 SssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssS Usually when people talk about hidden gems or concealed ornaments or secluded trinkets or whatever, they don't usually mention sports games, and really, I can't say I blame them. I've always loved sports video games since I was a kid, but I understand that they're kind of a niche category within a niche hobby, so maybe they're not the most fun to talk about since you usually already have to be a fan of baseball, or hockey, or whatever, to enjoy them. I will contend, however, that Bad News Baseball from Tecmo is one of the better NES games that I hardly hear anybody talking about, and this one is especially hidden, so to speak, because I mean, if you want to play a baseball game on NES, you either roll with Baseball Stars, a great game that's been well established, or you go with RBI Baseball, since that one has all the real teams and players. Bad News Baseball does not have an MOB license, so no actual teams or players here, and despite the title, it has nothing to do with the Bad News Bears movie from the 70s, but it doesn't matter, because this game is still a lot of fun. The Baseball Basics are all here, it's the same pitching and hitting viewpoint as most other NES baseball games, and the fielding is just like it is in RBI Baseball, where everyone on the field moves in the same direction at the same time. The typical game modes are here too, one player versus the computer, two player versus an all-star game, and a password system. There's no season mode here, instead you just pick one team, and run the gauntlet, defeating every other team, kinda like how Tecmo Bowl is structured. Bad News Baseball features a surprising amount of depth within the game itself, with each team featuring six different bench players you can substitute at any time, complete with ratings that rank their hitting, fielding, and speed. The confusing mess you see here is actually a player rating chart for each position, CA means catcher, one is first base, two is second, O is outfield, etc. And every player gets a letter grade for each position, if they don't have a grade at all then they really suck at that position. A is arm strength, R is speed, and players get a number rating for those. Believe it or not, these ratings really matter in this game, because if you put someone in at a position that they don't belong, the game gets ruthless when it comes to fielding and throwing errors. I mean, sometimes an outfielder will just miss a base entirely, and you have to go run after the ball like an idiot. Now for what it's worth, to my knowledge, I don't think there's much of a wink or a nod to very many actual players like how it works in some other baseball games, like Roger Clemens MVP Baseball for instance. The rosters in this game are closer to a game like Bases Loaded, where it's completely made up players, and the third and fourth hitters in the lineup are almost always the best on your team. There's two major things that make Bad News Baseball stand out. One is the personality this game exudes, there's lots of close up shots at close plays, there's some very expressive pixel art. You see different celebrations for home runs, and that can be a shot of the opposing team looking depressed, or a ball hit so hard that it leaves Earth's orbit, or high fives from all your teammates or, uh, is that animal from the Road Warriors? What is he, a bench coach or something? Another nice touch is that each team in this game has their own theme music. I'm not sure I've come across that in an old sports game before. You even have rabbits for umpires for some reason, the same Tecmo rabbit you occasionally saw at the title screen of Tecmo games. The fielders also run like Peg Bundy for some reason, I mean geez it's like they can't decide whether to field the ball or do Conan O'Brien's hip string marionette dance. The other thing that makes this game stand out is that it cuts a quick pace. There's not a lot of downtime or dawdling around, and you can easily play a nine in a game in about 10 or 12 minutes. Bad News Baseball unfortunately has the same flaws that most other NES baseball games have, namely that the fielding just kind of sucks. One is really slow, sometimes a throw to a base will get inadvertently cut off. You can't choose a specific fielder to go after a ball, so a ball hit in between the infield and outfield can get kind of confusing. Still, I appreciate that the game has enough depth to put an actual emphasis on defense, so you can always substitute players and put better fielders in play if you want. So yeah Bad News Baseball is a fun playthrough especially with the second player. It takes the old RBI baseball style format and adds a ton of cartoony personality to the proceedings. Like when a player is thrown out he falls to the ground dazed, and when a player makes an error the game makes it look like the player took a baseball straight to the noggin. It's pretty funny. Yeah, the usual NES limitations are here, and there's no real teams or players, but this game is so pleasant and innings go by so quickly that it doesn't really matter. I would dare call this game a quote-unquote hidden gem, but I don't want Metal Jesus' lawyers coming after me. Point is, this is easily one of the better NES baseball games out there. Not quite as good as Baseball Stars, but it's still a fun time. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.