In addition to being the regular savior of the Mushroom Kingdom, Madden 21.
One of the most well-received additions to the Madden series this year was The Yard. The Yard is Madden's attempt to appeal to a more casual audience that doesn't care as much about the technical ins and outs of Madden's standard modes. There are no pre-snap adjustments or typical football concepts, or even blockers in the yard; it's a six-on-six mode full of unorganized chaos. A standard play usually consists of multiple es thrown and often ends in a bone-shattering (yet cartoony) tackle. It's chaotic and frantic fun that feels almost out-of-place compared to Madden's typical offerings. It would however, feel right at home alongside Mario's other sports titles.
Mario's return to the links this summer in Mario Golf: Super Rush shows that Nintendo is still committed to Mario sports games despite a bit of a hiatus. Hopefully they've taken note of Madden's The Yard mode, because the template it lays out is a match made in heaven for Mario and company. The setup would be simple; players would select a team of six from a pool of the usual Mario sports crew, with each of them having a different specialty.
Historical big hitters such as Donkey Kong and Bowser could specialize in big hits and forcing fumbles, while speedier characters such as Yoshi could fill the role of a deep threat, ready to take the top off the defense at any given moment. The Yard already has a system like this in place with different players having different archetypes, but Nintendo has the roster to take it to some wonderfully over-the-top places. For example, rather than a traditional tackle, a big hit by Donkey Kong could be him laying into a ball-carrier with his Giant Punch from Super Smash Bros.
Mario's Deep Cast Would Translate To The Football Field Perfectly
One of the primary reasons Madden 21's The Yard caught on the way it did was its emphasis on casual multiplayer. Grabbing a couple of friends and hopping into the online matchmaking to take on another group provided some of the most laidback fun that the Madden franchise has had in years. While it seems extremely unlikely Nintendo would be able to replicate the online infrastructure of Madden, the local multiplayer possibilities are endless. Playing with friends is the foundation of Mario sports titles, and The Yard's success in this regard shows once again that Mario and football could be a match made in heaven if given the chance.
A world-class athlete like Mario can only be kept down for so long; eventually he's going to find his way onto the gridiron. And while Mario sports titles are almost always high-quality offerings, if Nintendo were to take a page out of Madden 21's book, Mario Football could be something truly special.