User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 7 years ago #1



Easy ways to score goals: There are a few strategies you can use beyond dribble to the goal box, fire a cross and hit a one-timer where the goalie isn’t. (which is what I use all the time).



Charged Shots: The best place to score goals with a charged shot is from midfield, but at the corner of midfield and shooting a fully charged shot aimed towards the side opposite from where your character is shooting from; i.e. if you’re shooting from below the kickoff circle, aim “up” with the shot. Lots of goals will go in. I understand this is already well-known, but I’d like to remind people of it.



Chip Shots: Two places where these are effective. First one is if you get a breakaway, this is a pretty high-percentage way of scoring a goal. Get to just before the goal box and then shoot one without a charge. Shoot it the same direction you’d shoot a charged shot.

The other place to shoot a chip shot is the same place you’d shoot a charged shot: near midfield corner. Same thing, shoot opposite from where you are. Again, no charge. This is what you do if you have no time for a charged shot. It works in two ways: one, it can go in by itself (rare). Two, it will go over the goalie’s head and leave a wide-open net for any player near the goal to tap it in. This isn’t very well known, but I’ve found it to be really effective at higher difficulties where you get no space.



Rebound strategy: Easy strategy for goals. Take low-percentage shots to get the goalie out of position then fire where he ain’t after. Can be a cycle where you shoot, get an item, win the ball with the item, shoot again and repeat. Should lead to a goal after a little bit of possession.



Deking: Unreliable, but you can deke away from the goalie. Don’t do this while holding down R for a turbo though. I love going from the corner of the field, deking past a diving goalie and firing it into an empty net.



Deflections: Small tip here. If you get a cross that isn’t a perfect pass, sometimes it’s better to shoot it at a nearby defender rather than at the net to get a deflection. The keeper struggles with deflected shots.



Dizzying the Goalie: Charged shots aimed at the goalie, one-timers off of perfect passes aimed at the goalie, and barely failed Super Strikes all have a chance of dizzying the goalie. It’s very important you get to the ball before the computer does or it’ll be cleared immediately. Remember to actually shoot away from the goalie or you could feel really stupid!



Lob passes: The lame-o way to play and I shame anyone that does a lot of this. Is awesome in higher difficulties because you are almost guaranteed an item every time you throw one up for a perfect pass since the defender either must hit you or they must let you shoot (which has a chance of getting an item). Has one downside: allows the goalie to set up faster than on a grounded cross. Don’t do it please. I’ll punch the controller from your hand.



MORE TO GO Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! I like Super Mario Strikers a lot. Too much, really. I’ve had two memory cards with this game on it wiped out at 500+ matches and everything unlocked on both. On my current memory card, I have played 600 matches. I have no clue how long I’ve played it. It is super addicting to me, the back and forth action of the game, and I love it. I love it I love it I love it. Over this course of time, I have noticed some subtle things about the game and some strategies for scoring that are relatively unknown, and I know no one actually cares about this, but I would like this chronicled. Gonna talk about goal scoring strategies first, then differences between characters, followed by items and finished with strange things that don’t fit anywhere else.Easy ways to score goals: There are a few strategies you can use beyond dribble to the goal box, fire a cross and hit a one-timer where the goalie isn’t. (which is what I use all the time).Charged Shots: The best place to score goals with a charged shot is from midfield, but at the corner of midfield and shooting a fully charged shot aimed towards the side opposite from where your character is shooting from; i.e. if you’re shooting from below the kickoff circle, aim “up” with the shot. Lots of goals will go in. I understand this is already well-known, but I’d like to remind people of it.Chip Shots: Two places where these are effective. First one is if you get a breakaway, this is a pretty high-percentage way of scoring a goal. Get to just before the goal box and then shoot one without a charge. Shoot it the same direction you’d shoot a charged shot.The other place to shoot a chip shot is the same place you’d shoot a charged shot: near midfield corner. Same thing, shoot opposite from where you are. Again, no charge. This is what you do if you have no time for a charged shot. It works in two ways: one, it can go in by itself (rare). Two, it will go over the goalie’s head and leave a wide-open net for any player near the goal to tap it in. This isn’t very well known, but I’ve found it to be really effective at higher difficulties where you get no space.Rebound strategy: Easy strategy for goals. Take low-percentage shots to get the goalie out of position then fire where he ain’t after. Can be a cycle where you shoot, get an item, win the ball with the item, shoot again and repeat. Should lead to a goal after a little bit of possession.Deking: Unreliable, but you can deke away from the goalie. Don’t do this while holding down R for a turbo though. I love going from the corner of the field, deking past a diving goalie and firing it into an empty net.Deflections: Small tip here. If you get a cross that isn’t a perfect pass, sometimes it’s better to shoot it at a nearby defender rather than at the net to get a deflection. The keeper struggles with deflected shots.Dizzying the Goalie: Charged shots aimed at the goalie, one-timers off of perfect passes aimed at the goalie, and barely failed Super Strikes all have a chance of dizzying the goalie. It’s very important you get to the ball before the computer does or it’ll be cleared immediately. Remember to actually shoot away from the goalie or you could feel really stupid!Lob passes: The lame-o way to play and I shame anyone that does a lot of this. Is awesome in higher difficulties because you are almost guaranteed an item every time you throw one up for a perfect pass since the defender either must hit you or they must let you shoot (which has a chance of getting an item). Has one downside: allows the goalie to set up faster than on a grounded cross. Don’t do it please. I’ll punch the controller from your hand.MORE TO GO

