Bases Loaded (Virtual Console) Review
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 04.14.2008
Your umpires for tonight's game are: YUK, DUM, BOO, BUM.
Ahh yes, the smell of clean cut grass and brand new leather. It can only mean one thing; baseball season! We've seen a pair of quality titles recently released for various platforms to kick off the season but the Virtual Console has recenly given us a trip to old school baseball in the form of Bases Loaded.
Originally released in 1988 by Jaleco, I can fondly remember getting this game for my 9th birthday having just moved from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a game I played the hell out of and I can recall having my cousins over the house playing it along with Tecmo Bowl until the late evenings. With the game being just re-released on the Virtual Console, I had to take this one for a day at the ballpark so to speak.
Like many early baseball titles, Bases Loaded is all about pick-up-and-play and has a very arcade feeling to it (which it should as it was first released in the Arcades in Japan). The presentation is very TV-like in that the point of view is from behind the pitcher. In between innings or batters, the scoreboard is shown which shows the batting lineup, score and game stats along. Though every player in the game has their own stats, they cannot be changed and new stats are not recorded. Kind of a bummer nowadays but didn't seem like a big deal back then. Players can choose to play a full season which is saved via password or with two players in an exhibition game. The game which doesn't include the MLB license, comes with twelve different teams:
Boston
D.C.
Hawaii
Jersey (My favorite team)
Kansas
L.A.
Miami
N.Y.
Omaha
Philly
Texas
Utah
[Wikipedia has a cool overall picture of each team here.]
Each team had its own distinct style with respects to batting and pitching. While pitching, you could direct the trajectory of the ball by moving the D-Pad in any direction, including diagonally. You could easily replicate curveballs, fastballs, changeups, sinkers and even screwballs to keep the batter guessing. One of the coolest aspects was in getting a batter to charge the mound if you beaned him. It wouldn't happen everytime but usually the largest batters would get pissed off and put a beating on your pitcher. This of course would mean that the batter will get ejected but it's still pretty funny to see the pitcher take an ass whopping. You can also pick-off the runners but that's about it.
As for batting, you simply press the '2' button to swing though you can move the D-pad around to swing in different locations. Pressing '1' will get you to bunt and you can manuever the bat around. The best part of the game to me is the pitching and batting as it has one of the best styles of play in my opinion for games from that era. Of course that's not to say there aren't any flaws because there are quite a few. For instance, the defense is supremely slow. A base hit into the game will usually result in a triple as everyone moves at the speed fo a snail. You also don't get any indication as to where the ball will land so you will have to make a smart guess to get under the ball. Also, even though you can steal bases, you'll usually get gunned because the runners get down the baseline slower than Cecil Fielder after a buffett breakfast.
Still the game isn't without its charm. The experience is still fun even if the game hasn't aged all that well. Going through a full season is pretty daunting but as a multiplayer game, it's still enjoyable. The sound effects are pretty primal but it doesn't have some voice overs from the umpires and the music is still as catchy as ever, especially when smashing a homerun. Gamers who have never experienced this game, may find it too slow to play but for those who remember the game fondly, it's still a fun game to pull out when friends are over from time to time.
Graphics
5.0
Looks good while the action is at the plate, but is pretty subpar when fielding.
Gameplay
5.0
Again, the game is at its best when pitching/batting but very very slow when fielding and running.
Sound
5.0
Catchy tunes, voice overs from the umpires; not done by many games on the NES.
Lasting Appeal
6.0
You can do a full season though stats are not recorded.
Fun Factor
6.0
Still very fun to play though much more enjoyable with 2 players.
It was a game I played the hell out of and I can recall having my cousins over the house playing it along with Tecmo Bowl until the late evenings. With the game being just re-released on the Virtual Console, I had to take this one for a day at the ballpark so to speak.
Pressing '1' will get you to bunt and you can manuever the bat around. The best part of the game to me is the pitching and batting as it has one of the best styles of play in my opinion for games from that era. Of course that's not to say there aren't any flaws because there are quite a few. For instance, the defense is supremely slow. A base hit into the game will usually result in a triple as everyone moves at the speed fo a snail. You also don't get any indication as to where the ball will land so you will have to make a smart guess to get under the ball. Also, even though you can steal bases, you'll usually get gunned because the runners get down the baseline slower than Cecil Fielder after a buffett breakfast.
