Mario Superstar Baseball Character Specific Star Missions FAQ Dustin Capehart (bestgamer92) Table of Contents AAA) Purpose of FAQ BBB) Power-ups and helpful items CCC) Special Character Talents DDD) General hitting/fielding tips EEE) Star Missions FFF) FAQ GGG) Baseball terms, Strategies, and Helpful Information HHH) Special thanks III) Contact Me JJJ) Legal Information NAVIGATION NOTE For those of you that do not know, there is an easy way to find what you need. Press Ctrl + F to open a box. Type in the box what you want. Let’s say you want learn more about how correct a mistake. You’d want to go to section III to contact me. Type in III and then click on "find next". This "find" feature will automatically go to the thing that you typed in. It is very useful! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Version History 1.0- Sent in FAQ, accepted on 8/3/07 2.0- Corrected “$”’s, and added supercheats.com to allowed sites list. 3.0- Fixed error in section JJJ, and fixed DK’s banana ball curve. 4.0- Added “WiiBrawler” to special thanks list. 5.0- Added neoseeker.com to allowed sites list. 6.0- Added “champ6926” to special thanks list and his strategy. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ AAA) Purpose of FAQ This FAQ is to relieve the pain of all the repeated questions of how do you _____? Fill in the blank with any star mission. There are countless star missions in MSB, each requiring some skill, others timing, and some blind luck. In this FAQ, ALL STAR MISSIONS FOR EVERY CHARACTER will be covered. From Baby Mario’s dreaded “Booted ball” mission, on over to Birdo’s “Drive in a run”, A-Z top to bottom, everything will be analyzed, and scrutinized for easy comprehension. So, dust off your MSB disc, and let’s see if we can’t get those few straggling missions! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ BBB) Power-ups and helpful items In the land of MSB, a shop sells you different power-ups for your team. Some improve your hitting, another your fielding. All of them are helpful, although some are much better than others. One thing to mention is that the harder the difficulty you are on, the higher the prices. This only applies to the team power-ups, (Nice bat, Power bat, lucky glove etc.) not the personal items. (Red Fireball, Whiskered Eggplant, Pink Egg etc.) Here is a list of all of the items you can purchase. Nice Bat Use: Supposedly helps you make better hits. Not too sure whether it helps you with your contact, or your "Nice" and "Perfect" hits. Either way this is not really a good item. Versus the Power bat, this is useless. Cost: 100-200 coins My rating: 2/10 Power Bat Use: Helps batters smack the ball much farther, thus increasing the power of their swing. This is a fantastic item. Probably my favorite and most used. Helps on HR missions and makes all batters lethal. Cost: 100-200 coins My rating: 8/10 Super Ball Use: Increases your pitcher's pitching speed and supposedly its control. I'm not a big fan of this one either. The speed difference is noticeable, but the control? Nah. In my opinion, it goes against you, because the faster you pitch the ball, the farther your enemy hits the ball. Cost: 100-200 coins My rating: 2/10 Lucky Glove Use: Makes errors less common, thus making your players' fielding better. I don't use it too often. Ironically, I bought it once, and the first hit to Yoshi, he dropped it with his Tongue Catch! And to make it even more ironic, I had NEVER dropped a ball with Yoshi's tongue! Weird, very weird. Cost: 100-200 coins My rating: 3/10 Dash Spikes Use: Charges your players' running, thus making them speedier. Not only does this item help with sprinting the basepaths, it also aids your fielding. This is a good buy, because sometimes just can't steal that base, but with this baby, you'll beat the ball by a mile! Invaluable for cross the plate missions. Cost: 100-200 coins My rating: 6.5/10 Buddy Emblem NOTE: This can only be used on a team that has players that loathe each other. (Mario and Wario, Luigi and King Boo, Baby Mario and Shyguy etc.) Use: Makes enemy players (i.e. Mario and Wario) normal, thus, their throws to one another are not inaccurate! This also makes players compatible. This is another not-so-useful item. Why waste money buying it, when you can just create a team where enemy players don't throw to each other? Cost: 100-200 coins My rating: 3/10 Superstar NOTE: You can only buy this when every other item, including personal player power-ups, has been bought. So that means you have to buy Bowser's and his son's power-ups to obtain this. Yay! Also, note that you do NOT need to buy every item during one cup. You can buy a nice bat on Mushroom Cup and the rest on Special Cup. Use: Jacks up all of your players' stats, making them lethal players. In addition to that, enemy players don't hate one another. Use this when you don't have very many superstars on your team. It's going to make them indestructible. Great for getting homers! Cost: This'll put a hole in your wallet: 600-900 coins My rating: 9/10 "Personal" Permanent Player Power-ups Each of the twelve captains and sub-captains has a special power- up. Note that the sub-captains' power-ups are the same as the team captains, with the exception of color difference, name, and sometimes it activates slightly different. These power-ups can be used for batting or pitching. And, each captain's power uses one star, the sub-captains two. Once it has been bought, it can never be bought again. Plus, all of the power-ups cost 200 coins, no matter what difficulty you are on. To activate a power-up: Once you have bought the correct character's power-up, you can activate it any time. Just hold down the R (shoulder) button and hit/pitch the ball. NOTE: Once the player is on your team, you can buy their power-up. (Ex. Once you have coaxed Mario into joining your team, you can buy his power-up.) Mario-Red Fireball (Fireball) Batting: when used, a large red flame surrounds the ball. It flies on a line drive. As long as the flame is still around it, the player who touches it will be momentarily stunned, as they run in circles screaming of the burning sensation. This is a very useful power. Great for hitting in RBI's and for easy doubles/triples. Pitching: Once again, a red flame surrounds the ball. This makes the ball fly very fast. Hitting this is not a challenge for humans. But usually the computer fails to make contact. Luigi-Green Fireball (Fireball) Batting: a green flame surrounds the same as Mario’s, but this time the ball. Luigi's hit is much weaker than his brother's. The ball still is hit on a line drive, but a very weak one. It is quite rare for infielders to miss this and let it go to the outfield. Yet again, the infielders are lit on fire and run around in circles. Pitching: This one is exactly the same as Mario's with the exception of the ball is ignited green, not red. Goes fast and usually gets by the computer. Yoshi-Egg (Egg Ball) Batting: When contact is made, the ball is surrounded by an egg and bounces uncontrollably around the field. This can be a huge let down, or one heck of a hit. Sometimes the ball bounces right into a fielder's glove. This pisses me off. On the other hand, it can bounce through the infield and get you an easy triple. Pitching: Yoshi throws out an egg, an egg carrying the ball inside it. It bounces erratically, swerving side, to side, and up and down. Birdo-Pink Egg (Weird Ball) Batting: Same as Yoshi's, but the egg is pink. (See Yoshi's for what it does) Pitching: Same as Yoshi's, but the egg is pink. (See Yoshi's for what it does) Peach- Lovely Hearts (Heart Ball) Batting: When contact is made, the ball is hidden by on-screen hearts. When the ball is plummeting down, the hearts recoil and show the ball's location. The computer gets this one sometimes. If it does land, you've got yourself an easy double! Pitching: The ball is surrounded by a mass of pink hearts. Just before/as it crosses the plate, the hearts vanish, revealing the ball. This is somewhat tricky to hit. Fools computer about 70% of the time. Daisy-Pretty Flowers (Flower Ball) Batting: the same as Peach's, but the flowers that cover the ball stay a bit longer than the hearts. I never really use her special, because she's such an awesome hitter. Pitching: Same as Peach's, but the flowers come up a little sooner than the hearts do. DK-King Banana (Banana Ball) Batting: DK whacks the ball and it turns into a banana. It curves far to the right, then slices back to the left (all in fielding camera’s eyes). Gets a double most of the time, but sometimes the computer manages to come up with it. Pitching: Ball turns into banana again, this time it curves to the far right (DK's right, catcher’s left) then sweeps left across plate for strike. Probably the first or second hardest to hit. Diddy-Chimp Banana (Boomerang Ball) Batting: Same as DK's, but the ball...er...banana curves less. Pitching: Once again, same as DK's, but the curve is less dramatic. Wario- Gnarly Garlic (Phony Ball) Batting: The ball becomes a large yellow sphere. As the ball makes its way towards earth, it splits making two yellow colored objects. One of them carries the ball with it. The computer will not always choose the correct one, luckily. If they choose the incorrect one, they will be momentarily stunned, giving you the chance to drive in more runs and get more bases. This is the riskiest special hit, (tied with Waluigi's actually) because it is a fifty-fifty chance of working. Pitching: Once Wario releases the pitch, the ball splits into two large yellow balls. As they rush themselves to the plate, they'll appear to "flash." The true one will reveal itself at the last second. Not too bad against the computer, though. Waluigi-Whiskered Eggplant (Liar Ball) Batting: Exact same thing as Wario's special hit, but the ball is purple, not yellow. (See Wario's for details) Pitching: Instead of yellow, the ball is purple. In addition, instead of two very different balls, Waluigi throws one, it splits into two (large and purple), and then as it comes toward home plate, it merges into one. Easy for enemy to hit. And easier for you to hit. Bowser-Bullet Bill (Killer Ball) Batting: When contact is made on the special swing, the ball turns into a Bullet Bill and flies towards the outfield (on a line drive). If someone attempts to field the Bullet Bill, they will be driven back several feet, and stunned. This is a super useful hit. Use it wisely, although, Bowser is really too strong, and using this is not necessary. Pitching: Bowser throws the ball, it turns into a Bullet Bill, then, as it makes its way home, it does a mid-air loop. After the loop, it zooms towards home, very, very fast. Curving this (while looping) will probably result in a ball. Jr. Bowser-Jr. Mask (Killer Jr. Ball) Batting: Same as Bowser's. Once again, using this is unnecessary. He's too strong to resort to this! (See Bowser's for details) Pitching: Same as Bowser's (See Bowser's for details) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ CCC) Special Character Talents Each character in the game has AT LEAST one character talent. All captains/sub-captains and strangely Toadette have two talents. Everyone else has only one. All of them are useful in their own special way. Obviously, some talents will be much more useful than others. Be sure to watch where you place players during play, for instance, putting Toadsworth (a player with the Super Catch ability) in the shortstop/second or any outfield positions would be a great idea. Putting him on first, pitcher, or catcher would waste this valuable talent. So, be smart where you put these players. Oh, and just a little note, all of these are used when fielding or running the bases, none are for batting. SPECIAL CHARACTER TALENTS LIST 1) Ball Dash- When a player with the ball dash ability picks up the ball, if you try running with them you will immediately find that they'll zoom incredibly fast around the bases. They'll go fast, so turns with them are really sharp and sudden. Great for running down stealers, getting an enemy's runner out that is caught between bases, or shortening long throws. To activate: Grab the ball with someone who uses the ball dash ability. Then just move them in the direction you want them to go with the control stick, simple as that. Also, by pressing B repeatedly, you can go even faster. 2 Users: Goomba and Monty Mole 2) Body Check- The only talent used when running the bases, and is probably the most confusing. To activate: To perform a body check, run at a base with B (or Y). If the fielder has the ball and HAS NOT left the base, you have a CHANCE of hitting them aside. There is no button needed to press for activation. In fact, this is the only talent that does not always activate. So, charge the base and you have a CHANCE of smacking them aside. It usually works best when advancing to a base. Seven Users: Birdo, Bowser, Bowser Jr, Hammer Bro, Petey Piranha, Toad, Wario 3) Clamber- This one confuses many people. You jump on the wall and can move along the wall to catch balls near/on the wall. Makes very frustrating star missions. Besides its one downfall, it is an awesome move (especially on Bowser's stadium), and you might find it quite useful in those rare, game saving/ending situations. To activate: While running towards a back wall (home-run wall) press the A button once. (You don't need to hold it.) Then, once you are on the wall, use the control stick to move around the wall. Press A again to jump down. Four Users: Diddy, Dixie, DK, Yoshi 4) Laser Beam- Ah, the laser beam. How I love to see the enemy run home, happy, then I unleash the mighty fury of the laser beam. It immediately wipes that smile off their face. Anyway, the laser beam is a mighty throw. You can only throw it home, and only if there is a runner going home, or on third base. I've gotten many an out using a technique I call the "Run 'n' Gun." (For more info on the Run ‘n’ Gun, go to section GGG). Oh, and the characters that can perform this each throw at a different speed. (Bowser fastest, DK fast, Pianta still fast, Waluigi molasses) To activate: When a runner is on third base OR the runner is going home, hit Down (control stick) and A simultaneously. The player will unleash a bright, fast "laser-like" throw to home. Remember, Down + A. Four Users: Bowser, DK, Pianta, and Waluigi 5) Magical Catch- The magical catch is a strange one. When used, Magikoopa stays in one spot and uses his/her/its wand to draw the ball closer to him/her/it. However, it is rather slow. On a positive note, when the ball is actually "summoned," it usually comes to you, giving this the highest "anti-error" rate of the three individual talents. Best if used on third/second/shortstop. To activate: Press A and wherever the ball is, (ball's direction) activates this. Ex. If the ball is to the right of him/her/it, press A and right on the control stick. Works like a dive/sliding catch. One User: Magikoopa 6) Quick Throw- This is one of the best talents. This allows the player to quickly catch and release the ball, no winding-up or hold-ups. As soon as the ball is in the player's hands, you can throw it. Great on shortstop, second, and outfield. To activate: Once you have caught the ball, just regularly throw the ball to desired base. (A + right = first base, A + up = second, etc.) Two Users: Daisy and Peach 7) Sliding Catch- Probably the most used talent. This makes your player dive "extra" far to get close balls, thus increasing their diving range. Very easy to activate, and very easy to master. Put these people anywhere but pitcher & catcher. To activate: Press A and wherever the ball is to dive in that direction. (Ex-The ball is to the left of player, press A and left to dive that way.) Eight Users: Daisy, Dry Bones, Koopa, Mario, Noki, Shy Guy, Toadette, and Wario 8) Suction- Probably the best of individual talents. It has a high "anti-error" rate, much higher than Yoshi’s Tongue Catch. Same activation as the other two. To activate: Press A and wherever the ball is, (ball's direction) activates this. Ex. If the ball is to the right of Birdo, press A and right on the control stick. One User: Birdo 9) Super Catch- Probably the best talent. The super catch ability makes the fielder ALWAYS catch the ball, unless of course they are hit by a field gimmick (barrel, chain chomp, fire bubble) beforehand. Also, the player will not scoot back if the ball is hit hard, they'll stay in place. No activation button, just simply catch the ball. 3 Users: Diddy, Peach, Toadsworth 10) Super Jump- The super jump is a jump that’s two times higher than a normal one. The player leaps very high, so those high- flying line drives, and the just-barely-wall-clearing homers can be stolen for an out. To activate: While standing still, press the A button. 