Nintendo fans are in an uproar right now, but it’s not over yet graphical downgrades or Pokédex Revisions. No, this time it’s about a shunned character in an upcoming game, and not even an A-lister: Princess Daisy isn’t one of them Mario Strikers: Battle League.
Mario Strikers: Battle League, announced during a presentation in February and slated for a Switch release next month, is the next entry in Nintendo’s Mario Striker Series of soccer games. Sure, soccer sims are a dime a dozen, thanks to a certain decades-old series recently lost its naming rights. But who cares about offside or yellow cards when you can turn a soccer ball into a meteor?
fans of Mario Striker (hi) have been overjoyed ever since fight league‘s announcement, as it heralds the revival of a long-dormant, if comparatively niche, series. The gameplay looks faithful to its ancestors, crammed with all the “hey, this move isn’t FIFA sanctioned” hijinks the series is known for. However, following the announcement in February, some fans expressed concern that Daisy was not shown supposed
Continue reading: Daisy is apparently the only Super Mario girl with teeth
Earlier this month, the Nintendo Europe Twitter account confirmed those concerns with a tweet In a series of 10 (unnecessarily intense, IMO) sketches, shut down the “troop” of playable characters. Daisy was not included. For the past week, social media has been buzzing with players either bemoaning their expulsion or calling for their inclusion.
Fan backlash to games that aren’t yet out is often premature and misguided, but the reaction here makes sense. Daisy was a mainstay in both previous iterations, after all, Super Mario Striker for the GameCube and Supercharged Mario Strikers for the Wii. Plus, as a representative for the We are Daisy Fan Wiki (WAD) tells my boxthat striker series “is where Daisy’s personality shines at its best.” (Yes, Daisy is so popular that she has her own fan wiki.) Not to mention how she’s become a staple in other Nintendo sports games, including Mario Tennis and Mario Golf: Super Rush. leaves them out fight league is erasure.
“Daisy has a particularly strong following,” Yves Burgelasa comic artist and big Daisy fan, tells my box. “There were moments in the past, like Super Mario 3D world or smash bros for the 3DS, where their absence caused some kind of uproar in the community.”
Before the fire could be put out, Nintendo poured gas on it by releasing a gameplay overview video for Mario Strikers: Battle League. As well as showing about five minutes of moment-by-moment action, the clip also offered a glimpse of fight league‘s roster. Among other Mushroom Kingdom stars, Mario starshis infinitely more polite brother Luigi, her Tax evader buddy Yoshi, and the incurably neglected Waluigi. Even Rosalina, a relative newcomer to Nintendo’s premier class, was introduced in 2007 Super Mario GalaxyShe belongs to the crowd. But Daisy – who, for the record, has been around since the 80s – is still nowhere to be seen.
“Fans take it to heart when she’s left out of something, especially in favor of Rosalina, who’s a more recent character,” said Yves Bourgelas. “It fuels their emotions.” (Bourgelas even made it a whole comic about it.)
Reactions so far have ranged from, and I paraphrase, “wtffff” to “WTFFFFFFF!!!!!!” The tamest have gotten used to it Create fan art. (This steampunk-inspired sketch by Bourgelas is my favorite.) On the other hand, you have people saying it’s “really horrible” and “sucks” and “bullshit” and other choice words. Something to have even called They no longer plan to record the game.
“If Nintendo didn’t include her…she would basically shoot herself in the foot,” said WAD’s rep.
Of course, like some observers to have pointed turns out there are plenty of other reasons why fans should put Nintendo’s feet by the fire. Last month workers at Nintendo of America filed a report with the National Labor Relations Board alleged surveillance, retaliation and other unfair labor practices. Speak with my boxEmployees at a Joy-Con repair center common details of working conditions this made them overworked and understaffed.
It’s unclear if Daisy will be added fight league in a post-release update, be it as a free update (à la Mario Golf Super Rush) or via paid DLC (à la…basically everything else in Nintendo’s oeuvre). Nintendo has no publicly detailed post-release plans for Mario Strikers: Battle League. But WAD’s rep pointed out that it’s a good bet most Daisy stans would pony for Daisy DLC, although of course that would be a messy situation for a developer who neglects to include content from previous games, only to sell them at a premium for a lively sequel.
Nintendo has not responded to a request for comment on this story.
“Not only Daisy should be there [Battle League]but there are a few people who think Daisy should be in more mainline Mario games as well.” called. “Some even advocate for her having her own game, but that’s another topic.”
Update, 5:40 p.m. ET: Added comments by illustrator Yves Bourgelas.