Mario Superstar Baseball

8.0
Great

Gameplay	8.0	"Fat plumbers playing Baseball, 'nuff said."
Graphics	8.0
Sound	9.0
Value	8.0

By Contributor

Oh, no - not another sports title starring Mario! The fat red plumber certainly looks like a sell-out to the casual gamer, due to Nintendo cashing in on the icon - but none of that really matters, because they're still making fantastic games. Mario Superstar Baseball is the first Mario game appearing on the GameCube this games season. It’s a new addition to Nintendo’s sports games titles, and guess what - the baseball suit perfectly fits the fat plumber.

It’s easy to compare Mario Superstar Baseball with the other Nintendo sport titles on the GameCube - namely, Mario Power Tennis and Mario Golf. Both are highly entertaining games and very easy to pick up. Mario’s baseball game plays just like those games - you will easily get the hang of it. Controls often only consist of the A and B button, with the other buttons providing some additional extra functions. Despite this simplicity, it still manages to incorporate some skill - holding the A button, for example, lets the player smash harder/pitch faster. It keeps it simple for everyone to play and quickly becomes fun. Of course, the simplicity can only go so far, and the game lacks depth by taking this approach - but you weren’t expecting anything otherwise from Mario, right? Good.

The problem for us New Zealanders is the sport itself. Baseball isn’t really that popular down-under. You hit a ball with a bat and run, big deal (Ed: *cough* Cricket *cough*). Maybe it’s our naivety shining through, or maybe we just dont want to be like Americans. In any case, Nintendo’s decision for baseball as a sport where Mario can shine is understandable. The sport is popular in Japan, not to mention the US. So while we New Zealanders aren’t that much into baseball (heck, some of us don’t even know the rules of the game), You'll still find that the regulations aren’t hard to understand, even if the game, including the instruction booklet, doesn’t give us any explanation about the baseball principles. With baseball being a little bit harder to understand than tennis, this game can be confusing in the beginning. At the end of the day though, this is fun, and every game has a learning curve.

Mario Superstar Baseball is a fast-paced arcade game, so realism is hard to find. This is to be accepted when a baseball game features more than 25 of Nintendo’s colourful characters, as well as different Mushroom Kingdom stadiums. Mario and his gang playing baseball doesn’t seem strange at all after what we’ve seen him do in the past. The beautiful and amusing intro movie puts everything immediately in its right place, with both sound and look adjusted to the baseball universe. As you can expect from a Mario sports title, there are some special star options included. At the start of a match you get a few star powers, useable whenever you want, be it hitting or pitching. They don’t influence the game as much as the ‘powers’ in Mario Power Tennis, but this is a good thing in my opinion.

Next to that there are the individual qualities of the characters. Bowser, for example, is a real hard power hitter, but his running is as slow as Mr. Smith in his wheelchair. Characters' individual stats can be improved in the one-player challenge mode. In this mode you have to play against four opponent teams to make them join your side. Eventually you play Bowser’s team for the cup with your own picked team. This makes you feel like you really have formed your own personal squad. The players on your side can get better by successfully completing star tasks during the match, such as ‘hit a home run’ or ‘climb up a wall and make a catch’. People who find the regular challenge mode too short (it is, actually) should find enjoyment in improving their players here.

While most of the controls become second nature in minutes, there are some movements that are really hard to execute. Moving only one player to the next base instead of all the players is one thing that is too complicated. You have to press the button and the control pad corresponding to the base. When you’re in the middle of a hectic game, this isn’t the easiest task to do. One other thing is throwing the ball to the right fielder - sometimes it feels like the buttons just don’t correspond right.

Next to that, Mario Superstar Baseball has another problem - it lacks diversity, something also notable in Mario Tennis. So we have a single player challenge mode, an exhibition mode, and mini-games, but that’s it. There’s no way to set up a competition, let alone a championship. It’s a simple shortcoming that infests most of Ninty’s sport titles. The inclusion could add a lot to the lifespan. What is there is as you’d expect though - good reliable Mario fun.

I don’t want to sound over critical about this highly amusing game, but another thing what strikes me is the multiplayer mode. Baseball is pre-eminently the sport which must be played with more players in one team at the same time. Multiplayer mayhem is one of the main points for Nintendo’s sports games. Why not include the option to let players cooperate in the same team? It would be so much more fun if you could play with a friend in one team beating two other friends. As it stands, you only have the option to play against your opponent’s team in an exhibition match. Playing with four players is only possible in mini-games, which aren’t amusing for long.

Overall, I must say that Mario Superstar Baseball is a highly attractive game despite the few letdowns. The game contains all the elements you would expect from a Nintendo sport title - colourful graphics, classic Nintendo tunes and characters, addictive gameplay and simple fun. Too bad baseball isn’t a popular sport over here, though. Dont like baseball? If this cant change your mind then nothing will.

NZGamer.com - Mario Superstar Baseball Facebook