6 Users: Boo, King Boo, Luigi, Paragoomba, Paratroopa, Waluigi 11) Tongue Catch- The third of the individual talents, and my personal favorite. It seems to mess up the most of the three, but when it does create an error, the ball usually flies straight up, making another attempt at the ball an easy one. To activate: Press A and wherever the ball is, (ball's direction) activates this. Ex. If the ball is to the right of him/her/it, press A and right on the control stick. One User: Yoshi 12) Wall Jump- The wall jump is a very simple concept, but timing it is difficult. All you do is run to the back wall, press A when you are near it, and then the player will leap off the wall with a mighty jump, snagging the would-be homer. Just jump even with the ball’s shadow and you should be fine. To activate: When running to the back wall, (when you are close to it) press the A button, this launches you skyward. Make sure to be running hard, (mashing B repeatedly) and be sure that you are close to the wall before pressing A (warning track). Six Users: Baby Luigi, Baby Mario, Bowser Jr., Luigi, Mario, and Toadette $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ DDD) General Hitting/Fielding Tips Hitting: 1) This is what I tell everyone that is having trouble batting. Don't always charge your swings!!! Doing this increases your chances of getting a fly-out. Get yourself comfortable with the players in the game then start charging. Get to know their batting style, how far can they reach, which side do they hit more effectively to. 2) Just a little thing, but the sweet spot of the bat is always situated in the center of the plate when you come up to bat. And, if you press the L shoulder button, it will reposition you in the center. 3) Conserve your stars people. Nothing is worse than having the bases loaded, and you can get an easy double/triple with a star swing, but you don't have any stars left. 4) Use the Practice mode (on main menu), to hone your skills in batting/fielding. This helps a lot when trying to get more Nice/Perfect hits. 5) Aiming your hits can be the difference between an out and a hit. Pressing UP on the control stick will make your batter hit the ball downwards. And pressing DOWN on the control stick causes the ball to fly higher and/or farther. Also, pressing LEFT/RIGHT on the control stick makes the ball go that side. Press these at the same time as when you swing your bat. 6) Take advantage of the information given to you about each player. When choosing your team players, press Z to check their stats. This gives vital information like which way they hit better, their hit trajectory, star pitches/swings, etc. 7) Use chemistry people!!! Having good relations on the bases makes your batter hit better. And, the more chemistry they have, the better! (Ex-Peach is on first and Mario is up to bat. Peach will hit much better.) Fielding: 1) Use your chemistry! Like batting, chemistry works wonders here too. Probably more wonders than batting. If a compatible player throws to a friend, the throw will be stronger, making the ball fly faster. Although, bad relations don't help. Sometimes if two enemies throw to each other, they'll throw inaccurately, so watch where you put your players. 2) Don't waste useful player talents. Putting super catches on the mound or back at catcher, is useless. Putting Laser Beams at catcher are useless! Don't waste them! 3) Be cautious of field gimmicks. At Wario Palace, be sure to know if the Chain Chomps are sleeping, or if they are awake. On DK Jungle, be aware of the barrels, Yoshi park Piranha Plants...know your surroundings. 4) Use that cutoff man effectively. If your outfielder's arm is weak, throw to the cutoff man by pressing L and A. In some cases, using the cutoff man is worse. Like when the outfielder has a laser beam, or chemistry to the person they are throwing to, strong arm...you need to recognize where to throw the ball at a moment's notice. 5) Practice throwing good, fast throws around the bases. The ball always flies faster when you press A and the control stick in the desired direction simultaneously. The ball will have a blueish tail behind it if you threw it correctly. 6) Find a pitching strategy and use it. Pitching is an enormous chunk of baseball, so you will need to get pretty darn good at it if you want to succeed. Throwing balls inbetween strikes helps a lot. (See section “GGG” for helpful tips with pitching.) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ EEE) Star Missions Each star mission for each character will be analyzed, and uprooted, for maximum assistance. It will go in alphabetical order of character names, starting with Baby Luigi and ending with Yoshi. After the name of the player will be how many missions for that character, and on which difficulty the missions are on. Then a little “lowdown” of the character. Their quirks, styles, oddities, or anything else that pops into my head. THE MISSIONS GO IN ORDER OF DIFFICULTY. So, this is it, the moment you all have been waiting for, Star Missions analyses deluxe edition! IMPORTANT NOTE #1: In any star mission, when it reads “more than” it really means “at least”. You could just delete the “more than” altogether, though. These missions are marked by one star (*). IMPORTANT NOTE #2: When any star mission reads, “smack a hit/belt a homer with” it really means “smack a hit/belt a homer against”. Two stars mark these missions (**). IMPORTANT NOTE #3: Original missions (missions that are only for that one character) are marked by three stars (***). CHARACTERS ALPHABETICALLY (That means from A-Z). $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 1. Baby Luigi-Lil' L Status: Six Missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: A third of his missions rely on his speedy legs, otherwise, Baby Luigi has one original, and two other, normal missions. Unfortunately, Baby Luigi, as his later self is, hides in the enormous shadow of his obese brother, and starring him might not want anyone to pick him anymore than they already do. Oh, this guy can run. A: “Steal a base!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply get a hit, and then watch the pitcher. The moment they move, hit Y to steal. A good jump reads steal in yellow. A normal steal reads steal in purple. Once the play-cam moves to you stealing, repeatedly mash B to sprint to the next base. Stealing second is much easier than third. Obviously, a weak catcher will be easier to steal off. B: "Drop a squeeze bunt!” Difficulty: 3.5/10 For a squeeze bunt to be successful, you need to have a runner on third, however, the bases can't be loaded. STEAL with the runner at third, then BUNT the ball ON the steal, if you SCORE WITHOUT ENDING THE INNING, you have just accomplished a squeeze bunt. You can be out or safe at first base. C: “Get a Team star!” Difficulty: 4/10 There are four ways to get a team star, some easier than others: 1. You can get a hit while the "star chance" appears when your desired player is batting. Do not charge up so you can hit more accurately. 2. You can get a strikeout when the "star chance" appears on screen. For strikeout: You can pitch the first two strikes with any player you want, just make sure the strikeout comes from your desired player. 3. For fielding out: Your desired player must be pitching (or have touched the ball in play someway) when you get the out. 4. The last way you can earn a team star is by hitting something (while batting) in the field. Mario Park: Nothing Wario Palace: Sand stars DK Jungle: Klaptraps in river Peach Garden: Some (brick) floating blocks contain stars Yoshi Field: Yellow Piranha Plants Bowser Castle: Star panels on ground and walls For Baby Luigi, I’d recommend the batting or fielding one. D: “Win Piranha Panic with no damage!”*** Difficulty: 5/10 I use a strategy (outlined in section GGG) called “Peripheral Panic.” (To find the strategy, Control F search Mastering Piranha Panic: Peripheral Panic) Using you peripheral vision, beat back the ravenous plants, and carefully watch your enemies’ bob-ombs. Dodge all incoming fire by pressing down on the control stick. Use the easiest difficulty for ensured success. E: “Strike out Luigi!” Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Luigi should not pose too much of a threat to Splitter8’s strategy. F: “Steal a base more than twice in a game!”* Difficulty: 4/10 When Baby Luigi is up, hit a safe single to the outfield. Make sure you have Baby Luigi on first, and no one on second by the end of the at bat. Now, steal second and do your best to get the steal sign yellow (timing your steal perfectly). Once Baby Luigi is on the run mash B. Once on second, (first steal) you can try for third, which is usually difficult unless the catcher has a bad arm. If the catcher does, go for third. Otherwise, when Baby Luigi is up again, steal second once more. Stealing is much easier off a pitcher that winds their pitch. Truthfully, stealing third with a perfectly timed jump should pose no threat for the speedy Baby Luigi. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 2. Baby Mario- Lil' Plumber Status: Six Missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: For such crappy player, Baby Mario has his work cut out for him, mostly because he’s too old to use scissors. His last mission, the mission from hell, will most likely test your patience, many, many times. Otherwise, his missions are spread out (in difference and difficulty), from stealing to batting to pitching. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Strike ‘em out!” Difficulty: 3.5/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. C: “Beat Bowser Jr.’s team!” Difficulty: 4/10 Beating Bowser Jr.’s team either pits you against his batting team, forcing you to keep your lead, or forces you to score a few runs to beat him. Either way, just play simple ball (Splitter8’s pitching strategy). However, Baby Mario must be on your 9-man crew for the mission to be completed. D: “Cross the plate more than twice in a game!”* Difficulty: 5.5/10 First, place Baby Mario near the top of the order, with chemistry pals surrounding him. Second, when you swing (uncharged), hold down on the control stick to hit the ball just over the infielder’s heads. Thirdly, if second is open, steal it. All you want to do is place Baby Mario in scoring position for one of his teammates to drive him in. Perhaps a hit and run will help. E: “Drive in runs vs. Mario!”* (Only one run required) Difficulty: 4.5/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. However, only run is needed for this to be complete. MARIO MUST BE PITCHING!!! F: “Catch a booted ball!”*** Difficulty: 11/10 First, I’m going to Dr. Cox this one: “Oh, dear God baby, what one earth are you doing? Booting the ball? No, Patricia. That’s reheheally (4 syllables) impossible, considering your just a little teeny baby, like newbie here.” How was that? Anyway, like my horrid monologue, this mission sucks. If you were lucky enough to have this happen spontaneously for you, thank your lucky stars, rabbit’s foot, and four-leaf clover, because if you are struggling on this one, you, among countless others have hit the most frustrating mission. This mission, unfortunately, is based approximately 93.2% on luck (very rough approximate). Here are a few ways to tackle this issue: 1-Put Baby Mario in the outfield position that you think will get the most fly balls. Serve up some pitches and they should go to the outfield. Continually, and unnecessarily dive at the ball with Baby Mario and eventually he will screw up. It should be a little pop-up, a chance for you to catch the ball. Often times, he will screw up successfully, but the ball will drop before you have time to recover, and you throw yet another controller through your neighbor’s window. 2-Put Baby Mario on shortstop, Baby Luigi on second, and fill in the rest of the infield with bad fielders. (Noki, Toadette, etc.) Serve up some pitches or just wait until the other team hits a hard hit to one of them. It should result in a small pop-up. Take control of Baby Mario and catch it. You can also put Baby Mario on the mound and fill in the remaining infield with bad fielders. Then use the strategy named above. 3-Rarely, a rocket line drive (fireball swing speed) will bash aside an infielder, and the ball will land near a fellow outfielder, and hopefully for you, the outfielder is Baby Mario. 4-Lastly, there is this strange phenomenon where one chemistry friend boots a ball, and it flies directly to another chemistry friend (must be in neighboring positions). I do not know whether this happens every time though. 5-Lazy Man’s Luck (submitted by champ6926) If you have a turbo controller, try out this user-created method. 1. (once in a game with beloved Baby Mario) Tape down the A button with turbo on 2. Put fielding on AUTO 3. Tape down B button without turbo on (this makes all batters bunt to further advance the game and put you back on defense) 4. From here you can start the game and then do whatever you want, letting the game take it from there. After each game check back to see if you fulfilled the mission, and if not, start another. This method is entirely unorthodox and is makes the mission based entirely upon your luck of the boot. Try it out if you have exhausted other options. GOOD LUCK, YOU’LL NEED IT!!! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 3. Birdo-HackerBirdo Status: Sub-Captain-Eight Missions (3 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Well, if it isn’t everyone’s favorite gender-debatable character, Birdo! Complete with male sounds, a massive “rock”, and the ability to shoot its unborn children at you! Oh, joy! Luckily, with its surprising power on all fronts, Birdo can be easily starred, even if she has to get MORE jewelry. A: “Drive in a run!” Difficulty: 3/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. Homer works too! B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). C: “Get a Pink Egg!