Mario Superstar Baseball

"MSB" redirects here. For the Nintendo DS game known as "Mario Slam Basketball" in Europe, see Mario Hoops 3-on-3.

Mario Superstar Baseball
For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developers	Namco Nintendo SPD Group No.4
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Nintendo GameCube
Release dates	July 21, 2005 August 29, 2005 November 3, 2005 November 11, 2005
Languages	English Japanese
Genre	Sports
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone CERO: - All ages PEGI: - Three years and older USK: - All ages ACB: - General
Mode	1–4 players
Format	Nintendo GameCube: Optical disc
Input	Nintendo GameCube: Nintendo GameCube Controller
Serial code	DOL-GYQJ-JPN

Mario Superstar Baseball is a sports title for the Nintendo GameCube and is the first installment of the Super Mario Stadium series, being the first dedicated baseball game with characters of the Super Mario franchise. Like most sports games of the Super Mario franchise, Mario Superstar Baseball is based on the traditional rules of the sport, in this case, but is differentiated with various Super Mario-themed gimmicks and other mechanics. These include characters using Star Skill abilities to cause the ball to behave differently; team captains have unique Star Skill abilities that cause a wide variety of special effects, such as attacking outfielders if batting or causing the pitched ball to behave erratically. Characters also have field abilities to differentiate themselves from other teammates. Chemistry is a feature unique to the Mario Baseball games, in which characters perform differently depending on whether they like, dislike, or are neutral to another character they are cooperating with. Additionally, most fields in the game include hazards that can affect outfielders, such as the Piranha Plants serving as obstacles in Yoshi Park.

In addition to the main Exhibition mode, in which baseball can be played freely with up to two players, the game features a single-player-oriented Challenge mode that has the player controlling a designated team captain and their preset team, recruiting other captains and team players to face off against Bowser. The game also features the Toy Field mode, in which individual characters play on an interactive baseball field and get coins based on where the ball lands. Finally, the game includes several Super Mario-themed minigames with baseball mechanics, such as hitting Bob-ombs to create fireworks or collecting gems in a baseball diamond while avoiding a Chain Chomp. Toy Field and Minigames are the only modes that can support up to four players.

A sequel titled Mario Super Sluggers was released for the Wii in the summer of 2008.

Cinematics

Intro

Peach about to throw the ball to Yoshi in the opening.

The game's opening cinematic begins with Mario and Luigi taking warm-ups and practice at Mario Stadium. The two then see a wanted flyer featuring Bowser on it float from the sky. Elsewhere, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Wario all receive the same posters, and decide to get to playing baseball.

In the match between Peach and Yoshi's teams, Peach gets a good swing on a pitch, and as Yoshi runs to make the catch, it bounces off a Note Block and becomes a home run, much to Yoshi's disappointment. Next, in the game between Wario and Donkey Kong's teams, Donkey Kong uses his climbing abilities to catch the ball, but is bitten by a Chain Chomp and forced to drop it. Shortly after, Diddy Kong successfully bunts, and Wario desperately tries to blow the ball into foul range, but to no avail—Lakitu calls a fair ball, leaving Wario to slam his fist into the ground in frustration.

Finally, in the big game between Mario and Wario's teams, Mario is running for home base, but Donkey Kong is on the verge of catching the ball as Peach, Daisy and Toad black out, fearing that Mario is going to be tagged out. Mario then bounds over Donkey Kong and reaches home base safely as Donkey Kong is hit in the face with the ball. Later on, after the teams have changed sides, Wario hits Mario's pitch into the stands for a home run; as he and Waluigi celebrate to the visible dismay of Mario's, Donkey Kong becomes excited and accidentally pounds Wario into the ground, causing Waluigi to laugh.

Still later in the game, Daisy is seen throwing the ball to Peach, who then throws to Yoshi as Waluigi slides towards the base—only to discover Yoshi already has the ball, causing him to fall short as Lakitu calls him out. During Donkey Kong's at-bat, he hits the ball, and Luigi runs after it as it makes a beeline for the bleachers; he manages to jump off the top of the wall and catch it for a second out. Wario is the next batter up, and points his bat at Mario. Mario winds up and throws a fastball that catches fire and passes Wario before he can swing, striking him out; its speed overloads a radar gun in the process. With all three outs, the teams change sides.

With two outs at the bottom of the ninth and the score tied 3-3 with Luigi on first base, Mario is up to bat; as he faces down Wario, he points his bat at the stands in an homage to Babe Ruth's called shot. Wario then lets loose a pitch that Mario manages to hit as everyone watches in awe—the ball sails directly into the stands where Mario pointed, scoring the game's winning home run for him and his team. Peach, Luigi and the others celebrate their victory with Mario as he reaches home base; as they do, Bowser is shown in the audience, chuckling to himself.

