|
 R.B.I. Baseball, is fondly
remembered by NES sports gamers as the first home video game to feature
real baseball players. When it was
released, it was so far above the previous baseball games on the NES that
it shocked gamers. Originally
released in 1986 for the Famicom, the game featured lineups based on Japan’s
top teams. The game was popular
enough to warrant a port to arcades across the United States. The arcade version of R.B.I. proved to be quite popular
mainly because it featured the all-time greats from 10 different Major
League teams. When the game was
finally released on the NES in 1988, it no longer featured all-time
greats for the rosters. Instead
the rosters consisted of the then current players for eight different teams
(the Angels, Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Astros, Mets, Cardinals and Giants)
plus both the American and National League All Star Teams.
In 1988 Tengen enjoyed its brief moment as a legitimate NES company
and released R.B.I. Baseball along
with Pac-Man and Gauntlet as its first three
offerings. After these releases
Tengen had a fallout with Nintendo and lost their license. This didn’t stop Tengen from releasing
games, of course, so from then on Tengen games became famous for their
odd shapes and black color. R.B.I. Baseball is available both
as a licensed NES game and as a black cart but both games play exactly
the same.
 Tengen
was quick to realize that they had a series on their hands and quickly followed
it up with two sequels on the NES.
Both feature all 26 teams, while R.B.I. Baseball 3 also has some classic rosters as well. Unfortunately both games have a new and
“improved” game engine that was not as well received. After the downfall of the NES four more
sequels were churned out for the Sega Genesis while the Super NES
strangely released one licensed sequel as well. By then, the world had moved on and the
R.B.I. Baseball franchise took
a well needed rest.
Okay maybe my grade for this game is a bit skewed. I admit that may be
possible. But I remember this as the second greatest baseball game ever,
behind Baseball Stars. When I
was a wee child I had been raised on Intellivision Baseball, which rules
by the way, and then we got our NES and the crapfest that is known as Baseball. Talk about your bitter disappointment.
However then we got R.B.I. Baseball.
Sure maybe the players are all a bit on the pudgy side and the fielders
are all fat and slow, but it doesn't matter because this game is just
fun. It's the first good game to have real teams, although missing the
Cubs is a big problem for me. It's just old school baseball at its best.
Usually I don't pay too much attention to NES music because personally
I'm not a big fan, but this game is another story. Even the music is
great! I like this game so much; many of my baseball reviews use R.B.I.
as a comparison.
Positives:
Having Major League Baseball players is a huge positive. The basic gameplay leads to hours of
fun and the game is easy to learn.
Compared to games like Bases
Loaded the gameplay is fast paced, it will probably take you around
20 minutes to play a complete game against another human. The slaughter rule is in effect in R.B.I., which is nice because you
can quickly mow down the computer and not have to play out the whole ugly
affair.
Glaring
Negatives:
R.B.I. Baseball doesn’t
offer up a whole lot of options. You can only play with ten rosters, and
you have to use the default starting lineups. The problem with that is players like
Mark McGwire (with his 49 homers) are relegated to the bench and your
bench is only five players deep.
By the time you get everyone in the line-up that should be
starting, you are often down to only two pinch hitters. There is also no season mode or stat-tracking
available, which is a bummer.
Also, for some reason only player one can pause the game.
Graphics
and Sound: Pretty Good
The music is great. The players are a bit chubby, but other than that
the graphics are fine.
Gameplay
and Controls: Good
Controls are very tight and easy to use. The only thing missing is
diving in the infield. Of course,
it’s missing lots of little things that Baseball Stars offers.
You can’t jump or climb the wall.
 Features: Hmm
So you want features do you, better keep on moving. This game doesn't
have many features. No season, no create players, just plain old fun. In the one-player version you get to
play a nine game season against each of the other teams. The game keeps track of your record but
you don’t get any passwords, which means you have to complete the entire
circuit without turning off your NES.
In the two-player mode you get to play a best of seven series
against your opponent.
Fun?: Oh
Yeah
This is one of the great ones. Maybe this is because it was the best
at its time, but I still think it has held up well. Just remember McGwire
is on the bench for the A.L. All Stars.
Where this game has stood the test of time is in the two-player
mode. It continues to shine as an
extremely fun battle due to its simplicity.
Challenge:
Medium
It's not that tough to beat the computer, however beating your buddies
may not be so easy. It can be very hard to gauge whether the ball is a
strike or not. As a kid we had to make a rule that you had to keep the
ball around the plate.
Replay: Lots
Get some friends and get cracking.
2
Player: Yup
Of course there is, it's a baseball game.
Online
Manual?: Yes at Nintendo Age
You can find all the NES manuals
at Nintendo
Age.
Bottom Line: Yes
Personally I love this game. Agent J loves this game. You'll love this
game. Oh just go buy it, it's probably cheap as well. Heck I saw 2 copies
at the flea market today alone!
|