User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 (Topic Creator) 7 years ago #2



Captains: Mario: The most average captain is actually an offensive superstar. His passes are slightly faster than the other captains’ and he has a better shot than most others. However, he’s got little presence on defense and has an average range for hits. A good creator and finisher and a fun guy to use as captain. Just don’t expect to be roughing people up with him. Koopas are great for Mario since they also pass super fast and will set him up for easy goals. Stick with a basic strategy of crosses and one-timers with him.



Recommended Sidekicks: Koopas ALTERNATIVELY Hammer Bros.



Luigi: Actually more average than Mario. Has better defense and hits, but is worse in passing. He also has a bigger stature than Mario and can block more passes and shots. Same strategies used with Mario should be used with Luigi. Koopas are good for him.



Recommended Sidekicks: Koopas ALTERNATIVELY Toads



Peach: Taller than the Mario bros., but less fat. That’s the main thing to keep in mind when playing defense with her. She actually has a rather devastating hit and a better-than-average shot. Weirdly is below-average in passing. Playing possession ball with her is probably the best way to go, but I think I’ve used her the least. Toads should be the best bet with her. Keep defensive.



Recommended Sidekicks: Toads ALTERNATIVELY Birdos



Daisy: My favorite captain, but only cause she has the best shot. Awfully floaty on defense, but will put up a lot of goals if you use an offensive strategy. Paired with the Hammer Bros., she’ll score the most goals out of any team. Sucks at hitting and defense though.



Recommended Sidekicks: Hammer Bros.; accept no substitutes



Wario: Wide load here. Great defensive/annoying captain that should employ a strategy that involves a lot of hits and shots. Awful finisher, great hitter. Will block a lot of shots but will also have to rely on sidekicks to score goals. Fun fact: the only non-DK captain to be able to use the bananax5 item!



Recommended Sidekicks: Toads ALTERNATIVELY Birdos



Waluigi: My second favorite player. Has a worse hit than Wario, but a better shot. Has the best slide tackle with his lankiness. (that’s apparently a real word!) His dribbling while turboed is a bit different from the others. The ball jumps out farther than a normal turbo after the first dribble, and even farther for the third. At the same time, the ball also keeps closer to Waluigi. Actually is an awful turbo dribble and one of his biggest flaws. Easier to slide tackle and win the ball cleanly from him in exchange of a slightly faster dribble. Use a mix of the rebounding strategy and a normal one-timer strategy with him. Toads work extremely well with him.



