has always stood for Easy To Pick Up, Hard To Master, is nothing short of astonishing.

Sorry, but the three hours I spent on it tonight will have been both my first and last. I will never, ever recommend this to anyone. In fact, I would recommend root canal surgery (without anaesthetic) first. I hope I never have to play that tripe again. :evil:

Surely I'm not the only person to hate this game. Am I?


PS. I adore Excite Truck. So it's not all bad. ;)

[JordanR]

Surely I'm not the only person to hate this game. Am I?


Maybe ;)

I havnt played it for a few weeks now but when I first got it I enjoyed it, so much that I played it many hours in most days for a couple of weeks.

Im not sure what some of the stuff you have writen actually means because most of it looks like gibberish to me but the only part I agree with is that the colours of certain captains collide and they should have been sorted before release (such as Yoshi and Luigi as you said).

Just a quick point also, different characters have different stats so it is important to have the A button to select a character while defending.

I also hate soccer/football but enjoyed the game so they did somthing right on my behalf :)

[Jonno]

I suppose this topic proves that one man's opinion is another man's confusion. I rather enjoy Mario Strikers AND Excite Truck a lot.

[Makeda]

Oh come on.. this game is FAR from over complicated. I take it your not a fan of PES or even FIFA then? What the lovely through pass, lob, skill sticks etc..

I respect your viewpoint on the game.. but geeeeeesh its so far off the mark on a variety of issues I'm stumped where to begin, so instead im just going to take this sentence " This is a 'soccer' game designed by Americans, or worse, Japanese"

and say:

1. The J- Leauge is the best football league in the whole of Asia and along with South Korea the two nations have great football talent that surpasses many European nations by miles.

2. The best football simulation game, coined so by millions and millions of football fans alike is made by a Japanese company [Pro Evolution Soccer, Konami]

EDIT:

I cant believe I'm having to say this BUT.... when you see the words MARIO and a sport next to each other your brain should never think. Oh, yeah this is gonna be a kick ass football sim with little Mario twists in it what so ever besides the characters. Its happened in every sports game Mario has starred in from Mario Tennis on the N64 (which wasn't as OTT as the GC version), both of the Golf games and now both of the Football games.

[alexknibb]

I take it your not a fan of PES or even FIFA then? What the lovely through pass, lob, skill sticks etc..

Well, actually I do quite like them, but again, the changing of players is what annoys me. As I say, games like Sensi Soccer did it right a decade ago, and I still feel it's a much better system for the flow of the game...

....and along with South Korea the two nations have great football talent that surpasses many European nations by miles.

You're darn right. I watched the world cup with my S. Korean housemate last year, and damn, those guys are good. Didn't mean to offend anyone, just wanted promote a bit of debate. Oh, and I nearly got upset by the fact that you seemed to be suggesting that Japan and S Korea were better than England. Then I realised they probably are. ;)

Its happened in every sports game Mario has starred in from Mario Tennis on the N64 (which wasn't as OTT as the GC version), both of the Golf games and now both of the Football games.

Well, I've not played the tennis variants yet (waiting for this to appear on the Virtual console!!!) but Mario Golf on the GC is a prime example of what I'm talking about. Yes, it took some liberties with the golf genre (although not a huge amount iirc), but the golf engine underneath was solid as a rock. I've no objection to Nintendo screwing around with sports as much as they like, but if they're gonna base a game around it, the sports game engine has to be solid as a rock, and I honestly don't believe it is in Mario Strikers.

Thanks for the replies, chaps. I love a good debate. :D

Again, though, there must be someone out there who agrees with me? Just a little?

Another thing, which I could be wrong about... When you're playing the game... You get to the second cup final, lose it and have to start the cup again. I'm right in saying you can't change your team or captain at this stage, right? You have to keep the team you've picked or have to start again from the first round of the very first cup, right? This seems like really shoddy programming to me if this is true...

[hearsaybear]

Did you try going online with it?

[Dan]

I don't think it's as bad as you say it is, and yet, nowhere near as good as a lot of people are saying. So it gets a "meh" from me, and for a Mario title, that's not really good...

[hearsaybear]

I was going to buy this today but instead I might just wait and download and play through Metroid and Super Metroid in preparation of Metroid 3 (I haven't played through either metroid game).

-tim

[Makeda]

@: alexknibb (http://www.vc-forums.com/member.php?u=1061)

By any chance did you know that in PES (cant say much about FIFA as I don't play it compulsively like I used to five years ago) you can change the player setting when choosing your sides so that it automatically swaps your players for you without you having to do it yourself?

I personally like the switching aspect so I put it on the lowest setting possible as it gives me more control but I can see how this can frustrate others and it would have been nice if Mario Strikers featured this aspect in it, but even without it, turning off the Megastrikes makes for a reasonably more challenging game I feel.

oh and about the England thing... naaah, they aint better than England... yet. Although if we (I think your from England too >_<) keep having shoddy mangers in who simply just choose players by hype and the club they play for as opposed to skill and their work effort per match then it wont be long before we become a team who can never qualify for the Euro or WC.

