Time To Bust Out Netsu Sta...

If I'm not mistaking, it is also possible to update the rosters in Spirit 3 (unlike spirit 2 wich you could only update 6 teams).

Is Nechu worth buying ?
(since there probably won't be any new baseball games for ps2 next season)

Nope. You can make bad looking players in PYS with stats you can't fully control. In Netsu Sta, you can edit EVERY person in the game. You can edit the name, number, appearance, attributes, batting stance, etc. The game would be far less enjoyable without this ability. PYS3 would be a way better game if you could do this. Konami needs to wake up and make it happen.

I'll tell you if Netsu Sta is worth buying after more games.

I've always wondered about Netsu Sta - the one major Japanese baseball videogame franchise that I've never played. I found this post informative. Thank you, BigManZam.

But because the next generation approaches, I won't likely spring for it.

I agree:

-Pro Spirits 3 matches can feel too long.
-Pawapuro's defense/fielding is better than Pro
Spirits 3's.
-Pawapuro 13 does not exist.

I disagree:

-I enjoy Pro Spirits 3's pitching. I use the timing meter (double tap the "X" button), with Analog control, and with the Aiming Cursor OFF. I also pitch with the centered-behind-home-plate view: the same view with which I bat. Pitching WITHOUT the Aiming/Pitch/Mit cursor has made all the difference for me - in Pawapuro, PawaMajor, and Pro Spirits 3.

-And while 12 Ketteiban is solid, I still find 11 Chou Ketteiban's gameplay superior.

Finally, can you post and share Netsu Sta game saves? Because if I had access to your roster update, I might be more willing to give this game a go.

I could easily upload a save using Action Replay(I think that's what it is).

I'll try and upload some video of game highlights later.

Made a video just to show how cool the HR replays can be. I put the music in myself, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bk_tujXAhM

Do you know if there is any Japanese Baseball games available for PC? Any info would be highly appreciated.

There was an online Pawapuro for the PC a few years back. It was in the same style as the PS1 versions. Other than that very rare title, there are none. Japanese gamers aren't PC gamers. There are multiple reasons why.

1. High-end PCs cost a ton.

2. Too many PC games are FPS and they hate FPS games. You can include me on that list.

3. For some reason, PC games in Japan are way overpriced. Probably because of the lack of sales. The average PC game over there costs like 80-100 dollars. Most of them are hentai games or dating sims, since it doesn't take an expensive PC to run those. Most PC sections of electronics stores only specialize in hardware and productivity software.

Having read the list in your first post, BigManZam, I'd like to give Netsu Sta a try. I haven't had any luck finding it for sale anywhere, though.

Any ideas where I can find it ?

Search playasia.com with the word "netsu" and it'll be the first search result shown.

Out of sheer boredom with all my other games, I tried out Dream League II in Netsu Sta. I gotta say that this could turn out to be really interesting. It's basically like Franchise Mode in EA games with Fantasy Draft. You replace an original NPB team with your own, and you can make the uniforms and stadium. Stadium upgrades cost points, but you can customize colors for free. You work with this team for 10 years, and you basically work to make it the strongest, most profitable, and most popular team in the league. You can scramble all the teams around.

There are three levels you get for points you use to sign players. I chose the hardest, but due to being too careful, I had 500 points left over. This is what my team looks like.

1. Makoto Fukumoto(2B)
2. Kazunori Tanaka(CF)
3. Takashi Toritani(SS)
4. Shuichi Murata(3B)
5. Ichiro Horita(RF)
6. Kosei Ono(C)
7. G.G. Sato(1B)
8. Kodai Sakurai(LF)
9. Pitcher

Rotation
1. Tsuyoshi Wada(Ace)
2. Kenta Asakura
3. Tomoya Yagi
4. Hayato Terahara
5. Kazuo Yamaguchi
6. Takanobu Tsujiuchi

Bullpen
Chikara Onodera(Closer)
Yuichi Hisamoto(Lefty BP ace)
Ryu Kawabata(Righty BP ace)

Can you tell that I wanted to go really young with this team? There are 60 games in a single season, and you can choose to try and accomplish tasks like in PYS3. It's pretty cool so far. Adds a lot of replay value.

Still trying to figure out which settings give the best results. I'm batting on a realistic level, but my starters are doing too good, due to my timing. I'll probably stick with this, since any mistake in timing gets hit really hard most of the time. I signed a couple gaijin and tweaked my lineup, since I was only scoring solo homers before.

1. Shuuta(2B) - Great defense, 30 SB speed, and bats from .250 to .300 most of the time. Zero power.
2. Shotaro Ide(CF) - Great defense and decent bat. Very balanced player, compared to Teppei and Kaz Tanaka on my bench.
3. Takashi Toritani(SS) - Young franchise, along with Murata. Very valuable to the power bats, since he can get on base. Amazing defense.
4. M. Jenkins(1B) - Original gaijin we bought. Huge switch hitter with Seguignol batting stance. No speed and little defense. His power was needed in a big way. Was the most expensive gaijin player at around 550 points.
5. Kodai Sakurai(LF) - Very little contact, but lots of raw power. His defense isn't too shabby, either. Moved up to #5 after hitting a couple homers, but he'll soon be dropped to 6 or 7 for Murata.
6. Shuichi Murata(3B) - Picked to be the #4 batter and sole power bat, but a big struggle at the start dropped him down to 6. Starting to really show form and is #3 in the league with 9 RBIs right now.
7. Ichiro Horita(RF) - Solid bat, enough pop, and very good defense. The outfield defense is air tight.
8. Tomohito Yoneno(C) - Ono didn't show enough bat, and Yoneno has been great pinch hitting. Great situational guy, and has a cannon arm.

