It’s time to hit a home run as we check out the best baseball games for Switch!
The game of baseball, widely referred to as ‘America’s Pastime’, is a hugely popular, culturally important sport in the USA.
Despite not originating in the US, baseball feels as American as apple pie, hot dogs and the fourth of July.
Naturally, there are plenty of video game adaptations of the popular sport. And, with the Switch being a hybrid of handheld and home console, you can even go and play your baseball games in the great outdoors if you so choose.
That’s especially handy if you can’t quite muster up the two teams of nine players to play the real thing, but still want to get some fresh air!
With so many baseball games on the Switch to choose from, however, which are the ones worth running around the diamond for?
Let’s find out, as we take a look at the best baseball games for Switch!
Table of Contents
10. R.B.I. Baseball 20 (2020)
The R.B.I. (which stands for Run Batted In) Baseball games have a long lineage, dating back to the mid-80s.
The first R.B.I. Baseball game – released in 1987 – was a localisation of Japanese Namco title Pro Baseball: Family Stadium. The original series continued until 1995, where it ended its run with R.B.I. Baseball ‘95 on the Sega 32X.
Resurrected in 2014, the R.B.I. Baseball series finally came to modern consoles. Still, it hasn’t quite managed to recapture the magic of the original series.
This 2020 Switch entry to the series is one of the stronger instalments, but its presentation and some of its mechanics are fairly underwhelming. That leaves R.B.I. Baseball 20 at the bottom of the best baseball games for Switch list.
You could certainly do worse, but there’s also a lot better out there, as you’ll see!
9. Baseball Riot (2018)
OK, so this entry is a bit of a cheat. Though it has baseball right there in the name, Baseball Riot isn’t a baseball game at all.
However, it’s a fun little puzzle game that’s well worth trying out. And, it’s a great way to pass the time between innings!
Armed with a baseball bat and three balls, you’ll need to clear single screens of obstacles, characters or objects – and you’re able to use up to two balls at a time to do so.
With a hundred physics-based puzzles to clear, this clever little puzzle game has plenty to keep players occupied.
Almost enough to make you forget that we’ve cheated a bit to include this in the best baseball games for Switch list! Keep reading and forget all about our shameful tactics, alright?
8. Arcade Archives: VS. Baseball (2020)
Originally released in arcades in 1984, this Shigeru Miyamoto-designed game demonstrates that Nintendo has a long history with baseball games.
Baseball was also one of the better games to feature on Wii Sports, which you’ll find on our best Nintendo Wii games list.
This port of the arcade version features some improvements over the original NES version such as synthesized speech.
There are new options available too, such as display filters, online high score leaderboards and, thankfully, adjustable difficulty. But (and it’s a big but), it’s not quite enough to elevate the game beyond its very basic structure.
In its day, VS. Baseball wasn’t a bad game at all. In the decades since it released, however, games – particularly baseball and sports games in general – have come a long way.
As a NES launch title in the West, there’s likely some nostalgia value here for many players. And given its cheap price, Arcade Archives: VS. Baseball may well be worth picking up for that alone.
As you’ll see as we make our way through the best baseball games for Switch list, there’s many more better options when it comes to baseball games – even arcade conversions!
7. ACA Neo Geo: 2020 Super Baseball (2018)
Which brings us to this classic arcade title from SNK.
Set in the far flung future of 2020 (well, it was a long way off when the original arcade game was released in 1991!), 2020 Super Baseball sees teams of robots facing off in a futuristic twist on America’s Pastime.
The beautiful pixel art visuals have aged like fine wine, as is the case with so many Neo Geo games. The pseudo-futuristic sound effects and music are excellent too.
So what does this Switch version of ACA Neo Geo: 2020 Super Baseball offer over the arcade original? Much like the VS. Baseball from Arcade Archives, there are online leaderboards, adjustable difficulty settings and display filters too.
It’s still a playable and fast-paced version of the sport, albeit one that doesn’t strive for total realism given its sci-fi trappings.
6. ACA Neo Geo: Baseball Stars 2 (2019)
Another classic arcade title makes it to the list of the best baseball games for Switch, and it’s another Neo Geo title too!
The Baseball Stars games were excellent games that didn’t strive for realism – instead, they presented a more arcade-style version of the sport, with power ups and brilliant comic-style panels to highlight spectacular moments during play.
As with other Arcade Archives titles, there are adjustable difficulty settings, display filters and of course, online leaderboards too.
ACA Neo Geo: Baseball Stars 2 is an excellent and accessible title (though be warned: the AI certainly isn’t a pushover!) for players not too fussed about realism or the attention to detail that is to be expected in more simulation-style titles.
it’s a worthy choice for Retro Dodo’s best baseball games for Switch list, and you’ll also find it on our best Neo Geo games list too!
5. Little League World Series Baseball 2022 (2022)
Officially licensed by youth sports organisation Little League Baseball, the video game Little League World Series Baseball 2022 is another title in a reasonably long running series.
