Mario Superstar Baseball

Mario Superstar Baseball is a Mario sports title for the Nintendo GameCube and is the first installment of the Mario Baseball series, being the first dedicated baseball game in the Mario franchise. As with most Mario Sports titles, it is based on the traditional rules of the sport, but is differentiated with unique, Mario-themed quirks and 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 whereby 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 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 follow-up game, titled Mario Super Sluggers, was released for the Wii in mid-2008.

Game's opening
The game's opening begins with Mario and Luigi playing catch. The two then see a wanted poster 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&mdash;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 look away. 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 slams Mario's pitch into the stands for an easy 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 hard towards the base&mdash;only to discover Yoshi already has the ball, causing him to fall short as Lakitu declares him out. During Donkey Kong's at-bat, he punches 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 and the game on the line, Mario is up to bat; as he faces down Wario, he points his bat at the stands in an homage to. Wario then lets loose a pitch that Mario manages to hit as everyone watches in awe&mdash;the ball sails directly into the stands where Mario pointed, scoring a home run for him and his team (despite the fact that Mario’s team was already up by one run and therefore the game should have ended before his turn to bat). 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 finally beaten in Challenge Mode on Special difficulty. It begins with Mario entering a park at night, with Luigi, Princess Peach, Red Toad, and Diddy Kong excited over his 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.

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
 * /: Reset batter to default position or aim the hit
 * + : Use Star Swing

In-game controls (runner)

 * Choose a base when stealing a base
 * Steal a base/Advance a base
 * Return to base/Dash
 * 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
 * + : Check a runner
 * Reset pitcher to default position

In-game controls (fielder)

 * /: Move
 * + : Choose a base and throw
 * + : Diving Catch
 * Jump
 * Use unique talent (if any)
 * Tapping it makes characters 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.

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.

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.

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.

Alternate team players
If the player presses on 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 characters 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.

An asterisk (*) means that character is unlockable.

Teams
The following are lists of teams formed by their respective captains in Exhibition Mode.

The first is a common team, formed if most teammates are a different character type than the captain. The second team is used when the majority of teammates share the captain's character type. The third and fourth teams require the captain to include certain characters (listed below).

Asterisks indicate that the team name returns in Mario Super Sluggers.

Chemistry
Chemistry is a unique feature to Mario Superstar Baseball and its follow-up. 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 they dislike, 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.

There exists chemistry tables in-game which determine the above features and more. Each character has a chemistry value, from 0-100, with every other character in the game. 90 and above indicates chemistry, whereas 15 and below indicate bad chemistry. These values are also used in calculating Team Stars pre-game. The game will average each player's chemistry with the captain and convert the average to team stars. The key is as follows (x̄ = average captain chemistry):


 * 5 star team: x̄ ≥ 70
 * 4 star team: 70 > x̄ ≥ 55
 * 3 star team: 55 > x̄ ≥ 35
 * 2 star team: 35 > x̄ ≥ 15
 * 1 star team: 15 > x̄ > 0
 * 0 star team: x̄ = 0 (occurs with a team of 9 of the same character; only possible with cheats)

Ball Dash
Characters: Monty Mole, Goomba

Ball Dash allows the user to gain a significant speed boost when they are holding the ball. Both walking and running speed are increased.

Body Check
Characters: Bowser, Wario, Birdo, Toad, Bowser Jr., Hammer Bro, Petey Piranha

Body Check activates by mashing the B button while running the bases and caught in a close play. If the baserunner runs to a base and the ball was thrown to that base at right before the baserunner gets to the base, there is a random chance that the baserunner runs into the fielder covering that base, causing the fielder to drop the ball, get knocked off their feet, and for the baserunner to be called safe.

Clamber
Characters: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Yoshi

Clamber allows the user to climb onto walls by jumping into the wall. This is most useful on stadiums with high fences such as Peach Garden for catching balls hit high up on the wall.

Laser Beam
Characters: Donkey Kong, Bowser, Waluigi, Pianta

Laser Beam allows the user to throw the ball to home plate with a significant speed boost only when there is a baserunner on third base. This effect can be further increased with a chemistry boost.

Magical Catch
Characters: Magikoopa

Unique to Magikoopa, Magical Catch gives a large vertical and horizontal range for catching the ball, at the expense of slow execution. It is activated simply by pressing A when the ball is nearby Magikoopa. There is a small chance for Magikoopa to whiff the catch while using it.

Quick Throw
Characters: Peach, Daisy

Quick Throw allows the user to ignore throw windup and instead throw the ball very quickly, but only when the ball is thrown to the user.

Sliding Catch
Characters: Mario, Daisy, Wario, Koopa Troopa, Toadette, Shy Guy, Noki, Dry Bones

Sliding Catch gives a small horizontal range for catching the ball to the user. The user slides a fixed distance on the ground. It is activated simply by pressing A when the ball is nearby the user.

Suction
Characters: Birdo

Unique to Birdo, Suction gives a large horizontal range for catching the ball. It is activated simply by pressing A when the ball is nearby Birdo.

Super Catch
Characters: Diddy Kong, Peach, Toadsworth

Super Catch removes the ability to whiff catching the ball when fielding. It cannot, however, prevent dropping the ball due to Mario or Luigi's star swings. It is activated automatically.

