Is Power Pros 2016 Worth Importing on the PlayStation 4?

[strawberryshortcake]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qwinkidink7

I played spirits 2011. There were a lot of things that i liked about it. But the thing I was not in favor of was the hitting mechanic. Or, the way you read pitches in the game. Instead of reading the pitch and watching it break. in this game you just look at the ball icon, then move ur courser to it. Anyone else feel this way? It takes away the hitter/pitcher immersion for me.

Actually, turning off both the ball and bat cursors are very much possible, along without any on screen help indicators analogous to MLB the Show or MLB2k baseball. The option is under the batter's settings tab.

Pro Yakyuu Spirits is no joke. One may even push the envelop and go full blown hardcore by upping the pitch speed to real. Not advisable for beginners or even veterans. Questionable even for experts.

An MLB the Show gamer has not experienced a challenge until they've given Pro Yakyuu Spirits or Jikkyou a whirl. What the Show labels "Legend" pales in comparison to what these games offer at the highest level or even moderate level difficulty without bat/ball cursor. I can play "Legend" on the Show and still compete and win. Maximum difficulty (no cursor, real ball speed on any level) on Yakyuu Spirits and I'll celebrate if I make contact with the ball, whether it be a foul ball or a simple base hit.

The truth of the matter is people play with the bat and/or ball cursor is because it is extremely difficult without. The the ball/bat physics breathes simulation full on goodness. You must make physical contact with the small surface area of the bat on ball to have any hitting success. If the bat misses the ball even by 1 centimeter, it'll be a swing and miss. MLB the Show's batting mechanics with the plate coverage indicator (PCI) is much easier and much more forgiving. Ball contact with the PCI is not always necessary because it's partially ratings based along with user's input, which is why it's possible for people to play on Legend with a completely clean screen (no PCI).

I had the same initial reaction as you as well when watching youtube footage. Figured 'Yakyuu Spirits' was simply way too easy because of the hitting mechanics. Boy was I wrong. I am currently playing Pro Yakyuu Spirits on probably beginner/medium difficulty with both active ball and bat cursors, and have not won a single game. I am lucky if I score 1 to 2 runs in the game. But this is in fact one of the best sports games I have ever played. My PS3 is finally getting the love it deserves. When Jikkyou 2016 arrives at the end of the month, my PS4 will get equal treatment.


Let me try to recall how many games I've won up to this point:
(A1) Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2015 beginning/medium setting with bat/ball cursor turned ON: Zero games.
(A2) Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2015 highest difficult/real pitch speed/No Bat & No ball cursor: I wouldn't have a prayer.
(B) MLBtheShow 2016 Hall of Fame: current A's franchise: 25-14.

Pro Yakyuu 2015 is currently my favorite game, one of my favorites of all time. It is fun, addictive and challenging.

Quote: Originally Posted by opd897

I hear what your saying here but for me I've had to train myself to a little bit of both. You have to keep an eye on the ball icon to line up your batting cursor for sure. And, one has to watch the pitcher as well to gauge the speed of the pitch as well as watch out for the mistake pitch that is thrown right in the middle of your stationary batting cursor. If one does just one or the other of these then failure is probable. One has to do a little bit of both which is challenging but also provides rewards in the hitting department.

Wait, you've never tried to play the game without the ball and bat cursor? From reading your response, it appears that you didn't know the option to turn off the ball icon was possible. Maybe I'm mistaken and you did know.

[Shadak]

Exactly, the contact area in PYS is much smaller so it takes time before most move up to hit totally without a cursor but its possible and the feeling is much more rewarding when you finally get used to it.

[Will I Am]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qwinkidink7

I played spirits 2011. There were a lot of things that i liked about it. But the thing I was not in favor of was the hitting mechanic. Or, the way you read pitches in the game. Instead of reading the pitch and watching it break. in this game you just look at the ball icon, then move ur courser to it. Anyone else feel this way? It takes away the hitter/pitcher immersion for me.

That's not entirely true though. In pys you can set the cursor to normal or real, with real as the ball approaches the plate, with a curve for instance, the cursor that appears in the K zone continues to break in the same direction as the pitch, it doesn't just sit there there stationary. This is the same with normal but to a lesser extent. Besides I don't hit by staring at the K zone I watch the pitcher and line up my hitting cursor with my peripheral vision.

[Shadak]

Quote: Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

[b].... Pro Yakyuu 2015 is currently my favorite game, one of my favorites of all time. It is fun, addictive and challenging. ...