Recommended Sidekicks: Toads ALTERNATIVELY uh Birdos, though I don’t use that combo ever



MORE TO GO Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! Differences between characters: These are all hunches (except for DK) that I’ve gotten from playing so many games. They’re not confirmed one way or the other for most of these, and I could be seeing stuff that isn’t there, but here’s the differences between captains and sidekicks beyond cosmetics along with the best strategies for using the characters.Captains: Mario: The most average captain is actually an offensive superstar. His passes are slightly faster than the other captains’ and he has a better shot than most others. However, he’s got little presence on defense and has an average range for hits. A good creator and finisher and a fun guy to use as captain. Just don’t expect to be roughing people up with him. Koopas are great for Mario since they also pass super fast and will set him up for easy goals. Stick with a basic strategy of crosses and one-timers with him.Recommended Sidekicks: Koopas ALTERNATIVELY Hammer Bros.Luigi: Actually more average than Mario. Has better defense and hits, but is worse in passing. He also has a bigger stature than Mario and can block more passes and shots. Same strategies used with Mario should be used with Luigi. Koopas are good for him.Recommended Sidekicks: Koopas ALTERNATIVELY ToadsPeach: Taller than the Mario bros., but less fat. That’s the main thing to keep in mind when playing defense with her. She actually has a rather devastating hit and a better-than-average shot. Weirdly is below-average in passing. Playing possession ball with her is probably the best way to go, but I think I’ve used her the least. Toads should be the best bet with her. Keep defensive.Recommended Sidekicks: Toads ALTERNATIVELY BirdosDaisy: My favorite captain, but only cause she has the best shot. Awfully floaty on defense, but will put up a lot of goals if you use an offensive strategy. Paired with the Hammer Bros., she’ll score the most goals out of any team. Sucks at hitting and defense though.Recommended Sidekicks: Hammer Bros.; accept no substitutesWario: Wide load here. Great defensive/annoying captain that should employ a strategy that involves a lot of hits and shots. Awful finisher, great hitter. Will block a lot of shots but will also have to rely on sidekicks to score goals. Fun fact: the only non-DK captain to be able to use the bananax5 item!Recommended Sidekicks: Toads ALTERNATIVELY BirdosWaluigi: My second favorite player. Has a worse hit than Wario, but a better shot. Has the best slide tackle with his lankiness. (that’s apparently a real word!) His dribbling while turboed is a bit different from the others. The ball jumps out farther than a normal turbo after the first dribble, and even farther for the third. At the same time, the ball also keeps closer to Waluigi. Actually is an awful turbo dribble and one of his biggest flaws. Easier to slide tackle and win the ball cleanly from him in exchange of a slightly faster dribble. Use a mix of the rebounding strategy and a normal one-timer strategy with him. Toads work extremely well with him.Recommended Sidekicks: Toads ALTERNATIVELY uh Birdos, though I don’t use that combo everMORE TO GO

User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 (Topic Creator) 7 years ago #3



Recommended Sidekicks: Hammer Bros. ALTERNATIVELY Koopas



Donkey Kong: Here’s the most interesting captain. Has a bunch of differences from the other captains. Here’s the bad differences. First of all, he has the same turbo dribble as Waluigi. Secondly, he is slower than the others. Third, his big frame means he is an easier target. Here’s the positives: he is the only captain that has access to big bananas (and the bananax5). His big stature makes it a lot easier to block shots and passes, making him a great defensive captain. He is the only player to use his hands, which actually seems to lead to a better one-timer off of lob passes. Gets up faster after being hit by something that would flatten all others. Use a defensive strategy to control the game. Take space away from opponents with his presence and control the ball. Goals will come. Be patient.



Recommended Sidekicks: Birdos ALTERNATIVELY Toads



Super Team: Same turbo dribbling as DK and Waluigi. As tall as Waluigi and the Princesses while also being as skinny. Has an alright shot. Every single player can use a Super Strike. Good offensive team but not much else. You can’t use sidekicks with them, so you’ve got one option: score a lot of goals. Play aggressive and keep it simple on the offensive side and just hope your robot keeper is having a good day. They’ve seemed more inconsistent than the regular goalies.



Sidekicks: Hammer Bros: The best shooters of all the sidekicks and perhaps all players. For that great asset, they struggle with other aspects. Passes are of decent strength and seems to get more perfect passes than Birdos or Toads. Has awful defensive presence. Caught flat-footed often on defense and has a short range on hits. Use in an offensively minded strategy with a captain that can set them up. Don’t force them to be on defense. I like them the most.



