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August 29, 2005 | 7:47 PM PST
by: Matthew Green
Welcome, sports fans, to opening day of the Mario Superstar Baseball league! We have a special game for you today between Super Mario and his Mario Sunshines and Princess Peach and her Peach Monarchs! The two teams are playing a special three-inning Challenge Mode match to determine which, if any, of the Peach Monarchs will join the Sunshines in their quest to challenge Bowser and his twisted team of players. The challenge against the Monarchs is only the first game of the season; other teams on the road to Koopa include the Wario Greats, the Yoshi Islanders, and the DK Kongs. Today’s game is brought to you by Nintendo and Namco, bringing us the first wave of Mushroom Kingdom baseball action.
The players are taking the field here at Peach’s familiar castle. This is a unique baseball field in that the princess refuses to clear away the castle’s perfectly-kept gardens, meaning that there are several rows of hedges blocking the field in places. Players can walk through them, of course, but they cause a decrease in speed and can obscure the ball if it lands in the middle of the hedge. Combine that with the hovering question and brick blocks overhead, and you have yourself a wild game of baseball where almost anything can happen. Helping to set the mood is a finely orchestrated rendition of the original Super Mario Bros. theme, and all of those familiar yips and yahoos must mean that the players are ready to go. Referee Lakitu calls out “Play ball!” and the game is on.
The Mario Sunshines are up to bat first, and here’s famous plumber hero Mario stepping up to the plate. Princess Peach herself is pitching, moving back and forth on the pitcher's mound and holding the A button to charge her power meter. She releases and there’s the wind-up... whoa, Peach throws a charge-up pitch square past Mario, holding the control stick to the right slightly for a curveball – Strike One! Mario doesn’t look happy at that... he’s charging up a maneuver of his own now with the A button and holding the R button. This swing will use Star Power. There’s the pitch... and Mario socks it square in the center of the bat! The ball rockets off in a fiery blaze as the Monarchs’ team full of mushroom retainers, Toadette, and Princess Daisy scurry to make the catch. Daisy flubs it, but she grabs it from the ground and tosses to first base, where Lakitu declares Mario "safe". Cue the instant replay; let’s see that again from multiple camera angles!
Luigi’s up at bat next. Peach pitches... Strike One! Another pitch... Strike Two! And again… Strike Three, Luigi is out! Look at him stumble away from the plate in a daze; he never had a chance. Up next is a bit player from the Super Mario World days, Monty Mole. While Mario and Luigi are balanced players, Monty is full of speed, and although he may be small, he’s excellent at swinging the bat when it counts. He nails the ball on the first pitch with just a tap of the A button, and it’s a grounder! Two mushroom retainers dash after the ball as, with a push of the Y button, Mario makes his move for second base. The ball is tossed to first base... SAFE!
An Isle Delfino favorite is up next, one of the Piantas on the team from Super Mario Sunshine. The Piantas are power hitters, and while their speed is slow, they can swing a tree branch like nobody’s business. Unfortunately this Pianta’s slowness is his downfall; strikes one and two go sailing by him. The fans don’t want him to strike out, mainly because when he does strike out he falls to the ground in defeat, allowing the camera to see right up his grass skirt. Nobody wants to see that. The third pitch connects though, and the ball sails high into the air and looks to be heading right for Toadette’s glove... wait! The ball has struck one of the blocks floating overhead! Not only is the ball deflected, but a Star power-up pops out and is awarded to the Sunshines for future use. Another press of the Y button advances Mario and Monty Mole to the next base, but the ball bounces into a hedge where a mushroom retainer eventually retrieves it and tosses it towards third base where the slow Pianta is racing for first base. It’s no good though – Toadsworth catches the ball and the Pianta is out. Lakitu signals the end of the top of the first inning and the two teams change places on the field.
With everyone ready to go, the Monarchs send Princess Daisy up to bat, while Luigi takes to the pitcher’s mound. Luigi lines himself up with the control stick, charges his pitch with the A button, and tosses it at an angle, confusing Daisy and causing her to miss the swing. Luigi pitches again, this time with a powerful R button Star Power pitch that causes the ball to catch fire! Daisy is prepared though, and she swings with a charged-up move of her own. The ball is up... up... it’s out of there: homerun! Multiple camera angles show us Daisy’s victory lap around the bases and the crowd cheers. The Monarchs take the lead, 0-1.
The crowd calms down as trusty Toadsworth picks up his bat and steps up to the plate. A challenge is issued: if Luigi can strike Toadsworth out, the old retainer will join the Sunshines if they win. Luigi starts pitching... STRIKE! STRIKE! BALL! BALL! STRIKE! Toadsworth is out, and he waves the white flag of surrender. His future will lie with Mario if the Sunshines can win the game, and together they could give Bowser more of a challenge then he expects.
Today's activities have run like a dream so far. The characters move smoothly and everybody seems to have a trick or two up their sleeves. There's plenty of variety to be seen on the field today, as some characters are left handed, others right handed, and some seem to switch off to whatever is conveinient. Everybody also seems to have a buddy on the team, and if two buddies are playing together then their combined baseball skills increase. Now that's teamwork! Most importantly, everybody is having fun out there, because in the end that is the point of playing the game in the first place.
