#65 - Bases Loaded III

Ryne Sandberg throws to first, and catches a fat paycheck!

Jaleco makes money by insulting its loyal fans.



If it weren't for Bases Loaded 1 and 2, there would be no Bases Loaded 3. An obvious conclusion, perhaps, but Bases Loaded 3 is actually - gasp! - the best of the three so far. Truthfully, with all the other decent to excellent baseball games available on the NES, this series is still fairly worthless. Many NES baseball games got it right the first time, so no sequels were necessary. Along with Baseball Stars, though, this is the most well-known, ubiquitous baseball series on the NES, so it's nice to finally play a good entry in the series.

Jaleco righted most of the wrongs of Bases Loaded 2 with this entry. While they retain the annoying "camera-behind-the-pitcher" feature, you are allowed to move your batter around the plate now! This makes it easier to actually hit the balls, which allows for actual gameplay. The field camera is now above the entire field, as it should be. The camera still starts from behind the pitcher, but it's such an improvement, it's hard for me to care. Also, the speed of the game is finally top-notch. It feels even tighter and more fluid than the speed of the first game, which was already well-done.

The one new feature of this game is controversial, if you're a tried and true Bases Loaded fan. Instead of simply playing a good ol' game of baseball (the way Mom used to play), Jaleco challenges you to play "the perfect game." At the end of every game, they rate you in thirteen different categories, many of them pathetic and pointless. Example: if you're caught stealing a base, you get three points off! What is this, the Middle Ages?! Stealing a base is one of the best parts of baseball! At any rate, the point is to get a score of 100. Otherwise, even if you beat the other team, you won't actually "win." My reasoning: it's a baseball game. Just because Jaleco tries to shove new features down your throat, doesn't mean you have to care.

As for the gameplay, it's well-programmed baseball designed simply to profit on the crappiness of Bases Loaded 2. Jaleco's strategy: Bases Loaded was a decent, if unspectacular game that managed to capture some decent sales. Bases Loaded 2 sucked it up. Bases Loaded 3 is the triumphant return to decency and good taste. There are other better baseball games for the NES, but unless Bases Loaded 4 comes along and sweeps me off my feet, there are no other better Bases Loaded games for the NES.

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