Koopas: Best passers of them all. Lots of passes from them are super fast, and they don’t even have to be perfect passes to be across the field in half a second. Also earns a lot more perfect passes than Birdos or Toads. The other offensive sidekick, they are. Average at shooting, awful at defense. The passing element they have makes them good for a completely different strategy than Hammer Bros. Use in offensive styles.



Toads: Fast and frustrating. The fastest sidekicks. Not very good passers or shooters, but they will annoy you if you’re playing against them. Quick to go from standing to hitting. Also have a long range on slide tackles. Funnily enough, they slide the furthest after being hit. Use a rebounding strategy on offense and hit everyone on defense. Try not to get carried away and lose the item battle though. Focus mostly on defense with them.



Birdos: The definitive defensive sidekick. Have the largest frame of the sidekicks, longest hitting range, most devastating hit, and alright slide tackles. Play a patient defense with them; wait for the offense to show a weakness in their attack and exploit it. Combined with Donkey Kong, they are incredibly suffocating. Blocks a lot of shots. Don’t expect much offensively though. They whiff the most on one-timers and aren’t good passers. Also are pretty slow. Goals should come if you don’t give any up the other way.



MORE TO GO Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! Yoshi: Very similar to Luigi. Pretty sure he has a better hit than Luigi and a worse shot. Also seems to have a great deke, but is pretty bland otherwise. Stay simple with him as well. (feels like all my strategy recommendations are the same) I like to use Hammer Bros. with him so he can score lots of goals rather than try to play defensively.Recommended Sidekicks: Hammer Bros. ALTERNATIVELY KoopasDonkey Kong: Here’s the most interesting captain. Has a bunch of differences from the other captains. Here’s the bad differences. First of all, he has the same turbo dribble as Waluigi. Secondly, he is slower than the others. Third, his big frame means he is an easier target. Here’s the positives: he is the only captain that has access to big bananas (and the bananax5). His big stature makes it a lot easier to block shots and passes, making him a great defensive captain. He is the only player to use his hands, which actually seems to lead to a better one-timer off of lob passes. Gets up faster after being hit by something that would flatten all others. Use a defensive strategy to control the game. Take space away from opponents with his presence and control the ball. Goals will come. Be patient.Recommended Sidekicks: Birdos ALTERNATIVELY ToadsSuper Team: Same turbo dribbling as DK and Waluigi. As tall as Waluigi and the Princesses while also being as skinny. Has an alright shot. Every single player can use a Super Strike. Good offensive team but not much else. You can’t use sidekicks with them, so you’ve got one option: score a lot of goals. Play aggressive and keep it simple on the offensive side and just hope your robot keeper is having a good day. They’ve seemed more inconsistent than the regular goalies.Sidekicks: Hammer Bros: The best shooters of all the sidekicks and perhaps all players. For that great asset, they struggle with other aspects. Passes are of decent strength and seems to get more perfect passes than Birdos or Toads. Has awful defensive presence. Caught flat-footed often on defense and has a short range on hits. Use in an offensively minded strategy with a captain that can set them up. Don’t force them to be on defense. I like them the most.Koopas: Best passers of them all. Lots of passes from them are super fast, and they don’t even have to be perfect passes to be across the field in half a second. Also earns a lot more perfect passes than Birdos or Toads. The other offensive sidekick, they are. Average at shooting, awful at defense. The passing element they have makes them good for a completely different strategy than Hammer Bros. Use in offensive styles.Toads: Fast and frustrating. The fastest sidekicks. Not very good passers or shooters, but they will annoy you if you’re playing against them. Quick to go from standing to hitting. Also have a long range on slide tackles. Funnily enough, they slide the furthest after being hit. Use a rebounding strategy on offense and hit everyone on defense. Try not to get carried away and lose the item battle though. Focus mostly on defense with them.Birdos: The definitive defensive sidekick. Have the largest frame of the sidekicks, longest hitting range, most devastating hit, and alright slide tackles. Play a patient defense with them; wait for the offense to show a weakness in their attack and exploit it. Combined with Donkey Kong, they are incredibly suffocating. Blocks a lot of shots. Don’t expect much offensively though. They whiff the most on one-timers and aren’t good passers. Also are pretty slow. Goals should come if you don’t give any up the other way.MORE TO GO

