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2020
Super Baseball
2020年スーパーベースボール
20 Sep 1991 |
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SNK's
futuristic baseball extravaganza should have had
a lot more going for it. It's cool, fun to play, full of character and surprisingly memorable - it's just that it remains forever in the shadow of the first Baseball
Stars Professional (1990) and its brilliant sequel Baseball Stars 2 (1992).
To be fair, as arcade baseball games go this is as good as it gets. The gameplay has changed little since SNK's Famicom classic Baseball Star (1989) and the futuristic setting is a refreshingly original idea that is implemented very well.
Cyborg teams, robot referees, giant 'future dome' fields and loud and brash presentation make for a vintage early-90s arcade experience, very similar to Soccer Brawl (1992).
What does make it stand out against its predecessors is its zany additions to the rules of baseball: the field is riddled with giant 'Stop' and 'Jump' pads,
explosive mines appear throughout the game, and you can now power-up
specific members of your robot team by using money earned from
successful plays.
It's all very slick - but not... quite... there, for some
reason. The arcade was a money-eater that needlessly
'timed out' after a few minutes (a complete game can cost up to 5 credits) and while the home versions are very enjoyable, the game is forever relegated to 3rd spot in SNK's trademark 'Neo Geo Baseball' series.
Pah. The game is fine really. If you are a fan of arcade-style baseball mayhem,
you could a lot worse. After all,
the game was successful enough to warrant third-party
conversions on both the Super
Famicom and Mega
Drive, and that's more than you can say for
most Neo Geo sports titles.
Rating:  |
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2020
Super Baseball
2020年スーパーベースボール
NEO GEO |
DETAILS
| Format |
Neo
Geo |
| Released |
25
Oct 1991 |
| Publisher |
SNK |
| Product
ID |
NGH-030 |
| Size
(cm) |
22
x 17 x 4 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.70 |
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Wacky
and completely OTT take on
the SNK baseball
formula.
There's plenty of fun to be
had here (especially 2-player)
but overall it is just tipped
to the finish line by the
superior Baseball
Stars 2 (1992).
Soft-case
Neo Geo packaging, 46-Meg
cartridge, monochrome booklet. |
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2020
Super Baseball
2020年スーパーベースボール
SUPER FAMICOM |
DETAILS
| Format |
Super
Famicom |
| Released |
12
Mar 1993 |
| Publisher |
KAC |
| Product
ID |
SHVC-SA |
| Size
(cm) |
19
x 10.5 x 3 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.16 |
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Standard
Neo-to-SFC conversion fare
from KAC: good work, but the
package just doesn't do very
well without the Neo Geo's
technological oomph.
Still, it's becoming quite
a collector's item these days.
Standard
SFC packaging, 12MBit cartridge,
40-page colour booklet. |
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2020
Super Baseball
2020年スーパーベースボール
MEGA DRIVE |
DETAILS
| Format |
Mega
Drive |
| Released |
3
March 1994 |
| Publisher |
Electronic
Arts |
| Product
ID |
EM20027 |
| Size
(cm) |
17.8
x 12.8 x 3.2 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.22 |
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The
Mega Drive version also does
well, bringing a more than
decent version to Sega screens.
Becoming quite hard to find.
Large
EA MD packaging, 16MBit cartridge,
20-page monochrome booklet. |
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2020
Super Baseball
2020年スーパーベースボール
NEO GEO CD |
DETAILS
| Format |
Neo
Geo CD |
| Released |
25
Feb 1995 |
| Publisher |
SNK |
| Product
ID |
NGCD-030 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.2
x 12.4 x 1 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.10 |
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Direct
port of the arcade / Neo Geo
original for the Neo Geo CD.
Like all Neo CD titles, the
conversion is flawless in
every way, and benefits from
a remixed CD soundtrack.
'Neo
Geo' CD case, Neo
Geo CD disc, monochrome booklet,
spine card. |
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'2020
Super Baseball', 'Neo Geo' and
'SNK' are registered trademarks of SNK Playmore
'Super Famicom' and 'Nintendo' are registered trademarks of Nintendo
Co., Ltd.
'Mega Drive' and 'Sega' are registered trademarks of Sega Corporation
2020 Super Baseball TM & © 1991 SNK / Pallas All Rights
Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2012 Arcade Gear |
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