[alexknibb]

Did you try going online with it?

I did, and needless to say I got my rear-end kicked very, very quickly (as is often the case for newbies on these things).

Even the online play was annoying. Firstly, as far as I could tell, it made no effort to match me against someone at my skill level. I was ranked 22,000ish in the world with no wins and no losses. Who did it match me against? The fella ranked no. 368 in the world with 68 wins. Hardly a fair fight for a newbie, I'm sure you'll agree!

Which brings me onto point two:

So, there's me playing against this chap online, and down about 22-0 by the end of the first game. I'm thinking, well, I'll not play that again against him.

Before you could say "half-time oranges", I'm off again against the same opponent. By this point, it was clear as Zwarovski to even the most ill-informed pundit that I'm gonna get trounced again, but there is NO way to resign. So I had to disconnect. You have to play at least two games against every opponent whether you like it or not. No wonder so many people disconnect. They're not cowards, they're probably realists. :roll:

Anyway, I'm gonna stop ranting about this game now. I took it back and got a refund. All done. :small-boo: Just a shame that there's nothing else that really grabs me... Ho hum.

[flyingdutchman]

Yeah I am not to crazy about this game either, I mean I dont dislike it as much as you but still it can get to busy on screen which can make it too complicated.

[hearsaybear]

You could just practice...

I know I learn much more playing online against someone better than worse. Everyone has to get trounced a few times in order to be any good.

[flyingdutchman]

You could just practice...

I know I learn much more playing online against someone better than worse. Everyone has to get trounced a few times in order to be any good.
:roll: This is embarrasing to admit but I have been trounced 33 times... I am 0-33, I just am not very good at this game...

[alexknibb]

You could just practice...

I could've done. But what it boils down to for me was that I just wasn't having any fun. And I can only stick with a game for any period of time if it doesn't make me want to remove my own eyes with a dessert spoon in frustration.

Plus, I just took it back to the shop and got a refund. :small-boo:

[alexknibb]

:roll: This is embarrasing to admit but I have been trounced 33 times... I am 0-33, I just am not very good at this game...

Did it start pairing you with gentler opponents?

[RMA]

Practice makes perfect...

I've had this game since about a week after release in the UK. Found it tough at first but ran though the tutorial and found it easier. Still got online for the first few weeks, but picked up enough to put some peeps to the sword and eventually got the hang of it. Stick with it, it's rewarding.

[flyingdutchman]

Did it start pairing you with gentler opponents?
Yes... but I am the guy you get your first win off of, I usually am pretty decent at games... but wow Mario strikers, I just suck...

[Shortay]

Over Complicated? One word - Practice

Wat did you possibly expect? And whats wrong with having to change player? Surely you would want to change to the member of your team that's closest to your opponent that actually has the ball? :?

I think Mario Strikers is great fun, not "brilliant" or anything but it just takes a bit of getting used to until you fully appreciate it, and considering you supposedly only had it for one day, you didn't give it much of a chance.

Plus, there's even an "ABC" mode which takes you through the basics...

[flyingdutchman]

Over Complicated? One word - Practice

Wat did you possibly expect? And whats wrong with having to change player? Surely you would want to change to the member of your team that's closest to your opponent that actually has the ball? :?

I think Mario Strikers is great fun, not "brilliant" or anything but it just takes a bit of getting used to until you fully appreciate it, and considering you supposedly only had it for one day, you didn't give it much of a chance.

Plus, there's even an "ABC" mode which takes you through the basics...
Yeah I have been practicing a lot latley in hopes of collecting my first win, right now I am trying to finish the striker cup, though even that is proven to be tough for me :(

[alexknibb]

Wat did you possibly expect?

Something along the lines of Mario Kart. Easy to pick up, hard to master. Rather than ridiculously complicated to pick up, you'll have killed yourself before you master it. In other words, a Mario game ;)

And whats wrong with having to change player? Surely you would want to change to the member of your team that's closest to your opponent that actually has the ball? :?

a) I would love it to do it for me. Pressing "A" is just another button press that isn't needed in my eyes.
b) When I do press "A", I would love for it to select the player nearest the ball. Not convinced it does that though.

I think Mario Strikers is great fun, not "brilliant" or anything but it just takes a bit of getting used to until you fully appreciate it, and considering you supposedly only had it for one day, you didn't give it much of a chance.

There's no supposedly about it. I only played it for three hours. But it's like someone stabbing you in the knee repeatedly with a rusty nail gun. Doesn't matter if it'll be rewarding later on down the line, I just wasn't having any fun. So I stopped playing it. I gave it as much of a chance as I felt it deserved, and with so many glaring programming inadequacies, that chance got smaller and smaller the more I played.

Plus, there's even an "ABC" mode which takes you through the basics...

Yep, did that.

Look, the fact of the matter is this. I was expecting Speedball 2 but Mario-ised. Speedball 2 nailed the formula years ago with a simple interface that provided gameplay in droves. Mario Strikers just hasn't learned from games (including other Mario games) that came before it.

