Fun as hell
Fun as hell when I played as a kid and pretty damn rewarding when I played via dolphin in my former Brooklyn apartment with my roommates. I think the best aspect of this game is the movement - whether you're running, passing the ball, or shooting to score, the game is perfectly paced for a soccer game. I honestly think it's comparable to fifa's movement.
Additionally, all teams are pretty much balanced with a few differences in weight that affect speed and power. For instance, Luigi is the fastest, while Wario makes more powerful shots, just like koopas as teammates are a bit more agile than the more powerful birdos. These subtle imbalances really foster strategic gameplay rather than pure favoritism of a particular character. The same can be said about the items. Whether it's the koopa shell, bomb, or ice/fire flower, each are very balanced with cool down times that integrate well into the overall gameplay.
For some reason, it seems like the only mario strikers that compares is the one for Wii, but in terms of overall fun, this has to be the best. The most recent strikers I've never played, but just by looking at it's graphical design, it seems like they ripped all of the personality out of the characters and pretty much everything. In this strikers, peach and Daisy wear short shorts, while every characters growls and has these badass soccer outfits. When the characters enter the stadium, they sort of burst in with gusto. I don't think the new strikers have any of this because they are scared for the kids and they like money......
