I'm sure we've all heard about this game, but how is it? Well, after playing it I feel confident enough to give my opinion on this game, so here it is. Usual scale of 5 applies.
Graphics: 4 1/2
The graphics are nice, especially considering how many characters there are, but there are some problems too. Most of the recolors are nothing special (though I admit that the Shy Guy and Magikoopa recolors are awesome) and a lot of things just really lack variety. Very few of the special pitches and hits look all that different from each other, and the fields aren't creative at all, besides the fact that in the background of one you can see Wario wearing a turban. The water flow in DK's stage also isn't very convincing (imagine a Donkey Kong Country version of Sunshine's water). The loading screens are also pretty nice, especially the 8-bit Mario one.
Sound: 3 1/2
Mario sports games have never been known for being anything special in the sound department (unlike their mainstream counterparts), and this game's not much different. To be fair, however, most of the character voices are great (though oddly enough characters who usually have the most well-done voices, like Mario and Luigi, tend to have worse voices than most of the minor characters; Goomba also doesn't have that signature squeaking sound of his- boo!), and a lot of the voices fit the characters very well. This would probably be a four if not for the voice of Pianta. Yes, its voice is that bad.
Story: 2
Apparently Bowser's up to his latest and greatest evil plot of... challenging the heroes to a baseball game?! And I thought his plan in Sunshine was bad. At least there's some creative dialogue in the story mode thing (especially Wario's lines once Peach joins his team).
Characters: 4
Say what you will about Nintendo's using of recolors, but there are some pretty cool characters in this. All of the regulars are there, such as the heroes, the babies, Birdo, Bowser, Bowser Jr, King Boo, and Petey Piranha, but there are also some characters who are pretty rare in Mario games at all, especially sports games. Monty Mole? Noki? Dry Bones? Dixie Kong? Recolors of Hammer Bro that kinda resemble Fire Bro and Boomerang Bro? The only real problem is that besides Challenge you can't use a character and his or her recolor on the same team.
Batting: 3 1/2
Batting will take you some time to get down, but once you do it is pretty simple. The only major problem with it is that oftentimes you will clearly hit the ball and yet it won't do anything. This is especially true when you use Petey Piranha. In a nice touch, each character has their own type of bat, including the fact that the bats are even recolored to fit recolors of the characters. I especially like King Boo's which, though it is otherwise identical to Boo's, has a crown on top of it, which I thought was a very nice touch.
Pitching: 2 1/2
The pitching is very basic. In fact, too basic. You can do stuff like throw curveballs, but for some unknown reason doing this will almost always be called a Ball, even though it's entirely possible to hit 99% of the time. Oddly enough, when a computer does the same it counts as a strike. Weird... The Star Pitches are pretty much useless as well. The only real plus here is that the pitching is very simple to learn to do and time.
Fun Factor!: 4
If you have some friends over then this game can be a blast. Playing solo, it's not anything special, but it's worth playing. Most of the mini-games are very Mario Party-esque, and oddly enough few have much to do with baseball at all (especially Piranha Panic, which would be right at home in any Mario Party or Wario Ware game) so you should have some fun with those.
Overall: 3 1/2
If you're a fan of baseball then I highly suggest getting something else. If you're like me, however, and are not a huge fan of real-life baseball then I suggest renting the game to see if you like it and if you do then I suggest getting it. If you don't have anybody to play with, however, then I recommend that you buy a different game instead.
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