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Batter Up!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 43 / 54
Date: September 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Arguably, Nintendo really knows exactly how to put the Mario franchise within the worlds of sports extraordinarily well. It first started with the status of the fast and furious Mario Kart series. Then, it was more laid back towards the putters with the wild and wacky Mario Golf series. After that, it took a turn towards aces with the Mario Tennis games for the Nintendo 64, and last year with the Gamecube. Still, there are a few other sports that are going to have the Mario bandwagon soon. Within the next year, there will be the European football, or soccer hyped Super Mario Strikers. But in the meantime, a Spring and Boys Of Summer tradition called baseball.

Mario Superstar Baseball for the Nintendo Gamecube, is a fast paced and eclectic gamers paradise through the world of baseball. The game really goes a lot deeper from the Super Mario Briothers series past and present with so many characters like Yoshi, Luigi, Mario, Peach. Also, some old favorites like the flying goombas, and dry bones from Super Mario Brothers 3, Koopa Troopa, and so many others. Arguably, the graphics are just delightful, and the gameplay and control is very easy to learn for some characfters, whether it is in the pitching, or the batting, and simply within the outfield. The fields also blend within each unique feeling of the Mario worlds with courses from the Princess Castle, and even the wild and wooly jungle worlds of Donkey Kong. The musical score is as cutesy, but not over the top for the game, but that arguably doesn't matter at all.

Mario Superstar baseball is a great addition for any fan of Mario, and baseball alone. While, there have been so few baseball games for the Nintendo Gamecube, this happens to really be one of the very few that does stand alone. This is a great sports game, and one of the few that really does hit a home run.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B-

Control: B+

Fun & Enjoyment: B- if you're playing solo; A- if you're playing with others

Overall: B

A good idea with lackluster execution

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 38 / 50
Date: November 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Mario Superstar Baseball (2005.)

INTRODUCTION:
Over the years, Nintendo's main man has always been Mario. The character Shigeru Miyamoto created so long ago has remained consistenly popular over the years, appearing in a variety of games. From action/adventures to roleplaying experiences, Miyamoto's creation has done everything the video gaming world has to offer and then some. Sports titles have been a rather popular exploit for Mario in recent years, as well. With games that stay true to their respective sports while at the same time adding in that innovation only the Mario universe could do, these games are usually great. How does Mario's first visit to the baseball diamond measure up? Read on for my review of Mario Superstar Baseball.

OVERVIEW:
Mario Superstar Baseball was released in 2005, and was released only for the Nintendo Gamecube. The game features a variety of different gameplay options and modes, as well as single and multiple player options. At this time, it retails for approximately fifty dollars American.

REVIEW:
These Mario sports games are becoming increasingly common. And I thought for sure, Mario's first baseball game would be an excellent one, in the same league as those other excellent Mario sports titles. Unfortunately, a number of small flaws came together, and made the gaming experience a very mixed bag. Read on for some pros and cons of the game.

-THE GOOD:

-EXCELLENT GRAPHICS. Mario games are often known for boasting some of the best graphics of any Nintendo series, and this time around, it is no exceptions. The characters, scenery, and everything else looks great. Since Mario games are among Nintendo's most popular, it's not surprising to see them pump so much effort into creating excellent graphics.

-MANY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS CAN BE USED. When you play a game, you'll be able to select a team, and pick which characters you want to play what positions. Characters are all different in their attributes - for instance, one may be a good base runner but may suck at fielding, or vice versa. This forces you to take strategy into account when you select a team. This is one of my favorite things about the game.

-MANY DIFFERENT FIELDS TO PLAY THE GAME ON. In most baseball games, the field is strictly a cosmetic affair. Not true in the Mario universe! Every field has its own obstacles and challenges, making it so that no two games are the same. Leave it to Mario to innovate a franchise left and right.

-LOTS OF DIFFERENT GAME PLAY OPTIONS. There are no shortage to the different types of things you can pull off in this game, making the package all the more appealing. From different play modes to mini games, there is a lot of innovation at work here.

-THE BAD:

-THE FIELDING IN THIS GAME IS HORRIBLE. Most baseball games (smartly) include automatic assisting when you are fielding. The game lacks this, and as such, the fielding ends up sucking. With a Mario game, it seems like Nintendo is often trying to open up new genres to potential fans, and a lack of auto-assist fielding really hurts the game in this aspect.

