Hardball 95 on the Sega Genesis is one of those old-school baseball games that somehow nails the feel of the sport without overcomplicating things. You pick your team—I always went with the sluggers—and jump right into a game where the pitching actually matters, not just mashing buttons. The fielding’s a little janky at first, but you get used to it.

What I love is how fast it plays. No endless menus or cutscenes—just swing, run, and hope you don’t get tagged out at second. The AI isn’t pushover either; if you crank up the difficulty, those curveballs will wreck you. And yeah, the graphics are pure ’90s, but there’s charm in those chunky pixels and the way the crowd just kinda… vibrates when you hit a homer.

It’s not the deepest baseball sim, but for quick, no-nonsense games? Still holds up.