The UI is horrific man I'll be so happy if it gets changed. especially that absolutely MASSIVE gray box when you r2 with a runner on with a skill. I can't believe they put that in
I actually think 4 is better than 3 comparing to when they both released. 3 had alot of issues ppl seem to forget. Batters NEVER chased pitches out of the zone, catchers would constantly drop balls, the original sound of balls getting hit in 3 was even worse than 4, gameplay stuttered on ps4, and various gameplay issues like that..They eventually got fixed, but for a while I was finding myself enjoying 2 more than 3. The biggest thing for me is gameplay, and 4 is better than 3 imo. The UI is pretty bad, but after playing for a while, I dont even notice it anymore. I definitely agree it sucks theres no instant replay STILL...but I dont think 4 deserves as much hate as its been getting.
I agree with you. I havent forgotten all the issues 3 had, I actually stopped playing after the first week and went back to smb2. the silver lining for smb4 right now is the issues can be fixed with a patch for the most part
One other thing with the UX/UI that isn't probably a big deal for some, but is bigger for others... the inability to import teams from leagues other than the original one & league of legends. If we could import teams from other leagues you could actually run franchises and import teams from the franchises (at the end of the off-season) to replicate at least some aspects of the franchise system into player vs player leagues.
Wow! That is actually a pretty big issue and I wasn't aware of it but I'm sure over time I'd figure it out. It all goes back to being unable to just create teams. Because even though I create a league and then customize a team, I can't add that team into another league. I can only import from the 2 pre-made leagues. For a feature that's supposed to be a lot of fun it is kind of a headache. Good observation 👌💪
This is a great breakdown review. You helped me decided to hold off and wait until the next installment. SMB3 really improved on a lot and with the way this franchise is going-it might be best to just wait until there's modes that are more appealing. Thanks for making this!
Thanks I appreciate that! And yeah I've been a huge fan of the series, it's a great franchise. Hope they can clean up some of the little things because at its core it's a great game
Solid review. I'm playing the game on Switch and haven't had any issues with performance. I definitely agree with the female umpire sounding *horrendous* in this game. The clips they created for her were so annoying I turned that part of the volume way down after just a few games. I also agree that the sound department overall just... needs work. Like you said, the rocket sound is used way too often, the crack of the bat is often unsatisfying... the list goes on. That said, I'm still enjoying the heck out of this game. It does the baseball part well, and that's my main concern. I just hope the other stuff gets fixed via patches later on. Especially that annoying chipmunk-on-speed umpire.
I want to buy it because I'm still playing SMB2 but the lack of replay makes me mad. We've been requesting it since SMB1. Also the legends seem half baked and a crash grab. I might wait for a sale.
Im with you 100% we've been asking for replay and HR Derby for 7 years now? I would gladly ditch MLB Legends and 6 new stadiums for Hr Derby, replay, and league stats for Franchise.
Honestly, that last note about the Switch version... You should NEVER buy the Nintendo system's version of ANY cross-platform game, EVER. Their hardware has been a generation behind since the Wii. If you have a PlayStation, Xbox, or even a PC, go with one of those, every single time. Nintendo doesn't even have an achievements system, that's been industry standard for so long, but they just refuse to do it.
Nice review. This is my first entry into the series, and I'm not sure if you mentioned this but the gameplay tutorial was overwhelmingly disappointing. You're greeted with a wall of text telling you all about batting, pitching, running around the field. Why can't it be more interactive? If I'm batting, they tutorial could instead explain everything step-by-step allowing me to press buttons to perform actions.
Think I'm going to stick with SMB3. Don't see enough to upgrade. Possibly may even say 3 is better with 4s horrible UI. Way too much on the screen distracting you while you play in my opinion
I was really hoping that the game run well on switch as I want more games to play on it and a sports game like this would've helped that itch, but also I am kind of bummed out that you can't draft in this game as I really liked the arcade/ sim feel since I am not a baseball fan but this looks fun.
EA philosophy. Release the game with as many bugs as possible, so we can make as much money at release as possible. Then we will fix/patch it later. EA does this with all of their games. It is like they are trying to get those quarterly numbers and not care about what shape the games are in when it gets released.
