Rusty's Real Deal Baseball

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball
Game icon, featuring Rusty Slugger (left) and one of his ten children (right) in front of Rusty's store
Developer(s)Nintendo SPD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Katsuhiko Kanno
Producer(s)Kouichi Kawamoto
Designer(s)Ryosuke Suzuki, Tadashi Matsushita
Programmer(s)Shinji Kitihara, Kazuki Yoshihara
Composer(s)Kenji Yamamoto
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
Release
  • JP: 8 August 2013
  • NA: 3 April 2014
  • KO: 28 May 2014
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball[a] was a free-to-play baseball video game published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS eShop. It was released in Japan in August 2013 and in North America in April 2014; the game was not released in Europe.

The game and its minigames are no longer available to download due to the Nintendo eShop closure on Nintendo 3DS.[1]

Gameplay

The Player playing Drop & Pop: Reflexes, a game purchasable at Rusty's shop.

The game features baseball themed minigames, which can be purchased individually at Rusty Slugger's store, called "Rusty Slugger's Sport Shack". The player is given a free demo of one of the minigames, but will eventually need to pay for them. While each minigame is paid through microtransactions, players can haggle with Rusty to purchase the games for a lower price.[2] Playing the minigames will reward players with items that can be used to haggle with Rusty, which Rusty will accept and use to fix his life problems. One of Rusty's children will tell you if the price can not be lowered any further, and if a player chooses an ineffective option of dialogue, they can reset Rusty's mood with a donut for a better approach.[3] Players can compare minigame scores with other player via StreetPass.[3]

The game will intentionally keep players from trying to purchase the games for full price, but can still be purchased after multiple warnings. When a player pays for full price, Rusty's past mentor Pappy Van Poodle will give him the items awarded from the minigames instead.[4]

After the Nintendo 3DS eShop closure, you cannot buy the minigames anymore, but you can see the story in game for free.[5]

Development

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball was announced in a Nintendo Direct in 2014. According to Satoru Iwata, the concept of the game was created with the theme of "good feelings".[6] The game's release date was announced via Twitter, and released in Japan in August 2013 and in North America in April 2014.[7]

Reception

The game received generally favorable reviews, scoring a 74/100 on Metacritic.[8]

The game was praised for the characters and humorous writing. Scott Thompson from IGN called the game "uncharacteristically dark" and "surprisingly funny".[10] Chris Carter from Destructoid liked Rusty's unique dialogue and multiple choices of writing during haggling portions of the game. He appreciated Rusty's characteristics and storyline, and believed the game had "awkward silliness".[9]

Notes

  1. ^ Known in Japan as Darumeshi Supōtsu-ten (Japanese: だるめしスポーツ店, lit. Darumeshi Sports Shop)

References

  1. ^ "Wii U & Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation". Nintendo Customer Support. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  2. ^ Creegan, Dermot (20 April 2014). "New Rusty's Real Deal Baseball Trailer Released". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Shapiro, Jake (5 April 2014). "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball Review (3DS eShop)". Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ Doolan, Liam (15 May 2019). "Video: Meet Pappy Van Poodle, The Nintendo Character Nobody Knew Existed". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Wii U and 3DS eShops are GONE, but now you can See the Story of Rusty's Real Deal Baseball for Free". koopatv.org. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
  6. ^ Juba, Joe. "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball Coming To 3DS In April". Game Informer.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ Watts, Steve (28 March 2014). "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball pitches Nintendo's take on 3DS free-to-play next week". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b Carter, Chris (3 April 2014). "Review: Rusty's Real Deal Baseball". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b Thompson, Scott (8 April 2014). "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  11. ^ Oxford, Nadia (8 April 2014). "Rusty's Real Deal Baseball 3DS Review: Haggle Your Way to Freedom". US Gamer. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.