Super Mario Sluggers Review

By Special Contributor Cookieboy17

Namco makes its 1st Mario sports title for the Wii, Super Mario Sluggers, a follow up of Super Mario Baseball from 2005 for the Gamecube. So how'd it do?

Super Mario Sluggers has some new features added to the game from the original. For example, there are 41 playable characters, an improvement from 32 of the original. Also, you can play with more than one of a character's extra color at once (ex: You can play as 2 different colored Yoshis at once). All the news characters are unlocked in story mode.

Also, there are new stadiums. The only returning stadium is Mario Stadium. A few of them are obtained by completing a specific requirement in story mode. Also, when you beat Bowser Jr in story mode, you unlock a nighttime feature, where you can play in stadiums at night. Some stadiums get different gimmicks and the likes. And there are also new minigames to go with the new stadiums, with Bob Omb Derby returning for Mario Stadium. All the mew stadiums have new gimmicks, such as ice in the way or a train in the outfield.

Speaking of outfield, there are 2 new moves you can do in the outfield. One is called the buddy throw, where if you are close to a buddy, you press B to toss it to the buddy and they do a super throw to a base. It only works in the outfield, along with this next move. Which is the Buddy Jump. The Buddy Jump is the stupidest thing...ever. Namco could not think of a more Farked up idea. The Buddy Jump occurs when a homerun style ball comes along. When your next to a buddy, you can press A to do a super jump to catch a homerun. BullShat! What's the point of having my favorites DK and Bowser on my roster if they can't hit homeruns cause of some Shatty moves. Its not automatic catch though, you have to time it right. And everyone has the buddy abilities unlike each character's special ability(s), such as a super dive or a wall climb. Another buddy like feature added was the items. If you have a buddy batting after you, you can throw a ranomly picked item into the outfield. Its mostly Mario Kart items.

Story- 9.5/10
I don't applaud much about this game, but the story mode is fantastic. Its just so cool that they could make such a nice story mode like they did for a baseball game. Doing all that stuff was actually pretty fun. The only thing was, it was too easy. Nothing was a challenge for me. But other than that, great story mode.

Controls- 5/10
Half and Half. Why? Cause thats how they base the controls. If you play with the numchuek, you have more options in all sections: batting, running, fielding, and pitching. When you play with the wiimote sideways or straight, most stuff is automatic. Its a mess.

Gameplay- 7/10
Gameplay is ight. A baseball game is always fun. I'd play a 9 inning game if I'm bored. But that Farking buddy jump and some other stuff like that can really ruin it. Like Kamek's stupid little want or Yoshi's toungue. I'd rather play hardcore baseball. But its overall fun.

Graphics- 8.5/10
The graphics are good for a Wii title. They didn't wow me, but they were good. Though the story reels kinda wowed me. They were good for its time.

Overall- 30/40 OR 7.5/10
A decent game. If your a Mario fan, then you'd probably pick this one up. But if your looking for the cream of the crop, then you'd probably pass this one by.

---

Thanks to friend of the site, Cookieboy17 for submitting this great review!

We here at Gaming Militia Appreciate Your Feedback. Please leave comments in the comments section