Mario Super Sluggers is an underrated title, and the franchise is due for a return in 2024. The game initially came out in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii System. Mario Super Sluggers is a sequel to 2005’s Mario Superstar Baseball.
This baseball game was also playable on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2016, before it was discontinued. A new game could offer Super Sluggers a second chance at gaining gamers’ attention. In addition, it could cater to new fans longing for another installment.
Super Sluggers Gameplay
Mario Super Sluggers finds a way to integrate the cartoony Mario characters with Baseball mechanics. You play as a ‘Captain’, who leads iconic Mario characters that comprise your team. Each of the captains have ‘special plays’, which are moves that you can use to disrupt the opposition. For example, Mario’s special play causes him to hurl the ball so fast that it is surrounded in fire. The gameplay itself is fast-paced, and also lets you control your various teammates.
You can use the Wiimote to be control your characters movements, including their pitching and batting. Both also require that you use the Wiimote in specific ways to get a nice score. You can also charge up and time those techniques, which gives you a nice grade if you do well. Chemistry is another important mechanic in the game, as it rewards you with the chance to steal items, or stop your enemies from gaining a homerun. This is done by one character jumping on another to stop the ball.
The game has a few alternative game modes, which offer fun ways to play through the game. Exhibition Mode allows you to customize how you want to set your team. You can choose your captain, and the rest of your players. You can also choose your innings, your field positions for those team members, and your stadium of choice. Challenge Mode is set up as the storyline of the game, focusing on Bowser Jr trying to take over the ball parks. You start as Mario and will have to unlock other characters by recruiting them. This also lets you unlock various stadiums as well, which you can use later in Exhibition Mode.
Mario’s History with Sports Games
Mario has dominated the Nintendo gaming scene with sports games for years. This can all be traced back to Nintendo’s Golf, a sports simulator that released in 1984 for the Famicom in Japan. The game was available to play on both the Arcade and the Nintendo Entertainment System, otherwise known as the ‘NES’. Golf starred Mario as a playable character for the first time in a sports game, a tradition that would be met with various succeeding titles. The game was programmed by the late Saworu Iwata, who worked on titles such as Earthbound, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, and Kirby.
Golf would later be followed by various other golf titles, stopping at 2021’s most recent recent entry, Mario Golf: Super Rush. Mario has had a presence throughout Nintendo’s sports games one way or another. It’s a title that befits arguably the most iconic video game character in history. Golf has a long legacy, and has been referenced in various Wii sports titles since then. The game is currently playable on the Nintendo Switch, and was released October 25, 2019.
Mario has made impact outside of Golf, as well. Mario’s next big sports adventure was tennis, starting in 1995 with Mario’s Tennis. This franchise also debuted Wario’s iconic sidekick, and Luigi’s rival, Waluigi. The franchise also created Mario Strikers, a soccer-themed sports game that started on the GameCube with 2005’s Super Mario Strikers.
Mario Super Sluggers Needs A comeback
Mario Super Sluggers is underappreciated, but it also has a lot to offer for a potential rerelease. The game taps into a niche for sports games that Mario hasn’t quite landed. Our iconic plumber has run through Soccer games, and raced his way past the Mario Kart titles.
Mario has only ever had two baseball games in his career, however. It is a market for untapped potential, and it could offer more content for the Mario Sports series. Mario Baseball is a potential homerun for the franchise and a rerelease could put Super Sluggers on the map.
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