Mario Smash Football is a five-a-side based football tournament pitting teams of classic Nintendo characters against each other. To win games players simply have to place more balls in the back of their opponent's net than the other team. In Mario Smash Football anything goes, so players who get fouled will get unique Mario Kart style items to avenge themselves with. These can range from mushrooms, which give them a superhuman burst of speed, to shells, which freeze or knock down the opponent's defenders.* Football is all about team-work and Nintendo's stars have brought along their friends to help ensure they are the ones lifting the cup at the end of the season. Each team is captained by a well-known character, such as Mario, Luigi or Donkey Kong and filled with other Mario themed players like Toads and Koopas.