Bad News Baseball

Gameplay

In Bad News Baseball, the single-player campaign tasks you with beating every team in a round-robin format, but you can pick the order. The game doesn’t track wins or losses, and you can keep playing until all opponents are conquered. Pitchers have a stamina meter that, when empty, needs several games to recharge. The title screen offers options for one or two players, a spectator mode where the CPU plays itself, one or two-player All-Star games, and a password system. Passwords appear after each match and note which teams you’ve beaten along with each pitcher’s stamina. The gameplay is similar to R.B.I. Baseball, but with kid-friendly touches like rabbit umpires and cheerful animations for home runs and close plays. Players can get knocked unconscious if they’re forced out or hit by the ball. Like in Japan’s professional league, a game ends in a tie after 12 innings. Standard baseball features are present: pinch hitters, pinch runners, stolen bases, four pitch types, and players with varied stats. The game has two leagues, the Ultra League and the Super League, modeled after the National League and American League in Major League Baseball. Neither league uses the designated hitter rule. After each game, team statistics are recorded and the inning-by-inning score is shown.