Mario Superstar Baseball

Mario Superstar Baseball (known in Japan as Super Mario Stadium Miracle Baseball) is one of the many Mario spinoff sports games made for the Nintendo GameCube, and is the first of two titles on which Mario and his friends play baseball. What makes Mario Superstar Baseball different from baseball is the addition of unique Power Shots, minigames, and special abilities characters can perform on the field.

Chemistry
Chemistry is a unique feature to Mario Superstar Baseball. Player chemistry emphasizes the relationships between characters. When forming a team, the relationship status between the captain and their teammates affects the number of power stars the team starts with. Additionally, in the game, good chemistry occurs with two friends. When a player throws a ball to their "buddy", the ball travels faster than a normal throw would. Additionally, a player hits better when one of their friends are on base. Examples are Mario and Luigi, Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong. Good chemistry is symbolized by a musical note.

Bad chemistry occurs conversely. When a character throws a ball to a character he or she dislikes, the ball travels more slowly and is sometimes out of line. Bad chemistry is symbolized when a small zigzag line appears next to the players. Examples of bad chemistry include Mario and Bowser, Luigi and King Boo. However, bad chemistry only occurs when the characters are fielding, and it does not happen all the time.

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 use up one Team Star, sub-characters use up one Team Star, and captains as members use up two Team Stars.

Menu Controls

 * A: Confirm
 * B: Cancel
 * Control Stick/Pad: Select menu items
 * L/R: Switch between positions and line-ups
 * L: When selecting a certain character, the player can change their color
 * Y: Deselect all members
 * X: Change hand type of a character
 * Z: View profile of a character selected

In-Game Controls (Batting)

 * A: Normal Swing (holding A causes the swing to charge)
 * B: Bunt
 * L: Reset batter to default position
 * Control Stick/Pad: Reset batter to default position or aim the hit
 * A + R: Use Star Swing

In-Game Controls (Runner)

 * Control Stick: Choose a base when stealing a base
 * Y: Steal a base/Advance a base
 * X: Return to base/Dash
 * B: The player can tap this to make the character dash

In-Game Controls (Pitching)

 * Control Stick/Pad: Change pitcher's position on mound/control the ball
 * A: Normal Pitch (holding A causes the pitch to charge)
 * A + R: Throw a Star Pitch
 * Control Stick + B: Check a runner
 * L: Reset pitcher to default position

In-Game Controls (Fielder)

 * Control Stick/Pad: Move
 * Control Stick + A: Choose a base and throw
 * Control Stick + A: The player can make a diving catch
 * A: Jump
 * A: Use unique talent (if any)
 * B: The player can tap this to make the character dash

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.

Note: The player must complete challenge mode once to unlock Bowser Castle.

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 mini games 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. 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, one inning game where the player is put in various situations. If the player has had a captain join their team, he or she 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.

Another (optional) quest in Challenge mode is the Superstar Challenge. Each character has certain goals that they must clear. Clearing the goals earns the character stars. Earning every star makes that character a Superstar and boosts all of their abilities.

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 (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.

Toy Field
Toy Field is a mode up to four players can participate in a special field. Players take turns hitting pitched balls into a field made up of many spaces. Players earn coins depending on where the ball has landed. The player with the most coins win. Items can be used to either help or deter a player's progress depending if the ball landed on a ? area. Players can also get coins by striking a player out or catching a fly ball.

Minigames
Minigames are extra games outside of playing regular baseball. They usually feature baseball rules, but with a tweak added to it. Unlike exhibition, up to fours players can participate and players choose single characters instead of constructing a team. All minigames correspond to a stadium, such as Bob-omb Derby to Mario Stadium. Four difficulties are involved, though only one is available in the start for all minigames from easiest to hardest: Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special. Flower and Star difficulties are simply harder than Mushroom, but Special usually has a tweak to it: players who play Special difficulty sets records if they beat the standard high score of the minigame.

When players beat Special difficulty for all minigames, they unlock Grand Prix Mode. Grand Prix mode is basically a collection of all minigames in this order, in Special difficulty: Bob-omb Derby, Wall Ball, Chain Chomp Sprint, Piranha Panic, Barrel Batter, and Star Dash. When completed, the player will earn a Grand Prix medal, which is stored in the Records mode.

Practice
This mode allows players to master and practice the basics of Mario Superstar Baseball, including batting, pitching, fielding, and base running. The player can also go here to practice against a CPU with any character they choose. Options in the Practice mode include: Batting, Pitching, Baserunning, and Fielding, where the player is given instructions on the category, playing as Mario. The last option, Free Play, is where the player can practice the four ways of playing baseball with any character they wish and as long as they want.

Records
This is where all outcomes of Exhibition, Challenge, Toy Field, and Minigame Mode are stored. The player can navigate through a number of menus to see all the information stored. The following are stored: past MVPs, challenge mode tropies, Grand Prix medals, star statuses, high scores for all minigames in Special difficulty, and high scores for Toy Field

Options
The options allow the player to modify game settings. Settings include turning on and off music, setting the sound scheme (Mono, Stereo, and Surround), and turning the Controller's Rumble Feature on or off.

Items
These items can only be bought at the shop in Challenge Mode. Coins are obtained for purchasing items by either defeating Bowser Jr. roaming across the map or winning minigames at the stadiums.

One-Game Items
The following items last for one game of baseball.
 * Nice Bat - Lets the player's character get hits more easily.
 * Power Bat - Increases the power of the character's swings.
 * Super Ball - Increases the speed of the character's pitches.
 * Lucky Glove - Increases the Fielding ability of the characters.
 * Dash Spikes - Makes the characters move faster.
 * Buddy Emblem - Increases friendship between the team. Normally incompatible characters will become more friendly to their rivals.
 * Superstar - Increases all stats and boosts friendship. Not available until every other item has been purchased at least once over the course of multiple Challenge Mode playthroughs.

Permanent Items
Once these items are purchased, they never need to be bought again. All of them cost 200 coins and they all do the same thing: give a character the ability to use their special hits and pitches. The difference is that each one powers up just one captain. They become active when the compatible character is on the team. One permanent item that does not give a character Special Moves is the Secret Map, which allows access to the Toy Field from Challenge Mode's overworld, therefore letting coins earned in Toy Field carry over to Challenge Mode. The Secret Map only appears if the player has beaten every mini-game on the Challenge Mode overworld.
 * Red Fireball – Mario
 * Green Fireball – Luigi
 * Lovely Heart – Princess Peach
 * Pretty Flowers – Princess Daisy
 * Gnarly Garlic – Wario
 * Whiskered Eggplant – Waluigi
 * Egg – Yoshi
 * Pink Egg – Birdo
 * King Banana – Donkey Kong
 * Chimp Banana – Diddy Kong
 * Bullet Bill – Bowser
 * Jr. Mask – Bowser Jr.

Gallery
For this subject's gallery, see here.