When people think of Nintendo they spontaneously think of Mario, the beloved plumber from Brooklyn with Italian roots. Mario gained his popularity with his platform games where he has to save the love of his life, Princess Peach. When he is not saving his Princess he likes to hang out with his friends in the numerous Mario spinoff games. Most of the spinoff games revolve around sports competition. If you are into those Mario sports games or you just like sports games in general and got a thing for Nintendo, this is definitely a game for you.
Mario Sports Superstars is a game that bundles 5 major sports in one big competitive sports game. The sports featured in this game are: football, baseball, tennis, horse racing and golf. All sports capture the feeling of playing the sports but there is some funky Nintendo magic added to the mix which results in one of the most fun sports games I’ve played in a very long time.
Mario is not the only one who likes sports, Mario Sports Superstars has an amazing roster of 18 different characters (including 2 unlockable characters) from the Super Mario universe. Each of them with their own strengths and weaknesses. This is very crucial depending on which game you are playing and with which play style you want to play them. When playing team sports you will have to choose a secondary character from the roster and a set of minions who will help you carry to victory.
Football:
The football game is mostly the same with Mario Strikers. In my opinion, that’s a good thin. Generally speaking, the players follow most of the rules of football, so you’re able to do most of the things you’re able to do in games like FIFA. Occasionally the ball starts to glow which enables you to make a spectacular shot on the goal. It only takes you one game to get used to the controls, after that the only thing that is really hard is to stop playing it.
Baseball:
Baseball is very popular in the USA and everybody knows how to play it but people in Europe are not so familiar with the rules. That is why I thought it was confusing at first but after a while, it is pretty straight forward. Baseball is a team sport but the only thing you have to worry about is hitting the ball when it’s your team’s turn and pitching the ball when it’s the turn of your opponent. Hitting the ball needs some time to get used to but is very satisfying when you hit your first strike. Pitching is more like a timing game to perfect your throw.
Tennis:
Mario Tennis is a well-known spinoff series and the tennis in Mario Sports Superstars plays exactly the same and just lukt football, this is very good. The gameplay is quite simple but is very enjoyable and relaxing to play.
Horse racing:
Horse racing is a bit disappointing in my opinion. Upon starting the race you not only pick the rider but you also pick the horse you will be riding. Despite that horse racing is just a boring Mario Kart variant where managing the stamina of your horse plays a crucial role. By collecting carrots, you can increase this stamina and give your horse a boost. Sounds fun at first but it’s nothing more than a strange and disappointing version of the popular Mario Kart franchise.
Golf:
And again this is similar to other Mario golf games but that does not make it less satisfying to play. If you haven’t played those before, this mode offers you the fun of golfing in a Mario setting. The courses look very colorful and you can use special shots to increase your luck on the field. It’s one of the better sports games but we’ve seen it before in more complete versions.
Conclusion:
This game is the perfect Mario sports bundle. It has a great lineup, an amazing roster of playable characters and is so much fun to play. Besides that, this game really looks amazing for a 3DS game and runs very smoothly. If you want to play a sports game but still want the Nintendo spirit, Mario Sports Superstars is definitely the game for you. Too bad not all of the sports are that great.
