Backyard Sports Franchise Reboot Wish List

Key Takeaways

• Backyard Sports reboot has potential to revive series, needs strong first impression to succeed.
• Classic charm and iconic characters crucial for new games, power-ups add fun factor.
• Different gameplay approach from sports sims can offer players arcade-like experience, should focus on gameplay style and character design.

A reboot of the Backyard Sports games is now in the works, and a few key decisions could prove crucial for its impact. It has been a long time since the Backyard Sports games had a release, and the series has fallen into relative obscurity outside of its nostalgic fanbase. The announced reboot has the potential to dramatically change the series’ fortunes, potentially bringing it back to prominence. Before a serious revival can happen, the comeback game will need to make a strong first impression. To do so, there are a few notes that Backyard Sports will want to hit.

The return of Backyard Sports was a big surprise, since it seemed that the series was dormant following its recent history. The original Backyard Sports games, particularly the iconic Backyard Baseball, were popular games with fun characters and gameplay. However, later games saw several changes to the formula that proved to be unpopular. As a result, the series received less acclaim with its new releases until the new games stopped entirely, with the last entries, a pair of mobile games, dropping in 2015. A new entry for Backyard Sports will carry the responsibility of reversing that trend and returning the series to prominence.

Backyard Sports Needs to Rediscover its Classic Charm

Backyard Sports Can Be an Alternative to Sports Simulation Games

In a change from MLB The Show 24‘s gameplay style, Backyard Sports tends to take a simple yet fun approach to gameplay, being easy to understand, but still a solid skills test, especially on higher difficulties. As a result, the B ackyard Sports titles are very much pick-up-and-play games, which makes sense as they are intended for players of all ages. Since a lot of major sports games have been focusing on simulation-style gameplay, Backyard Sports‘ approach could provide a welcome alternative for players who prefer a more arcade-like experience. The developers should make sure that the new games have a similar gameplay style.

Backyard Sports’ Iconic Characters Need to Return

While Backyard Sports games did end up incorporating real-world professional athletes in games, the Backyard Kids were a major part of the series’ appeal. With distinct designs and quirky personalities, the Backyard Kids were a constant of the games. However, as the series went on, several characters were cut from the roster, and others received drastic redesigns that lost the spirit of the original characters. A return to the old style and character design is paramount if the new developers wish to recapture what made the original game great. If the teaser trailer is any indication, the new team has likely taken notice.

With the teaser showing previously removed characters like Kenny Kawaguchi and Angela Delvecchio, there are already good signs for
Backyard Sports
‘ roster.

Power-Ups are a Core Part of the Backyard Sports Experience

Another important part of the Backyard Sports games is reminiscent of the items from Mario Kart rather than mainstream sports games. Players can earn power-ups over the course of the game, such as Backyard Basketball‘s Butter Fingers making the opponent lose the ball, or Baseball‘s iconic Alumunum Power bat guaranteeing a home run. Just like how Mario Kart can’t exist without items, Backyard Sports needs its power-ups to add to the wild fun of the games. Of course, old standbys will need to make a return, and the reboot could also potentially add a few new power-ups to shake things further up.

If the reboot goes well, B ackyard Sports could develop into a legitimate challenger to Nintendo’s Mario Sports games in its niche. The series already has a fanbase hoping for a great comeback, and that fanbase could expand greatly if the first game in the series does what it needs to do. B ackyard Sports already showed off a winning formula in its initial releases with a strong mix of character, style, and gameplay. By recapturing those traits, the B ackyard Sports reboot can bring the series back to its former glory.