Baseball Stars 2 is a 2-player baseball arcade game released by SNK Playmore in 1992 for the Neo-Geo console. A less cartoony console version was released for the NES by Romstar the same year.
The Neo-Geo version was released for Virtual Console on December 10, 2007 and the PlayStation 2, PSP and Wii as part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1.
Arcade version
You can select from one of 18 teams across two leagues - Exciting League (beginner) & Fighting League (expert):
Exciting League
- New York Monsters
- Tokyo Ninjas
- Napoli Angels
- Taipei Hawks
- Seoul Ivories
- Sydney Griffons
- Oaxaca Rockets
- Barcelona Flames
- London Lifeguards
Fighting League
- USA Bisons
- Japanese Samurais
- Korean Dragoon
- Italian Waves
- Taiwan Dragons
- Aussie Thunders
- Mexican Typhoons
- Spanish Galleons
- British Knights
NES version
Baseball Stars 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System was distributed by Romstar in 1992. It is the most recent installment of the Baseball Stars franchise released for Nintendo gaming systems.
Changes made from the original Baseball Stars, released by SNK in 1989:
- RUNNING attribute intuitively affects speed on the field. DEFENSE only affects arm strength and diving range.
- Improved pitch control. This gives the game a slightly less realistic feeling compared to the first installment.
- Easier bunting controls; bunts are now retractable. (Hold Down+A to bunt instead of stopping the swing partway through.)
- Ability to see lead-offs while pitching/batting.
- 6 pitchers and 4 bench players instead of 5 each.
- New music and home run animations. These include the "Power connect" graphic for a two-run home run, an animated graphic of the batter rounding the bases and pumping his fist for a 3-run home run or grand slam, and a similar (yet very rare) graphic including a Yorkshire terrier following the batter for a come-from-behind (usually game-ending) home run in a dramatic situation.
- Inability to rename players.
Teams include:
- Tempe Matadors
- Texas Towers (Texas Rangers)
- LA Superstars (LA Dodgers)
- Chicago Fireballs
- Oakland Knights (Oakland A's)
- Toronto Captains (Toronto Blue Jays)
- Houston Eagles (Houston Astros)
- San Diego Samurai (San Diego Padres)
- Boston Apaches (Boston Red Sox)
- Denver Dragons (Colorado Rockies)
- Nebraska Jets
- Miami Pirates (Florida Marlins)
Player-editable teams include:
- Milwaukee Rockets (Milwaukee Brewers)
- Memphis Bluesox
- NY Comets (NY Yankees)
- Torrance Tigers (Romstar was headquartered in Torrance, CA when the game was released)
- Detroit Arrows (Detroit Tigers)
- Vancouver Cobras
Players can still create leagues of up to 125 games (6 teams playing each other 25 times) and view statistics such as League Standings and Top 10 in Average, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Earned Run Average, Wins and Saves. (A peculiar glitch occurs when viewing league leaders. The last pitcher listed on any user-created team in "View Team" does not appear in any of the Top 10 leaderboards.) Players can still hire and fire players, and upgrade them using the same 15-point system introduced in the original Baseball Stars.
Note: Players on the 6 Custom Teams in the game can only be traded among them as they cannot be altered with the 12 established clubs. Whenever certain custom players are traded, and if the custom team is playing in League Mode, you can adjust the batting order and fielding positions among that custom team before any season play game in League Mode.
Series
- 1. Baseball Stars (1989)
- 2. Baseball Stars Professional (1990)
- 3. Baseball Stars 2 (1992)
External links
- Baseball Stars 2 at Museum of the Game
- Baseball Stars 2 at MobyGames
- Baseball Stars 2 at Arcade History
- 2D-X.com's Baseball Stars 2 review