Mario Superstar Baseball is the first installment of Mario baseball games. It is an arcade-esque style of baseball game in that you pick your captain and team.
Exhibition Mode
A standard 1 or 2 player game of baseball, the player(s) choose a captain and team to play a game. There are 6 unique stadiums for the player to choose from and the following options can be adjusted by the player:
- Number of innings
- Mercy Rule
- Player order
- Turning on/off Star Skills
Other options such as field setting, running, drop spots, and batting cursors can be adjusted as well.
Challenge Mode
The main mode to the game, players chooses 1 of 5 team captains (Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Yoshi) and plays with a pre-made team based off of the captain against four other teams in 9-inning games.
Player wanders around the map of Mushroom Kingdom and play other captains around the Kingdom on their own course.
In addition, players can play minigames to earn coins which can be used in the shop to buy items.
Difficulties
There are four difficulties to Challenge Mode:
- Mushroom
- Flower
- Star
- Special
Once Special mode is cleared, Bowser becomes a playable captain and Bowser Mode is unlocked. Bowser Mode has the player compete against 5 other opponents.
Flags
Flags are used to find and recruit other characters to add to the player's team. Each character requires a certain amount of flags to recruit them:
Captains
- 3 flags on the Mushroom level
- 4 flags on the Flower and Star levels
- 5 flags on the Special level
Sub-captains and major characters
- 2 flags on the Mushroom and Flower levels
- 3 flags on the Star level
- 4 flags on the Special level
Minor characters
- 1 flag on the Mushroom level
- 2 flags on the Flower and Star levels
- 3 flags on the Special Level
Superstar Challenges
An optional quest in Challenge Mode is Superstar Challenge, which requires each character to complete certain goals. Clearing these goals earns the character stars, which make that character a Superstar and thus boosts all of their abilities (some goals need to be cleared on a certain difficulty).
Toy Field
This is a mode for up to four players and they participate in a special field (Toy Field). Players take turns hitting balls pitched to them onto a field made up of many spaces. Players earn coins depending on where the ball has landed, and the player with the most coins wins the game. Items can be used to either help or ruin a player's progress depending if the ball landed on an area marked by a question mark (?). Players can also gain coins by striking out a player or catching a fly ball.
Minigames
Minigames are extra games outside of the main game with up to four people being able to participate. It is an entirely different game-mode than the minigames that take place in Challenge Mode
Practice Mode
This mode allows the player to master the basics of Mario Superstar Baseball, including batting, pitching, fielding, and base running. They player can practice against a CPU with any character they choose. Options in this mode include Batting, Pitching, Base Runniing, and Fielding. Here the player must follow certain instructions on the category selected as they play as Mario.
Free Play
Another option is Free Play, where the player can practice batting, fielding, pitching, and base running with any character they want for as long as they want.
Chemistry
Chemistry is a unique feature in Mario Superstar Baseball. Player chemistry emphasizes the relationships between characters.
When forming a team, the relationship status between Captain and their teammates affect the number of power stars the team starts off with.
Good chemistry occurs with two friends in-game (Mario and Luigi or Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong). When a player throws a ball to their "friend," the ball travels faster than normal. Additionally, a player hits better when when one of their friends are on base. Good chemistry is shown by a music not in-game.
Bad chemistry occurs as well as good chemistry. When a character throws a ball to someone they dislike (Mario and Bowser or Luigi and King Boo), the ball travels slower and sometimes out of line. Bad chemistry can only happen when fielding, and not all the time. It is shown by a small zigzag that appears next to the players.
Star Skills
Star Skills are abilities that all characters can use when pitching or batting to. For example, Mario uses a fireball while pitching (a super fastball that's on fire). While all characters have these skills, the Captain skills are much better because they are the main players of the team.
Each Captain's skill varies, but when certain characters are put together (Mario and Luigi for example) can have similar Star Skills (Mario has fireball and Luigi has a green fireball).
The amount of Star Skills that can be used is shown by 5 Team Stars in a meter next to the characters face on the HUD. Once the skill has been used, it can be replenished by striking out a player or by making a batter reach base safely when "Star Chance!" appears on-screen.
