ario’s woes in the sports genre continue. First Nintendo delayed its sim-baseball title indefinitely, then Mario Superstar Baseball totally whiffed. At first glance you might be inclined to blame those events on the fact that baseball is a completely lame-ass sport – and you wouldn’t be wrong in doing so. But even with soccer, which is far superior, it’s clear that Nintendo has lost much of its magic touch.

Mario Baseball had its gameplay problems, but at least it was structured far better. It had minigames. It had an overworld map to play around on. Conversely, Mario Strikers is as basic as basic gets. Play through a bunch of similar tournaments and repeat until you’re so bored you’re tempted to turn on the tube and watch a baseball game. The thing is, the title’s gameplay is solid enough that if Nintendo or developer Next Level tried to go the extra mile and maybe give players’ characters stats or at least characters who play and feel different from each other, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Because it’s fun to send Chain Chomps through the pitch and have Bowser crash the party every now and again, Mario Strikers can be fun as a multiplayer title. However, the fact that the gameplay never evolves and the defensive stops are too powerful means this game’s legs aren’t very long – just like Mario’s stubby little limbs.

This is only suitable for small children who don’t know any better and those who like to be tickled by Mario mustache rides.