Vidya Thoughts

Nintendo multiplayer games love their gimmicks. It’s a frustrating trend of theirs because often times the core mechanics of those games are really solid but if you play the way you’re ‘supposed to,’ those gimmicks can really bog you down. Like imagine you’re playing a game of basketball and all of a sudden some guy ran on the court and circled a tiny portion of the floor. It’s the “instant win zone.” If you sink a basket from the instant win zone the game is automatically over, regardless of the score. It sounds ludicrous but gimmicks in Nintendo games can be every bit as game changing.

The area where this is most well known is in the Smash Brothers franchise. Back in the day, there was a bit of a meme going around where people would be playing Smash Brothers with items on and someone would rush onto the scene and say “NO ITEMS. FOX ONLY. FINAL DESTINATION.” This would mutate into some guy challenging people in random situations to this specific rule set. You see, no items and final destination (a flat stage) are the core elements of Smash Brothers. There are no gimmicks, there are no weird things interrupting the flow of play. It’s a competition of skill. And Fox is there because, uh, he’s the best character. Silly memers, don’t you guys know Marth and Jigglypuff are really viable too?

For Smash Brothers, I’ve always been kind of hit or miss with this because I think the game is still fun with items on and it also allows for players of various skill levels to play together. It’s the great equalizer. Yes, you will probably beat a scrub 99% of the time but it does open the door for miracle wins. There is another game where this ruleset changes the game though. Where trimming everything down to the basics takes a forgotten Gamecube title and turns it into one of the best pure party gaming experiences available.

Mario Superstar Baseball is a game with simplistic enough mechanics. Really, it feels like a prettier version of RBI Baseball. Swinging, stealing, diving to make sensational catches, they’re all done with a single button press. You can even do super powered swings and pitches. Picture the most arcadey and simple sports game in your head and you have the basics of Mario Baseball. It’s great with friends but if you decide to play by the official game rules, it just becomes a whole lot of nothing. The gimmicks bog everything down.

What I mean by this is that most of the levels are completely overrun with gimmicks. There are levels where invisible blocks clutter the air, which can get in the way of fly balls and create an out of a big hit. There are levels where klaptraps run around the outfield and bite at your fielders, which can create big hits out of easy outs. You have piranha plants and whomps randomly scattered around some fields to cause havoc too. Yes, these definitely make the game feel more “Mario” than a typical baseball game. But you know what else does that? The fact that I can select Mario characters as my baseball players and play as them. Revolutionary!

There is one exception to this. Mario Stadium. Mario Stadium has absolutely no gimmicks. It is the Final Destination of this game. If you want a pure experience without random chance ruining your day, this is the way to go. Unlike with Smash Brothers, the gimmicks here don’t really bridge the gap between skill levels. Instead they just frustrate the player entirely and turn the event into a far more luck-based affair. Mario Stadium changes that and you can finally just play a basic arcadey baseball game. I think it’s the best arcade-style baseball experience in video games, surpassing even the classics. It’s just lost in the weeds of gimmicks.

Now what about the FOX ONLY part of the above equation? There is one extra little rule that can take things a step over the edge. Round-robin picking. When you play two players, the selection process is a free-for-all. Whoever can move their joystick the fastest can get whatever character you want. This is a big deal because there are players very clearly better than others – the team captains, or the main Mario characters. It’s not likely, but there is a chance one player could get every single named Mario character while player 2 gets their one team captain and then a bunch of shy guys, toads and maybe like King Boo. Round-robin selecting just lets each player choose their own team at their own pace and unless you’re playing someone who can’t understand basic UI elements, your teams come out pretty even. It’s a truly equal playing field.

Playing like this allows the player to experience one other mechanic a little more readily. If you’re flying through the character selection process, you’re just going to pick who the best people are without thinking about it. Like “Oh fuck I need Mario and Wario and Luigi and Bowser and I just need these guys because I know they are good.” But just like in real team sports, Mario Superstar Baseball has a mechanic called chemistry. Some players just don’t play well with each other.

Having a team with good chemistry has a lot of benefits. For one, you have more ‘star powers’ at the start of the game – I mentioned those above, referring to them as super powered swings and pitches. Having star powers to unleash in crucial moments is really helpful and can help you score a lot of runs when you need them most. Also, played with good chemistry play better together. If your shortstop and first baseman like each other, the throw from short to home will be a little quicker than just a neutral pairing. So instead of just building around on who hits the best, you can consider building a team with a mix of skill and chemistry.

Now you might think “well okay, I don’t need to worry about chemistry, who cares about slightly faster throws?” Wrong! There are punishments for bad chemistry too. Let’s say you have a shy guy at shortstop and baby mario at second base and the batter just hit a ball that would be an easy double play. Shy Guy can grab the ball but there is a small chance that the throw to second base will be off. When characters have bad chemistry, your defensive plays (specifically throws) can go awry. You can turn an easy double play or out into a free hit. Well, an error really, but you get what I mean. Paying attention to who is playing where is a big key to success and just being able to pick freestyle clashes with said mechanic.

Combining a Mario Stadium rule with a round-robin choice system creates the definitive way to play an otherwise forgotten gem. It is the best version of the limited melee ruleset. It takes a solid party game and makes it great. Just don’t play the Wii version please.