The Nintendo Switch 2’s selection of GameCube Classics is already set to expand just a month after launch, and it’s a good one. The very first Super Mario Strikers will be added to the service on July 3, available to Switch Online + Expansion Pack members.
Originally released on the GameCube in 2005, Super Mario Strikers was the mustachioed plumber’s first foray into the world of soccer. It joined a long lineup of sports spinoffs from Nintendo, including Mario Tennis, Mario Aces, and more.
If you haven’t played any of the Strikers games, they’re ostensibly similar to something like FIFA, just on a smaller scale and with crazy power-ups. In Strikers two teams of five face off in traditional soccer matches. Each team has one captain, an iconic character from the franchise like Mario or Bowser, a goalie, and three secondary characters, like Toad or Birdo.
This is a much more arcade-y takes on the soccer experience, with less focus on simulation and more focus on things like executing perfect passes or shots. The big catch, of course, is that you’ve got items like in other Mario games, letting you impede the other team with bananas, red shells, and more. The whole field is also ringed by an electric fence, and yes you can hilariously push other players into it. Super Mario Strikers is basically battle soccer, and that’s what made it such a blast to play – it has that focus on sheer fun and good game feel that Nintendo is known for.
Super Mario Strikers was quit a hit on the GameCube, leading to a sequel called Mario Strikers Charged and eventually a third game on Nintendo Switch, Mario Strikers: Battle League.
It’s the fourth GameCube classic on the service, joining the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur 2. As a reminder, GameCube classics are only playable on Nintendo Switch 2.
Super Mario Strikers releases on July 3 for Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics.
