World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)

From Sega Retro

For the Sega Mega Drive game, see World Series Baseball 98 (Mega Drive).

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WSB98 Saturn title.png

World Series Baseball 98
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Sega, Kama Entertainment (KR)
Developer:
Licensor: Major League Baseball Properties, Major League Baseball Players Association
Genre: Sports (baseball)

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Saturn
US
$49.9949.99[2] 81127
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Saturn
KR
MK-81127-08

World Series Baseball 98 is a Sega Saturn baseball game developed and published by Sega. First released in the United States in July 1997, the game is a sequel to the developer's previous World Series Baseball II. It is a localized version of Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine 97.

Gameplay

The game has been drastically redesigned from its predecessor. The most significant visual change is the transition from 2D sprites to 3D polygonal players, which allows for more camera angles and animations (including player-specific mannerisms). The game also makes use of the Saturn's high-resolution video mode for its title screen and menus. Gameplay has been overhauled to use a quadrant system for batter/pitcher battles.

The 28 teams from the 1997 MLB season are present and playable with their full rosters and their ballparks. The 1998 expansion teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, are also present. They have been assigned leagues and have had their stadiums recreated for the game, but as neither would play a game until the 1998 season, they have not been assigned divisions and have fictional rosters. Players can also choose to play as the American League All-Stars or the National League All-Stars, teams consisting of the best players from each respective league, which were restricted to a separate mode in the previous games.

The game has the following play modes:

  • Exhibition Mode: An exhibition mode, for playing a single game against a human or computer player. The player can also watch two computer-controlled teams play. The player chooses the team and the batting line-up for computer players.
  • Pennant Race: Plays a full 162 game season, culminating in the World Series. The game uses the Saturn's internal memory or a backup cartridge to save the player's progress.
  • Playoffs: A truncated season with only the play-offs.
  • Home Run Derby: A competition where players can choose any player in the league and compete to get the most home runs. There are no balls, strikes, or outs and no baserunning or fielding. This mode can be played with up to two players taking turns (with the computer pitching for every player), with each player batting for 20 balls.

Before each game, players choose a team and a batting line-up. Players can choose from any of the 30 major league ballparks, choose a day or a night game, set the number of innings, toggle designated hitters (whether the pitcher bats or a designated hitter replaces him in the batting line-up), toggle errors (whether fielders occasionally drop fly balls or miss grounders), and toggle wind and weather (whether wind conditions affect the ball physics). Players can also decide whether to use automated fielding or baserunning and impact markers (which show where a fly ball will land). When playing against a computer-controlled opponent, the player also sets the difficulty level (Rookie, Veteran, or All-Star).

World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Defense, Pitching.png

World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Defense, Fielding.png

  • World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Defense, Pitching.png

  • World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Defense, Fielding.png

Defense
Each pitcher has his own repertoire of pitches that can be thrown, which are shown as arrows in the bottom-right corner of the screen (and also when selecting a pitcher). Pitches are thrown with C while holding the D-Pad in the direction of the desired pitch: Up for a fastball, Up-right for a change-up, Right for a slider, Down-right for a curve, Down for a fork or split, Down-left for a sinker, Left for a screwball, and Up-left for a palm or knuckle. Left and right are reversed for left-handed pitchers. If no special pitch is chosen, the pitcher throws a fastball.

A rectangle the center of the screen shows the strike zone. When the ball is thrown, the target of the pitch is shown as a circle over it and the location of the batter's hit is shown as a crosshair. Holding C for longer results in a faster pitch. The player can continue to use the D-Pad to affect the trajectory of the pitch after it is thrown. An indicator in the corner of the screen shows the wind speed and direction, which can also affect the ball travel. Wind can be disabled in the options before starting the game.

The pitcher can throw to first with Z, to second with Y, and to third with X to pick off a runner who is trying to steal a base. The pitcher can also throw a pitchout (a pitch deliberately thrown outside of the strike zone to make it easier to catch) with A to prevent baserunners from stealing a base.

The player can optionally choose a special formation for the fielders (bunt, deep, or shallow) with R.

When fielding, the D-Pad moves the fielder nearest to the ball. The player can change to a different fielder with L and R. The fielder can jump to try to catch the ball with C or dive with C while holding a direction. Once the fielder has possession of the ball, he can run to the nearest base for a tag-out with B or he can throw it to first with Z, to second with Y, to third with X, or to home with A.

Between pitches, the player can call for a time-out with  START  to substitute a relief pitcher or change the fielders. Pitchers become tired as they throw more pitches, but they can be given a small energy boost with L.

