Tecmo Baseball
System: NES
Release Date: January 1989
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Genre: Sports
If Major League Baseball was my main baseball game of choice, Tecmo Baseball was my secondary title. Things are a bit more deep here, but the camera view is set behind the pitcher for both offense and defense, and therefore is wrong. You begin by either choosing a normal game or an all star game. I went with the normal play, which pits you in a series of games against the other six teams in the league, then you play against the best team from the opposite league.
When pitching, you start by designating if you’re going to throw a fastball (press up), changeup (press down), or normal speed pitch (don’t press a direction). From there you have to choose which of the nine possible places you want to aim the pitch by pressing the directions. Then once the pitch is in the air, you can cheat it left or right a little bit. Pitchers lose effectiveness as their pitch count increases, so you’ll want to bring in the relievers when you start to feel the pitcher is sluggish.
Batting is simple, as you can swing high (by pressing up), low (by pressing down), and level (by pressing nothing). The catchers glove seems to immediately move to where the pitch is going, so you should be able to target the ball more often than not. There’s even a different sound effect between a fastball and changeup, so it should be easier to gauge your timing.
Fielding is mostly fine, though the ball will often fly off the screen when popped up and you can’t really tell if it’s on an upward or downward trajectory until you’re slightly out of position. You also have the ability to make a jump dive for the ball, which can save you a hit. Baserunning didn’t work exactly as I expected and I both missed out on extra bases and was tagged out until I figured out the proper button combinations to press.
Graphics: 2.0
The batting and pitching sprites are big, but not very detailed. The outfield is at about the same level of MLB and RBI.
Sound: 2.0
The songs are catchy, the sound effects are fine, the digitized ump voice is understandable.
Gameplay: 3.5
There’s strategy to pitching and batting other than timing. Fielders can jump. You play a league.
Difficulty: 1.5
This is a hitters game. Once you get the batting strategy down, you’ll hit several times per inning and be granted homeruns.
Fun Factor: 3.0
This is definitely a good time. Baseball games don’t have to try to reinvent the sport. Just give us a decent facsimilie and we’re fine.
Overall Grade: 2.4
Tecmo Baseball earns a C+. This is the first of two baseball games the NES will get in 1989 and it’s a good one. I can give it a recommend.