-CAMERA ANGLES ARE OFTEN POOR IN THE FIELDING SEQUENCES. As such, this makes it extremely hard to run after the ball. In other words, your enemies are likely to score a lot more often than you, making victories against the computer highly unlikely.

-DELAYS WHILE BATTING GREATLY HARM THE GAME. In most baseball games, you push the button and the bat swings. Simple as that. NOT TRUE HERE. There are annoying delays when you swing, and this makes the batting, one of the key components of the game, much to difficult.

-NOT AS EASILY ACCESSIBLE AS MOST MARIO SPORTS TITLES. Most Mario sports titles are great because the gamer can pick them up right away, and often easily learn a sport they may not have known before. Sadly, that isn't the case here. Because of this, the game falls flat in one of the most vital areas of success.

-THIS GAME IS AN ACQUIRED TASTE - NOT SOMETHING YOU GET INTO RIGHT AWAY. And since many of the fans of Mario games are young gamers who lack any real experience with gaming, and they also lack patience. This means that the game loses a good portion of its target audience.

Overall, this game is a very mixed bag. Everywhere it succeeds, it fails somewhere else. It many ways, it seems like Nintendo took a generic and mediocre baseball game, and just put Mario characters in it and threw in a few extra modes. And it seems like it fails in some of the most vital areas of all. In the end, I think this game would make for a worthwhile rental, but I don't really recommend purchasing it. So my final verdict is a simple one. Try before you buy. I'm glad I just rented the game rather than purchasing it!

EDITION NOTES:
There's really not much to say here. The game is a recent release, so just about every store that sells video games should have new copies on hand, readily available and for sale.

Everyone Makes a Mistake

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 17 / 25
Date: September 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am a Mario fanboy. I admit it! But I'm not obsessed enough to think that everyone that pertains to Mario is the best thing since sliced bread. Mario Superstar Baseball is a fluke. Hey, everyone makes mistakes once in a while!
The graphics of this game are quite good. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Bowser, DK, Wario, and the rest of the gang are all present, along with many others, including the newly playable Toadsworth, Magikoopa, Goomba, and others. They look as realistic as ever. The baseball diamonds flourish with nice landscapes and backgrounds.
The sound is anything you'd expect in a Mario game. Since the gang isn't too chatty, you usually only hear grunts or sounds of celebration. BGut, i absolutely HATE the umpire's voice. That annoying, high-pitched, "Strike!" gets on anybody nerves. I want to strangle whoever did that voiceover.
Pitching is perfect. Namco put a lot of depth into the pitching, and I'm pleased with the result. I also love the star shots concerning each of the 12 captains' personalities.
Batting an be a challenge at first, but batting is simple, but not too easy that an experienced player will never strike out. I also like the different bats for each character.
Fielding is flawed. The controls are clumsy, and you can sometimes accidentally push the analog stick in the wrong direction, causing it to go to the wrong base.
Baserunning is HORRIBLE! I. Hate. IT!!! Every time a ball flies in the air, the idiotic AI on your team tries to run to the next base. When someone catches the ball, they almost ALWAYS get out while trying to get back to the base. Also, the diagram of the diamond in the upper right-hand corner is a poor reprenstative of how close or far you are from the base.
It seems that Namco put so much depth and fun challenge into pitching and batting, they skimpily added controls for baserunning and fielding.
Let's get this straight. I can honestly say that this is one of the worst Mario spin-off games in recent years. Seriously, some of the minigames in Mario Party 5 (the only Mario Party I dislike) are more entertaining and satisfying than getting a homerun in Mario Superstar Baseball.
I AM a Mario fanboy. But, all of fellow fanboys out there, please don't push the "unhelpful" button just because I'm giving this a negative review.
For you Mario newbies, don't start your Mario collection with a mistake. Try Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour or Mario Power Tennis by the superior-to-Namco Camelot Ltd. Or maybe even try the surprisingly good Mario Party 6.
Leave Mario Superstar Baseball to collect dust on the game racks.

