The Best Baseball Video Games: Why Mario Superstar Baseball Still Can’t Be Beat

April is over, which means the Major League Baseball season is in full swing (sorry, had to)! For me, that means I’ve been watching a ton, but also playing my fair share of baseball as well. Not in real life, of course—who has enough friends to actually play baseball? Certainly not me!—but in video games, obviously. When each professional sports season comes around, I typically get the itch to boot up a new campaign in whatever the corresponding video game is.

I prefer my sports video games more of the arcade style, like NBA Jam or NFL Blitz, but unfortunately those franchises and ones like them seem to be on hiatus. The Nintendo Switch, where I do most of my gaming, is pretty limited in its sporting offerings. I’ve sunk a decent chunk of time into games like Retro Bowl, but when it comes to baseball in particular, I have had trouble finding the perfect game. My search has led me far and wide, but the lack of new releases often means I have to go back to some old classics when trying to get my fix.

The Best (and Worst) Baseball Video Games

For any baseball superfans who are looking for their perfect game, I’ve got you covered. Here are my favorite (and least favorite) baseball video games, from the strikeouts, to the solid hits, to, of course, the one game that’s truly a grand slam!

The Strikeout: R.B.I. Baseball (2014)

I thought R.B.I. Baseball would be the answer to my arcade-y prayers when it was rebooted in 2014 by MLB Advanced Media, a branch of the league itself. Unfortunately, it turns out the people who run Major League Baseball aren’t qualified to develop a video game franchise. Who would’ve thought?! The series was universally panned for being overly simple, buggy, and just plain ol’ tough to look at. It has since been discontinued and removed from the eShop. 

The Infield Fly: MVP Baseball (2005)

I would be remiss not to mention MVP Baseball, specifically the 2005 version that has a pretty massive following and tops plenty of “Best of” lists across the internet. I was never that into it, mostly because the 2005 standout was released the same year as my favorite baseball game of all time (more on that later!) so I was a bit preoccupied. Though, I have to give a special shout-out to the man on the cover, Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox legend, and my favorite player of all time.

The Ground-Rule Double: MLB: The Show (Annually Since 2006)

MLB: The Show is certainly the gold standard when it comes to not just baseball games, but sports games in general. The visuals, game modes, and overall polish truly combine to form a gem of an experience. Of course, having full MLB licensing is a major bonus and the fact that it has also been released on Switch for the last three years makes this the quintessential baseball game to grab when you’re gearing up for the season. There’s just one problem: I absolutely suck at it. 

Admittedly, I’m a few years behind on picking up my annual copy, but over my nearly 30 seasons of MLB fandom, I’ve never been able to find an edition of MLB: The Show that suits me. The presentation, with real-life commentators Jon Sciambi (for my money, the best in the biz) and Chris Singleton, the fresh rosters, and the massive amount of content nearly hook me every season. But then, I remember what it’s like getting my butt kicked by a 10-year-old online, and I decide to once again pass up that opportunity.

It’s great to have the option to play a true baseball simulation, but it turns out baseball is pretty hard! Maybe that’s why I’m on the couch and not the diamond. 

The Triple: Super Mega Baseball 4 (2023)

The Super Mega Baseball franchise has been consistently solid since its debut in 2014, and the latest installment featuring MLB legends is the best edition so far. Mashing dingers as a cartoony David Ortiz is a blast, and the insanely deep customizability suite means that I can add any players not included in the release by making them myself. The gameplay is snappy, easy to pick up, and also very customizable, with various difficulty options per phase of the game. You can individually manage the challenge of hitting, pitching, fielding, and running, which means that, with a bit of tinkering, you can really find the sweet spot for your needs. The game is tons of fun. 

Super Mega Baseball 4 is, without a doubt, my preferred baseball game option on the Switch right now. That being said, there are some design choices that fall flat. The Super Mega League players and MLB Legends in theory should be fun, recognizable names, but in my many hours spent with the game, I haven’t seen any discernible difference between how Hammer Longballo, Hank Aaron, or my own random characters play and behave. Despite the oodles and oodles of options for player traits or skill levels, it always seems like I’ve got nine of the same person batting or fielding. I’d like my teams to feel like they have some variation to them, but unfortunately that just isn’t the case.

The Home Run: Backyard Baseball (1997)

I absolutely adored Backyard Baseball back in the day. It was part of an impressively detailed cartoon franchise—there was also Backyard Soccer, Football, Hockey, and Basketball—that included a deep roster with a diverse cast of memorable characters. Anyone who has ever played it surely has fond memories of murdering baseballs with Pablo Sanchez or Kiesha Phillips, dicing up opposing hitters with Kenny Kawaguchi, and “hitting touchdowns” with Pete Wheeler.

Not only did each player have a distinct personality, but their varying stats gave kids a crash course in roster management and how to build a well-balanced team. The 1997 original on PC was nearly flawless, but subsequent entries (some of which made their way to consoles) failed to capture the same magic, and the series eventually fizzled out in 2015. All I can say at this point is please come back, Pablo!

