____ ____ _ _ _ / ___| _ _ _ __ ___ _ __ | __ ) __ _ ___ ___| |__ __ _| | | \___ \| | | | '_ \ / _ \ '__| | _ \ / _` / __|/ _ \ '_ \ / _` | | | ___) | |_| | |_) | __/ | | |_) | (_| \__ \ __/ |_) | (_| | | | |____/ \__,_| .__/ \___|_| |____/ \__,_|___/\___|_.__/ \__,_|_|_| |_| ____ ___ ____ ___ |___ \ / _ \___ \ / _ \ __) | | | |__) | | | | / __/| |_| / __/| |_| | |_____|\___/_____|\___/ FAQ and strategy guide Version 1.0 By Luke J. Martinez, a.k.a. 1stTobalMan May not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal and private use. May not be placed on any Web site, other than GameFAQs.com and its partner sites, or otherwise be distributed publicly. Use of this document on any other Web site or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited and violation of copyright law. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Copyright Luke J. Martinez 2010. This FAQ/strategy guide is intended to show all the known features of Super Baseball 2020 for the Neo-Geo and Neo-Geo CD, and provide a straightforward strategy to complete the game. Table of contents 1. Controls 2. Basic gameplay I. Object II. Game over III. Two player mode 3. Strategy guide 4. Author's notes 1. Controls Start: Start/continue A: Swing bat/return to base (hitting), pitch/jump (fielding), select B: Stolen base/lead off (hitting), base touch/feint ball (fielding) C: Bunt (hitting), N/A (fielding) D: Time out/time in Joystick: move batter/pitcher/fielders/cursor 2. Basic gameplay I. Object Be in first place after 15 games within a chosen league, then play the best team of the other league to win the world series. The two leagues are the Exciting League and the Fighting League. There are six teams to choose from within a league. There are several big differences between this version of baseball and the actual game of baseball. The foul zone is much smaller here in the Cyber Egg Stadium (the one and only stadium available). This means a ball must almost be hit backwards to be considered foul. Fouls are considered strikes. New are stop zones and jump zones; stop zones are off near the first and third bases. A ball will freeze completely in its tracks if hit into one of these zones, allowing a fielder to travel less to grab the ball. Jump zones will allow a fielder to jump higher to catch an outgoing ball. They are lined all along the fence. Every few innings, crackers will cumulatively appear on the field. If stepped on, a cracker will blow up, leaving the victim temporarily incapacitated. At the start of the 7th inning, both teams will be made more powerful, but only for that inning. Lastly, the home run zone is directly center field. Only precise, powerful hits will send the ball into the narrow home run zone (out of the stadium). Otherwise, balls will ricochet off the high barriers, and return to the field. The 2020 rules of baseball allow males, females (both referred to as humans) and machines to play together. Humans can take care of themselves, and, thus know when to rest. Pitchers are the only known human players to tire over time. Machines break down when excessively pushed to perform. Thus, pitching, stealing bases and diving for balls will cause machines to break down. A machine's condition can be physically observed: the more the machine is looking haywire, the more wear it's incurring. The condition of a pitcher can also be noted by their performance (how fast the ball is thrown). During each change and inning, the condition, pool and game data of a team will be displayed. If a machine is unmaintained, it will eventually blow up and lose all stats (it can be repaired by upgrading though). One may replace the particular player (by taking a time out, then selecting "Relief Hitter/Runner/Pitcher") or upgrade the player to solve this. A player can be upgraded by taking a time out, then using the cursor to select "Team Power Up." At this screen will be the roster of all players on the team. A player's stats will be displayed when the cursor is on the player's name. Select the player that needs upgrading. Next will be a screen that gives us the choice of upgrading one of three categories if human: hitting, fielding and pitching. We can also convert a human into a machine in another category. A machine will have one category to upgrade. Each category has three grades: A, B and C. The higher the grade, the better the player will perform in the specific category (e.g., a batter has the best chance of hitting a home run with a C hitting upgrade). The prices are as follows: A B C Hitting $2,000 $5,000 $10,000 Fielding $1,000 $3,000 $10,000 Pitching $10,000 $15,000 $20,000 Machine $5,000 $10,000 $30,000 Press the B button to go back a screen. Upgrading may only be done while one is pitching or hitting. One, of course, requires a pool (deposit of money) to access the upgrade menu and begin upgrading. Simply put: one's pool is earned by winning. There is a monetary reward for every successful play one makes. The money is instantly added to one's pool. Likewise, an unsuccessful play may instantly take away from one's pool. The CPU also earns and loses money this way too. Here is a list of known earnings and losses: Batter Fielder Grand slam $10,000 $0 Three-run home run $8,000 $0 Two-run home run $6,000 $0 Home run $4,000 $0 Home run $3,000 $0 (ball still inside park) Diving catch -$50 $1,500 Jumping catch -$50 $1,000 Tag out -$100 $1,000 Beanball $1,000 -$1,000 Strike out -$100 $1,000 Catch -$50 $800 Triple $800 $0 Double $500 $0 Single $300 $0 Stolen base $300 $0 Strike -$10 $100 Walk $0 -$300 Higher grades