Bases Loaded
System: NES
Release Date: July 1988
Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Jaleco
Genre: Sports
Here’s the third and final baseball game released for NES in 1988, Bases Loaded! I want to start off right away and say this is done in the incorrect style of playing from behind the pitcher. This makes batting way more frustrating than I’d like it to be. It also doesn’t have the MLB or MLBPA license, so the teams and players are made up.
The next thing that pops out are the player graphics. These graphics are leaps and bounds better than MLB and RBI. There are several different player models and they look like people. I could see this blowing someone’s young, impressionable mind. However, the gameplay doesn’t quite hold up. While pitching, you can choose from a fast pitch by pressing up, a medium pitch by pressing left or right, or a slow pitch by pressing down when you press the A button to throw. You can then press in any direction to move the ball in that manner. In practice, it doesn’t work so well.
While batting, you can see the catcher’s glove, which follows the pitch, but the AI moves the ball in ways I couldn’t quite figure out how to do myself. So you hack at some pitches you probably shouldn’t. You also can’t judge the depth so well, so you hack early or late more often than you’d like, too. You can set down a bunt with a press of the B button, which is nice.
Fielding is pretty much automatic on pop flys, but you can take over whichever player the ball is heading toward and muck up your catch. Throwing to bases works like it should. The game mode is a 132 game season against the other 11 teams. You save your progress with a password, which is very cool.
Graphics: 3.0
The graphics are really good for a sports game at this time.
Sound: 1.5
The music is a very short loop which gets annoying immediately. There is digitized voice, which I appreciate.
Gameplay: 2.5
Thinking about it more, batting is like playing MLB: The Show, but not good. Behind the pitcher view is still the wrong way to bat.
Difficulty: 2.5
This is a pitcher’s game, for sure. Had I not had a terrible fifth inning, I would have had no problem winning.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I had less fun with Bases Loaded than MLB or RBI. I hope the sequels get better.
Overall Grade: 2.2
Bases Loaded earns a C. It’s not a terrible baseball game, but it’s not the best choice you have.