Overall 8.5 Graphics 7.8 Sound 6.8 Addictive 8.8 Story 5.5 Depth 8.8 Difficulty 7.3
9
Baseball Dreams Ferdinand
Simply put, when Baseball Stars was released for Nintendo in 1989 it was the answer to all of my prayers and an absolute dream come true. The FIRST game that kept cumulative stats, the little battery in that cartridge was the best thing ever. Others agreed, it was a huge success all over the world and had more than one sequel produced. A poll in the old 'Nintendo Power' magazine even had it rated as the best baseball game of all time.
GRAPHICS get an 8 from me. Everything is crisp and clear, and considering this is the same system that produced Bases Loaded(another popular game of the era with inferior graphics), it's really well done. The players themselves on the field are very generic though with the only real difference other than their sex being their throwing motion for pitchers or batting stance. The home run celebration is nothing special either really and is always the same.
SOUND could be better. Like most baseball games, the soundtrack will become repetitive. These games are best played with music on in my opinion. Otherwise I wind up hearing it when I'm trying to
sleep. :) You get a hit, the crowd cheers, not much else to say really.
ADDICTIVENESS is a 10. If you're playing this game because you just want a quick game you can just pick up and play, it's easy enough to control but there may be better options out there. However, if you want complete control over your team including the ability create your own, then you couldn't do any better in 1990. And it's still fun.
STORY There really isn't one. Use your imagination, You're the manager and GM. You can create your own teams, players, and story lines.
DEPTH would be a ten. You can play this game to infinity. It's baseball, and those rules still apply, but the rest is up to you. There are 8 computer teams with different strengths and weaknesses. The best team is obviously the American Dreams, a team consisting of the best of baseball's Hall of Fame like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Cy Young, and others. The worst is probably, God bless them, the SNK Crushers. There is also a team in all black called the Ninja Blacksox, a team called the "Lovely Ladies" that consists of all women players, and the 'Ghastly Monsters' whos starting pitcher is a cyclops and Damien bats clean-up. The best part of the game is that you can create your own team from scratch though and build them into contenders. Each player has abilities like hitting, power, speed, etc that rank from 1 to 15. When you win a game, depending on how much prestige BOTH teams have, you will be awarded cash. You can then use this cash to sign a better player, or build up one you already have. Sometimes it may be better to fire a player in favor of one with lesser abilities but more potential. Just like real baseball. Unlike real baseball, at least for now ;), you can also have female players whos abilities match those of the men. They also have the addition of being able to throw underhand.
DIFFICULTY I give a 7. The controls are easy to learn and if you've ever played baseball video games the players do pretty much what you'd expect. I do like the fact that you can leap at the wall and steal a home run away. Difficult, but I have done it. But as far as in-game difficulty, you can really make it as tough on yourself as you want by
selecting better opponents. You'll never beat the All-Stars with a mediocre team though.
OVERALL I give this game a 9. Partly because of the fact that I loved it so much that it seems like nothing will ever stand up. But if you're a stat-freak like me, It's just great. I actually used to physically write down my game stats from Tecmo Bowl and keep track all season. And that involved tracking every play, not just game by game because it didn't give game stats. :P So when I got this, I was like 'They FINALLY figured out what I I want in a sports title'
Thanks for reading and 'may your balls be plentiful.' - Tom Hanks 'A League of Their Own'
Graphics 8 Sound 6 Addictive 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 07-06-15
Updated: 07-11-15
Review Replies: 5
7.1
Japan Can Make Sports Games Too Crazy Li
When thinking of Sports games developers, one typically thinks of EA Sports or SCEA or some other US-based developer... but what about Japanese company, SNK? I've played many of their fighting games, but I never expected them to have anything good in the way of sports. Then I discovered Baseball Stars.
This is one of the most comprehensive NES sports titles I've ever seen in what options you have to do here. While this may not be the ideal sports sim for those who want real players from real teams, it's a very fun game for those who don't care about such things. The teams are fake, the players are fake, but it's a game you can just have fun with. You can even create your own team and customize the players on it. It even features female players which is pretty forward-thinking for 1989.
