Backyard Baseball ’97 Mobile Review – A Grand Slam in Your Pocket

Backyard Baseball is an iconic title in the history of sports gaming. The popular point and click baseball game for kids was originally released in 1997. The game was so popular that it spawned a franchise releasing more than 30 games by 2010. After nearly a decade in hiatus, the series returned last year when Playground Productions acquired the rights to the series and published Backyard Baseball ‘97 and Backyard Soccer ‘98 on Steam. Now, Playground Productions is back to release the original Backyard Baseball on mobile devices for the first time ever.

I myself have been a fan of the series since kindergarten. I got my first copy of Backyard Baseball from a cereal box and played several of the games in the series during my childhood. I mentioned the original Backyard Baseball in my Sports Games Everyone Should Play at Least Once video I did last year. Now I get the chance to have this legendary title on my phone everywhere I go. Does this classic translate to modern smart phones, or is some of the magic left in the dust? Let’s find out as we take a look at the mobile port of Backyard Baseball ‘97.

Gameplay

The biggest question for me going into this review was how the game play on a smart phone would be. Unsurprisingly, the point and click nature of the original title translates incredibly well to touch controls on modern devices. At the plate, it is incredibly simple to see where the pitch is going and touch that spot to swing. Once I got the timing down, I was launching nukes with Pablo Sanchez just like the good old days.

Pitching is the only area that struggles a little with the new controls. Previously, you would click on your pitch and then hover your mouse over the strike zone, before clicking to place your pitch. Now, I’ve found two ways to place my pitch. First, you can simply press which pitch you want to throw and then press where you want to throw it. However, if you want to see the pitch region like you did in the PC version, you can drag your finger from where you pick your pitch to the strike zone. This will show the pitch region and let you move it around before you touch the screen again to throw the ball. If you have large fingers like I do, it can be a little hard to see the pitch region and where it lines up.

Fielding has probably benefited the most from touch controls. It is now remarkably easy to just click on the ball as it moves through the infield to have my players grab it and throw to first. I didn’t have problems getting my players to run to the ball or throw to where I wanted them to.

Game Modes

This version of Backyard Baseball ‘97 has the same game modes as the PC version. You can play a Quick Game, where random teams are picked for you and the CPU, and you play a single game. Pick Up Games allow you to take turns with the CPU picking your team and then play a single game. Finally, League Play is here, where you can pick your team and play an entire 14-game season as you try to become the Ultra Grand Champion of the Universe Series.

Presentation

The presentation in this version of Backyard Baseball ‘97 is just as you would hope it would be. The game looks incredible from the menus to the gameplay and cutscenes. Speaking of cutscenes, a button has been added to let you skip past the cutscenes, which I really appreciate.

The game also sounds just like I remembered. From Sunny Day’s commentary to the different power ups, everything is perfectly preserved from the original game.

Verdict

This game is exactly what 12 year old me always dreamed of. If I had this game on my phone during high school, the teachers would never have been able to get us to stop playing.

On top of the game being an excellent port, it’s what isn’t in this game that is also important. When I first heard a mobile version of the game was coming, I expected it to have all the usual annoyances that come with mobile games. However, for the $5 price tag this game has, there are no ads, no microtransactions, and no internet requirement. This means you can play one of the greatest sports games ever made at any time, even when you don’t have cell service or Wi-Fi.

Playground Productions deserve a lot of credit for how they have handled Backyard Sports since they acquired the rights to the series. Other developers might have used this series as a nostalgic way to grab as much money as possible from consumers. Instead, Playground Productions have been incredible stewards of this beloved IP and have shown how much love and respect they have for the series. They have given us, the fans, the ability to legally purchase and play these games whenever we want, as well as pass them on to the next generation of sports gamers. I cannot recommend this game enough to you, if nothing else just to support Playground Productions and their continued development of the series.