User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 (Topic Creator) 7 years ago #4



Bananas: Come in one variety for everyone but DK and Wario: 3 bananas. Come in a mini-flying V formation for the x3, but a normal flying V with the 5 banana-group that DK gets. DK also gets them at twice the size. Are useful for clearing space and winning battles. Also can be used in the offensive zone like this: send them out in front of the player with the ball, and shoot the ball off the bananas for a deflection and a higher chance of scoring.



Bob-ombs: Come in packs of one or three. The pack of three bob-ombs are all small bombs while the single bomb can be large or small. The thrower of the bombs aren’t hurt by them.



Green Shells: Lame, but the second or first most common item with Bananas. Come in one or three packs. Not special. Three-pack goes towards the target with all three shells.



Red Shells: Pursue the target. Also come in one or three packs. With a three-pack, the shells will spread out rather than go straight. One shell will go towards the main target (closest person or person with ball) while the other two shells will go to the left and right of the user and chase after the closest opponents.



Ice shells: One/three pack. Freeze players. Just a bit longer of a stun than being hit by a shell.



Spiky Shells: One/three pack. Go through all small shells, small bananas, and players. Will usually cancel each other out by hitting each other off the wall.



Chain Chomps: Crush the player with the ball/closest player and then chase around the field to crush everyone else.



Stars: Most important thing to know when you’re up on a computer and they get these: they only use them with captains. Second most important thing: they automatically run out when the Super Strike meter is visible. Wait to hit an invincible player until you see the meter. Give a speed boost and invincibility to one player.



MORE TO GO Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! Item Tips: First off, all items go towards the closest guy or the person with the ball. This is very important to keep in mind when using any item, from Bob-omb to Banana. Also, with bob-ombs and banans, the thrower of the items are immune to the thrown item, though that’s only a short time with bananas. Items are super important. They can win battles for the ball without much of a fight, but use them in important situations where it’s unknown who’ll get to the ball first. Don’t waste them. Good item use wins a game.Bananas: Come in one variety for everyone but DK and Wario: 3 bananas. Come in a mini-flying V formation for the x3, but a normal flying V with the 5 banana-group that DK gets. DK also gets them at twice the size. Are useful for clearing space and winning battles. Also can be used in the offensive zone like this: send them out in front of the player with the ball, and shoot the ball off the bananas for a deflection and a higher chance of scoring.Bob-ombs: Come in packs of one or three. The pack of three bob-ombs are all small bombs while the single bomb can be large or small. The thrower of the bombs aren’t hurt by them.Green Shells: Lame, but the second or first most common item with Bananas. Come in one or three packs. Not special. Three-pack goes towards the target with all three shells.Red Shells: Pursue the target. Also come in one or three packs. With a three-pack, the shells will spread out rather than go straight. One shell will go towards the main target (closest person or person with ball) while the other two shells will go to the left and right of the user and chase after the closest opponents.Ice shells: One/three pack. Freeze players. Just a bit longer of a stun than being hit by a shell.Spiky Shells: One/three pack. Go through all small shells, small bananas, and players. Will usually cancel each other out by hitting each other off the wall.Chain Chomps: Crush the player with the ball/closest player and then chase around the field to crush everyone else.Stars: Most important thing to know when you’re up on a computer and they get these: they only use them with captains. Second most important thing: they automatically run out. Wait to hit an invincible player until you see the meter. Give a speed boost and invincibility to one player.MORE TO GO

User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 (Topic Creator) 7 years ago #5



-When you get a single shell or bomb, you can see what size the item will be when firing by looking at the HUD. The item changes size from small to large when you have the item. Time when you shoot so you get a large item!



-Large shells will explode when going into a goal or hitting a wall but some small shells will also explode. Blue shells that explode will freeze any in the crossfire, not just blow them up.



-Cameras exist on the perimeter of the field on every field. You can destroy them by hitting someone into them or throwing a shell/bob-omb at them. After being destroyed, you won’t get that angle the camera would’ve given you on replays of goals. Pretty neat detail actually!