There’s still two more innings to go, folks, so be sure to join AMN later this week for the final word on Mario Superstar Baseball, including memorable character moments, familiar sights, classic sounds, the Exhibition Mode, Mini Games, Toy Field, and much, much more.
The players are taking the field here at Peach’s familiar castle. This is a unique baseball field in that the princess refuses to clear away the castle’s perfectly-kept gardens, meaning that there are several rows of hedges blocking the field in places. Players can walk through them, of course, but they cause a decrease in speed and can obscure the ball if it lands in the middle of the hedge. Combine that with the hovering question and brick blocks overhead, and you have yourself a wild game of baseball where almost anything can happen. Helping to set the mood is a finely orchestrated rendition of the original Super Mario Bros. theme, and all of those familiar yips and yahoos must mean that the players are ready to go. Referee Lakitu calls out “Play ball!” and the game is on.
The Mario Sunshines are up to bat first, and here’s famous plumber hero Mario stepping up to the plate. Princess Peach herself is pitching, moving back and forth on the pitcher's mound and holding the A button to charge her power meter. She releases and there’s the wind-up... whoa, Peach throws a charge-up pitch square past Mario, holding the control stick to the right slightly for a curveball – Strike One! Mario doesn’t look happy at that... he’s charging up a maneuver of his own now with the A button and holding the R button. This swing will use Star Power. There’s the pitch... and Mario socks it square in the center of the bat! The ball rockets off in a fiery blaze as the Monarchs’ team full of mushroom retainers, Toadette, and Princess Daisy scurry to make the catch. Daisy flubs it, but she grabs it from the ground and tosses to first base, where Lakitu declares Mario "safe". Cue the instant replay; let’s see that again from multiple camera angles!
Luigi’s up at bat next. Peach pitches... Strike One! Another pitch... Strike Two! And again… Strike Three, Luigi is out! Look at him stumble away from the plate in a daze; he never had a chance. Up next is a bit player from the Super Mario World days, Monty Mole. While Mario and Luigi are balanced players, Monty is full of speed, and although he may be small, he’s excellent at swinging the bat when it counts. He nails the ball on the first pitch with just a tap of the A button, and it’s a grounder! Two mushroom retainers dash after the ball as, with a push of the Y button, Mario makes his move for second base. The ball is tossed to first base... SAFE!
An Isle Delfino favorite is up next, one of the Piantas on the team from Super Mario Sunshine. The Piantas are power hitters, and while their speed is slow, they can swing a tree branch like nobody’s business. Unfortunately this Pianta’s slowness is his downfall; strikes one and two go sailing by him. The fans don’t want him to strike out, mainly because when he does strike out he falls to the ground in defeat, allowing the camera to see right up his grass skirt. Nobody wants to see that. The third pitch connects though, and the ball sails high into the air and looks to be heading right for Toadette’s glove... wait! The ball has struck one of the blocks floating overhead! Not only is the ball deflected, but a Star power-up pops out and is awarded to the Sunshines for future use. Another press of the Y button advances Mario and Monty Mole to the next base, but the ball bounces into a hedge where a mushroom retainer eventually retrieves it and tosses it towards third base where the slow Pianta is racing for first base. It’s no good though – Toadsworth catches the ball and the Pianta is out. Lakitu signals the end of the top of the first inning and the two teams change places on the field.
With everyone ready to go, the Monarchs send Princess Daisy up to bat, while Luigi takes to the pitcher’s mound. Luigi lines himself up with the control stick, charges his pitch with the A button, and tosses it at an angle, confusing Daisy and causing her to miss the swing. Luigi pitches again, this time with a powerful R button Star Power pitch that causes the ball to catch fire! Daisy is prepared though, and she swings with a charged-up move of her own. The ball is up... up... it’s out of there: homerun! Multiple camera angles show us Daisy’s victory lap around the bases and the crowd cheers. The Monarchs take the lead, 0-1.
The crowd calms down as trusty Toadsworth picks up his bat and steps up to the plate. A challenge is issued: if Luigi can strike Toadsworth out, the old retainer will join the Sunshines if they win. Luigi starts pitching... STRIKE! STRIKE! BALL! BALL! STRIKE! Toadsworth is out, and he waves the white flag of surrender. His future will lie with Mario if the Sunshines can win the game, and together they could give Bowser more of a challenge then he expects.
Today's activities have run like a dream so far. The characters move smoothly and everybody seems to have a trick or two up their sleeves. There's plenty of variety to be seen on the field today, as some characters are left handed, others right handed, and some seem to switch off to whatever is conveinient. Everybody also seems to have a buddy on the team, and if two buddies are playing together then their combined baseball skills increase. Now that's teamwork! Most importantly, everybody is having fun out there, because in the end that is the point of playing the game in the first place.
There’s still two more innings to go, folks, so be sure to join AMN later this week for the final word on Mario Superstar Baseball, including memorable character moments, familiar sights, classic sounds, the Exhibition Mode, Mini Games, Toy Field, and much, much more.
November 20, 2009
