Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū series
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Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū (実況パワフルプロ野球) Live Powerful Pro Baseball, simply called Power Pro or Pawapuro to non-Japanese speakers, is a traditionally Japan-only baseball series created by Konami. It is known for its big-headed characters, and addictive arcade-style gameplay. It is long running in Japan, starting out in 1994 for the Super Famicom. The game has also appeared on the Sega Saturn (from 1995 to 1997), the PlayStation (from 1995 to 2003), the Nintendo 64 (1997 to 2001), the PlayStation 2 (from 2002 to 2007), the Dreamcast, the GameCube (also from 2002 to 2006) as well as Wii(from 2007). The series has also seen release on handheld systems since 1999 under the title Power Pro-kun Pocket, with versions for the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. A version of the game has also seen release on the PlayStation Portable,currently with two installments. The series is within its 14th iteration on home consoles, and its 10th on a handheld. It is one of the long-lasting titles in Japan with most number of game entries, like Winning Eleven/PES Series (also from Konami), Super Robot Wars Series(Banpresto), and Final Fantasy Series(Square-Enix)
On May 12, 2006, a version of Power Pro was released featuring Major League Baseball players, under the title Jikkyō Powerful Major League (MLB Power Pros for American version). The Power Pro series has featured online play since its tenth incarnation on the PS2 and its eighth handheld version on the Nintendo DS (which utilises the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service). A version of Power Pro has been announced for the Playstation 3, first shown at the Tokyo Game Show in 2005. More recently, on August 3, 2007, an American release of the series was announced for both the Playstation 2 and the Wii.[1] The game, titled MLB Power Pros, will be published by 2K Sports,[1] and will feature a Success Mode set within Major League Baseball.[1] It was released on October 3, 2007.[1]
The most distinctive feature of the Power Pro series is its odd depiction of characters. The basic design of the Power Pro baseball player (collectively known as "Pawapurokun") is a short figure with an excessively wide head, lacking a mouth, nose, ears, and hair. Pawapurokun are somewhat similar to the character Rayman(in 1995), in that they do not have legs and thus their feet are not connected to their body. Pawapurokun do have arms and hands, however, their hands are fingerless and bear more resemblance to a sphere than a human hand. The Power Pro series has used this comic design for every single one of its games, even though improvements in graphics and gameplay have given birth to other games that feature almost life-like images of baseball players. It is impossible to distinguish one player from the other wthin Power Pro, except due to their jersey. All Pawapurokuns basically look exactly the same, except for some variations in skin color and behavior.
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[edit] Main Developments in the Series
This is the major system development in the main series (as well as information of seasons series and MLB Power Pros series), some minor development, such as player's ablilty, are not included in the development
[edit] Pawapuro 94'
- The first installment in SFC, neither Pennant Mode nor Success mode are included in first 2 installments.
[edit] Pawapuro 3
- Success mode, which becomes one of the main features in the Pawapuro series, is firstly installed in this series.
[edit] Pawapuro 4
- The series moved to the N64 platform.
- The Success Mode firstly features original characters, some of them become regular even nowadays.
[edit] Pawapuro 7
- The series moved to the PS2 platform since Pawapuro 7.
[edit] Pawapuro 8
- Vocalized opening is firstly featured in the series, with the openings made by Kyoto Animation which mainly works on animation after-production at that time. They have been working on the openings until Pawapuro 11 as they had started working on the anime version of Air, a famous production from Visual Arts/Key. The production works are passed to Production I.G in Pawapuro 12.
[edit] Pawapuro 9
- Pawapuro main series are firstly available in two platforms, in both PS2 and GC. And this basically constructs the Sony side and the Nintendo side.
[edit] Pawapuro 10
- Success Mode first features creating teams instead of individual players.
- Online mode is firstly available. And the only installment that allow machine crossovers.
- Mylife mode, an alternate type of Success Mode that player controls the Japan League player instead of original character (But you can still play created player in Success Mode), is firstly placed in this installment.
[edit] Pawapuro 11
- Audio Endings are first featured in Success Mode, again it is made (and the only Pawapuro series ending production they participated) by Kyoto Animation.
[edit] Pawapuro 12
- Modified player password system, means password systems cannot be placed on previous installment (for Nintendo side). However, password from 12-14, can be usedon Portable 1 and Portable 2 (within Sony platform only).
- Cheering Songs Editor is available since this installment, like players, password system are used to transfer and import the songs. Cheering Songs can be transferred to any installment within the Sony's platform without restrictions. As long as that installment support Cheering Songs.
[edit] Jikkyō Powerful Major League
[edit] Pawapuro 13
- As Nintendo Gamecube has stopped production at that time, it is the only installment of main series that only features in PS2 platform since 8.
- Major system changes have been placed in this installment.
- Every players only control one player in the teamin online mode, not a whole team.
