Mario and Sonic Baseball

Mario and Sonic Baseball is a Mario and Sonic sport title for the Nintendo Switch and is the first installment of the Mario and Sonic Baseball series, being the first dedicated baseball game in the Mario and Sonic franchise. As with most Mario and Sonic Sports titles, it has traditional rules of the sport, but with special, Mario and Sonic-themed quirks and mechanics to differentiate itself from the real sport. This includes characters using Star Skill abilities to cause the ball behavior to behave differently; team captain's Star Skill abilities are unique and cause a wide variety of special effects such as attacking outfielders if batting and causing the pitched ball to behave erratically. Characters also have field abilities to differentiate themselves from other teammates. Chemistry is a feature unique to the Mario and Sonic Baseball games where players perform differently whether they are neutral, like, or dislike another character they are cooperating with. Additionally, most fields in the game have stage hazards that can affect outfielders such as the Piranha Plants serving as obstacles in Yoshi Park.

Aside from the main Exhibition mode, where players can play baseball freely with up to two players, players can participate in a single-player oriented Challenge mode that has them playing as a designated team captain and their preset team and recruiting other captains and team players to face off against Bowser and Dr. Eggman. This game also introduces the Toy Field mode where individual characters play on an interactive baseball field and get coins based on where the ball lands. Finally, players can play in Mario and Sonic-themed minigames that have baseball mechanics, such as hitting Bob-ombs to create fireworks or collecting gems in the baseball diamond while avoiding a Chain Chomp. Toy Field and Minigames mode are the only modes that can support up to four players.

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Gameplay
Mario and Sonic Baseball plays similarly to actual baseball; teams take turn batting to run on the bases and fielding. The team who bats hits the ball to the field while the fielders attempt to make the batters out. Once a runner touches the home base, their team earns a point. There are three outs on an inning for the batting team. Once a team gets three outs, they switch sides. Whichever team obtains the most points wins. Teams, led by specific team captains, can have up to nine members.

Controls
Controls for batters and runners.

Menu controls

 * A: Confirm
 * B: Cancel
 * /: Select menu items
 * L/R: Switch between positions and line-ups
 * Y: Changes color of certain characters
 * ZL/ZR: Deselect all members
 * R: Change hand type of a character
 * X: View profile of a character selected

In-game controls (batter)

 * A: Normal Swing (holding A causes the swing to charge)
 * B: Bunt
 * L: Reset batter to default position
 * /: Reset batter to default position or aim the hit
 * A + ZR: Use Star Swing

In-game controls (runner)

 * A: Choose a base when stealing a base
 * Y: Steal a base/Advance a base
 * R: Return to base/Dash
 * B: Tapping it makes characters dash

In-game controls (pitcher)

 * /: Change pitcher's position on mound/control the ball
 * A: Normal Pitch (holding A causes the pitch to charge)
 * A + ZR: Throw a Star Pitch
 * + B: Check a runner
 * L: Reset pitcher to default position

In-game controls (fielder)

 * /: Move
 * + A: Choose a base and throw
 * + A: Diving Catch
 * A: Jump
 * A: Use unique talent (if any)
 * B: Tapping it makes characters dash

Exhibition mode
Selecting characters for Exhibition Mode. The start of a game in Exhibition Mode.

Exhibition mode is a standard one or two player game of baseball. Players fill out a roster and play a game. There are six different, unique stadiums in which players can choose to play in. The player, before playing in a stadium, can adjust options such as number of innings, mercy, which player bats first, and turning Star Skills on and off. Players can also adjust field settings, running, drop spots, and batting cursors.

Star skill
Mario, using his Fireball as a Star Skill.

A new feature in this game is the ability to use a Star Skill. Star Skills can be activated either while pitching or while batting. Anyone in this game can use a Star Skill, but a team captain's Star Skill is superior to a sub-character's Star Skill. Team Captains have mostly different Star Skills, however, captains that usually pair with each other (Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Tails, Peach, Amy, Daisy and Blaze) have similar Star Skills. The amount of Star Skills that can be used is represented by 5 Team Stars in a meter. The amount of starting Team Stars depend on the sub-characters' chemistry with the team captain.