Just my opinion, of course. :)

[alexknibb]

Yes... but I am the guy you get your first win off of, I usually am pretty decent at games... but wow Mario strikers, I just suck...

Heh. Should've added you to my friend list last night. :D

[flyingdutchman]

Heh. Should've added you to my friend list last night. :D
LMAO!!!

Probaly would have gotten your first win LOL

[hearsaybear]

I gave it as much of a chance as I felt it deserved, and with so many glaring programming inadequacies, that chance got smaller and smaller the more I played.

What were these programming inadequacies?

[alexknibb]

What were these programming inadequacies?

I refer the honourable gentleman to my previous posts, your honour. ;)

[Pegasus]

Sounds like a severe case of impatience to me. Especially from the first post I got the impression you were expecting a true football game. Should have read some more reviews, eh? Secondly, the game was made by Canadians... err, they play football up there? But that's beside the point.

Anyways, I do have repeat what some have said already: you just didn't give the game enough time. The players are rather easy to tell apart (unless you have teeny tiny TV), after playing a bit. And the differences in attributes are rather noticeable: strong pass skill equates to much faster ball-play, while strong shooting abilities make for a better chance at scoring a goal (normally), etc. In addition, each player's deke move is essential to outplay your opponent. Mega-strikes are nothing to be too worried about in multiplayer games because most of them can be easily denied. It's the regular player's skillshots one needs to watch out for.

I wasn't doing so hot either in the beginning of online play scoring at ratio of 1:2, which is now more like 2:1 simply due to practice and playing better skilled players. While at first I was hitting everyone left and right, which actually was a disadvantage to me, I've come to learn the true value of deke moves, stealing the opponent's ball from the players and in mid-pass. I still have to work on stealing lob-passes (that takes some real practice) and curved power shots. I remember one guy I played who was constantly able to steal the ball from mid-air. Now that's skill! That was rather impressive to me, and I didn't mind losing at all because he deserved to win.

Going back to being impatient, what's wrong with playing best out of three? As said, the best way to learn any game is to watch what your opponent is doing. That's the only way to get better. Besides, playing just one game would mean wasting more time to set up one single game.

All in all, the game is far from being overly complicated, but it still takes a bit of practice. Obviously, you weren't willing to invest any real time in it, which, in my opinion, reflects more on the player than the game itself.

[alexknibb]

Secondly, the game was made by Canadians... err, they play football up there?

:D Now, that makes sense. I lived in Toronto for a year and made a point of asking virtually anyone I met if they knew the name of their soccer team (it was Toronto Lynx if anyone's interested), and not one person knew!

All in all, the game is far from being overly complicated, but it still takes a bit of practice. Obviously, you weren't willing to invest any real time in it, which, in my opinion, reflects more on the player than the game itself.

A few people have said that I've been pretty impatient with this game. Well, you are probably right, but there are some things which really just push my buttons, and the over-complexity of the game could've been something I could've lived with, but the other gripes I had with the game pushed me over the edge. I'm not going to repeat earlier retorts to the impatience accusation either. I'm happy with my reply.

As for it reflecting more on the player than the game itself, you're absolutely right, but that argument doesn't devalue my opinion in any way. Any opinion on a game should inform people. Anyone who reads my "review" of the experience I had with MS and feels they would find the same things annoying that I did would find my opinion equally as valuable - or maybe more so - as the opinion of someone for whom these gripes wouldn't be a problem...

Especially from the first post I got the impression you were expecting a true football game. Should have read some more reviews, eh?

Because you essentially just called me an idiot, I'm gonna have to quote myself. And would you believe it? From the very first post. ;)

I'm aware it's not meant to be a simulation, but if you're using a sport as the basis, it's worth at least getting that bit right

In the same way I don't buy Mario Kart expecting Gran Turismo, I didn't buy MS expecting FIFA. But if the racing bit is broken in Mario Kart, it would dampen some of the fun. Likewise, I feel the footie element's broken in MS, so it dampens my fun.

Anyway, one man's Coke is another man's Pepsi, so please don't take it all personally. You love the game, all power to you. Enjoy. I hated it, and three hours was more than enough time for me to find that out. So please don't get offended. I just wanted to see if there were any kindred spirits out there.

Guess not. :D

[alexknibb]

LMAO!!!

Probaly would have gotten your first win LOL

:D Don't suppose you've got a DS have you? I play a lot online on that, and could do with some help on the 42 All Time Classics leaderboard... ;)

[The shoemaker]

I thought it would be good but i was wrong. it was fun at first but got worse and worse i didn't give the game much of a chance but i probably wouldn't think more of it. and yeah on wi-fi they don't try to match you up with someone around your skill level. and the characters. they all have skill rankings such as passing and stuff but they could have made every character have different skills but no they ether are balanced or uneven everyone should have different skills not just different moves. So I was really disappointed in the game and i did not like having to do 2 games in a row in wi-fi. game don't hate it has much as that one guy but i would not buy it or rent it ever again. unless I played with a friend that might be funner.