For anyone who has been retro game shopping, you know that sports games aren't just the bane of the modern console era. No, they've been doing this for a while. Though EA technically didn't annualize their various series until the SNES and Genesis days, that didn't stop people from putting out tons of sports games on the NES. Probably the most prolific was baseball themed games, maybe because of Japan's fascination with the sport. I'd probably say golf games were number two, but I refuse to buy most of them. At least stuff actually happens in baseball.
Here's all my "B" titled baseball games in one massive gaming blitz. In my defense, my local game store started selling all retro sports games three for a dollar, which is a good way to buff up your collection with useless garbage. If only I could say no...
On an unrelated note, the header graphic will be changing to something less horrible and unreadable soon, once my copy of Photoshop finally arrives. So be eagerly anticipating that.
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| Base Wars |
A little background
The first (and last) game in Konami/Ultra's "Cyber Stadium Series," Base Wars came out in June of 1991, pretty late in the NES's lifecycle. The plot to this game is fantastic: future baseball team owners realize that, instead of paying exuberant amounts of money to actual players, they could instead use that money to buy armies of cyborgs to play baseball for them. Personally, I foresee the future of sports totally going this way. I mean, some day somebody is going to wake up and realize we pay these guys millions of dollars a year to just toss a little ball around, and it would be way cooler if we just had robots doing it. I'm behind you all the way here, Base Wars.
First impressions last forever
This is a fast, arcade-style experience from the get go. First thing I noticed? The pitcher shoots the ball. Yeah, Mega Man style out of an arm cannon. Freaking sold.
It was a bit difficult at first to figure out which player I'm controlling when the CPU knocks a ball into the outfield, mostly because the camera doesn't pan far enough back. It's also weird to figure out how exactly to toss the ball where I want, but I got the hang of it.
And man: those robots move quick.
But as I played further...
This game is a riot, and even more fun with a second player. Essentially there's many different types of robots, from cyborgs to tanks to fast moving hover-bots. As you might guess, each as their own strengths, speeds and weaknesses.
But where the game really gets good is if there's a conflict as to whether or not a runner is "Safe." In true Blades of Steel fashion, rather than asking a ref for their call, the gloves come off and you're in a fight to the robo-death with your opponent. Sweet! Some robots (like the Tanks) are specifically designed for fighting, making them ideal for playing shortstop when you need to blast a an obnoxious runner with a laser beam to the face.
It looks and sounds great, though I will say the CPU is a little tough. Again, better with friends.
So what's the conclusion?
This is one of the best baseball games on the NES, and certainly the best robot baseball game on the NES (though I'll admit the competition wasn't exactly steep). It's a good looking game, the baseball is fast and not overly complex, the fighting is funny and watching hover-bots go up to bat still cracks me up. Konami/Ultra were well known for releasing quality sports games (Blades of Steel, Kings of the Beach, and Skate or Die! to name a few), and Base Wars knocks it out of the park.
Get it? See what I did there? "Knocks it out of the park?" Like baseball? Don't worry, it'll only get worse.
Copies can be tricky to find but they usually aren't pricy, usually around $5-10.
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| Baseball |
A little background
Just pretend that obnoxious, glaring light in the photo is a dramatic, CGI lens-flare. Did you do that? Yes? Ok, good. Let's move on.
Baseball was another black box NES launch title back in October of 1985. I could probably preface this by using a box quote nobody would ever use: "From the makers of 10-Yard Fight," and that would sum up my opinions on this game. Being a launch game, it's got the honor of being the first NES baseball game (of many). They also re-released it on both the Wii and 3DS, though I have no idea why anybody even bothered.
First impressions last forever
The game doesn't look half bad, but the sound effects and music (or lack of music, ala 10-Yard Fight) is a pretty big crime. The game zooms waaaaaaaay out when you get a hit, which is both nice because you can see the field, and stupid because it's so far back you can hardly see your players. The batting and pitching is simple, at least, which is something I appreciate in these two-button NES games.
