"The memories... ohh the memories..."

Overview:

Ahhhh, remember those days when NBA Jam was by-far-and-large considered fresh and hip. You know, there was a time (Pre-Dreamcast era) where the NBA Jam franchise was such a beast that it was easier to count the number of systems an NBA Jam game WASN'T on rather than which ones it WAS on. (!!)

NBA Jam came out firing out of the gates in arcades in the mid 90's and created a shockwave that managed to distract gamers from the latest Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat game, even if just temporary. Though for many folks they played JAM and never looked back. Granted, in many ways it was stupid crazy exaggerated basketball but dog gone it, it was pretty darn fun. Especially when you played with 3 other friends.

NBA Jam TE on Saturn brings me back to those good old days... those countless Saturday nights where my friends and I stayed up to the wee hours in the mornings slam dunking each other into oblivion.

You know the deal, NBA Jam TE's a 2-on-2 basketball game that stresses the exaggeration in a way that boggles the imagination. You get to pick any team in the NBA and pick the 2 players you want. Each player has his own stats respective to his skills on a number of different categories like 3 point shot ability, power, dunk, speed, clutch, etc. It's just how you remembered it from the arcade.

Categorical breakdowns:

Graphics: 7
It's digitalized. The players' faces are somewhat distinguishable. John Stockton's mug almost looks like the real thing. Characters are big. Not much to say... it's a full basketball court with an on-looking audience and four players. Gets the job done.

Sound/Music: 7.5
Like what you remembered. The music can get a little annoying after a while; it doesn't stand out... it just seems to flow with the on-screen action, but that's not a bad thing either. The sound effect of a slam dunk doesn't sound as crisp or loud as I remembered it used to be, but the crazy announcer is still there. He says a lot of things, from the players' names (''Miller!'' ''Smits!'' ''You-Wing!'' etc.) and he says the rudimentary ''BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA!'' and ''He's heating up!'' Marv Albert at his finest, folks.

Control: 9
I didn't find any glaring flaws with it.

Gameplay: 9
As stated earlier, the gameplay's silly, stupid and of course the trademark craziness you'd find in an NBA Jam game. But it works in a magical kind of way -- the kind of magic that if you're lucky you shall encounter once in a lifetime. I can't explain it any other way. It's not a "smart" game per se, but it works to a tee. You shoot 3's and 2's... you slam dunk in a variety of outrageous and often times unrealistic ways... you push/shove opponents down, you block shots, you steal, you dribble, you pass, you pass in mid-air... you get the drill. It's nothing hard really, and that's the charm -- it's just goofy and zany. And damn playable, not to mention addicting. The mark of a great game.

Replay Value: 9.5
Especially if you have 3 buddies who would play this with you, the replay value's pretty high. Even if you don't have 3 gaming friends, you might find yourself coming back to this for nostalgia's sake every now and then. The CPU AI is really bad, however.

Fun Factor: 9.5
I usually find myself enjoying a game of NBA Jam TE every now and then. It's just goofy fun. It's fun to rain the three pointers with Reggie Miller, or throw it down with the likes of Dominque Wilkins. And although the game has the crazy dunks, I prefer the fundamental plays actually. i.e. driving to the basket, going for the dunk but in mid-air pass it off to my wide open teammate for the wide-open 18 foot jumper. That's what I find really satisfying; beating my opponent with the nice easy plays.

Bottom Line:

If you have good memories of NBA Jam that still resonates deep inside your gaming soul, it's safe to say you will extract some measure of pleasure from Saturn NBA Jam TE. It can be had for 5-10 bucks these days, and is a good trip down memory lane.

If I may be brutally honest here, and speak with absolutely zero prevarication whatsoever... after playing and seeing all the 3D (basketball) games of today, sometimes I just get sick of it all and want to go back to the days where 2D ruled. If you, my friends, are like this, and remember the fond memories of NBA Jam, let us go on -- march to the land of nostalgia! Yes, we may be ridiculed, but hey, at least by gosh we will have fun, right? Right! Let 'em laugh all they want, SLURP it all up. Don't be afraid to peel away those nay-sayer layers, peel and peel until you get to the RAAAAAW steel, where you dig deep down and find those sweet memories of days long gone by. Yes, let them say what they will, for we don't care because we have memories from a time period that will never be the same, again.

My friends, fellow gamers since the mid 90's... this JAM's for you!

Overall: 9.0

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/06/03, Updated 05/26/05