RBI Baseball 19 Nintendo Switch Review

"An Alright Swing"

Campaign

March 8, 2019 at 7:00pm

It has been recent that the arcade style Baseball franchise has graced modern Nintendo platforms and this a slight improvement. It’s also the first time the release has been synchronized with the other platforms. They've refined some elements of the package to provide an arcade style title that can be enjoyed whether it’s docked ur undocked. There are some differences however in quality between the playing options.

In general you're able to play exhibition matches with up to two players. The game does not support multiplayer in on this platform. That aside, there’s also a franchise area allowing up to ten seasons of play. That includes options for trading, injuries and other elements you'd find in having a season mode within any typical sports title.

There's also a play-offs only option for quicker seasonal matches. Finally, there’s Home Run Derby where you're trying to move up a tournament listing by hitting the most home runs in reach round. This is mode is alright, though I do wish they'd tell you opponent scores prior to playing as you're just unsure what to try for. The game generally covers the basics for modes, I would however like to see them try something more creative in the future and the inclusion of multiplayer.

Gameplay

The visuals are alright in this version. The player models come across as more realistic, as do the environmental textures. The fields look worn in, and they feature special logos depending on the time in the season. There are a variety of bats and likenesses for players. It does look a tad rough visually on this platform with jagged edges on both versions. This is enough more present when on a TV and it somewhat looks rough in comparison to other consoles. I also noticed dips in performance at times when docked, didn’t seem to effect gameplay specifically, in terms of when I was controlling players.

I also really wish they would add a slight animation for walking as you do purely slide when batting or pitching to position yourself. Continuing on with animations there are now fancy cinematic segments with excellent background music supporting them. These transitions come across as fancy, working well into general gameplay. There's no commentary present, I mention this as I know it's an important feature for some. The crowds are finally 3D, not flat stick cut outs and that's great. They don't look amazing, but they have animations to them and they're 3D, so a good start for sure. The HUD is clean, and very simple with easy going menus. The ball has been revamped for more realistic physics and honestly pitching feels harder against the AI.

I also still found the AI rather difficult to compete against, even on easier settings. More in the sense that they could gain a lot of ground very quickly when competing against me. The stadiums look fine for the most part, they feature many small elements to them for added realism. For some added context in regards to controls, it's arcade-like in style so it's accessible to play and easier to play function wise. I do however wish I could disable tool tips. When it comes to play there's also over 165 Legends that have been included in this release.

The Conclusion

RBI Baseball 19 on Nintendo Switch delivers an alright arcade style Baseball experience with some refinements to the overall experience. It does have some performance issues, and the visuals do come across as rough whether it’s docked or undocked. It’s not terrible to look at, but I feel it could present a bit better. While some elements are better this year, I did find the Switch lagging behind in some areas.

The modes have continued to be expanded upon and hopefully they continue to add features to make this an even more compelling package. It plays well, there's great music carrying it and it's enjoyable for the most part. There’s sadly only local multiplayer this time around, would be great to be able to compete against others.

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RBI Baseball 19 Review on Nintendo Switch
Review Code Provided by MLB

Rating Overall: 6.4