| Virtual League Baseball | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Kemco |
| Publisher(s) | Kemco |
| Platform(s) | Virtual Boy |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Virtual League Baseball [lower-alpha 1] is a 1995 baseball video game developed and published by Kemco for the Virtual Boy. A sequel, Virtual League Baseball 2, was planned, but later canceled due to the Virtual Boy console's poor sales.
There are three modes of play in Virtual League Baseball: Player 1 vs. computer, all-star game, and pennant race. In player 1 vs. computer, one single match is played between the player and the computer. In the all-star game, the player plays against the computer using a team of all-stars from America, Asia, or Europe. In the pennant race, the player plays a series of games against the computer, using passwords to resume play after turning off the console, instead of saving.
It is a single-player game. Players can receive and enter passwords to skip levels of the game. The game's teams are international. [1]
Virtual League Baseball was developed by Kemco and released in October 1995 for the Virtual Boy. [1]
A playable version of the game was displayed at Electronic Entertainment Expo 1995. At the time, the coding was so broken that it was impossible for the player to hit the ball. [2] Promotion for the game was further hurt by its infamous "chili dog farts" print advertisement which was centered on a photo of two obese men exposing their butt cracks. [3]
Like all other Virtual Boy games, Virtual League Baseball uses a red-and-black color scheme and uses stereoscopy, an optical trick that is used to simulate a 3D effect. [4]
A sequel, Virtual League Baseball 2, was in development, but was never released, despite receiving an ESRB rating. [5] [6]
Nintendo Power praised the game's graphics and "realistic baseball experience", but wrote that it was hard to defend near the fence. One of the magazine's six reviewers recommended the game. [1] GamePro panned it in a brief review, stating, "VLB's impressive 3D graphics seem promising at first. But after a while the shallow gameplay and awful sounds sent it foul. The archaic controls only add to the agony." [7] Scott Alan Marriott of AllGame found the game reminiscent of Major League Baseball for the Nintendo Entertainment System, noting "plinky sound effects, only one stadium, all fielders moving in unison with the control pad (including the infield and outfield!), a batting and pitching interface that relies on one button, and base runners who move at the speed of light. Are these features you want in a 1995 release? Certainly not, especially on a system that's supposed to deliver a 'virtual' experience." [8]
The Virtual Boy is a 32-bit tabletop portable video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. Released in 1995, it was marketed as the first console capable of displaying stereoscopic "3D" graphics. The player uses the console like a head-mounted display, placing the head against the eyepiece to see a red monochrome display. The games use a parallax effect to create the illusion of depth. Sales failed to meet targets, and Nintendo ceased distribution and game development in 1996, having released only 22 games for the system.
Earthworm Jim is a 1994 run and gun platform game developed by Shiny Entertainment, featuring an earthworm named Jim, who wears a robotic suit and battles the forces of evil. The game was released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before being subsequently ported to a number of other video game consoles.
Donkey Kong Land is a 1995 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It condenses the side-scrolling gameplay of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) game Donkey Kong Country (1994) for the handheld Game Boy with different level design and boss fights. The player controls the gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong as they defeat enemies and collect items across 30 levels to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodile King K. Rool.
Earthworm Jim 2 is a 1995 run and gun platform video game and the sequel to Earthworm Jim, and the second and final game in the Earthworm Jim series developed by original creators Doug TenNapel, David Perry, and Shiny Entertainment. It was released in late 1995 and early 1996 depending on region and video game console, initially being released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, before being ported to other platforms.
Mario's Tennis is a 1995 sports game developed by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy video game console. The game was released at the launch of the Virtual Boy, and later as a pack-in game in North America.
Red Alarm is a 1995 shoot 'em up video game developed by T&E Soft and published by Nintendo. Released as a Virtual Boy launch game, it requires the player to pilot a space fighter and defeat the army of a malevolent artificial intelligence called KAOS. The game takes inspiration from the 1993 title Star Fox, and it is one of the few third-party titles for the Virtual Boy. Unlike most of the console's games, Red Alarm features three-dimensional (3D) polygonal graphics. However, hardware constraints limited the visuals to bare wire-frame models, similar to those of the 1980 arcade game Battlezone. Reviewers characterized Red Alarm's graphics as confusing, but certain publications praised it as one of the most enjoyable Virtual Boy titles.
Bases Loaded, known in Japan as Moero!! Pro Yakyū, is a baseball video game by Jaleco that was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in 1987 in Japan and in 1988 in North America, and a Game Boy port was released in July of 1990. A mobile phone version exists as well. For the Virtual Console, Bases Loaded was released on September 11, 2007, in Japan and on April 7, 2008, in North America for the Wii, at the cost of 500 Wii Points and on May 15, 2013, in Japan and on July 10, 2014, in North America for Nintendo 3DS. The Wii U version in North America was also released at the same time as the Nintendo 3DS version. A port by Mebius and Clarice Games for the PlayStation 4 was released in Japan in 2015.