- Scenerio Mode, a feature since the first series is cancelled from this installment.
[edit] Pawapuro 14/Wii
- Wii platform is added in Nintendo side, replacing GC for the future installment in Pawapuro (and MLB PP series), as a feature of Wii, motion control system is supported in Wii side, both versions support online mode which adepts system in 13 (but conrolling three players instead), in separated server.
- Success Mode firstly features leading a high-school team, targeted at Summer Koshien Champion. Later also feature currently Japanese NPB players as members of the National Team.
[edit] Jikkyō Powerful Major League 2(MLB Power Pros)
- The series finally officially has its debut in America, numbers of Japanese players who had turned into a Major League Player participated.
[edit] The Success Mode
The Success Mode is the game's most compelling feature[citation needed], combining role-playing game and life simulation games elements with the baseball sport. The basic objective is to train a generic Pawapurokun to become a professional baseball player. The Pawapurokun starts out with low stats, but often ends up being far better than any of the real professional players included in the game. Generally, Pawapurokun begins as an amateur player (ranging from high school, college or company player) who must become a professional in a certain period (usually three years). The Success Mode takes only about 2 hours to complete, but creating a good player requires an extraordinary amount of skill and luck, giving the game almost infinite replay value.[citation needed] Various random events will affect the growth of your player, for example, getting a girlfriend will allow you to regain motivation easily and receive presents (which drastically improve your player's stats) on your birthday. The amount of stress caused, and number of Pawapurokuns killed off in the Success Mode can be very large,[citation needed] as someone can spend hours carefully training a Pawapurokun, only to see him become severely injured in a car accident, ending any chance of his becoming a good player. "All A's" Pawapurokuns (characters that have all of their stats in the highest range) are particularly sought after, since you can transfer Pawapurokuns from one memory card to the other using a password, and use them in exhibition games (It is noted that password have different formats between Sony and Nintendo side, which means you cannot transfer a password from PS2/PSP to a GC/Wii/NDS/GBA Pawapuro installments, and vice versa).[citation needed] Often a cheat device such as Action Replay is used to generate incredibly strong Pawapurokuns, and several fansites offer to create customized Pawapurokuns in exchange for voting for the site in a web ranking.[citation needed]As Success mode is the most popular major part of the Pawapuro Series, thus there are no ablilty editing mode in Pawapuro series. (except American installment's MLB Power Pros) which become one of the regular element in other sport games. The plot as well as the storyline of the Success Mode has a profound effect on the game's popularity, as many users would rather replay older Pawapuro games that have good Success Modes than buy a newer installment that has new data and improved gameplay, but a bad Success Mode.
In Pawapuro 14, it is available to become a coach instead of Pawapurokun, leading a high school team to Koshien Champion, it is somewhat an alternate way to create a large amount of Pawapurokuns in the same time. The mode does not require any skill in pitching, catching nor batting on their own, but require planning and tactics skill like other sport-manager game. Later, 14 Kettei-ban firstly features enhancing current NPB players, and placing them as original players.
The main background of Pawapurokun in various installments are below:
- 3: Reserve player (in NPB team)
- 4: Reserve player (in NPB team)
- 5: High School Student
- 6: University player
- 7: Reserve player (in NPB team)
- 8: Fantasy Story (High School/University/Company player can be chosen)
- 9: High School Student
- 10: An NPB fictional team Reserve
- 11: University Team/Japan National Team (as amateur player)
- 12: Student in baseball academy/Company amateur player/Dropout in baseball academy
- Major League: Player in independent league
- 13: High School Student (World High School Championship is added in Kettei-ban)
- 14: Reserve of Vulcans, An NPB fictional league team.
- MLBPP: University Student
- 15: Company amateur player
- MLBPP08: An AAA player
For Managers:
- 10: Playing-owner of the professional- Success All Stars (Kettei-ban only)
- 14: High School Team, Japan National Team (Kettei-ban only)
- 15: High School Team
Through the background of the story and events of the series usually have connection with the sequel and the presequel (which also gives conflicts, which sometimes major character returns to university or company), but may not be in the same chronological order. For example, 7 is actually the sequel of the events in 9, and 11 is the sequel of 7. But 13 is actually the story paralleling to 10, through the previous characters appeared. The only exception is Yabe Akio, the original outfielder who appeared in every installment of main series (since 4) who will always be the Pawapuro-kun's first partner no matter what (Through he appeared wearing Nippon Ham Fighters(Now Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters) uniform in the openings in 7,8,9). Currently Konami should had set the main storyline in the sequence of 9(P3)->7->13->10->11->12->14.
