Releasing in Japan in 1987 and then a year later in 1988 in North America, Bases Loaded is developer Jaleco’s now-classic baseball simulation game for the NES and Famicom. Though the title features the names of American cities for teams representative of actual MLB franchises, the franchises themselves (as well as the professional athletes belonging to those teams) do not appear in the title. Most players remember the title for its excellent graphics and animation for the time despite being a lackluster baseball game in terms of its mechanics. In particular, the better baseball simulation game of the era is arguably Accolade’s HardBall!, though many players prefer Jaleco’s Bases Loaded.
Questionable mechanics aside, Bases Loaded would prove to be a massive hit on the NES and sell roughly 1.3 million copies in Japan and another 1.5 million units in the West. Jaleco would eventually release three sequels on the NES, with the last one being Bases Loaded 4 before the series would become Super Bases Loaded on the SNES. The final entry in the series is the Sega Saturn and PlayStation release Bases Loaded ’96: Double Header which would end up receiving some of the lowest critical scores in the series and signal the end of the franchise.
The original Bases Loaded has several ports, the most famous of which is the Game Boy port of the title from 1990. Additionally, the game has received subsequent ports to Nintendo’s Virtual Console service on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.
Bases Loaded Premise
©Bases Loaded gameplay screenshot – Original
In Bases Loaded, players get to choose one of 12 teams to participate in either a single exhibition game or a full season, with a certain amount of wins in a season leading to teams participating in the World Series. Teams get their names after real-world MLB franchises and their home cities but do not feature the names or likenesses of mascots or any of the professional athletes of the era thanks to the game’s lack of official MLB licensing. Aside from the single-player modes, Bases Loaded also features a two-player competitive mode for one-on-one exhibition games against friends in local multiplayer.
The baseball simulation in the game is similar to other titles of the era, with players getting a “television” style view of the batter and pitcher dynamic. Unique to Bases Loaded is the ability of the pitcher to provoke another team’s best hitter to charge the mound. The title’s realistic physics and animations would make it a popular game in the NES library and one of the best-selling sports titles on the system, but the game’s realism works both for and against it. Several reviewers of the era note that the “television” style viewpoint makes it hard to track the movement of the ball and land successful hits when up to bat.
Bases Loaded Main Characters
©Bases Loaded gameplay screenshot – Original
Prior to the rejuvenation of the video game industry in the West, few North American professional sports leagues would lend their licensing to interactive media thanks to weariness over the medium’s volatility following the 1983 industry crash. As a result, Bases Loaded is one of many early sports games on the NES that features city names in the place of actual teams. Teams in Bases Loaded and their MLB equivalents include:
- Boston: Stand-in for the Boston Red Sox
- D.C.: Washington, D.C. is home to the Washington Nationals, who have been around since 1961 but only call D.C. their home since 2005.
- Hawaii: Though Hawaii has never had an MLB team, the state was home to the minor-league team the Hawaii Islanders.
- Jersey: The “Jersey” team is an interesting outlier in Bases Loaded in that the state of New Jersey hasn’t had a professional MLB team since the early 20th century.
- Kansas: An obvious stand-in for the Kansas City Royals, one of the top MLB teams of the era in the American League.
- Los Angeles: The Bases Loaded equivalent of the year’s World Series winner, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Miami: Interestingly, the inclusion of a Miami team predates the founding of the Florida Marlins in 1993.
- New York: The state of New York has both the Mets and the Yankees that call it home, meaning the game’s “New York” team could be either.
- Omaha: Despite its inclusion in the game, Omaha, Nebraska has never actually been home to a professional sports team.
- Philadelphia: Bases Loaded‘s “Philadelphia” is the game’s version of the Philadelphia Phillies, who would finish the 1988 MLB season in National League East’s last place.
- Texas: Texas’ professional baseball team is none other than the Houston Astros.
- Utah: Utah has no real-world professional baseball team.
Games in the Bases Loaded Series
Across almost 10 years, the Bases Loaded franchise would release several iterations of its video game baseball simulation. Despite the popularity of the original game in the series, the franchise represents a case of diminishing returns with each new entry. The last game in the series would end up receiving some of the lowest critical scores for any game in the franchise, leading Jaleco to abandon it entirely. Games in the Bases Loaded series include:
- Bases Loaded (1988)
- Bases Loaded II: Second Season (1990)
- Bases Loaded 3 (1991)
- Bases Loaded 4 (1993)
- Super Bases Loaded (1991)
- Super Bases Loaded 2 (1994)
- Super Bases Loaded 3 (1995)
- Bases Loaded ’96: Double Header (1995)
Bases Loaded Cheats & Cheat Codes
The NES version of the game features several codes that players can enter to start the game with 79 wins. In other words, entering any of the following codes will begin the player with the team of their choice ahead of the World Series championship game. Some codes pit specific teams against one another in competition for the Pennant. Interestingly, the codes work on the Game Boy port of the title as well and are the same across both platforms.
| Code | Effect |
|---|---|
| CHXAACC | Start the game as New York vs. Boston for the Pennant |
| JAELECO | New Jersey vs. New York for the Pennant |
| EBDBAAJ | Philadelphia vs. New Jersey for the Pennant |
| LFBDJHE | Start the game as Boston before the World Series |
| PFACNHK | Begin as D.C. before the World Series |
| LNADJPD | Begin as Hawaii before the World Series |
| PNCBNHD | Begin as Kansas before the World Series |
| PFBCNPD | Begin as Los Angeles before the World Series |
| PFCANHK | Begin as Miami before the World Series |
| LFADNHH | Begin as New Jersey before the World Series |
| PFDAJHH | Begin as New York before the World Series |
| LNDAJPD | Begin as Omaha before the World Series |
| LFDBJHE | Begin as Philadelphia before the World Series |
| LNCBJPD | Begin as Texas before the World Series |
| LNBCJPD | Begin as Utah before the World Series |
NES Game Genie Codes
The NES Game Genie peripheral does feature some helpful codes for Bases Loaded that impact some of the rules regarding regular gameplay.
| Game Genie Code | Effect |
|---|---|
| PEOGOALA | Only 1 strike before out |
| ZEOGOALA | Only 2 strikes before out |
| SZOEVXVV | Outs do not count |
| PAOEUZZA | Only 1 out before the changeover |
| AAOEUZZA | Only 1 out before changeover |
| SXNAXOVV + SXSGUKVV | Strikes do not count |
| SZEEXXVV + SZEESXVV | Only 2 outs before the changeover |
How to Charge the Mound
During the third inning of any game, get all bases loaded with the 4th batter up on the opposing team. Hit the batter with the ball to anger him and see him charge the mound. This results in the batter getting ejected from the game, but players can keep him by simply pressing “B” when prompted to switch to a pinch runner.
Bases Loaded Cheat FAQs
How many teams are in Bases Loaded?
There are a total of 12 teams in the game, with almost all of them serving as an in-game counterpart to real-world MLB teams. That said, the teams do not include real-life professional athletes (though later games in the series do).
What’s the best team in the original Bases Loaded?
In terms of pure stats, the best team in the game is Philadelphia, with Boston, New York, and Los Angeles each coming close. Philadelphia has the best pitchers in the game as well as some strong starting hitters, making it a great choice for a team.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Bases Loaded gameplay screenshot.