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is an action video game developed by LucasArts and Sculptured Software and published by JVC Musical Industries for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America on June 22, 1994, Europe on March 30, 1995 and in Japan on June 23, 1995. It is based on the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. It was ported to the Game Boy and Game Gear by Realtime Associates, which were published by THQ in 1995. The game was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on September 7, 2009 and in PAL regions on October 16, 2009, alongside the other games in the Super Star Wars series.
Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games. The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei. Nobunaga's Ambition takes place during the Sengoku period of feudal Japan. The player is tasked with achieving the ultimate goal of warlord Oda Nobunaga: the conquest and unification of Japan. Selecting Oda Nobunaga is optional, however, as the player is also able to choose from a variety of other regional daimyōs of the time.
Vegas Stakes, known as Las Vegas Dream in Japan, is a gambling video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in April 1993 and for the Game Boy in December 1995. The Super NES version supports the Super NES Mouse, while the Game Boy version is compatible with the Super Game Boy, and features borders which use artwork from the SNES version. It is the sequel to the NES game Vegas Dream.
eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball, previously known as Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū and marketed internationally as Power Pros, is a Japanese baseball video game series created by Konami. The game is known for its super deformed characters, and fast-paced, but deep game play. Most games in the series are developed under license from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA), letting them use the league's team names, stadiums, colors, and players' names and likenesses. There are also six games in the series with the Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) license, two with the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (KPBPA), and one with the World Baseball Classic license. It is long running in Japan, starting out in 1994 for the Super Famicom, and appearing on many different consoles: Saturn (1995–1997), PlayStation (1994–2003), Nintendo 64 (1997–2001), PlayStation 2 (2000–2009), Dreamcast (2000), GameCube (2002–2006), Wii (2007–2009), PlayStation 3 (2010–2016), PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation Portable (2007–2013) and Vita (2012-2018).
Bomberman: Panic Bomber is a 1994 puzzle video game developed and published by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine on December 22, 1994. It was later released for the Neo Geo, Super Famicom, Sharp X68000, FM Towns, NEC PC-9821, Virtual Boy, and PlayStation Portable. It saw a re-release for the Wii and Wii U's Virtual Console services. Panic Bomber is a falling block game with the players' goal being to clear matching blocks using bombs, ensuring that their screen does not fill and that their opponents' screens do. It received mixed to positive reception, identified as a decent game by multiple critics. It has been compared to the falling block puzzle game Tetris. The Virtual Boy version received a mixed reception for its handling of the platform's visual capabilities.
ESPN Baseball Tonight is a baseball video game for the MS-DOS, Sega CD, Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
HardBall III is a multiplatform baseball video game developed by MindSpan and published by Accolade between 1992 and 1994 for the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and DOS platforms. The game is licensed by the Major League Baseball Players Association and is the sequel to HardBall II.
Waterworld is a series of video games released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Boy, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Game Boy, based on the film of the same name, along with unpublished versions for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, 3DO and PlayStation. These games were produced by Ocean Software. The SNES and Game Boy games were released only in Europe in 1995 and the Virtual Boy game was released exclusively in North America in November 1995. It was released for PC in 1997. The game received widespread negative reviews and the version released for the Virtual Boy is generally considered to be the worst game of its 22 releases.
Nester's Funky Bowling is a bowling video game developed by Saffire and published by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy console. It was only released in North America on February 1996, and was the second-to-last game released for the system before it was discontinued. Players control Nester, a character from the Nintendo Power comics, or his twin sister Hester, as they compete to see who is the superior bowler. It features standard bowling mechanics and rules, and has three modes of play - Bowling, Challenge, and Practice, all three supporting one or two players.
Golf is a video game that was released within months of the Virtual Boy console's launch. It was developed and published by T&E Soft in Japan and published by Nintendo in North America. Golf uses standard golf rules and is set in the fictional 18-hole Papillion Golf & Country Club. Hazards include water, sand traps, trees, and deep rough grass. It is displayed in the Virtual Boy's standard red and black color scheme with 3D effects by use of a 3D processor. It was met with critical praise for its controls and physics and mixed reviews for its graphics. Nintendo Power called it the third best Virtual Boy release of its year.
True Lies is a top-view run and gun video game based on the 1994 film True Lies. The game was developed by Beam Software and published by Acclaim Entertainment. Four different versions of the game were released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, and Game Boy. The home versions and portable versions are drastically different from each other, but have similar play mechanics.
NBA Live 96 is the second installment of the NBA Live video game series published by EA Sports and released on November 30, 1995. The PC and PlayStation covers feature Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic, while the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis and European PlayStation box covers feature a photo of the tip-off to Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals. PlayStation and PC versions are the first games in the series to feature 3D-rendered courts, allowing for multiple camera angles using EA's "Virtual Stadium" technology, which is also used for FIFA Soccer 96. On-court player graphics remain 2D sprites. It is also the first NBA Live game released for the PlayStation and the only game for the Game Boy. NBA Live 96 is followed by NBA Live 97.
World Series Baseball '98 is a traditional baseball simulation video game by Sega, released in North America and South Korea for the Sega Saturn and Sega Genesis as a sequel to World Series Baseball II.