I think SMB 4's onfield play is really good, at least as good as SMB 3's. But the audio needs work and the UI has to be overhauled; nearly everything requires one or two more button presses than are actually needed. Fortunately those are things that can be fixed with updates. At a fundamental level, SMB 4 is very good but a lot of the stuff around it needs to be better. 1:00 On Xbox, the shadows around home plate at El Viejo Stadium make the ball almost impossible to see when hitting, and other stadiums like Swagger Center have blown-out lighting at certain times of the day.
yeah even on PC that's a very tough stadium to play in. and I agree. SMB4 is a very good game but the UI and audio are ruining the experience single handedly
This series has hit the wall. Some improvements but not a big step forward i expected after 3 years. Legends are unbelievably lazy. Generic faces. Etc... UI especially in game is MS DOS lame and boring. Teams still without home stadiums. No announcer. Annoying sounds like guitars. No replays. Cutscenes repetitive. Player personality not explored. Gameplay pretty fun but a super underwhelming 4th installment. 6.8 out of 10. Doesn't justify the new price tag.
Here just take my channel from me. You did my 18 min review in a single paragraph lol. But you're right. I give it a 6/10. They seem to have lost their way in terms of what type of game they are and who the target audience. The jump from smb1 to 2 was awesome and since then it's been just a slight improvement
@WildLion Games ha. Man I'm just glad to see someone else felt the same way. Kept seeing these weird glowing reviews that didn't make sense. It feels like another game that'll never find it's potential. Kinda mad I bought it. But not as mad as I did the 1 time I bought RBI Baseball. Uggggh. Good vid!
Awesome review and from someone you can tell loves this series. Appreciate it. Sadly with EA in the picture now SMB may well become a redundant series over time for a quick cash grab every baseball season. I hope I'm wrong. How do you not improve the game into its 4th version?? Its actually several steps back IMO. When I seen trailers using former MLB legends to try to sell SMB 4 that was a red flag 😁. This SMB fan will be sticking with SMB3 for a few more seasons looks like.
Thank you!! I really appreciate that. And yeah I loved the series and I just hate seeing yet another sports title be put into the wrong hands and not see its full potential
I think a lot of people might. May I ask how you play SMB? Like are you a franchise player or a pennant race/tournament player? A customization and Sim player?
4 is clearly better than 3! I played them all and this one is the best!! Without a doubt! Can nitpick a few things but thats most games. SMB 4 is still better than the others!! And the legends were a dope idea! 💯
hate to disappoint but yeah I was also hoping the same thing. the things that are wrong with the game are fixable through a patch for the most part. the UI might be really tough to overhaul, I think we're stuck with that but sound fx can be fixed
Thanks for checking it out. And actually yes for the most part the little things have been patched. Audio has improved and poor lighting in a few of the stadiums as well along with other little bugs. The UI is the UI...that's not going to be changed, so hopefully it's just improved for SMB5. But I still enjoy the game.
I’m on a ps5 with a monitor tho. This game is only $14.99 rn. I like the show but this is just old school like mvp baseball 2004 the glory days. Or at least a mix.
Long time SMB1,2,3 user on PS4/5- 4 has better graphics, sort of, there are a number of stadiums where the environment makes the players or outfield look poorly lit. Agreed on most of your critiques. I normally played custom franchise mode and sim parts of each season. Not being able to sim more than 1 day at a time is a huge deal breaker. My guess is it is because of the player moments that like you said, if you are playing a 16 game season, after each day, there are 2-4 player moments to hit through each day, it would be great to turn this off and bring back sim to date in the schedule view. Strange in the land of social media, we got no information from Metalhead/EA until a week before release...