Fun at First

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Mario Baseball is a entertaning game that is tons of fun at first. Anyone who buys the game will love so many of the intresting features like powerups mini-games, and fields. However you will find yourself very frustrated at times with the fact that you did not make the right play because the feilding controls are herd to master. Also after a while the game is not fun ro play for many then about 1/2 hour at atime.
Pros
*So many diffrent charcters to make up your team with
*Mini-games help to master some of your playing skills and are also fun
*Graphics and Sounds are good as always
*More characters can be unlocked
*Each character has a special ability that can be used when pitching or hiting

Cons
*Can get boring after a while
*The controls while on the feild can be hard to master

Overall
If you are a Mario sports fan it is exactly what you would expect. If you are a baseball fan this game might be alittle to crazy for you. However I think that it is worth a purchase because the game is entertaining even though it is not one of the best Mario sports games on the market.

Hands down the worst "baseball" game I've ever played.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 22 / 45
Date: September 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Those who've played the other Mario sports titles will know that these games tend to bury the actual 'sport' beneath a pile of special moves and crazy locales.

Mario Baseball takes that attitude and pushes it to the absolute extreme. Stadiums are filled with obstacles which can turn an easy out into a double, a routine single into a triple, and can send a foul ball back into play so that it winds up fifty feet fair (and probably in your opponent's glove).

Pitchers can throw special pitches which are largely unhittable (such as Donkey Kong's banana pitch which breaks so sharply that it practically crosses the plate going the wrong direction). Batters supposedly have special hits as well, but I've never actually seen one of them work. (I was irritated far too quickly to keep trying).

And even the actual 'baseball' qualities of the game are suspect. When one first turns on the game, there is no power whatsoever. Homeruns, which are usually the break and butter of arcade style baseball, were few and far between in my experience.

The fielding leaves a great deal to be desired as well. Many fly balls turn into double plays simply because the player couldn't tell whether or not it was going to be caught.

I have no gripes about the "lack of depth" in the game, which many professional reviews have written about. Arcade style sports games usually have a lack of depth. They are supposed to be pick-up-and-play games. But that's the problem, Mario Baseball is not a pick-up-and-play game. It is incredibly annoying by ANY baseball standards... The few hours which I gave to this game were certainly anything but an enjoyable diversion. From winning by seven runs in three innings to an extra inning tie, no result in this game feels like anything more than dumb luck. Whoever hits fewer balls into the 'special feature' catastrophes will probably win.

One of the most frustrating game experiences I've ever had. Certainly the most frustrating sports game I've ever played.

Not recommended in the slightest...

Simplistic Bliss

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: November 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While many believe that the simplictity of this game is it's downfall, I for one think that it is what makes the game so darn fun. I ussualy wasn't one to play too many baseball sims as they got too complex or tedious but this game is just right for me and all of you others like me who think baseball is kind of a slow game. All your favorite carachters are here and thensome. We have Mario, Wario, Peach etc. but we also have some obscurities like King Toadstool and Trixie Kong. Each carachter has their own specialty (other than balanced players i.e. Mario, Power players are good at hitting hard and pitching hard and fast but tend to be slow runners. Speed players tend to be good fielders and baserunners but average hitters and pitchers. Then there are technique players which as far as I can tell excell in pitching and are ok at everything else. Each player also has their own star power that when tapped into allows the player to hit or pitch with cool powers like a flame ball for Mario. That isn't the only piece of Mario flavor that finds itself in the game. Every field has it's own obstacle that is ussualy a staple in the series such as piranha plants that eat and spit out your ball. This game has the full range of modes but nothing really worth talking about. Over all this is a great great game for those of you looking for a simple fun sports game or a young baseball fan who wants a video game that is easy to play. Caution though, baseball purists will probably be turned off by this games simplicity and ablitity for games to end in a tie. Another annoyance is the announcer who has a kind of annoying voice but those gripes really aren't big enough to hurt the score. 5 stars.

Ahoyay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is the most fun I've had playing a baseball game in a while. You need to have a friend or two that you can play baseball games with and you will be whisked back to the good old days when games made you so mad you wanted to throw your controller and kill your friends. They should have made the A.I. better and there should have been more characters if you ask me but still, you have to love the addictive/destructive nature of Mario Baseball!