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Birdo’s best bet is using its suction ability to snatch a ball from the sky and get the runner out. E: “Beat Peach’s team!” Difficulty: 3/10 Just have Birdo on your playing team, and win the game versus Peach. F: “Collect more than 30 gems!”*, *** Difficulty: 4/10 The minigame you need to collect gems on is Chain Chomp Sprint. Put the game on the easiest mode, and run around the diamond, stopping only to switch directions and to avoid being eaten. The more gems you have, the faster you run! G: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 6/10 Despite Birdo’s great bat, chemistry will help you over the edge—of the fences. If you are really struggling, use the power bat or superstar. Just be sure to have some chemistry on the basepaths! H: “Be MVP in the last game!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 Easy ways to be MVP in the last game (versus Bowser/All-Star team): 1. Pitch a magnificent game; this includes: Many strikeouts (10+), the other team never tied you/never was ahead, and you gave up less than three runs. 2. Drive in important runs: First run(s), and a comeback run(s). If you drive in the first run, and keep your lead, never tying, your desired player should be in the running for MVP. Other notes: 1. Try to keep your other hitters from getting big hits/important runs. 2. If you get the first run and pitch a great game, you are pretty much guaranteed the MVP, just as long as some other hitter did not smack multiple homers or scored 5+ RBIs. 3. Use your stars wisely to set up big RBI chances for your desired player. Sorry, but you probably will have to rely on Birdo’s bat to get this one. Just keep her RBIs high, and your other hitters’ RBIs low. Attempt to score the first runs with a bases clearing hit for insurance. Chemistry, as always, does wonders. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 4. Boo-Boobutton Status: Four Missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: His missions split between batting and pitching only. With Boo, these missions should prove too easy, and Boo could very well be your first star. No originality though, how sad for such a fresh and good character. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Get three strikeouts in a game!” Difficulty: 2.5/10 The “second level” of getting strikeouts in a game. Just use Splitter8’s strategy (section GGG) to conquer your foes. Remember, you only need to throw the strikeout pitch with your desired player. Boo can easily do this one with his superior pitching, though. C: “Smack more than two hits in game!”* Difficulty: 3/10 Slap two successful hits, though remember they do not have to be in succession. D: “Win with a shutout!” Difficulty: 5/10 It may sound hard, but shutouts with Boo are common. BOO MUST BE ON THE MOUND FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END. NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER. Just be sure to throw nothing juicy over the heart of the plate. As always, Splitter8’s wisdom shines in pitching (section GGG). $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 5. Bowser-Skewer Shell Status: Captain-Ten missions (3 mushroom, 3 flower, 3 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Bowser, the Koopa King of Evil. His massive self takes up any position, and he likes to keep his spikes clean. Anyway, his easy missions are nearly all situated around his brute force, thankfully. The rest require his disgusting pitching skills and his wallet. You should not be disappointed when your star the most powerful character so quickly. A: “Drive in a run!” Difficulty: 2/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. Homer works too! It is somewhat sad if you can’t score a run with Bowser’s girth. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Bowser might just win MVP every game if you can knock homers frequently. Power in batting! C: “Get a Bullet Bill!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Smack a hit with a charge swing!” Difficulty: 2/10 Charge the bat and swing! You know how to do this, especially with the King of Koopas. Why would you uncharged his swing in the first place? E: “Win with a shutout!” Difficulty: 5.5/10 Despite Bowser’s unnaturally high pitching meter, all he can do pitching wise is overpower the batter. His curves just don’t have the movement a pitcher of his status should. Anyway, stick to Splitter8’s idea (section GGG), and mix up your charges—don’t always give the enemy the Nice fastball. BOWSER MUST PITCH FROM BEGINNING TO END, NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER. F: “Bat in a run with a Killer Ball swing!”*** Difficulty: 2/10 Just get a friend on base, and hit them home with his wasteful Killer Ball Swing. I say it is wasteful because Bowser is really too good for it. Any competent runner can score from second off this hit (providing the Killer Ball visits the outfielders). G: “Crush someone with a body check!” Difficulty: 6/10 The perpetually confusing body checking missions. For direct help, Control F search Body Checking With (After the word “With” add “Ease” to your search). H: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 2/10 Bowser’s amazing swing should put one over the fences for you soon enough. Concentrate on swinging slightly earlier to hit the ball toward Bowser’s more dominant field—right field. The ball travels faster, further, and higher on the right side of the field. I: “Belt two homers in one game!” Difficulty: 5/10 If you haven’t had the experience of a multiple homer game from Bowser, you are missing out. First, you want to have AT LEAST two good chemistry people for your batter. Bowser’s are: Bowser Jr., Dry Bones, Koopa, and Hammer Bro. Having all of them, of course, will be even better. Have your chemistry hitters bat in the first three or four spots, depending on how many you have. Then, have Bowser bat fourth or fifth. If you have two or three runners on base, you have a very good chance of getting a homer. The rest is up to you. Concentrate on swinging slightly earlier to hit the ball toward Bowser’s more dominant field—right field. The ball travels faster, further, and higher on the right side of the field. Use Mario’s, Yoshi’s, DK’s field to do this. J: “Belt a grand slam!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 By this time, hitting a homer with Bowser is cake, right? Well, the grand slam might elude you. The real difficulty in this mission lies in loading the bases, not smacking the homer. This is how to start: Put Bowser in the batting order spot number 5. In the places before him (positions 1-4) put in as many chemistry players as possible. Bowser’s: Bowser Jr., Dry Bones, Hammer Bro, and Koopa. Out of those four batters, you need to get three of them on, thus meaning only one can get out. To get them on easier, don’t charge their swings, and hit down on the control stick to get the ball to fly high, thus just over the infielders’ heads. Now for the homer. Once again, concentrate on Bowser’s domination towards right field by swinging just a smidge earlier than normal. I’d recommend doing this on YOSHI’S park, it has lower walls, tall wide foul poles, and sometimes, the Piranha Plants help you get homers. The POWER BAT and SUPERSTAR help. To practice hitting the “sweet spot” of the bat, go to practice mode and try the simple challenges there, they should help you out with your hit placement. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 6. Bowser Jr.-Lil’ Bowbutt Status: Sub-Captain-Eight Missions (3 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Unfortunately, Lil’ Bowbutt has brought along, once more, his hideous mask with the devious “smile”. Horrid things aside, Bowser Jr.’s missions may challenge you a bit. His back-to-back homer mission slips quite a few up, as well as the MVP in the last game, partly because gamers worldwide despise the scoundrel. Conquering the complete averageness of this power hitter may take some time. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Cross home plate!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply get on base and have a power-mogul (Bowser, Hammer) drive you in. As usual, a homer will get the task over with quickly. C: “Get a Jr. Mask!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Pitch and bat with the Killer Jr. Ball and win the game!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 There are a few tricks to these “pitch and bat” missions. #1-When you pitch the special, you only need to pitch it once, and it can be a strike, ball, or hit. #2-When you bat, the special MUST AT LEAST MAKE CONTACT, otherwise the fate of the swing, out, foul, hit, homer, doesn’t matter. With these in mind, just hit and pitch the ball once apiece, and win the game. (The star mission is completed post-game.) E: “Strike out Mario!” Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Mario’s an aggressive batter, so stick to those corners and keep him on his toes by using Splitter8’s idea, and also by mixing in a few balls. F: “Belt a back-to-back homer with Bowser!”*** Difficulty: 6.5/10 A proper name for this mission would read, “Belt a homer in the same game Bowser does,” as that is the mission you actually have to do. A true back-to-back homer requires one batter to hit a homer, then the very next batter hits one in their at bat. For this star mission, all you need to do is hit a homer with Bowser Jr. and Bowser in the same GAME, not inning, not right after another. Simply in the same game. Now, with that exceptionally long explanation out of the way, we now move on to the actual mission. The real difficulty lies (same phrase, I know) within the task of Bowser Jr.’s homer. Bowser? No problem. Getting Bowser Jr.’s will most likely require some chemistry, and a perfect hit. Unfortunately, since Bowser Jr. has no dominate hitting side, you can’t aim specifically for one side. Just go for it in Yoshi’s field—wide foul poles, short fences, and piranha plants will help coax both needed homers to victory. G: “Be the MVP in the last game!” Difficulty: 7/10 Easy ways to be MVP in the last game (versus Bowser/All-Star team): 1. Pitch a magnificent game; this includes: Many strikeouts (10+), the other team never tied you/never was ahead, and you gave up less than three runs. 2. Drive in important runs: First run(s), and a comeback run(s). If you drive in the first run, and keep your lead, never tying, your desired player should be in the running for MVP. Other notes: 1.Try to keep your other hitters from getting big hits/important runs. 2. If you get the first run and pitch a great game, you are pretty much guaranteed the MVP, just as long as some other hitter did not smack multiple homers or scored 5+ RBIs. 3. Use your stars wisely to set up big RBI chances for your desired player. Bowser Jr. may need to focus on batting solely—his pitching may not cut it for you, but if you find yourself a prodigy, go for the pitching as well. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 7. Daisy-Dazizow Status: Sub-captain-Eight missions (3 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Daze is the most powerful female character in the game (Birdo does not count). Her pitching is awesome, her fielding is great, and her batting can hold its own. To complement her good skills, a nice set of fun missions awaits you. Her last mission was quite fun to create a strategy for. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Daisy is so adept in all parts of MSB, she can pitch for MVP, and hit for the RBIs. Definitely go for both. Splitter8 ring a bell? (Section GGG). C: “Get a Pretty Flower!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Drive in a run!” Difficulty: 3/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. Homer works too! E: “Pitch and bat with the Flower Ball and win the game!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 There are a few tricks to these “pitch and bat” missions. #1-When you pitch the special, you only need to pitch it once, and it can be a strike, ball, or hit. #2-When you bat, the special MUST AT LEAST MAKE CONTACT, otherwise the fate of the swing, out, foul, hit, homer, doesn’t matter. With these in mind, just hit and pitch the ball once apiece, making sure to win the game also. (The star mission is completed post- game.) F: “Smash the bonus barrel in Barrel Batter!”*** Difficulty: 5/10 Oh, joy. Barrel Batter, the minigame from hell. This is all the information I can give you for aiming to the explosive barrel: 1. Holding down on the control stick while swinging aims the bat to the upper level. 2. Holding up on the control stick while swinging aims the bat to the lower level. 3. You can better aim at the edge barrels by pressing left (ball goes left)/right (ball goes right) while swinging. However, this has some inconsistencies. 4. The earlier you swing the batter will hook the ball (left field for righty, right field for lefty). 5. The later you swing the batter will slice the ball (right field for righties, left field for lefties). Unfortunately, this mission requires some luck, so let’s hope yours is good. G: “Smack more than three hits in a game!”* Difficulty: 6/10 Getting three hits in a three inning game requires some fancy hitting, so do this on special for an easier time. As always, don’t charge your swings (accuracy), and press down on the control stick as you swing to lift the ball over the infielders’ heads. Chemistry if needed. Also, if you feel it is so difficult you need more assistance, go with the superstar. H: “Make a double play with Peach!”*** Difficulty: 5/10 Personally, this is one of my favorite “easier” missions. That aside, to easily snag this one, place Daisy/Peach at shortstop, second, or first. The remaining position would best be filled by Luigi, a chemistry friend for both. My best set-up is: Peach 2B, Daisy 1B, Luigi SS. Why second for Peach? If the third baseman fields the ball (rare occurrence), she’ll get the ball at second (for the turn to first), not the shortstop. Besides, Peach is quicker and has a super catch, so she’s not suited (though neither Daisy) to 1B. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 8. Diddy- The Didster/Didmeister Status: Sub-captain-Eight missions (3 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star, 2 special) Lowdown: Only one of the Didmeister’s missions relies on his fielding, and it is a doozy. The others are normal ones, and two of those rely on his above average pitching. Otherwise, besides the demonic wall catch required; the little chimp has an easy set for his talented self. Be sure to bask in the momentary glory of finally getting the last mission! A: “Cross home plate!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply get on base and have a power-mogul (DK in this case) drive you in. As usual, a homer will get the task over with quickly, though attempting it with Diddy is somewhat foolish. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). He should take to the mound for this, as he can normally only hit singles and doubles, though try for both. C: “Get a Chimp Banana!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Pitch and bat with the Boomerang Ball and win the game!