| Mario Superstar Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Series | Mario Baseball |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Baseball |
| Mode(s) | 1-4 players |
Mario Superstar Baseball is a video game for the Nintendo GameCube. It was developed by Namco and published by Nintendo in 2005. It features over 30 Mario characters competing in baseball across six different baseball parks.
The story of this game is presented in the opening cinematic, shown whenever the player starts the game. Mario and Luigi receive a flyer advertising a Bowser challenge tournament. At the same time, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, and Donkey Kong also receive their own flyers. They begin to play various baseball matches until they face off against Bowser and his team.
In 2008, the game received a sequel for the Wii, titled Mario Super Sluggers.
The player can choose from 32 different characters. They are classified into 4 different categories according to their in-game abilities.
When starting the game, the player can choose from 7 different game modes to play from the game's main menu.
In this mode, the player has to play as one of twelve captains and also select one of them for their opponent. The player is then taken to form their team and the opposing team out of the other characters, which can include other captains.
This is the main adventure mode. It is crucial to unlocking all of the game's content. The player can only choose one of five main captains: Mario, Peach, Wario, Yoshi, or Donkey Kong. The player has to defeat the opposing teams, recruit them to their side, and lastly face off against the final team, Bowser's Monsters. Sometimes, Bowser Jr. roams around the map, and if the player walks into him, they are forced to play a match against him.
When the player is playing against other teams, a warning with white flags can appear on screen before a character begins their turn. These are called Scout Missions, and if the player wins all of them, the character with the flags joins their team.
Each character also has their own Star Missions. When completed, the character becomes a Superstar player, and all of their skills improve.
As an added feature, Mario Superstar Baseball includes six minigames, one of which is unlockable. Each of the minigames take place in one of the stadiums. There is also an unlockable tournament.
Set in an arena, this game mode consists of four players running, batting, and pitching to earn lots of coins and break records.
In this mode, the player can view the different records that they have achieved, including for the mini-games, Toy Field, and challenges. The player also see all of the superstars that they have earned in Challenge mode. In the exhibition mode, they can see their MVPs.
The player can choose from different game tutorials that teach the basics of baseball, such as throwin the ball, running between bases, batting, and catching the ball.
The player can adjust the options here, such as the sound and vibration of the controller.
When a character has chemistry with another, a music note appears inside a small speech bubble. Characters with good chemistry can throw the ball faster between one another and with more direction than a normal pass. Similarly, a character who is batting hits harder when they have chemistry with another character who is on base.
Any characters who have poor chemistry are marked by a purple "swirl" appearing inside a small text cloud. A character throws a slower pass and never goes straight toward a character who has poor chemistry with them. There are no differences for if one of the characters is batting.
Each of these items are only available to the 6 captains and 6 vice-captains in Challenge mode only. The player can buy each of them for 200 coins at the shop. They all have the same ability: enabling characters to use their Star Skill for hits and throws.