I feel the same way, there is quite a few games I love, like the Dark/Demons Souls series or RPG's like BG/BG2 and others but if I had to pick a game I could play all the time it would be PYS (2015) despite the language barrier.

[Will I Am]

Quote: Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

Actually, turning off both the ball and bat cursors are very much possible, along without any on screen help indicators analogous to MLB the Show or MLB2k baseball. The option is under the batter's settings tab. Pro Yakyuu Spirits is no joke. One may even push the envelop and go full blown hardcore by upping the pitch speed to real. Not advisable for beginners or even veterans. Questionable even for experts. An MLB the Show gamer has not experienced a challenge until they've given Pro Yakyuu Spirits or Jikkyou a whirl. What the Show labels "Legend" pales in comparison to what these games offer at the highest level or even moderate level difficulty without bat/ball cursor. I can play "Legend" on the Show and still compete and win. Maximum difficulty (no cursor, real ball speed on any level) on Yakyuu Spirits and I'll celebrate if I make contact with the ball, whether it be a foul ball or a simple base hit. The truth of the matter is people play with the bat and/or ball cursor is because it is extremely difficult without. The the ball/bat physics breathes simulation full on goodness. You must make physical contact with the small surface area of the bat on ball to have any hitting success. If the bat misses the ball even by 1 centimeter, it'll be a swing and miss. MLB the Show's batting mechanics with the plate coverage indicator (PCI) is much easier and much more forgiving. Ball contact with the PCI is not always necessary because it's partially ratings based along with user's input, which is why it's possible for people to play on Legend with a completely clean screen (no PCI). I had the same initial reaction as you as well when watching youtube footage. Figured 'Yakyuu Spirits' was simply way too easy because of the hitting mechanics. Boy was I wrong. I am currently playing Pro Yakyuu Spirits on probably beginner/medium difficulty with both active ball and bat cursors, and have not won a single game. I am lucky if I score 1 to 2 runs in the game. But this is in fact one of the best sports games I have ever played. My PS3 is finally getting the love it deserves. When Jikkyou 2016 arrives at the end of the month, my PS4 will get equal treatment. Let me try to recall how many games I've won up to this point: (A1) Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2015 beginning/medium setting with bat/ball cursor turned ON: Zero games. (A2) Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2015 highest difficult/real pitch speed/No Bat & No ball cursor: I wouldn't have a prayer. (B) MLBtheShow 2016 Hall of Fame: current A's franchise: 25-14. Pro Yakyuu 2015 is currently my favorite game, one of my favorites of all time. It is fun, addictive and challenging. Wait, you've never tried to play the game without the ball and bat cursor? From reading your response, it appears that you didn't know the option to turn off the ball icon was possible. Maybe I'm mistaken and you did know.

Turning off the pitch cursor while hitting is just an exercise in futility, unless your using timing only where it is turned off automatically.

[opd897]

[/quote] Wait, you've never tried to play the game without the ball and bat cursor? From reading your response, it appears that you didn't know the option to turn off the ball icon was possible. Maybe I'm mistaken and you did know.[/quote]

Yes, I am aware that that type of gameplay is possible, I actually tried out timing only hitting once but really didn't care for it. I am enjoying my current settings and as of now I'm 22-16 in my pennant mode with the Eagles, Johnny Gomes is hitting a few home runs for me!

[dishnetkid]

I am glad you wrote this article. I'm the Community Manager of the MLB Power Pros Forum, a forum that is still talking about the great MLB Power Pros games from 07 and 08.

There are a few members over there who are and have imported this game (and a couple of the previous versions of it) from Japan and have loved it so far, despite the language barriers. I've wished that they'd make a new MLB Power Pros (it would be inherently better than the crap-tastic new RBI games), but we've come to accept it as a fact that it's not coming back to America unless some divine intervention occurs.

It's good to see Power Pros (and Power Pros 16 in Japan) get a bit of spotlight in a feature article. I personally don't own a PS4, so I won't be getting the Japanese version, but the core gameplay of the Power Pros series (both in America and Japan) will make any entry into the series at the very least a good one, in my opinion.

[jpollack34]

MLBPP 2008 is one of the greatest baseball simulators in terms of gameplay and stats. Don't be fooled by the cartooney graphics.. it keeps accurate stats. And maintains a fun factor at the same time. A rarity.

It works flawlessly on PC with Pcsx2 (PS2 Emulator). You just need the right version, I think it's 1.2.1, and a couple of tweaks to the settings.

Given that it works on PC there no reason for MLBPP to ever die. Was hoping to find a community out there that updates the rosters or better yet mods the game to update the graphics etc ala MVP Baseball 2005.