In the last few hours the "trial version" of Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, which despite actually carrying out the task, cannot be defined as a real demo, since "First Kick" contains nothing but thetraining to learn the basics of the game, without the possibility of playing offline friendlies or playing in single player in any way. Plus the tests to prove the online game with other players, they will only be available in next days and at set times.
Learn the (few) basics
So what can we do in practice in this Free demo? Little or nothing: for now it will only be possible learn the fundamentals, from how to move the character on the field, to how to shoot, tackle, loaded tackles, shots, use objects, super shots and so on. In short, a good way to become familiar in view of the online matches this weekend (at the bottom of the article we leave you the list of times).
What we can understand already from the demo, however, is that the title of Nintendo - by removing equipment and post-launch support of which we cannot yet know the extent - is that the game does not shine just for fantasy, much less for technique. We are aware that we are playing a product on the Nintendo Switch that is not intended to be a real football simulator, but it is clear as sunshine that mechanical, as much as we tried to bows them, they are few and simplistic.
Of course, we are talking about a game that must necessarily be dedicated to an audience of all ages and as accessible as possible, however the feeling is that in this case we are definitely exaggerating. We then add the fact that the field è extremely small, the steps are guided, as well as i shots will practically always end towards the opponent's goal (There is no home run, but you will find the goalkeeper to act as your wall).
The thing it does the most fear is that, since it is not yet possible to select the single player mode, that you may find yourself with the unpleasant surprise that you see the lack of a mode offline tournament, tournament customizedOr a story mode which also gives a narrative basis to the game. We hope that this question, at the release of the full game, can be resolved in a white smoke.
Update: the online test!
While waiting for the release of the full game, we also tested the qualities of the online game this past weekend: how it is doing Mario Strikers: Battle League Football in multiplayer?
Let's start by saying that, at least, things improve significantly: being able to play with real players and not with simple bots to learn the basics, has given more bite to the game, despite some big - if not macroscopic - defects have been sadly confirmed. Let's start by saying that the matches took place in 4 total players (2 per team), and with 8 characters on screen, 10 by counting the goalkeepers. Although the players in the matchmaking phase choose 2 players each, on the pitch based on the situation it will be possible to take control of whoever you want.
Where are the problems? Everywhere. Despite Mario Strikers: Battle League Football has never shown the ambition to proclaim itself a football title in all respects, it still reflects its features, and at the same time must do so with the obligation to maintain some characteristics that are practically mandatory for the games of the Mario series. All of this results in "Everyone can do everything", objects which spawn in the field and which can be used to stun in emics, super shooting that are worth 2 goals, only one time per game - and even a short one - e a general chaos concentrated in a extremely small field for the number of players on the field.
Yes, "chaos" is the word that best describes Mario Strikers: Battle League Football after our first concrete test. Think then, how much the situation can masochistically worsen in portable mode, or worse still on Nintendo Switch Lite, with even smaller screens and with everything so concentrated that having a precise vision of a contrast, a positioning or other would require a microscope.
Last but not least, the number of players available to date is really embarrassing for a game that wants to make variety one of its strong points, and at this point being able to change the equipment of the characters (feature yet to be tested) can save very little. We'll see on June 10 what the full game has in store for us, but for now, Mario Strikers: Battle League Football it needs a real one miracle.