Thanks! Yeah there's a lot of biased reviews out there or just blind fan boys. But to me, if you're a true fan, you'll point out the flaws so that hopefully the game you love can become better
In 2021 they released a patch for SMB3 that changed the pitch aiming and I can't put my finger on why, but it completely ruined this game for me. I enjoyed aiming a curveball at the corner and not knowing whether or not it was a strike until it crossed the plate. Now that the pitch ALWAYS goes EXACTLY where you aim it in the strike zone, it eliminates that edge you get from experience. My other complaint is the skill scaling. I play at ~90 Ego...Hitting and pitching is either too easy or too hard depending on the player. My good players DOMINATE and the average/poor ones SUCK. Almost no one on my team gets realistic stats. Combined with the shoddy presentation and a bunch of good ideas executed poorly, I'm really regretting this purchase.
Shame this seems like another franchise that releases half hearted 0.1 updates and sells it as a full priced game. Can't see anyone but the most hardcore fans buying this.
hi old video i know so i downloaded this via gamepass and im in a franchise mode simming cpu games and its just stuck on simming wont progress but if i go into game then hit sim it sims
tbh when konami decide to release ebaseball power pros in the west, no one will play this game anymore except smb fan boys. Pp make this game look like a 30$ game with its content, features and game modes. For ex the depth of power pros pennant mode makes even the show franchise looks bad (smb has no chance). And there still are high school dynasty mode (eikan 9), story mode with replay value (success), or arcade tournament mode with the goal is to win & capture every character in power pros franchise (pawafes), best career mode in sport game where your player's salary is not meaningless, dating, bonding with other players (my life). And a ton of character, items... to unlock, some can be used in all the modes. And players can create their own pitch too. Konami also do not sell stadium as dlc just new characters and music BUT players can set which song they want to be played in every mode.(for ex in main menu, summer,winter in my life...) and they have a built in cheer song creation tool. Teams, players also can be shared and downloaded. Edit: it has basic mode like home run derby or live scenario too.
Right! We not askin for much. Could you imagine how much fun online HR Derbys would be!? Like full 8 player brackets with open mics haha. The lobbies would be insane
The sound of the game baseball.....makes the game......if I'm swinging and I connect.....and it sounds like I'm hitting the ball with a plastic bat with water in it..... Pass.
Finally someone reviewing the game that has actually played the series before. Appreciate the honesty that others have been lacking.
The UI is horrific man I'll be so happy if it gets changed. especially that absolutely MASSIVE gray box when you r2 with a runner on with a skill. I can't believe they put that in
Agreed. It's a mess. How hard could it be for MetalHead to give us a few options to choose from? Hoping for a fix, and soon.
I actually think 4 is better than 3 comparing to when they both released. 3 had alot of issues ppl seem to forget. Batters NEVER chased pitches out of the zone, catchers would constantly drop balls, the original sound of balls getting hit in 3 was even worse than 4, gameplay stuttered on ps4, and various gameplay issues like that..They eventually got fixed, but for a while I was finding myself enjoying 2 more than 3. The biggest thing for me is gameplay, and 4 is better than 3 imo. The UI is pretty bad, but after playing for a while, I dont even notice it anymore.
I definitely agree it sucks theres no instant replay STILL...but I dont think 4 deserves as much hate as its been getting.
I agree with you. I havent forgotten all the issues 3 had, I actually stopped playing after the first week and went back to smb2.
the silver lining for smb4 right now is the issues can be fixed with a patch for the most part
5:32 They got Matt Damon in this?! Wow, I would have figured Johnny would have been the more like pick, lol
So buying this for Matt Damon
One other thing with the UX/UI that isn't probably a big deal for some, but is bigger for others... the inability to import teams from leagues other than the original one & league of legends. If we could import teams from other leagues you could actually run franchises and import teams from the franchises (at the end of the off-season) to replicate at least some aspects of the franchise system into player vs player leagues.
Wow! That is actually a pretty big issue and I wasn't aware of it but I'm sure over time I'd figure it out. It all goes back to being unable to just create teams. Because even though I create a league and then customize a team, I can't add that team into another league. I can only import from the 2 pre-made leagues. For a feature that's supposed to be a lot of fun it is kind of a headache. Good observation 👌💪
Team America: I'M MATT DAMON!!!
lmao best response to my mess up
This is a great breakdown review. You helped me decided to hold off and wait until the next installment. SMB3 really improved on a lot and with the way this franchise is going-it might be best to just wait until there's modes that are more appealing. Thanks for making this!