Star Skills can be replenished by hitting ball park features. They can also be replenished by striking a player out or making a batter reach a base safely when the words, "Star Chance!" appear. Team captains and sub-characters use up one Team Star while captains as members use up two Team Stars.

Challenge mode
Wario in Challenge Mode.

Challenge mode (the main game mode of Mario and Sonic Baseball) is a game mode where one player selects one of five Team Captains (Mario, Sonic Peach, Amy, Donkey Kong, Vector, Wario, Knuckles, Yoshi, and Tails) and plays with a pre-made team. The player wanders a map of the Mushroom Kingdom and can play minigames to earn coins and spend at a Shop, where power-ups can be bought. The player's objective is to beat the other four captains in a game of baseball, on their own course. In order to get the others, the player should see the scout flags for the match. Scout flags are earned by completing scout missions, such as getting a hit, or scoring a run. If the scout mission is not completed, you will not earn the scout flag(s). There are scout flags next to the characters' faces. These flags serve as a purpose for recruiting other characters to the player's team. Each character has a set number of Scout Flags (up to five flags), with team captains requiring more Scout Flags (3 on the Mushroom level, 4 on the Flower level and Star level, and 5 on the Special level) and sub-captains and characters of race (excluding the characters with color changes) needing the median number (2 on Mushroom and on Flower, 3 on Star, and 4 on Special) and minor characters needing the least (1 on Mushroom, 2 on Flower and Star, and 3 on Special).

The only exception is Donkey Kong's and Vector's teams, with all their teammates needing only one scout flag on the Mushroom Level/Chao Level. Bowser's and Eggman's teams cannot be recruited due to no scout flags; the only way to do so is when Bowser and Eggman's are selected as challenge mode captains. When Bowser or Eggman is chosen, the team players require the same number of flags as the captain when they are not chosen. Before the match, the opposing team's has the message "Round up Players" on their batting order screen. The order of the opposing team is random as well as the fielding position, with the exception of Bowser's and Eggman's teams, whose batting order and fielding positions remain the same. Players from other teams can be recruited after clearing certain missions. When the player recruits the captain they are not able to recruit other characters on their team unless the player faces Bowser Jr or Metal Sonic.

After beating all four opponents, the path to Bowser Castle and Eggman's Lair opens, where the player is able to challenge Bowser's and Eggman's teams. Once Bowser's and Eggman's teams are defeated, Challenge Mode is cleared. Additionally, Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic. wanders the map. Coming in contact with him starts a short, one inning game where the player is put in various situations. If the player has had a captain join their team, they can unlock characters on their team from Bowser Jr. and Metal Sonic sometimes, they are ahead by a point and must defend their position. Other times, they are behind and must make a comeback. Challenge Mode is the only way to unlock characters.

There are eight difficulties to Challenge Mode: Mushroom, Chao, Flower, Spring, Star, Emerald, and Special. Once Special mode is cleared, Bowser and Eggman become playable captains. In Bowser/Eggman mode, Bowser and Eggman must beat the other five captains, and then play a team of nine of the ten captains and sub-captains, led by Mario or Sonic (the excluded character is random). Bowser and Eggman can recruit other characters, excluding the captains and sub-captains, and in Bowser/Eggman modes, Bowser Jr. nor Metal Sonic does not wander the map.

In order for players to star characters, they must complete specific Star Missions for a character in Challenge Mode. These are optional, but Superstar characters have an increase in stats. The number of Star Missions vary depending on the character; generally, team captains have more Star Missions than team players. Characters have a star title: these change when characters achieve more missions. In addition, challenges are confined to specific difficulties: some challenges are exclusive to Mushroom difficulty while others can be obtained if players cleared it in Star difficulty.

Alternate team players
An asterisk (*) means that character is unlockable.

