Super Batter Up

Last updated
Super Batter Up
SuperBatterUpBoxShotSNES.jpg
North American packaging artwork for the Super NES version
Developer(s) Namco [1] [2]
Publisher(s) Namco [3]
Designer(s) Masahiro Shimamoto
Composer(s) Yoshinori Kawamoto [4]
Shinya Yamada [4]
Series Family Stadium
Platform(s) Super NES
Release
Genre(s) Sports [3] (baseball)
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Super Batter Up, known in Japan as Super Famista, [lower-alpha 1] is a baseball video game with both a one- and two-player mode plus a league mode. [5]

Contents

The North American release has an official license from the Major League Baseball Players Association and features the names of actual professional baseball players. However, it does not have a license from Major League Baseball, so no actual team names are used; the teams are only identified by their respective locales. While the all-star mode in the Japanese version of the game closely mimics the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Series, the North American version of the game emulates the MLB All-Star Game. An intrasquad mode (found only in the Japanese version) allows players on the same team to face off against each other. The only limitations are that there are only five pitchers on each team, players cannot be changed, and uniforms are limited to red and white colors.

Gameplay

Someone has managed to hit the ball into the outfield. The outfielders are scrambling to retrieve the ball before the runner can score a run for his team. SuperBatterUpScreenshot.png
Someone has managed to hit the ball into the outfield. The outfielders are scrambling to retrieve the ball before the runner can score a run for his team.

The game features teams representing the 26 Major League Baseball teams and their players from the 1991 Major League Baseball season. [5] Ballplayers who competed during that baseball season like Cal Ripken, Dave Winfield, and Kirby Puckett are included. [6] However, the Japanese version was released featuring teams and actual player names from the Nippon Professional Baseball league. Players get to play in either a dome resembling the Tokyo Dome in Japan or Rogers Centre (then called SkyDome) in Toronto, a contemporary baseball stadium (with homages to Japan's Koshien Stadium or Chicago's Wrigley Field), or in traditional-style stadium style (reminiscent of Chiba Marine Stadium in Japan or Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis). [5] Each player in the Japanese version of the game has a popularity meter that gauges how liked they are by the audience; better players are more likely to be cheered on for an excellent play. [7]

Players are shown standing up for the national anthem of both the United States and Canada (when the home team is Toronto or Montreal). [8] They can also choose to substitute a hitter or a runner while at bat. [5] All game stats are shown on the fictitious newspaper, known as the Namco Sports paper. Players are permitted to zoom in and out of the paper to look for minor details. The words "game over" appear on the screen regardless of whether the player wins or loses a game. Passwords can be entered to restore progress in the game. Both one-player and two-player modes integrates the traditional playing mode of the game. If the player wins the single-player tournament, then he can see the ending. The battle mode becomes a single-game mode when two players are playing. While the Japanese version of this game uses super deformed graphics for the ballplayers, the North American version uses 2D rendering software to create more realistic graphics.

The single-player league play mode keep tracks of all the players statistics during the season. Pitchers are considered to be "cold" when their ERA is above 9.90. An "average" hitter for season mode would theoretically have a batting average of .300 and 30 home runs while the "average" pitcher would have an ERA of 3.00 along with a fastball of 150 kilometres per hour (93 mph). [7]

Stadium dimensions

Reception

In Japan, it topped the Famitsu sales charts from April [11] [12] [13] to May 1992. [14]

Allgame editor Brett Alan Weiss described Super Batter Up as "an average baseball game", although he praised the game's "solid controls". [2]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: スーパーファミスタ

Related Research Articles

<i>Famitsu</i> Line of Japanese video game magazines

Famitsu, formerly Famicom Tsūshin, is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage, a subsidiary of Kadokawa. Famitsu is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the form of special topical issues devoted to only one console, video game company, or other theme. Shūkan Famitsū, the original Famitsu publication, is considered the most widely read and respected video game news magazine in Japan. From October 28, 2011, the company began releasing the digital version of the magazine exclusively on BookWalker weekly.