Awesome! Thanks for tuning in and the kind words I appreciate it
Yesss! I miss the radio station in games that went week to week with scores
Outstanding review. I'm a big SMB fan and have played the series for far too many hours. I definitely agree with your takes in this reveiw.
Thanks I appreciate that! And yeah I've been a huge fan of the series, it's a great franchise. Hope they can clean up some of the little things because at its core it's a great game
FYI - regarding the Nintendo Switch, people posted on reddit that it runs fine if you switch the graphics to performance mode.
Loved 2 on the switch, but ever since THE show dropped on the switch I’ve been in baseball heaven
Solid review. I'm playing the game on Switch and haven't had any issues with performance. I definitely agree with the female umpire sounding *horrendous* in this game. The clips they created for her were so annoying I turned that part of the volume way down after just a few games. I also agree that the sound department overall just... needs work. Like you said, the rocket sound is used way too often, the crack of the bat is often unsatisfying... the list goes on.
That said, I'm still enjoying the heck out of this game. It does the baseball part well, and that's my main concern. I just hope the other stuff gets fixed via patches later on. Especially that annoying chipmunk-on-speed umpire.
100% with ya. and I think the silver lining for smb4 is the majority of its issues can be solved with a good patch
The announcer making the raffle calls are hilarious
2:32 yea that sound could be so much better. Just baseball sounds
I want to buy it because I'm still playing SMB2 but the lack of replay makes me mad. We've been requesting it since SMB1. Also the legends seem half baked and a crash grab. I might wait for a sale.
Im with you 100% we've been asking for replay and HR Derby for 7 years now? I would gladly ditch MLB Legends and 6 new stadiums for Hr Derby, replay, and league stats for Franchise.
They should include an allstar game during the season and they need to fix the pitching mechanic
DANG that Ump thicc than a bowl of oatmeal.
Honestly, that last note about the Switch version... You should NEVER buy the Nintendo system's version of ANY cross-platform game, EVER. Their hardware has been a generation behind since the Wii. If you have a PlayStation, Xbox, or even a PC, go with one of those, every single time. Nintendo doesn't even have an achievements system, that's been industry standard for so long, but they just refuse to do it.
Nice review. This is my first entry into the series, and I'm not sure if you mentioned this but the gameplay tutorial was overwhelmingly disappointing. You're greeted with a wall of text telling you all about batting, pitching, running around the field. Why can't it be more interactive? If I'm batting, they tutorial could instead explain everything step-by-step allowing me to press buttons to perform actions.
Great and thoroughly concise review!!! Outstanding and appreciated.
You're appreciated. Thank you
Think I'm going to stick with SMB3. Don't see enough to upgrade. Possibly may even say 3 is better with 4s horrible UI. Way too much on the screen distracting you while you play in my opinion
I can see a lot of people sticking with SMB3 for now. i prefer this over 3 but it still needs cleaning up
I was really hoping that the game run well on switch as I want more games to play on it and a sports game like this would've helped that itch, but also I am kind of bummed out that you can't draft in this game as I really liked the arcade/ sim feel since I am not a baseball fan but this looks fun.
great review!
Thank you!!
Gotta say. I LOVE the arcade style of smb 2 it has progressively gotten more sim style each game.
EA philosophy. Release the game with as many bugs as possible, so we can make as much money at release as possible. Then we will fix/patch it later. EA does this with all of their games. It is like they are trying to get those quarterly numbers and not care about what shape the games are in when it gets released.
I think SMB 4's onfield play is really good, at least as good as SMB 3's. But the audio needs work and the UI has to be overhauled; nearly everything requires one or two more button presses than are actually needed. Fortunately those are things that can be fixed with updates. At a fundamental level, SMB 4 is very good but a lot of the stuff around it needs to be better.
