NES Baseball: Bare-bones

Baseball was one of the NES's more popular launch titles because, well, it's baseball! A baseball simulator, no matter how primitive, was bound to be a success. But man is it primitive.

My first encounter with Baseball was in the fantastic NES Remix for the Wii U, in which you complete mini-game challenges, like hitting a home run. That was fun, but playing a whole game of NES Baseball is another matter. There is just so little to it.

In particular, you can't even control the fielders. When pitching, you have to wait for a computer-controlled player to get the ball. Sometimes the outfielder closest to the ball just gives up pursuing it and turns back, leaving it to a farther-away player! Because the tiny, faceless, identical sprites don't change sizes regardless of their depth from the "camera," they often appear to be barely moving. Once someone finally gets the ball, you can control which base he throws it to.

You can control pitching and batting well enough, and also whether to have the players on base advance or turn back. This is enough to make the game somewhat enjoyable. Still, it's hard to see why anyone would want to play it today. On the NES alone, more than a dozen more sophisticated baseball sims were released, such as the popular R.B.I. Baseball and Baseball Stars.

The game has no background music while you play, and grating, beeping sound effects. If you do want to play this game for some reason, your enjoyment will directly depend upon how you like playing baseball simulators and how tolerant you are of playing ancient video games in general. And you'll probably have more fun playing against a human opponent instead of the computer.

Grade: F

Linked Reviews

"While, slow, the game is by no means broken; players will likely be satisfied when they finally get the hang of throwing the ball to basemen and gaining points over the other team."

—Lee Meyer, Nintendo Life, 6/10

"This is a cute game, and I know many have fond memories of it since it's probably the first NES sports game many owned, but the fact of the matter is that it's just not that good."

— Pat Contri, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library, 2/5

"A mostly deprecated but nevertheless pivotal moment in video game history."

—Jeremy Parish, NES Works

Comments

SimCity: The OG city simulator still rocks

When I ordered an Analogue Super Nt to begin collecting and playing SNES games, I knew which game I wanted to play first: SimCity. This game hasn't been rereleased since the Wii Virtual Console in 2006! Analogue Super NT SimCity was created by Will Wright as a PC game, published in 1989. Nintendo worked with Maxis to have it ported to the Super Nintendo for their new console's launch. The SNES version is a huge improvement over the original, with improved graphics, pop-up advice screens from Dr. Wright, and, most importantly, gifts. But let's start at the beginning. SimCity was the first ever city-simulation video game. Your goal is to build up a city as successfully as you can. You can play however you like, as it is not possible to "beat" the game, but the main achievement is reaching a population of 500,000, at which point your city becomes a "megalopolis." The maps are fairly small (and some have a lot of water), so the only way to achieve this is to

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: 20th anniversary

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is special to me because it was one of the first games I played on the Wii U. I hadn't owned a video-game console since the Super Nintendo until my wife bought me a Wii U for my 30th birthday. Since I missed the Game Cube and Wii eras, playing The Wind Waker was a revelation to me. It was as good as I remembered A Link to the Past being. I've read that, when it debuted, some people hated the cel-shaded art style of The Wind Waker. In retrospect that's hard to fathom, because the game is such a visual delight. The cartoony style and feel of the game is probably its strongest feature, at least for me. Sailing the seas and exploring the game's many islands is a joyous process of discovery. There are all sorts of quirky citizens to meet and interact with, including an auction house, bird people (the Rito), pirates, a traveling merchant (Beedle), temples, and the long-lost, sunken kingdom of Hyrule. The mid-game twist delighted me: Link l

Rock n' Roll Racing: 30th anniversary

Although not marketed as a sequel, anyone who has played Blizzard's RPM Racing will recognize Rock n' Roll Racing as its successor. They are both isometric racing games with weapons, similar to Rare's classic R.C. Pro-Am on the NES, but Rock n' Roll Racing is the superior game by far. You can enjoy Rock n' Roll Racing solo or with a second player. At the beginning, you choose your racer from six colorful, punky characters: Tarquinn, Snake, Cyberhawk, Ivan, Katarina, or Jake. Each is good at two skills from among acceleration, top speed, cornering, and jumping. Olaf, from The Lost Vikings , is secretly available by holding down L, R, and SELECT while Tarquinn is selected. Olaf is busted because he's good at all four skills! Four characters race and attack one another's vehicles with lasers, missiles, and mines. You begin with only one laser shot per lap. Between races, you can purchase additional shots and upgrade your vehicle's armor, tires, shock abso

Search This Blog