Ninja Baseball Bat Man
Encyclopedia
Ninja Baseball Bat Man, known in Japan
as , is a 1993
belt scroll
ing beat 'em up
developed and published by Irem exclusively as an arcade game
. It is the fourth arcade game by IREM to use a belt scroll perspective, following Blade Master
, Hook and Undercover Cops
.
The game allows up to four players to play simultaneously. Each player chooses from among four characters. The object of the game is to recover various artifacts stolen from the Baseball Hall of Fame, a task prescribed to them by the Commissioner of Baseball
. Each stage takes place in several parts of the United States
, while a boss character will appear at the end of each stage, which requires player(s) to defeat it. Like in most video games, whether the player fails or successfully beats the game, he or she will type in three letters or other text characters in to record their score.
Like Irem's previous beat 'em up arcade Undercover Cops, Ninja Baseball Bat Man features playable characters with several different fighting moves performed by inputting several commands using an 8-way joystick and two buttons (attack and jump), including "smart bomb" or "screen zapper" moves that sacrifices health in order to annihilate every enemy on the screen. The game also allows players to perform combos, throws and dash attacks against several enemies. When a player's health bar flashes red, more moves can be performed as long as the player does not restore or completely lose health. There are items throughout the game that include American and Japanese food for restoring health, alternate weapons such as baseballs and shurikens, or items that call cheerleaders to either obliterate enemies on screen or drop a large amount of food. There are also mini-games after each boss before the final one is defeated.
, headed up by Frank Ballouz (founder of FABTEK, a thriving video kit company and former North American publisher of several arcades by Seibu Kaihatsu
and TAD Corporation) and National Sales Manager Drew Maniscalco. During this time, Drew created the "Ninja Baseball Bat Man" video game concept (including the English title, plot and characters) and licensed it to Irem America in 1991. To illustrate the characters' sketches, Drew hired Gottlieb
's well-known pinball artist, Gordon Morison.
Drew's concept came up after he read the top grossing films during its time in a USA Today
newspaper. One was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
, the other was one of the Batman
films (possibly Batman Returns
). After that, he started creating his own superhero influenced by what he saw in the USA Today newspaper. During the development of his concept, he liked the word "ninja
", because of it sounding mysterious to him. He gave the protagonists baseball bat
s and baseballs as their main weapons, as well as dressing them in baseball uniform
s, because Drew is a baseball fan. Drew thought the baseball bat idea was also probably an influence from the 1973 film Walking Tall
. The word "Man" in the title comes from an actor who starred in the film known as Joe Don Baker
, who's superhero was a man. This was also how he came up with the game's English title. In Japan however, Irem of Japan's staff came up with the game's Japanese name as a reference to numerous tokusatsu
television shows, most notably the Super Sentai
series. Drew later created the concept for the other characters such as enemies. To illustrate the characters' sketches, Drew hired Gottlieb
's well-known pinball artist, Gordon Morison.
Drew's original gameplay ideas for the video game was for a 1-player, adventure-based, platform game
similar to Nintendo
's "Super Mario Bros.
". However, due to the very successful game sales of several 4-player games (most of them being beat 'em ups), Drew added 3-players in an effort to compete with the 4-player games. While the title and characters were Drew's concept, Irem Japan programmed the arcade game, and modified the look of its prototype. Drew did not mind it being different, as he was thrilled about it being programmed by them.
During the development of the two-player platform version, the two main characters were named "Willie" and "Mickey", named after Drew's two favorite baseball players of his childhood, Willie Mays
and Mickey Mantle
. During the development of the 4-player beat 'em up version, the prototype names of the four main characters were Captain Jeff (red), Nunchaks Sugar (green), Hammer' Eddy (yellow) and Naginata Jimmy (blue). Drew later came up with the final names of the four protagonists that are currently used in the finished version today, which the names are references to the four baseball stars during the arcade game's release: Jose Canseco
(red), Ryne Sandberg
(green), Roger Clemens
(yellow) and Darryl Strawberry
(blue). In Japan, their last names were changed to the names of their colors.
A year after its concept was created and a year before it was released, despite it being interesting in his opinion, Drew left the company in 1992 and moved to Data East USA
. Because of that, he was unable to market nor manage any other input related to the game. However, according to his interview with Gameroom magazine
, he now owns the rights to Ninja Baseball Bat Mans non-video game products, while Irem Japan owns the rights to its video game content.
and especially North America. Of the 1042 units sold, only 43 units were sold in North America, making "Ninja Baseball Bat Man" quite rare (especially in the U.S.). Drew "was very disappointed with the effort by the US office." Despite all of this, the popularity of the arcade emulator created four years later in 1997 titled MAME
caused Ninja Baseball Bat Man to gain more popularity than the arcade game's original release. Unfortunately, it isn't completely accurate to the arcade version when comparing it to video recordings of one of its PCB
s.
