Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.

Developer: Angel Studios Publisher: Nintendo

Released: May 31, 1998 Rated: E 7/10

Nintendo hands over the reins on their baseball franchise to a third developer in as many iterations, looking to keep things rolling after top-tier output from Software Creations and Rare on the Super Nintendo. From the N64’s US-centric “dream team” of second-party designers, Angel Studios doesn’t roll in trying to boast any graphical or gameplay gimmicks for their game of baseball. Moving the series into a proper polygonal style for the new hardware is all that’s needed here, but the pick-up-and-play style that the Griffey branding is built on remains through the transition, making this a strong choice for baseball fans on the system.

As an MLB-licensed, US-released baseball title, Griffey isn’t the most arcade-style offering in the N64’s library. Titles like Imagineer’s King of Pro Baseball and Konami’s Powerful Pro that predate this one lean further into that type of gameplay with cute character models and simple mechanics, but only released in the Japanese market. As such, they also offer game modes, particularly Powerful Pro’s Success Mode and its incorporation of life simulation, that appeal more to that region and add to a lasting appeal in revisiting them. Ken Griffey Jr., on the other hand, is a little bit more serious while still not featuring the same level of options as All-Star Baseball ‘99. In spite of this, Angel Studios avoids making their game of baseball a master of none by simply delivering an all-around appealing experience that makes for the best option for a quick game, and still does enough to remain a good option for a more long-term experience.

Where it matters most – the pitcher/batter interaction – is snappy, sensible, and well-balanced. Pitchers typically have four pitches to work with, and move their cursor to the desired location, but between their natural movement and player influence once the windup starts, there’s plenty of skill involved on both sides as the ball makes its way over the plate. Batters move their cursor and time up their swing and that’s all there is, but it’s got a heck of a sense of balance to it. It’s snappy and satisfying from both sides of the game, and given that you can skip the few places where Griffey adds its little bits of flair and presentation as needed, cutting a game down to about a 30 minute endeavor, it’s difficult to imagine having a bad time playing this one.

That is to say, though, that Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. isn’t the most flashy or feature-rich game on the system. Game modes cut right to the chase with exhibition, season, World Series, and a Home Run Derby. World Series doesn’t offer any special presentation or pomp, unfortunately, basically just being the season mode skipped ahead to the end. Season does have a few solid features like a fantasy draft and free agency, but pales in comparison to even the first All-Star Baseball entry from the same season. Being a Nintendo-published offering, however, in-progress seasons can be saved directly to the cartridge, which is a major advantage over other sports titles that require an entire dedicated controller pak for the same option.

A little bit of theatrics like fireworks for home runs (and outfielders shaking their heads in shame), pitchers getting sore and shaking the wear out of their limbs on the mound, and periodic comments from Ken Griffey Jr. himself add in a little bit of character without much intrusiveness. The voice clips from Junior are especially funny, as his flat delivery is reminiscent of his role on The Simpsons, where his voice acting skills leave a lot to be desired. A quick comment about how “he’s got the heat” after a good strikeout comes almost out of nowhere and is good for a laugh, if anything, while the main menu theme that works in more samples like “call me Junior” is a bona fide classic N64 tune, at least for me.

The door would certainly remain open for improvement – more features, more style, and a slightly more refined gameplay experience – with future installments. Serious competition was always around the corner with Acclaim’s All-Star Baseball, but with a lot of baseball titles in both the US and Japan, Nintendo and Angel Studios approached their version of baseball just right to be the overall best option. Other games might do something in particular to make themselves a better option for some players, but given all the relevant licenses and best accessibility, Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. does right by its series and its hardware.