The Grand Slam: Mario Superstar Baseball (2005)

Of course, I’m burying the lede when I say I’m having trouble finding the perfect baseball game. I already have it. Mario Superstar Baseball, released in 2005 for the Nintendo GameCube, is that game. I’m not sure there’s another game I’ve played more than, or been as good at as, Mario Superstar Baseball. In my opinion, it is the perfect baseball simulation, and there’s three main reasons why. 

Why Mario Superstar Baseball Is the Best Baseball Video Game Ever

Reason #1: The Buttons Actually Do Stuff

Let’s start simple. In this game, unlike many other baseball games on the market, the buttons actually impact the gameplay. That might sound obvious and hard to get wrong, but in terms of sports games, baseball is a bit of an outlier in that department. 

Batting is usually a timing exercise, and in a lot of cases, the simple press of the A button to swing the bat is the only tool a player has at their disposal. While it makes sense not to overcomplicate a relatively uncomplicated action, it also isn’t an especially engaging practice. The fact that you can often replicate the nearly impossible task of hitting a 100 mph fastball with the slight press of one tip of your finger has always felt at odds with the true spirit of the sport (yes, I know I sound 85 years old). Some games have the option to aim your swing path in a certain direction or the ability to press B instead for a “power” swing, but more often than not you’re just standing in one spot, equally likely to get a hit trying your hardest as you are with your eyes closed once you learn the timing. 

Mario Superstar Baseball has two key differences that keep the player fully engaged as a batter. First and foremost, you can move in the batter’s box. Each playable character, like Yoshi and Princess Peach, is a different size and wields a unique bat, which means they each have a unique sweet spot. Because you have the ability to navigate around the box and find the perfect position, every pitch feels like a new challenge, not just a mindless task. 

You also have a power swing option, but it comes in the form of a charge and release mechanic. That itself isn’t wholly unique (Super Mega Baseball has a similar but worse version), but the way it plays out is the exact right balance of risky and rewarding. The longer you hold the charge swing, the less powerful it becomes, but if you get the timing right, you’re much more likely to shoot the gap or knock one out of the park. In other games, I’ll hit a home run and not really know what I did to make that happen. Once hitting starts to feel random instead of based on any discernible skill, you lose me completely. In Mario Superstar Baseball, you’re actually rewarded for the actions you’re taking and always feel like you know what you need to do to be successful. 

Even more important, yet so much more subtle, is the B button. Out of all the things Mario Superstar Baseball does better than any other game, this is at the top of my list, and it could not be simpler. When running the bases or playing the field, players can mash the B button to make their selected character(s) run faster.

Many games have little to no necessary action to take during these moments, which is particularly disengaging. Whereas a basketball, football, or hockey video game has players running around and navigating their environment, baseball is much more stripped down by nature. Baserunning is essentially automated in the majority of experiences, with only the need for a button press here or there on the off-chance you’re looking to swipe a bag. Fielding, too, is often a chore, as your only impact on the play is typically the route you take to the ball. Even then, the catch mechanics might be automated or at least streamlined and hard to mess up. And therein lies the problem: When these game mechanics are so hard to mess up, it also means there’s little room to improve, meaning you can’t make a significant play in a negative or positive way.

The feelings when mashing B to beat out an infield hit, round third, and dive safely into home—or full-on sprint after a fly ball so you can just barely dive for the catch—are unmatched. It is surprising how something so small can have such a mighty impact, but this minor detail means there’s absolutely no point in the game where players can take their eyes off the screen. For a sport with so much natural downtime, Mario Superstar Baseball’s focus on constant decision-making and emphasis on player engagement are massive wins. 

Reason #2: A Story Mode With Stakes

There’s a disturbing trend in gaming right now, and if you ask me, it’s going to be the downfall of society as we know it. That’s right: It’s unlockables. Back in my day, when you bought a game, especially a sports or racing game, you had to put in work to get that full game. It didn’t just come ready-to-play; there were story modes and single-player campaigns you had to get through if you wanted to earn each and every playable character. Well, in this participation trophy era of America, that’s gone! 

All right I’m mostly kidding, but the Story Mode, aka “Challenge Mode” mode as it is called in Mario Superstar Baseball, was so deep and rewarding that it is easily where I spent most of my time as a kid. You start as one of six team captains (Mario, D.K., Peach, Yoshi, Wario, or the eventually unlocked Bowser) with a team made up of characters associated with that particular realm of the Mushroom Kingdom. For example, Peach’s team has Daisy and a mix of different colored toads. Mario, of course, has Luigi as well as several Piantas and Nokis (possibly the worst character in the game). 

As you go around the map to different stadiums and challenge the respective captains to a game, you can complete achievements to recruit opposing players to your team. You might step up to the plate needing to smack a base hit or knock in a run to get Birdo to join your team. Complete the challenge and you’re one step closer; fail, and you don’t know when the next chance will come. 