Great Baseball Title for Everyone.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Sure, it's another Mario sports game. My biggest appreciation is that these games appeal to both genders. (Guys typically like the competitive elements and the trash-talking opportunities, and the girls typically like the cute little characters and sounds.)

As an avid lover of sports, but especially baseball and football (American), I found Mario Superstar Baseball to be a blast. I've played it in the "Story Mode" (one player), and I've had an awesome time playing it with friends of mine.

The women I know who have played the game prefer the Story Mode because if we go up against each other, I'm throwing off-speed pitches in deep counts, getting them to strike out. I also rub it in their nose. So they prefer to play when I am not there since I never go easy on them.

But when I play against my guy friends, all the feel of the Mario games is present: great controls, great features, the Mario World, and above all else, variety.

What makes the variety so wonderful in these Mario games is the ability to unlock characters who have unique abilities. After you go through the motions to unlock them, you can't wait to use them in a game. And it is nice to have such great balance and variety because then you don't have to argue with your friend over who gets which players on whose team.

In terms of sheer baseball, Mario Superstar Baseball has it all. I read reviews here defaming the controls and the ease of fielding. If you have played most baseball video games, you will see that MSB actually ranks pretty high in controllability. It is easy to find the ball in the outfield (the computer switches your active player for you and even camps you under the ball to make a play). If you have a good head for the game of baseball, MSB won't let you down at all. I also think that about most of the Mario sports titles: if you understand the game you are playing, the Mario World video game style will provide a different way to make it fun.

So to close, if you don't like baseball, don't buy Mario Superstar Baseball just to see Mario and his cute friends with gloves and bats - you won't like it. If you love baseball, competition, AND the Mario World theme, this game rocks, and I recommend it for anybody, all ages.

Mario Baseball Strikes Out

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 14
Date: October 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It was the worst gaming decision of my life. I popped the Mario Baseball disk into the gamecube and wondered what wonderful new game Mario game we had. I was in for an ugly surprise.

I love simulation sports games. I played Mario baseball in the hopes that it would be kinda sorta realistic with the Mario style charm we all love. The only problem is that it hardly resembles anything simulation. Now you might pass that off as the fact that this game isn't supposed to be sim. The only problem with that is the fact that this is a sports game. You don't play these games with your friends with the expectation that the game will screw up regardless of what you meant to do. Let me explain

The baserunning in this game is horrible. It will force you to advance everytime, regardless of grounders or flies. 100% of the time when my friends play, we always scream at the gamecube to hold the runners when we fly out. But they never do. It's like a 75% of double play if you hit a fly with baserunners. It's just plain annoying. How is it fun when the game controls don't respond when you repeated press "X" to hold your runners.

The catching on this game is a little flawed too. Several times, players like Yoshi would rather get hit in the head by a fly ball than catch it. Annoying to say the least. Also the little circle should indicate where you should place your fielders, not where it will land (as the game has it). As a result, it is really easy to let the ball hit the ground, even when your character is right there.

Bunting is a major exploit in this game. Since you cannot move your fielders in for bunting situation, it is incredibly hard to field the ball. Therefore suicide squeezes ALWAYS work. It's funny when you pull it off on your friends, but the most annoying thing in the world when your favor is returned. In all, bunting is just so bad in this game, the developers should have just left it off. After all, if this is just an arcade game, there should only the option to swing.

The gamecube controller is also very bad for this game. It's really hard to throw to the correct bases to get someone out. It's very easy to advance or withdraw runners trying to steal cause all you have to do is press x or y. So if you get a person good enough, there can get an inside the park home run all the time, by simply running between the bases and waiting until their opponents screw up due to the bad joystick config on the gamecube controller.

There is no magic in this Mario game...a major dissapointment cause all the other Mario games are wonderful IMHO.

Absolute Mario Madness!!! =)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: September 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I played this game at Best Buy and it was impossible to resist!
Here are why I liked this game: (thank you, nintendo!)
- easy hitting, pitching, fielding, etc.
- familliar field backgrounds (like yoshi's field)

Of course the mini games (my favorite is 'wall ball') totally rock. The Mush Room (that's what it's actually said) on the bob-omb is hard. (hint: the high score in the beginning is 1000)

Yup! This game is a 5 star indeed!

I can't finish it because it's soooo fun!

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