Speed
Sonic

Shadow

Metal Sonic

Balance
Amy Rose

Blaze the Cat

Cream the Rabbit

Technique
Tails

Rouge

Silver

Dr. Eggman

Power
Knuckles

Vector

Teams
This is a list of teams formed by team captains in Exhibition Mode. One of them is a common team formed by a captain as the teammates is mostly a different character type than the captain's, another one must be formed by using the majority of the captain's character type, and two of them must be formed by putting in the four required characters in the captain's team. The only exceptions are Bowser and Eggman, who needs only three required characters to play on one of his teams. Bolded names indicate that the team name returns in Mario and Sonic Super Sluggers.

Mario

 * Mario Challengers (Common)
 * Mario Fireballs (Balance Majority)
 * Mario Sunshines (Luigi, Monty Mole, Pianta, Noki)
 * Mario All-Stars (Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Bowser)

Sonic

 * Sonic Heroes (Common)
 * Sonic Winds (Speed Majority)
 * Sonic Supers (Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver)
 * Sonic Surfers (Jet, Shadow, Tails, Knuckles)

Luigi

 * Luigi Gentlemen (Common)
 * Luigi Vacuums (Balance Majority)
 * Luigi Mansioneers (Bowser, Bowser Jr, Boo, King Boo)
 * Luigi Leapers (Waluigi, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Baby Luigi)

Tails

 * Tails Flyers (Common)
 * Tails Dragonflies (Technique Majority)
 * Tails Mechanics (Luigi, Wave, Vector, Eggman)
 * Tails Outbacks (Diddy Kong, Boo, Mario, Shadow)

Peach

 * Peach Roses (Common)
 * Peach Dynasties (Technique Majority)
 * Peach Monarchs (Daisy, Toads, Toadsworth, Toadette)
 * Peach Princesses (Mario, Bowser, Baby Mario, Bowser Jr.)

Amy

 * Amy Love Strucks (Common)
 * Amy Sweethearts (Balance Majority)
 * Amy Pikos (Peach, Blaze, Daisy, Cream)
 * Amy Pink Crystals (Peach, Rouge, Birdo, Toadette)

Daisy

 * Daisy Lilies (Common)
 * Daisy Cupids (Balance Majority)
 * Daisy Queen Bees (Peach, Dixie Kong, Toadette, Noki)
 * Daisy Petals (Birdo, Dixie Kong, Wario, Petey Piranha)

Blaze

 * Blaze Purple Flames (Common)
 * Blaze Tornados (Balance Majority)
 * Blaze Gem Flames (Amy, Silver, Rouge, Cream)
 * Blaze Dragons (Peach, Birdo, Luigi, Yoshi)

Wario

 * Wario Garlics (Common)
 * Wario Steakheads (Power Majority)
 * Wario Greats (Waluigi, King Boo, Magikoopa, Boo, Petey Piranha)
 * Wario Beasts (Donkey Kong, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Hammer Bro)

Shadow

 * Shadow Blackouts (Common)
 * Shadow Chaos Sharks (Speed Majority)
 * Shadow Spiders (Sonic, Vector, Rouge, Knuckles)
 * Shadow Seekers (Boo, King Boo, Silver, Sonic)

Waluigi

 * Waluigi Mystiques (Common)
 * Waluigi Smart-Alecks (Technique Majority)
 * Waluigi Flankers (King Boo, Wario, Magikoopa, Dry Bones)
 * Waluigi Mashers (Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, Wario)

Silver

 * Silver Triggers (Common)
 * Silver Lights (Technique Majority)
 * Silver Yetis (Bowser Jr, Shadow, Knuckles, Big)
 * Silver Snow Storms (Shadow, Rouge, Wave, Eggman)

Yoshi

 * Yoshi Eggs (Common)
 * Yoshi Pineapples (Speed Majority)
 * Yoshi Islanders (Birdo, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Shy Guy)
 * Yoshi Cannonballs (Boo, King Boo, Koopa Paratroopa, Paragoomba)

Knuckles

 * Knuckles Power Houses (Common)
 * Knuckles Treasure Hunters (Power Majority)
 * Knuckles Masters (Eggman, Tikal, Vector, Omega)
 * Knuckles Punchers (Luigi, Boo, Shadow, Silver)