may be purchased while a player is at a lower grade. Upgraded players will maintain performance throughout the game, unless extensively pushed to perform (diving, stealing, pitching, being hit by balls). Human players will then eventually return to normal, while machines will blow up and lose all stats. Players can then be re-upgraded or replaced. One's pool remains after the first game, but upgrades are reset at the start of each game. At the end of a game, the final score is shown and the MVP is named. II. Game over There are two ways to get a game over. The game is timed. Every three minutes, one must press start to continue playing. If one doesn't continue after ten seconds, the game is over. Even if one loses a game, he will go on to the next game. However, if one is not in first place at the end of the fifteenth game, one loses the league, and thus, the game is over. III. Two player mode Two player mode may be accessed by pressing start on the second controller at the title screen. Players will compete head to head. Once a league is chosen (either player may choose), teams and starters will be chosen, as normal, then, player one will bat first. Either player may continue a 2P game (by pressing start). A two player game can't be started in the middle of a one player game. It is an exhibition match, and we will return to the title screen when it is over. 3. Strategy guide Practice, practice, practice! The general strategy goes as: become familiar enough with the batting scheme so get some grounders and runners on base. As soon as possible, upgrade the batters as best as possible to hit hard and further. The idea is to feel for the home run hits. It is possible to find the sweet spot on a regular basis, but this requires getting a feel of one's own for the game! Once some points are earned, we can start upgrading the fielders, and eventually the pitcher. Lesser batters can barely make the fair zone by hitting the ball early or late in the pitch. These balls usually hit the ground and get a runner on first. After one's batter has hit a foul ball, continually press B and direction of the next base (if there is a runner on) to easily steal a base. The pitcher will be oblivious to this play! Remember the replacement options are there for a reason; replace players (batters and hitters) with upgraded ones as often as possible. Upgrade as often as possible, and invest in what is needed at the moment. The CPU will do the same for itself. The main difference between humans and machines is upgrades. The upgrade process for machines is streamlined. A machine's stats will become exactly that of the purchased grade. The upgrading scheme is quite simple and recommended for beginners. On the other hand, human upgrades allow for more in-depth customization. One: because there are more categories to choose from, and two: because upgrades are cumulative, meaning the stat raising is added to the pre-existing stats. Therefore, playing with humans requires a bit of experience and is recommended for advanced players. As mentioned, though, machines have the flaw of breaking down every so often. It's best to get one's money's worth from an upgraded machine. After all, it can always be replaced or re-upgraded. Machines are definitely simpler to use, but more expensive in the long run. The two machine intensive teams are: Taiwanese Megapowers (Exciting L.) and Mechanical Brains (Fighting L.). Besides being self efficient (won't break down), humans can be cheaper to upgrade. For example, if we want to make our batter more powerful, all we have to do is invest in a hitting grade, which is cheaper than buying an overall upgrade (the way machines do). More practical upgrades can be made to humans. Another advantage to having a human team is if one is tied for first place in the league, the human team always proceeds to the world series. Each team specializes in something. The Seagulls (Exciting L.) is good, average team for beginners. In general, it's recommended to choose a team that specializes in a category one lacks skill in. That way it is easier to play through the game without having to gain the skill through trial and error. Furthermore, one may use upgrades to better the categories one is skilled in. CPU batters will always try to hit straight into center field (for a home run). Thus, the CPU can become predictable, and we can put our best fielders in center field to catch the balls. This pattern can be thrown off by pitching curve balls (use the stick to move the ball while it is passing the plate). There is no infield fly rule, and the pitcher may take advantage of this to make easy double and triple plays. Perhaps the most frustrating part of Super Baseball 2020 is that basemen and pitchers get in the way of fielders throwing balls. If we are trying to throw to first for an out, we may accidentally throw to second or the pitcher, just because the game is designed so the closest player receives the ball. This is a big flaw we must learn to accept, and perhaps become better at maneuvering through. Become familiar with each players stats so to anticipate their actions. Slow runners (usually machines) can be thrown out at first base, if we are fast and respond fast. Fast runners can round the bases with ease if they can hit into the outfield. If we remain consistent to the general strategy, we will win the world series, and then be treated to a ceremony and the staff roll. 4. Author's notes Special thanks to my family for their moral support. Send questions, comments or corrections to: kevinrian@live.com.