In early series before 10, major characters are spread into different real NPB teams, after the installment 10, four original teams (Powerfuls, Keysers, Cathands, and Yanks) were formed in Pacific League and Central League to room original characters (Through some minor characters would stay in the real teams and being opponents. Two more teams, Vulcans and Busters were added in 14 and formed the fictional third league "Revolutional League" with the prior 4 original teams, according to storyline of 14, the league participated in Japan Series in its fourth year since establishment. Other than team formations, the major regulations of NPB are kept (including the playoff system introduced in 2007 season), only having a shorter Pennant span, in order to keep the gametime under three hours. (Except Pawapuro 9, 10 and 99' which there are more complete matches, or particular mode in 11, 13, 14). Usually players are not needed (and not permitted to) play all innings unless player involves it, being a captain in final stages of the success mode, or the success mode itself does not give status point in practices.
Due to the possibility of copyright conflict towards MLB (particularly before the release of the MLB series after Pawapuro 12), the American League system in NPB series is called the UBL (Possibly named as USA Baseball League) in NPB series, which are composed by three grades: Single Star, Double Stars, and the top-ranked Regular League, similar to the AA, AAA, and MLB system in the real world. Such naming were continued to use in 13 and 14 even the MLB series released, and it is believed to continue to use to made story connections to the other NPB installments since some players are set in the UBL. Currently MLB series' success modes did not feature as a position of MLB player yet (but AAA players in MLB Power Pros 2008).
For another remarks, there are numbers of female players appeared in the series with some of them have remarkable performances. at least four female players in main series gone through Koshien and turned Pro (through one is never seen as being released later). Through this in the real world, the reality is yet to be changed.
Since the 7th installment, usually the opening sequences gives some clues of the storyline of the success mode, especially for the 9th and 10th installments while professional players are only given a very brief cameos, Success Mode characters filled the major parts in the openings.
Sub-series usually featured independent sceanrios (or even not featuring success mode), the most rekowned one was in the 99' installment, which there has a mode called "Mekkou-Tou", which consecutive battles with all the original teams appeared in the past success mode (whenever appears in main-series, Power Pro kun pocket series, or even appeared in the later series), it is still one of the legendary modes that the later series didn't revived.
The Pawapuro-kun pocket series, rather than focusing on real-life Baseball worlds, many fantasy elements are added in the series. Since the second installment, two success modes are placed in each installments, while the normal success mode usually feature high-school or Professional baseball (unlike main series, fantasy elements are usually mixed in the series), the second success (called inner-success mode) usually place the Pawapuro-kun are placed in the various worlds, varying from Medieval ages, ancient times, to future worlds. Fantasy elements are very uncommon in the main series, but Konami did it in 8, which the (optional) final battle is versus anaeroid players which legendary player's data were inserted.
[edit] Mylife mode
Due to the great success of success mode, Konami have someway extended to another game mode called Mylife since Pawapuro 10, which can use created player (or using an NPB player, even creating a player at place) to play in the NPB, with another series of events, through there are no more characters from success mode appears in it. The difficulty will change according to your performance in the game.
The known mode in Mylife mode are:
- Loan player: Playing as a loan player from other team, maximum playtime is one year.
- Playing Manager: Playing as a playing manager, maximum playtime is one year. Whenever the team lose the possibility claiming the League Champion (or playoff in Pacific League). Currently available in 13.
- Pro players: Choosing one current NPB players, maximum playtime is 20 years.
Note: If you choose Yakult Swallows' catcher Atsuya Furuta as your player in the Mylife mode in 13 or 14, playing manager duties are added. However, maximum playtime is reduced to two years. (Atsuya was a playing manager in 2006 and 2007 season, he retired in 2007)
- Retiring player: Playing the retiring year of your career, available in 14.
- Original players: Using players created in success mode to play in Mylife.
MLB version did not feature Mylife mode until the 2008 installment.
[edit] The Gyroball within Powerful Pro Yakyu
The Power Pro series raised some controversy in Japan with its use of the term "Gyroball", a term made popular by Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka when he signed with the Boston Red Sox. The Gyroball appears not as a pitch usable in a baseball game, but as one of the special abilities assigned to particular pitchers. In Pawapuro, pitchers that have the Gyroball ability get increased velocity on their fastball, which is completely different from the actual definition of a Gyroball (a pitch with a spin resembling that of a slider). Power Pro and other baseball manga (which also give misinterpretations of the Gyroball) have given the impression that the Gyroball is an all-powerful strike out pitch, which it is not. Several professional pitchers (including classic players) are given this ability in the game, but Daisuke Matsuzaka is not given the Gyroball ability in any of the game's installments. Daisuke does not appear in Pawapuro 14 as he was transferred via Posting system to Boston Red Sox, through two-seam ball which made closer to his pitching is added in this installment. It is expected Daisuke will return as an Seibu OB somedays (through Daisuke's official password has been released in MLB Power Pros 2), but his ability changes is still unknown at this moment.
