The crack of the bat... the roar of the crowd... baseball’s back with a Nintendo-twist! After conquering the realms of racing, golf, tennis, and far too many other spin-offs to count, Mario and friends are headed for the Nintendo GameCube baseball diamond for the first time. Co-developed by Namco, Mario Superstar Baseball challenges players to take on the role of the Mushroom Kingdom’s finest (or worst, depending on your preference) and compete against opposing baseball teams in order to become the Mushroom Kingdom baseball champion. Apart from traditional baseball, Namco has thrown in some single-player mini-games, a challenge mode, and, of course, full four-player baseball mayhem to round out what looks to be a fun-filled package.

Features

• Mario's first trip to the baseball diamond
  
• Dozens of Nintendo characters take to the field, from recognizable Wario to obscure Dry Bones
  
• Traditional baseball meets wacky Mushroom Kingdom hijinks
  
• Several modes of play from regular baseball to the wild Toy Field
  
• For one to four players
  
• Only for Nintendo GameCube
  

Nintendo and Namco have some fun surprises in store for Mario’s many fans. While past Mario-esque excursions from action platforming have involved the same eight or ten characters, Baseball brings in a cast of forty different characters. The twelve usual suspects – Mario, Luigi, Wario, Yoshi, Bowser Jr., etc. – are team captains, while minor characters such as Goomba, Dry Bones, and residents of Isle Delfino from Super Mario Sunshine play the outfield.

Each team captain has a rivalry with another character, so when Mario steps up to pitch to Donkey Kong, for instance, tensions mount and onscreen effects go wild. Also expect to see a number of fun character moments. Wario cheats by pitching multiple baseballs, for instance, while powerful Donkey Kong skips using a baseball bat altogether and steps up to the plate armed with a boxing glove. Hit Dry Bones with an errant pitch and he’ll crumble to dust, but try that on Bowser and you’ll regret it. Diddy Kong can balance himself on his tail while pitching, but Yoshi’s tosses bounce here, there, and everywhere.

Aside from a traditional baseball game played on a boring baseball diamond, the fields get wild and wacky in a hurry with such locales as Wario’s booby-trapped playing field, a Piranha Plant infestation run by the local Yoshis, Bowser’s fiery field, Peach’s well-gardened environment, and even a Donkey Kong facility that is crawling with Kremlings. A traditional baseball experience is guaranteed in Mario Superstar Baseball, but the fun looks to start in Challenge mode in which a chosen character (Mario, Peach, Wario, Yoshi, or Donkey Kong) travels the Mushroom Kingdom performing baseball-related feats and assisting Mushroomites in need on the way to put an end to Bowser’s latest twisted scheme.

Then there’s the Toy Field which appears to cross Baseball with a helping of the perennial Mario Party. Baseball meets up with coins, buttons, and panels that all effect the outcome of the game, goals involve hitting balls through rings and into targets, and it’s multiplayer-friendly, of course. A handful of mini-games allow players to polish their baseball skills in round of Bob-omb batting, barrel busting, and other such challenges designed to improve baseball skills with the controller.


Players looking for something from the serious side of baseball would probably be happier anticipating the upcoming Nintendo Pennant Baseball, but for the rest of us it’s good to know that baseball season is rapidly approaching with what could be one of the last great lighthearted sports games for the GameCube. Join AMN and the plumbers of summer for opening day at the end of the month.