I’ve been playing the Japanese version of Super Mario Stadium (or Super Mario Sluggers as it’ll be known in the US) and although it’s early days, I can confidently say that it deserves to be a big hit.

For starters, the presentation is superb - everything looks solid, chunky, colourful and polished, as all good Nintendo first-party games should. The intro sees Mario, Luigi et al taken to a kind of baseball island on a cruise ship, and that’s where you’ll find yourself when you start - able to choose from a series of stadia, from a standard Mario baseball pitch to more elaborate surroundings like a Yoshi-themed funfair or a Bowser Jr. primary-coloured castle. You can play exhibition matches, a story mode or choose from several minigames. I plumped immediately for a standard match, assuming I’d figure out the controls as I went. I did - but I’d have been better going for the story mode to ease my way in, judging by the 11-2 thrashing I received.

The game’s controls are simple without being too dumbed down - something which I’d feared might be the case. I used the nunchuk and remote, though it seems you can use the remote alone, either vertically or horizontally, with slightly streamlined commands for the latter two options. When pitching, you need to tilt the remote back, and flick it forward when two circles meet over the pitcher, or you can toss a high ball, or simply flick downwards for a slower ball to throw the batter’s timing. Once you’ve built up some star power (from successful strikes, or getting an opponent out) then you can hurl a special pitch - dependent on who’s throwing, this can vary from a fireball (Mario) to a whirlwind (Luigi).

Batting is fairly similar - flick backwards to ready your swing, then flick it forwards to whack the ball when it reaches the right place. A cursor gives you a clue as to where you’re aiming, and you can move your batter left and right with the nunchuk analogue if you get a ball that’s curving either side of the plate. It’s much easier to hit the ball than in Mario’s last disappointing baseball outing on GameCube, and there are fewer irritatingly random elements which mean not every shot will be caught. Running between bases is accomplished by waggling the remote - your player will run automatically, but shaking makes them go faster. Thereafter, you can choose whether they should stay at the base or try to go further round.

Fielding is relatively straightforward - a cursor shows where the ball is headed, and you guide the nearest fielders, again with the analogue stick, with A used to jump if a ball is sailing over your head, or to stretch for a ball that’s just outside your grasp - in Yoshi’s case, this sees him extend his tongue to gobble the ball up. Shaking to run faster works here also, while you can throw it to any base by flicking the remote and tilting the analogue stick in the appropriate direction.

It all works really well, and the story mode - featuring a host of minigames as you try to build a baseball team to compete against rivals - seems to add some depth. There’s nothing spectacular about it, but I’ve had a lot of fun with Mario Stadium so far, and I’m looking forward to playing some more soon. Expect a review next week, folks - and, just maybe, a few gameplay videos (if I can get the sound to work on the capture card). 

Bookmark It

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 5:23 pm by Chris Schilling
Early impressions, Latest Games, Waggle-tastic.