The Wii has suffered a dry spell this summer, so it's good to see it come to an end with Mario Super Sluggers. Just don't call it Mario Superstar Baseball II. Built from the ground up with carefully tightened motion-sensitive controls and a slew of likable modes, it's not entirely original, but it's sure to amuse players of all ages.
Mario and several of his friends (along with a few foes) arrive on a tropical island littered with baseball stadiums (from the no-frills Mario Stadium to a park with ice in the place of grass to Bowser's booby-trapped field), so it's obvious that the first thing they want to do is play a few innings.
Visually, Mario Super Sluggers looks a tad better than Mario Superstar Baseball for the GameCube. The characters, including such obscure favorites as the Koopa Troopa, Goomba and egg-spitting Birdo, have slightly sharper animations, the ball fields look great and the replays are much more cinematic, especially if you successfully complete a squeeze play or nail a grand slam home run. In addition, the menus are easy to navigate and some of the visual effects, particularly the "charge" throws and swings, light up the screen. Audio-wise, you have a few remixed Mario themes to listen to, along with a slew of Mario voices and effects.
As expected, motion controls play an enormous role. On the pitching side, you re-enact an actual pitch, from upward swing motion to release. However, you can use the Nunchuk controller to guide the pitch, turning it into a curveball. Star Power is also available, charging up your pitcher just enough to throw a heater over the plate. With batting, you time your swing just right to connect with the ball, with the same type of back and forth motions. You also use Star Power to super-charge your batter to nail one out of the park.
Mario Super Sluggers
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Mario Super Sluggers stars the ever-lovable Mario and his crew of friends. It builds on the social-gaming fun and movements people learned in Wii Sports and turns them into a full-fledged baseball game that can be played by every member of the household. Players make a throwing motion with the Wii Remote controller to pitch the baseball and make a swinging motion to swing at the pitch. The game boasts more than 30 playable Nintendo characters and all the madness of a Mario sports game. Just like Mario Kart Wii, it bridges the gap between experienced players and those new to the Wii console, with fun challenges and beautiful graphics.
Nintendo
Base running and stealing is a piece of cake, as you simply point your Nunchuk analog stick at the active player and get them moving. You also shake the Wii remote to make them run faster, to avoid being tagged out. Fielding isn't bad, although the players don't move as quickly as they should. Fortunately, Nintendo makes up for this with the inclusion of buddy moves. If you have a pair of teammates working closely with each other, you can launch a fielder into the air to catch a pop fly or fling a ball back to a base with faster speed. On the other side of the plate, you can also throw an item at fielders to mess up their catch, such as a turtle shell or bomb.
Super Sluggers has numerous modes on deck, Toy Field being one of the most competitive. Four batters take part in a contest to build up as high a coin count as possible, hitting the ball into certain areas on one end and making superstar catches and attacking others for possession on the other. There are also nine minigames available to test your batting and pitching skills, again for up to four players. If you're up for a quick game, however, simply enter Exhibition Mode and choose your number of innings. Finally, there's Challenge Mode, where you build your epic baseball team (including your customized Miis, if you desire) and face off against Bowser.
Overall, the game plays great. The controls work perfectly, whether you're an avid baseball fan or a newcomer picking up the game for the first time. And if you're a n00b, several tutorials are available to help you out. Only two things hold Mario Super Sluggers back from diamond domination. First, despite having a terrific control scheme and lots of options, it's really just another Mario-licensed sports game. If you're looking for something past that, try MLB Power Pros 2008 instead. Second, there are no online options. It would've been great to form a league with your friends through the Wi-Fi Connection, but you'll have to settle for offline play.
Still, the positives far outweigh the negatives. What it lacks in innovation and online play, Mario Super Sluggers makes up for with its robust modes, fun controls and multiplayer options. If you're a fan of either the characters or the sport, you owe it to yourself to round these bases. Swing, batta!
Reader Comments (7)
I bought Madden NFL 09 (ALL-PLAY) for the Wii, And it is very fun. A little cartoonish, but fun.
actually i like super mario baseball (im not addicted) me and my sis play and we both thought it was a 10 but one day a thought of something.....uniforums!
What's pathetic is that you devote your entire life to video games...take off the darth vader helmet, wear a shirt that DOESN'T say, "I HEART DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS," move out of your mother's basement, and get a life...
For those of us new to the video games and the Wii, the rehashed games are ok. There is a whole generation of people, young and old, who have never had a game system so these games are good enough . Hard core gamers may find them redundant, but then the Wii was really intended for families. As time progresses I believe we will get better and more challenging new games from Nintendo, and others.
This is pretty much the last nintendo title this year for the wii. Dry spell at an end? It has begun all over. Personally as someone who sells videogames to the public, the wii in my general opinion makes alot of money, but it isnt a very good video game system in the first place. It has the graphics engine of the original xbox. No offense, but I want a video game system thats going to have alot of really good games for it, not turn itself into a paperweight, and allow myself to relax while I play it.
Im sorry but you guys don`t know how to review games you might think you do but you don`t first you insult sonic unleashed then you praise it make up your mind other wise leave the internets and hire the avgn to do this he is much much better at reviewing games then you
How many more gamecube games are they going to rehash for this system? Literally every single game they have come out with 1st party is either a collection of mi***ames or a gamecube game that has been reworked into the motion controls. I own a Wii, and many games, and each is another disappointment. They just re-skin the old games, add a mode, some gimmicky control support, and it will get rave reviews. When do we stop looking at these games as nostalgic and recognize them for what they really are - depth-less children's games with no single player replay value and a severe lack of support. This is 2008, not 2003. They don't even allow online play? really? come on. it's just pathetic.