Mario Sports Mix

This is the second best Mario Sports game. There's tons of multiplayer fun with great single player content and replay value. A great hidden gem for the Wii

Really simple and really fun sports game. The 4 sports and the mini games are all really fun and the tournament mode is legendary.

"Mario Sports Mix" is a lesser known Wii sports title, among the countless other Wii games that have to do with sports. Even among the sports games relating to the Mario franchise, such as soccer and baseball, this game did not get as much praise as the aforementioned titles, and for good reason. Now, don't get me wrong, this game is good; it's just not the best. So, allow me to go through the mix here (or, rather, the Sports Mix). The game proudly shows off 4 unique sports you can play as your favorite Mario character in. Now, normally, I'd go though each sport and point out their strengths and weaknesses. However, all 4 of these sports feel so identical that any point made here can easily be said about all of them. I would like to make a note that Basketball is clearly the most advanced of the sports (which isn't saying much since they're all very simple) and Volleyball is the most basic. Every character has their own different statistics and special moves, but they all generally feel and play the same. That said, there's also unlockable skins and secret characters from the "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest" games. These unlockables give a very good reason for entering the Tourney Modes and do prove to be a great challenge for the player. All of the stages (except for Mario Stadium) have their own unique gimmick that's applied to add some spice to the game. Most of the time, these gimmicks are too much of trouble, but some gimmicks (such as Bowser Jr.;s Blvd.) can drastically change the way the sport is played, for better or for worse. However, if you don't like any of these gimmicks, you can always go to Mario Stadium (as mentioned before) if you just want to focus on the sport. Then there's also items, which are some of the same ones from the "Mario Kart" games such as Bananas and Red Shells, which, like the stage gimmicks, also bring more spice to the game. These items are okay to play with, as they're not too distracting from the main game nor are they forgettable. Finally, there's Party Games, which include 4 "Mario Party" style minigames where you're either dodging bombs flying in the air, making music with volleyballs, slapping your opponents with hockey sticks or feeding a giant plant some fruit. These minigames are brief, but are a nice break from the main game. And that's about it. "Mario Sports Mix" is nothing short ****, party-like sports title with the basic Mario roster to play as. While a little bland, it is still fun. However, for a more memorable Mario sports experience on the Wii, I'd definitely look more into either "Mario Strikers Charged" or "Mario Power Tennis". But, if you already own those games, than this isn't a bad one to look into getting!

The game is pretty fun, but boring on single player. The only fun part about single player is doing the challenges in the tournaments. The mini games are also quite fun single or multi-player. Although there really isn't a lot of good things to unlock in this game since most of the stuff you unlock is either pallet swap characters of alternate outfits which really disappoints me. It does have some replay value and if you want to have the most fun playing this game I suggest playing dodge ball.

Mario Sports Mix may be pretty fun, but due to the lack of other fun sports, like tennis, baseball, football, and other fun sports, some sports that are somehow not based on actual sports, and lame voice talents, it is a waste of $50. So I gave it to my class, which has a Wii.