Challenge Mode ending

The game's ending plays when Bowser's team is defeated in Challenge Mode on Special difficulty. It begins with Mario walking through a cornfield at night and entering a baseball field as the lights turn on. Luigi, Peach, Red Toad, and Diddy Kong witness Mario's arrival. Then, Bowser confidently arrives for a rematch, with characters such as Wario and Waluigi as his teammates. After everyone gets to their positions, all prepared for the re-match, Mario makes the pitch. As the ball is thrown, the camera zooms in the ball, revealing the hidden words on it, "WE LOVE BASEBALL!", then the credits roll.

Gameplay

Mario Superstar Baseball plays similarly to actual baseball; teams take turn batting to run on the bases and fielding. The team who bats hits the ball to the field while the fielders attempt to make the batters out. Once a runner touches the home base, their team earns a point. There are three outs on an inning for the batting team. Once a team gets three outs, they switch sides. Whichever team obtains the most points wins. Teams, led by specific team captains, can have up to nine members.

Controls

Controls for batters and runners

Menu controls

• : Confirm
• : Cancel
• /: Select menu items
• : Switch between positions and line-ups
• : Changes color of certain characters
• : Deselect all members
• : Change hand type of a character
• : View profile of a character selected

In-game controls (batter)

• : Normal Swing (holding causes the swing to charge)
• : Bunt
• : Reset batter to default position
• /: Move the batter
• + : Use Star Swing
• : Make baserunners attempt to steal a base (tilt to select which base to steal)

In-game controls (baserunner)

• : Advance a base. Press to stop the runners.
• : Return to base. Press to stop the runners.
• : Tapping it makes characters dash

In-game controls (pitcher)

• /: Change pitcher's position on mound/control the ball
• : Normal Pitch (holding causes the pitch to charge)
• + : Throw a Star Pitch
• : Pick off runners
• : Reset pitcher to default position

In-game controls (fielder)

• /: Move, choose base to throw to
• + : Diving Catch
• : Jump (without ball), throw ball, use unique talent (if any)
• : Tapping it makes characters dash

Exhibition mode

Selecting characters for Exhibition Mode.

The start of a game in Exhibition Mode.

Exhibition mode is a standard one or two player game of baseball. Players fill out a roster and play a game. There are six different, unique stadiums in which players can choose to play in. The player, before playing in a stadium, can adjust options such as number of innings, mercy, which player bats first, and turning Star Skills on and off. Players can also adjust field settings, running, drop spots, and batting cursors.

Star skill

Mario, using his Fireball as a Star Skill.

A new feature in this game is the ability to use a Star Skill. Star Skills can be activated either while pitching or while batting. Anyone in this game can use a Star Skill, but a team captain's Star Skill is superior to a sub-character's Star Skill. Team Captains have mostly different Star Skills, however, captains that usually pair with each other (Mario and Luigi, Peach and Daisy) have similar Star Skills. The amount of Star Skills that can be used is represented by 5 Team Stars in a meter. The amount of starting Team Stars depend on the sub-characters' chemistry with the team captain.

Star Skills can be replenished by hitting ball park features. They can also be replenished by striking a player out or making a batter reach a base safely when the words, "Star Chance!" appear. Team captains and sub-characters use up one Team Star while captains as members use up two Team Stars.

If a batter has all 5 Team Stars and hits a charged shot with perfect contact while still holding the button, they will get a near-guaranteed home run.

Challenge mode

Wario in Challenge Mode.

Challenge mode (the main game mode of Mario Superstar Baseball) is a game mode where one player selects one of five Team Captains (Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Yoshi) and plays with a pre-made team. The player wanders a map of the Mushroom Kingdom and can play minigames to earn coins and spend at a Shop, where power-ups can be bought. The player's objective is to beat the other four captains in a game of baseball, on their own course. In order to get the others, the player should see the scout flags for the match. Scout flags are earned by completing scout missions, such as getting a hit, or scoring a run. If the scout mission is not completed, the player will not earn the scout flag(s). There are scout flags next to the characters' faces. These flags serve as a purpose for recruiting other characters to the player's team. Each character has a set number of Scout Flags (up to five flags), with team captains requiring more Scout Flags (3 on the Mushroom level, 4 on the Flower level and Star level, and 5 on the Special level) and sub-captains and characters of race (excluding the characters with color changes) needing the median number (2 on Mushroom and on Flower, 3 on Star, and 4 on Special) and minor characters needing the least (1 on Mushroom, 2 on Flower and Star, and 3 on Special).

