After a flood of beat-em-up games in the late 80's and early 90's, it was thought that by 1993, the arcade cabinets had lent themselves to the rising stars of fighting games.

They were wrong. Somewhere in the minds of Irem, the most ridiculously original plot and fighters were conceived to create a one-of-a-kind yet deep experience that fans of the genre have to try.

This game involves a handful of well-crafted stages in ridiculously caricatured cities (Evil laboratory gators in Florida? Texas is haunted?!) with a variety of fighters that never fight the same way. One may specialize in body slams while the other reaches with a long bo staff (bat), so that when the player needs to switch in another credit they'll be forever tantalized by taking on different parts of each stage with a different character that may be more suited to their skills.

Apart from the baseball-inspired and other crazy enemies that are all beautifully rendered in a Saturday-morning cartoon aesthetic, the music is probably the funkiest thing to come out in video games this side of Jet Grind Radio; the music samples hit against an infectious beat will have you listening to this in your spare time (and dancing, perhaps)

Surprisingly deep and varied combat mixed with a genuinely original and well-done presentation? A squad of laser cheerleaders? A statue of Babe Ruth turned giant robot? These things Ninja Baseball Bat Man offers and much more.