| Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run | |
|---|---|
Cover art |
|
| Developer(s) | Rare |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Distributor(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Super Famicom/SNES |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
|
| Media/distribution | 32-Mbit cartridge |
Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Winning Run is a baseball video game developed by Rare for the Super NES that is named after the baseball player Ken Griffey, Jr.
The game features the 28 MLB teams in existence at the time. You can play in a franchise mode, MLB Challenge mode, exhibition (single-game) play, and All-Star Game mode which includes a home run derby mode.
The game's title is derived from the final play of the 1995 American League Division Series featuring the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. On a play that is sometimes credited with "saving baseball in Seattle," Griffey scored the game's winning run all the way from first base, on a close play in the bottom of the 11th inning:
...It was the Game 5 of the 1995 American League Wild Card Playoffs. The Kingdome was packed and rockin. Down by one run in the bottom of the eleventh inning, the Seattle Mariners, with Ken Griffey Jr. up to bat, were setting the stage for the most exciting finish in a divisional series. Ken Griffey Jr. smacked a single to center field to advance Joey Cora to third base. Then the American League batting champ, Edgar Martinez, stepped into the batter's box and drove a Jack McDowell pitch down the left-field line. Cora scored easily to tie the game as Bernie Williams raced over to field the ball out of the corner.
But Wait! Jr. was being waved around third. He's going to try the impossible, scoring from first base. The relay throw to the plate is on its way. Ken Griffey Jr. hits the dirt. The throw is not in time! The Seattle Mariners advance to the American League Championship Series, thanks in part to Ken Griffey Jr.'s winning run![1]
Due to the lack of a Major League Baseball Players' Association license, Griffey is the only player in the game to use his actual name. However, one of the fun and largely unknown parts of this game is identifying other MLB players based on the phony and sometimes pun-laden names given to them by developers. For example, the prolific and temperamental Albert Belle is transformed into "Frank Liberty" (Liberty Bell?), Frank Thomas who is nicknamed the Big Hurt is named "Big Magoo", athletically talented and muscular slugger Barry Bonds is named a similarly alliterate "Muscles McFee", Cal Ripken, Jr. is named "Lou Junior", and hard throwing then-Mariners ace Randy Johnson is called "Bolt Lightning" and the twirling Japanese import Hideo Nomo, nicknamed the Tornado, is aptly changed to "Typhoon Kuroi."
The game was programmed by a British company, Rare, but was never released in the UK due to the non-existent interest in baseball in the UK. It was also one of the first video games to use computer generated, 3-D animation.
|
||||||||