The only exception is Donkey Kong's team, with all his teammates needing only one scout flag on the mushroom level, 2 on the flower and star levels, and 3 on the special level. Bowser's team cannot be recruited due to no scout flags; the only way to do so is when Bowser is selected as a challenge mode captain. When Bowser is chosen, the team players require the same number of flags as the captain when he is not chosen. Before the match, the opposing team's has the message "Round up Players" on their batting order screen. The order of the opposing team is random as well as the fielding position, with the exception of Bowser's team, whose batting order and fielding positions remain the same. Players from other teams can be recruited after clearing certain missions. When the player recruits the captain they are not able to recruit other characters on their team unless the player faces Bowser Jr.

After beating all four opponents, the path to Bowser's Castle opens, where the player is able to challenge Bowser's team. Once Bowser's team is defeated, Challenge Mode is cleared. Additionally, Bowser Jr. wanders the map. Coming in contact with him starts a short, half-inning game where the player is put in various situations. If the player has had a captain join their team, they can unlock characters on their team from Bowser Jr. Sometimes, they are ahead by a point and must defend their position. Other times, they are behind and must make a comeback. Challenge Mode is the only way to unlock characters.

There are four difficulties to Challenge Mode: Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special. Once Special mode is cleared, Bowser becomes a playable captain. In Bowser mode, Bowser must beat the other five captains, and then play a team of nine of the ten captains and sub-captains, led by Mario (the excluded character is random). Bowser can recruit other characters, excluding the captains and sub-captains, and in Bowser mode, Bowser Jr. does not wander the map.

Names of levels in other languages

Mushroom Level

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	キノコレベル Kinoko Reberu	Kinoko Level		[?]

Flower Level

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	フラワーレベル Furawā Reberu	Flower Level		[?]

Star Level

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	スターレベル Sutā Reberu	Star Level		[?]

Special Level

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	スペシャルレベル Supesharu Reberu	Special Level		[?]

Names of scout missions in other languages

Strike 'Em Out!

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	さんしんをとれ！ Sanshin O Tore!	Get a Strikeout!		[?]

Get a Hit!

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	ヒットを打て！ Hitto O Ute!	Strike a Hit!		[?]

Superstar Challenge

Main article: Superstar Challenge

In order for players to become star characters, they must complete specific Star Missions for a character in Challenge Mode. These are optional, but Superstar characters have an increase in stats. The number of Star Missions vary depending on the character; generally, team captains have more Star Missions than team players. Characters have a star title: these change when characters achieve more missions. In addition, some challenges may be completed on any difficulty while some others must be completed on the Special difficulty.

Characters

Character stats displayed here are taken from the listings in the game. Character bios are from the in-game Exhibition Records.

