Super Mega Baseball 2: Ultimate Edition Review

As a sports gamer I have some of my best memories playing RBI Baseball on the NES. Recent years have seen the brand make a comeback to, at best, mixed results – no doubt hoping unsuspecting buyers will recognize the name and make a spontaneous purchase. There really hasn’t been a truly fantastic representation of America’s favorite pastime on the Switch until now with Super Mega Baseball 2. Along with it came the feeling that I have been missing since the NES days – a fun easy to pick up and play baseball game perfect to play on the go or at home on the big TV. RBI Baseball wishes it could be in the same league as this one.

This title came out on the Xbox One last year and received accolades from sports gamers. I played it maybe once or twice for a couple minutes, but I never really gave it a chance with tons of other games to play and life getting in the way. In a way I’m kind of glad I did miss out the first time around, as this game is fantastic on the Switch. The developers say that it stays at 60 frames per second in both docked and handheld, and from what I can tell I believe them! This game is buttery smooth and really looks great. Really the only glaring omission from a presentation standpoint is the lack of voiced commentary that’s present in other sports titles.

But, of course I’m not excited to be playing this on the Switch only because of the technical aspects (thought they’re nice). At its core it’s just a very fun game of baseball. Like many of the truly great titles released over the years, this one features controls that are best described as easy to pick up, but hard to master. I really appreciate the flexibility in the difficulty modes, which allows beginners to have some assist in going after the ball in the field and keeps the pitches in the strike zone so you can really get into the groove. Of course once you get the hang of things you’ll want to graduate to a higher difficulty where you’ll find yourself in charge of all of the controls, requiring a more discerning eye at the plate.

Customization is the name of the game in Super Mega Baseball 2. You have a ton of options at your disposal, including exhibition, season, playoffs and online play. Online can be played with up to 4 people, including 2 vs. 2 and there’s even a really cool mode where you and a buddy can team up against the computer (either locally or online). Most of my time has been spent playing offline, but it’s nice to see a full set of features in this game. The playoffs and seasons can be adjusted to how you want to play them including the number of games per playoff series. However, I was most impressed with the season mode and being able to have up to 200 games in a single season!

The customization isn’t just in the modes but also within the teams themselves. You can create your own team and players or adjust the players that are already in the game. I started creating a team with some of my own old baseball teammates and people I know, which added a personal touch to my play sessions. Not only that, but players include both women along with men – yet another thoughtful inclusion.

The customization is fun to mess around with and make the game exactly how you like it. Add all of this up and Super Mega Baseball 2 is the real deal. It’s easily the best baseball game on the Switch and rivals some of the more traditional ones on other consoles as well. Of course the big thing missing is the MLB license, and while that would really put the cherry on top, it’s hard to complain when a game is this fun to play. It has actually become one of my all-time favorite games on the Switch!

Ben Imdieke

Ben has been enjoying games since the NES but really got into it as a hobby with the launch of the PS2. Along with writing the occasional review he is a regular member of the Nintendo Times Podcast.