I Love Softball

I Love Softball

JP Title	I LOVE ソフトボール or アイラブソフトボール
Release Date	Japan: December 19 1989
Platforms	Famicom
Developer	Coconuts Japan
Publisher	Coconuts Japan

A cutesy 8-bit softball game by the studio that would later bring you Sleve McDichael’s Fighting Baseball.

Description

Gameplay is similar to other simple 8-bit baseball games like R.B.I. Baseball, with a few softball-specific elements: Games are seven innings long, pitchers throw underhand, and, saddest of all, the players’ arm strength is terrible. Running to cover a base is often as fast as throwing to it.

In one-player mode, players choose a high school team from a map of Japanese prefectures, taking them through a gauntlet of increasingly strong teams: Regional competition, national competition at the Koushien tournament, a game against the U.S. national team, games against professional Japanese teams, and then against a U.S. Major League team.

In two-player mode, players can choose to use high school teams, professional teams (themed after NPB teams), or all-star teams (draft a team of players from the professional teams).

Player names are fictional and follow themes: One team’s players are all named after Japanese historical eras (Sengoku, Heian, Showa). Another team’s players are named after game companies (Konyami = Konami, Sun = Sunsoft, Coconyatsu = Coconuts).

An anthropomorphic pachinko ball from Coconuts Japan’s many gambling-themed games appears on the scoreboard between half-innings.

Physical Media

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  I Love Softball front box art

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  I Love Softball back box art

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  I Love Softball front of cartridge

Translation patch

An English translation patch was made by MrRichard999, TheMajinZenki, FlashPV, Proveaux, and Jink640.

External Links

• "I Hate Softball" video essay by Baseball Replay Journal