EBaseball Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2022

Title: eBaseball Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2022 (Japanese title: eBASEBALLパワフルプロ野球2022)

Platform: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

Release Date: April 21st 2022

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Language(s): Japanese

The 2022 entry in the cartoon-style Konami-developed baseball series, the second in the series to use the eBaseball moniker in place of the word Jikkyou (Live). This edition adds a new online mode, Pawapark, with lots of new minigames and battle royale-inspired features.

Gameplay Modes

• My Life – Control a single player (real or fictional) for their career, with life sim elements between games.
• Pennant – A season mode using real NPB teams or custom rosters. Various playstyles are available, including manager mode, controlling a single player, or taking control only in key moments of each game.
• Taisen (Match) – A standard exhibition mode for playing, managing, or watching a single game.
• Pawafes – A roguelite-style mode with a storyline set at an international baseball tournament. Create your own character who gains XP to improve their abilities after each match. Collect key players from the opposing teams and level them up.
• Success – The series’ signature story mode with life sim and dating sim elements. Create a character and improve their abilities using experience points. More detail in the Success heading below.
• Renshuu (Practice) – A practice/training mode with a wide variety of options.
• Live Scenario – Short missions (usually a single at-bat) recreating the key moments in every real NPB game.
• Eikan Nine (Laurels Nine) – A team management mode with board game elements set in high school.
• Home Run Attack – Home run derby mode, for 1-4 players.
• Championship – An online multiplayer matchmaking mode.
• Pawa Park – Online multiplayer mode with a variety of minigames.

Success Mode Details

Each Powerful Pro Yakyuu game has its own new Success Modes, short story modes where players create a character and level them up while playing key moments of baseball games interspersed with life/dating sim gameplay. There are four separate Success Mode campaigns available in 2022:

• Powerful High School – A high school-set story mode that branches into three major separate paths with different characters and events.
• Aoharu Academy – A separate story at a different school, with a Nekketsu/Kirameki (burning/sparkling) mechanic, where color-matching your chosen action to the theme of each week improves your training efficiency.
• Sensho High School – An endless mode where the player controls the captain of a high school baseball team.
• Sakusakusesu (this is a pun, meaning something like Quick-success) – A fast-paced board game mode. Spaces and other characters on the board game map can improve or worsen your created character’s abilities.

Roster

• Full 29-man rosters for each of the 12 Nippon Professional Baseball teams plus full ni-gun (reserve squad) rosters for each team, though the ni-gun teams are not separately playable (unless players manually create them in the Arrange mode).
• 80+ former NPB players (for example: Ichiro, Yu Darvish, Sadaharu Oh) can be unlocked for inclusion on customer rosters using the game’s free currency, Power Points.
• All current NPB managers are immediately available to include on custom rosters with the abilities from their peak as players (Shingo Takatsu and Tsuyoshi Shinjo are probably the most famous of these for MLB fans). 80+ NPB members of NPB coaching staffs can also be unlocked with Power Points.
• Hundreds of fictional characters from the Pawafes and Success modes, who can be unlocked and inserted onto custom rosters for most game modes.

Little Details

• Certain players have their own unique “home run performance” animations that will trigger occasionally, where the player will pose for the camera or celebrate with teammates near the dugout after a home run. You can see one after the Leonys Martin home run in the gameplay video above. This video collates most of the examples in this year’s game.
• As usual in Power Pros games, there are a few fun, undocumented actions you can perform in certain circumstances:
  • Use the rosin bag – When pitching, press the touchpad on PS4 or the Minus button on Switch to use the rosin bag. This will release a puff of white smoke when you release the pitch. There are unconfirmed rumors that this gives a small buff to your swinging strike rate or control for that pitch.
  • Throw the ball to the crowd – When you catch the third out of an inning with one of your outfielders, if you immediately press a certain button combination, your player will throw the ball to the crowd. If the left fielder caught the ball, press Triangle + Square on PS4 or X + Y on Switch. If the right fielder caught the ball, press Triangle + Circle on PS4 or X + A on Switch.

Default Controls

PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5

While batting:

Left analog stick aims your swing indicator

✖ to swing

Hold ● to bunt

R1 to toggle between normal and power swing

▲ to send all runners

To send an individual runner, ■+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to steal

R3 changes camera angle

While on offense and the ball is in play:

▲ to advance all runners

● to retreat all runners

To advance an individual runner, ■+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to advance to

To retreat an individual runner, ✖+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to retreat to

Alternate L1 and R1 quickly to give a small speed boost to all runners

While pitching:

Left analog stick chooses a pitch from your current pitcher’s arsenal

R1 selects a second pitch of the same directionality as what you have currently selected if available (Ex. If a pitcher has a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, choose the two-seam by pressing Up on the analog stick then pressing R1)

R2 selects waste pitch

✖ commits pitch choice and starts wind-up

If using “Press Twice” controls, press ✖ again with good timing to determine pitch quality

To attempt a pickoff, ■+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to throw to

L1 enters defensive shift menu

R3 changes camera angle

While on defense and the ball is in play and uncontrolled:

Left analog stick moves the fielder you are currently controlling

■ or ▲ to jump

● or ✖ to dive

R2 to switch control to another nearby fielder

While on defense when the ball is in play and controlled:

Left analog stick to run with the ball

● to throw to first base

▲ to throw to second

■ to throw to third

✖ to throw home

R1 to throw to the cutoff man, a situation-dependent fielder not attached to a base

Switch

While batting:

Left analog stick aims your swing indicator

B to swing

Hold A to bunt

R to toggle between normal and power swing

X to send all runners

To send an individual runner, Y+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to steal

Press in Right Stick changes camera angle

While on offense and the ball is in play:

X to advance all runners

A to retreat all runners

To advance an individual runner, Y+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to advance to

To retreat an individual runner, B+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to retreat to

Alternate L and R quickly to give a small speed boost to all runners

While pitching:

Left analog stick chooses a pitch from your current pitcher’s arsenal

R selects a second pitch of the same directionality as what you have currently selected if available (Ex. If a pitcher has a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, choose the two-seam by pressing Up on the analog stick then pressing R)

ZR selects waste pitch

B commits pitch choice and starts wind-up

If using “Press Twice” controls, press B again with good timing to determine pitch quality

To attempt a pickoff, Y+left analog stick in the direction of the base you want to throw to

L enters defensive shift menu

Select picks up the rosin bag

Press in Right Stick changes camera angle

While on defense and the ball is in play and uncontrolled:

Left analog stick moves the fielder you are currently controlling

Y or X to jump

B or A to dive

ZR to switch control to another nearby fielder

While on defense when the ball is in play and controlled:

Left analog stick to run with the ball

A to throw to first base

X to throw to second

Y to throw to third

B to throw home

R to throw to the cutoff man, a situation-dependent fielder not attached to a base