Sights & Sounds
- Even though it's been about 4 years since I played the prequel (on Switch), I didn't notice much graphical improvement in SMB4. The parks, skyboxes, and fans all look comparable to my eyes. Reflections and lighting are maybe a little nicer. The players themselves do look a touch less cartoonish, but still quite cartoonish
- I assume this change was to accommodate the addition of actual former MLB players to the game and make them more identifiable, but I don't know if that was truly necessary. If you put a hat and cleats on an overweight Dominican man with an overgroomed beard and stick him in a baseball sim, I'll probably put two and two together and figure out it's David Ortiz. It doesn't have to be all that faithful to reality. For the less popular retirees, this effort feels even more wasted. I wouldn't be able to identify JJ Putz or Brad Radke if they were standing in front of me in full uniform
- As you navigate the menus (something you'll do a lot of if you like custom teams and/or leagues), you'll often have "Super Mega Radio" droning in the background. While some of the DJ's quips and stories are funny the first time you hear them, you'll quickly grow tired of the repetition. What's worse is the music, though. It's a collection of what I assume are songs performed by studio artists recorded for the sole purpose of this game. Most of them are awful. While studio artists are often very talented musicians, it's evident why they usually don't write music themselves
- The sound design is still great. The screaming whistle of the ball as it slices into an outfield gap will always sound amazing, and the rocket launch sound when you truly obliterate a baseball consistently manages to activate every dopamine channel in my brain
- I do wish the triggers for the crowd jeers were a little better. It's funny to hear a fan yelling "Put a coat on that hanger!" after you get punished for mislocating a slider. It is, however, weird to hear the same quip on any high breaking ball when the batter swings and misses

Story & Vibes
- It's an arcade baseball sim. There's not a story. Throw and hit the ball
- Being a very casual game with a difficulty you can fine-tune at any moment, the vibes are relaxed and even a little comforting if you're a baseball fan

Playability & Replayability
- It's all the same stuff you saw in SMB3, but with the addition of former major leaguers. There's a mode dedicated to the teams rostered by real players, but that appears to be the only addition. I only booted it up long enough to throw a 100mph fastball at Keith Hernandez's head in order to fulfill a long-abiding dream
- I stuck with franchise mode for this review because it's the most in-depth, and I did see a few improvements over SMB3. The chemistry system allows you enhance player traits by maximizing their positives and minimizing their negatives if you have enough players with the same personality. The shuffle draft option helps make the first franchise mode season a bit better as you don't have to make it through the playoffs to hit free agency. Additionally, removing much of the RNG from the re-signing process has made it much easier to construct a consistent team. In all, these QoL enhancements were appreciated
- The rest of the game, though? It's all basically the same as its prequel. It's still fun to blast 500-foot nukes. It's still fun to obliterate pitchers by planting a comebacker in their dome or mushroom garden. It's still fun to make a logo that looks like a penis going into a butt and plastering it on all your players' hats and jerseys. But I could have had all that same fun in the previous game, too
- The arcadey nature of the game makes replayability appealing. It's pretty easy to just boot it up, play a game in 20-30 minutes, and go do something else. Hell, you can even suspend the game if you want to come back later

Overall Impressions & Performance
- While the QoL improvements are nice, I just can't help but feel that this could have been DLC. It's a single new mode, a graphical update, and some franchise mode improvements baked into the old forumla and released for full price. Unless you're planning on sinking time into your custom team, I don't think I could construct a convincing argument to move you towards purchasing this game
- As an American, I'm in love with American things like Hollywood, frying foods that shouldn't be fried, and baseball. But even to me, bringing in former MLB players feels like a waste of time, money, and effort. Simply constructing one team of legends (like Babe Ruth or Willie Mays) would have been a sufficient addition. Placido Polanco, LaTroy Hawkins, and Gene Tenace don't really move the needle on my "experience" meter
- Thankfully, connecting your Steam and EA accounts will automatically log you in, preventing you from having to otherwise mess with EA's login process. Performance-wise, the game ran quite well with no stuttering or crashes

Final Verdict
5/10. If you have SMB3 already and don't care about custom teams or franchise mode, you can safely leave this game unbought. You already own 95% of SMB4. Maybe consider upgrading if the franchise mode enhancements seem appealing, but otherwise, this is merely a more expensive version of a 9/10 arcade baseball sim

Thanks for reading! Check out my Perpetual Steam Game Giveaway if you're looking for a free new game to play