Can't beat the last match of Strikers Cup? Having a hard time maintaining a winning record in Wifi? Maybe our Mario Strikers Charged Guide is just what you're looking for.

Mario Strikers Charged recently hit shelves this month, finally giving Wii fans a taste of the world of competitive online gaming. While the game is designed to be pick-up-and-play friendly for casual multiplayer matches between friends, there is actually a surprising amount of depth to MSC that has already separated the good from the really good on Wifi. The aim of this guide is to show people the in’s and out’s of MSC’s gameplay. What to do, what not to do, what strategies work, how best to beat those strategies, how to use the captains and sidekicks most effectively, and hopefully by the end of it all, you’ll be a much bigger threat to everyone’s record on Wifi.

First though, let’s start with the do’s and don’ts of Mario Strikers Charged.

Do’s and Don’ts

DO use your dekes to juke the enemy defender or even take him out so that you can perform a skillshot or quick megastrike.

Dekes are your friend. Every character has their own specific deke that they can use by pressing the directional pad on the Wii Remote. Remember that you’re able to deke while charging your shot, so if you’re charging and it looks like you won’t get the shot off before the tackle comes, quickly hit the deke button to ditch the defender, giving you time to fully charge your shot unless there is another defender in the area.

DO NOT spam your deke like crazy.

One of the biggest pitfalls newbie MSC players fall into is that they rely too much on their dekes. One of the easiest sidekicks to do this with would be the Hammer Brothers, who have a deke that involves them jumping up into the air and slamming a huge hammer down onto whatever is below him. The deke comes out super fast, it stuns the defender for a long time, it allows you to move forward while using it, and best of all it gives you the perfect opportunity to use the Hammer Brother’s insta-goal skillshot. Sound cheap? Well it isn’t.

In fact, “Hammer Spamming” as it’s called is a sure fire way to lose control of the ball whenever you play someone with even an ounce of skill or timing. Just do a feint approach, wait for them to use the deke, and slide tackle when they’re recovering. This doesn’t just apply to the Hammer Bros either. Every deke in the game is easy to counter if the other player can see it coming. Use dekes sparingly and they will be your best friend. Abuse them, and they might just cost you the match.

DO use your slide tackle to steal the ball from your opponent.

One of the things that I notice often when playing a player with a 0-0 record, is that they often use the strong tackle instead of the slide tackle. I don’t know if it’s because it makes them feel empowered when they shake the remote to perform a big hit, but whatever the case is, the slide tackle is way more effective when it comes to stealing the ball from your opponent. That’s not to say that the strong tackle doesn’t have its uses. With power characters like DK, Monty Mole, and Birdo, it’s a great way to stop megastrikes and skillshots.

DO NOT tackle characters that don’t have control of the ball unless it’s necessary in order to prevent a goal or score a goal yourself.

While it may be tempting to simply smash all of your opponents around like a roided up lineman, remember that every time you tackle someone that doesn’t have the ball, the other player will receive an item. You can’t chalk up losing a game due to your opponent getting all the good items when you’re the one giving him all of those items by beating the hell out of any character that gets close regardless of whether they have the ball or not.

Of course, if there is a charged ball being passed around and looks like it’s making its way towards a strong shooter, then for the love of god take him out if you can’t intercept it in time. Similarly, if you are chasing after the ball on the opponents side of the field and there only happens to be one defender around, smash him into the fence, get the ball, and charge up a skillshot for a free goal.. Other than those two instances however, try to avoid smashing people around that don’t have the ball.