1:00 On Xbox, the shadows around home plate at El Viejo Stadium make the ball almost impossible to see when hitting, and other stadiums like Swagger Center have blown-out lighting at certain times of the day.
yeah even on PC that's a very tough stadium to play in. and I agree. SMB4 is a very good game but the UI and audio are ruining the experience single handedly
This series has hit the wall. Some improvements but not a big step forward i expected after 3 years. Legends are unbelievably lazy. Generic faces. Etc... UI especially in game is MS DOS lame and boring. Teams still without home stadiums. No announcer. Annoying sounds like guitars. No replays. Cutscenes repetitive. Player personality not explored. Gameplay pretty fun but a super underwhelming 4th installment. 6.8 out of 10. Doesn't justify the new price tag.
Here just take my channel from me. You did my 18 min review in a single paragraph lol.
But you're right. I give it a 6/10. They seem to have lost their way in terms of what type of game they are and who the target audience. The jump from smb1 to 2 was awesome and since then it's been just a slight improvement
@WildLion Games ha. Man I'm just glad to see someone else felt the same way. Kept seeing these weird glowing reviews that didn't make sense. It feels like another game that'll never find it's potential. Kinda mad I bought it. But not as mad as I did the 1 time I bought RBI Baseball. Uggggh. Good vid!
Push the left stick in and you can then toggle the through the players categories
Awesome review and from someone you can tell loves this series. Appreciate it. Sadly with EA in the picture now SMB may well become a redundant series over time for a quick cash grab every baseball season. I hope I'm wrong. How do you not improve the game into its 4th version?? Its actually several steps back IMO. When I seen trailers using former MLB legends to try to sell SMB 4 that was a red flag 😁. This SMB fan will be sticking with SMB3 for a few more seasons looks like.
Thank you!! I really appreciate that. And yeah I loved the series and I just hate seeing yet another sports title be put into the wrong hands and not see its full potential
Mvp baseball 2005 man i miss it so much
Me too me too
I’m staying with 3
I think a lot of people might.
May I ask how you play SMB? Like are you a franchise player or a pennant race/tournament player? A customization and Sim player?
@@WildLionGames Franchise, customization and sim. Love giving players crazy names like Stinky Odor or Fishy Salmon.
MVP baseball still the all time best baseball games. Better than the show even
It's essentially a $50 patch.
4 is clearly better than 3! I played them all and this one is the best!! Without a doubt! Can nitpick a few things but thats most games. SMB 4 is still better than the others!! And the legends were a dope idea! 💯
From someone who really loved SMB3 this review was quite disappointing, really thought they were gonna knock it out the park
hate to disappoint but yeah I was also hoping the same thing. the things that are wrong with the game are fixable through a patch for the most part. the UI might be really tough to overhaul, I think we're stuck with that but sound fx can be fixed
Hey, how is the game holding up now? Have any of the concerns you mentioned been addressed through patching? Great review, thanks!
Thanks for checking it out. And actually yes for the most part the little things have been patched. Audio has improved and poor lighting in a few of the stadiums as well along with other little bugs.
The UI is the UI...that's not going to be changed, so hopefully it's just improved for SMB5. But I still enjoy the game.
You literally roasted this game so hard you talked me out of buying it 😂
Damn...I wasn't even trying to roast it lol. The gameplay itself is actually a ton of fun. On the field. But so is SMB2 and 3...
What happened to the pitching mechanic? Its so much more difficult in part 3 than part 2. I can only imagine how much harder it is in part 4.
Yeah a lot of gameplay was overhauled from 2 to 3. It took some getting used to but I think in the end it's much smoother now than it was before
The gameplay is so good I really don't care about the UI. Insanely fun to play
this seems more like a dlc than a new game. no stadium creator is a massive L
Lots of Ls. No replay. No new customization for teams. Can't create single teams now only leagues. No HR Derby.
I’m on a ps5 with a monitor tho. This game is only $14.99 rn. I like the show but this is just old school like mvp baseball 2004 the glory days. Or at least a mix.
Long time SMB1,2,3 user on PS4/5- 4 has better graphics, sort of, there are a number of stadiums where the environment makes the players or outfield look poorly lit. Agreed on most of your critiques. I normally played custom franchise mode and sim parts of each season. Not being able to sim more than 1 day at a time is a huge deal breaker. My guess is it is because of the player moments that like you said, if you are playing a 16 game season, after each day, there are 2-4 player moments to hit through each day, it would be great to turn this off and bring back sim to date in the schedule view. Strange in the land of social media, we got no information from Metalhead/EA until a week before release...
