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 It
took Tengen three long years to release their first follow-up to R.B.I. Baseball, but in 1990 the
world was finally given an updated and (unfortunately) altered version of
one of the all-time great sports games.
Tengen put out all the stops in creating this sequel; first off
the game has expanded from having 10 teams to 28. R.B.I.
Baseball 2 features all 26 Major League rosters from 1989 along with
both All-Star teams and by doing so it became the first home console game
ever to feature every Major League Baseball team with player names. Additionally, the rosters have been
expanded as well. Instead of only
having four pitchers to choose from, you now have 10. You also get six pinch-hitters on your
bench as opposed to the four that the original game allowed. The pinch hitter situation is even
better since this time around you are allowed to change your line-up
before the game starts, which means you always begin a game with six
pinch hitters at your disposal.
Many aspects of the gameplay have been improved as well. This time around you can dive and jump
at balls that would otherwise be out of reach. You can watch instant replays of
exciting plays and switch sides of the plate when batting with a switch
hitter. In season mode you
actually receive a password this time and must defeat every team in your
league (including the All-Star team).
If you are able to beat them all, you receive a password to play
against the amazing Tengen Programmers team. These guys are scary as their stats are
better than virtually anyone in the game with their star hitter having 72
homers and all of their pitchers able to throw the ball well over 100
miles per hour.
There is only one problem with all these improvements that Tengen made
to the R.B.I. Baseball franchise.
They also updated the game engine and made it slightly less
enjoyable to play. The players are
all skinnier than before and seem to be a little harder to move around
the field. There have been many
sequels over the years but none of them returned to the beloved game
engine of the first game and consequently none have stood the test of
time like the original.
Positives:
 This
game boasts every Major League Baseball team from 1989. Not only that but the rosters are 24
men deep, which means every player that had an impact on the year is
accounted for in the game. This
time around you can change your batting order, play a season mode with a
password and most importantly play as Jerome Walton (my favorite player
of all-time). The gameplay is
solid but not amazing and the game features the classic sound effects of
the original R.B.I. Baseball.
Glaring
Negatives:
For some reason the game is just less fun to play than the first game
in the series. If Tengen would
have used the same game engine again, this one would be a classic. Instead it is a second tier baseball
game on the NES due to its slightly clunky controls. The computer is also ridiculously easy
to beat. They routinely turn easy
groundouts into doubles, triples and even inside-the-park homeruns as
they allow the ball to roll slowly to the wall.
Graphics
and Sound: Pretty Good
Tengen decided to make every player in the game white. Why go to all the detail of having the
real players and their true batting style (righty, lefty or
switch-hitter) if you are just going to make them look all the same. The players look like little sticks in
the field, which is funny because in the first game they were extremely
fat and round. The music is not as
catchy this time around although all of the sound effects are carried
over from RBI1. I also like how
the game features umpires that make the correct hand signals for
fair/foul and safe/out calls.
Gameplay
and Controls: Good
Controls are very tight and easy to use. You can dive and jump but the
players move around slowly and will routinely turn singles into doubles
(or against the computer singles into inside-the-park homers with Greg
Maddux!).
Features:
Hmm
You do get a season mode and if you are good enough you can get a
password to play against the programming team. You can also choose between having
music or not, having a slaughter rule and whether the computer difficulty
is set to easy or hard (which unfortunately is still ridiculously easy).
Fun?:
Not as much as the first
When I first started playing R.B.I.
Baseball 2 I did not enjoy it.
That is because I was expecting the same game engine as R.B.I. Baseball. Once I got over the differences I was
able to settle back and enjoy the game for what it is.
Challenge:
Easy Against the Computer
Once again the computer is very easy to beat but it can be very tough
to hit the ball against another human if they don’t throw strikes. You just have to remember to show
patience at the plate. Of course
the challenge ramps up significantly when you match up against the  Tengen
Programmer team.
Replay:
Some
I enjoy playing this game a bit since it has all the players from my
beloved ’89 Division Champion Chicago Cubs.
2
Player: Yup
The two-player mode in R.B.I.
Baseball is one of the most popular two-player games on the NES. Unfortunately R.B.I. Baseball 2 is just not as good. If you don’t own the first game, go
ahead and play this one – it’s pretty fun. Plus the two-player mode is still
leagues more enjoyable than whooping on the pathetic computer.
Online
Manual?: Yes at Nintendo Age
You can find all the NES manuals
at Nintendo
Age.
Bottom Line: If you are a diehard baseball
fan
R.B.I. Baseball 2 is great
because it has all of the rosters from 1989. The gameplay however is only middle of the
pack on the NES. If you are a
diehard RBI gamer or a diehard baseball fan this game is a
must-have. Otherwise, just stick
with Baseball Stars and the
original R.B.I. Baseball.
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