Despite just one title releasing in the West on the Switch, the Power Pros series has been a staple on the system in Japan since 2019 and we’ve covered every single one of them in one form or another. Several titles later, the game is back with Power Pro Baseball 2024-2025. Not only that, but the series is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Is this entry worth a look, especially if you’ve already taken the plunge on previous titles? We talk about all of this and more in this detailed review. Let’s get into it.
Gameplay
If you’ve played a Power Pros game in the past, you know what to expect. Beneath the cute graphics is a deep baseball simulation experience. Pitching gives players the choice of multiple pitches with the analogue stick. Once chosen, simply place where you want the pitch to go with B to fire away. Batting has players control a bat cursor with the stick to try to take on incoming pitches. B initiates a standard swing, while pressing R can change to a power swing. Of course, bunting is also available. Fielding is pretty easy, too, with the four face buttons assigned to throw to the corresponding bases.
Mini-games can also be found throughout the experience. These typically revolve around baseball, but they are sometimes even more simple. For example, one mini-game was a mix of golf and bunting, while another just simply asked to call strikes or balls with the press of a button.
Modes
The 30 year celebration of the Power Pros series isn’t in name only. Several modes have been resurrected and brought back to this version of the game. On top of that, more legendary players and teams are available to fans. Also, just to note, those that picked up the physical version of the game on the Switch or PlayStation 4 could receive a special game case sleeve featuring Konami’s baseball ambassador, Shohei Ohtani. This is a cool bonus for hardcore fans of the series.
Here are all of the modes that can be found in the game:
- Exhibition
- Championship (online)
- Home Run Derby
- Tournament
- Practice
- Eikan Nine (high
- Success
- Power Fes Adventure
- Pennant
- My Life
- Showdown Legend Battle
- Live Scenario
Many of these modes are pretty self explanatory, though some of the staples of the series have seen some interesting updates, but today I’m going to focus on two modes specifically. Before getting into that, I’ve got to say that Live Scenario, the mode that allows players to relive turning points in real world games, is my favorite mode in the game. Additionally, Success Mode features some popular stories that were available in past games. When it boils down to it, there are tons of modes and hours of fun to be had.
Power Fes Adventure
This board-game based adventure puts players on Skau Island. Alongside of lovable glasses wearing Akio Yabe, you have 50 turns travel the map and assemble a team of recruits to take on the evil, but cute, Sattan and her minions. Scouting players in sometimes as simple as just pressing a button, but other times you will have to take on a variety of challenges them to encourage them to join your team. These consist of mini-games. Some of the games that I came across along the way include a bunting/golf hybrid mini-game and another simply had me choosing if an incoming pitch was a ball or strike.
As you may have seen in promotional materials, Konami is offering several characters from other IP including Naked Snake, Pyramid Head from Silent Hill, Goemon and more. I haven’t played a ton of this, so I haven’t came across any of the characters just yet, but it’s great to see Konami include them in this console version of Power Pros. As for the mode, If you’re looking for something a little bit different from the standard games of baseball, this is a fun distraction.
Showdown Legend Battle
A re-imagining of a similar mode from Power Pros 10 on the GameCube and PS2 in Japan, players are put up against a gauntlet of other stars. The premise of this mode is interesting and contains some very light story elements. After naming your character, you are brought face to face with a scientist who specializes in virtual reality. Using a proprietary headset, you are now able to take on Japanese baseball legends.
After the brief story intro, you are presented with three teams to square off against, each with a different difficulty ranking in the upper left hand corner. These offer five pitchers, including one “legend” that you’ll need to defeat to move on. Winning battles is as simple as just getting a hit. Depending on your settings, you’ll have several tries to do this as indicated by the on screen hearts. The goal here is to get past 100 players. Before choosing a set of pitchers to face, it is beneficial to take a look at the different items that each one offers. Some can replenish hearts, add hearts, show the direct course of the ball and more. These are usually one-off upgrades, but things like the heart increase can really help you make a deep run. I should note that pitching is also available here, though it’s something that I didn’t play as much as the batting.
