Now that we have covered some of the basics of the game and the MVP mode, we’ll move on to the Homerun Competition and Strike Pitch Competition mini-games.

When you first start up Homerun Competition, you will be greeted with a menu with the following options.

Free Play - フリープレイ
VP Challenge - VP チャレンジ
Ranking -ランキング (Your best scores in the Homerun Competition)

Once you choose to play either Free Play or VP Challenge, you then choose the team and player that you would like to compete with. When you get to the team roster, you see a VP total, in the bottom right of the screen, for the player that you are about to select. That is the basis for the VP’s that your home runs are worth with that player. The lower the VP number, the easier it is to hit homers.

After that, you choose your stadium. Move the stick left or right to change your stadium, and up or down to choose between day or night.

After loading, choose the option on the left (プレイ) to play the mini game, choose the option in the middle to Exit, or choose the option on the right (操作) for Analog (アナログ) or Digital (デジタル) control.

In case you didn’t notice it when selecting your player, the information above the menu options lists how many VP’s per Homerun (本塁打) you will obtain per homer.

In the Homerun Competition, you get VP’s for each homerun that you hit. You receive more points, in a combo bonus, for hitting 2 or more home runs in a row. The bonus increases, per homerun, for each additional homerun you hit in a combo. Additionally, you receive an extra pitch for every “normal ball” home run that you hit (up to 10.) These extra pitches, which are signified by a red ball under the “normal” white ones, allow you to get up to 20 Homerun chances per mini-game. When you are done with your normal pitches and begin to swing at the bonus pitches, the VP total that you saw for your player when you first selected them, is added to every home run that you hit in the bonus mode. So, if you have a 12 VP player and hit 3 bonus home runs, the first homer adds 12 VP’s, the second 24 VP’s, and the third adds 36 VP’s. This really adds up quickly if you have go on a nice tear with the bonus pitches.

The Free Play doesn’t give you a chance to earn many VP’s though and is just a warm up for the VP Self Challenge (VPチャレンジ) mode.

In the VP Challenge menu you are presented with 4 options. The first of which is the 100 VP Challenge (チャレンジ). Next is the 500 VP BIG Challenge (チャレンジ), then Exit, and the Analog or Digital Control options.

What makes the 100 and 500 VP challenges different is the fact that you’re paying a VP “entry fee” to compete in those mini-games. In those two modes, you’re compensated by getting a greater amount of VP’s per home run that you hit.

I’ve found that if you take one of the better power hitters and play on the 500 VP mode, and get into a good groove, you can usually earn an extra 3 or 4 hundred VP’s in a few minutes. It’s a nice way to give yourself a few more VP’s without sinking a lot of time into it.