Chemistry

Chemistry is a new feature in the Mario sports titles that is so far exclusive to Mario Superstar Baseball and the sequel, Mario Super Sluggers. It extensively sparks the relationships between the different characters in the Mario series and puts them to good use. Good chemistry occurs when a player throws a ball to his/her buddy, the ball travels faster than a normal throw would; it would glow purple and leave a purple trail, and the character throwing the ball would cry out happily. Chemistry's uses are even more useful because a player hits better when one of his/her buddies are on base; they'll hit even better if two or three of the character's buddies are on base. Positive chemistry is symbolized by a musical note. There is also bad chemistry which is obviously in contrast to good chemistry. When a character throws the ball to another character he or she has problems with or just doesn't like, the ball travels much slower and in a slanted direction than where the ball was directed to. Bad chemistry is symbolized by a black squiggly line that resembles a tornado and the character throwing the ball would cry unhappily. Bad chemistry will nearly always result in a messed up play and allowing the opposing team to score and/or advance on the bases. Unlike good chemistry, bad chemistry only occurs in the outfield and it does not occur all the time.

In Challenge Mode there is an item called the Buddy Emblem that improves chemistry relations, so that nearly everyone on the team will have good chemistry with each other.