But as I played further...
This game is tedious. Like 10-Yard Fight (I'm going to say that a lot in this review, I take it), the game is a slow, bare-basics approach to sports emulation. Again, like 10-Yard Fight, after playing it for a while I started to get in a bit of a "groove," but then I remembered I'd just played the awesome Base Wars and realized I was wasting my time and retired mid-season.
So what's the conclusion?
It's a bare-bones baseball game, on a system infamous for having a trillion baseball games. There's worse ones than this, sure, but that doesn't mean you should settle for mediocrity. If you collect these black box/label games then you'll need to snag a copy, but if you don't then...don't.
They're plentiful usually are around $3.
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| Baseball Stars |
A little background
Getting back to people who make good Nintendo games, SNK really brought their a-game to the system in many instances. Baseball Stars is a July 1989 port of an amazing arcade game of the same name, that focused on super-goofy, arcade baseball action.
This is the first baseball game to have a battery backup (Base Wars also saves your progress) which allows you to play through multiple seasons and save and continue on the same cartridge. Pretty snazzy. It also was the first NES sports game to have a "create-a-player" feature, something that would carry over into this generation of sports titles. It's also the first game to have an all-girl team, though they wear pink and all suck. 1989 was a different time.
First impressions last forever
This game is so good. The sound, graphics, and overall design feel very solid from the get-go. The game has an actual career mode that can save, where as you win games you get more money to either upgrade current players or buy special ones. Giving a baseball game an actual point besides...you know...baseball was enough to get me interested.
But as I played further...
Game keeps being fun, even through the games. Rather than focus on complex pitches, bats, and plays, the game just keeps it simple. Swing and hit the ball, run, score, win. Easy enough. The graphics look good, the fielding is well done, batting and pitching is simple and a blast, and the game's learning curve is near perfect. Yeah, it's a bit simple compared to other baseball games, but I honestly prefer it that way. Cut the crap, get to the action. This is what Baseball Stars delivers.
So what's the conclusion?
I'll go out and say it: I think this is the best baseball game on the NES. Even it's sequel, Baseball Stars II, doesn't quite capture the magic that this first game has. The gameplay in the field is fun, upgrading your teams adds a unique RPG-esque feel to it, and the sound and graphic design is among the best. SNK really took it home with this one, rounding all the bases of gameplay and...uh...I don't know where this awful analogy was going so I'll just leave it here.
I got a copy for $2, which still boggles my brain. It's usually under $5. Get it!
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| Bases Loaded |
A little background
Oh great, here we go.
In July of 1988, Jaleco (who I still love) decided the world needed more baseball games, so over the next few years they pumped out four of these things, each with minor changes to the original formula.
Yeah, not as bad an annualizing 'em, but they got pretty close.
Bases Loaded was the first of this series, and actually used real MLB players and teams. It sold quite well, and is widely considered one of the best baseball games on the NES. OR IS IT?!
First impressions last forever
The game is a bit complex when it comes to its pitching and batting, but I do like that it lets you pick who you set as pitcher/batter based on their scores. The sound and music design is excellent, and while the characters look a little...fuzzy, they work fine. The game also controls very well when in the field.
But as I played further...
This is a fun game! I wish it had the longevity of the Baseball Stars franchise, but we can't have everything in one game I guess. You can play either a series or a single match (which can be played two-player) which lets you decide exactly how much time you want to waste playing baseball. Pitching is a little complicated but not too difficult (I keep throwing "Balls" on accident) and the hitting takes a while to figure out but, again, not too complicated.
The catcher is infamous for having a disembodied catcher's mit that sort of just floats around him to indicate the pitch. So I guess that's...unique. GHOST PITCHER.
So what's the conclusion?
