Are you tired of playing baseball games where the pitchers are more likely to hit home runs than the first basemen are likely to complete 3-6-3 double plays?

Have you run out of curse words to scream while you helplessly watch lengthy fielding animations that are too slow to throw out 40-speed sloths, and too unreliable to consistently complete simple defensive acts like stepping on a base for a force out, or tagging out an oncoming runner?

Are you baffled by hitting and pitching systems where mysterious, unexplained attribute ratings have a bigger impact than basic bat physics in determining where a ball gets hit?

Have you lost interest in playing inside quiet ballparks with deflating atmospheres and dull commentary?

If so, you should absolutely own a version of Konami's Power Pros. But depending on which modes you want to play, you might not need the series' latest release, Power Pros 2016, which arrived last month on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
 

Power Pros 2008

Success and MyLife modes are the main reasons why this PlayStation 2/Nintendo Wii disc is still worth owning. They both start your created character in the minor leagues, where he must train his attributes and attract scouts' attention to receive a promotion to the majors. The gameplay is player-locked, like in Sony's Road to the Show mode, but off the field, there are lots of branching storylines based on how you perform during games, how you choose to spend your free time, and how you behave during conversations. You can, for example, be a jerk and try to steal a rival player's girlfriend. Or you could avoid ticking off another team and just ask out the lady who runs the local hot dog shop. Managing relationships isn't limited to romantic options, as you must keep your teammates and your coaches happy, too.

These two modes do exist in Power Pros 2016, but the large amount of Japanese text makes them difficult to play, even while using Google's free Translate app. Mobile translators are fine for decoding menus that display simple words and phrases, but figuring out pages upon pages of full sentences is more work than Google's app can currently handle. If Success and MyLife are what you want to play, then you'll be better off buying Power Pros 2008, since it's the most recent English edition. Although the graphics, gameplay, and presentation are all inferior to Power Pros 2016, the off-field encounters are what really make these modes special, and you'll need to know every word that's being shown on the screen to get the most out of them.
 

The Wii port is definitely an upgrade over the PlayStation 2 original, since it contains sharper textures, smoother edges, and a more consistent framerate. Nintendo's Wii also has several different controllers with joysticks that feel and function better than Sony's DualShock models, which will make it much easier to aim your cursor during at-bats. Wii U owners can even play Power Pros 2008 through the system's backwards compatibility mode. Given how easy it is to find a copy for under $10, every baseball fan should experience Power Pros 2008, so they can at least say that they've lived out their big league dream of playing chess over the Internet.
 

Power Pros 2008's disappointing sales figures kept Konami from bringing the series back to North America until 2011. But instead of making a true Power Pros sequel, the company decided to create a weird spin-off.

MLB Bobblehead Pros sported prettier stadiums and fancier lighting, but the HD facelift came at the cost of removing all the funny facial expressions and pre-bat routines that gave extra personality to Power Pros 2008's characters. Most of the tweaks to gameplay and presentation ended up making MLB Bobblehead Pros worse than its predecessor, with no play-by-play announcer, no option for the popular "two-button shrinking circle" pitching style, no way to view athletes' special abilities in-game, and a too-obvious-to-miss bug that made hitters' hot/cold zones appear entirely blue, instead of showing blue for the cold areas and red for the hot spots.

MLB Bobblehead Pros' Season mode was stupidly simplified, missing many important features from Power Pros 2008 like drafts, free agency, trades, and minor league affiliates. It also offered only one save slot, which was a reduction from Power Pros 2008's three available Season save files.

The game's few new features included online play that was unbearably laggy, a "Turning Point" system that provided attribute boosts to your entire team after winning key at-bats, and a series of hit-the-target minigames that were released as a separate downloadable package called "Bobblehead Battle." MyLife mode (renamed "MyBobble") was also turned into DLC, and I can't say whether it was better or worse than what appeared in Power Pros 2008, since I didn't buy the MyBobble bundle before it was suddenly delisted from the marketplace without warning.

MLB Bobblehead Pros ended up being one of the worst-selling games in Xbox Live Arcade's history, which led to it (and all of its DLC) being removed from Microsoft's online store in January 2013 -- most likely, the month that Konami's licensing agreement with Major League Baseball expired.

If it isn't attached to your Xbox Live account's purchase history, then the only way to play MLB Bobblehead Pros right now is to import the Japanese PlayStation 3 version, which was a retail release that combined the main game and all of its DLC onto a single disc. Given the general inferiority of Bobblehead Pros compared to Power Pros, and the presence of untranslated Japanese text in that PS3 edition, I can't recommend purchasing it as anything more than a curiosity or a collector's item. The minigames do contain some creative field designs and interesting item powerups, but Battle is the only mode from MLB Bobblehead Pros that's worth playing these days.

Boasting the best graphics, presentation, and gameplay in the franchise's 20-year history, Power Pros 2016 is the obvious pick if you only want to play Exhibition and Season games. Both of those modes already have detailed guides available on powerprotranslation.com, and most of the information that's missing from Vernon's and Muka's website is easily deciphered with Google's Translate app.
 

Power Pros 2016's impressive team editing tools let you rewrite all of the game's existing player names in English text, making their nameplates readable during every menu and stat screen. You can even create up to 55 custom teams, designing their uniforms, logos, roster makeup, etc. Only 16 total teams can be entered into Season mode, though, since there are four expansion slots, plus the 12 current Nippon Professional Baseball clubs. Season mode lasts 30 years, with 144 games per season, plus the top three teams in each division making the postseason tournament. Free agents, trades, player development, and minor league callups can keep you occupied whenever you're not playing matches. A draft will also happen before each season begins.

I couldn't find an option for shorter season lengths anywhere in the menus, but you can always simulate past any games that you don't want to play by visiting the monthly schedule. The Quick Play options also allow you to player-lock onto a single hitter/pitcher, or only play the "clutch" moments of a game whenever runners are in scoring position. So if 144 matches sounds like too many, you do have some means of speeding through the huge schedule.

Head to head online play is also possible on the PlayStation 4, but I haven't been able to test it out yet with another American to see if it's as laggy as MLB Bobblehead Pros was.

Amazon Japan is currently the best place to buy a physical copy of Power Pros 2016, with the standard edition selling for $64, plus another $6 to get two-day international shipping from FedEx. The disc is playable on North American PlayStation 4s, PlayStation 3s, and PlayStation Vitas, since all of those systems are region free. But you won't be able to redeem any bonus codes or buy any of the audio DLC (background music and crowd chants) unless you're signed into a Japanese PlayStation Network Account. If you already have a Japanese PSN account, you can download the game directly to your hard drive. But first, you'll need to buy a couple of Japanese points cards (or points codes) until you've got 8,618 yen ($80) in your account to purchase the standard digital edition. There's also a free version of Power Pros 2016 on the Japanese PlayStation Network that only comes with Success mode, but since it's a story-driven experience with tons of cutscenes and untranslated text, I don't recommend using it as anything more than a demo of how the game looks and plays.