Remembering NES Basesball

Krikor Daglian
August 06, 2001

Astute readers will remember that we wrote glowingly about x-entertainment a while back. For those unfamiliar, well, if you grew up in the 70s or 80s and watched cartoons like GI Joe or Transformers, collected Star Wars action figures or played Nintendo (like just about all of my friends) you'll like the site. I'm still going through the archives just to read all the He-Man related articles.

In any case, reading an article about the old Nintendo Baseball game inspired me to take another look at RBI Baseball. While I haven't played the game in at least a decade, I have somewhat good memories of it. However the savage beating "Matt" gives it suggests to me that it might not seem quite as good today as it did in my more innocent days of yester-year - kinda like that episode of the Transformers I saw the other day.

For those who don't remember, well, I don't think I can really describe the game, since any description would make it sound like any other game for the Nintendo. It is one of those great games that's simple enough that you can jump right in for a quick 9 innings, but has enough depth that you don't get tired of it. Plus, it features the 1986 rosters, which is right around the time I was really into sports, so I honestly recognize more of the names in the game than I do in anything on the Dreamcast or Playstation 2 today. It doesnt feature all the teams in the league, but it does feature all the good teams of that time  including Houston, Boston, San Francisco and Minnesota. Of course, the 86 Mets are in there, and I can't tell you how many times they've beaten those Red Sox with me behind the bench, reliving World Series glory.

Start up the game, and the first thing youll notice as the opening screen pops up is that there are three options: 1 player, 2 player, and "watch". Yes, you can choose to watch the computer play itself, and I pray nobody ever chose this option without doing so as a goof. The computer in this game is pretty much standard Nintendo AI, one that will frustrate the hell out of you at times, for instance, the times when they seem to be unstoppable hitters, hitting the ball through the holes in your defense, past the players who automatically run to cover bases and will let the ball, inches away, roll past them into the infield (meanwhile, your batters can only seem to pop the ball up). This type of automation takes some getting used to - in certain situations, the computer decides the movement of some of your players, and while you think you may be moving that second baseman towards the ball, youll probably notice that he keeps moving despite your command for him to stop and get the ball!

The amusing thing about the AI is that the programmers insist to trying to make it unpredictable. For example, when it calls in a pinch hitter or pitchers (which it does 3 times in every game, using up its entire bullpen by the ninth inning), the selection pointer moves cycles through the options a couple times, suggesting that the computer might pick someone else besides the first guy on the list. But no, it always picks the first guy, no matter what.

Despite how much I hate the computer team, though, I feel for its fans. Despite the teams dominance much of the time, they are capable of making ridiculously bad plays. There's that certain weird bunt play that can be pulled off every once in a while that makes the ball slowly move through the infield, the outfield and all the way out to the wall before their team manages to pick it up. The pitcher chases it out to the infield and seems to have it within his grasp when he decides to break back and let the outfielder, who is now way out near the wall, get the ball. Meanwhile, your guy could have rounded the bases and gotten to second again - in any case, the inside the park homerun will suffice. Of course, the other team wouldn't be so inept if their players (like yours) werent required to move as a coordinated force. For example, if the right fielder moves to the left, so does the pitcher and the rest of the outfielders. Perhaps someone should tell the manager that this is a bad strategy.

The managers have bigger problems though, the foremost of them the fact that every one of their players is quite chubby. More to the point, all the players look exactly the same, despite the fact that RBI Baseball actually had a license from the players association and could use the real players names (not the teams names however). As a result, the only players who are realistically rendered are Ray Knight and Kirby Puckett - however, since all the players are white regardless of their real life skin tone, even Kirby isnt totally true to life.

Now that Ive mentioned how chubby and short all these guys are, it doesn't come as any surprise to see them earnestly chuggin' towards the base at a very slow pace. And given their physical condition, that's ok, even if it means the computer almost always throws my player out on a ground ball (which is how it is in real baseball after all). What bugs me, however, is how once the ump calls them out, they somehow discover the resources to run twice as fast back to the dugout. Now, we can't see what's in that dugout, but unless both teams regularly sponsor all out coke orgies for their players, it would seem that it would be in the runner's best interests to run twice as fast to the bag instead of away from it!

There are other mysterious elements in this game, including the mysterious clock on the scoreboard between innings, which doesnt seem to correspond to the games length or any real time keeping system. Like Nintendo Baseball, the flashing crowd is featured, but unlike that earlier game, the umpires in this game dont disappear for most of the game, even though that doesnt prevent them from missing a few foul ball calls.

Despite all its quirks and annoyances, RBI Baseball is really fun to play, and Id argue once you know those quirks, you become used to and maybe even endeared to them. Its the type of game that you could play forever, which is good, because games with "season" mode were a few years away, and while RBI Baseball will take you through a season of sorts, playing the various teams, youll never get to the playoffs or the World Series. At least, I dont think so, since theres no save option either, and Im not crazy enough to try playing a full 150 game season (or whatever it is today) to find out if the game ever ends.

Anyway, that is RBI Baseball, give it a try in emulated version if youre so inclined. Now excuse me, Im going to go watch the computer play itself.