I don't play many sports games unless they have a certain arcade flare to them (or move really quickly. Hence why I'll actually play hockey games), but even though Bases Loaded isn't really my walk in the (ball)park, I had a good time with it. It's very solid, the game feels and looks great, and all-in-all it's a good baseball game. If you want something a little more complex than Baseball Stars and actually has humans instead of robots, you could go a lot worse than Bases Loaded.
Though I'm still mad it says "Jaleco" on the side label instead of the actual title of the game. Arrogant much, game developers?
Copies are everywhere; usually under $5.
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| Bases Loaded II: Second Season |
A little background
Since the first game sold like crazy, Jaleco pumped out another one of these a year and a half later in January of 1990. It has a few minor changes, the biggest being you could actually set your whole line-up in single player mode, but aside from that is widely considered an inferior sequel.
Also, it is the only Bases Loaded sequel to use roman numerals instead of numbers, and also to have a subtitle. Weird.
First impressions last forever
It still feels the same as Bases Loaded, but with some minor twists. Picking my lineup is great, but there's a few camera changes that are...obnoxious. When a ball gets hit it either pans over to first base (?) or third base (?!) depending on if home or away is at the bat (?!?). Considering most baseball games put the camera behind home after a hit (because that's, I don't know, smart?) I don't get this cinematic approach.
But as I played further...
Yeah, for all it's new improvements (like a "dive" move for trying to catch fly balls), Bases Loaded II flops. Your fielder's look bad and move super-choppy, and the controls feel less intuitive than the first game. But what made me want to pull my hair out was the looping theme song that would never stop. Some of the animations are better, but overall it just feels like they took the first game and made it worse.
So what's the conclusion?
I won't say it's a "bad" baseball game, but...yeah, it's not good. While not as boring as, say, Baseball, Bases Loaded II: The Second Season: Revenge of the Fallen falls into the trap of forgetting what made the first game great in leu of "improvements" that really are unnecessary. Stick to the others rather than this one.
Copies are even more plentiful and don't go for more than $5.
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| Bases Loaded 3: The Revenge |
A little background
First off: that box art is super goofy. That ball looks so obviously photoshopped (or whatever the September 1991 equivalent is) into that picture it's just silly, and having a dude aim straight at the camera with his arm out is...odd.
What's weird is that, even though that is Ryne Sandberg on the cover, this is the first game in the series to not use official teams. I honestly don't care because I wouldn't know an official team from a hole in the ground, but I guess that pissed some people in 1991 off? Whatever.
First impressions last forever
Where's career mode? Why is the only mode "Exhibition," which is just one game? Isn't that, I dunno, kind of a staple of baseball games? I mean, I bagged on Baseball in my official review because it only let you play a single game. And now this one, years later, cuts it from its series? Why?
I do like the improved graphics, though, and the fact you can see the diamond from pitching in the HUD. It also shows stats when pitching/batting, which might feel a bit cluttered but I kind of like it.
But as I played further...
The stupid camera is now behind second base instead of first or third, and guess what? Yeah, that still sucks. This means the diamond is upside-down when compared to any other baseball game in existence (except Bases Loaded II: Baseball Harder I guess) which is confusing as all hell.
Batting seems a bit off, with swing controls a little laggy. You'll adapt, but it's weird they'd change it after two games of it working just fine.
Something I did like is after you beat the exhibition match, the game ranks you on multiple categories of play. It's a cool idea that lets people feel like they did good (or bad) based on various stats. I just wish it wasn't limited to a single-game mode.
And oh yeah, music is still bad. So thanks for that.
So what's the conclusion?
People consider Bases Loaded 3 to be better than the second one, but I'm not sure. While it does play a bit better, the lack of real teams and the still-bad camera (even if it isn't as bad) really hurts the deal. Not to mention the lack of a career mode really kills anyone who goes into these games wanting extended play.
Same as before: stick to the original, ignore the sequels. I don't own Bases Loaded 4 (thank goodness; I couldn't take any more baseball games today), but I've heard it still isn't as good as the original.
Bases Loaded 3 is a little tricker to find, usually priced at around $3-10.
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