Simple 8 bit baseball games for nes?

[courtesi96]

Looking for something really stripped down to the core with not a ton of stats. My all time favorite has been Color Baseball on the TRS-80 Color Computer. However I think I would like to try something on a console. Thanks!

[Gapporin]

We just had a thread on this, I believe, but you can't get much simpler than RBI Baseball.

[miaandjohnrule]

Is there such a thing as complicated 8-bit baseball?

[courtesi96]

Is there such a thing as complicated 8-bit baseball?

well

some games are loaded with stats and such

i could care less about them

[Neil Koch]

Well, Baseball Stars tried to be a bit, with all the stat tracking and whatnot.

I'd probably recommend Bases Loaded. I just downloaded it for the Wii virtual console and it's still a pretty fun game besides the somewhat dicey fielding.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I think that the great thing about Baseball Stars is that while it has a bit of stats (nothing too deep) it can be played through without really requiring the user to do anything with them.

Basically you can completely ignore the sim aspect of the game while playing, and it won't hurt you.

It's still a kick-ass baseball game on the system that holds up rather well.

[boatofcar]

Little League Baseball
Bad News Baseball

I never cared for the Bases Loaded series.

[MeTmKnice]

How about plain-ol BASEBALL for the nes? Doesn't get any simpler than that

[Coldguy]

bad News Baseball...the only baseball game you ever need...

[dcescott]

Tecmo Baseball, Just becuase you high five your dudes on the way home. Pure comical

RBI baseball is the best imo

[bangtango]

I was always partial to LJN's Major League Baseball. I'll bet I am the only one who will mention it, even though I consider it one of the most underrated 8-bit sports games around. It doesn't have real players, just their numbers, but it does have all of the real teams from that era (pre-1990's expansion).

Maybe it isn't the "best" baseball game on the NES but it is pretty simple to play and I like being able to pick your own lineup 1-9 from scratch without having to waste time "editing" the ready made lineups supplied by the computer in other baseball games. Having 100% control over your lineup is a nice little bonus, since you are inserting all nine batters yourself and can even elect whether or not you want a DH.

Major League Baseball gives stats for the players pregame but you can pretty much pick your own lineup at random and start the game. There are no box scores at the end and in-game stats aren't tracked. Sure, the game is way too easy in single player mode but batting is pretty fun and pitching isn't too hard once you get the hang of it.

[boatofcar]

How about plain-ol BASEBALL for the nes? Doesn't get any simpler than that

Doesn't get any worse than that, either :)

[klausien]

Doesn't get any worse than that, either :)

I disagree. I loathe 99% of all sports games, but love Nintendo Baseball.

[scooterb23]

I have a soft spot for Nintendo Baseball, but it takes all my patience to play more than 3 innings.

My #1 answer is, and always will be, Baseball Stars.

2nd choice would probably be Dusty Diamond's All-Star Softball

[Greg2600]

LJN's MLB and RBI Baseball are very similar, both are easy too. Baseball Stars is the best without question. Little League is based on that game, and is pretty good. Roger Clemens came along near the end of the NES, and is okay.

Nintendo's Baseball is atrocious. Also, I would not recommend any of the Bases Loaded. They are way too slow. A 9 Inning game in Bases Loaded takes longer than an actual MLB game.

[bangtango]

I know some people have fond memories of the game but to me, Nintendo's Baseball is like a bad joke. A person might as well play Home Run on the 2600.

I always thought Baseball Stars was overrated. The bells and whistles may have been neat but I never saw the gameplay as anything special. When I owned the game, I had so little interest in it that I swapped it to Joe himself (Mr. DP) back in 2000 or 2001, which happened to be my first trade here. I think he traded me Sega Smashpack for Dreamcast or something like that.

Bases Loaded 1 and 2 were all right, aside from the crappy fielding system (both games) and the biorhythm system in the sequel. Hitting in any version of Bases Loaded was probably the hardest in any NES baseball game, though. Almost as hard as hitting in the Genesis Hardball series. A shitload of strikeouts is what you'll get.

RBI Baseball 2 was where it was at on the NES, as far as I was concerned. The players were too slow and pokey in the first game and the physics were tinkered with in Part 3.

Next best (after RBI 2) in my own biased opinion was LJN's MLB, which I've already mentioned.

[theoakwoody]

bango tango I have to agree with LJN MLB. The only problem is that the cpu is way too easy. You can win every time like 110-0. I would always play AL all stars vs. NL all stars and this would be my lineup.

Kirby Puckett
Carlton Fisk
George Bell
Mark McGwire
Harold Baines

I forget the rest but I'd always pitch Clemens because he could pitch 101 mph.

[Rob2600]

LJN's MLB and RBI Baseball are very similar, both are easy too. Baseball Stars is the best without question. Little League is based on that game, and is pretty good. Roger Clemens came along near the end of the NES, and is okay.

Nintendo's Baseball is atrocious. Also, I would not recommend any of the Bases Loaded. They are way too slow. A 9 Inning game in Bases Loaded takes longer than an actual MLB game.

