NES

Baseball

Other interesting quirks include the Strike/Ball format, the one letter team abbreviations, the scoreboard, speed measures in kilometers and the odd angle of the field. However, these do not distract from the overall gameplay of this forgotten classic, but rather add to the Japanese aura which surrounds their original version of our game. I have to say, this game should be rated 85% - not perfect, but certainly better than the horrid fielding and hard pitching seen in later games like RBI Baseball. You'll find yourself staying late nights just to ATTEMPT to hit an inside the parker or pitch a no-hitter, usually to no avail.

I thought this early Nintendo title would deliver some fun old-school action, but its gameplay turned out to be atrocious. I like the idea of viewing the entire field on one screen (as in Atari 5200 Realsports Baseball), with a separate screen for the pitcher/batter duel. The ball movement is smooth enough, but the fielders are painfully slow and choppy. Much of the fielding appears to be computer controlled, and it's all too common for outfielders to throw out runners headed to first. Baseball's sound effects are practically non-existent, and so is the fun.