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 There are a few tricks to these “pitch and bat” missions. #1-When you pitch the special, you only need to pitch it once, and it can be a strike, ball, or hit. #2-When you bat, the special MUST AT LEAST MAKE CONTACT, otherwise the fate of the swing, out, foul, hit, homer, doesn’t matter. With these in mind, just hit and pitch the ball once apiece, making sure to win the game also. (The star mission is completed post- game.) E: “Strike out Baby Mario!”*** Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Baby Mario’s a free swinger—take him out with curves. F: “Strike out Birdo!”*** Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Birdo is a b**** at the plate to me. Use everything you can, and hope to get lucky (not with Birdo). G: “Get a hit with Mario!”** Difficulty: 2/10 Simply smack a hit WHILE MARIO IS PITCHING. He must be pitching, not one of his teammates. H: “Climb up the wall and make a catch!” Difficulty: 10/10 Goodie. Chance, unfortunately, plays his most nasty card here, requiring an elusive wall catch. Diddy’s mission is made harder because you can only try to get one while playing with a normal captain. Dixie can repeatedly (on Bowser’s team) play any field to complete her quest. While most of this mission is based on luck, here are a few helpful pointers: First off, there are two ways to make a wall catch: 1. Jump on any back wall with “A”, and catch a ball that would hit the wall by positioning your player accordingly (meaning exactly were the ball would hit had it gone through you). 2. If the ball is not going to hit the wall, and be just short, don’t fret. When the ball is near, leap off the wall (with A) and snag the ball before it touches the ground. This way is much harder, but useful for those just short hits. One way to put the odds in your favor is by visiting Bowser’s Castle. Put Diddy/Dixie in center field, and then serve up some pitches to the Bowser gang. Their natural power should be enough to get the ball to hit off the back wall. It’s just a matter of catching the ball off the wall at that point. Another way is to put Diddy/Dixie in center field in Peach’s Garden and hope for one to smack against the castle’s front. Because Peach’s castle’s front sticks out a bit, you have a slight chance to get back there and grab one. Aside from the above pointers, the rest is luck. I beg you to cheer when you finally manage to complete this horrid mission. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 9. Dixie-80’s Girl Status: Six missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: The weakest and least talented of the monkeys (with the exception of Luigi of course), though Dixie still can hold her own. Her semi-generic missions will leave you yawning until you meet the last mission. Anyway, Dixie still holds a small place in my heart— not only is she discriminated for her gender, but also for her race: monkeys are regarded as stupid animals by most plumbers and princesses, not to mention abnormally large turtles. Please star her to give her some respect—even though she swings like a girl. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Strike ‘em out!” Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. C: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Regardless of these two ideas, she’ll automatically get the big play rating for pulling of a wall climb, so wait till then for really trying for one. D: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 3/10 A “long hit” is any hit other than a single. Therefore, charge up your stick and crack a long hit into the gap. Chemistry is always a help. E: “Beat Peach’s team!” Difficulty: 3/10 Just have Dixie on your playing team, and win the game vs. Peach and her scary toad grandfather. F: “Climb up the wall and make a catch!” Difficulty: 9/10 (easier compared to Diddy’s; read description) Goodie. Chance, unfortunately, plays his most nasty card here, requiring an elusive wall catch. Diddy’s mission is made harder because you can only try to get one while playing with a normal captain. Dixie can repeatedly (on Bowser’s team) play any field to complete her quest. While most of this mission is based on luck, here are a few helpful pointers: First off, there are two ways to make a wall catch: 1. Jump on any back wall with “A”, and catch a ball that would hit the wall by positioning your player accordingly (meaning exactly were the ball would hit had it gone through you). 2. If the ball is not going to hit the wall, and be just short, don’t fret. When the ball is near, leap off the wall (with A) and snag the ball before it touches the ground. This way is much harder, but useful for those just short hits. One way to put the odds in your favor is by visiting Bowser’s Castle. Put Diddy/Dixie in center field, and then serve up some pitches to the Bowser gang. Their natural power should be enough to get the ball to hit off the back wall. It’s just a matter of catching the ball off the wall at that point. Another way is to put Diddy/Dixie in center field in Peach’s Garden and hope for one to smack against the castle’s front. Because Peach’s castle’s front sticks out a bit, you have a slight chance to get back there and grab one. Aside from the above pointers, the rest is luck. I beg you to cheer when you finally manage to complete this horrid mission. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 10. DK-Boxing Monkey Status: Captain-Ten missions (3 mushroom, 3 flower, 3 star, 1 special) Lowdown: The massive ape reemerges as a boxing glove wielding homer-infested and once more claims the animal creatures as his sports slaves. Despite the fact that a baseball would easily shatter his wrist regardless of a boxing glove, and despite the fact that he NEVER, EVER, DROPS HIS SMILE WHILE PITCHING, DK can beat his way into the fray with ease. His exceptionally fun missions require all the brute force you’d want to command out of a gorilla. He’s my favorite character to star, by far. Have fun! (I’m serious, that smile crap really freaks me). A: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 1.5/10 Charge up and swing. The hit must be a double or better. Like Bowser, aim/time your swing for right field, as he hits the ball better there. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Not only can DK pitch a decent game, his innumerable power at the plate will also push him to MVP. Try setting up some good RBI chances for him—he usually comes through. C: “Get a King Banana!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 4/10 Go for the basics: Chemistry on as many bases as possible, aim for right field (further, harder, stronger hits there), and attempt this on Yoshi, Wario, or Mario parks. E: “Score a run with a Banana Ball swing!”*** Difficulty: 2/10 Get at least a runner with moderate speed on second, and then swing for one of the gaps. Stealing also will help get the runner home in time. F: “Drive in runs vs. Mario!”* (Only one run required.) Difficulty: 3/10 As usual, the mission speaks incorrectly. You actually only need one run, however, MARIO MUST BE PITCHING. As for the runs, I’d go for the long ball over the wall. Chemistry, as usual, will ease the pain slightly. You can use the Banana Swing to score a few, also. G: “Get 3 strikeouts in a game!” Difficulty: 4/10 DK wields surprising pitching prowess, making this a cake mission for the most part. Stick with Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) and you should be fine. If you need more innings, try it on special, though the batters will be harder to strike out. H: “Belt more than two homers in a game!” Difficulty: 5/10 Now for putting two away for monkey-kind. First, you want to have AT LEAST two good chemistry runners for DK. DK’s are: Diddy, Dixie, and Petey. Having all of them, of course, will be even better. Have your chemistry friends bat in the first three spots. Then, have DK bat fourth. If you have two or three runners on base, you have a very good chance of getting a homer. The rest is up to you. Aim for right field fences by swinging the glove slightly earlier than usual. For DK, turning on outside pitches is rather difficult, so I’d recommend waiting for that perfect inside pitch to muscle over the walls. Mario, Yoshi, and Wario parks are prime hitting locations. I: “Get a runner out with a laser beam throw!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Perfecting the Laser (after the word “Laser” add “Beam” to your search). Follow those instructions carefully. J: “Belt a homer with Diddy and Dixie Kong as runners!” Difficulty: 6/10 Once again, the problem with these types of missions is getting the runners on base for the batter to hit them home. Have Diddy and Dixie bat in spots number one and two in the batting order, and DK third. Swing carefully and accurately with the little Kongs (no charge, up on control stick when swinging) so DK can hit them home. As usual, aim for right field with the gorilla, and swing slightly earlier to get it there. Mario, Yoshi, and Wario parks are prime locations once more. Note: you can have another runner on along with the little Kongs. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 11. Dry Bones-The Big DB Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Can you say generic character, because Dry Bones is one. How he has the conscience to swing one of his own body parts as a bat is beyond me. Anyway, his boring missions shouldn’t prove to difficult for your skills. Enjoy the cake. A: “Drive in a run!” Difficulty: 3/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. Homer works too! B: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Dry’s sliding catch should come in handy for this one, just stick to it. C: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Dry Bones’ mediocre stats will not help make this mission any easier. Your best bet is deliberately setting up huge RBI chances for him, and keeping his fellow teammates’ RBI levels to a very low minimum. Relying on his average pitching may very well cost you the MVP rating, but go until he gives up a run or two. Don’t let him give up the lead! D: “Get three strikeouts in a game!” Difficulty: 5/10 The “second level” of getting strikeouts in a game. Just use Splitter8’s strategy (section GGG) to conquer your foes. Remember, you only need to throw the strikeout pitch with your desired player. Bones’ 100% average pitching may keep you from getting the first three batters, so have some patience. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 12. Goomba Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Goomba puzzles many a player. His strange ability to hold a glove and bat without hands baffles all. Also, his charge swing and bunt are rather disgusting. That over with, Goomba, unlike Dry Bones did, provides a slightly more interesting set of missions to complete, with one original minigame based one. Thankfully, none are difficult, and because he is my worst hitter in the whole game, I have to call him a oversized turd. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Drop a sacrifice bunt!” Difficulty: 1/10 A sacrifice bunt means the batter bunts the ball, with the intention of getting out during the play, to advance a runner. Just a drop a bunt that advances the runner, and get out at first. C: “Beat Toad in Wall Ball!”*** Difficulty: 2.5/10 This simply means beat Wall Ball as Goomba. Use the easiest difficulty, and beat the Toads. D: “Steal a base more than twice in a game!”* Difficulty: 5.5/10 When Goomba is up, hit a safe single to the outfield. Make sure you have Goomba on first, and no one on second by the end of the at bat. Now, steal second and do your best to get the steal sign yellow (timing your steal perfectly). Once Goomba is on the run mash B. Once on second, (first steal) you can try for third, which is usually difficult for Goomba unless the catcher has a dead fish for an arm. If the catcher does, go for third. Otherwise, when Goomba is up again, steal second once more. Stealing is much easier off a pitcher that winds their pitch, versus no winding. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 13. Hammer Bro-Tha Hamma Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: All variations of this character can smash the ball, and luckily, all the missions set for Hammer are batting based. Now, all the hits and homers made by any of the Bros count, so getting two homers in one game with three Bros won’t seem too hard. One monstrous game can make this guy a star! A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Charge up and smack anything over a single—a simple for the Hammer. C: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 3/10 With Hammer’s small hitting surface, this mission shouldn’t prove too difficult. If needed, get Bowser and Bowser Jr. on base for chemistry support. D: “Belt two homers in one game!” Difficulty: 5/10 With two chemistry friends (Bowser and his son), and three Bros (Hammer, Fire, and Boomerang) putting two over the walls should not be a difficult task. Aim for left field with Hammer and Fire. Treat Boom like King Boo, as his boomerang curves the ball like the King’s does. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 14. King Boo-Whitey King Status: Six missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: King Boo, the abnormally large Boo with a teeny crown bestowed upon his body. His wicked curves throw anything hit into smooth, leaning hooks and slices. His incredible force from his ball movement easily moves the ball over the fences, and it seems very rewarding to smack one with him. Anyway, overall the King’s missions are easy, though he may challenge you a bit with the last few. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Get a team star!” Difficulty: 4/10 There are four ways to get a team star, some easier than others: 1. You can get a hit while the "star chance" appears when your desired player is batting. Do not charge up so you can hit more accurately. 2. You can get a strikeout when the "star chance" appears on screen. For strikeout: You can pitch the first two strikes with any player you want, just make sure the strikeout comes from your desired player. 3. For fielding out: Your desired player must be pitching (or have touched the ball in play someway) when you get the out. 4. The last way you can earn a team star is by hitting something (while batting) in the field. Mario Park: Nothing Wario Palace: Sand stars DK Jungle: Klaptraps in river Peach Garden: Some (brick) floating blocks contain stars Yoshi Field: Yellow Piranha Plants Bowser Castle: Star panels on ground and walls King Boo’s two best choices are pitching and batting. C: “Smack a hit with a charge swing!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply charge your bat and swing! You know how to do this! D: “Make a jumping catch!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 Control F search Perfecting the Jumping (after the word “jumping” add “catch” to your search). E: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 4/10 I have a specific batting pattern with the King. When the pitch is coming, I rush forward in the batter’s box, and slap the ball on the move. If I miss, I quickly scoot back and repeat. Hitting in the front of the box with him helps ensure the ball will stay in fair territory. Other than that, get some chemistry if needed (or a power bat), and swing extra carefully, for the ball is going the curve—a lot. F: “Be MVP in the last game!