It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. This time we're checking out Backyard Baseball 97 on Steam. I didn't grow up with the series but I know that it had a major following and plenty of people are excited to see it come back. The playoffs are in full swing for Baseball and what better way to celebrate then by having kids play the game they love!
The American pastime is back and the joy of kids playing baseball is back in Backyard Baseball 97. Retro is king in this era and nostalgia sells these days. That being said, there has always been a calling for the Backyard sports franchise to return and it looks like baseball is the first one to return. There are plans for other backyard games to come back to the masses soon. We'll begin with Backyard Baseball and I really like the way the game looks. Aside from a few minor graphical updates the game feels like it's right out of 1997. I really like the way you can make your own team and help this ragtag group of kids get to the championship. Strap in and see if the Melonheads can win it all!
One MAJOR thing that I didn't like while playing is that you couldn't lower the volume on voices. You have the option of turning off pretty much any sound you hear during the game but you can't lower them. I wanted to hear everything during the game but the chatter from the players and the color from the colorman in the play by play booth got pretty old fast.
One thing I noticed is that in the original game I believe there were Major League Baseball teams and players as kids but this version they weren't included. I'm sure that's a MLB licensing thing so it doesn't bother me too much. I picked random kids for my team and I had to go with Ronny Dobbs because we share a birthday. In hindsight, picking random kids was a terrible idea but I'm not going to spoil the game for ya.
You have your full array of pitches when on the mound and special swings when batting. You have an icon to line up where you want your pitches to go as well as lining up your bat to swing. Batting will take some getting used to because you have to line up where you want to swing as well as the timing. Pitching is a little easier but I felt like Ángel Hernández was behind the plate with how many missed strikes my pitchers were getting. My baseball fans will appreciate that joke.
Fielding was a hassle in this game to say the least. I know that these are kids and they drop routine fly balls every once in a while. That being said catching in this game is a pain in the ass. I had my player ready to catch a pop fly several times and they would either run too far in and miss it. I would have loved to be able to control the fielders with a controller but I know the original game was mouse controls.
I really liked how there are special pitches that you can throw pretty much anytime. You have to use them to your advantage because you have a meter that will run out if you over use specials. I think the slowball was my favorite pitch and got me a few key outs. I still got creamed but that doesn't matter. I have to say that I also really like how the schedule looks like an retro team calendar that a major league team would give out the first week of the season.
All in all, Backyard Baseball 97 feels just like it did back in the late 90s. There are some things that would have been better updated such as playing the field. Having a controller to control things would have been a welcome change but the mouse works fine too. The fanfare, like the home run blimp, and the jumbotron are nice touches. That being said, fans of the classic game will be right at home with this modern iteration. I for one am looking forward to Backyard Hockey when it comes out.
Make sure you check out the hands-on/impressions video below!