Team captains

Character	Team	Type	Special Ball	Special move	Batting arm	Throwing arm	Bat	Pitch	Field	Run	Bio
Mario	Mario Sunshines	Balance	Fireball	Wall Jump Sliding Catch	Right	Right	6/10	6/10	6/10	5/10	"Everyone's favorite hero. When Peach is in trouble, he always saves the day! A kart racer, tennis player, golf enthusiast, doctor...the list goes on and on, showing that he's a jack-of-all-trades. His trademark fireball will help him in his first foray into baseball."
Luigi	Luigi Mansioneers	Balance	Green Fireball	Wall Jump Super Jump	Left	Right	5/10	6/10	6/10	6/10	"The younger Mario bro. He's a better jumper than Mario but lacks good traction. Always in Mario's shadow, Luigi tends to be low-key but is always a dark horse in athletic contests. Despite perpetually finishing second, his excellent form and green Fireball make him a force."
Peach	Peach Monarchs	Technique	Heart Ball	Quick Throw Super Catch	Right	Right	4/10	8/10	7/10	5/10	"The Mushroom Kingdom's princess. Mario has come to her rescue every time she's been kidnapped...which has happened no less than 10 times! Some speculate that an all-Toad security force may be the problem... She joins the game with a Heart Ball as her weapon."
Daisy	Daisy Queen Bees	Balance	Flower Ball	Quick Throw Sliding Catch	Left	Right	6/10	7/10	5/10	4/10	"Sarasara Land's[sic] princess. Mario rescued Daisy from the nasty villain Tatanga. While often compared to Peach, Daisy is both stronger and more tomboyish than her blonde counterpart. She uses a Flower Ball that scatters confusing petals."
Yoshi	Yoshi Islanders	Speed	Egg Ball	Tongue Catch Clamber	Left	Right	5/10	4/10	6/10	9/10	"A denizen of Yoshi's Island. Mario's dependable buddy always helps him out of jams. Yoshis use their tongues to eat anything and everything. It is said that Yoshis can turn anything they swallow into eggs. On the diamond Yoshi's fast legs and accurate tongue make him a great fielder."
Birdo	Birdo Bows	Balance	Weird Ball	Suction Body Check	Right	Right	6/10	4/10	4/10	4/10	"A dinosaur that spits eggs from her huge mouth. Birdo is very particular when it comes to fashion, though her reliance on the color pink is a bit limiting. Her bow and ring are her pride and joy. Birdo's mouth has massive suction that can even catch a ball by sucking it in."
Wario	Wario Greats	Power	Phony Ball	Sliding Catch Body Check	Right	Right	8/10	3/10	4/10	3/10	"According to Wario, he's both Mario's rival and a childhood friend (this is unconfirmed). He actually runs his own video-game company and has produced many hot sellers. Garlic is Wario's favorite food. It may lead to his incredible stamina, which makes him excellent at daring plays."
Waluigi	Waluigi Flankers	Technique	Liar Ball	Laser Beam Super Jump	Left	Left	4/10	9/10	4/10	4/10	"Luigi's eccentric rival. Waluigi is a hardworking player who has been training night and day to gain enough power to best Luigi. The eggplant that his Liar Ball delivers is said to have the power to make those who touch it lose their lunches."
Donkey Kong	DK Kongs	Power	Banana Ball	Clamber Laser Beam	Left	Right	8/10	7/10	4/10	4/10	"A gorilla known for raw power, DK lives a carefree jungle life... unless someone messes with his bananas, in which case he just loses it. His ancestor, the original Donkey Kong, wore no necktie. His talents lead in beating on primate foes and kart-racing. Fear his Banana Ball!"
Diddy Kong	Diddy Tails	Speed	Boomerang Ball	Super Catch Clamber	Left	Right	3/10	6/10	7/10	7/10	"DK's partner and buddy. Diddy's trademark is his red baseball hat. While Donkey Kong boasts incredible power, Diddy's forte is his nimbleness. Using his prehensile tail to great effect, Diddy Kong is a natural fielder who won't ever boot routine balls."
Bowser	Bowser Monsters	Power	Killer Ball	Body Check Laser Beam	Left	Right	9/10	9/10	1/10	1/10	"Mario's arch rival and the king of the Koopa Clan. He's challenged Mario and his friends to battles countless times, but his ambitions tend to get crushed every time. His lethal Killer Ball is powerful enough to drag anyone who catches it across the field!"
Bowser Jr.	Jr. Pixies	Power	Killer Jr. Ball	Body Check Wall Jump	Right	Left	8/10	5/10	3/10	4/10	"Bowser's exuberant son. Bowser lied to him and convinced Jr. that Peach was his mom, resulting in a chaotic adventure for Mario and company. Bowser thinks the Koopa clan is in good hands with his son. He's not just powerful but also surprisingly skilled."

Team players

If the player presses on some of these characters, they can use alternate colors for those characters. They each have their own unique stats and are slightly different from one another. In Challenge Mode, the player can use all of one character's alternate colors on their team (e.g. if Peach is the player's captain, they can use all five Toad colors on their team). In the other modes, however, players are only allowed one alternate color per character.

