Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr.

"Simply the Best Baseball Game since World Series Baseball"

Graphics: 30/35
Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball posted exceptional graphics with very realistic player models. The player models have a very realistic appearance, though the face models are very simple. Still, faces are not seen often throughout the game and is not an exceptionally important graphical field. The game features all the stadiums very well graphically. Though not at baseball game rival All-Star Baseball's stadiums, they do a very good job conveying a stadium's look and feel. The physics of the baseball is very good and ground balls, fly balls travel realistically. Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball captures the physics and feel of baseball exceptionally well.

Gameplay: 34/35
The game plays very well. The batting interface is very solid. As the batter, you have a batting circle that is colored yellow. The better batter that you have up to the plate, the bigger the circle. There are three sizes depending on a batter's skill level. When a ball comes, you swing and hit it. There is an option to turn batting circles off, but it would take away a pivotal part of the game. Hitting homeruns or simply putting together rallies is very fun. Still, a player's skill levels (which can be viewed) is pivotal in how you produce. Running the bases is implemented very well through the N64's C-buttons. Stealing bases adds to the fun as well. Baserunning is kept very simple thanks to the N64's C-buttons. As for ball placement, it depends on your timing. If you swing early, you can pull the ball. If you wait on a pitch, it will go the opposite way.

When pitching, there is a number of pitches that you can throw. Mixing up pitches is effective, especially against human opponents. However, the skill level of a pitcher plays a large role in pitching. Each pitcher has a special pitch. Randy Johnson has a Super Fastball clocked at 106MPH, while Greg Maddux has a nasty splitter. The ball comes in on a small white circle, and splitters and curve balls have a lot of movement on them, making it hard for human players to make contact. Another strategy is using power pitchers with a Super Fastball. With a changeup, at 65MPH and a 106MPH fastball, it is very difficult to hit when guessing. You have to be extremely early on the fastball while you have to hold back on the changeup. There are a number of pitching styles. For fielding, it can be fun, running to the ball or even diving. The game has no camera issues where you can't see the ball's estimated landing position and the fielder like some games do. If you don't like to field, you can have the computer do it for you automatically.

Sound: 16/20
The game has no commentary, as that would be somewhat difficult to do, considering the cartridge format. Still, the standard baseball sounds are there. When you break your bat there is a loud crack. There is pretty good music that plays during games and the sound is very acceptable.

Replay Value: 22/25
The game has a ton of replay value, especially when you play a season through with multiple players. You can choose a set number of games to play, and you cannot simulate through games. Still, multiplayer seasons are very fun and enriching, as they can be very competitive and fun. Stats are kept and you can view league leaders and the stats of other teams throughout your season. The All-Star game in Colorado is fun too. There is also a homerun derby in the game.

You can make a number of General Manager moves playing through your season. You can trade up to 3 players at a time for 1-3 others and it can be fun building up a team. It is also very fun making trades when you have 2 or more other people playing in a season. You can play games with up to 2 players. The game requires the use of a memory card.

Value/Tilt/Extras: 21/25
The game is very fun, especially multiplayer as there are a number of strategies that you can employ. There is also a great feeling of satisfaction upon hitting a homerun or winning a close game, especially on the higher difficulty settings. The multiplayer season is very fun to play through. You can set a wild-card race season, where you play in the last month of a season. Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball is the best baseball game on the N64 and has tons of value.

Final Score: 123/140
Gamefaqs score of 9 or 8.8 (rounded up)
Final Comments: This is the best baseball game on the N64 as is has an exceptional season mode. Multiplayer, especially is a season is very fun and addictive as well. Also, skill levels of players is very deep on depending the outcome of a game or simply an at-bat. This would be a tremendous game to bring to the Gamecube. Unfortunately, Left Field, the developers of the game, left Nintendo. Still, acquire Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball if you can.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/02, Updated 07/08/02