PlayStation 4
Released in 2016 by MLB Advanced Media
Grade: B
This game is a pleasant surprise. I bought it reluctantly and expected to hate it. It’s a revitalization of retro arcade baseball, a subgenre I don’t like much. Well, with its intuitive controls and bright presentation, the stupid thing won me over.
Where it falls in the series
The original R.B.I. Baseball showed up on Nintendo in 1988, and had several followups, finishing with 1995’s Super R.B.I. Baseball on SNES. This newer series, made by a different company, had yearly releases from 2014 to 2021.
Praises and gripes
Other than the modern graphics, this game is as old-school as it gets. You can move freely on the rubber and in the batter’s box. Pitchers simply fire away and steer the ball on its way to the plate. The animations in the field are snappy and robotic. Fielders automatically leap or dive for the ball. There’s a high-pitched “Woooo” sound effect on fly balls. The pace is delightfully fast, so games last 20 to 30 minutes. There are no wild pitches or passed balls, relievers don’t need to warm up, and fielders position themselves automatically according to the situation. You can forget about alternate camera views, instant replays, hot/cold zones, and diagrams of previous at-bats.
There is just one modern-style perk: an assisted fielding setting, helping you to avoid needless mistakes catching fly balls.
The most important aspect of this game’s playability is that the pitching system isn’t quite as ridiculous as in many retro baseball games. Sure, pitchers steer the ball like wizards, but the ball is flung fast and it has momentum, limiting the range of this magical movement.
As a result, batting isn’t too difficult. The swing animation is swift and the timing is spot on. I was surprised at my ability to extend at-bats by laying off balls and spoiling borderline strikes.
The rest of the action is straightforward and simple, while also rooted in realism. You’ll see roughly the same number of hits as in a real MLB game. Runners and fielders are balanced, leading to fair results on the basepaths. There’s nothing zany or over-the-top about this game. It simply feels good to play.
All that said, it’s certainly not perfect. Some animations look awkward and the baserunning controls can be touchy. Between innings, the screen freezes on a digitized overlay for a couple seconds, reminding me of the old loading delays from PlayStation 1! Every catcher wears the same blue protective gear, and you might fumble in the menus trying to make both teams wear the correct uniforms. You can play a season or playoffs, but they’re awfully dumbed down.
While most of the game’s simplifications have charm, there’s a cheap feel to it overall. In its defense, it’s technically a “budget title,” originally selling for $19.95.
The obvious knock on this game is that it won’t hold your attention very long. But for many gamers, it’s worth owning so you can scratch your baseball itch without digging into the complexities of MLB The Show. (Funny note: While I usually praise the hell out of The Show, the 2016 version has a horrible lagging issue, so I would actually call R.B.I. Baseball 2016 the best baseball video game of the year!)
Published July 2, 2022