Nintendo’s recentMariosports offerings have been divisive, to put it lightly. Beginning withMario Tennis Acesin 2018, the general trend for these games seems to be that Nintendo releases them in an unfinished state, without enough content to satisfy fans at launch, and asks early-adopters to just wait for a few months until a free update brings some more content to the game. These DLC updates then usually last for about a year, if fans are lucky, and then Nintendo stops its post-launch support.Mario Strikers: Battle Leagueis the most recent, and probably the most blatant example of this issue.
Dropping about two months ago,Mario Strikers: Battle Leaguewas immediately criticized by both review outlets and loyal Nintendo fans for having barely any content at launch. Even when compared toits GameCube ancestor,Mario Strikers: Battle Leaguelooked disappointingly low on content. But Nintendo has once again claimed that it’s supportingMario Strikers: Battle Leaguefor a while after its launch, and to be fair, one free DLC has already released. Hopefully Nintendo can keep it up, and bring even more content to the game.
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Mario Strikers: Battle League DLC Wishlist
ThefirstMario Strikers: Battle LeagueDLC, which dropped just a few weeks ago, brought both Shy Guy and Daisy to the game as playable characters. Along with these two also came a new type of gear for all players called the Knight set, and a brand new Stadium, named Desert Ruin. It isn’t the most robust update that Nintendo has arranged for a game post-launch, but it’s a solid first step, even if it does feel like this content should’ve been in the game to start with.
FutureMario Strikers: Battle Leagueupdates should follow the same general formula as this first pack. Each new update should come with at least one new playable character, with their own set of distinct animations, and unique skills and stats. Though the roster sits a solid 12 right now, even more iconicMariocharacters could be added, such as Bowser Jr. and Diddy Kong. If Nintendo wanted to go the extra mile, it could even add a selection of non-Mario, first-party Nintendo characters, like Kirby ortheSplatoonInklings. And with such an emphasis placed on gear in the base game, it’s pretty important for each new DLC update to add at least one new set of gear.
New stadiums are also a must for any futureMario Strikers: Battle LeagueDLC, as the game only has six stadiums, most of which look very generic, and don’t all feel as though they belong in theMariouniverse. New stadiums should ensure that they feel like genuineMario-themed arenas, with plenty of recognizable iconography. It might even be a good idea to remaster some of the older games' stadiums, much likeMario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Passis doing.
However, the biggest wish for any futureMario Strikers: Battle LeagueDLC is that it releases consistently, and regularly. According to a general roadmap that Nintendo put out, there are two more DLC waves coming before the end of the year. With five months left of the year, this seems like a reasonable amount of updates, but it does fit in line with the recent trend ofMariosports titles, and it could be the case that after those two waves, post-launch support stops altogether. Hopefully, Nintendo continues to supportMario Strikers: Battle Leaguepast its third DLC pack, and breaks the cycle of disappointingMariosports releases.