Baseball Stars is very good, but I disagree about Bases Loaded. The first one is still one of my favorite sports games and it was the first or second non-super-deformed NES baseball game (Tecmo Baseball may have been the first).

The original Baseball by Nintendo has aged poorly, but at the time, it was great. Going from Home Run and M Network Super Challenge Baseball on the Atari 2600 to Baseball on the NES was a huge leap. Going from Baseball to Bases Loaded was another huge leap. :)

Baseball Simulator 1.000, Bad News Baseball, Little League Baseball, and Base Wars are good too, if you're in the mood for something a little different. Yes, Baseball Simulator 1.000 tracks stats, but it also features a fun mode where players have wacky power-ups and play in an outer space stadium.

[boatofcar]

Baseball Simulator 1.000, Bad News Baseball, Little League Baseball, and Base Wars are good too, if you're in the mood for something a little different. Yes, Baseball Simulator 1.000 tracks stats, but it also features a fun mode where players have wacky power-ups and play in an outer space stadium.

Is Base Wars really that good? I can't remember ever playing it, thinking it was a substandard game with a robot gimmick. How's the actual baseball control?

[Greg2600]

The original Baseball by Nintendo has aged poorly, but at the time, it was great. Going from Home Run and M Network Super Challenge Baseball on the Atari 2600 to Baseball on the NES was a huge leap. Going from Baseball to Bases Loaded was another huge leap. :)


Yes, in fact, other than Super Mario Bros., Nintendo Baseball is the game that sold me on the NES most of all. Because our age group essentially missed the second half of the 2nd generation 8-bit era (no one had Intellivision, Colecovision or Atari 5200), all we saw was the 2600. Again, Nintendo Baseball has aged terribly, but so has Bases Loaded in my mind. It just takes way too long to play a game. When you're 9 and you've got nothing to do all day, it's fine, but now, blah.

[Kevincal]

Try Bases Loaded II for the NES. I love that game. I don't like any of the others versions though... So make sure you get part II. ;)

[Rob2600]

Try Bases Loaded II for the NES. I love that game. I don't like any of the others versions though... So make sure you get part II. ;)

I still think Bases Loaded is better. Bases Loaded II is good, but I don't like the weird outfield perspectives.

[bangtango]

Try Bases Loaded II for the NES. I love that game. I don't like any of the others versions though... So make sure you get part II. ;)

So do I!

I liked Part II better than the first game, as well. People always reference "Paste" from Jersey's team in the first game but I thought that the L.A. and D.C. teams from Bases Loaded 2 were pretty cool. I liked that L.A.'s team was filled with players named after movie stars and D.C.'s team was filled with players named after politicians from Washington. Besides the biorhythm thing, while a little corny, did give you insight as to what players to start/use in the next game and which ones to keep on the bench.

The fielding perspective was/is wack and caused you to give up some cheap runs here and there but with time, you get used to it. Roger Clemens Baseball on NES is a hell of a lot worse when it comes to fielding than Bases Loaded 2. Really, none of the Bases Loaded games (including the original) had a great fielding system but I thought the pitching and hitting systems were good enough that the fielding shouldn't damn the whole game.

I rank the NES baseball games that I have actually played something like this:

1. RBI Baseball 2
2. Major League Baseball
3. Bases Loaded 2
4. I lump the first Bases Loaded, the original RBI Baseball and RBI Baseball 3 all together around this slot. I enjoy them but not as much as the above titles.
5. That baseball game which appears on Quattro Sports which I believe isn't that bad.
6. The rest, which include Baseball, Legends of the Diamond, the Bo Jackson game, Baseball Stars, etc.


Never cared for Baseball Stars and I've never played Bad News Baseball, Little League, Baseball Simulator or Base Wars (probably because I've never owned them or seen them anywhere).

[Kevincal]

I still think Bases Loaded is better. Bases Loaded II is good, but I don't like the weird outfield perspectives.

I don't like the outfield perspective of the original BL or part 3. :P

@ bangtango. Glad to know I'm not the only one that likes part II the best. ;)

[Rob2600]

Bases Loaded 1 and 2 were all right, aside from the crappy fielding system


I don't like the outfield perspective of the original BL

The original Bases Loaded features the traditional, standard outfield view that was common in baseball video games back then and is still used in baseball video games today. What's not to like about it?

[Kevincal]

Hmm, well I grew up as a kid playing BL II. Only a couple years ago did I try the original and I didn't like the fielding setup at all.

[Rob2600]

Hmm, well I grew up as a kid playing BL II. Only a couple years ago did I try the original and I didn't like the fielding setup at all.

Fair enough. :)

[murdoc rose]

well the rbi series is my favorite of all time but I will say it helps to know baseball of the 80s to play it at its peek. Legends of the diamond isn't bad kind of a funny fielding system but if I recall right its about like color baseball. Personally don't like MLB or bases loaded. So looks like baseball, RBI, or base ball stars are all good options for you. Oh and baseball on the intelivision is pretty good too.