Rouge

 * Rouge Pearls (Common)
 * Rouge Gems (Technique Majority)
 * Rouge Diamonds (Amy, Peach, Cream, Toadette)
 * Rouge Magicals (Tikal, Peach, Blaze, Birdo)

Birdo

 * Birdo Beauties (Common)
 * Birdo Models (Balance Majority)
 * Birdo Bows (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Blue Toad)
 * Birdo Fans (Yoshi, Shy Guy, Goomba, Koopa Troopa)

Cream

 * Cream Puppies (Common)
 * Cream Butterflies (Balance Majority)
 * Cream Kitties (Amy, Big, Toadette, Peach)
 * Cream Unicorns (Dixie Kong, Brido, Daisy, Blaze)

Donkey Kong

 * DK Explorers (Common)
 * DK Wild Ones (Power Majority)
 * DK Kongs (Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Goomba, Paragoomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa)
 * DK Animals (Yoshi, Bowser, Monty Mole, Petey Piranha)

Diddy Kong

 * Diddy Survivors (Common)
 * Diddy Ninjas (Speed Majority)
 * Diddy Tails (Yoshi, Birdo, Dixie Kong, Boo)
 * Diddy Red Caps (Mario, Birdo, Baby Mario, Toadette)

Vector

 * Vector Beaters (Common)
 * Vector Musicals (Power Majority)
 * Vector Whales (Luigi, Shadow, Silver, Wario)
 * Vector Banks (Boo, Mario, Knuckles, Bowser Jr)

Bowser

 * Bowser Flames (Common)
 * Bowser Blue Shells (Power Majority)
 * Bowser Monsters (Bowser Jr, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro)
 * Bowser Black Stars (Waluigi, Wario, Petey Piranha, Hammer Bro)

Dr. Eggman

 * Eggman Scrambled Eggs (Common)
 * Eggman Bombs (Technique Majority)
 * Eggman Faties (Bowser, Wario, Donkey Kong, King Boo)
 * Eggman Breakers (Rouge, Jet, Hammer Bro, Boo)

Metal Sonic

 * Metal Sonic Robots (Common)
 * Metal Sonic Ghosts (Speed Majority)
 * Metal Sonic Jerks (Dr. Eggman, Silver, Shadow, Bowser)
 * Metal Sonic Bulldogs (Hammer Bro, Fire Bro, Ice Bro, Bowser Jr)

Bowser Jr.

 * Jr. Fangs (Common)
 * Jr. Boomers (Power Majority)
 * Jr. Crazies (Diddy Kong, Boo, Shy Guy, Goomba)
 * Jr. Rookies (Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi)

Chemistry is a unique feature to Mario and Sonic Baseball and its follow-up. Player chemistry emphasizes the relationships between characters. When forming a team, the relationship status between the captain and their teammates affects the number of power stars the team starts with. Additionally, in the game, good chemistry occurs with two friends. When a player throws a ball to their "buddy", the ball travels faster than a normal throw would. Additionally, a player hits better when one of their friends are on base. Examples are Mario, Sonic,  Luigi, Tails,  Diddy Kong, Sticks, Dixie Kong, and Espio. Good chemistry is symbolized by a musical note.

Bad chemistry occurs conversely. When a character throws a ball to a character they dislike, the ball travels more slowly and is sometimes out of line. Bad chemistry is symbolized when a small zigzag line appears next to the players. Examples of bad chemistry include Mario, Sonic, Bowser, Eggman, Luigi, Tails and King Boo. However, bad chemistry only occurs when the characters are fielding, and it does not happen all the time.

Items
The shop in Challenge Mode.

These items can only be bought at the shop in Challenge Mode. Coins are obtained for purchasing items by either defeating Bowser Jr. roaming across the map or winning minigames at the stadiums.

