Nintendo’s latest Direct left little room to breathe, with over 40 minutes of non-stop video game announcements, sneak peeks, and reveals. While big-name announcements likePikmin 4,Fire Emblem: Engageand, of course,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomare sure to be the reveals that remain in the spotlight for months to come, the Direct had plenty of smaller reveals that shouldn’t be forgotten about. One of these was the unveiling ofMario Strikers: Battle League’s second wave of free DLC, which only leaves room for one more update.
Announced atthe Nintendo Direct,Mario Strikers: Battle League’s second wave of DLC will addSuper Mario Odyssey’s Pauline to the game, along with theDonkey Kongfranchise’s Diddy Kong. These new playable characters join wave 1’s Shy Guy and Daisy and bring their own assortment of gear to the table. But with two waves down, there’s only one to go, and fan speculation is running rampant on who will be joining the roster in its third and final wave.
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Predicting Mario Strikers: Battle League’s Final DLC Characters
While there’s no guarantee that two characters will come toMario Strikers: Battle Leaguein its third and final DLC wave, it seems pretty likely based on the waves that have preceded it. So, the only question now is who will be joining the team.Battle League’s first DLC wave saw Daisy and Shy Guy join the line-up, keeping the game to strictlySuper Mariocharacters. But in the second DLC wave, Diddy Kong is being introduced. Though Diddy Kong is a first-party Nintendo character, andDonkey Kongoften crosses over with theMarioseries, his recent inclusion could pave the way for other crossover characters to come toMario Strikers: Battle League.
For instance, any of the Rabbid versions ofMariocharacters could be a possible inclusion inMario Strikers: Battle League’s third DLC wave. Bringing Rabbid Mario, Peach, or Luigi toBattle Leaguenot only brings a new, unique character to that game, but also ties in nicely with the upcomingMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, and acts as a small promotion for that game. Alternatively,Mario Strikers: Battle Leaguecould cross over with any number of other belovedfirst-party Nintendo characters, withSplatoon’s Inklings being a solid guess, coinciding with the monumental success ofSplatoon 3.Even Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog would make a fine addition toMario Strikers: Battle League’s roster.
On the other hand, ifBattle League’s third and final DLC wave wants to stick toSuper Mariocharacters only, then there are a few iconic faces that haven’t made the cut thus far. For the last few months, fans have been convinced that Bowser Jr. will come toMario Strikers: Battle League. Having appeared in the last game,Mario Strikers: Charged, and being one of the most popularMariocharacters in recent memory with his starring role inBowser’s Fury, Bowser Jr. seems like a likely contender forBattle League’s last DLC. Similarly, Petey Piranha is another likely guess. Over the last few years, Petey Piranha has grown in popularity quite a bit, often appearing inMariospin-off titles. With Petey also appearing inMario Strikers: Charged, the groundwork is already there, making him a likely pick for the DLC.
