On the back of Mario Golf: Super Rush's announcement, it seems strange that Nintendo is combining Mario, a platforming series, with a slower-style golf game once again. Mario Golf is not the only Super Mario game of its kind though. The franchise has delved into other sports throughout the years including tennis, baseball, soccer and various Olympic events.
Although they gain notable excitement from fans when they are announced, the reception to past Mario sports games have been mixed. This begs the question, should they be quietly retired? Here is a look back at the legacy of some notable Mario sports series.
Although the first Mario Golf game didn't release until 1999 on the Nintendo 64, Mario was featured in NES Open Tournament Golf in 1987. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour was the best received Mario Golf game, which released for GameCube in 2003. It featured 16 playable characters from the Mario universe with their own playstyles.
The latest Golf release was Mario Golf: World Tour for Nintendo 3DS in 2014. The game received favorable reviews but had few new features, continuing to emphasize fast gameplay rather than technical golf abilities. The game was mainly viewed as a release just to include the Golf series on the 3DS, failing to make any waves with fans. Mario Golf: Super Rush seeks redemption for the lukewarm reception of its predecessors. Releasing on June 25, fans want to see a range of new modes and some stunning graphics. Hopefully, the game won't make the same mistakes as past Mario sports games.
Mario Superstar Baseball was developed by Bandai Namco and published by Nintendo for GameCube in 2005. Players chose from a wide roster of Mario characters, battling opposing teams to win cups. It included modes such as Challenge Mode, Exhibition Mode and Mini-Game Mode.
Mario Super Sluggers followed up Superstar Baseball and was released for the Wii in 2008. Again, this game featured similar modes to the original but was more immersive due to its motion control. Since there have been no further entries, we can assume the series has potentially been retired. It received mixed reviews with its main criticism being a lack of evolution between the games. Another potential factor for the early retirement of the baseball series was baseball's lacking popularity in other countries. Super Sluggers was only released in Japan and America, which limited its potential.
Super Mario Strikers was released for GameCube in 2005. It was a five-on-five soccer game where players used items like bananas and red shells similar to Mario Kart to hinder opposition and control the pitch. Mario Strikers Charged was the 2007 Wii release and had similar gameplay as its predecessor.
Mario Strikers would fit nicely on Switch, as the previous games were praised for their pick-up-and-play appeal. However it's hard to imagine how Nintendo could advance series, as it still widely revolves around the core elements of soccer. Still, developer Next Level Games could incorporate individual player abilities into the game. While no new Strikers title has been announced, it is possible that Nintendo could be using Super Rush to see if fans are interested in more Mario sports games on Switch.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is one of the most iconic and frequently released sub-series in the Mario sports canon. This is one of the most prominent crossovers between Nintendo and Sega. The first game released in 2007 for the Wii and was themed around the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Since then, new entries have consistently released alongside new Olympic contests.
The most recent title, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, follows a similar styles to its predecessors by including the most popular events such as boxing, soccer and swimming. Some added new events such as karate and skateboarding were added too. Another new feature added was the 2D mode where 8 and 16-bit events were playable based on the 1964 Summer Olympics.
This was a pleasant surprise, but not something fans were asking for. If Nintendo and Sega have to introduce retro aspects to fill content for the Olympic Games titles, then the series should go on hiatus until there is significant change in the real-life Olympic events. This might spark some inspiration for new content in the very iterative crossover franchise.
The Mario sports games have allowed fans to enjoy their favorite sports within the Mario universe. However, as a sport itself rarely changes, it's difficult for Nintendo to continually publish new series entries with substantial gameplay evolution. After all, the developers are obviously struggling to generate content and are leaving players unsatisfied with newer releases. For now, Mario sports either needs a complete revamp or to be laid to rest.
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