Bad News Baseball is one of those NES sports games that doesn’t take itself too seriously—and that’s why it’s still fun. The cartoony animations are ridiculous (batters getting knocked into the air, umpires with giant heads), and the gameplay’s fast enough that you don’t get bogged down in stats. Plus, you can pick between boys’ or girls’ teams, which was pretty rare back then.

Pitching’s where it gets interesting—you’ve got 11 different throws, from curveballs to straight-up weird ones, and figuring out what works against each team is half the battle. The close-up shots when someone hits a homer never get old, either. Grab a friend for two-player, or just watch the AI go at it if you want a break. Just don’t expect a sim—this is arcade baseball at its silliest.

It’s the kind of game where you’ll lose track of innings because you’re too busy laughing at the animations.