![]() Mario Sports Superstars doesn’t quite manage a hole-in-one, its bare bones nature provoking harsh comparisons to other games in the series. While there are also in-game collectable cards, these seem to have little purpose beyond filling a virtual album with Superstars’ promotional art. ![]() Superstars’ amiibo support is rather lacklustre, using the new amiibo cards to unlock stronger versions of characters and a simple Breakout style minigame. There are attempts to flesh out the game, but none are particularly engaging. Tennis and Golf break this mould slightly, but a lack of power-ups mean even Camelot couldn’t infuse much of Mario’s eccentricity into these simplified sports. Compared to the crazy gameplay of Super Mario Strikers, this game’s basic soccer feels like Mario invaded a dull FIFA clone. It’s also part of a much bigger problem in Superstars, since much of the Mushroom Kingdom’s charm is sorely missing. Horse Racing is particularly guilty of this, the madcap courses of Mario Kart 7 putting this game’s generic forests to shame. This is probably more down to preference, but part of the fun of these games is seeing the wacky surroundings of the Mushroom Kingdom. While the Mushroom Kingdom crew are as colourful as ever, the settings are all too plain for a Mario game. It’s true that Mario Sports Superstars looks great graphically, but the game’s environments are all a little too bland. It’s interesting to note how much a horse’s mood changes the course of a race, as Epona was notably faster after being fed and watered. As a Zelda fan, I instantly dubbed my steed Epona and began training. ![]() Nintendogs meets Mario Kart, Superstars lets players design and name their own horses with its own specific stats. While it still only features twelve race tracks, it offers much deeper customisation than any other sport in the package. Horse Racing is certainly the outlier here though, feeling much deeper than Superstars’ other paltry offerings. Tennis, Baseball and Soccer only have four stadiums each, Golf only offering four courses of nine holes. It’s just a shame that there’s not much to do with any of them. New to the 3DS, Soccer and Baseball are certainly simplified from their Mario Strikers and Sluggers iterations, but both certainly control nicely and are fun to play. This is hardly surprising though, both modes are clearly based on the engines of their previous 3DS appearances. ![]() Camelot’s traditional Tennis and Golf are just as satisfying as ever, both recapturing the fun of their original games. What’s so upsetting about these limitations is that Superstars’ basic gameplay is pretty good. Minor inconveniences aside though, the online generally does its job well. Frustratingly, each sport’s online features are disconnected, forcing players to leave the room to try another game. Choosing ‘Playing With Friends’ functions exactly how you’d expect, the game giving you the option to either create a room or join a friend. These ratings are an excellent way to keep people playing, hard-core fans cherishing their high scores. Just like recent Mario Kart games, the challenging strangers boosts your skill rating. Nintendo certainly has a patchy record with online multiplayer, but the game is fully committed to letting players challenge friends and strangers alike. Superstars’ online options are a slight saviour though, each sport fully playable online. This really feels like a step backwards, blocking off the game’s local multiplayer features. Unlike Mario Tennis Open, Mario Kart 7, and even Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics, Superstars chooses not to include this exceptional feature. The DS revolutionised handheld multiplayer with the addition of Download Play, allowing multiple players to join in with just one copy of the game. However, the 3DS collection gets a red card here too. If Superstars’ multiplayer was up to par all these points would be null, since Mario sports games always draw the most fun when with a group of friends. This is certainly a major problem for the game, particularly owing to its limited multiplayer options. Each sport does feature the ring challenge mode too, but these are little more than a quick distraction. While there is a single-player mode for each, it only offers basic AI matches and a simple tournament option. Sorely missed from the likes of Mario Power Tennis, the game lacks any kind of opening cutscene for any of its sports. From the outset, Superstars feels smaller in scope. ![]()
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