As you successfully steal players from your opponents, you not only add them to your own roster, but they also become playable in the exhibition and mini-game modes. This system kept me going back for more until I finally collected the whole roster. It wasn’t a walk in the park, either! The Challenge mode is just that, and, particularly on the higher difficulties, teams do not take it easy on you. There are countless hours of gameplay to be had here, which makes it a shame that newer Mario sports titles lack a similarly robust single-player experience. After spending a few hours playing matches online in the 2022 soccer game Mario Strikers: Battle League, and yet again getting my butt kicked, I was back at GameStop trading in my copy for the next new release. 

Sure, I’d love a more traditional season mode like in MLB: The Show, some sort of roster management for a franchise builder mode, or additional team customizations (team names are assigned based on the captain and roster build-out you select), but I barely miss those things and hardly need them when the core gameplay here is so good.

Reason #3: Commitment to Characters in the Roster

If you’ve played a Mario sports game before, or generally have encountered the lore at some point in your life, you probably have a sense of the cast of characters we’re dealing with here. You’ve got your Marios and Luigis, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, and Bowser, along with 26 of Mario’s other closest pals and enemies. There’s even a handful of characters like Toad, Shy Guy, and Dry Bones who have variable traits based on the color you select. All of that makes for a deep and diverse roster before you get into the actual skill levels of each player. 

Just like the Backyard Sports franchise, each character is rated in Batting, Fielding, Running, and Pitching, and no two players are exactly alike. Bowser is an elite batter with power in spades, but predictably chugs around the bases. Yoshi is an electric speedster who makes enough contact to leg singles into doubles (not to mention his tongue makes him an excellent, if a bit unfair, fielder). Mario, as is tradition, is an everyman who neither excels nor disappoints in any particular area. 

I could go on and on, but the point here isn’t just that every character is meant to perform a certain way; it’s that they actually do perform that way. As I mentioned earlier, far too often have I been playing a baseball game only to mash a perfect hit with my number nine batter completely out of nowhere. I want to feel like I’m being rewarded for my input, but I also want it to make sense. In Mario Superstar Baseball, you’re not going up to the plate with Koopa Troopa expecting to leave the ballpark. Instead, you can play to their strength—contact—and knock a solid single through the infield. Once again, this system rewards careful decision-making and attention to detail, huge reasons why I find it so engaging. 

Baseball is a very cerebral game, and despite the cartoony exterior, Mario Superstar Baseball makes me think more than even the most simulation-y simulation games on the market. I already noted the unique bat choices for each playable character, but that fact combined with the spray chart each one possesses makes for some legitimate real-time strategy I’ve never seen in another baseball game.

King Boo and Boo, for instance, have a slice/hook type swing that always comes off the bat in one direction or the other, never a straight line. Hammer Bro and Toadsworth have bats with a fixed object on a long stick, meaning missing that one point will result in weak contact or a complete whiff. Donkey Kong and Petey Piranha don’t even use bats; they both swing their own extremities at the incoming pitch (at least D.K. wears a boxing glove; Petey goes raw leaf). 

Unlike your typical baseball game where slightly different character models all behave roughly the same way, Mario Superstar Baseball encourages players to mix and match lineups, learn and prioritize specific skills or traits, and build a team best suited for the style they want to play. It also means, for an added challenge, you and your friends can pick each other’s teams to try to screw each other over like I used to do. Sportsmanship at its finest!

It is hard to convey exactly how precisely each character plays within their expected traits, skills, and talents, but that’s what makes this almost 20 year old game so incredibly enjoyable. If you play and study the differences enough, you can gain a massive advantage by putting the right players in the right situations to succeed. I can’t say that about any other baseball game out there.

That’s the Ballgame!

The moral of the story here is that I’ve reached that critical point in every person’s life where I crave nostalgia not only because it reminds me of a simpler time, but also—and more importantly—because it proves that my generation did everything the best. If I could go back to the days of getting home from school, eating some dino nuggets, chugging a Capri-Sun, and diving into some Mario Superstar Baseball, I would do it in a heartbeat. 

Baseball is a very cerebral game, and despite the cartoony exterior, Mario Superstar Baseball makes me think more than even the most simulation-y simulation games on the market.

I haven’t even mentioned features like star skills, the Toy Field, or all the mini-game modes you could sink hours and hours into. There’s so much here that other games just can’t live up to. 

Short of inventing time travel, the least Nintendo could do is bring back my beloved game and complete the Mario sports catalog they’ve been so busy rebooting. Mario Superstar Baseball deserves a place on the Nintendo Switch, and should serve as a guidepost for the future of baseball titles. Until then, you’ll catch me on my old GameCube throwing no-hitters against teams of CPU Nokis and Goombas, safe in my home where no child on the internet can crush my dreams.