Update: April 4, 2008
-NCSX- The 2008 baseball season has just started on both sides of the Pacific and Konami is the first game publisher to mark the occasion. Konami's better known baseball franchise in Japan is the Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball series which has been an annual event since 1995 but Pro Baseball Spiritshas been winning fans and garnering marks of approval from the likes of Famitsu (8/8/8/8 in last week's issue) and Dengeki.
Pro Baseball Spirits features all 12 Japanese professional teams, their respective stadiums, 2008 team rosters, and a control scheme that's borrowed from Konami's Jikkyou Powerful games. Players may enjoy tried and true modes such as Pennant Race, Home Run Race, and the card-based Spirits Mode. For gamers who are a little rusty after the long winter, a few minutes of the "Training Mode" and the "How To" section may be in order to practice fielding, pitching, batting, and base running.
Region-Free
Japanese PS3 games may be played on North American and European PS3 systems. There is no region-coding on Playstation 3 game discs.
View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS Game Notes
» The intro features crisp slow-motion captures of pitchers and batters doing their thing followed by a stylized collage of images tied together by streaming tendrils of light....
» Press START and the following options appear:
MATCH UP - Play an exhibition game with the following choices:
1P vs COM
1P vs 2P
1P & COM vs COM
1P & 2P vs COM
COM vs COM
STARDOM - Choose a team and then create a pitcher or batter from scratch by naming him, giving him an age, and then designing his entire facial structure (eyes, ears, nose, lips, chin, etc), making him right or left handed, and customizing his uniform. You can even give him a cord necklace to wear and also change the color of his glove. Once the player creation is over, unleash him onto the baseball field and help him become a superstar. Life starts in the farm system playing for the minor leagues but as your skill and renown grows, you'll eventually make it into the bigs.
PENNANT RACE - It's the start of a new season so select a professional team from 12 choices and play an entire season's worth of games against other professional squads. The season starts on March 28, 2008 and you may choose five different ways of playing as follows:
Team Play - You control all aspects of the pitching, fielding, hitting
Manager - Take a backseat and direct the players from the bench
Field Play - Only control the infielders or the outfielders
Tag Play - Two players handle the pitching, batting, and fielding chores
Watch - Spectator role only
SPIRITS - Select a training camp in Hawaii, Okinawa, Kochi (locked), or Home (locked) and then choose a team from twelve possible selections. Name your crew and then design a custom-made player from scratch by choosing his eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, chin, ears, etc. You can even give him circular studded earrings... on both ears. The possibilities when choosing a player's detail is exhaustive. The Spirits Mode is the trading card portion of the game where you imbue three players with skills by using Batting, Fielding, and Special Training cards. The Joint Practice card is used to train all three players at once so they level up together.
TRIAL - Play situational fielding and base running exercises where you assist in double plays, throw a batter out at first, score on a pop-fly to the outfield, steal second base on a bunt, etc. Each exercise takes only a few seconds to play and complete.
TRAINING - Practice Batting, Pitching, and Fielding accompanied by meters which measure distance and pitch location
VP SHOP - Purchase assorted items by using VP (points) earned during the course of playing the game.
UTILITY - Arrange & Trade, Copy Player, Create Song, User Settings, Player's Password, Player's Ability, Delete Player, Copy Song, Sound Settings, Load or Save
STRIKE PITCH - Select a team and try to throw eight straight strikes by hitting the blue panel overlays over home plate. You'll want to avoid hitting the center red square which contains a skull.
HOMERUN RACE - Choose a baseball team and hit as many homers as possible on 10 pitches
HOW TO - Learn the basics of pitching, batting, fielding, and running bases through repetitive exercises.
» When pitching, a nine-box spotting overlay appears over home plate which designates the strike zone. Your job as a pitcher is to spot the pitch within the strike zone. Pitching is a three-step process as follows:
1) Press the X button to wind up
2) Move the location cursor with the L-Analog thumbstick
3) When the spotting cursor appears on the catcher and starts shrinking, press the X button again at the point where it shrinks to the size of the ball
» Batting is a simple two-step process where the L-Analog is used to position the bat outline and the "X" or "O" button swings. To change the bat-shaped outline to a ball-shaped outline, press the R1-Trigger. To bunt, press and hold down on the R2-Trigger and then position your bat's direction accordingly.
» When fielding, the four face buttons of the Dual Shock 2 serve as the throw-to positions for the four bases.
» Running the bases is accomplished by pressing the "TRIANGLE" button to run forward or the "O" button to head back. To stop dead in your tracks, press both TRIANGLE and O together.
» Sponsors include Panasonic, Toyota, Achilles, Mizuno, Sunstar, and Kirin.
» When you hit a batter with a pitch, there is a sense of drama as the pitcher stares at the mound and the catcher has to stand in front of him to calm things down.
» An announcer provides a capable and snappy play-by-play of the action.
This document is ©NCSX 2008. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.