Great review, buddy. First few I saw were clearly biased. I just wanted to see if I was just being a dick for not liking this game!
Thanks! Yeah there's a lot of biased reviews out there or just blind fan boys. But to me, if you're a true fan, you'll point out the flaws so that hopefully the game you love can become better
They need to bring back slug fest
In 2021 they released a patch for SMB3 that changed the pitch aiming and I can't put my finger on why, but it completely ruined this game for me. I enjoyed aiming a curveball at the corner and not knowing whether or not it was a strike until it crossed the plate. Now that the pitch ALWAYS goes EXACTLY where you aim it in the strike zone, it eliminates that edge you get from experience.
My other complaint is the skill scaling. I play at ~90 Ego...Hitting and pitching is either too easy or too hard depending on the player. My good players DOMINATE and the average/poor ones SUCK. Almost no one on my team gets realistic stats.
Combined with the shoddy presentation and a bunch of good ideas executed poorly, I'm really regretting this purchase.
Shame this seems like another franchise that releases half hearted 0.1 updates and sells it as a full priced game. Can't see anyone but the most hardcore fans buying this.
Perfectly said. It's a shame too
SMB 2 was awesome, so was 1, but the jump between the two games was amazing.
Would you say smb 3 is the better option for someone who has not played the game yet? (Switch user)
Nah I would still go with SMB4. It's a better game then 3 but most importantly it has better performance on the switch than smb3.
hi old video i know so i downloaded this via gamepass and im in a franchise mode simming cpu games and its just stuck on simming wont progress but if i go into game then hit sim it sims
Hmmmm. That's odd, def sounds like a glitch/bug cause I haven't had that happen to md
Mike na poli 😂 come on man
is there any update on tournament mode? how many team that can participate in the tournament?
Sound....DROP THAT "WHISTLING NOISE" PLEASE!!!!
Super mega baseball 4 is fun, the female umpire sound like Lois Griffin from family Guy and the female models and umpires are great 👍😂
Your request for $20 discount has arrived 😂😂😂
tbh when konami decide to release ebaseball power pros in the west, no one will play this game anymore except smb fan boys. Pp make this game look like a 30$ game with its content, features and game modes.
For ex the depth of power pros pennant mode makes even the show franchise looks bad (smb has no chance). And there still are high school dynasty mode (eikan 9), story mode with replay value (success), or arcade tournament mode with the goal is to win & capture every character in power pros franchise (pawafes), best career mode in sport game where your player's salary is not meaningless, dating, bonding with other players (my life).
And a ton of character, items... to unlock, some can be used in all the modes. And players can create their own pitch too. Konami also do not sell stadium as dlc just new characters and music BUT players can set which song they want to be played in every mode.(for ex in main menu, summer,winter in my life...) and they have a built in cheer song creation tool. Teams, players also can be shared and downloaded.
Edit: it has basic mode like home run derby or live scenario too.
Hey, leave my Mets out of this. LOL
hahaha...hey on the brightside yall gotta be happy you didnt pay deGrom 35 mil
So there’s no free version this year 😢
Johnny Damon * lol
Female umpire is just the male umpire pitched up, that’s crazy
Strike zone, diving, jumping, are worse then SMB3
Give me a hr derby. Give me a myplayer like nba2k and I'm good
Right! We not askin for much. Could you imagine how much fun online HR Derbys would be!? Like full 8 player brackets with open mics haha. The lobbies would be insane
The sound of the game baseball.....makes the game......if I'm swinging and I connect.....and it sounds like I'm hitting the ball with a plastic bat with water in it.....
Pass.
SMB 3 is better than the 4
it’s great but i need a reason to play. i hate to say this but they need to add a card game.
shuffle draft is kindof a card game
Ive never been a big fan of the sport but this game may change that.
Check it out if you have Game Pass. I believe they added it on there.