Favorite Baseball Games

[Retrology]

As a big fan of the Cleveland Indians, I'm excited for opening day to get here, and as such, I'm getting into the spirit by playing some baseball games.

Which brings us to today; What are your favorite baseball games?

Bottom of the 9th (N64): As far as I know, this is exclusive to the Nintendo 64, having the updated rosters for the 1999 season and being released a year after BOT9th 99 for the PlayStation. This one surprisingly rarely gets talked about, but it's actually a game I really enjoy.

The graphics are sloppy, the stadium/team licenses are non existent, and the overall presentation is sub par, but the simple controls and emphasis on arcade style gameplay makes this one fun (using the stacked Indians roster helps). Hitting and fielding are both really fun, and I especially love the numerous camera angles you get for home runs, as well as being able to pull off diving catches. You can get this game for a low price too.

All Star Baseball 2001 (N64): I actually see this as an upgrade to the 2000 version thanks to the new arcade mode. I love the power batting and simple controls in that mode, and it makes a huge difference in the home run derby. The game also has 4 new stadiums (as they were made in real life at the time of this game's release). I especially love the cornfield ballpark.

Mario Superstar Baseball (GC): Really like how chemistry between certain characters helps with the speed of throws/hits, and this is good old arcade fun the Wii version would miss upon.


Major League Baseball Ft. Ken Griffey Jr (N64)

MLB The Show 11 (PS3)


Thoughts?

[VideoGameCritic]

I like Realsports Baseball for the Atari 5200, but also really like Sportstalk Baseball for the Genesis and Ken Griffey Baseball for the SNES. I like my baseball games arcade-like. I guess I should add Baseball Stars (Neo Geo) to that list.

[jon]

I'll never forget playing the Neo Geo baseball games at the arcade with my brother in the early 90's. I was in awe of the graphics for Baseball Stars 2. All three of the games, Baseball Stars Professional, Baseball Stars 2, and Super Baseball 2020, provided for some great memories. As a kid in 1991-1992, I hadn't started reading magazines yet and didn't know about the new advancements in graphics. So when I saw Baseball Stars 2, I was absolutely blown away. I'd never seen graphics close to as good as that. The eye candy was mesmerizing. It was as if the game was made just for me.

[Luigi & Peach]

I don't think I've really played a baseball game since RBI Baseball 4 for the genesis. It was fun, but I had a little brother who played it ALL the time and would beat the computer with ridiculous scores.

On a side note... GO TRIBE!!!

[Gleebergloben123]

I was always a fan of INTV Baseball. Compared to the 2600, it was much more realistic and complex. And when you hit a double off the wall, you'd hear a big BOING!, just like in real life

[Tron]

Baseball Stars (NES)

MLB Power Pros (PS2 & Wii)

World Series Baseball II (Saturn)

baseball Stars I & II (Neo Geo)

[JWK]

Well, this may mark one of the first times Jon and I have agreed on something. Because I think Baseball Stars 2 (Neo Geo) might be my favorite Baseball game of all time. Fantastic graphics and animations, great use of color, fun sound design, solid arcade mechanics... fantastic game.

Also, I really enjoy The Bigs (PS3) for being a modern arcade baseball game, which is a pretty rare thing. Arcade mode and Homerun derby are tons of fun at parties.

[JustLikeHeaven]

Growing up I played baseball up through highschool. I loved baseball videogames and tried pretty much everyone I could get my hands on. I'm just going from memory, but here are some of the game I remember loving for each system.

NES

Bad New Baseball - This was made by Tecmo and they were the kings of 8-bit sports titles. While this isn't on par with say Tecmo Bowl, it's a pretty great game. I don't believe it has the MLB license, but regardless it's still fun. You get a great controlling game, plus those awesome little cut scenes that Tecmo was known for. Good stuff.

Little League Baseball - This was made by SNK and it's really a quality title. It was a favorite of all my baseball playing friends. The sprites were much larger than most baseball games and it played really quickly. This might be my favorite NES baseball game.

Legends of the Diamond - I remember this game came out later in the NES lifecyle. In it you play as all the MLB old timers. Before each game you drafted your team of players. The game included Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Cy Young, and many more. I'm going strictly by nostalgia on this one, but I remember playing this one quite a bit. I probably need to re-aquire this one.

Genesis

World Series Baseball - Any of these were probably the pinnacle of what the Genesis had to offer. I remember the fact that it let you pick which pitch you wanted to throw and that blew my mind! Great digitized style graphics, play by play and a real MLB roster made this tough to beat.

Tommy Lasorda's Baseball - This is another nostalgia pick as it was the first baseball game I played on the genesis. It's just OK single player, but I remember lots of great two player batters. It was a simplistic game without the MLB license, but it had decent graphics and solid controls. My favorite thing was how the ball sounded when you hit with the barrell of the bat. It sounded like you absolutely CRUSHED it. Very satisfying.

SNES

Ken Griffey Jr Baseball - I posted most of my thoughts about this one in a review that was just posted. It's a fun arcade style game that is worth tracking down.

Super Baseball Simulator 1000 - A hidden gem of the SNES library. The game seems pretty generic, until you discover the Ultra League teams. When you play with this teams all of the players have special abilities and it makes the game AWESOME.


That's all I've got for now. I tend to find most of the classic systems to have more enjoyable baseball games because they favored arcade action over mind numbing realism. Newer games that I enjoy were High Heat Baseball (PC), MVP Baseball 2005 (PS2), The Bigs (PS3), and MLB: The Show 08.

[Tron]

I forgot about Little League on NES and Baseball Simulator SNES.

Little League was great and plays a lot like Baseball Stars as they both were SNK. Want a real challenge? Win the World Series with Italy. It's hard, but I've done it a couple of times. I've had some good money games of New York vs. Canada. I can't remember who I liked better, but they were both the best teams.

simulator had stat tracking and adjustable seasons. The power-ups were fun and added spice to the game, but often I got sick of them too. The gameplay was good enough, but not great. Because it had stat tracking it was good enough. I don't normally complain too much about graphics, but baseball simulator is ugly.

[Breaker]

I've played tons of hours on tons of baseball games. Some great, some poor, but as long as it's baseball it has gotten my attention!

There are a handful that get honorable mention...MVP 2005 on PS2, World Series Baseball 95 on Genesis, All-Star Baseball 2001 on N64 and The Show 15 on PS4.

But the game that I've gone back to more than any other, playing a complete season on as recently as last year, is...

La Russa Baseball 95 on Genesis

The Critic absolutely panned the original Tony La Russa Baseball for Genesis, and rightfully so. But this sequel, yet to be reviewed by The Critic, is great. You can choose slugfest or simulation (real life) style, and choose different difficulty levels. You have the ability to save at any point during the game. And the games are quick - you can play a simulation style game in about 20 minutes.

Battery backup for full season play, trading, a couple of "minor league" spots per team, as well as stat tracking and a leaderboard that can be sorted in about 200 different ways. I've played so many seasons on this cart I can't begin to count them.

It's not without it's flaws...it doesn't have an MLB license, so while the team colors are correct, teams are only named by city. There are only about 6 different stadiums to choose from, and they are roughly based on the well-known stadiums of the time (Fenway, Camden, stadium-formerly-known-as Skydome, and, strangely, the Metrodome, plus a couple others).

If your a baseball fan, and a Genesis fan, I really recommend trying this one out.