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Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Sports
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 29 Aug 05
User Rating
9.7 (9 votes) -
- Sick of the MLB? Let the legendary plumber take your troubles away with this challenging baseball title, complete with the good-old Nintendo charm.
Overview
Is it just me, or has the sport of baseball really gone downhill, with the steroid accusations, or the mere fact these athletes are complaining that there not making enough money to play a game. As you can tell this does upset me, which is why I was looking so much forward to this game - Mario Superstar Baseball for the Nintendo Gamecube. Instead of having to deal with the problems of the MLB, we can sit back and have fun with the Nintendo characters. So is this game the saving grace of baseball? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
Nintendo has been very cautious in how they use their Nintendo characters and really hasn't used them as much as you would have expected on the Gamecube. Mario has only had one game to his name, and quite a few party titles and of course the sports lineup (Golf and Tennis). Both of the sports game in my opinion have been very nicely done and really have been a whole lot of fun in terms of just being an easy game to pick up and play and just enjoy for short sittings. Well now Mario has taken to the plate and is trying to hit a homerun with his first baseball game. So can Mario Superstar Baseball hit one out of the park?
For those of you who have played the previous games from Camelot, you will already know that the experience is never anywhere close to that of the actual sport, and that is exactly true here in Mario Superstar Baseball. This game is all about obstacles and things that can keep you from your final objective, whether it is objects out in the field or just some of the weird things that can happen in a single game of Mario Superstar Baseball. In fact there are so many things going on outside of just playing the game of baseball, that there were times in the game that I forgot that I was even playing baseball to begin with.
So when you finally take the field, you can expect to find a range of different Nintendo characters on the field, including of course the regulars Mario and Luigi plus many others like Donkey Kong and Bowser. I was impressed with the amount of characters in which made their way into Mario Superstar Baseball and how well they did with choosing a great variety. What is of course a given with these different characters are of course better at different things, whether it be fast or powerful you can definitely see the difference between the characters.
With Mario Superstar Baseball you are given a few different modes to choose from, but the core of the game can be found in the challenge mode, which tries to act like a mini-RPG with a small map to travel around and the ability to increase your team's abilities. Basically you go though this mode taking on the different captains of different teams trying to get good enough to defeat Bowsers All Stars, which of course is the objective of the mode. To be honest the whole story and premise of this mode are really uninteresting and in my opinion could have been done a whole lot better.
With that being said, the mode may not have been done as well as it could have but the game really keeps up its end of the bargain with some really engaging and fun gameplay. The controls reminded me of the past two Mario Sports games and that is that they are easy to pick up and play but also take sometime to master. What Mario Baseball does best though, is keep things unpredictable, as the different fields have a lot of different aspects that come into play that never would in a normal baseball game. This unpredictability with the light-hearted gameplay really combines to make a very entertaining session of baseball that although not very deep is still very enjoyable.
Graphics
The one thing that Nintendo has really been doing a fantastic job of with their latest Mario sports titles are the visuals, which in my opinion have been some of the best the Gamecube have seen. Mario Superstar Baseball keeps up this tradition with some of the best looking character models I have ever seen in a Gamecube game, hands down.
The one thing that really puts this game into the elite category in terms of visuals is just the amount of variety that you can find throughout the game. There are so many unique ideas that are going through this game that really separate the visuals of Mario Superstar Baseball from any other game on the Gamecube. The only thing I wish that I would change about this game is the fact that there aren't a lot of fields to play on, which would have helped this games visuals stand out for a longer period of time.
Fun Factor
There are two things about Mario Superstar Baseball that really stand out in my mind as things that if fixed would have put this game over the top. The first is one we just discussed and that is that there are not enough fields to choose from in the game, and the second gripe is that the challenge mode needed to have been re-constructed to make for a more interesting experience. Besides that Mario Superstar Baseball is a fun and engaging arcade baseball games that fans of Nintendo are going to eat right up.
Overall
If you liked the previous Mario sports titles and are thinking about picking up this game, then I would say go out and purchase this game as it has the same simple yet fun gameplay that has kept the series alive and well. If you are in the market for a fun game to play that won't take up to much for your day then I really believe that Mario Superstar Baseball is a great option for you.
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
9.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
8.0
