Baseball Stars Profesional 2 (1992)

Game: Baseball Stars Profesional 2

Time to complete: 8-9hr

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Difficulty:6

Fun:10

Rating on a 1-10 scale

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Oh baby, here it is. One of my all time favorites. This is the 4th, and as far as I know final game in the Baseball Stars series, unless you count the Neo Geo Pocket version. And what a finale it is! Released in 1992, this title personifies the moment the Neo Geo hit its stride. Graphically taking full advantage of the powerful color pallet and animation potential of the hardware, it is a truly stunning game to look at. To fully appreciate it you really need to play BBS 1 and BBS 2 back to back. It's remarkable what they (SNK) managed to accomplish on the same hardware in such a short period of time. The audio is equally awesome, with a rocking soundtrack and great voices. Everything about the presentation oozes Neo Geo.


But lets face it, that's all well in good if the game play is just so-so, but it's not! Its great! Really great! More then any other arcade style baseball game it does a very nice job of capturing the essence of the sport while still making it accessible to a novice player. Hitting, fielding, and pitching mechanics all work well, and for the most part, make for a very balanced game. There are a few oddities here and there, for example your starting pitcher will run out of gas after about 20-30 pitches which is not the most realistic portrail. You can play the game in two primary modes, easy and hard fielding. The difference between the two is simply that in the easy mode your fielders are more or less put into position to catch the ball while in hard mode you need to quickly move into place. Surprisingly (not really) BBS2 has no MLB licence but there are a number of teams available from around the globe that do actually offer a variety of skill sets. For example there are teams that are very fast, have great pitching that last longer, or strong hitters. As a result, there is actually some strategy to the way you use your team. 


Beyond the basic game you also have the option to play the season mode. It consists of 15 regular season games and one championship game. As a result, similarly to Neo Turf Masters, it offers one of the most robust sports experiences on the Neo Geo. It took me roughly 8 hours to play through all of the regular season games and win the championship. I did lose a few of the season games but as long as you end up on top at the end of the 15 games season you will head to the title match. One of the more unique elements of the season mode is the inclusion of the "owner", shown below...

He owns the team you are playing as and will provide you with better players throughout the season. He will also provide you with better pitch hitters mid game as well as the ocasional Power Up Bat if your in a tight spot. It's a fun little extra that adds the the flavor of the overall experience. 


I really could go on and on about how much I like this game. Besides being one of my favorite Neo Geo games it's far and away the most fun baseball title I've ever played. Pure classic.