TDMMC: VGB - Round 1 (MLB featuring Ken Griffey Jr. vs. Excite Bike)

[jtex316]

Capcom Bracket

MLB featuring Ken Griffey Jr. (1998, Nintendo 64)
Angel Studios



Baseball fans got a real treat for the N64 with “MLB feat. Ken Griffey Jr.” While the game didn’t open to rave reviews, it garnered a cult fan base due to it’s fast-paced arcade style play, as opposed to its main competitor, a more deliberately-paced baseball sim called “All-Star Baseball ‘99”. “Griffey” featured full MLB licensing, beautifully modeled stadiums, and very large player models. Also, the batter/pitcher interface was simple to play, yet difficult to master, and worked wonderfully with the N64 controller. What made the game especially memorable was the quirky knuckleball pitch that stunned rookies, but was gravy to any trained veteran. While Griffey won’t make the top of the list for hardcore baseball sim fans, it found a spot on the list for sports fans just looking to have a fun game with fast-paced action.

VS.

Excite Bike (1985, Nintendo)
Nintendo



Being sold in Japan for 5,000 Yen in 1985, Excite Bike was Nintendo’s first ever motor-cross racing video game.  When it was released as one of Nintendo’s original launch titles, it became a cult phenomenon instantaneously.  You raced competitively in a series of racing tournaments in order to capture the overall championship.  You could select between Selection A, where the player runs on his/her own, or Selection B, where the player races with a computer-assisted team of other racers.  However, Excite Bike will be forever known for one of the most innovate concepts in video-game history – the ability to design your own course, save it, and race on it.

[jtex316]

I FUCKING LOVE EXCITE BIKE.

[Dave Gray]

There was a game called Motocross Madness on gameboy that was pretty dope, too.

[GUATARICCAN]

I don't like baseball games but KG was really fun to play. Excitebike however was so sweet! I loved building my own courses.

[Dave Gray]

I don't like baseball games but KG was really fun to play.

I agree with you.  I have a feeling that we'll take heat for choosing this game, though, as we have some sports-sim kind of guys on here.

[TonyB0D]

holy shit EXCITE BIKE!!!!!!!!   we used to have drunken ExBike tourneys in college

[Brian Fein]

There was a game called Motocross Madness on gameboy that was pretty dope, too.

I had this game - still play it on GBA sometimes.  That was fun back in the day.