Baseball Stars (NES)

Is Baseball Stars the greatest video game ever made? That depends on how you define greatness. If greatness is measured by the degree to which the user enjoys the game, then many would consider Baseball Stars to be the greatest. It's a matter of subjective opinion, but anyone who has played the game knows Baseball Stars belongs in the conversation.



The amazingly balanced gameplay, the create-a-player and create-a-team features, as well league play (up to 125 game seasons) put Baseball Stars in a category of its own.



You'll notice on the back of the box, the SNK Corporation of America address is 246 Sobrante Way in Sunnyvale, CA. A google search indicates this address is now home to the Sunnyvale Hand Therapy Clinic, a fitting tribute to years of overworked thumbs at the controls of Baseball Stars marathon sessions.



In this gameplay shot, the American Dreams lead off against the Ninja Blacksox. The Dreams are the best computer-generated team in the game. The Ninja Blacksox, Japan Robins, and Brave Warriors formed the second tier. Then the World Powers and Ghastly Monsters made up a third tier. The SNK Crushers and Lovely Ladies brought up the rear. One of the ultimate challenges in the game is to play a season as the SNK Crushers against the other CPU teams. Playing as SNK, you really have to manage your lineup and play smart to win against the good teams.

Seasoned Baseball Stars veterans are familiar with the questions "When isn't it?" and "What is a wren?", and know the answers are "When it is." and "A wren is a bird."

In closing, Baseball Stars is one of the greatest video games of all time by any measure - it was even loved by the Fresh Prince.