The first Little League World Series Baseball game was released in 2008 for the Wii and DS. Initially a Wii Sports-esque baseball game (with added mini-games), it saw three entries running until Little League World Series Baseball 2010 – before disappearing, seemingly for good.
Yet here it is, resurrected and on the Switch in 2022!
Pitched (no pun intended) at younger players, Little League World Series Baseball 2022 is another straightforward, accessible and arcade-style baseball experience (complete with super abilities and even quick time events too!).
With local multiplayer for up to four players and lots of unlockable items to collect through completing challenges, there’s more to the simplicity of Little League World Series Baseball 2022 than initially seems apparent.
It’s a fun game that’s perfect for younger or more casual fans of the sport. It’s a shame that this game seems to have been overshadowed by other, more serious baseball games, but it’s definitely earned a place on the best baseball games for Switch list!
4. R.B.I. Baseball 21 (2021)
Despite a run of mediocre or just outright poor games, the R.B.I. Baseball series finally hit a bit of a home run with this 2021 release.
See what I did there?
Designed to be fast-paced and accessible for anyone to pick up and play, R.B.I. Baseball 21 – despite this simplicity – nonetheless still feels like a ‘serious’ baseball game.
It’s fully featured too, with new additions including a create-a-player option, play-by-play commentary and even different games taking place at different times of the day.
We’re not sure why it took so long for the R.B.I. series to feature this, but we’re glad they got there in the end!
If you want a realistic baseball game but the complexity of more sim-style titles is a scary prospect, you could definitely do a lot worse than R.B.I. Baseball 21.
3. Super Mega Baseball 2: Ultimate Edition (2019)
Though more light-hearted in style than, say, the R.B.I. Baseball games, the Super Mega Baseball titles are incredibly feature rich and packed with content.
The second game in the series – the first to appear on Switch – arrived in Ultimate Edition form, which means that it included all of the DLC (which wasn’t included in the base game on other console formats).
It really raised the bar for baseball games on Switch, in terms of features gameplay and even its visuals, which run at a very impressive 60fps in both handheld and docked modes.
Regardless of whether you’re playing on the move or at home, you’re sure of a fast-paced and consistently smooth experience.
Super Mega Baseball 2 also supports up to four players, either locally or online – so playing baseball on your console doesn’t ever have to be a solitary pursuit!
2. Super Mega Baseball 3 (2020)
So Super Mega Baseball 2 raised the bar for Switch baseball games; what could be better than that?
Well, how about its sequel, Super Mega Baseball 3, which arrived the following year?
First off, the ability to import custom teams from the second game is a great touch, rewarding long term fans. Lots of new visual features and customisation options have been added too.
Franchise mode is another neat addition, with the ability to train and trade players included.
There’s even the option to watch fully AI-populated games of baseball playing out if you so choose, though who knows why you’d want to buy a baseball game and just watch it play itself!
This would have been our choice for the overall top spot on our best baseball games for Switch list, if it wasn’t for one surprise latecomer that’s managed to hit a home run.
1. MLB: The Show 22 (2022)
A weird licensing quirk has seen the Sony-developed MLB: The Show games appear on non-PlayStation formats for the very first time in recent years. You’ll find an MLB title on our best sports games on PS4 list!
This first Switch entry knocks it out of the park too. While MLB: The Show 22 has been criticised on other formats due to its EA-style incremental updates, with this entry being the first on the Switch that doesn’t matter one bit.
It’s also feature complete on Switch in comparison to other versions, unlike the aforementioned EA and their incredibly lazy approach to franchises such as FIFA, which have seen cut down versions of the game appear on Nintendo’s hybrid console.
There are far too many modes and options to cover here, but Diamond Dynasty – which sees players building teams using card booster packs, is the main focus.
The pseudo-strategy of Conquest and the management focus of Franchise, along with numerous other challenges and modes only add to the feeling that MLB: The Show 22 really does – another pun on the way – cover all bases.
The aim of realism with the visuals do mean that it runs at 30fps, rather than the 60fps that the Super Mega Baseball titles offer, but it’s perfectly playable.
It’s a remarkable achievement to see the game appear just as complete, if not quite as technically proficient, on Nintendo’s console as it is on other formats.
For serious baseball fans, it’s a no-brainer that MLB: The Show 22 is the choice for the coveted number one spot on Retro Dodo’s best baseball games for Switch list.
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Jason Brown
Jason – who lives in the UK – has had a lifelong interest in video games, which all started when he discovered Space Invaders in the early 80s. The first game he ever completed was Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Sega Master System – which remains one of his proudest gaming achievements. Jason is a passionate writer – and has been writing about gaming since the late 90s. He currently runs pop culture blog midlifegamergeek.com, which he updates on a daily basis (and has written more than 700 articles on the blog alone!).
Outside of video games, Jason is a keen tabletop gamer, film buff and comic book fan.
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