Backlog 365: Day 15 - Rusty's Real Deal Baseball
by phishyphishy
For Backlog 365 I plan on playing one game on my backlog everyday this year and write about it. For each game I will decide if I want to put it on my "Shelved" list (games that I plan to come back to and play in depth) or put it on the "Retired" list (games that I will delete or sell and move on with my life). January 15 Nintendo 3DS Time Played: 35 minutes I played this game a whole bunch back...
For Backlog 365 I plan on playing one game on my backlog everyday this year and write about it. For each game I will decide if I want to put it on my "Shelved" list (games that I plan to come back to and play in depth) or put it on the "Retired" list (games that I will delete or sell and move on with my life).
- January 15
- Nintendo 3DS
- Time Played: 35 minutes
I played this game a whole bunch back when I first got a 2DS. So, why is this on my list? Well, when I got my new 3DS, I made the mistake of not transferring my data and then gave away my 2DS. After some annoying time on Nintendo customer service, where they quizzed me about which games I owned, I was able to download all my games again. Then it hit me. All the progress in my games had been deleted. After feeling dismayed I realized I’d just download the games I liked and start over, it was kind of refreshing. Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball was one of the few games I downloaded again, and I put it on my backlog.
Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball is an odd game. The games themselves are little baseball mini-games - hit fastballs, try to hit balls into UFO, and, one of my favorites, be the umpire. The narrative, however, is interwoven into the purchase of add-ons. I remember, the first time I played it, I thought this idea was really innovative. It had a self-awareness that made it fun and not exploitative. Ultimately, I ended up buying a couple of the games. Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball became one of my go-to games when I was on a road trip. If I had to guess, I’d say I put in 5-6 hours into it the first go-round.
I haven’t played Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball in a long time. I was curious to see if it still captivated me like it did the first time. And, it didn’t. I just had a hard time getting thought the same mini-games. Hit the baseball. Hit the baseball. Yadda-yadda. I get why I liked it on the road, it is mindless and fits the kind of distraction you look for when traveling. But, I just don’t think I’ll get back into Rusty’s.
Judgement: Retired