While the mode is surprisingly fun, I couldn’t help but be a little bit annoyed about one thing - entering my name and info every single time that I pop into the mode. You are able to customize and save your players for use in other modes or to upload to the online database of players, but you can only use that player once or opt for another try with the same character immediately if you don’t make it through the 100 man-gauntlet. I would have preferred to see more stat tracking and other information through some kind of unified player profile.
Customization & Online
Several different modes throughout the game bring a levels of customization that weren’t currently in the series. Of course, the ability to create players and teams are here, but there are now ways to share these in-game. These can be uploaded and shared with the world via Live Player and Live Team. You can even scroll through the most popular ones and download and use them in a variety of modes.
Not only this, Live Scenario, the hub for replaying real-world games to change or replicate outcomes, now has a section that allows players to create their own scenarios and share them with the world. I haven’t really gotten into the creation aspect myself, but this is a great way to relive past moments in baseball history or to experience some ridiculous challenge made by the community. It’s great to see more community driven aspects like this being added to the series.
Outside of these non-competitive online features, Power Pros 2024-25 does have online play via Championship. One handy thing is that you can see how many people are actively online before even opening up the mode. Once in the mode, you can create your own games, take place in events or join existing matches in the lobby. One small difference this year is the game is offline by default. To access online features, players can simply press the Y button to connect.
Visuals, Audio & Performance
Graphics and audio haven’t changed too much since the series made its appearance on the Switch in 2019. While I do think the game does look a bit better than that title in terms of lighting, everything else is mostly the same. The overall aesthetic and presentation of baseball in Japan is top-notch. Stadiums look realistic, uniforms are spot on, and the crowds animate nicely. The addition of a few updates, such as updated signage in the Seibu Lions’ now Belluna Dome (previously Met Life Dome) and the addition of Es Con Field in Hokkaido are great to see. At the same time, lower resolution assets, particularly textures on some in-game signs or uniforms will be noticeable. This was also the same in past games on the platform. If you’re looking for a more high resolution version of this game (and the ability to use VR), I would suggest checking out the PlayStation 4 version.
Although things look relatively similar to 2022 (and WBSC Power Pros), I couldn’t help but notice a few technical hiccups here and there. Of course, visual fidelity is one thing when comparing this to the PS4 version of the game, but in my time with the game, I would occasionally run into some slowdown, namely in cutscenes. As this doesn’t really have any baring on the gameplay, it’s not a huge deal, but it’s something that you will definitely notice. I couldn’t play the game much when it first launched back in July 2024, but the bugs from the time seem to have been worked out for the most part.
Note on Japanese
Getting into the gameplay in Power Pros 2024-25 is going to be fine regardless of your Japanese language ability. However, with that said, there are some things that may prove a bit difficult. Several of the text heavy modes are going to be a challenge. These days, it doesn’t take years of studying to be able to understand what’s going on here. Translations apps can get you through to get the general gist of things. Of course, if you’re just wanting to use your Japanese in a practical way through gaming, this is also a good chance. The text here also features furigana, which will make it easier if you can’t read some of the kanji. Also, just in case you want a place with more likeminded people about the Power Pros series, I highly recommend checking out the Power Pros World Discord channel. This community is awesome and there are tons of folks who live and breathe this series.
Conclusion
Power Pros 2024-2025 carries the legacy of the series well when it comes to gameplay. It’s a great baseball sim with tons of modes. At the same time, if you’ve picked up the previous title in 2022 or 2020, you might feel like this one is a bit lacking in terms of variety or differences from what was on offer previously. On the other hand, if you’ve skipped out not the series for a few iterations, now is as good of a time as any to get back in. Legend Battle, Power Fes Adventure and customization options and other modes can easily give you dozens of hours of content. The language barrier will be a bit high for some, but there is a solid baseball experience here for fans willing to give it a shot.
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