Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball

"The Greatest Sports Game Ever."

When it comes to classic sports games, a few titles spring to mind immediately. Tecmo Super Bowl, NBA Jam (I prefer Tournament Edition), and numerous baseball titles. The 8- and 16-bit systems were loaded with great baseball titles, and picking out the most classic title would seem hard at first. Baseball Stars, Bases Loaded, RBI Baseball, even the later Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run. But there really is no controversy. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball is the Tecmo Super Bowl of baseball games. Hell, it's better than TSB. It's the best sports game ever.

Of all the classic sports games, this is the most playable today. Sure, there are TSB players to this day, and it's great to pop in the old cartridge to play a friend once in awhile. But this game has something that TSB doesn't. Parity. The teams are spread out much more fairly than in TSB. It doesn't lose any personality for it, either. Where part of TSB's charm is using one of the few best teams, to see Bo Jackson or QB Eagles or Jerry Rice out there lighting it up, Ken Griffey Jr Presents is littered with classic players who could jack a homer or throw someone out at home from left field at any moment. You just have to play a few games with a few teams to find out which fictional (but based on real players' statistics in some cases) players will be your "Griffey Legend". Yes, the homers fly easily, and yes, beginners can compete with experienced players. But this is a hallmark of all great sports games, and the truly skilled player will win most of the time.

The graphics are merely serviceable, the theme song, while addictive, loops constantly and can get annoying to anyone who isn't a total Griffey Maniac (we hum it while in line at the grocery store, and while playing, we time our swings to the "dramatic part" of the theme). The batting stances and player body types show some variety, but then again, everyone in the field is the same size, either black or white with blonde hair, and the 3rd base coach is constantly waving you home no matter the situation, just as any runner called out will go argue with the umpire no matter how clearly they were out. Just quirks that add to the fun. The stadiums are all modeled off their real-life counterparts of the early 90s, which is really great for a baseball video game. It really adds a dimension to the gameplay, which is where Ken Griffey Jr Presents really shines. It's fast, furious, and swinging at the first pitch every time isn't out of the question. There's pretty good pitching variety, with great control over the baseball's direction after it's released. Fielding is great, hitting is great, everything is great. Playing against the computer is actually pretty tough, so playing a season is actually fun. But the great thing about this game is how it comes to life, just like Tecmo Super Bowl, when you're playing a friend. You see a "Griffey Legend" come up to bat and you get excited. You scream when you throw out your buddy from deep center, the ball arriving at the last millisecond. It's classic gaming at its best, and you'll never regret picking this game up for a couple bucks at a used game store, or even less at a garage sale or pawn shop. It's pretty widely available, so go out and get it, and you'll be the proud owner of one of the 5 best Super Nintendo games (my personal fave), and the best sports game of all time. Sorry, Tecmo and NBA Jam, I still love you, QB Eagles and Mitch Richmond. Just not as much as this game.

And for all you classic gaming newbies, when someone says they want to play Griffey, they mean this game, not Ken Griffey Jr's Winning Run. Trust me.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/06