1991 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 4, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, along with new titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Battletoads, Lemmings, Sunset Riders, Duke Nukem, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters, and Streets of Rage. The year's highest-grossing video game worldwide was Capcom's arcade fighting game Street Fighter II. The year's best-selling system was the Game Boy for the second year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video game was Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, which was also the year's top video game rental in the United States.

1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q.

1986 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Mario Bros. 2, along with new titles such as Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Dragon Quest, Ikari Warriors, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Out Run and R.B.I. Baseball. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Hang-On in Japan, Hang-On and Gauntlet in the United States, and Nemesis (Gradius) in London. The year's best‑selling home system was the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) for the third year in a row, while the year's best-selling home video games in Western markets were Super Mario Bros. in the United States and Yie Ar Kung-Fu in the United Kingdom.

<i>Famicom Wars</i> 1988 video game

Famicom Wars is a wargame developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. It was released on August 12, 1988 in Japan. It was later re-released on Virtual Console. It is the first game in the Wars series.

<i>Bomberman: Panic Bomber</i> 1994 video game

Bomberman: Panic Bomber is a 1994 puzzle video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine on December 22, 1994. It was later released for the Neo Geo, Super Famicom, Sharp X68000, FM Towns, NEC PC-9821, Virtual Boy, and PlayStation Portable. It saw a re-release for the Wii and Wii U's Virtual Console services. Panic Bomber is a falling block game with the players' goal being to clear matching blocks using bombs, ensuring that their screen does not fill and that their opponents' screens do. It received mixed to positive reception, identified as a decent game by multiple critics. It has been compared to the falling block puzzle game Tetris. The Virtual Boy version received a mixed reception for its handling of the platform's visual capabilities.

<i>MLBPA Baseball</i> 1994 video game

MLBPA Baseball, known in Japan as Fighting Baseball, is a baseball video game for the Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Game Gear.

<i>Super Baseball 2020</i> 1991 video game

Super Baseball 2020 is a futuristic baseball video game. It was first released in Japan for the Neo Geo in 1991, and then it was later released in North America for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. The North American Genesis and European Mega Drive versions feature a package illustration by Electronic Arts artist Marc Ericksen.

<i>World Stadium</i> 1988 video game

World Stadium, is a series of baseball arcade games that were released by Namco in the late 1980s and 1990s; they were spin-offs of the Family Stadium franchise, inspired by the 1986 Famicom game Pro Yakyū Family Stadium, and its sequel Pro Yakyū Family Stadium '87. Except for Great Sluggers '94, which was also released in America, all of the games were exclusive to Japan.

<i>Tecmo Super Baseball</i> 1994 video game

Tecmo Super Baseball is a professional baseball video game that was released in 1994 for the Super NES and Sega Genesis gaming systems. It features all 28 MLB teams that existed at the time. However, the only license the game has is the MLBPA license. This means that while the game does feature actual players, there are no team names or logos. The teams wear uniforms without logos and are only named by their city.

<i>Tengai Makyō II: Manji Maru</i> 1992 video game

Tengai Makyō II: Manji Maru, also known as Far East of Eden II: Manji Maru, is a role-playing video game and the second game in the Tengai Makyō series. It was first released in 1992 for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² by Hudson Soft and developed by Red Company.

<i>Family Stadium</i> Video game series

Family Stadium, also known as Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium and Famista, is a series of baseball sports video games initially developed and released by Namco in Japan, and later developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The first entry in the series, Pro Baseball: Family Stadium, was released for the Nintendo Family Computer in 1986 and later in North America as R.B.I. Baseball, with the series being released on numerous home consoles, the latest being Pro Yakyuu Famista 2020 in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. The series is considered a precursor to Namco's own World Stadium series of baseball games, released for arcades, PlayStation, and GameCube. The series has been a commercial success since, with over 15 million copies being sold as of 2016.