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 Easy ways to be MVP in the last game (versus Bowser/All-Star team): 1. Pitch a magnificent game; this includes: Many strikeouts (10+), the other team never tied you/never was ahead, and you gave up less than three runs. 2. Drive in important runs: First run(s), and a comeback run(s). If you drive in the first run, and keep your lead, never tying, your desired player should be in the running for MVP. Other notes: 1.Try to keep your other hitters from getting big hits/important runs. 2. If you get the first run and pitch a great game, you are pretty much guaranteed the MVP, just as long as some other hitter did not smack multiple homers or scored 5+ RBIs. 3. Use your stars wisely to set up big RBI chances for your desired player. Both the King’s batting and pitching are powerful, so head for pitching and RBIs too. Strikeouts in pitching should come easy. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 15. Koopa-Koopanitor Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Yet another filler character makes its début in MSB. Koopa hides some slight power, but your really need to search for it. Koops’ missions complement this slight power, and require a step up of many generic missions. However, besides the minor difficulty increase, Koops is a likely candidate for your first star character. Just a note, red Koops is more powerful at the plate. A: “Drive in a run!” Difficulty: 3/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. Homer works too! B: “Pitch a whole game and win!” Difficulty: 4/10 As with all entire game-pitching missions, you MUST HAVE KOOPA PITCH BEGINNING TO END, NO SWITCHING AT ALL. C: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 3/10 Charge you swing and release. The hit must be a double or better. Chemistry will help the ball go the extra few feet you may need to snatch second. D: “Smack more than three hits in a game!”* Difficulty: 6/10 Getting three hits in a three inning game really requires some fancy hitting, so do this on special for an easier time. As always, don’t charge your swings (accuracy), and press down on the control stick as you swing to lift the ball over the infielders’ heads. Chemistry if needed. Also, if you feel it is so difficult you need more assistance, go with the superstar. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 16. Luigi-The Shadow Lurker (See Mario) Status: Sub-captain-Eight missions (3 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star, 1 special) Lowdown: The world’s underdog, Luigi. Luigi used to be one of my better home run hitters, however, his spot, as usual, was replaced by Mario. Anyway, Luigi can play any position well, though I find his pitching annoying and sub-par. His missions feature a few unique ones. Most noted is the mean Barrel Batter mission that gives many players grief. Either way, his missions should keep you on your toes. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). I personally wouldn’t trust Luigi’s bad pitching, but if you feel confident, go for both batting and pitching. C: “Get a Green Fireball!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Make a jumping catch!” Control F search Perfecting the Jumping (after the word “jumping” add “catch” to your search). E: “Score over 2,000 points and clear Barrel Batter!”*** Difficulty: 8.5/10 Oh, joy. Barrel Batter, the minigame from hell. This is all the information I can give you for aiming: 1. Holding down on the control stick while swinging aims the bat to the upper level. 2. Holding up on the control stick while swinging aims the bat to the lower level. 3. You can better aim at the edge barrels by pressing left (ball goes left)/right (ball goes right) while swinging. However, this has some inconsistencies. 4. The earlier you swing the batter will hook the ball (left field for righty, right field for lefty). 5. The later you swing the batter will slice the ball (right field for righties, left field for lefties). Unfortunately, this mission requires some luck, so let’s hope yours is good. F: “Win in the Toy Field!”*** Difficulty: 6/10 First, to even have the option of buying the secret map leading to Toy Field, you have beaten all the other minigames on the island (any difficulty). Once you buy the Secret Map (500 coins), a warp pipe will lead to Toy Field, where you can play vs. Bowser Jr., and two Dry Bones for 10 rounds. Here are some tips to beating Toy Field with lots of coins: 1.When you bat, only charge if you really need to get the maximum coins, otherwise aim for the corners, uncharged. 2. Use you abilities: Luigi-Super and wall jumps, Wario sliding catch (body check unused) 3. If you are batting on the last turn, and you are ahead, bunt so nothing can go wrong. (Don’t pop up!) 4. Leap over the other fielders! 5. Use Splitter8’s pitching idea to get K’s (section GGG) Just play smart ball! G: “Win with a shutout!” Difficulty: 7/10 I find Luigi’s pitching bad, so I find this mission rather difficult. Stick strictly to Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG), and remember, LUIGI MUST START AND FINISH THE GAME, NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER! H: “Be MVP in the last game!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 Easy ways to be MVP in the last game (versus Bowser/All-Star team): 1. Pitch a magnificent game; this includes: Many strikeouts (10+), the other team never tied you/never was ahead, and you gave up less than three runs. 2. Drive in important runs: First run(s), and a comeback run(s). If you drive in the first run, and keep your lead, never tying, your desired player should be in the running for MVP. Other notes: 1.Try to keep your other hitters from getting big hits/important runs. 2. If you get the first run and pitch a great game, you are pretty much guaranteed the MVP, just as long as some other hitter did not smack multiple homers or scored 5+ RBIs. 3. Use your stars wisely to set up big RBI chances for your desired player. Batting may be the only option for you—the Bowser gang can smack around average pitchers pretty well. However, Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) may help this predicament. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 17. Magikoopa-Visually Impaired Magician Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Though not as strange as Birdo, Magik stirs some uneasiness in me—is it male or female? There are reasons for both sides, but I believe its female. Gender issues over, Magik can’t run worth crap. Seriously, if her and Pianta were to have a child, I wouldn’t want to see him/her answer a question. Anyway, her fielding is superb, partly because she has a “broken” Super Catch. The only time she can drop the ball is if the ball hits off her during a magical summoning through “magical catch” mode. Her one unique mission requires this skill, and it can be irksome. Otherwise, her missions are normal. A: “Drop a sacrifice bunt!” Difficulty: 2/10 A sacrifice bunt means the batter bunts the ball, with the intention of getting out during the play, to advance a runner. Just a drop a bunt that advances the runner, and get thrown out at first. B: “Strike ‘em out!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. C: “Make a big play with a magical catch!”*** Difficulty: 6.5/10 Many people struggle with this predicament (partly because it requires some luck and quick fingers), and I am proud to say the following strategy is a good one for the magical catch big play. (It’s also found in section GGG) The magical catch is (as I'm sure you know) Magikoopa's form of diving/suction/tongue catch. First, choose Wario as your captain, and fill the 3rd, shortstop, and 2nd positions with Magikoopas. Put Waluigi on first for chemistry. Next, you can either serve some pitches up, or play your regular game until "it" happens. This "it" is when the ball is a weak (preferably) line drive just behind, to the right, or to the left of the 3rd, 2nd, or shortstop fielder. Make sure the ball is actually past you, but still in reach before unleashing your Magical Catch move. If the ball is past you, and you activate the move in time, Magikoopa should slowly bring in the ball, earning you the Magical Catch big play. NOTE 1: This does not always work, but if done to perfection, you have a high chance of getting it. NOTE 2: If the ball is a grounder, and you perform everything correctly, make sure to get the out at first. Once you get the out, then you should get the big play reward. D: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). You really need to focus on your RBIs here—Magikoopa can’t pitch too terribly well, and you may need to rely on her wand. Take drastic steps to set up RBI chances for Magikoopa. Choose Wario as your captain for more chances to get MVP for Magik. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 18. Mario-Shadow Caster (see Luigi) Status: Captain- Ten missions (3 mushroom, 3 flower, 3 star, 1 special) Lowdown: At last, Mario, star of over 100 games. Mario has his work cut for him—over and over. He has the most difficult batting missions for any non-power hitter, and he requires one very tough unique mission, along with other numerous original missions. His missions require great skill in most all aspects of MSB. Yes, you will be playing as Mario for quite some time so you better get used to his wacky home run dance. A: “Strike ‘em out!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Mario can hold his own in both pitching and batting; go for both! C: “Get a Red Fireball!*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Blast more than 2,000-points worth of Bob-ombs!”*, *** Difficulty: 3/10 One of the easiest unique missions of everyone has you launching explosives into the atmosphere. Time yourself well, and swing according to each pitch speed. King Bob-omb is worth 500+ points, and remember he comes out at mushroom, flower, or star speed. E: “Drive in a run with a Fireball swing!”*** Difficulty: 3/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. You must use Mario’s R swing, the devastating Fireball swing. He can easily score a runner from first, providing the hit and run is in play. F: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Mario’s sliding catch should come in handy for number 1 or 2. G: “Belt a 2-run homer or better!”*** Difficulty: 6.5/10 As usual, get as many chemistry runners for Mario, and use the Power Bat or Superstar if you feel it is needed. Try this in Yoshi, DK, or Wario parks. Aim for the corners! H: “Drive in more than three runs in a game!”* Difficulty: 5/10 Place Mario in batting position 5, with as many chemistry hitters before him, otherwise speedy runners. Use the Fireball swing, or if you feel confident, go for the long ball, though the Fireball swing is much more reliable. Remember, you only need three runs, not more than three. I: “Pitch a perfect game & win!”*** Difficulty: 9/10 Mario’s famous perfect game mission has arrived. A perfect game consists of no hits, walks, runs, or hit by pitches. As long as the out is made in the field, without errors, you are safe. While it requires absolute perfection, all you need to know is Splitter8’s pitching strategy (be sure to practice this beforehand!), and a solid defense. However, you can mercy the team, so try for that as well. One more thing, be sure to do this on Star difficulty: less innings, dumber enemies, and easier batting! Here is what I recommend as your fielding positions: P-Mario: Has to be him. C-DK: Strong arm (even though you won't be throwing stealers out), and compared to the other players, this position should suit him well. 1B-Luigi: Super Jump can snag high line drives down the right field line, and chemistry. 2B-Magikoopa: She has a short throw to first, and she can reach the ball easily with her great range and excellent fielding. SS-Daisy: Quick throw and chemistry to first is necessary for shortstop. (Birdo’s Suction is also a good choice.) 3B-Petey: His great height can reach many balls, and his lightning fast throws to first will be perfect. LF-Diddy: Super catch is a necessity in the outfield. CF-Yoshi: His fantastic speed will easily accustom to the needs of the game. RF-Peach: Once again, super catch in the outfield will be perfect. A great choice is also Dixie. Splitter8’s pitching strategy: 1) Pitch a slow (no charge) curver on the inside, making it a ball is perfectly fine, and recommended. 2) Pitch a NICE fastball on the outside corner. 3) Repeat Other notes: 1. Do this on Star difficulty for a shorter game and easier enemies. 2. Mario must start and end the game as a pitcher. Having another pitcher on the mound, even if they don't even pitch, will ruin the Perfect game. 3. Diddy and Yoshi can play either LF or CF, your preference. J: “Belt a grand slam!” Difficulty: 9/10 Mario’s grand slam mission is harder than Bowser’s for obvious reasons: Limited games, less power, and no dominant batting side. Here are my pointers: Put Mario in the batting order spot number 5. In the positions before him (positions 1-4) put in as many chemistry players as possible. Mario’s: Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi. Out of those four, you need to get three of them on, thus meaning only one can get out. To get them on easier, don’t charge their swings, and hold down on the control stick when you swing. Now it is time for the grand slam. As usual, charge your swing, and try to time your swing to hit the ball to right or left fields, where the walls are closer. You can, if you’d like, hit down on the control stick as you swing to make the ball fly higher, and sometimes further. I’d recommend doing this on YOSHI’S park, it has lower walls, has tall wide foul poles, and sometimes, the Piranha Plants help you get homers. The POWER BAT helps too. Also, if you have trouble hitting homers with right-handed batters, (I get hits and homers more frequently with left-handed batters) switch Mario to a leftie to help you, this is your personal choice. One thing to contradict the Yoshi stadium pick. Wario, pitching “extraordinaire” for his team, has one weakness as a pitcher: when he charges his pitches, he cannot move the ball. So, if he sets up outside, and charges, the ball will always stay to the outside. Remember this when you face him, as this is how I got my first Mario grand slam! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 19. Monty Mole-Magical Mishkin Status: Six missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: I don’t know why, but I like Monty. He swings the bat frighteningly fast, and his antics around the field make me laugh. His oddities aside, his missions should keep you busy for a while, especially the last one. His sole unique mission pits you against the aggressive runners running amuck, however it is very easy to do. Enjoy his running based missions! A: “Steal a base!” Difficulty: 2/10 How to do it: Simply get a hit, then watch the pitcher. The moment they move, hit Y to steal. A good jump reads steal in yellow. A normal steal reads steal in purple. Once the play-cam moves to you stealing, repeatedly mash B to sprint to the next base. Stealing second is much easier than third. Obviously, a weak catcher will be easier to steal off. B: “Drop a squeeze bunt!” Difficulty: 3.5/10 For a squeeze bunt to be successful, you need to have a runner on third, however, the bases can't be loaded. STEAL with the runner at third, then BUNT the ball ON the steal, if you SCORE WITHOUT ENDING THE INNING, you have just accomplished a squeeze bunt. You can be out or safe at first base. C: “Get a Team Star!” Difficulty: 4/10 There are four ways to get a team star, some easier than others: 1. You can get a hit while the "star chance" appears when your desired player is batting. Do not charge up so you can hit more accurately. 