The arcade flyers for Ninja Baseball Bat Man has advertisements for Irem's three other video games and franchises: Hammerin' Harry
, Undercover Cops
and R-Type III: The Third Lightning
. An advertisement poster for Mahou Keibitai Gun Hoki (known as Mystic Riders outside of Japan), another arcade game by Irem, appears in the first stage of Ninja Baseball Bat Man.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
belt scroll
Belt scroll
Belt scroll is a video game genre that is side-scrolling action with downward camera angle. The character is able to move not only sideways but also vertical to depth within limited area.This term is mainly used in Japan...
ing beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
developed and published by Irem exclusively as an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
. It is the fourth arcade game by IREM to use a belt scroll perspective, following Blade Master
Blade Master
Blade Master is a scrolling "Hack and slash" arcade game released by Irem in 1991. Two selectable heroes, Roy and Arnold, try to save their land from hordes of monsters. There are items to break and power-ups to collect, typical of this genre in the 1990s....
, Hook and Undercover Cops
Undercover Cops
is an arcade-style beat 'em up video game by Irem. It is Irem's first attempt in the modern beat 'em up genre that was founded by Capcom's Final Fight. A few years later after its release, a lot of the team who made the game went on to form Nazca, who created the Metal Slug game series...
.
Gameplay
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
. Each stage takes place in several parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while a boss character will appear at the end of each stage, which requires player(s) to defeat it. Like in most video games, whether the player fails or successfully beats the game, he or she will type in three letters or other text characters in to record their score.
Like Irem's previous beat 'em up arcade Undercover Cops, Ninja Baseball Bat Man features playable characters with several different fighting moves performed by inputting several commands using an 8-way joystick and two buttons (attack and jump), including "smart bomb" or "screen zapper" moves that sacrifices health in order to annihilate every enemy on the screen. The game also allows players to perform combos, throws and dash attacks against several enemies. When a player's health bar flashes red, more moves can be performed as long as the player does not restore or completely lose health. There are items throughout the game that include American and Japanese food for restoring health, alternate weapons such as baseballs and shurikens, or items that call cheerleaders to either obliterate enemies on screen or drop a large amount of food. There are also mini-games after each boss before the final one is defeated.
Characters
- Captain Jose (6'1", 174 lbs), known in Japan as Captain Red - The head of the team and a "technician". He is well-balanced, making him the best choice for beginners. His hat has a letter "I".
- Twinbats Ryno (5'7", 145 lbs), known in Japan as Twinbats Green - He is a "speedy attacker" that wields two bats, but is the weakest of the four. His hat has a letter "R".
- Beanball Roger (5'9", 240 lbs), known in Japan as Beanball Yellow - He is a "powerful buster", but not as fast as others. His hat has a letter "E".
- Stick Straw (7'2", 194 lbs), known in Japan as Stick Blue - He is a "long-reach hitter", making him the best choice for players who want to fight with long-range moves. His hat has a letter "M".
Development
Irem America opened its U.S. office in 1988 in Redmond, WashingtonRedmond, Washington
Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
, headed up by Frank Ballouz (founder of FABTEK, a thriving video kit company and former North American publisher of several arcades by Seibu Kaihatsu
Seibu Kaihatsu
is a Japanese manufacturer of arcade games. They are best known for the Raiden series of games. The company was once called Seibu Denshi.-Games by Seibu-Kaihatsu:* Stinger * Kung-Fu Taikun * Knuckle Joe...
and TAD Corporation) and National Sales Manager Drew Maniscalco. During this time, Drew created the "Ninja Baseball Bat Man" video game concept (including the English title, plot and characters) and licensed it to Irem America in 1991. To illustrate the characters' sketches, Drew hired Gottlieb
Gottlieb
Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...
's well-known pinball artist, Gordon Morison.
Drew's concept came up after he read the top grossing films during its time in a USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
newspaper. One was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
, the other was one of the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
films (possibly Batman Returns
Batman Returns
Batman Returns is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to Burton's Batman , and features Michael Keaton reprising the title role, with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman.Burton originally did not...
). After that, he started creating his own superhero influenced by what he saw in the USA Today newspaper. During the development of his concept, he liked the word "ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
", because of it sounding mysterious to him. He gave the protagonists baseball bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
s and baseballs as their main weapons, as well as dressing them in baseball uniform
Baseball uniform
A baseball uniform is a type of uniform worn by baseball players. Most baseball uniforms have the names and uniform numbers of players who wear them, usually on the backs of the uniforms to distinguish players from one other. Baseball shirts , pants, shoes, socks, caps, and glove are parts of...
s, because Drew is a baseball fan. Drew thought the baseball bat idea was also probably an influence from the 1973 film Walking Tall
Walking Tall
Walking Tall is a 1973 semi-biopic of Sheriff Buford Pusser, a former professional wrestler-turned-lawman in McNairy County, Tennessee. It starred Joe Don Baker as Pusser...
