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Greatest Nine

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Greatest Nine
Developer(s)Sega CS1
Publisher(s)Sega
Platform(s)Sega Saturn
Release
Genre(s)Sports (baseball)
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Kanzen Chuukei Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine[a], or simply Greatest Nine, is a baseball-themed sports video game developed by Sega CS1 and published by Sega in 1995 for the Sega Saturn. It spawned a franchise that remained exclusive to Japan until the 2002 release of Baseball Advance on the Game Boy Advance. A modified version of original Greatest Nine was released internationally as the 1995 iteration of World Series Baseball on the Saturn.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Gameplay

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Development and release

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Kanzen Chūkei Pro Yakyū Greatest Nine was developed by Sega CS Research and Development No. 1. The project was led by graphic designer Takaya Segawa.[8] He was new to the company and had only just completed his first game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, in his second year there.[9] Future Nippon Professional Baseball player Masahide Kobayashi (then in school at Nippon Sport Science University) was used for the game's motion capture.[10] Greatest Nine launched for the Saturn in Japan on May 26, 1994.[1] A modified version of the game with players from the Major League Baseball was released internationally later that year.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Segawa later served the same role on Sega's Puroyagu Chīmu o Tsukurou! baseball series.[11][12]

Reception

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Next Generation rated it four stars out of five, and stated that "In the end, minus a few malfunctioning control features that Sega US promises to fix, Greatest Nine is an excellent sports title for the Saturn and an extremely encouraging sign of what's to come."[7]

Legacy

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Greatest Nine quickly became a franchise for Sega. Counting the original game, six entries were released for the Sega Saturn between 1995 and 1998. It was later revived in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance (GBA). This version was developed by Smilebit (absorbed by Sega in 2004), also responsible for Motto Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou!.

Sequels

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  • Greatest Nine '96 – Saturn (1996)
  • Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '97 – Saturn (1997)
  • Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '97 Make Miracle – Saturn (1997)
  • Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '98 – Saturn (1998)
  • Pro Yakyuu Greatest Nine '98 Summer Action – Saturn (1998)
  • Baseball Advance – Game Boy Advance (2002)

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: 完全中継プロ野球 グレイテストナイン, Hepburn: Kanzen Chūkei Puroyagu Gureitesutonain, "Full Broadcast of Professional Baseball Greatest Nine"

References

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  1. ^ a b Edge staff (May 1995). "Saturn release schedule". Edge. No. 20. Future plc. p. 19. ISSN 1350-1593.
  2. ^ a b Mean Machines staff (October 1995). "Out Now: World Series Baseball". Mean Machines Sega. No. 38. EMAP. p. 90. ISSN 0960-4952.
  3. ^ a b Salmon, Mike (August 1995). "GP Sports: Sega Baseball (tentative title)". Game Players. No. 55. Imagine Media. p. 69. ISSN 1087-2779.
  4. ^ a b The Feature Creature (January 1996). "Special Feature: With the Home Away Team". GamePro. No. 78. International Data Group. p. 47. ISSN 1042-8658.
  5. ^ a b VideoGames staff (October 1995). "Saturn Preview: World Series Baseball". VideoGames. No. 81. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 55.
  6. ^ a b Cavalier, Cal (November 1995). "Review: World Series Baseball". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 11. DieHard Gamers Club. pp. 124–5. ISSN 1092-7212.
  7. ^ a b c d Next Generation staff (September 1995). "Finals". Next Generation. No. 9. Imagine Media. p. 89. ISSN 1078-9693.
  8. ^ Kataoka Ryuichi (January 11, 2022). "セガ、北海道札幌市に「セガ札幌スタジオ」を設立 セガのゲーム開発やデバッグ業務を担当する新スタジオ" [Sega establishes "Sega Sapporo Studio" in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The new studio will be responsible for developing and debugging Sega games]. IGN (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  9. ^ GAME CREATORS Editorial Department, Saito (August 21, 2019). "クリエイティブオフィサー・瀬川隆哉氏に聞く！ 長くファンに愛され続ける『ファンタシースターオンライン2』の運営秘訣とセガゲームス社員の働き方" [Interview with Creative Officer Takaya Segawa! Secrets of running Phantasy Star Online 2, which has been loved by fans for a long time, and how SEGA Games employees work]. Game Creators (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  10. ^ Sega staff (December 16, 2002). "Creator's Note #09" (in Japanese). Sega. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  11. ^ Danshoku Dīno (October 10, 2009). "正式サービス開始2周年記念！ 「プロ野球チームをつくろう！ONLINE」のこれまでを振り返りつつ，次回作についても聞いた" [Celebrating the second anniversary of the official launch of the service! Looking back on the history of '"Let's Make a Professional Baseball Team! Online, we asked about the next installment.]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  12. ^ Baka Inu (June 10, 2016). "野球ファンの理想が全て叶えられるゲームに―「野球つく！！」開発陣にインタビュー" [A game that will make all the dreams of baseball fans come true / Interview with the developers of Baseball Tsuku!!]. Gamer.ne.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  13. ^ Rad Automatic (August 1995). "Review: Greatest Nine Baseball". Computer and Video Games. No. 165. Future plc. p. 44. ISSN 0261-3697.
  14. ^ Famitsu staff (June 2, 1995). "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 337. ASCII Corporation. p. 32.
  15. ^ Cavalier, Cal (August 1995). "Greatest Nine". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 8. DieHard Gamers Club. pp. 84–5. ISSN 1092-7212.
  16. ^ Swan, Gus; Merrett, Steve (September 1995). "Saturn Review: Greatest Nine". Mean Machines Sega. No. 35. EMAP. pp. 74–5. ISSN 0960-4952.
  17. ^ Ação Games staff (October 1997). "Greatest Nine". Ação Games (in Portuguese). No. 120. Editora Azul. p. 36. ISSN 0104-1630.
  18. ^ Olafson, Peter (September 1995). "The Big Game, the Big Fight, and...Alex Trebek?". Electronic Entertainment. No. 21. IDG. p. 78. ISSN 1074-1356.
  19. ^ Games World staff (September 1995). "Reviews: Greatest Nine". Games World: The Magazine. No. 15. Paragon Publishing. p. 69. ISSN 1354-2907.
  20. ^ Kagotani, Yuriko (July 1995). "Test: Greatest Nine". Joypad (in French). No. 44. Yellow Media. p. 27. ISSN 1163-586X.
  21. ^ Ravetto, Marco (October 1995). "Review Saturn: Greatest Nine". Mega Console (in Italian). No. 19. Futura Publishing. p. 80.
  22. ^ Pilkington, Mike (September 1995). "Review: Going for a home run... Greatest Nine". Sega Pro. No. 49. Paragon Publishing. pp. 62–3. ISSN 0964-2641.
  23. ^ Sega Saturn Magazine staff (June 1995). "Sega Saturn Soft Review". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 6. SoftBank Group. p. 112.
  24. ^ Ultimate Future Games staff (September 1995). "Load up your bases in Greatest Nine: Here's pitchin' at ya". Ultimate Future Games. No. 10. Future plc. pp. 76–7. ISSN 1355-7289.
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