2. You can get a strikeout when the "star chance" appears on screen. For strikeout: You can pitch the first two strikes with any player you want, just make sure the strikeout comes from your desired player. 3. For fielding out: Your desired player must be pitching (or have touched the ball in play someway) when you get the out. 4. The last way you can earn a team star is by hitting something (while batting) in the field. Mario Park: Nothing Wario Palace: Sand stars DK Jungle: Klaptraps in river Peach Garden: Some (brick) floating blocks contain stars Yoshi Field: Yellow Piranha Plants Bowser Castle: Star panels on ground and walls D: “Reach base on a bunt with the bases empty!” Difficulty: 6/10 This one can be annoying for Monty, because Monty is not as speedy Yoshi. Put Monty first in your batting lineup. Once batting, go near the front of the batter’s box, not quite all the way up, but not in the middle of the box (about three-quarters way). When the pitch arrives, aim your player’s bunt down the third base line. To do this, as you are about to bunt the pitch, move slightly towards the left side. This should hit the ball weakly down the third base line. Now dash with all of your might, and hopefully you have placed your bunt weakly down the third base line, thus gaining you time to reach first with the fat mole. Dash spikes work wonders here! E: “Tag someone out while carrying the ball!”*** Difficulty: 3/10 Simply place Monty at second, and wait for a grounder, field the ball, and dash (pressing B too) after the runner (running to first). Be sure to tag them, not first base. F: “Cross the plate more than 3 times in a game!”* Difficulty: 7.5/10 Monty’s plate crossing is much more difficult than Noki’s because there is only one of him. Be sure to do this on special mode for five innings of batting! First off, you want Monty near the top of the lineup. Second, you want as much friendly chemistry on your team as possible. Thirdly, you don't want to charge this Monty’s swing. All you want to do is get on base, and let a chemistry friend hit you home. Other notes: 1. Press down on the control stick when you swing to make the ball get over the infielders' heads. 2. If you can, always steal second. This allows the hitter to easily score the runner with a simple hit. 3. Enact hit and runs! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 20. Noki-Giggling Idiot Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Noki sucks. Big time. A filler, stupid, horrid player. Why Nintendo created this freak in SMS, I don’t know. Despite its pathetic skills, Noki *thankfully* has easy missions! As long as you like scoring, you are fine. I don’t want to talk more about this thing, and I won’t. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Steal a base!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply get a hit, and then watch the pitcher. The moment they move, hit Y to steal. A good jump reads steal in yellow. A normal steal reads steal in purple. Once the play-cam moves to you stealing, repeatedly mash B to sprint to the next base. Stealing second is much easier than third. Obviously, a weak catcher will be easier to steal off. C: “Pitch a whole game and win!” Difficulty: 4/10 As with all entire game pitching missions, you MUST HAVE NOKI PITCH BEGINNING TO END, NO SWITCHING AT ALL. With the fact that Noki sucks at pitching, stick to Splitter8’s pitching idea. (Section GGG). D: “Cross the plate more than 3 times in a game!”* Difficulty: 5/10 Cardinal rule: Do this on special mode with Mario as your captain. The benefits are overwhelming: More innings, more Nokis, more chemistry, more games to try! First off, you want the Nokis near the top of the lineup, intertwined with Piantas. Secondly, you don't want to charge this Noki’s swing. All you want to do is get on base, and let a chemistry friend hit you home. Other notes: 1. Don't put the three Nokis in a row in the batting order. Have a Pianta inbetween them. 2. Press down on the control stick when you swing to make the ball get over the infielders' heads. 3. If you can, always steal second. This allows the hitter to easily score the runner with a simple hit. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 21. Paragoomba-Turd With Wings Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Once again, Nintendo has added wings to a classic enemy, and made a horrible concoction. This poo with wings has very little skill in any aspect of MSB (with the exception of running and his “arm” is pretty powerful), and most noted, his pitching is horrendous. A corpse could pitch better. Anyway, mercifully, Paragoomba only has one semi-difficult task, the rest are cake. Enjoy playing as turdman. A: “Drop a squeeze bunt!” Difficulty: 3.5/10 For a squeeze bunt to be successful, you need to have a runner on third, however, the bases can't be loaded. STEAL with the runner at third, then BUNT the ball ON the steal, if you SCORE WITHOUT ENDING THE INNING, you have just accomplished a squeeze bunt. You can be out or safe at first base. B: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 3.5/10 Charged up and swing! The hit must be a double or better. C: “Make a jumping catch!” Difficulty: 6/10 Control F search Perfecting the Jumping (after the word “jumping” add “catch” to your search). D: “Drive in more than three runs in a game!”* Difficulty: 7/10 Since Paragoomba wields poor hitting skills, this mission is made much harder. Get Goomba and Paratroopa on base as much as possible for him. Make careful, tactful hits inbetween the fielders—in other words, punch their holes. Start hit and runs for him! Be sure to try this on special mode for more innings to score runs. If you can, when going for your last run, pull a squeeze bunt. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 22. Paratroopa-Paracrappa Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: In my opinion, Paratroopa is better than Paragoomba, but sadly, that is not saying much at all. His mediocre stats will justify his mediocre missions. He and his generic brethren, Koopa, could very well be your first similar star pair. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Cross home plate!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply get on base and have a power-mogul drive you in. As usual, a homer will get the task over with quickly. C: “Pitch a whole game and win!” Difficulty: 4/10 As with all entire game pitching missions, you MUST HAVE PARATROOPA PITCH BEGINNING TO END, NO SWITCHING AT ALL. Stick to Splitter8’s pitching idea. (Section GGG). D: “Make a jumping catch!” Control F search Perfecting the Jumping (after the word “jumping” add “catch” to your search). $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 23. Peach-Enormous Sideburns Wielding Girl Status: Captain-Ten missions (3 mushroom, 3 flower, 3 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Peach, Princess of disturbingly large sideburns, slides her petite feet into the bases and marks the standard for female athletes in the Mario series. Her missions increase in difficulty at a steady and healthy rate (peaking at the Bowser shutout), and should provide some friendly challenge for you. Despite the fact her missions portray her superb pitching the most, I still prefer the other captains’ missions more. Sorry Peach. A: “Strike ‘em out!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search) C: “Get a Lovely Heart!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Strike out Bowser!”*** Difficulty: 2.5/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Bowser does not seem too keen with brutally inside and outside pitches. E: “Pitch and bat with the Heart Ball and win the game!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 There are a few tricks to these “pitch and bat” missions. #1-When you pitch the special, you only need to pitch it once, and it can be a strike, ball, or hit. #2-When you bat, the special MUST AT LEAST MAKE CONTACT, otherwise the fate of the swing, out, foul, hit, homer, doesn’t matter. With these in mind, just hit and pitch the ball once apiece. (The star mission is completed post-game.) F: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Peach’s diving Super Catch should make an appearance when trying for #1. G: “Get five strikeouts!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 The adult version of conquering batters. Focus on Splitter8’s strategy, (section GGG) and go against the Yoshi, DK, or Mario gangs—they seem more susceptible to strikeouts. If you need more innings, go for special mode, though the hitters are harder to strikeout. H: “Score over 300 points by breaking walls!”*** Difficulty: 5/10 Wall Ball: MSB’s most boring minigame. This mission implies a perfect score (hitting the musical wall all three times), unless the Toads all suck it up and hand their coins over. Just monitor your pitching meter carefully: the higher you go the harder the pitch, obviously. Getting the right bar height to match your desired wall breaking count will take some experience, so you may want to practice with Peach a few rounds before you go at it for real. I: “Shut out the Bowser team and win!”*** Difficulty: 8/10 As with all full game pitching missions, PEACH MUST PITCH THE WHOLE GAME, NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER! Be sure to try it on the lowest difficulty possible, star. Also, buy the superstar from Toad. Make sure to stick to Splitter8’s pitching genius (section GGG) for ensured success. One more thing, if Bowser or any other batter gives you some shutout threatening trouble, feel free to walk them by hitting them with a pitch. Go for the mercy, especially with the superstar on your side. J: “Become a captain and round everyone up!”*** Difficulty: 5/10 This will take some time, wheedling out all the players from rival teams (Bowser excluded) and making them your own. If you happen to mercy any team, all their players will join, so go for the mercy at all costs. When you capture the captain of any team, you may leave some players behind. Find the roving Bowser Jr. on the board to earn the forgotten players. All unearned players will go to him. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 24. Petey-Freakish House Plant Status: Six missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: Petey is massive, green, and has disturbingly tight “shorts” on. His immense power can overwhelm just about anyone, and his lightening throws from his mouth are sure to sear a hole in your first baseman’s glove. Girth aside, his missions (excluding the three unique ones) relate to his strength, and thank goodness, not his speed. Enjoy smacking the ball around with this colossal figure that really did not need to join MSB. A: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Charge up and hit a double or better! Not charging with Petey is a sin. B: “Place first in Piranha Panic!”*** Difficulty: 3/10 Control F search Mastering Piranha Panic (after “panic” add a colon [:] to your search). Attempt on the easiest mode. C: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 3.5/10 Once you get used to his leaf-bat, Petey will become quite a home run provider for your team, or he should. Just charge up and aim for right field, his dominant side. Try it in Mario, DK, or Yoshi parks. D: “Shut out Mario’s team and win!”*** Difficulty: 7/10 Petey’s completely average pitching will not help this situation. As best you can, go with Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG), and try this on flower. Remember, Petey MUST STAR AND FINISH THE GAME, NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER! Be very conservative around Mario, Luigi, and the Piantas. E: “Crush someone with a body check!” Difficulty: 6/10 The perpetually confusing body checking missions. For direct help, Control F search Body Checking With (After the word “with” add “ease” to your search). F: “Catch the ball more than 5 times in a game!”*, *** Difficulty: 6/10 This mission sounds simple enough: catch the ball five times. Well, it may prove more cumbersome than intended. I’d recommend placing Petey at shortstop, or any outfield position you can give up hits too. Also, you don’t actually have to CATCH the ball all five times. Just cleanly fielding the ball off the ground is fair enough. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 25. Pianta-Flopper Nose Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Quite possibly the worst power hitter in history. I have a personal vendetta versus this floppish, freakish, exceedingly bright colored beast. His nose is the most disturbing thing I’ve witnessed to date. Odd appendages aside, Pianta’s missions focus on his piss-poor hitting skills. Luckily, there are only four, and luckily, he can hook up with any of the three Nokis on Mario’s team. Of course, you can only get three Nokis when playing as Mario, very convenient. Switch Pianta to leftie if your batting with him abysmal. A: “Crack a long hit!” Difficulty: 3/10 Charge up and hit a double or better. B: “Drive in a run!” Difficulty: 3/10 Using chemistry, have a pal in scoring position (2nd or 3rd) and use a hit and run to score them easily. Homer works too! C: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 6/10 Get at least one Noki on base, and switch the freak to his left hand (X on batting order screen) if you have trouble batting with him as a righty. As a righty, aim for left field, and vice versa for a lefty. D: “Get a runner out with the laser beam throw!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Perfecting the Laser (after the word “Laser” add “Beam” to your search). Follow those instructions carefully for an easier time. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 26. Shyguy-Weenot! Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Why Shyguy prefers expressing himself through grunts, squeals, and cat-like sounds, I will never know. Despite his weird communication, he is a fun player to behold. His missions are easy, except the last, which will have you reeling if you can’t pitch with Shy. It is likely he’ll turn out to be one of the last four mission characters you star. A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Belt more than 1,000-points worth of Bob-ombs!”*, *** Difficulty: 2.5/10 Head over the stupid Pianta running Bob-omb Derby, and try the easiest mode (1000 points to win). Time your swings, and the speeds go up from mushroom, to flower, to star, to fireball. C: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Shyguy should stick with his sliding catch, any normal fielding position. D: “Get five strikeouts!” Difficulty: 7/10 The adult version of conquering batters, and it’s a doozy for average pitcher Shyguy. Focus on Splitter8’s strategy intensely with Shy, (section GGG) and go against the Yoshi, DK, or Mario gangs—they seem more susceptible to strikeouts. If you need more innings, go for special mode, though the hitters are harder to strikeout. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 27. Toad-Psycho Screamer Status: Four missions (2 mushroom, 1 flower, 1 star) Lowdown: Toad, and his copies, are very interesting. I love how they squeal and shout with delight and disapproval at every situation. The Toads all have a shred of power in batting, and don’t have too terribly many shreds of pitching. Their short size makes fielding a hassle for me. Anyway, his missions are all easy (he has the easiest mission in the game), and his friendly demeanor should brighten when he reaches an easy star status. A: “Let some one go shopping for you!”*** Difficulty: 0/10 As long as Toad is on your roster, buy anything at the store for completion. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Toad’s batting should suffice, providing chemistry helps. C: “Hit a home run!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 Toad hides some power, but chemistry will put him over the edge in the end. Playing as Peach’s team gives you five Toads, and more immediate chemistry. You may need to rely on the power bat. D: “Crush someone with a body check!” Difficulty: 6/10 The perpetually confusing body checking missions. For direct help, Control F search Body Checking With (After the word “with” add “ease” to your search). $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 28. Toadette-Solitary Female Representative Status: Six missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: She’s fast. Very fast. Her bat is weak but competent, and her fielding can suffice for a few innings. She’s Toadette, the overly cheery solitary female Toad-like character that oddly has two abilities like captains and sub-captains. How she can produce so many children baffles me. Scary reproducing aside, Toadette’s missions are not fun. I don’t enjoy pitching with her, and I repulse the fact of charging her weak swing. Have fun with her last mission! A: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. B: “Strike ‘em out!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. C: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Toadette can use her speed to set up thrilling sliding catches. D: “Win with a shutout!” Difficulty: 6.5/10 Be sure to set up a solid defense behind Toadette—even Splitter8’s strategy may not protect her average skills. TOADETTE MUST BE ON THE MOUND FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END. NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER. Just be sure to throw nothing juicy over the heart of the plate. As always, Splitter8’s wisdom shines in pitching (section GGG). E: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Her pitching isn’t bad, and her batting should be able to push a few over the plate. Hit and runs should be your bread and butter. F: “Hit a (musical note) block with the ball!”*** Difficulty: 8.5/10 As usual, luck proves difficult to master once more. Peach’s garden is the only field that provides the needed musical note block, and of course, that’s where Toadette is located. However, there is one easy way around this. Choose Bowser as your captain, (if you don't have him as a Capt., you need to beat the special cup) then face Peach's team and get Toadette. Since you can't “earn” Peach, you can play her as many times as you want. Just keep facing her, and when Toadette comes up, be sure to charge your swing, and hit down (on the control stick) when you swing to make the ball fly higher. Also, swing earlier or later accordingly to hit the ball more towards a certain side, and towards a musical note block. (Toadette as right-hander-Early swing=left field/Late swing=right field. Toadette as left-hander-Early swing=right field/Late swing=left field.) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 29. Toadsworth-Geezer Status: Six missions (2 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star) Lowdown: The geezer, now apparently Peach’s grandfather (how that can be, don’t ask), has grabbed his cane and taken to the fields. This man is quite possibly my favorite non-power player. I love smacking homers with him, as it is quite easy, and I can’t stop calling him The Best Player In The Game. Toadsworth’s basic missions pit you against, stealing, winning minigames, and making dazzling plays, like catching a ball. Starring him is seen as a saintly thing to do in many countries. A: “Catch the ball!”*** Difficulty: 0.5/10 Fielding it cleanly should work also. B: “Smack a hit!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply swing the bat and get on base. Do not charge for more accuracy. C: “Make a big play!” Difficulty: 6/10 There are two easy ways to do this (despite many other ways): 1. Put this character in the outfield. Have the enemy team hit a long ball to them. Get underneath the circle and jump to catch the ball OR stand outside of the circle and when the ball is coming down, dive and catch it. Note you do not always get a big play rating for these. Make them dramatic like dashing into them or make a catch near the wall. 2. Put this character in at shortstop or second base. Curve pitches to the inside or the outside of the plate to make the enemy team hit infield bloopers. Once a ball is hit near your character, dive at the ball (regardless if you can easily get to it) and throw to first. This usually rewards you a big play. Making a close play at first works too, but the dive works much better. Number one might better suit the mad hopping Toadsworth. D: “Steal a base!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply get a hit, and then watch the pitcher. The moment they move, hit Y to steal. A good jump reads steal in yellow. A normal steal reads steal in purple. Once the play-cam moves to you stealing, repeatedly mash B to sprint to the next base. Stealing second is much easier than third. Obviously, a weak catcher will be easier to steal off. For geezer Toadsworth, be sure to hit a perfect steal (yellow) to overcome his sluggish feet. E: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Toadsworth has solid chemistry, and an even stronger hitting (star hit anyone?) so go for the RBIs. F: “Clear all minigames!” Difficulty: 6/10 The sheer time this will take is absurd. Attempt all the games on easy mode, and no, Toy Field is not included. Very general tips for the minigames: Barrel Batter: Section GGG has advice for this terrible game Wall Ball: Just safely hit at least one 100 coin wall, the Toads should screw themselves over. Bob-omb Derby: Timing is everything. Piranha Panic: Section GGG has advice for my favorite minigame. Chain Chomp Sprint: Switch directions often so you aren’t following the Magiks, and avoid the mushroom power-ups for safety. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 30. Waluigi-Stick Butt Status: Sub-captain: Eight missions (3 mushroom, 2 flower, 2 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Good ol’ Stick Butt. Why he runs like he has a stick shoved up his ass is beyond me, and it better stay that way. Waluigi focuses solely on pitching, but he can easily slap the ball the other way with his bat, and his fielding his memorable with his awkward dive. His missions range a long way, from pitching to batting to breaking barrels. I enjoyed starring this odd character. A: “Strike ‘em out!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search). Pitching may be your only outlet, unless you start some wicked hit and runs—Waluigi is only a singles hitter normally. C: “Get a Whiskered Eggplant!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Win with a shutout!” Difficulty: 4/10 Waluigi’s sheer power and movement on the ball should put you over the edge. WALUIGI MUST BE ON THE MOUND FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END. NO SWITCHING WHATSOEVER. Just be sure to throw nothing juicy over the heart of the plate. As always, Splitter8’s wisdom shines in pitching (section GGG). E: “Strike out Luigi!” Difficulty: 2/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Luigi can conserve his swings at times, but still should not be too difficult, I mean, you are Waluigi! F: “Get a runner out with a laser beam throw!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Perfecting the Laser (after the word “Laser” add “Beam” to your search). Follow those instructions carefully for an easier time. Please note, you NEED chemistry behind the plate, and Waluigi has the weakest Laser of them all. G: “Smack more than three hits in a game!”* Difficulty: 6/10 Getting three hits in a three inning game really requires some fancy hitting, so do this on special for an easier time. As always, don’t charge your swings (accuracy), and press down on the control stick as you swing to lift the ball over the infielders’ heads. Chemistry if needed. Also, if you feel it is so difficult you need more assistance, go with the superstar. H: “Clear all minigames!” Difficulty: 6/10 The sheer time this will take is absurd. Attempt all the games on easy mode, and no, Toy Field is not included. Very general tips for the minigames: Barrel Batter: Section GGG has advice for this terrible game Wall Ball: Just safely hit at least one 100 coin wall, the Toads should screw themselves over. Bob-omb Derby: Timing is everything. Piranha Panic: Section GGG has advice for my favorite minigame. Chain Chomp Sprint: Switch directions often so you aren’t following the Magiks, and avoid the mushroom power-ups for safety. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 31. Wario-Garlic Inhaling Porker Status: Captain-Ten missions (3 mushroom, 3 flower, 3 star, 1 special) Lowdown: Wario, the complete opposite of his counterpart and lover, Waluigi. This enormous man stifles his hunger with excessive amounts of garlic. He also is obsessed by green shoes. His size aside, hopefully far aside, Wario can whack the ball at a decent rate, and he shows weaknesses in nearly all the other aspects of MSB. The missions set for him revolve around ruining his rival, Mario, and stomping him with the squat green shoes he so proudly wears. A: “Smack more than two hits in a game!”* Difficulty: 3/10 Slap two successful hits, though remember they do not have to be in succession. B: “Become a captain and win more than 900 coins!”*** Difficulty: 3/10 Play some minigames as captain Wario, and at any time hold 900 coins or more to earn this. C: “Get a Gnarly Garlic!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Get a hit with Mario!”** Difficulty: 2/10 What this really should read is “Get a hit against Mario.” Just slap a hit WHILE MARIO IS PITCHING. E: “Pitch and bat with the Phony Ball and win the game!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 There are a few tricks to these “pitch and bat” missions. #1-When you pitch the special, you only need to pitch it once, and it can be a strike, ball, or hit. #2-When you bat, the special MUST AT LEAST MAKE CONTACT, otherwise the fate of the swing, out, foul, hit, homer, doesn’t matter. With these in mind, just hit and pitch the ball once apiece. (The star mission is completed post-game.) F: “Strike out Mario!” Difficulty: 4/10 Simply put strike number three past the batter. Of course, this is easier said than done. To get a particularly difficulty batter, first get two strikes on the batter with any pitcher you want. As long as number three is your desired player, it counts. Use Splitter8’s pitching strategy (section GGG) to help you out. Mario’s aggressive bat can take some time to avoid. Keep at him and exchange balls and strikes. G: “Get a red gem in Chain Chomp Sprint!”*** Difficulty: 6.5/10 Attempt this mission on easy mode. In Chain Chomp Sprint, two Red Gems appear randomly on one of the four bases/plate. Unfortunately, since you can’t predict this, just continue running around, and try to stay near two bases. The gem rarely appears on the same base. The more gems you have, the faster you can run. H: “Get more than 200 coins in the Toy Field!”*** Difficulty: 7/10 First, to even have the option of buying the secret map leading to Toy Field, you have beaten all the other minigames on the island (any difficulty). Once you buy the Secret Map (500 coins), a warp pipe will lead to Toy Field, where you can play vs. Bowser Jr., and two Dry Bones for 10 rounds. Here are some tips to beating Toy Field with lots of coins: 1. When you bat, only charge if you really need to get the maximum coins, otherwise aim for the corners, uncharged. 2. Use you abilities: Luigi-Super and wall jumps; Wario sliding catch (body check unused) 3. If you are batting on the last turn, and you are ahead, bunt so nothing can go wrong. (Don’t pop up!) 4. Leap over the other fielders to snatch the ball! 5. Use Splitter8’s pitching idea to get K’s (section GGG) Just play smart ball! Wario’s mission may take a few times, so save if you are using your last play time at the toy field. I: “Belt a home run with Mario!”**, *** Difficulty: 7.5/10 Again, the game shows an incorrect mission. It should read, “Belt a home run against Mario!” BE SURE THE HOMER IS AGAINST MARIO. You really should buy the power bat, and place Boo and Waluigi (chemistry) in batting positions one and two, Wario in three. If you don’t hit it, restart. This mission is quite tedious. J: “Get more than 5 RBIs in the game!”*** Difficulty: 6.5/10 The basic idea for this mission is to deliberately set up huge scoring opportunities for Wario. Whether it is holding runners on, or purposefully striking out so Wario bats with RISP, if you are serious about this mission, you should do these favors for Wario. 1- Put Wario in the fourth or fifth batting order position. The batters before him need to be speedy runners, (Yoshi, Babies, Toadette, etc.) or chemistry friends, so they can get on base easily and can score with their speed. Once you get some runners on steal around the bases to load them up. Once Wario comes up, charge your swing and go for a homer, or a gap hit, scoring two or three runs. 2- Risky last-ditch effort: If you are ahead, and it is the final inning, and the enemy team is down by a few runs, get an out, and then serve up a pitch to them so they smack a homer, or let the ball drop in the field so they can advance. Continue doing this until they TIE your score. If you let them get one more, you lose. I’d recommend letting them get homers, and not a lot of singles or double, because once they tie you and you need to get some outs to end the inning, a lot of base runners is bad, especially fast ones. If a ball lands in the outfield, get it on the bounce and run backwards so they go, and let them score. This keeps the game going, allowing more at bats for Wario. 3- Some basic info for extra runs: Z. Use speedy runners/fielders for your team. Y. Use stars for VERY IMPORTANT outs or to load the bases for Wario. X. Try not to depend on Wario’s special hit; it’s a fifty-fifty shot. W. If Wario’s coming up, and the bases are already loaded, get a strikeout or hit a single that only forces ONE player in. V. If Wario’s coming up after the one more batter, and there are people on second and third, hit a single, and hold the runners in their positions. U. Enact hit and runs every time Wario comes to the plate. