Mario Superstar Baseball is a great mix of America's pastime, fun gameplay, and that Nintendo touch!
First off, I love baseball. And Nintendo, to me there's nothing better. So when I heard that Mario Superstar Baseball was coming to the Gamecube, I was excited. But was me excitement welcomed by a fun and enjoyable game? Yes, yes it was.
The game features a wealth of characters, 54 to be exact, all with their own personal stats that make choosing a team kind of strategic, as you want to pick characters that have abilities and strengths in certain areas, as well as good chemistry with each other to build a stronger team. Characters that have good "chemistry", such as Wario and Waluigi, will have a better chance at hitting with success when placed next to each other in the lineup. The same concept applies to those in the field. If Mario is on third and throws to Luigi on first, the ball will be thrown with greater strength, and will increase the odds of you getting the runner out. Several characters have their own special moves in the field as well, making others more desirable to have on your team than others. Yoshi for example has a tongue that can stretch out and catch a ball that might normally be too far away to catch with a glove alone. This provides some great variety into the gameplay, and makes hitting and fielding a lot more fun.
The game features several ways to play. First would be the Exhibition mode, where you and a friend can play a game of baseball, with your own custom teams going against each other. Or you can play alone, against the computer, but in my opinion, playing with a buddy is a lot more fun, since the computer can get kind of cheap, especially when playing on a high difficulty level. Plus the reactions on your friends face when you smack a homerun is a lot more satisfying than watching the canned animations on the computers fielders. You can play a 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 inning game on 6 different fields. All the fields, except Mario Stadium, have traps or gimmicks that can affect the game, but in a good way.....sometimes. For example, Bowser's Castle has thwomps that can come down and block a homerun from getting out of the park, and fireballs that torch your fielders. Now, some people may like this, saying that it adds some danger and uncertainty to the game, but to me it's annoying. I like to play a standard game of baseball with already crazy characters and special moves. I personally do not need a stadium that's trying to kill me. But if you like a challenge and want to mix up the gameplay, check out the other stadiums in Exhibition mode. Challenge mode is where you play against rival baseball teams in this 1-player adventure. Choose a captain and then you play with a set team. You walk around a map facing off against other teams, and if you win, you get them and their team to join yours. Once everyone is together, you challenge Bowser for the pennant. If you win, you unlock a new character to be used in all the different modes. There is a character to win from playing this mode as each captain, so you'll do this a lot to win them all. It's enjoyable but it gets repetitive. There's also a toyfield and mini-game mode which add to the options of what you can play with friends. They are fun and unique but they are not as good as playing an actual game. The toyfield is definitely worth a try, so you might like it but it's not for everyone. It's a standard game of baseball except you compete for coins by hitting and pitching the ball well, and you can prevent people from getting the ball or nabbing coins with items like shells or bombs. Also there is a practice mode in the game, which allows you to learn the controls and rules but they are fairly simple anyway.
The controls of the game work well. They are pretty standard and easy to pick up and play with. The only real problem is the base running. When you hit they players automatically move so you're constantly fighting them to move them back to the bases so you don't get into a double play. This is a minor issue but it does happen often, but you can look past it since the rest of the controls are pretty solid. The only other thing would be that sometimes you're not too sure which character you're controlling in the field and it may cause you to miss the ball, but this is not a huge problem, and also does not hurt the game too much. Also, the added special star moves for players make the odds of hitting or striking someone out greater, and these are pretty cool to play with. But if you prefer not to have these advantages and would rather play fairly, they can be switched off.
The music in the game is pretty generic. There are some variations of familiar tunes on some stadiums, but it is pretty much the same thing looping over and over again, without much variation in the song. DK's stadium has a jungle beat, Mario has a pretty bland tune that repeats, not too special but like the problems with the controls, these are minor issues. The sound though is nice and clear, with all your familiar Mario related sounds brought to the baseball diamond. The voiceovers are good and everything sounds right. The graphics are nice and crisp, but they don't push the Gamecubes capabilities, but then again they don't have to, it's Mario baseball. The characters look great; the environments look beautiful, especially in Mario Stadium, where the ocean looks so refreshing. The graphics are right on par for a game like this.
All in all Mario Superstar Baseball is a great game. Despite its minor control flaws and its uninspired music, it is a thoroughly entertaining game. Mario and his pals look great and sound great. The game plays well and really makes playing baseball a lot of fun. The extra features add to the games value and provide some more reasons to go back and play this one again. Mario Baseball for the Nintendo Gamecube is a great buy for Mario and baseball fans alike, and it is sure to please. This is why I give this game, an 8.5.