Graphics: They're standard quality for NES. The player mugshots are pretty good quality, though some of the arrangements are a bit ugly, there are some nice ones as well. The pitch and swing animations are good as well as ball traveling animations.
Sound: The sound effects aren't too bad, considering the time. It's a bit light on the music, but the songs it does have range from catchy to repetitive.
Addictiveness: It's fairly addictive to keep playing to earn more money and build up your team better. You can definitely have a lot of fun with it, trying to get new players as well.
Depth: There is a lot to do in this game. You can have Exhibition matches (1 player, 2 player, or computer only), League Play where you compete with other teams and earn money to improve existing players as well as hire new ones... you can also create and edit new teams. Most of the game's depth goes into messing with custom teams and building up player attributes.
Difficulty: The game's not exactly easy unless you're playing a weak team like the SNK Crushers. The AI plays tough and it can be difficult to get a hang of the timing and responses need to play. Though if you're an NES-era baseball game vet, you'll probably adapt to this a lot faster.
This is probably my favorite baseball game, because to my knowledge, it's the only one that actually allows you to create female players. I wish more sports games were this progressive.
Graphics 7 Sound 6 Addictive 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 4.5/5
Submitted: 10-07-12
Review Replies: 0
8.3
Baseball Stars tornadocam
Spring and summer are baseball months. Baseball is America's past time and is still a very popular game. Just about every gaming system has had a baseball game for that system. Baseball Stars is a baseball game for the regular Nintendo (NES). I will be reviewing this game and comparing it to the previous NES baseball game as well as games that came after it. Story: 6 Like, most sports games the plot is not detailed like Mega Man and Mario games. Basically its spring and that means its opening day for baseball. Time for teams to take the field. The goal is to pick a team and try to advance with that team. But it will not be easy as there are other teams out there wanting to advance too. Can you advance with your team. There are different modes in this game such as owner or manager. No matter what you pick the goal is the same Okay, this is your standard sport game plot. The plot is simple try to advance your team. Nothing really special. However, given that you can play in manager or owner mode. That adds something to this game. So I give the plot a 6 out of 10. Graphics and Controls: 9 Baseball Stars had much better graphics then its predecessor Baseball NES which came out 4 or 5 years before Baseball Stars. In the Baseball game the players were fuzzy, the spectators were also fuzzy. Baseball Stars fixed that. The graphics in this game are pretty good and showed what the NES could do at its peak. The players look like actual players. The fans look like actual people. In addition, the stadiums look like actual ball parks. Moreover, the fields look like grass and the sky looks like an actual sky. The colors are nicely done. In the previous game the graphics were so-so. The controls are much improved from the previous game. The previous game had sloppy controls. In this game the controls are pretty smooth. I did not notice any lags or slow downs like I did in the first game. Thus, I give the graphics and controls a solid 9. Sound: 8 The sounds in this game have also been improved. The first game had some nice sounds but it had some tingles. If anybody has read my other reviews one thing I hate when it comes to sound is tingling. The music is alright and the umpires voice was nicely done. The sound the players' bats make are a nice touch. When you hear crack or pow you know a player has hit the ball a long way. If there is any negative to the sound at all it is the fact I would have loved to have heard more music. The game's soundtrack is not very diverse in this game. But overall the sound was nicely done so I give it an 8 Replay Value: 8 I remember when this game came out in 1989/1990. That was when I started to get interested in baseball. Me and my cousins would play this game a lot. For awhile this was my favorite baseball game until the SNES games came out and later the Playstation games. But before the SNES and Playstation games came out this was all we had. Lets just say me and my cousins had fun playing this game. We would play this game for hours. This is a game that has aged well because here it is nearly 30 years later and this game is still fun to play. Its nice to go back down memory lane. I would argue this was really the first high standard baseball game. Therefore, I give it a 8 out of 10. Depth: 7Most early sports games were not known for their depth. The SNES & Play Station baseball games had a lot of depth to them. But this game surprisingly has depth to it. You can play in manager mode as well as owner game. I believe Baseball Stars was the first game to include that option. In addition, you have several different teams to chose from as well. So its often fun to try the different modes and play as different teams. Also