For the initiated, baseball is the great American pastime. From the pang of a freshly struck home run to the smell of hot dogs wafting down from the stands, it’s the quintessential U.S. sport. Much like gridiron and basketball, the sport’s recent video game recreations have also become more focused on hyper-accurate realism over anything else. The likes of R.B.I. Baseball 20 has followed the trail blazed by MLB The Show with huge attention to detail, but that focus can too often put off players looking for more of a merciful arcade experience. For those looking for a little more accessibility, the Super Mega Baseball series has become the go-to place on Switch.
Of course, we should point out that the latest addition, Super Mega Baseball 3, isn’t a proper pick-up-and-play experience such as retro classics such as Clutch Hitter or MLB Slugfest, but rather a comfortable middle ground between simulation and silliness. There’s just enough tutorial content to ease you into the game’s rule-set and the nuances of the sport, but a huge amount of depth for those that know the subtle difference between a two-seam and a forkball, or the pros and cons of rotational hits vs. linear.
Super Mega Baseball 2: Ultimate Edition set quite a bar when it jumped onto Nintendo Switch last summer, and this instalment thankfully keeps all the things its forerunner did right – the customisable difficulties, the subtleties of power batting and the sheer level of player customisation options – and simply adds in many of the features that were notably absent or in need of extra flesh. One of the biggies, and something most big-name sports sims simply couldn’t live without, is the introduction of a new and improved Franchise mode.
Now you can oversee a team through multiple seasons rather than just the one, controlling everything from rookie signings all the way to the diet of your players. Yes, you can even have a go at being a sports nutritionist, with your choices affecting player performances on the field. There’s a real joyful sense of humour to how Super Mega Baseball 3 ties this mode together, with the option to send your players to aerobics classes if they’re getting a little slow or assign them to yoga classes for a little extra flexibility. There’s no option for trading, but even without that sort of external economy, this new and improved mode will likely become your biggest time sink.
On the field, Super Mega Baseball 3 is every bit the deep and rewarding experience it was in the previous entry, although a few niggles still persist. While it very much leans into the simulation with the sheer amount of nuance to pitching, batting and running, the developer continues to utilise mini-games to make all of the various mechanics flow into one another. Battling is all about finding the rhythm and sweet spot, pitching centres around timing and angles, and running becomes a chess match of sorts, where you need to weigh up moving your runners between bases at the risk of an out. Baserunners can now move off the base as soon as you initiate a steal, forcing you to watch with bated breath as your players attempt to beat catchers to safety. You can also pull off pickoffs now, but these can sometimes be a little too erratic for their own good.
Fielding is one of the few areas in which Super Mega Baseball 3 still struggles, mainly because it can’t quite decide how much agency it wants to give you. For the most part, fielding is done automatically – mainly because balls are often struck so fast they’re already halfway across the diamond before you can react – with your success of making a quick and secure catch determined by the stats of a given player. Your control of this aspect of the game centres around pitching the ball back to one of the bases on the diamond, with each position represented by a face button. It's an enjoyable aspect, but one that often feels a little too random.
As a full package on Switch, Super Mega Baseball 3 really isn’t struggling for content. While it doesn’t have the additional DLC bulk of the previous game, the improvements to on-field play and modes more than make up for it. Performance-wise, the game rarely drops the ball, although those semi-cartoonish character models are still a bit of an eyesore – even more so with the blurring that’s been employed to keep it running smoothly on portable hardware. Thankfully, the full support for both local and online co-op play (including in Franchise mode) has been included on Switch, so those with a shared love for the sport will really enjoy sending this semi-simulation out to bat.
Conclusion
What it lacks in hyperrealism and officially-licensed teams, Super Mega Baseball 3 more than makes up for with a carefully adjusted set of physics that are deep enough to cater to RBI Baseball players while offering up the welcome addition of some improved modes. Franchise mode alone feels like a proper extension of the brand, with its irreverent sense of humour lending a welcome nuance to an otherwise content-heavy sports simulation.
Comments 32
This is something we desperately needed considering how bad/mediocre the RBI games have been.
Oh, I really fancy this.
Bought it. Love it.
The demo for this game is a three inning mini-game that I play several times a day, lol. Having a tough time plunking down $60 CDN on a digital title. Anyone know if it has a physical release?