[edit] Games in the series
Below is a rough list of the games within the Power Pro series. Basically can de divided into certain categories below.
Main Series: Ending with only number suffixs (except '94, the first series), most major system amendments (including success mode) are placed in the main series.
Season Series: A Sony Playstation 1 exclusive series, ending with suffix in year number, it is mainly an alternate installment of the main series which is installed in Super Famicom and Sony Playstation 2. This series has been merged to the main series as the Playstation 1 have been stop manufactured. Since 1998, two installments are released every year, one normal version in the start of the season, and one named Kettei-ban(Post-Season version), with the latter have statistic (and sometime involving player transfers) update that reflects his performance in the season. This has become one of the tradition of Konami even after this has been merged in the main series, much like the Winning Eleven series with a more frequently update.
Power Pro Kun Pocket Series: The main alternate series which is exclusively released on Nintendo's pocket series.
MLB Power Pro Series: The only series that is officially released in America, it features MLB series instead of traditional Japanese NPB series, through Japanese version is also available. See the MLB Power Pros entry for further details.
It is noted that passwords cannot be used on same installments with different manufacturer's machine (Sony/Nintendo has their own password format). Passwords of Power Pros (Japanese version) cannot be used on American version either.
[edit] Main Series
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '94 (SFC, 1994} - the first game in the series.
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2 (SFC, 1995)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 3 (SFC, 1996)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 3 '97 Haru(Spring Version) (1997)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 4 (N64, 1997)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 5 (N64, 1998)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 6 (N64, 1999)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 7 (PS2, 2000)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 7 Kettei-ban (PS2, 2000)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 8 (PS2, 2001)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 8 Kettei-ban (PS2, GC, 2001)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 9 (PS2, GC, 2002)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 9 Kettei-ban (PS2, GC, 2002)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 10 (PS2, GC, 2003)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 10 Chou Kettei-ban: 2003 Memorial (PS2, GC, 2003)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 11 (PS2, GC2004)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 11 Chou Kettei-ban (PS2, GC, 2004)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 12 (PS2, GC2005)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 12 Kettei-ban (PS2, GC, 2005)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 13 (PS2, 2006)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 13 Kettei-ban (PS2, 2006)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 14/Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū Wii (PS2/Wii, 2007)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 15 (PS2/Wii, 2008, pending to be released in 24/7/2008)
[edit] Alternate Series
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '95 (PS, 1994)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '95 Kaimaku-ban (PS,SS, 1995)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '96 Kaimaku-ban (PS, 1996)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '97 Kaimaku-ban (PS, 1997)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū S (1997)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū basic-ban '98 (SFC, 1998)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '98 Kaimaku-ban (PS, 1998)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '98 Kettei-ban (PS, 1998)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '99 Kaimaku-ban (PS, 1999)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū '99 Kettei-ban (PS, 1999)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2000 (N64, 2000)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2000 Kaimaku-ban (PS, 2000)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2000 Kettei-ban (PS, 2000)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū Basic-ban 2001 (N64, 2001)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2001 Kaimaku-ban (PS, 2001)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2001 Kettei-ban (PS, 2001)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2002 Haru (PS, 2002)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū Premium-ban (PS, 2003)
[edit] MLB Series
- Jikkyō Powerful Major League (PS2, GC, 2006)
- Jikkyō Powerful Major League 2/Wii (PS2/Wii, 2007)
- MLB Power Pros/Wii (PS2/Wii, 2007, American Version)
- MLB Power Pros 2008 (PS2/Wii, American Version, pending to be released in July, 2008)
[edit] Power Pro Kun Pocket Series
- Power Pro Kun Pocket (GB, 1999)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 2 (GB, 2000)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 3 (GBA, 2001)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 4 (GBA, 2002)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 5 (GBA, 2003)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 6 (GBA, 2003)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 1+2 (GBA, 2004)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 7 (GBA, 2004)
- Power Pocket Koushien (NDS, 2005)
- Atsumare! Power Pro Kun no DS Koushien (NDS, 2006)
- Power Pocket Dush (GBA, 2006)
- Power Pro Kun Pocket 9 (NDS, 2006)
- Power Pro-kun Pocket 10 (NDS, [[2007)
[edit] PlayStation Portable Series
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū Portable (PSP, 2006)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū Portable 2 (PSP, 2007)
- Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū Portable 3 (PSP, 2008, pending to be released on 29/5/2008)
[edit] Other Appearances
- Konami Krazy Racers (GBA, 2001)- a Pawapurokun appears as a racer, playable immediately.
- DreamMix TV World Fighters (GC, 2003) - a Pawapurokun appears as a playable character from the start of the game.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Kohler, Chris (2007-08-03). 2K Sports, Konami Team Up For Kawaii Major League Baseball. Game|Life. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