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 32. Yoshi-Crybaby (star him) Status: Captain-Ten missions (3 mushroom, 3 flower, 3 star, 1 special) Lowdown: The speediest character (tied) in the game resides at the bottom of the list. His other stats are slightly above average, but his running is phenomenal, along with having Mario and Birdo as chemistry friends, both great hitters and fielders, makes Yoshi quite a package. His missions are fun and will push his limits of all aspects of his game. Enjoy starring the (alphabetically) last character! A: “Steal a base!” Difficulty: 1/10 Simply get a hit, and then watch the pitcher. The moment they move, hit Y to steal. A good jump reads steal in yellow. A normal steal reads steal in purple. Once the play-cam moves to you stealing, repeatedly mash B to sprint to the next base. Stealing second is much easier than third. Obviously, a weak catcher will be easier to steal off. B: “Win MVP!” Difficulty: 5/10 Control F search Earning the MVP rating (put a colon [:] directly after the word “rating” in your search) C: “Get an Egg!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 (money is hard to come by these days) Buy it from that greedy Toad at his shop. It’s 200 coins, and can only be bought with the desired character on your roster. D: “Pitch and bat with the Egg Ball and win the game!”*** Difficulty: 1/10 There are a few tricks to these “pitch and bat” missions. #1-When you pitch the special, you only need to pitch it once, and it can be a strike, ball, or hit. #2-When you bat, the special MUST AT LEAST MAKE CONTACT, otherwise the fate of the swing, out, foul, hit, homer, doesn’t matter. With these in mind, just hit and pitch the ball once apiece. (The star mission is completed post-game.) E: “Reach base on a bunt with the bases empty!” Difficulty: 5/10 Yoshi’s bunting mission is considerably easier for him versus Monty. Put Yoshi first in your batting lineup. Once batting, go near the front of the batter’s box, not quite all the way up, but not in the middle of the box (about three-quarters). When the pitch comes, aim your player’s bunt to the third base line. To do this, as you are about to bunt the pitch, move slightly towards the left side. This should hit the ball weakly down the third base line. Now dash with all of your might, and hopefully you have placed your bunt weakly down the third base line, thus gaining you time to reach first with the blazing fast dino. Dash spikes work wonders here. F: “Belt either a triple or a home run!”*** Difficulty: 5/10 Because of his immense speed, the triple may actually be easier for Yoshi, which is an odd predicament. However, buying the superstar or power bat will heighten your chances of both. Just try for both by charging up and having chemistry on the bases. Triples and homers alike are easy to come by at Wario and DK parks. G: “Smack more than two hits in a game!”* Difficulty: 3/10 Slap two successful hits, though remember they do not have to be in succession. H: “Score over 100 points in Piranha Panic!”*** Difficulty: 4/10 Control F search Mastering Piranha Panic (after “panic” add a colon [:] to your search). I: “Cross the plate more than three times in a game!”* Difficulty: 6/10 Yoshi can score multiple times in a game because of his speed. This is made even easier by trying this on special mode. First off, you want Yoshi near the top of the lineup. Second, you want as much friendly chemistry on your team as possible (surround Yoshi with chemistry). Thirdly, you don't want to charge this person's/players' swing. All you want to do is get on base, and let a chemistry friend hit you home. Other notes: 1. Press down on the control stick when you swing to make the ball get over the infielders' heads. 2. If you can, always steal second. This allows the hitter to easily score the runner with a simple hit. 3. Enact hit and runs when Yoshi is on base. J: “Get more than three outs in a game using the tongue catch!”*, *** Difficulty: 6/10 When you try for this, remember the catches do not have to be big play ratings. Place Yoshi in center field, and serve some pitches to the enemy team. When Yoshi finally gets a few balls hit to him, deliberately wait for the ball to get away, then charge and “dive” at the ball. Just do this three times for completion. Try this on special for more innings. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU’VE STARRED ALL THE MSB CHARACTERS! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ FFF) FAQ Q: Why don’t you have any FAQs? A: All the questions thus far are somehow answered in the guide. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ GGG) Baseball terms, Strategies and Helpful Information This section if for those that don't understand some baseball terms used in the FAQ, strategies that work wonders, and, well, other stuff. Here are some deciphering words. Baseball Terms: 1. Bases loaded/bases juiced- These terms is used when all three number bases (1st, 2nd, 3rd) are each occupied by one runner. 2. Grand Slam-When the bases are loaded and the batter hits a homerun. 3. In-the-parker/in the parker- This is when a batter hits a ball in fair territory and rounds the bases in one attempt. They must touch each base in sequential order, ending with home plate. They cannot get out. Fielding gimmicks and the Body Check talent can help aid to get this. 4. The mound/mound- The place where the pitcher throws the ball. 5. Ground rule double- This is when the ball lands in fair territory, then goes over the back wall on the bounce. If the ball hits a fielder before touching the ground, and the ball flies up and goes over the wall results in a home run. 6. Squeeze bunt- A squeeze bunt is used when a runner is on third, and you drop a sacrifice bunt to score him. The bases cannot be loaded, and you don't have to get out at first. Make sure to steal when you go for this, it makes your job of getting the runner home a lot easier. Note, there can be another runner on a different base, but the bases can't be loaded. 7. Sacrifice bunt/sacrifice fly- This is when you lay down a bunt, or hit a fly ball (usually deep) to advance a runner. You must get out for it to be a sacrifice. Be sure to control your runners properly when doing this, as double and triple plays can really mess you up. 8. Walk-off- Any form of advancing the runner that wins the game, ending it immediately. Can only happen in the bottom of an inning. (Walk-off homer, hit, walk etc) 9. Hit and run- (No driving required, unless you plan on driving in runs.) The simultaneously movement of a stealing runner and the batter hitting the ball, preferably behind the runner, to avoid double plays and quickly round up extra bases. 10. RISP-Runners in scoring position (runners on second or third base) Strategies to Success: 1. Earning the MVP rating: (Created by me) A) The most prominent is the player who hits a major homer (comeback, walkoff, first run, etc.) will most likely get the MVP. Of course, hitting multiple homers is always a large help. B) Another way is the player that hits in the winning, first, or most helpful RBI. If someone hits in 2 or more runners with one hit, and you keep the lead the rest of the game, they have a good chance of getting the MVP rating. Also, if one player consistently hits in multiple RBI's, even though they are not really super important RBI's, they'll help earn them the MVP title. C) The last huge contribution is pitching. If your pitcher gives up no or just a few runs, that will do the trick in most cases. Strikeouts are large helpers, along with getting out of tight situations. (Ex-Bases loaded) D) Then, there are the little helpers towards MVPness. Making multiple "Big Plays" and double/triple plays help, though they are nowhere near the importance of homers or fantastic pitching. NOTE: Be sure to watch how well your other players are doing. If one player is getting lots of RBI's/strikeouts, even the score by making the player you want to be MVP get more. Also, try to limit your other players' RBI's and stuff. If your MVP person is coming up, make the runners stay on base for him/her. More runs=more chance. NOTE: Along with this being listed, I will always include which way is the best for each player. 2. Body Checking With Ease (Created by me) When you smack a hit to the outfield, and you reach first base, continue advancing, making your player go on to second. When the enemy gets the ball to an infielder, charge at him, (this may or may not have him come off the base) then, when you get close the enemy player with the ball, turn around and hustle back to first. Then, just before you reach first quickly switch directions and advance to second for the second time. When you turn, the enemy player with the ball should throw the ball to first, making the first baseman chase you towards second. This time, charge second with B or Y, and the first baseman should throw to second just before you reach the base. Continue to charge, and you SHOULD knock the person with the ball aside, thus earning yourself a body check. To time your check better, redo the rundown. I have no idea why this tends to work more than just charging a base, but use it! 3. Splitter8’s Ultimate Pitching Strategy 1) Pitch a slow (no charge) curver on the inside, making it a ball is recommended. 2) Pitch a NICE fastball on the outside corner. 3) Repeat (Thanks to Splitter8 for this simplistic yet very effective pitching strategy) 4. The Run ‘n’ Gun: Perfecting the Laser Beam (Created by me) NOTE: This strategy works best throwing from left or right field, with all the laser beamers, especially Waluigi, as his beam is the weakest. 1. Place your desired laser beamer in either left or right field, preferably the side that you give up the most hits to. 2. Place a chemistry friend in catcher’s position. 3. Allow the batter a hit to your desired fielder, but make sure to let the ball roll past your player, so the runner can advance to second. Run back even farther in the outfield (to corners, not towards center field), to coax the runner off second and eventually third, thus going for home. 5. Once they are a third down the third base line, fire the ball home, and with chemistry on your side, you will have them. (For Bowser, you may want to wait slightly longer, as he throws the fastest. For speedy runners, throw slightly earlier to counter their speed.) 6. For those of you without chemistry, throw the ball earlier. 7.This has a VERY high success rate; just follow the instructions carefully. 5. Mastering Piranha Panic: Peripheral Panic (Created by me) My favorite and best minigame troubles numerous people. Despite my strategy’s completely pathetic name, it works wonders. To perform this, you need to know what peripheral vision is. It is the vision you use to see things surrounding your primary focus. Example-If you look at your TV in your house, there are bound to be things nearby, bookshelf, remote, DVDs, stupid Longaberger baskets and whatnot. If you look directly at the TV screen, using your peripheral vision, you indirectly see the surrounding items. Using this idea put it to use in Piranha Panic. Look at the multi- colored eggs in your possession, and, using peripheral vision, you can see your enemies, the colored plants, and the scores. From this position, do your best to accurately throw the eggs, duck incoming fire, and focus (intended puns) you sights on whatever you are shooting for: no damage, score, perfection. 6. Perfecting the Jumping Catch (Created by me) An easy way to get this is to put the player who needs a jumping catch in the outfield. Then, have the other team hit a high-flying ball to the player. Position yourself on the front edge of the drop spot/circle. When the ball is coming down, jump with good timing to snag the ball. Make sure you are not too out in front of the circle, as this sometimes causes the jumper to slide into a catch. 7. Magical Mishaps: Mastering the Big Play Magical Catch (Created by me) The magical catch is (as I'm sure you know) Magikoopa's form of diving/suction/tongue catch. First, choose Wario as your captain, and fill the 3rd, shortstop, and 2nd positions with Magikoopas. Put Waluigi on first for chemistry. Next, you can either serve some pitches up, or play your regular game until "it" happens. This "it" is when the ball is a weak (preferably) line drive just behind, to the right, or to the left of the 3rd, 2nd, or shortstop fielder. Make sure the ball is actually past you, but still in reach before unleashing your Magical Catch move. If the ball is past you, and you activate the move in time, Magikoopa should slowly bring in the ball, earning you the Magical Catch big play. NOTE 1: This does not always work, but if done to perfection, you have a high chance of getting it. NOTE 2: If the ball is a grounder, and you perform everything correctly, make sure to get the out at first. Once you get the out, then you should get the big play reward. 8. Busting Barrels: Advice for beating Barrel Batter (Created by me) 1. Holding down on the control stick while swinging aims the bat to the upper level. 2. Holding up on the control stick while swinging aims the bat to the lower level. 3. You can better aim at the edge barrels by pressing left (ball goes left)/right (ball goes right) while swinging. However, this has some inconsistencies. 4. The earlier you swing the batter will hook the ball (left field for righty, right field for lefty). 5. The later you swing the batter will slice the ball (right field for righties, left field for lefties). Unfortunately, this mission requires some luck, so let’s hope yours is good. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ HHH) Special Thanks Anthony Nelson- Without this man, I would not have this FAQ. I’ve gotten help from him more than times than anyone (regarding starting FAQs, big plays, and legal information), and I am very grateful for his kindness. He has helped this FAQ start, flourish, and become what it is today. For those of you looking for an excellent FAQ on Challenge Mode for MSB, look no further than “ANelson’s Challenge Mode FAQ.” http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/925314/38872 It is what gave me the motivation to start my own FAQ. Thanks so much for your help Anthony. Splitter8- His invaluable pitching strategy has won numerous games for me, and I hope, for others. WiiBrawler- He found an error for me in DK’s banana ball swing description. Champ6926- Unorthodox, yet brilliant, Baby Mario booted ball mission strategy. You- For using my FAQ. Thanks! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ III) Contact Me Contacting me: If you happen to find a spelling or grammatical error, anything confusing, or if you have helpful advice or ideas, do not hesitate to email me. JUST BE SURE TO MAKE YOUR EMAIL’S TOPIC RELATE TO MSB, OR TO THE TRASH IT GOES. Here is my address (yes, it is old): gotmilkkid@sbcglobal.net All mistakes found, advice added, or suggestions made will be given credit. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ JJJ) Legal Information Only the following sites may post this FAQ: gamespot.com/gamefaqs.com cheatscc.com Ign.com 1up.com supercheats.com neoseeker.com All information in this FAQ is copyright Dustin Capehart, unless otherwise noted. Any duplication of material in this FAQ is strictly prohibited without authorization from the author. Any site given permission to host this FAQ must keep all information in its entirety and in its original form. Copyright 2006-2007 Dustin Capehart