Get ahead of the field this weekend
A new Mario sports game is due out in just a few weeks. But if the wait’s a bit too long, there’s a demo event for Mario Strikers: Battle League being held next weekend.
Nintendo announced the Mario Strikers: Battle League First Kick demo today, a weekend-long online event. Just download the Mario Strikers: Battle League demo off the eShop and log on during the active time periods.
Note that this does require an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription. You can go ahead and download the demo right here, right now at this link.
Mario Strikers: Battle League First Kick dates and times:
- Friday, June 3 – 8:00-9:00pm PT
- Saturday, June 4 – 4:00-5:00am PT
- Saturday, June 4 – 12:00-1:00pm PT
- Saturday, June 4 – 8:00-9:00pm PT
- Sunday, June 5 – 4:00-5:00am PT
- Sunday, June 5 – 2:00-1:00pm PT
Online play will be active during those windows, with both Versus Everyone and Join Friends matches open. Training mode will also be open for the duration of the demo, so you can hop in and get ready for the big matches early.
Mario Strikers is one of the Mario sports series that hasn’t had as much attention as its Golf or Tennis brethren. It’s a shame, because I’ve got some pretty fond memories of previous Strikers games. (And while we’re at it, I’m really hoping for a new Mario Baseball at some point.)
The various sports franchises have had some mixed reception with their Nintendo Switch iterations. For Mario Strikers: Battle League, it seems like there are plans for gradual content to roll out post-launch. Nintendo also confirmed today that Mario Strikers: Battle League will get “multiple” post-launch drops, of both characters and unspecified content, in free updates.
Frankly, I’d love to see some guest characters hit the field, much like Link in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. We’ll see what Mario Strikers: Battle League has in store when it hits the Switch pitch on June 10, 2022.