One-game items
The following items last for one game of baseball.
 * Nice Bat - Lets the player's character get hits more easily.
 * Power Bat - Increases the power of the character's swings.
 * Super Ball - Increases the speed of the character's pitches.
 * Lucky Glove - Increases the Fielding ability of the characters.
 * Dash Spikes - Makes the characters move faster.
 * Buddy Emblem - Increases friendship between the team. Normally incompatible characters will become more friendly to their rivals.
 * Superstar - Increases all stats and boosts friendship. Not available until every other item has been purchased at least once over the course of multiple Challenge Mode playthroughs.

Permanent items
Once these items are purchased, they never need to be bought again. All of them cost 200 coins and they all do the same thing: give a character the ability to use their special hits and pitches. The difference is that each one powers up just one captain. They become active when the compatible character is on the team. One permanent item that does not give a character Special Moves is the Secret Map, which allows access to the Toy Field from Challenge Mode's overworld, therefore letting coins earned in Toy Field carry over to Challenge Mode. The Secret Map only appears if the player has beaten every minigame on the Challenge Mode overworld.
 * Red Fireball – Mario
 * Speed Ball - Sonic
 * Green Fireball – Luigi
 * Flying Ball - Tails
 * Lovely Heart – Princess Peach
 * Hot Pink Heart - Amy Rose
 * Pretty Flowers – Princess Daisy
 * Purple Fireball - Blaze
 * Carrot Ball - Cream
 * Glitter Ball - Rouge
 * Gnarly Garlic – Wario
 * Chaos Spear Ball - Shadow
 * Whiskered Eggplant – Waluigi
 * Future Ball - Silver
 * Egg – Yoshi
 * Master Emerald Ball - Knuckles
 * Pink Egg – Birdo
 * Music Ball - Vector
 * King Banana – Donkey Kong
 * Chimp Banana – Diddy Kong
 * Bullet Bill – Bowser
 * Bomb Ball - Dr. Eggman
 * Jr. Mask – Bowser Jr.
 * Electric Ball - Metal Sonic

Toy Field

 * Main article: Toy Field

Toy Field

Toy Field is a mode up to four players can participate in a special field. Players take turns hitting pitched balls into a field made up of many spaces. Players earn coins depending on where the ball has landed. The player with the most coins win. Items can be used to either help or deter a player's progress depending if the ball landed on a ? area. Players can also get coins by striking a player out or catching a fly ball.

Minigames
Minigames are extra games outside of playing regular baseball. They usually feature baseball rules, but with a tweak added to it. Unlike exhibition, up to fours players can participate and players choose single characters instead of constructing a team. All minigames correspond to a stadium, such as Bob-omb Derby to Mario Stadium. Four difficulties are involved, though only one is available in the start for all minigames from easiest to hardest: Mushroom, Flower, Star, and Special. Flower and Star difficulties are simply harder than Mushroom, but Special usually has a tweak to it: players who play Special difficulty sets records if they beat the standard high score of the minigame.

When players beat Star difficulty for all minigames, they unlock Grand Prix Mode. Grand Prix mode is basically a collection of all minigames in this order, in Special difficulty: Bob-omb Derby(Mario and Sonic), Heart Hit, Wall Ball, Chain Chomp Sprint, Piranha Panic, Barrel Batter, Egg Pawn Attack and Star Dash. When completed, the player will earn a Grand Prix medal, which is stored in the Records mode.

Practice
This mode allows players to master and practice the basics of Mario Superstar Baseball, including batting, pitching, fielding, and base running. The player can also go here to practice against a CPU with any character they choose. Options in the Practice mode include: Batting, Pitching, Baserunning, and Fielding, where the player is given instructions on the category, playing as Mario or Sonic. The last option, Free Play, is where the player can practice the four ways of playing baseball with any character they wish and as long as they want.

Records
The records for past MVPs.

This is where all outcomes of Exhibition, Challenge, Toy Field, and Minigame Mode are stored. The player can navigate through a number of menus to see all the information stored. The following are stored: past MVPs, challenge mode trophies, Grand Prix medals, star statuses, high scores for all minigames in Special difficulty, and high scores for Toy Field

Options
The options allow the player to modify game settings. Settings include turning on and off music, setting the sound scheme (Mono, Stereo, and Surround), and turning the Controller's Rumble Feature on or off.


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