. The word "Man" in the title comes from an actor who starred in the film known as Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
, who's superhero was a man. This was also how he came up with the game's English title. In Japan however, Irem of Japan's staff came up with the game's Japanese name as a reference to numerous tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
television shows, most notably the Super Sentai
Super Sentai
The is the name given to the long-running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Co., Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi...
series. Drew later created the concept for the other characters such as enemies. To illustrate the characters' sketches, Drew hired Gottlieb
Gottlieb
Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...
's well-known pinball artist, Gordon Morison.
Drew's original gameplay ideas for the video game was for a 1-player, adventure-based, platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
similar to Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's "Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
". However, due to the very successful game sales of several 4-player games (most of them being beat 'em ups), Drew added 3-players in an effort to compete with the 4-player games. While the title and characters were Drew's concept, Irem Japan programmed the arcade game, and modified the look of its prototype. Drew did not mind it being different, as he was thrilled about it being programmed by them.
During the development of the two-player platform version, the two main characters were named "Willie" and "Mickey", named after Drew's two favorite baseball players of his childhood, Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
and Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
. During the development of the 4-player beat 'em up version, the prototype names of the four main characters were Captain Jeff (red), Nunchaks Sugar (green), Hammer' Eddy (yellow) and Naginata Jimmy (blue). Drew later came up with the final names of the four protagonists that are currently used in the finished version today, which the names are references to the four baseball stars during the arcade game's release: Jose Canseco
José Canseco
José Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...
(red), Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...
(green), Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens , nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over...
(yellow) and Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Eugene Strawberry is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder who is well-known both for his play on the field and for his controversial behavior off it...
(blue). In Japan, their last names were changed to the names of their colors.
A year after its concept was created and a year before it was released, despite it being interesting in his opinion, Drew left the company in 1992 and moved to Data East USA
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
. Because of that, he was unable to market nor manage any other input related to the game. However, according to his interview with Gameroom magazine
Gameroom magazine
GameRoom Magazine was an American magazine focusing on arcade games . It was founded in 1988 by Dave C. and Donna Cooper of New Albany, Indiana, and was created to serve the growing market of coin-op memorabilia collectors, hobbyists, and restorers. The first issue, dated January 1989, focused on...
, he now owns the rights to Ninja Baseball Bat Mans non-video game products, while Irem Japan owns the rights to its video game content.
Reception and related releases
During its release in 1993, despite being one of the top arcade hits of Japan while receiving good reviews from critics, when compared to the sales of other kits sold at the time, it sold poorly in the Far EastFar East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
and especially North America. Of the 1042 units sold, only 43 units were sold in North America, making "Ninja Baseball Bat Man" quite rare (especially in the U.S.). Drew "was very disappointed with the effort by the US office." Despite all of this, the popularity of the arcade emulator created four years later in 1997 titled MAME
MAME
MAME is an emulator application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. The intention is to preserve gaming history by preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten...
caused Ninja Baseball Bat Man to gain more popularity than the arcade game's original release. Unfortunately, it isn't completely accurate to the arcade version when comparing it to video recordings of one of its PCB
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
s.
The arcade flyers for Ninja Baseball Bat Man has advertisements for Irem's three other video games and franchises: Hammerin' Harry
Hammerin' Harry (series)
Hammerin' Harry, known in Japan as , is a series of platforming video games developed and published by Irem in 1990. The titles were developed and published for the arcades, NES, Game Boy, Famicom and Sony PSP platforms.-Games:...
, Undercover Cops
Undercover Cops
is an arcade-style beat 'em up video game by Irem. It is Irem's first attempt in the modern beat 'em up genre that was founded by Capcom's Final Fight. A few years later after its release, a lot of the team who made the game went on to form Nazca, who created the Metal Slug game series...
and R-Type III: The Third Lightning
R-Type III: The Third Lightning
R-Type III: The Third Lightning is a 1993 horizontally-scrolling shooter video game developed by Irem.-Description:R-Type III was originally released only on the Super NES, but later ported to the Game Boy Advance. The SNES version has been recently released for download at Virtual Console. It was...
. An advertisement poster for Mahou Keibitai Gun Hoki (known as Mystic Riders outside of Japan), another arcade game by Irem, appears in the first stage of Ninja Baseball Bat Man.