<i>F-1 Grand Prix</i> (video game series) Video game series

F-1 Grand Prix (エフワングランプリ) is a series of Formula One video games developed and published by Video System, primarily known for developing the Aero Fighters series. Prior to obtaining the FOCA license, the company previously released an arcade game in 1989 called Tail to Nose: Great Championship. Video System began releasing officially licensed titles in 1991 as an arcade game and for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, initially featuring content from the 1991 season; the company later followed up by releasing games based on the 1992 and 1993 seasons, although the 1993 season game had no arcade release. The arcade and SNES games are played with a top-down view centered on the players chosen vehicles. These titles feature the song "Truth" by T-Square, featured branding from Fuji Television's Formula One coverage, and the SNES versions were only released in Japan. Video System also developed SD F-1 Grand Prix, a Super Mario Kart style game featuring animal caricatures of selected 1994 drivers.

<i>Simulation Pro Yakyuu</i> 1995 video game

Simulation Pro Yakyuu is a Japan-exclusive video game for the Super Famicom that uses the actual ball players and teams of the 1995 Nippon Professional Baseball league and combines them into a full-blown simulator.

<i>Super Formation Soccer 95: della Serie A</i> 1995 video game

Super Formation Soccer '95: della Serie A is an official licensed football video game that featured all clubs and footballers from the Italian Serie A and was released exclusively in Japan in 1995. It was licensed by Italian Football League and AIC. The game is based on the original video game Super Formation Soccer.

<i>Super Formation Soccer II</i> 1993 video game

Super Formation Soccer II (スーパーフォーメーションサッカー2) is the sequel to the original Super Formation Soccer video game, which was released exclusively in Japan in 1993. The most significant innovation over its predecessor was the introduction of a four-player mode, and a battery backup to replace the passwords.

<i>Super Fire Pro Wrestling: Queens Special</i> 1995 video game

Super Fire Pro Wrestling: Queen's Special is a Japan-exclusive video game based on All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling and is an installment of the Fire Pro Wrestling series. It was released exclusively for the Super Famicom, although an unofficial English translation exists.

<i>Goal! Two</i> 1992 video game

Goal! Two is a soccer (football) video game developed by Tose for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and published by Jaleco in 1992. Goal! Two is Tose's first sequel to the NES title Goal!. On 04/24/92, Tose's first soccer title for the Super Famicom, Super Cup Soccer (スーパーカップサッカー) was published by Jaleco. It was later ported to the Famicom on 09/25/92 as Goal!!. Jaleco localized the Famicom game for the NES as Goal! Two for North American markets, and Goal! 2 for European markets later that year. Finally, the Super Famicom version was brought to the Super NES (SNES) as Goal! for North America and Super Goal! for Europe in December 1992, shortly after Goal Two! for the NES. The cover model is John Brady, an amateur soccer player from London who was living in Chicago.

<i>Pro Baseball: Family Stadium</i> 1986 baseball video game

Pro Baseball: Family Stadium, released as Pro Yakyū: Family Stadium in Japan and R.B.I. Baseball in North America, is a 1986 baseball video game developed and published by Namco for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In North America, it was published by Tengen as R.B.I. Baseball. It was also released in arcades through the Nintendo VS. System. It is the first game in the Family Stadium and R.B.I. Baseball franchises. The game was a critical and commercial success in Japan and North America.

References

  1. ↑ MobyGames. "Super Batter Up for SNES". MobyGames . Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Weiss, Brett Alan. "Super Batter Up - Overview". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Release information". GameFAQs . Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  4. 1 2 "Composer information". SNES Music. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Basic overview of game". MobyGames . Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  6. ↑ "Basic summary of baseball players". IGN . Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  7. 1 2 "Advanced summary of baseball players" (in Japanese). Famista. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  8. ↑ "National anthem information". allgame . Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  9. ↑ "Super Batter Up Review Score". Archived from the original on 2019-05-30.
  10. ↑ "スーパーファミスタ" [Super Famista]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Weekly Top 30 (4月10日)". Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 175. 24 April 1992. pp. 14–5.
  12. ↑ "Weekly Top 30 (4月17日)". Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 176. 1 May 1992. pp. 14–5.
  13. ↑ "Weekly Top 30 (4月24日)". Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 177/178. 8 May 1992. pp. 14–5.
  14. ↑ "Weekly Top 30 (5月8日)". Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 179. 22 May 1992. pp. 14–5.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.