Super Jump
Characters: Luigi, Waluigi, Boo, King Boo, Paratroopa, Paragoomba

Super Jump gives the user a significant jump boost in the field. It is activated by simply pressing A while walking (dashing causes a dive instead of a jump).

Tongue Catch
Characters: Yoshi

Unique to Yoshi, Tongue Catch gives a large horizontal range for catching the ball. It is activated simply by pressing A when the ball is nearby Yoshi.

Wall Jump
Characters: Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Toadette, Bowser Jr.

Wall Jump allows the user to jump off of the wall, giving a chance at catching balls that would otherwise be home runs. The height that the user jumps up to is character-dependent. It is activated by jumping towards the wall, then pressing A again when touching the wall.

Hidden abilities
There are two abilities found in the game's code which changes attributes of characters, but are not explicitly stated to be abilities in-game. One of these abilities gives a significant amount of horizontal curve to the ball after the user hits it. This ability is owned by Boo, King Boo, and Boomerang Bro.

The second causes the user to cling to the wall and remain immobile for a short amount of time when jumping into the wall (similar to Wall Jump, but instead of jumping off the wall the character gets stuck to the wall and slowly slides down it). This ability is owned by Bowser, Wario, Birdo, Monty, Pianta, Hammer Bro, Toadsworth, Petey Piranha, and Dry Bones.

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 minigame 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.

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 wins. 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 Star 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 trophies, 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.

Reception
Overall, Mario Superstar Baseball was well received by critics, gaining 8.0 out of 10 from GameSpot. A GameDaily reviewer praised the game, as telling that he "found it to grow on him." IGN praised the game, but also said that "these high production values are not consistent throughout the experience."

Lakitu

 * "Hey, Donkey Kong! I see your team is ready. Quite a fine group of players you have there! ...Wait... Donkey Kong! What in the... What's the deal with that boxing glove? You're using that as a bat?! Is that even allowed? Ummm... Well, OK, I guess... Here's the deal. Bowser craves a test of his might. He wishes to play a powerful team. Let me give you some details, OK?"
 * "Hi there, Yoshi! Is your team ready? Hmmmm... Looks like a very quick-footed group. Bowser craves a test of his might. He wishes to play a powerful team. So, you'd better listen to some details. OK, Yoshi?"

Princess Peach

 * "That's my Mario...I had forgotten how safe I feel when I'm with you, Mario! Do you think it would be all right...if I joined your team, Mario? I can? Really?! Oh thank you! May the mushrooms bless you!"

Wario

 * "Aargh! Mario! You musta cheated last game, but not THIS time. Chump! I'm the only one in this entire kingdom with any class whatsoever! This time, I mean business! Go time! It is ON!"
 * "YAAAAAAAAAARGH! You stink! But...you know what? I'm just gonna let it go. Yeah. I'm above holding grudges. I'll even lend you a hand! Admit it, you wanted me with you anyway! Wah ha ha ha ha ha ha! With me on board, victory is totally guaranteed! Heh heh heh heh... Idiot... That team will be all MINE someday... Hmm? What? Er... Nah, I didn't say anything! You're hearing things!"

Pre-release and unused content
Mario Superstar Baseball was originally known as simply Mario Baseball and had a different logo from the final one. Additionally, the star chances were originally different to how they are in the final game.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: The loading screen can show an 8-bit Mario hitting a ? Block or an 8-bit Mario being created and walking to the right. Also, a cover version of the overworld can be heard in Peach Garden.
 * Super Mario World: Yoshi's House can be seen behind home plate in Yoshi Park.
 * Super Mario All-Stars: The Mario All-Stars team name is a reference to this game.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: The Yoshi Islanders team name is a reference to this game.
 * Luigi's Mansion: The Luigi Mansioneers and Luigi Vacuums team names are references to this game.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: The Mario Sunshines team name and logo is a reference to this game.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Some of the voice clips are reused from this game.

References in later games

 * Itadaki Street DS: Mario Stadium is a map in this game.
 * Mario Super Sluggers: This installment for the Wii is the follow-up to Mario Superstar Baseball; the gameplay mechanics are based off of this game.

Director

 * Hideki Tomida

Programming

 * Takayuki Ozaki
 * Makoto Nakano
 * Hideyuki Michibayashi
 * Akira Iguchi
 * Hideki Kurosaki
 * Naoyuki Ohtsuka
 * Yusuke Kashiro

Graphic Art

 * Hisato Sotosa
 * Yukiya Matsuura
 * Masahiro Hoshino
 * Yasuhiro Maruo
 * Yasunori Korenaga
 * Sayuri Okumiya
 * Yutaka Sakai
 * Motoharu Morishita
 * Masato Tanaka
 * Tomoya Momota
 * Hirotomo Ishii
 * Nachi Mizuki
 * Tetsuo Fukaya
 * Miki Shimizu
 * Sanae Gyobu
 * Hiromi Sano
 * Megumi Kitagawa
 * Masahiko Uchida
 * Kenji Edamatsu
 * Sachiko Sato
 * Takashi Yoshida