Made a couple changes in the pen. I bought a cheap 37 year old gaijin starter. He has no velocity, but his breaking balls are hard to pick up on. Moved Yamaguchi to the farm, despite a great first outing. Will put him in the bullpen when he comes back. He could possibly share closing duties with Onodera.

Found a pretty good mix of settings that make for challenging and fun games.

Custom Difficult
CPU Pitching: Strong
CPU Batting: Perfect

Live Pitch Cursor Type 1
Pitch cursor assistance on(to help with location)
Defensive cursor on

I tried taking off strike zone displays, but I found myself giving up way too many hits and homers on Perfect. I get a great challenge with this, though. If you mess up timing on certain guys, they will hit the ball hard. This makes for great tension when facing guys like Cabrera.

I make the opposing pitcher throw as many pitches as possible. If you don't do this, they will throw a lot of complete games.

Here are some things I've seen since playing...

-Press start after a play to get instant replay

-If you really miss the target with a high inside pitch near the batter's elbow, they will motion to the ump like you hit them.

-I think there are different reactions to bean balls. My big American slugger was hit hard on the elbow, and they showed a scene where he was trying to get at the pitcher. The opposing catcher and ump held him back, though. I've had Japanese players get hit, and have hit them before, but I didn't see this sequence.

-Pretty sure some players have their own homerun replay animations. Fukudome hit a couple homers off of me, and he had an animation almost identical to the way he hit the ball against Korea in the WBC. I recorded the highlights to the memory card, so I'll put video of that up.

-Stealing bases is the most hectic out of any game I've played. You can take a big lead with L2 and go back with R2. You steal with L1 and I guess you cancel with R1. The thing with leading off is, you don't automatically go over, so you have to be on edge to get back if the pitcher tries to pick you off. You can steal without the big lead, but you'll only be able to steal off of really bad catchers with poor arms.

-Announcing isn't too great, but they put in a nice touch by reading fictional letters from fans about certain players. It's not just for superstars, as I've heard one for Saburo. So far I've heard letter segments for Uehara, Kuroda, Tsuyoshi Wada, and Saburo.

-Check swing calls to the third and first base umps is really well done. I believe they're done automatically on random swings on pitches very close to the edge of the strike zone. You'll also randomly check swing on really good curve balls.

-I've seen bats break in this series before, but haven't seen anything lately. Doesn't happen much in pro yakyu, so I guess it's to be expected.

-Injuries are the best out of any game out there. Most of the time, your player can continue the game just fine. Situations in which I've seen medical checks on players...Hit by pitches, foul ball off the foot/shin, come backers to the pitcher, defensive players diving for a ball, sliding into base, head first slide on a pick off move, defenders hurting arms on pick offs, and tackles at home plate. I've yet to see a pitcher throw his arm out or a defender crash into the wall.

-Random players will be injured after games. These are mostly muscle strains, common colds, etc. They don't have to be players who actually played in games. I'm guessing the injuries are from practices. Most of these injuries take guys out for 2-3 days.

Hey bigman, do you know how to pick a runner off when your the pitcher?

I think its Square + directional pad but its so slow that by the time I throw to the bases the runner is already there wiht no chance of tagging him.

But when the CPU do it its fast as hell.

You can only pick them off with direction+X when the runner cursor is red. It doesn't work all the time. You can also throw outside high to try and pick off the runner Yadier Molina style.

I had to restart my Dream League, since I wasn't happy with the team and I didn't fully get the concept of the GM Points system. I now feel I have a really good cheap team with enough balance to win games. Check it out.

1. Hiroyasu Tanaka (2B)
2. Tomoaki Sato (CF)
3. Atsushi Kataoka (DH)
4. Kazuhiro Kiyohara (1B)
5. Osamu Hamanaka (RF)
6. Takanori Suzuki (LF)
7. Satoshi Kuroda (SS)
8. Ryoji Aikawa (C)
9. Keiji Fukui (3B)

Rotation

1. Hiroshi Kisanuki
2. Tomoya Yagi
3. Masumi Kuwata
4. Hideaki Wakui
5. Kazuya Takamiya

It's a good mix of very young and very old. Hehe. The defense is really good and there are a ton of contact batters who can get on base for Kiyohara and Hamanaka. Won the first game 4-0 with Kisanuki throwing a shutout. The second game was won 1-0 with Yagi throwing a shutout. Keep in mind that these are the only times I've thrown shutouts with these settings. Third game had Kuwata throw 6 innings of no run baseball, but then gave up two hits in the 7th, when he lost all zip on his pitches. Masao Kida then came in to clean up the mess, but gave up a three run shot to Kazuya Fukuura. In the bottom of the 9th, Sato and Kataoka got a couple hits and Kiyohara ended the game with a double hitting the fence.

I'm also playing with OB players available during the draft, so hopefully I can make enough GM points to pick at least one up.