Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (SNES)

The game had many features for its time. Each team having its own venue- sometimes complete with unique features. For example, Dodger Stadium’s “slants” by the outfield crowd (the outfield “roof”), Shea Stadium’s minuscule center field crowd, and the large scoreboard in the right field of Comiskey Park are all present. Due to limitations from cartridge space, some stadiums could not be added- instead, the developers added a generic stadium with green or blue walls. Some of the stadiums were particularly realistic- Fenway Park’s trademark Green Monster is in the game, as is Joe Robbie Stadium’s teal wall and Oriole Park at Camden Yards’ trademark Warehouse in right field. The game featured statistics from the real-life 1993 season, and also kept statistics for the team controlled by the user throughout a season, though all of the statistics of CPU controlled teams remained unchanged.

Each team has its own best and worst player- the best players are dependable and can help to win games; the worst can botch simple plays. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a hidden Gem on their bench named “Lou Graves”. It is a travesty that he is not in the lineup. He only hits Home Runs in big situations. Pitching is one of the simplest elements in this game. There is also a battery-backed season mode, where players can select a team to play for 26, 78, or all 162 games. Players who finish first in their division earn a playoff berth and a chance to be in the 1993 World Series. Unique to the game was the ability to choose playing a season using a system of either 4 or 6 divisions, as the game was released after the 6 division system was proposed, but before an actual season was played using six divisions.

Against the CPU, strikeouts are hard to come by, so capable defense is paramount. Like most baseball games, especially of that era, players can exploit omissions in the AI to trick the computer. On certain long hits to the outfield, an outfielder can stand next to the ball, and in some cases merely hold on, and the CPU baserunner will attempt to take another base even though the human-controlled player can easily throw out the runner. Similarly, if the player has runners on first and third, often it is possible to do a double-steal before the pitch is even thrown. First, the runner on first base should start running (hit the X button four times), at which point the pitcher, thinking it’s merely a long lead, will throw to first. The first baseman will then throw to second, at which point the runner on third should take off for home. The shortstop will catch the ball, move towards the approaching runner for a moment, and then throw home, by which point the runner should have arrived. The other runner will then reach second base without a problem.

The double steal can also usually be used more simply. When the end of a play results in runners on 1st and 3rd, have the runner at 1st begin running before the play ends. The AI will throw the ball to 2nd, and as soon as the ball is thrown the runner at 3rd should head for home. For some reason, the 2nd baseman will hold on to the ball for an extra second before attempting to throw home. Any player with decent speed should be safe at home.

Another trick that can be played against the CPU is bunting. If you have a player at third, you can bunt and the CPU defensive player will either throw to third or home and then third, so long as your runner on third is off the bag. If you lay down a good bunt, your runner on third can score. If the bunt is not good, dangle your runner just off of third base until the CPU throws to third, then dive back. This will give the batter enough time to reach first safely. This can lead to another fun maneuver; once the bases are loaded, if there are less than two outs, the CPU will always throw home, even if they have the opportunity to turn an inning-ending double play. So you can lead off of third and attempt to steal home as the pitcher delivers. Then even if you hit a weak ground ball, the CPU will always throw home and often you can beat the throw. They’ll next try for the batter heading to first, but by then it will most likely be too late and he will be safe too.

The documentation appears to be the manual. Grab it HERE!

 

Ken Griffey Jr’s Slugfest (N64)

 

Batting

The batting feature in this game is set up differently than most other baseball video games. The batter is given an elongated oval shape to control and in order for the batter to make contact with the ball, he must wait for the pitch location and then move the oval to the location of the pitch to make contact. Each batter will have a different sized oval or hitting zone depending on how strong of a hitter he is. This feature was originally developed in ‘Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. and carried over into this game with slight modifications.

Fielding

The fielding portion of this game makes use of the c-directional pad on the Nintendo 64 controller. As a fielder, you must run to the ball using the analog stick and then choose the correct c-button for the base to which you would like to throw. The controller has four c-buttons: c-up, c-left, c-right, and c-down and each of these represent a different base. Each c-button represents the base that would correspond with it’s location on the controller. For example, c-right represents first base, c-up represents second base, c-left represents third base, and c-down represents home plate.

Pitching

This game uses simple controls for pitching that are very similar to the controls of other baseball video games of the time. Before the pitch, there will be a menu that will show all available pitches that the pitcher can throw. In order to throw a certain pitch, you must press the button that is next to the pitch you would like to throw. The strike zone will be shown by a white rectangular box and any pitch that is located in the box will be a strike. Also, while the ball is being thrown, the pitcher may use the analog stick to move the pitch in any direction. There are several different pitches that can be thrown. They are: fastball, super fastball, change up, super change up, knuckleball, curveball, slider, and screwball. Every pitcher has his own unique set of pitches and no pitcher can throw all the pitches. The speed of the pitches can range anywhere from 40 mph to 106 mph.

The documentation appears to be the manual. Grab it HERE!

 

NBA Jam Tournament Edition (SNES)

NBA Jam, which featured 2-on-2 basketball, is one of the first real playable basketball arcade games, and is also one of the first sports games to feature NBA-licensed teams and players, and their real digitized likenesses.

A key feature of NBA Jam is the exaggerated nature of the play – players jump many times above their own height, making slam dunks that defied both human capabilities and the laws of physics. There are no fouls, free throws, or violations except goaltending and 24-second violations. This meant the player is able to freely shove or elbow his opponent out of the way. Additionally, the game has an “on fire” feature, where if one player makes three baskets in a row, he becomes “on fire” and has unlimited turbo, no goaltending, and increased shooting ability, until the other team scores (or the player has scored four consecutive baskets while “on fire”).

The game is filled with easter eggs, special features and players activated by initials or button/joystick combinations. For example, pressing A five times and right five times on any Sega Genesis controller would activate “Super Clean Floors”. This feature would cause characters to fall if they ran too fast or changed direction too quickly. And players can enter special codes to unlock hidden players, ranging from US President Bill Clinton to Hugo the Charlotte Hornets mascot. Early versions of the sequel, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, allows players to put in codes that allow people to play as characters from Mortal Kombat, but the NBA, uneasy over the controversies surrounding Mortal Kombat‘s levels of violence, forced Midway to remove these characters in later updates. On the arcade machine, there is also a hidden ‘tank’ game that allows you to run around a 3D wireframe field. In order to access this mode however, you were required to be able to toggle the on/off switch located behind the machine. While the game was powering back on, you would hold Up + all buttons on player 1 and Down + all buttons on player 2.

The documentation provided appears to be the game manual! Grab it HERE!