-It takes a short amount of time from when you throw an item to the item being able to hit someone. That means that a defender could hit you as you throw the item and not be hurt. Keep in mind.



-If you use an item before you get frozen, you’ll use the item with that character once you get out of the freeze. In fact, all animations are completed after being frozen regardless of when it happened.



-Clears from mid-air go farther than a clear from the ground. Clears when holding down the L Button go farther than a normal clear.



-Holding the R Button always makes you go faster



-One-on-one breakaways are hard to score on!



I think that’s about it! Since gamefaqs probably won’t accept this as an FAQ, I’ll let it archive. If you have different experiences from me, talk about it! I don’t care about how long you’ve played, just let me know what you’ve observed. I’m super interested in different takes. Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! Weird things: -A player that receives a pass in the offensive zone while facing away from the goal will charge a shot faster than normal. Really freaking weird but true! Hard to work into a strategy.-When you get a single shell or bomb, you can see what size the item will be when firing by looking at the HUD. The item changes size from small to large when you have the item. Time when you shoot so you get a large item!-Large shells will explode when going into a goal or hitting a wall but some small shells will also explode. Blue shells that explode will freeze any in the crossfire, not just blow them up.-Cameras exist on the perimeter of the field on every field. You can destroy them by hitting someone into them or throwing a shell/bob-omb at them. After being destroyed, you won’t get that angle the camera would’ve given you on replays of goals. Pretty neat detail actually!-It takes a short amount of time from when you throw an item to the item being able to hit someone. That means that a defender could hit you as you throw the item and not be hurt. Keep in mind.-If you use an item before you get frozen, you’ll use the item with that character once you get out of the freeze. In fact, all animations are completed after being frozen regardless of when it happened.-Clears from mid-air go farther than a clear from the ground. Clears when holding down the L Button go farther than a normal clear.-One-on-one breakaways are hard to score on!I think that’s about it! Since gamefaqs probably won’t accept this as an FAQ, I’ll let it archive. If you have different experiences from me, talk about it! I don’t care about how long you’ve played, just let me know what you’ve observed. I’m super interested in different takes.

User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 (Topic Creator) 7 years ago #6



I have two that I like to employ. The first is to send a lob pass to the player that lines up closest to the midfield line, and take a shot with them. (also, one-timed shots off of lob passes near the midfield stripe have a surprisingly high goal rate) The other strategy is to rush forward with my captain to the corner of the goal box and send a cross for a one-timer.



Another weird thing: -if you get a shot off before the clock hits zero and it goes in, the goal counts as a goal scored in regulation. Sudden Death begins/regulation ends when the keeper has saved the ball or the shot has gone in. This means that if the game is tied and you score a goal when the clock at 0.0, the team that lost does not get the consolation point in the standings normally earned when losing in Sudden Death. Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! Oh, last thing(s). Kickoff strategies!I have two that I like to employ. The first is to send a lob pass to the player that lines up closest to the midfield line, and take a shot with them. (also, one-timed shots off of lob passes near the midfield stripe have a surprisingly high goal rate) The other strategy is to rush forward with my captain to the corner of the goal box and send a cross for a one-timer.Another weird thing: -if you get a shot off before the clock hits zero and it goes in, the goal counts as a goal scored in regulation. Sudden Death begins/regulation ends when the keeper has saved the ball or the shot has gone in. This means that if the game is tied and you score a goal when the clock at 0.0, the team that lost does not get the consolation point in the standings normally earned when losing in Sudden Death.

User Info: supershyguy65 supershyguy65 7 years ago #7 Wow. I haven't played this game in a while, and even though I already knew some tricks, half of this is blowing my mind.

User Info: MarioPenguin5 MarioPenguin5 (Topic Creator) 7 years ago #8 Trolls have taken over our Mystic Bell Towers. I tried a fire spell on them, but it only made them crazier! Glad to hear. I was goofing around in the Super Bowser Cup final when I discovered the chip shot from midfield goal. Did it without thinking and it went straight in. I was like "whoa" and then tried it again and again before figuring it out.