Get wacky
Before big publishers sought to buy up every license known to man, there was an influx of amazing alternative sports games. Mario has somewhat kept that torch alive with arcade-like influences over the framework of real sports, but there are decidedly less NFL Blitz‘s and NBA Jam‘s in the world. These games don’t get enough credit: without them, I probably wouldn’t have learned the basics of many sports, which is knowledge that is still relevant to this day.
My personal favorite? Super Baseball 2020. It had pretty much everything you’d want — outfielders with jetpacks, customizable robot batters, and tons of flair. It was like a jacked up Bad News Baseball, and I loved it. There are a bunch of other standouts too for me, including Mutant League Football, and the fairly unknown Ballblazer Champions (basically a more involved Rocket League) — I haven’t met anyone else who has even heard of the latter.
With the upcoming launch of Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, take a minute to share your favorite alternative sports games.