World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Offense, Hitting.png

World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Offense, Running.png

  • World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Offense, Hitting.png

  • World Series Baseball 98 Saturn, Offense, Running.png

Offense
The player tries to predict the location of the pitch in four quadrants: A sets the bat to the bottom left, B for the bottom right, X for the top left, and Y for the top right. Once the pitch is thrown, the player can move the batting marker, indicating the location of the hit, using the D-Pad. The location of the incoming pitch appears as a circle while the batting marker is shown as a crosshair. When the two intersect, the batting marker locks on to the ball and the player can swing at it with C. If the player correctly guesses the quadrant of the pitch before it is thrown, the batting marker is locked on to it already without needing to use the D-Pad.

The player can also bunt the ball by holding Z with Up or Down to move the bat up or down and Left or Right to change the angle of the bat.

After a hit, the player can press C repeatedly to speed up the batter running to first base.

The player can instruct baserunners to lead off with L or return to base with R, which can be paired with a direction on the D-Pad to specify a base (Right for first, Up for second, Left for third, or Down for home). The player can instruct a baserunner to advance by holding B while holding a direction or to return to base by holding A while holding a direction. The player can have all runners advance with Y or all runners retreat with X. If two runners are caught between two bases, the player can send the first runner forward and the other runner back with Z.

Between pitches, the player can call for a time-out with  START  to substitute a pinch hitter or swap out runners.

Teams

League Division Team Stadium
American Western Anaheim Angels Anaheim Stadium
Oakland Athletics Oakland Coliseum
Seattle Mariners Kingdome
Texas Rangers The Ballpark
Central Chicago White Sox Comiskey Park
Cleveland Indians Jacobs Field
Kansas City Royals Kauffman Stadium
Milwaukee Brewers County Stadium
Minnesota Twins Metrodome
Eastern Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards
Boston Red Sox Fenway Park
Detroit Tigers Tiger Stadium
New York Yankees Yankee Stadium
Toronto Blue Jays SkyDome
Unassigned Tampa Bay Devil Rays Tropicana Field
National Western Colorado Rockies Coors Field
Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium
San Diego Padres Jack Murphy Stadium
San Francisco Giants 3Com Park
Central Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field
Cincinnati Reds Cinergy Field
Houston Astros Astrodome
Pittsburgh Pirates Three Rivers Stadium
St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium
Eastern Atlanta Braves Turner Field
Florida Marlins Pro Player Stadium
Montreal Expos Olympic Stadium
New York Mets Shea Stadium
Philadelphia Phillies Veterans Stadium
Unassigned Arizona Diamondbacks Bank One Ballpark

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English (US) World Series Baseball 98 World Series Baseball 98
Korean 월드시리즈베이스볼98 World Series Baseball 98

Production credits

Source:
US manual
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[3]


Magazine articles

Main article: World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

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Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #96: "July 1997" (1997-0x-xx)
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Print advert in GamePro (US) #107: "August 1997" (1997-xx-xx)
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Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #99: "October 1997" (1997-xx-xx)
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Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1997-12: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)
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Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
83
[4]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
100
[5]
Ultra Game Players (US) NTSC-U
94
[6]
Sega Saturn
92
Based on
3 reviews

World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)

Saturn, US
WSB98 Saturn US Box Back.jpgWSB98 Saturn US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Wsb98 sat us manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, KR
WorldSeriesBaseball98 Sat KR back.jpgWorldSeriesBaseball98 Sat KR side.jpgWorldSeriesBaseball98 Sat KR front.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Saturn
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
430,225,488 CD-ROM (US) 81127 V1.006

External links

  • Sega of America webpage: Saturn

References


World Series Baseball 98 (Saturn)

WSB98 Saturn title.png

Main page | Magazine articles | Reception


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Games in the World Series Baseball Series
Sega Mega Drive
World Series Baseball (1994) | World Series Baseball '95 (1995) | World Series Baseball '96 (1996) | World Series Baseball 98 (1997)
Sega Game Gear
World Series Baseball (1993) | World Series Baseball '95 (1994) | Nomo's World Series Baseball (1995)
Sega 32X
World Series Baseball Starring Deion Sanders (1995)
Sega Saturn
World Series Baseball (1995) | World Series Baseball II (1996) | World Series Baseball 98 (1997)
Windows PC
World Series Baseball '96 (1996)
Arcade
World Series 99 (1999) | World Series Baseball (2001)
Sega Dreamcast
World Series Baseball 2K1 (2000) | World Series Baseball 2K2 (2001)
Xbox
World Series Baseball (2002) | World Series Baseball 2K3 (2003)
World Series Baseball related media
Book
Prima's Official Strategy Guide: World Series Baseball 2K1 (2000)