"Fun, if repetitive."

Much to the contrary of what most people may think, Backyard Baseball for the GBA, under all of the choppy character models and monotone sound, may actually have something to offer for the casual gamer. A nice handheld addition to the Backyard Sports series, if you enjoyed the PC version of these games, you might see some potential in this. Maybe.

Season mode plays out as the following. You create a player. You draft that player to a created team, or one of your favorite teams. When you begin, your player will have all-time low stats. Like an automatic out the second they're up for bat. But once you start winning games in the Season, you'll earn stat points in the form of baseballs, and you can add them to your batting, base running, etc. stats accordingly. There are a lot of games you have to win to get into the playoffs, and the playoffs itself can take a while to complete.

Once you master the batting, however, the game becomes quite easy. The game will actually show you the area in which the ball is going to cross the plate during a pitch. The better your batting stats, the smaller and more precise this area will be. For everyone but your created player at the beginning of the game, this area will be so small that hitting a homer will be a cinch.

As far as pitching goes, I figured out the perfect strategy. I use the term strategy loosely, as it is only a repetitive type if pitch that I do that plays off the CPU's inability to ever hit a home run. Always throw a normal pitch, perfect pitch, right to the middle of the plate. The CPU will always hit it, sure, but it will always go to one of your players. Catch the ball for an easy out. Repeat if necessary. By doing this, you can ensure success on pretty much every play, even if it does take away from the gameplay.

Aside from the Season mode, there is also a Quick Play option, where you can just jump into a game with your favorite team, a Home Run Derby Mode, where you battle the clock to hit home runs, and if you have a friend and a GBA link cable, there's a one on one multiplayer mode. Plenty of options for you to get your backyard sports fill.

Overall : 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/05