I've been really enjoying it. Kinda wish Metalhead would take a crack at making Super Mega Hockey... Switch needs a decent hockey game.
Just can't pull the trigger even though it looks brilliant. I have no interest in baseball and I know that will lead me to putting this down after a week.
Struggling with the hitting mechanics but all in all, a properly fun game. I actually like the cartoony aesthetic so I imagine it is a taste thing more than anything else.
@kobashi100 I'm in the same boat.
@daveh30 Or even something along the lines of Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey from the N64 days.
@kobashi100 For me I think baseball games need to be kind of arcadey for me to really enjoy them. Realistic baseball is just such a slow sport that it doesn't work well as a video game unless you are really into the sport. The more arcadey games are more fast paced and easier to play which makes it a lot easier to have fun with.
Bought it launch day and I don’t regret that purchase.This game is tons of fun.
@MarkusM demo also includes online pennant race. If you're not going to buy the game the free demo is still great
@kobashi100 Same.
For as fun as Super Mega Baseball 3 is, I can’t help but think more should have been done between 2 and 3. Franchise mode is great, but still feel like it’s missing some online sharing tools, or an additional mode or two like a Home Run Derby.
Those gripes aside, it is the best arcade/sim hybrid baseball game of the last decade, and you can’t go wrong with it.
It's been a blast! The official licensing I can live without. However, the lack of any commentary or replays is a bit of a letdown. Maybe for the next iteration. Despite that, highly recommended!
I can appreciate the cartoony style and humorous player names found in this game. I also like the create a team aspect, something that was fun to do in the old all-star baseball titles in the GCN.
Really happy that The Show games are going multiplat too, this series of will complement the more sim/realistic Show series nicely.
Highly recommend this game to baseball fans everywhere. Very addicting sometimes.
Ah, rounders.
The best thing about rounders is that if you can steal one of those odd milk-white resin bats they hand out in P.E. they make a very effective weapon in the inevitable after-school conflicts with the pupils of the local rival educational establishment.
Fun game. Looking forward to the Show coming to the Switch soon.
My four year old describes the things he loves as "Super Mega". "Daddy this is my Super Mega Best dinner", (Fish Fingers).
@Dom
Can I transfer my teams from SMB2?
This is the greatest baseball game of all time.
I’ve played the first two entries on the XBox. I’ve enjoyed both. I really enjoy the series. I actually find the cartoonish style very refreshing. If they would do this with other sports, it would be great.
@fortius54 Totally agree. While not quite my favorite genre, I used to enjoy sports games. But once they got super-realistic and you need to put as much effort into team management as playing the game, I just found them soul crushingly tedious. Same thing with racing. I loved the Ridge Racer games, but the new racing simulators really don't do it for me. But at least with racing games, there's still a market for the arcade style games, but with sports, it seems if you don't have official licenses, you don't exist.
@daveh30 Seeing that the devs seem to release a new SMB game every two or three years, and this one should last the remaining lifespan of the Switch, they really should try their hand at hockey! Heck, I’ll buy this just to support a dev that MIGHT make a hockey game.
This looks really fun. I might have to take the plunge. Much more enticing than RBI Baseball.
@MarkusM I don't think I would be expecting a replacement for the Switch anytime soon.
@Priceless_Spork yeah I think you can transfer Mario and toad from smb2
I’ve got SMB2 on Switch and have really enjoyed it! Love playing a full 9 innings game and the ups and downs that brings with pitchers getting tired etc.
Is there really any compelling reason I should splash the cash on this? Or is it not that different to what I already have and enjoy?
@TheFox You can always stick purely to exhibition games and ignore most of the team management in just about any baseball video game. There are also arcade-style games that do have an MLBPA license, although the sim-style games (at least the good ones that are rare these days) are still generally more popular. "Nicktoons MLB" on the Wii comes to mind as a pretty good one, perhaps the only good one of either style (aside from a couple Neo Geo re-releases) on a Nintendo system since the GameCube up until these Super Mega games.
Can't wait to get going in Franchise mode, looks great
If you like baseball this game is a 9.
EGO system is the best thing to happen to sports game ever.
I would love for these guys to expand into other sports games. I loved Tecmo Bowl, and if they would try their hand at American Football, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Hockey would be fine as well. I'm not sure about basketball. They've had Jam and a few others in the past.
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