Nintendo has revealed what will be the first post-launch addition to the GameCube library on the Switch 2: knockabout soccer title Super Mario Strikers, coming next week.
Super Mario Strikers joins Soulcalibur 2, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and F-Zero GX on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service on Thursday, July 3. Like all GameCube games on Nintendo Switch Online, it’s exclusive to Switch 2.
First released in 2005, Super Mario Strikers aimed to do for soccer games what Smash Bros. does for fighting games or Mario Kart for racing games — introduce an anarchic, cartoon gameplay style, power-up items, and an all-star cast of Mario characters. (Just to emphasize the connection, its original title in Europe and Australia was Mario Smash Football.)
While it wasn’t a massive hit on the scale of those other games, it’s a fun little sports title, especially in local multiplayer. It plays fast and loose with the rules of the sport, with shoving players out of possession fully allowed, and Super Strikes that score two goals at once.
Super Mario Strikers was one of seven titles Nintendo highlighted as future additions to the Switch 2 GameCube library when it was announced. The others, presumably arriving in the coming months, are Super Mario Sunshine, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Chibi-Robo!, Luigi’s Mansion, and Pokémon Colosseum.
