PYS3 Praises

Here's the thread where I talk about all the right things Konami did with this series.

-Got rid of the old generic batting forms. This was huge, because they were using the same awful batting forms from 2001 as recently as Pro Yakyu Spirits 2 in 2005.

-It feels like almost every player with over 50 at bats in a season has his own batting form. Also, there are way more pitchers with their own distinct style. This is a huge step into putting a lot more personality into the game.

-Pitching speed variations. A huge complaint with PYS2 was that middle speed is too slow and real speed is too fast. Well, they've added basic+ speed and middle+ speed for those who need speeds in between. You have to unlock them in VP Shop.

-Animations, animations, animations. Defense is more natural than any other game out there. The way players flip the ball and turn double plays look great. The way players react after hitting the ball is also a big step in the right direction. These animations add a sense of satisfaction after getting a crucial hit.

-All new cut scenes make the game feel completely new. There are almost ZERO cut scenes in this game that are the same. Injuries and homeruns are the same, but everything else has been changed.

-Speaking of injuries, they've been made more realistic. You'll be more careful with the way you handle your defenders. Even if your guy isn't hurt much, there's a chance his attributes can go down in a big way.

-Stealing bases is a challenge. You don't try and steal bases all the time, because you could kill a rally if you're caught. Only the cream of the crop can steal with a bad start, but if your jump is too early, the pitcher will pick you off.

-On higher difficulty, zenryoku(full power) pitching plays an important role in high pressure situations. You can still give up hits, but they won't be as devastating as when normally pitching. For example, the bases can be loaded with 1 out. The chances of a zenryoku pitch being hit for a simple sac fly are greater. With normal pitching, that sac fly could be a base clearing double. This also makes you manage your pitcher stamina, since zenryoku pitching takes up more stamina than normal.

-First team and farm team transfers are now exclusively done on the batting order screen before a game. This screen also has access to the Mission screen in Maji Pennant.

-Chiba Lotte's jumping crowd is just too cool.

-Seems to be a lot more personality in this game now. When Naoyuki Shimizu starts at Chiba Marine Stadium, he comes out of the dugout waving a Chiba Lotte towel over his head. I'm going to play an allstar game right now to see if there is anything other than Shinjo's Babe Ruth moment in there.

-It's hard to explain, but it seems like the balance of players is more true to real yakyu now. I lost to the Baystars with the Giants 1-4. Nobody on the Giants had too decent of a game, but Yano took advantage of a mistake shooto by Kadokura and smashed a homerun to the opposite side. I wouldn't expect this in the previous game.

-The difficulty is made just to keep people from complaining. You can make it easy enough for a baby or almost impossible to hit, since real dageki point is now in.

-Analog batting is no longer easy. Konami messed with the in game physics and analog batting is now a challenge to even the most coordinated people.

-New pitch movements are a big addition. The fact that the ball can move around in such random ways sometimes means that you'll get behind counts at times and be forced to use zenryoku pitching to get out of a pinch.