Default

Character	Team	Type	Special move	Batting arm	Throwing arm	Bat	Pitch	Field	Run	Bio
Baby Mario	Yoshi Islanders	Speed	Wall Jump	Right	Right	3/10	5/10	3/10	7/10	"The elder of the baby Mario brothers. After arriving in a stork-related calamity, he and Yoshi rescued his little bro. Though he's supposed to be in his youth, you can play them both at the same time for some reason. He has excellent foot speed but lacks power due to his diminutive size."
Toad	Peach Monarchs	Balance	Body Check	Right	Right	5/10	3/10	3/10	6/10	"Princess Peach's subject. Though he tries to protect the princess from the evil Bowser, she gets kidnapped with disturbing regularity. There are many Toads who look just alike, and though they are generally small and look cute, they are actually quite powerful."
Blue Toad	Peach Monarchs	Balance	Body Check	Right	Right	4/10	3/10	4/10	7/10	"Princess Peach's subject. Though he tries to protect the princess from the evil Bowser, she gets kidnapped with disturbing regularity. There are many Toads who look just alike, and though they are generally small and look cute, they are actually quite powerful."
Yellow Toad	Peach Monarchs	Balance	Body Check	Right	Right	4/10	4/10	3/10	6/10	"Princess Peach's subject. Though he tries to protect the princess from the evil Bowser, she gets kidnapped with disturbing regularity. There are many Toads who look just alike, and though they are generally small and look cute, they are actually quite powerful."
Green Toad	Peach Monarchs	Balance	Body Check	Right	Right	5/10	3/10	4/10	6/10	"Princess Peach's subject. Though he tries to protect the princess from the evil Bowser, she gets kidnapped with disturbing regularity. There are many Toads who look just alike, and though they are generally small and look cute, they are actually quite powerful."
Purple Toad	Peach Monarchs	Balance	Body Check	Right	Right	5/10	3/10	4/10	5/10	"Princess Peach's subject. Though he tries to protect the princess from the evil Bowser, she gets kidnapped with disturbing regularity. There are many Toads who look just alike, and though they are generally small and look cute, they are actually quite powerful."
Toadsworth	Peach Monarchs	Technique	Super Catch	Right	Right	4/10	4/10	6/10	4/10	"Princess Peach's attendant. Though he says his life gets shorter every time Princess Peach gets abducted, he is always in good health and full of energy. While he lacks in stamina, he makes up for it by making cool plays that take advantage of his long life's worth of experience."
Goomba	DK Kongs	Balance	Ball Dash	Right	Right	4/10	3/10	4/10	5/10	"Though Goombas once lived in peace in the Mushroom Kingdom, they betrayed their homeland to side with Bowser. Exactly how Goomba uses his baseball gear is a bit of a mystery. Maybe you can spot the secret technique if you watch closely as he makes plays in the field..."
Paragoomba	DK Kongs	Speed	Super Jump	Right	Right	3/10	2/10	5/10	7/10	"A Goomba with wings. Just like Koopa Paratroopa, Paragoombas lose their wings and turn into Goombas if they get stepped on. The Goomba family is made up of expert bunters, although no one really makes a big deal about it. Bunting, after all, isn't all that glamorous."
Koopa	DK Kongs	Balance	Sliding Catch	Left	Right	5/10	4/10	5/10	4/10	"A familiar face of the Mario series, this member of the Koopa clan can pull his feet inside his shell to protect himself. Long ago, he didn't even walk upright, but now he's even playing baseball! Though he can do just about everything, he's slow because...well, you know."
Red Koopa	DK Kongs	Balance	Sliding Catch	Left	Right	6/10	4/10	5/10	3/10	"A familiar face of the Mario series, this member of the Koopa clan can pull his feet inside his shell to protect himself. Long ago, he didn't even walk upright, but now he's even playing baseball! Though he can do just about everything, he's slow because...well, you know."
Paratroopa	DK Kongs	Technique	Super Jump	Left	Right	3/10	3/10	4/10	6/10	"Another longtime underling of Bowser. Paratroopa flies through the sky and delivers body checks to Mario and others, but he's vulnerable to a good stomping, which takes away his wings and turns him into a garden-variety Koopa. His wings allow him to leap up and make great catches."
Green Paratroopa	DK Kongs	Technique	Super Jump	Left	Right	2/10	3/10	4/10	6/10	"Another longtime underling of Bowser. Paratroopa flies through the sky and delivers body checks to Mario and others, but he's vulnerable to a good stomping, which takes away his wings and turns him into a garden-variety Koopa. His wings allow him to leap up and make great catches."
Dry Bones	Bowser Monsters	Technique	Sliding Catch	Left	Left	5/10	4/10	3/10	4/10	"A bony underling of Bowser. Some mysterious power binds the skeletal bodies of Dry Bones together, but they shatter to pieces when they take damage. Of course, over time, they go right back to the way they were without ill effect. Dry Bones throws cursed balls when he pitches."
Green Dry Bones	Bowser Monsters	Technique	Sliding Catch	Left	Left	6/10	4/10	3/10	3/10	"A bony underling of Bowser. Some mysterious power binds the skeletal bodies of Dry Bones together, but they shatter to pieces when they take damage. Of course, over time, they go right back to the way they were without ill effect. Dry Bones throws cursed balls when he pitches."
Red Dry Bones	Bowser Monsters	Technique	Sliding Catch	Left	Left	6/10	4/10	3/10	3/10	"A bony underling of Bowser. Some mysterious power binds the skeletal bodies of Dry Bones together, but they shatter to pieces when they take damage. Of course, over time, they go right back to the way they were without ill effect. Dry Bones throws cursed balls when he pitches."
Blue Dry Bones	Bowser Monsters	Technique	Sliding Catch	Left	Left	5/10	4/10	4/10	3/10	"A bony underling of Bowser. Some mysterious power binds the skeletal bodies of Dry Bones together, but they shatter to pieces when they take damage. Of course, over time, they go right back to the way they were without ill effect. Dry Bones throws cursed balls when he pitches."