you get to play an entire 9 innings or more if you tie just like a real baseball game. This game has a lot to offer. At the end of the day I give the depth a 7 out of 10. Difficulty 7 Difficulty is always hard to rate in sports games. This game is no exception. The games difficulty depends on what team you pick. While the teams are not real life major league teams they include major league players and some of the players make reference to past major league players. The stats are actually based on their real live counter parts. If you have a a player that makes reference to a real life baseball player in the past. The real life player's last season is reflected. So what does this have to do with difficulty? Well, in short the game reflects the real life stats. If your team has players on it that had good seasons its going to be easier. The teams with good players hit the baseballs harder, get hits easier, and strike out opposing batters better. If your team had players with not so good stats well the game as I stated reflects on that. Bad teams, will have a hard time getting hits, and getting outs. The good news is you can trade with another team to get a better player. Moreover, if your playing in manager or owner mode you can acquire a better player. If you acquire a better player the game reflects on that too. So in away the game is trying to help you out. At the end of the day I give the difficulty a 7 out of 10. The one thing is controlling the pitcher can be a bit of a challenge. But as I stated the game reflects on the pitchers major league counterpart. Also you can always trade for a better pitcher. The good thing is once you get the hang of it its not to difficulty. The game can be difficult if you pick a below average team. Given how you can ease the difficulty by getting better players that brings the overall difficulty rating down some. So 7 out of 10 sounds about right. Overall: 8.3 As I mentioned earlier when this game came out around 1989/1990. I was just starting to become a big baseball fan. Me and my cousins would play this game quite a bit. Back in the day we would meet at my late maternal grandmothers house for Sunday Dinner after Church. After me and my cousins ate we would go to my aunts house, which was right above my grandmothers house. It was there we would play games. Some of the games we played were Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and of course Baseball Stars. What can I say this was and still is a fun game to play. Considering how most baseball games that came out after this offered more options. I wonder if this game was the template to future baseball games. This game was the first game to offer new options the previous baseball game did not have that many options. Also this game showed what the NES was capable of at its peak. This game has a lot going for it such as the amazing graphics, the depth, and getting to play with different options. Now, there were a few negatives in this game, but they are very minor. The main negative I have with this game was the short soundtrack. I like games that have diverse music. This game has a few tunes. Even though the tunes in this game are good I would have liked to have seen more. Future baseball games had more tunes. On the other hand, this is an 8 byte type game so maybe that is all they could fit in the cartridge without taking away the different options. The second negative is sometimes the pitcher can be hard to control. I don't know if that was done on purpose or not. Still though once you get the hang of it that no longer becomes an issue. Overall, I give the game a solid rating of 8.3. I had fun playing this game back when it came out and it is still a good game to play to this day. Even though it has been passed by future baseball titles like the Play Station's MLB line. But again I think this game served as the template for future games and its easy to see why. Would I recommend this game? Yes I would recommend this game. This game is fun for the entire family. It would also be a good game to introduce someone who is new to sporting games too. The controls are basic but good. The graphics are nicely done, and the difficulty is about right. This is a good family fun game that has aged well. I highly recommend it. So, I hope you take time to discover this old classic game. I also hope that you enjoy it like I did. Blessings in Christ
Graphics 9 Sound 8 Addictive 8 Story 6 Depth 7 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 08-15-18
Review Replies: 2
9.8
Favorite baseball game of all time! ivardds
This is my favorite baseball game of all time! It brings a touch of RPG in the game with the money system. As you win games you win money and with the money you can upgrade your players or even buy new and better players. You can max out your team with all 90 super star players but this will take you a very long time to accomplish. You are able to customize two different teams and use your teams to compete with your friends or challenge the computer with up to six teams in a season. Endless fun recommend to any baseball fan.
Graphics 7 Sound 7 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 08-17-15
Updated: 08-18-15
Review Replies: 4
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